Oldstylers: Could I be your greatest ever challenge?

ifonlyitwaseasier

stir fry, slice all the veg into thin strips, slice meat of choice, fry meat add veg serve with rice or noodles, tadaaaa

and yes i think spanish chicken could be slow cooked just chuck it all intogether and leave all day whilst your at work, or make up some as per merlots suggetion and freeze in individual portions.

southernscouser

spendaholic wrote: »

Morrisons has quite a good home start range that's quite cheap and comes in 4s rather than 6s. Or there's the Savers range at Tesco.

Or would I be better off with paper plates? :think:

southernscouser

spendaholic wrote: »

I cook for one, I don't have any friends.

You can cook for me aswell if you want?

southernscouser

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

stir fry, slice all the veg into thin strips, slice meat of choice, fry meat add veg serve with rice or noodles, tadaaaa

and yes i think spanish chicken could be slow cooked just chuck it all intogether and leave all day whilst your at work, or make up some as per merlots suggetion and freeze in individual portions.

Do I need a wok for that? Don't you have any sauce or anything with it? Like ketchup?

ifonlyitwaseasier

or a frying pan. i add sweet chilli sauce and sometime some soy sauce as well, just a little bit at a time. and yes ketchup does work really well in stir fries

spendaholic

southernscouser wrote: »

You can cook for me aswell if you want?

Now there's an offer ... :drool:

southernscouser

And what's a realistic budget per month? I was thinking £100 but I don't think that's acheivable! I seem to spend about £8 on a bloody lasagne! :rotfl:

ifonlyitwaseasier

well if you learn how to bulk it out, then you could make enough for £8 to last for several meals., read thro the grocery challenge thread, lots of recipes and ideas there to get you started,

ladymarmalade

Hey well done on finding your own place and making that big step!

Myself and my boyfriend live together and are 20 and 28 respectively and we seem to have mastered it. Oh I am a student and leave for uni at 7.30am everyday and get back around 6pm and sometimes work at night and my bf works full time and he leaves and returns the same time as me cos we travel together. Here is our routine:

Shopping
I do one big shop every week as I save money if I do it all in one go. Before going shopping I make a menu plan up for the week and then write down what what ingredients I am going to need, what basics I am going to need such as butter, bread etc and check the bathrooms for toilet paper and toothpaste etc. I always stick to the list (unless I see any real baragains) and I never go shopping on an empty stomach.

Cooking
I do most of the cooking, but only because I love to, sometimes my bf has to force me out of there so he can get a chance. We try to eat a wide variety of foods and have many meals that we have time and time again. If you are a beginner at cooking there are a few recipes i could suggest:

Homemade Burgers
You need some mince beef and and egg yolk and some seasoning (salt and pepper and whatever your into eg oregano etc) at the moment i put in a spoonful of dijon mustard and tobasco sauce too yummy. Mix it together and make into burger shapes and cook on grill or in a griddle pan. Then serve it in a cob with some salad and chips if u wish. If you make too much you can freeze the uncooked mixture.

Chicken Pasta Bake
Cook a chicken breast and some pasta. Chop up some mushrooms. Bung the whole thing in an oven proof dish and mix in some pasta sauce either home made or from a jar. Sprinkle on some cheese and bake for about 30 mins.

Chicken Wraps
Chop up a pepper and a courgette drixxle over some olive oil, garlic and basil. Roast in oven for 30 mins
Season some chicken (again to your taste) and cook in a frying pan until cooked. Then serve with some tortilla wraps with pesto.

I have loads more ideas if you want any more...i just dont want to make this post any longer lol

Of course things like packets of flavoured pasta are always useful as are tins of things for toast or spuds. And dont forget you cant beat a good bacon sandwich

Cleaning
We don't really have a routine as my timetable is so unreliable but generally we do it at weekends. Things like the bathrooms and living rooms get cleaned everyweek and the kitchen every time we use it. The rooms we dont use we just clean when we think it needs it.

I also do a darks wash, a colours wash and a white wash every week. One tip....make sure you stay ontop of your ironing cos i havent during my exams and am dreading tackling the mountain it has become next week when i have finished exams :eek:

Hope that helps a bit, sorry if i have waffled. Ask me if you want anymore help or food ideas.

Lady M

Bargain_Rzl

Hi SS, I haven't popped into DFW for ages and I'm well impressed with how much you've got your debts down by :T

£100 a month is easily achievable for a single person, including all cleaning products and so on. You may need to allow extra if you are a drinker, though (I don't include wine/beer in my grocery budget - it's separate).

Come and join us on the Grocery Challenge thread to keep yourself on track...

Do get a freezer and a microwave, if space and funds even vaguely permit. I live on my own but I almost NEVER cook for one. I buy and cook in bulk, then freeze in individual portions. It is a great habit to get into, because not only does it really slash your shopping costs, it also means you only have to cook a couple of times a week because the rest of the time you can just take a portion of ready-prepared meal out of the freezer and nuke it. For somebody like you who is only just starting out on "self-catering", it makes the whole idea less daunting as you don't have to think about it EVERY day.

As for that £8 lasagne - what's in it, caviar? How many portions does that make? I'd say you could make 6 to 8 portions for that price, easily, and batch freeze as I've suggested above.

If you are able to do so, I would try and allow a bit extra in the budget for the first little while, say an extra £20 a month? The logic behind this is as follows: you'll probably find it costs more at first, as you'll need to buy literally every ingredient for every recipe, whereas after a while you'll have many of them already lurking in the storecupboard. The same goes for cooking utensils - once you've got your absolute basics (pans, plates, cutlery, chopping board and a couple of good food preparation knives) you can build up your collection of utensils as and when you need them.