Discussion
I've just moved out for the first time, living with a mate.
I've always cooked for myself, but due the rent I'm paying I'm going to have to adjust my budget and choice of supermarket accordingly.
I've swapped from Tesco's to Aldi and Home Bargains.
What easy meals can you recommend I make of an evening that are quick to prepare and cook...
I've no longer got the time to make a proper meal with good cuts of meat.
I've always cooked for myself, but due the rent I'm paying I'm going to have to adjust my budget and choice of supermarket accordingly.
I've swapped from Tesco's to Aldi and Home Bargains.
What easy meals can you recommend I make of an evening that are quick to prepare and cook...
I've no longer got the time to make a proper meal with good cuts of meat.
My fav's on a budget (whilst using leftovers for lunches):
(F) = freezes so can cook in bulk and heat with fresh rice/pasta when you want to
Spag Bol (F)
Cilli Con Carne (F)
Risotto - Mushroom and Garlic is my fav (chicken optional)
Pasta + your choice - cheese/mushrrom/Sausages/tomato
Home made soups (F) e.g. sweet potato and paprika, Veg, Mushroom etc.
Curry (F) - your choice of type/meat/filling
Stews/hotpots (F) - cheap cuts of meat and root veg reduced
Other options/ways of eating cheaply:
Shop on your way back from work, raid the reduced meat section and freeze what you don't eat that evening
Sausages - they are lovely (IMO), I regularly cook a pack of 6/8 in a pan with a single onion and eat it all as a meal
Potaotes normal & sweet - very versitile - Roast, Baked, chips, mash etc. - I like cubing them into cubes and putting them in the oven for 45 mins with a clove or 2 of garlic, some butter and mixed herbs, Yum!
Other than that always buy meat in the biggest/best value packs taking advantage of multibuys. Just get some re-sealable freezer bags and freeze what you wont use in a day or 2 after splitting to smaller portions.
Buy big meat joints e.g. beef and chop down and freeze to get stewing steak etc.
(F) = freezes so can cook in bulk and heat with fresh rice/pasta when you want to
Spag Bol (F)
Cilli Con Carne (F)
Risotto - Mushroom and Garlic is my fav (chicken optional)
Pasta + your choice - cheese/mushrrom/Sausages/tomato
Home made soups (F) e.g. sweet potato and paprika, Veg, Mushroom etc.
Curry (F) - your choice of type/meat/filling
Stews/hotpots (F) - cheap cuts of meat and root veg reduced
Other options/ways of eating cheaply:
Shop on your way back from work, raid the reduced meat section and freeze what you don't eat that evening
Sausages - they are lovely (IMO), I regularly cook a pack of 6/8 in a pan with a single onion and eat it all as a meal
Potaotes normal & sweet - very versitile - Roast, Baked, chips, mash etc. - I like cubing them into cubes and putting them in the oven for 45 mins with a clove or 2 of garlic, some butter and mixed herbs, Yum!
Other than that always buy meat in the biggest/best value packs taking advantage of multibuys. Just get some re-sealable freezer bags and freeze what you wont use in a day or 2 after splitting to smaller portions.
Buy big meat joints e.g. beef and chop down and freeze to get stewing steak etc.
Jamie Oliver has just started a new series that could be right up your street.
Money Saving Meals.
http://scrapbook.channel4.com/bookmarkBar/5225af5a...
Money Saving Meals.
http://scrapbook.channel4.com/bookmarkBar/5225af5a...
My favourite when I was younger (actually I cooked this last week too) was 4 Day Dinner. Named just because I used to make loads of it and it would last me most of the week.
Basically it's a b
d version of Risotto/Paella/Pilaf, which can be made quickly with anything to hand, but the combination of rice, tomatoes, onions & veg means it's reasonably healthy, and cheap as you want to make it. One pot cooking, and being able to turn the heat off for half of it also helps save gas/electric.
Below makes enough for about 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are. Increase amounts to freeze or putting the fridge for later meals.
The base is:
Rice - one tea mug will easily cover 2 people, any rice is fine.
1 Tin Tomatoes
large onion
Chopped carrot
Plenty of seasoning (stock cube, salt & pepper, chilli sauce, worcester sauce, ketchup etc)
Oil to fry in (1-2 tablespoons)
Peas
Some sort of meat (tin tuna, chorizo, ham, prawns, chicken pieces, bacon etc) - optional if really poor!
