Under £2.50 meals to feed a couple?
Discussion
As per title really, and following on from the 'feed your family for a fiver' line of thought, has anyone got any recipe recommendations for a half decent dinner for two for under £2.50?
This evening I bought a pack of those Swedish Kitchen meatballs in Sainsburys for £1.10 (half price), did up a batch of spagetti (20p), spooned in half a jar of red pesto (45p), the remains of the oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes(about 4 spoons), stir, throw in the ovened meatballs and grate some strong cheddar cheese (40p maybe) over the top. Superb, and under £2.50 worth of ingredients to fill and satisfy two people cooked in 10 minutes.
Please feel free to share yours.
Gourmet connoisseurs and comedians need not apply their opinion please...
This evening I bought a pack of those Swedish Kitchen meatballs in Sainsburys for £1.10 (half price), did up a batch of spagetti (20p), spooned in half a jar of red pesto (45p), the remains of the oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes(about 4 spoons), stir, throw in the ovened meatballs and grate some strong cheddar cheese (40p maybe) over the top. Superb, and under £2.50 worth of ingredients to fill and satisfy two people cooked in 10 minutes.
Please feel free to share yours.
Gourmet connoisseurs and comedians need not apply their opinion please...
The better version is to make the meatballs yourself, no real need to pay for ready made ones. Then cook a larger portion and freeze a couple of meals for those "can't be bothered to cook, pass me the takeaway menu" evenings!
Spag bol, chilli, cottage pie, curry and all useful cook and freeze foods.
Spag bol, chilli, cottage pie, curry and all useful cook and freeze foods.
put 2 servings of tagliatelle on to boil [£1 a bagful].
thinly slice 2 red onions and some mushrooms [onions 80p a bag, same for a box of mushrooms], then chop up about half a pack of streaky bacon [90p worth]
fry the bacon for a couple of minute until it starts to crisp up, then add the onion and fry for a couple more minutes.
next, crush 2 cloves of garlic into the pan and add the mushrooms and 125ml of white wine [a 250ml bottle is about £1.50]. let it reduce to half the volume then add 150ml of double cream [80p for 300ml]. warm through and fold into the pasta.
ten mins max. start to finish. must be well under £2.50.
would've thought most basic rice/pasta dishes would do it. i can make the tastiest lasagne ever, all from scratch [inc. pasta] to feed 8 people for under a tenner and that includes a half decent bottle of red wine to go in it.
thinly slice 2 red onions and some mushrooms [onions 80p a bag, same for a box of mushrooms], then chop up about half a pack of streaky bacon [90p worth]
fry the bacon for a couple of minute until it starts to crisp up, then add the onion and fry for a couple more minutes.
next, crush 2 cloves of garlic into the pan and add the mushrooms and 125ml of white wine [a 250ml bottle is about £1.50]. let it reduce to half the volume then add 150ml of double cream [80p for 300ml]. warm through and fold into the pasta.
ten mins max. start to finish. must be well under £2.50.
would've thought most basic rice/pasta dishes would do it. i can make the tastiest lasagne ever, all from scratch [inc. pasta] to feed 8 people for under a tenner and that includes a half decent bottle of red wine to go in it.
Chicken Rogan josh curry tonight using chicken breast, carrots, onions, peas pastes and some long grain rice.
Sufficient for 4 meals - got to be less than £2.50 each.
Weekend's budget meal was chilli because of the fireworks, kidney beans, aduki beans, minced meat, onions, tom puree, chilli powder, beef stock (okay Bisto.....) served with a jacket spud and sufficient for 8 -10 people.
Sufficient for 4 meals - got to be less than £2.50 each.
Weekend's budget meal was chilli because of the fireworks, kidney beans, aduki beans, minced meat, onions, tom puree, chilli powder, beef stock (okay Bisto.....) served with a jacket spud and sufficient for 8 -10 people.
Sausage, mustard mash, veg, onion gravy.
Eggs Benedict.
Minced beef and either yorkshire pud or dumplings and veg.
