Meal ideas under £1

little_miss_moneysaver_3

QUOTE I really admire people that can do this, you must all be very small eaters or buy super large chickens, or more likely that we are pigs and eat lots!!:D

I roast a chicken: Oh gets one breast (he only likes white meat) two teenage DD share the other breast, I have one leg/thigh bit so that leaves us with one leg/thigh which I can use in soup or I will mix it with some mayo and curry powder or tikka powder to make a sandwich filler for kids next day, but that is it (apart from the carcass boiling thing) gone is the chicken, no ten meals from one chicken for us :o so I still buy chicken breasts for stirfrying and curry etc, nice and quick, I cut them up really small and add lots of veg, onions etc QUOTE]

Lol no we are not small eaters. I just bulk up all the meals with veg and lentils. OK the Sunday roast has to have it's share of the meat, but the rest of the week no. My OH thinks he's having meat everyday. He is, just not as much as he thinks

Stephen_Leak

mumoftwo wrote: »

that leaves us with one leg/thigh which I can use in soup

That's another potential meal! What about the carcass?

CHICKEN SOUP

A simple, quick and easy recipe for chicken soup, using a leftover chicken carcass. A basic broth can be made with just the chicken, water, onion and pepper.

4 servings

INGREDIENTS
.
1 onion
100g to 125g of at least 2 additional vegetables (see below)
1 roast chicken carcass
1 litre of water
1 chicken stock cube
1 teaspoon of any herb
Ground pepper to taste

METHOD

Peel the onion and chop it into big pieces. Peel the other vegetables, if required, and chop them into 2cm (1 inch) pieces.

Put the chicken, onion, vegetables, water, stock cube and herb into a large saucepan on a medium heat. Stir thoroughly. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering).

Put the lid on and cook for 1 hour. Check the liquid level from time to time and top up if it starts to dry out.

Fish out the carcass and put it on a plate. Remove any meat which is still on the bones, Put the meat back into the soup. Discard the bones.

If you have a food processor, put the soup in it and blend it to the desired consistency. If you have a hand blender, put it in the soup and blend it to the desired consistency. If you don’t have a food processor or hand blender, use a potato masher, press the soup through a sieve with the back of a spoon, or leave it lumpy.

Season with the pepper.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

You an use carrots, celery, courgettes, leeks, mushrooms, tomatoes, parsnips, potatoes, swedes, turnips, etc. Using green vegetables and mushrooms will give a light and delicate broth. Using root vegetables and tomatoes will give a thick and hearty soup.

Sage would seem to be a good herb to use. After all, sage and onion does go with chicken.

For Chicken Noodle Soup, use green vegetables and add a small pack of noodles.

TIPS

Don’t panic, if you fish out fewer bones than you remember going in. Some will dissolve into the soup, adding to the goodness.

Navsy_thesmurfette

What about using a flour tortilla for the base of a pizza?Its crisper and lighter and good when your in a rush and dont have time to make a dough base .

Nordictat2

Home made mac n' cheese with peas and tuna.

Make a rue...(flour and butter)
add milk and cheddar cheese (til thick and creamy)
half big bag of frozen peas or 1 small bag (add into sauce and let sit for a mins before adding into pasta)
2-3 cans tuna

You can eat this right away or toss it into a baking dish and top with some bread crumbs and bake on 230 for 10-15 mins.

luckylynda

A favourite in my house is nachos with sausages in,I buy a bag of nachos from Asda(50p) 1 red onion (10p) 1 tin of beans (30p?) ,bag of frozen sausages in asda(£1) and block of asda value cheese(£2)
i chop the onion and put in dish with nachos,cook about ten of the sausages and cut them in to pieces,put them in the dish too then pour tin of beans over the top,cover in grated cheese and put in oven till cheese melts..mmmmmm lovely,can serve about 3-4 people depending on size of dish,in my house we just all tuck in and sometimes i will use 2 bags of nachos to make it go further.:j

josephine33960

I recently discovered the chinese supermarket in my town and spent about a fiver which has given me healthy tasty noodle lunches for about two weeks, only had to buy additional tofu and corriander which is optional anyway.

Tofu noodles:
- boiling water
- rice noodles or any noodles
- tofu, sliced thin
- cornflour
- oil for frying
- Teriyaki sauce
- lime juice

- brown sugar
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- corriander for garnish (optional but I think it really makes the meal!)



1. Place noodles in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water. Stir regularly to keep noodles from sticking together and set aside for at least 20 mins (not all noodles need to be lefte for 20 mins so read the packet).
2. Toss tofu in cornflour and fry over med-high heat until deep golden brown. Drain and set aside.
3. Drain noodles and rinse in cold water.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok over med-high heat. Add noodles and stir fry for about 2 mins, until noodles begins to get translucent and a bit "gummy." Add in sauce, lime, sugar, and chili garlic sauce. Bring to bubbling and reduce heat. Simmer for a few mins, until noodles are cooked. Stir in tofu. Garnish and serve.