Optional:
Tinned Sweetcorn
Tomato Puree (makes it richer)
Cheese for final topping
Chopped peppers
Courgettes
Mushrooms
Chopped celery
Kidney beans or Chickpeas (if veggie and want to replace meat with useful protein)
Splash of Red/White wine for a bit of posh flavour, cider or even lager won't do any harm either
To cook -
- Chop and gently fry off, in a big pan with a lid, onions, carrots and any other veg except Peas (which I put in at the end)
- If using chorizo or bacon, put that in now, sliced or chopped at this stage so the nice smoky salty flavour is released into the juice.
- When the above is soft, stir in the rice and give it a little fry off in the oil to start it cooking
- Add the tin of tomatoes and stir this in, add another cup of water to allow the rice to cook (so essentially you need 2x cups of liquid, half being the tomatoes, to 1x cup of rice). If it looks a bit dry, especially when the rice starts fluffing up, add some more water - the rice will usually soak it up.
- now add your seasoning and flavouring - salt/Pepper/stock cube are a must to make this tasty, extras like chilli sauce and ketchup are dependent on what you like. Don;t go too mad though, taste at the end and add more then if required.
- Add any meat or extra bits at this point
- Stir this all together, and let it cook gently for about 15 mins. Keep stirring every few minutes to stop it all sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the rice starts to fluff up after about 10 mins, add in the peas and let them cook for a few minutes - I put them in last as they are usually frozen and slow the cooking down earlier on
- Turn off the heat now, give it all a final stir and put the lid on. Leave it for another 15 mins or so, and it will be cooked through by itself.
Serve up with sprinkled grated cheese, or extra chilli sauce.
Basically it's a b
d version of Risotto/Paella/Pilaf, which can be made quickly with anything to hand, but the combination of rice, tomatoes, onions & veg means it's reasonably healthy, and cheap as you want to make it. One pot cooking, and being able to turn the heat off for half of it also helps save gas/electric.Below makes enough for about 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are. Increase amounts to freeze or putting the fridge for later meals.
The base is:
Rice - one tea mug will easily cover 2 people, any rice is fine.
1 Tin Tomatoes
large onion
Chopped carrot
Plenty of seasoning (stock cube, salt & pepper, chilli sauce, worcester sauce, ketchup etc)
Oil to fry in (1-2 tablespoons)
Peas
Some sort of meat (tin tuna, chorizo, ham, prawns, chicken pieces, bacon etc) - optional if really poor!
Optional:
Tinned Sweetcorn
Tomato Puree (makes it richer)
Cheese for final topping
Chopped peppers
Courgettes
Mushrooms
Chopped celery
Kidney beans or Chickpeas (if veggie and want to replace meat with useful protein)
Splash of Red/White wine for a bit of posh flavour, cider or even lager won't do any harm either
To cook -
- Chop and gently fry off, in a big pan with a lid, onions, carrots and any other veg except Peas (which I put in at the end)
- If using chorizo or bacon, put that in now, sliced or chopped at this stage so the nice smoky salty flavour is released into the juice.
- When the above is soft, stir in the rice and give it a little fry off in the oil to start it cooking
- Add the tin of tomatoes and stir this in, add another cup of water to allow the rice to cook (so essentially you need 2x cups of liquid, half being the tomatoes, to 1x cup of rice). If it looks a bit dry, especially when the rice starts fluffing up, add some more water - the rice will usually soak it up.
- now add your seasoning and flavouring - salt/Pepper/stock cube are a must to make this tasty, extras like chilli sauce and ketchup are dependent on what you like. Don;t go too mad though, taste at the end and add more then if required.
- Add any meat or extra bits at this point
- Stir this all together, and let it cook gently for about 15 mins. Keep stirring every few minutes to stop it all sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the rice starts to fluff up after about 10 mins, add in the peas and let them cook for a few minutes - I put them in last as they are usually frozen and slow the cooking down earlier on
- Turn off the heat now, give it all a final stir and put the lid on. Leave it for another 15 mins or so, and it will be cooked through by itself.
Serve up with sprinkled grated cheese, or extra chilli sauce.
Edited by prand on Tuesday 3rd September 14:23
I reckon this site is pretty good:
http://sortedfood.com/
PHer created I believe.
As above, make big batches and freeze them. The plastic tubs that Chinese takeways typically come in can be washed and re-used for this.
ETA: Also check out the sloooow cooker thread for ideas.
Slow cooking is a good way of getting the best out of cheap ingredients, plus it uses very little energy (something people often don't take account of when cooking on a low budget). There are some cracking recipes posted there.
http://sortedfood.com/
PHer created I believe.