Chicken thighs, chopped up onion, tin of toms, cinnamon, few apricots. Serve with Couscous
Homemade pizza
Homemade meatballs made with 1lb pork mince, 1/2lb sausage meat, paprika, chilli flakes (I wear rubber gloves to mush it up otherwise you're picking it out of your nails for days), with sauce based on tinned toms over the top
Leftover chicken, 1 rasher of bacon (chopped small) fried off with mushrooms or leeks. Add a few tbs of creme fraiche and serve with either pasta or jacket spud
Gnocchi bake - pack of gnocchi, half a bag of spinach, mozzarella ball chopped up, tin tomatoes, leftover peppers, onion, courgette. Add any leftover meat (chick, bacon, chorizo etc. Mix up, sprinkle with parmesan and breadcrumbs and bake in the oven until it looks done. (serves 4, will freeze)
One from the O/H - mushroom risotto: risotto rice, dried mushrooms, finely chopped onion, pack of chestnut mushrooms, good glass of wine, bit of stock. Assemble in the usual way. Troff.
Buy stuff from the farm shop and it's half the price by the way. Though you might have to wash your own veg.
Eggs Benedict.
Minced beef and either yorkshire pud or dumplings and veg.
Chicken thighs, chopped up onion, tin of toms, cinnamon, few apricots. Serve with Couscous
Homemade pizza
Homemade meatballs made with 1lb pork mince, 1/2lb sausage meat, paprika, chilli flakes (I wear rubber gloves to mush it up otherwise you're picking it out of your nails for days), with sauce based on tinned toms over the top
Leftover chicken, 1 rasher of bacon (chopped small) fried off with mushrooms or leeks. Add a few tbs of creme fraiche and serve with either pasta or jacket spud
Gnocchi bake - pack of gnocchi, half a bag of spinach, mozzarella ball chopped up, tin tomatoes, leftover peppers, onion, courgette. Add any leftover meat (chick, bacon, chorizo etc. Mix up, sprinkle with parmesan and breadcrumbs and bake in the oven until it looks done. (serves 4, will freeze)
One from the O/H - mushroom risotto: risotto rice, dried mushrooms, finely chopped onion, pack of chestnut mushrooms, good glass of wine, bit of stock. Assemble in the usual way. Troff.
Buy stuff from the farm shop and it's half the price by the way. Though you might have to wash your own veg.
If it is a meat dish, then a casserole or curry with a cheap cut is your friend.
Tonight I cooked a Pork Vindaloo.
Ingredients:
Pork - I used a shoulder of pork, perfect for a slow cook (should be under 5 quid per kg)
Tomato - at this time of year canned.
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Chili
Vinegar
Spices
Oil
Basmati Rice
All in, around 2.50 (add my labour rate for 2hrs, and that blows this out of the water) and better than what you get most curry houses. Buy your spices at your local asian supermarket - schwartz or whatever are a total rip off.
Oh, and add the wine, sorry, the budget has been blown out of the water
Tonight I cooked a Pork Vindaloo.
Ingredients:
Pork - I used a shoulder of pork, perfect for a slow cook (should be under 5 quid per kg)
Tomato - at this time of year canned.
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Chili
Vinegar
Spices
Oil
Basmati Rice
All in, around 2.50 (add my labour rate for 2hrs, and that blows this out of the water) and better than what you get most curry houses. Buy your spices at your local asian supermarket - schwartz or whatever are a total rip off.
Oh, and add the wine, sorry, the budget has been blown out of the water
OK. This one is disgraceful - Tatws Popdu or "Potatoes in the Oven".
It's a Welsh folk dish and there are loads of variations and recipes - but this is the one I do.
Peel enough potatoes to fill the bottom of a small lasagne dish. Maris Piper are good - chop 'em up into three pieces each as you would for roasties. Fill that lasagne dish.
Take some stock made from your Sunday roast bones or whatever and add a small quantity of sage and onion stuff mix to it. Pour over the potatoes - the liquid level should come hald way up the potatoes.
Now take a breast of lamb. This is the cheapest, greasiest cut of lamb available. You want it with the bones in. Take a cleaver or large knife and cut it up between the bones so you have strips of it.