This has worked out at under 50p per meal you just have to spend a few pounds up fron to buy the bottles of sauce

allybee101

How about liver and onions? I can get lambs' liver in Morrisons for about 50-60p which I can stretch to 2 meals usually.
Fry some onions until soft, whilst they're cooking boil up some rice or cook some cabbage.
When the onions are cooked, slice the liver very thinly and add to the onions for a few minutes to cook (don't overcook it). You can use a bit of the cabbage water and some gravy granules/stock cube to make a bit of gravy for the liver. Serve with the rice or cabbage.
I think ox liver might be even cheaper but lambs' liver is more tender. I bought British too, there was NZ liver available which might have been slightly cheaper too.

jexygirl

When I read the title, my first thought was liver and onions!
I do it with mash and if flush a slice of streaky bacon on top!
Liver imo is very underrated, or people have the old memory of nan cooking it till it was creamted and being dry and leaving a horrible feel in your mouth, cooked pink, lambs liver is to die for!
Meatloaf too! A pack of mince, an egg, a few herbs and spices of your choice, maybe a stuffing inside it and rolled, it goes a long way once you add some breadcrumbs and onions, and garlic!
Lastly, fishcakes! When you go to the supermarket late at night, check the fish counter or the whoops section, and don't ignore the fish! One salmon fillet, or whatever fish, bulked out with mash, onions, dill or parsley, a bit of seasoning and rolled in flour, then egg wash, and stale breadcrumbs (I add raw cous cous to bread crumbs too as when its deep fried it adds a lovely crunch) makes about 4 fish cakes. If salmon is 2 fillets for a whoopsed price of say £1.50, i feel really rich to be eating it for about 50p a portion when you add the rest of the stuff! One of my faves atm is smoked haddock and horseradish fishcakes - trust me they are yum! served with homemade chips *drools*
I have also recently discovered smoking - of the food kind! (yes I know, all you old schoolers are saying OMG!!!!) Buy meat on the day its whoopsed, and smoke it, it will last ages smoked! I got a half duck, and whoopsed avocados x 2 all for £3.44. 4 smoked duck and avocado salads, with homemade dressing, for less than 4 quid! How posh am I!
I also got 4 packs of 4 aberdeen angus burgers for £2 each (50p per burger) great as a junky burger and chips, but I made some into meatballs to be served with a homemade tomato and basil sauce and spaghetti!
When you look at the whoopsies, dont (as the famous catch phrase goes) "say what you see" Think what you can make from it - its fun to not just sort through for the usual stuff you eat, but to look at something and say, "what can i do with that!"
(can you tell I'm new to this cooking / money saving!!!!)
I tell ya, if there was any room in my freezer, the other day when i went to co-op it was like a magpie to shiny things seeing all those orange "whoops" labels - I was devastated and having to hold myself back from the stuff i simply had no room for!
sorry, its late, there is alcohol involved, and as usual i waffled on endlessly!
Jex

lisa26_2

here's a couple I haven't seen mentioned.....

Corned Beef stew (my dad's favourite)......put an choppen onion and a selection of veg (eg frozen green beans, peas, carrotts etc) into a pan, add a few chopped up spuds, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer till the veg are nearly ready, chop a can of corned beef into cubes, add to the stew and stir gently so you don't break it up too much. Bring back to the boil then thicken with gravy granules. Simple, tasty and cheap!

Tuna tart......flake a tin of tuna into a bowl, add a finely chopped onion, a cup of grated cheese, 1oz of margarine (broken into small pieces), 1 large thick slice of brown/wholemeal bread (crumbled up), a cup of milk and 3 beaten eggs. Mix it all up, tip nto an oven proof dish, top with sliced tomatoes if you like, and bake in the oven until golden brown and set. Delicious served warm or cold with salad/jacket potato. Great for packed lunches too.

Hardup_Hester

I'm making kegeree tomorrow:-
Smoked haddock
hard boiled egg
long grain rice
handful of defrosted, frozen peas,
onion
curry powder or paste.

Cover the haddock with boiling water and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Measure the soaking liquid and add enough water to make it up to 400ml. Skin and flake the haddock, removing any bones, set aside. In a large lidded pan, soften the onion in a little oil on a low heat. Add the rice and the curry paste and stir for 1-2 minutes. Pour in the measured cooking liquid, bring up to the boil then reduce down to a simmer and put the lid on. Leave to cook for 8 minutes, and then stir in the flaked haddock & peas. Cover again and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the rice is quite tender and has absorbed all the liquid. If necessary, add a dribble of hot water to prevent burning. Add sliced egg just before serving.
I use 1 egg for 2 people & very little fish in this recipe but as I cook the rice in the fish water it tastes lovely & fishy.