As above, make big batches and freeze them. The plastic tubs that Chinese takeways typically come in can be washed and re-used for this.
ETA: Also check out the sloooow cooker thread for ideas.
Slow cooking is a good way of getting the best out of cheap ingredients, plus it uses very little energy (something people often don't take account of when cooking on a low budget). There are some cracking recipes posted there.
Edited by TheMobileChicane on Tuesday 3rd September 14:35
One of my favourite dinners is so easy to cook and cheap to make.
tagliatelle pasta boil up however much u want to eat.
Then in a large pan or wok fry off a packet sliced or cubed bacon and and an onion or 2 depending on your taste.
Add to the bacon and onion some chopped mushrooms.
Once they are cooked add a tub of mascarpone.
Once cooked and steaming hot.
Drain the pasta and add to the wok.
Stir around to mix the pasta and mascarpone.
Serve!
Also google saucy sausage pasta. Can use any sausages or even for sausage meat. I normally add a tin of sweetcorn and a bit of garlic bread to mop up the sauce. If you like heat then add some chilli.
tagliatelle pasta boil up however much u want to eat.
Then in a large pan or wok fry off a packet sliced or cubed bacon and and an onion or 2 depending on your taste.
Add to the bacon and onion some chopped mushrooms.
Once they are cooked add a tub of mascarpone.
Once cooked and steaming hot.
Drain the pasta and add to the wok.
Stir around to mix the pasta and mascarpone.
Serve!
Also google saucy sausage pasta. Can use any sausages or even for sausage meat. I normally add a tin of sweetcorn and a bit of garlic bread to mop up the sauce. If you like heat then add some chilli.
Edited by woody2846 on Tuesday 3rd September 14:42
grumbledoak said:
If you are on a budget, learn to use the freezer.
And whole chickens are a bargain; £2 per kilo (Tesco) is cheaper than vegetables. Roast them, eat wings and legs, freeze breasts, freeze the carcasses for stock and then soup.
True that.And whole chickens are a bargain; £2 per kilo (Tesco) is cheaper than vegetables. Roast them, eat wings and legs, freeze breasts, freeze the carcasses for stock and then soup.
Also frozen vegetables are much cheaper than fresh. Try the Asda frozen oriental stir-fry mix at £1.11 for a 500g bag. Ok, so it doesn't quite have the same crunch as fresh, but almost, plus it's ready chopped up for you.
Chicken (even if frozen) sliced thin will quickly cook in a hot wok, as will prawns. Add your veggies, stir like a Dervish, make sure it's all cooked, then add a few spoons of sauce, a packet of Lidl 18p oriental noodles, warm it all through and you're done.
The best tip by far for saving money is to plan your meals, imho.
On a saturday, work out what you are going to cook for the next week, and shop accordingly. This way you can also keep variety going rather than eating nothing but the giant lasanga you made for a whole week. If you know that you will have slow cooker beef hot on monday, then in tacos tuesday, then a break for some chicken wednesday and finish it on thursday with rice you can portion out accordingly.
The expensive shops are the top-up shops when you are hungry on the way home from work...amazing how much a few soft drinks, some cheese etc can add to what you thought was a quick stop to buy an onion and some peppers.
On a saturday, work out what you are going to cook for the next week, and shop accordingly. This way you can also keep variety going rather than eating nothing but the giant lasanga you made for a whole week. If you know that you will have slow cooker beef hot on monday, then in tacos tuesday, then a break for some chicken wednesday and finish it on thursday with rice you can portion out accordingly.
The expensive shops are the top-up shops when you are hungry on the way home from work...amazing how much a few soft drinks, some cheese etc can add to what you thought was a quick stop to buy an onion and some peppers.
My cheap & easy go to meal is veg stirfry.
Couple of hands full of frozen stir fry veg (from supermarket), packet of stirfry sauce and a packet of straight to wok noodles (both from home bargains)
you can add other veg, salad or meat as you like.
Roast chicken is also a good shout.
Roast potatoes do take a while to cook in the oven but can be left pretty much un attended, and you can have a tin of tuna or beans or what ever you want on it.
Couple of hands full of frozen stir fry veg (from supermarket), packet of stirfry sauce and a packet of straight to wok noodles (both from home bargains)
you can add other veg, salad or meat as you like.
Roast chicken is also a good shout.
Roast potatoes do take a while to cook in the oven but can be left pretty much un attended, and you can have a tin of tuna or beans or what ever you want on it.
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