Lay the strips over the top of the potatoes. I like to sprinkle some finely chopped rosemary on top.
Roast in a medium hot oven. For a long, long, long time. You need to do this until the lamb on the top has roasted right out and become crispy and delicious. All the fat should have melted out.
OK. You can guess where all the fat went, right? Yep. Into the potatoes below. During the roasting time the stock will have boiled dry and the potatoes will have part boiled, part steamed and finally roasted in the lamb oil. The lamb will have been kept moist on the bottom by the stock steam at first...
Personally at this stage I pour off the excess fat but traditionally you didn't as it all added flavour...but as a peasant dish, of course, the layer of potatoes would have been three or four thick spreading the fat out.
Serve with mashed swede/carrot together. A serving is a few crispy lamb strips, four roast potato pieces (with the odd crispy stuffing) and a spoon of the mashed veg.
£2.50 makes enough for two hungry people.
The above recipe takes practice to achieve an edible result. Once "right", however, it's actually delicious.
It's a Welsh folk dish and there are loads of variations and recipes - but this is the one I do.
Peel enough potatoes to fill the bottom of a small lasagne dish. Maris Piper are good - chop 'em up into three pieces each as you would for roasties. Fill that lasagne dish.
Take some stock made from your Sunday roast bones or whatever and add a small quantity of sage and onion stuff mix to it. Pour over the potatoes - the liquid level should come hald way up the potatoes.
Now take a breast of lamb. This is the cheapest, greasiest cut of lamb available. You want it with the bones in. Take a cleaver or large knife and cut it up between the bones so you have strips of it.
Lay the strips over the top of the potatoes. I like to sprinkle some finely chopped rosemary on top.
Roast in a medium hot oven. For a long, long, long time. You need to do this until the lamb on the top has roasted right out and become crispy and delicious. All the fat should have melted out.
OK. You can guess where all the fat went, right? Yep. Into the potatoes below. During the roasting time the stock will have boiled dry and the potatoes will have part boiled, part steamed and finally roasted in the lamb oil. The lamb will have been kept moist on the bottom by the stock steam at first...
Personally at this stage I pour off the excess fat but traditionally you didn't as it all added flavour...but as a peasant dish, of course, the layer of potatoes would have been three or four thick spreading the fat out.
Serve with mashed swede/carrot together. A serving is a few crispy lamb strips, four roast potato pieces (with the odd crispy stuffing) and a spoon of the mashed veg.
£2.50 makes enough for two hungry people.
The above recipe takes practice to achieve an edible result. Once "right", however, it's actually delicious.
Taita said:
Good topic, I'm looking for cheap ways of feeding myself at the minute too.
Only thing is my diet is limited to tuna / chicken / veg / pasta
Easy...pasta bake, veggie lasagne - can you/do you do cheese? Only thing is my diet is limited to tuna / chicken / veg / pasta
For pasta bake, cook off some chicken.
Put some butter/oil in a small pan, add flour to it to make a paste, whisk in about half or three quarters of a pint of milk, chuck in some bay leaf and/or mixed herbs and keep stirring until you get a sauce (what I actually do is heat the milk and sprinkle and whisk the flour in but I use soya and I'm not sure if normal milk will go lumpy this way?. Add cheese to the sauce if you like.
Part cook the pasta (about 5 minutes) then combine all of the above together in a lasagne type dish grate more cheese on top and bung it all in the oven for a while....loverly
I don't really do veg but you can add veg to the above as well.
Piglet said:
Taita said:
Good topic, I'm looking for cheap ways of feeding myself at the minute too.
Only thing is my diet is limited to tuna / chicken / veg / pasta
Easy...pasta bake, veggie lasagne - can you/do you do cheese? Only thing is my diet is limited to tuna / chicken / veg / pasta
For pasta bake, cook off some chicken.
Put some butter/oil in a small pan, add flour to it to make a paste, whisk in about half or three quarters of a pint of milk, chuck in some bay leaf and/or mixed herbs and keep stirring until you get a sauce (what I actually do is heat the milk and sprinkle and whisk the flour in but I use soya and I'm not sure if normal milk will go lumpy this way?. Add cheese to the sauce if you like.
Part cook the pasta (about 5 minutes) then combine all of the above together in a lasagne type dish grate more cheese on top and bung it all in the oven for a while....loverly
I don't really do veg but you can add veg to the above as well.
. On a bit of a weighlifting related diet atm, but ways of bringing the cost down are always appreciated 
That sounds FantasticFor "frugal" cooking look at the Vegetarian Cookery books by Rose Elliot, lots of beans and pulses and as it's non meat it's pretty cheap. Then add meat as and when you want.
As a money saving tip if you're cooking mince use porridge oats and/or red lentils to bulk out the meat - cuts costs, adds fibre and reduces the amount of red meat you eat which isn't a bad thing. They both disappear into the sauce and I find adding porridge makes the sauce nice and thick without adding extra flour. Good for anyone who is wheat free.
As a money saving tip if you're cooking mince use porridge oats and/or red lentils to bulk out the meat - cuts costs, adds fibre and reduces the amount of red meat you eat which isn't a bad thing. They both disappear into the sauce and I find adding porridge makes the sauce nice and thick without adding extra flour. Good for anyone who is wheat free.
Onion bhajis (recipe previously posted) and samosas make a good snackette if not main meal depending on how many you eat.
Samosas are suprisingly simple.
Filo pastry, frozen mized veg - cook it up with tumeric, garam massala, coriander, cumin and chilli powder, spoon a bit into a strip of filo, fold fold fold, deep fry.
Samosas are suprisingly simple.
Filo pastry, frozen mized veg - cook it up with tumeric, garam massala, coriander, cumin and chilli powder, spoon a bit into a strip of filo, fold fold fold, deep fry.
Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino. First discovered whilst working on a ship. Nothing more than spaghetti, olive oil, garlic and peperoncino peppers (I use bird eye if I can't find em).
Seriously simple, cooks in a few minutes, and is my favourite dish ever despite not being in anyway fancy. Done properly it's incredible.
I'm fairly sure that the cost per portion is no more than about 20p if done on the cheap, factor in a nice garlic ciabatta and a really nice lump of mature parmesan and you're still well under budget.
Seriously simple, cooks in a few minutes, and is my favourite dish ever despite not being in anyway fancy. Done properly it's incredible.
I'm fairly sure that the cost per portion is no more than about 20p if done on the cheap, factor in a nice garlic ciabatta and a really nice lump of mature parmesan and you're still well under budget.
This thread makes me hungry.
My addition:
Potato cakes/hash browns: Grate a potato into thick slices, press out some of the water, mix in a bowl with a egg to stick to together, pull out the sticky mix and shape into circle/triangle, throw in a frying pan, job done.
I did have a serving suggestion with the potato cake, but can't remember it, it had a poached egg on top, and some spinach too.
My addition:
Potato cakes/hash browns: Grate a potato into thick slices, press out some of the water, mix in a bowl with a egg to stick to together, pull out the sticky mix and shape into circle/triangle, throw in a frying pan, job done.
I did have a serving suggestion with the potato cake, but can't remember it, it had a poached egg on top, and some spinach too.
bint said:
Chicken Rogan josh curry tonight using chicken breast, carrots, onions, peas pastes and some long grain rice.
Sufficient for 4 meals - got to be less than £2.50 each..
rubbish !! Sufficient for 4 meals - got to be less than £2.50 each..
Chicken Curry, made with the left overs from Sunday because I bought a LARGE chicken for £5 instead of a medium one for £3.70 - call that £1.30
Rice - not cheap value stuff - about 60p
Nan bread I bought on an end of day offer at 10p and frooze - 2 lots - 20p
Garlic - I grew it FREE
Chilli's - Dave at work grew them - Free
Tin of Tomatoes - value -- 25p
And various spices from the cupboard - call it 10p cause I buy in bulk on visits to Birmingham.
So that's £2.35 for a family of 4.
Call it £60p each.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff