Under £2.50 meals to feed a couple?
Discussion
bint said:
Mr POD said:
bint beating curry recipe
Fair enough, can't argue with that!Anyone get it any cheaper? Grow your own chicken maybe?
Tomorrow we are on califlower (£1.30) and potatoe (60p) cheese. I'm guessing the costs for value cheese £1.20 and the milk 50p and value flour 10p for the cheese sauce push this to £3.70 for 4.
Friday ? I really really fancy steak. I'm thinking £12 for the meat and another £4 for everything that goes with it. £4 a head ? But half the price of a badly made takeaway.
I think Rude-Girl mentioned pizza already, I love homemade pizza and it's quick, cheap and cheerful.
We keep a block of mozerella in the freezer (the hard stuff not the soggy stuff - I know that's a debate on its own though) and just grate it from frozen as we need it. Make the dough (pence), make a tomato sauce (value tomatoes c. 25p - get the whole ones rather than the floor sweepings though!), add toppings and bake in a hot hot hot oven.
We keep stuff for toppings in the freezer, Asda do little lunch type packs of pepperoni etc. which can be frozen, otherwise split meat into one serving portions and freeze it.
We keep a block of mozerella in the freezer (the hard stuff not the soggy stuff - I know that's a debate on its own though
) and just grate it from frozen as we need it. Make the dough (pence), make a tomato sauce (value tomatoes c. 25p - get the whole ones rather than the floor sweepings though!), add toppings and bake in a hot hot hot oven. We keep stuff for toppings in the freezer, Asda do little lunch type packs of pepperoni etc. which can be frozen, otherwise split meat into one serving portions and freeze it.
Really, really cheap! This is what I'll eat if I ever end up properly skint, and its still half decent:
Fry Onion (10p), clove garlic(5p), tin chopped tomato (33p), dash of hot paprika (2p), half a pepper (20p), some chopped black olives (10p), squeeze of ketchup to richen (1p!)... fry onion, garlic, pepper then add olives & paprika fry until blackening slightly in pan then add toms & ketchup. Reduce.
Add either of the following to the base sauce:
Chopped chorizo (doesn't need much as strong tasting but delicious) 70p
Tin tuna 70p
1/4lb mince beef 50-100p depending on type
1/8lb Diced chicken 100p
Pasta 20-60p depending on type
So a few varations.... and could easily drop some ingredients to make cheaper such as the olives & peppers and opt for cheaper meat & pasta. Anything from 121p-242p and reasonably healthy to boot.
Fry Onion (10p), clove garlic(5p), tin chopped tomato (33p), dash of hot paprika (2p), half a pepper (20p), some chopped black olives (10p), squeeze of ketchup to richen (1p!)... fry onion, garlic, pepper then add olives & paprika fry until blackening slightly in pan then add toms & ketchup. Reduce.
Add either of the following to the base sauce:
Chopped chorizo (doesn't need much as strong tasting but delicious) 70p
Tin tuna 70p
1/4lb mince beef 50-100p depending on type
1/8lb Diced chicken 100p
Pasta 20-60p depending on type
So a few varations.... and could easily drop some ingredients to make cheaper such as the olives & peppers and opt for cheaper meat & pasta. Anything from 121p-242p and reasonably healthy to boot.
Plotloss said:
8 sausages between 4?
I never had you down as Vietnamese.
They are not little chipolattas ! But I'll still have to pad it out with extra veg and yorkshire puds. (2 value eggs, 6 oz of value flour and 10 fl oz of milk - it's the old 1,3,5 recipe, use it for pancakes, and toad in the hole too) I never had you down as Vietnamese.
Plotloss said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Does doesnt it?Lush, in fact.
I'm all over that.
WARNING: It is possible to produce an indedible version of this dish. I do all the judging of the depth of potato, amount of lamb strips, stock to add and so on by eye and it comes out fine every time...now.
The key things are: the lamb must have crisped right up. Anything less is greasy and not very pleasant. The potatoes MUST be done right through.
If there is too much oil floating around the potatoes pour it off.
It IS quite an oily dish so something that isn't (mashed swede and carrot) is important with it.
And a bottle of quite acidic, powerful red wine. Mmm.
And now for something really cheap and nutritious. Probably not to everyone's taste though.
I give you my staple diet whilst at uni, though you also need to add in several pints which would take it over budget.
I give you pilchard curry.
Take a large tin of pilchards, a tin of value toms, a large onion and assorted curry making spices.
Fry teh onion in a little oil until translucent. Through in the spices and stir for a minute.
Add the pilchards and toms and allow to simmer whilst you cook some rice.
Gives 4 to 6 portions for about £2.
I give you my staple diet whilst at uni, though you also need to add in several pints which would take it over budget.
I give you pilchard curry.
Take a large tin of pilchards, a tin of value toms, a large onion and assorted curry making spices.
Fry teh onion in a little oil until translucent. Through in the spices and stir for a minute.
Add the pilchards and toms and allow to simmer whilst you cook some rice.
Gives 4 to 6 portions for about £2.
Some budget ideas:
Do a 'storecupboard challenge' - you probably have lots of things lurking in your cupboards and freezer that could make a decent meal. If you go to the BBC recipe website, in their search box you can type in 3 ingredients and it will throw up recipes for you.
Oriental stir fries - on a budget you can just chop up (very finely) lots of veg, ginger and a bit of garlic, fry in a very hot wok, or large frying pan will suffice, well covered but not dripping in oil. Add any of the following flavourings, but do so once the veg is almost cooked as liquids steam rather than fry the veg. Again, use what's in your cupboards and combine flavours you like
Value noodles - you can buy instant noodles for 8p a pack in Asda, or own brand ones for about 20p in any other supermarket. The sachets of flavouring are actually nicer than the more expensive ones as they have less crap in them. I make a hefty noodle soup by bulking out with veg and fried off chicken/prawns/whatever.
Cheap cuts of meat - pork belly is delicious, lots of recipes available, and if you go to a decent butcher they can recommend cheaper cuts & probably ways to cook them.
I had to do a real economy drive last year and it's amazing how inventive my cooking became as a result, so often by default now the meals I make can cost peanuts. Once you learn to make things out of what seems to be an empty fridge or larder you stop going to the shop to buy 'meal-specific' ingredients, which is what ends up being the most costly IMO.
Do a 'storecupboard challenge' - you probably have lots of things lurking in your cupboards and freezer that could make a decent meal. If you go to the BBC recipe website, in their search box you can type in 3 ingredients and it will throw up recipes for you.
Oriental stir fries - on a budget you can just chop up (very finely) lots of veg, ginger and a bit of garlic, fry in a very hot wok, or large frying pan will suffice, well covered but not dripping in oil. Add any of the following flavourings, but do so once the veg is almost cooked as liquids steam rather than fry the veg. Again, use what's in your cupboards and combine flavours you like
- Soy sauce
- Lemon or lime juice
- Chilli
- Honey
- Sweet chilli dressing
- Coriander or other herbs, lemongrass is nice
- Sometimes I chuck in sesame seeds or cashew nuts for a bit of crunch
Value noodles - you can buy instant noodles for 8p a pack in Asda, or own brand ones for about 20p in any other supermarket. The sachets of flavouring are actually nicer than the more expensive ones as they have less crap in them. I make a hefty noodle soup by bulking out with veg and fried off chicken/prawns/whatever.
Cheap cuts of meat - pork belly is delicious, lots of recipes available, and if you go to a decent butcher they can recommend cheaper cuts & probably ways to cook them.
I had to do a real economy drive last year and it's amazing how inventive my cooking became as a result, so often by default now the meals I make can cost peanuts. Once you learn to make things out of what seems to be an empty fridge or larder you stop going to the shop to buy 'meal-specific' ingredients, which is what ends up being the most costly IMO.
spikeyhead said:
And now for something really cheap and nutritious. Probably not to everyone's taste though.
I give you my staple diet whilst at uni, though you also need to add in several pints which would take it over budget.
I give you pilchard curry.
Take a large tin of pilchards, a tin of value toms, a large onion and assorted curry making spices.
Fry teh onion in a little oil until translucent. Through in the spices and stir for a minute.
Add the pilchards and toms and allow to simmer whilst you cook some rice.
Gives 4 to 6 portions for about £2.
Now if we're talking student cuisine.I give you my staple diet whilst at uni, though you also need to add in several pints which would take it over budget.
I give you pilchard curry.
Take a large tin of pilchards, a tin of value toms, a large onion and assorted curry making spices.
Fry teh onion in a little oil until translucent. Through in the spices and stir for a minute.
Add the pilchards and toms and allow to simmer whilst you cook some rice.
Gives 4 to 6 portions for about £2.
When you've spent all your money on bad drugs and worse scotch and havent eaten since the kebab the night before, I give you.
Tuna, onion and sweetcorn curry, with noodles.
I will never reconcile the events of that evening, never.
Some brilliant posts in this thread. Can't go wrong.
Personally, I'd take the weekly average view.
Have a 2-3 truly cheap meals a week. Jacket spuds, pasta & cheap sauce, even beans on toast, -cheapy cheap. Sounds depressing but you won't notice it too much during a busy week. Then you can afford to spend a bit more on Friday night/weekend.
Plus the secret of cheap but tasty cooking is to accumulate all those little ingredients which last for ages but add great flavour, -spices, stock cubes, mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, having a lemon in the fridge etc. Also, make an effort to leave an inch of wine in the bottle for making sauces etc.
Personally, I'd take the weekly average view.
Have a 2-3 truly cheap meals a week. Jacket spuds, pasta & cheap sauce, even beans on toast, -cheapy cheap. Sounds depressing but you won't notice it too much during a busy week. Then you can afford to spend a bit more on Friday night/weekend.
Plus the secret of cheap but tasty cooking is to accumulate all those little ingredients which last for ages but add great flavour, -spices, stock cubes, mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, having a lemon in the fridge etc. Also, make an effort to leave an inch of wine in the bottle for making sauces etc.
Edited by captainzep on Wednesday 12th November 22:35
Mr POD said:
Plotloss said:
8 sausages between 4?
I never had you down as Vietnamese.
They are not little chipolattas ! But I'll still have to pad it out with extra veg and yorkshire puds. (2 value eggs, 6 oz of value flour and 10 fl oz of milk - it's the old 1,3,5 recipe, use it for pancakes, and toad in the hole too) I never had you down as Vietnamese.
Ruined my day to be honest.
Have a go at growing some of your own fruit/veggies/herbs!
I live in a flat with NO outside space, but fancied trying trying to grow my own herbs (the legal kind ), so I stuck a couple of pots on the window sill and got a crop of basil, parsley and chives. OH's mum heard that we'd liked the idea of growing our own, so she gave us a couple of tomato plants... Stuck 'em in the spare room against the window and they've been great!! Feed them a litre of water and Tomorite mix every other day, and they've given us well over 60 tomatoes since may!
We've just stuck a garlic clove in a pot as well - by the sounds of it, it's got to be one the easiest things to grow! Buy a garlic bulb, take of the biggest clove and put it pointy-end-up an inch under some moist soil and give it till spring! Once you've got your toms, basil and garlic, you can tackle most Italian recipes at very little cost. We made some awesome homemade pizzas for just a couple of pence
I live in a flat with NO outside space, but fancied trying trying to grow my own herbs (the legal kind
), so I stuck a couple of pots on the window sill and got a crop of basil, parsley and chives. OH's mum heard that we'd liked the idea of growing our own, so she gave us a couple of tomato plants... Stuck 'em in the spare room against the window and they've been great!! Feed them a litre of water and Tomorite mix every other day, and they've given us well over 60 tomatoes since may!We've just stuck a garlic clove in a pot as well - by the sounds of it, it's got to be one the easiest things to grow! Buy a garlic bulb, take of the biggest clove and put it pointy-end-up an inch under some moist soil and give it till spring! Once you've got your toms, basil and garlic, you can tackle most Italian recipes at very little cost. We made some awesome homemade pizzas for just a couple of pence
I make this all the time, its very cheap, very easy and tasty.
Get a big pan, stick some oil in, get it all hot. Chop up some onion and stick it in, chuck some curry powder over the top. You can use anything similar, have used chilli powder before, imagine oxo cube would be quite nice. You could skip this, including the onion. I used picked onions chopped up the other day and it was ok! Can chop up and stick in peppers and whatnot.
Cut up some bacon into small bits and chuck it in till it fries. This can be substituted for chicken or something. The other day there was a pack of salami, parma ham and crap like that that needed using, so I cut them up and chucked them in instead, turned out pretty nice.
Once the bacon has fried, lob in a can or two of chopped tomatoes, roughly one-two cans per person depending on hunger. Let it heat up for a minute or two.
Then chuck in some dry pasta, don't cook it or fart about with it, just put it in. Then cover pan and leave it to cook, stirring occasionally. The water from tomatoes will cause the pasta to soften. When the pasta is al dente enough for you, stick it on a plate and serve. If its too watery, stick a bit of flour in there, if its too thick, stick a bit of water in. Shouldn't need to drain any off. The sauce sticks to the pasta really nicely.
This is probably one of the cheapest recipies going. Tesco value everything.
Get a big pan, stick some oil in, get it all hot. Chop up some onion and stick it in, chuck some curry powder over the top. You can use anything similar, have used chilli powder before, imagine oxo cube would be quite nice. You could skip this, including the onion. I used picked onions chopped up the other day and it was ok! Can chop up and stick in peppers and whatnot.
Cut up some bacon into small bits and chuck it in till it fries. This can be substituted for chicken or something. The other day there was a pack of salami, parma ham and crap like that that needed using, so I cut them up and chucked them in instead, turned out pretty nice.
Once the bacon has fried, lob in a can or two of chopped tomatoes, roughly one-two cans per person depending on hunger. Let it heat up for a minute or two.
Then chuck in some dry pasta, don't cook it or fart about with it, just put it in. Then cover pan and leave it to cook, stirring occasionally. The water from tomatoes will cause the pasta to soften. When the pasta is al dente enough for you, stick it on a plate and serve. If its too watery, stick a bit of flour in there, if its too thick, stick a bit of water in. Shouldn't need to drain any off. The sauce sticks to the pasta really nicely.
This is probably one of the cheapest recipies going. Tesco value everything.
Don said:
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.
I was trying to think of something to cook last night when for some reason this thread popped into my head and I remembered how good this sounded. So wanting something 'wintery' I went ahead and made it.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.
The lamb breast we used didn't have bones in it (Sainsburys was the only place open at half 4 on Sunday!) and I went for brocolli instead of mashed swede and carrot (because that's what I had in the fridge) but I've got to say the recipe worked well, I was a bit worried about messing it up and having to resort to a tube of Pringles for tea...
I put it in the oven at 180 from about half six until 5 to Top Gear, which seemed about the right amount of time. The stock disappeared, cooking the potatoes beautifully, and leaving them to be roasted in the lamb fat. The bits of stuffing that were left lying around were a bonus as well! The lamb was great, although I hate to think how unhealthy the whole meal was...never mind though, tasted brilliant!
Some pics - taken with my iPhone unfortunately so terrible quality but you get the idea (and it tasted better than it looked!)
Before:
After:
Thanks for the recipe
Well, taking the challenge from the point of view that i have £2.50 in my pocket, and nothing else but a couple of saucepans and a tap....
Tesco value cooking bacon, tesco value spagetti, tesco double cream, one tin smartprice peas. Probably have enough pennies left to pick up some smartprice pepper to season, or you could just go into a Wetherspoons and 'liberate' some condiments.
Comes to under £2.50. Boil pasta and drain, chop bacon into small bits and fry. Add the peas, turn heat to low, add cream, add pasta.
Ive taken this far too seriously havent I?
Tesco value cooking bacon, tesco value spagetti, tesco double cream, one tin smartprice peas. Probably have enough pennies left to pick up some smartprice pepper to season, or you could just go into a Wetherspoons and 'liberate' some condiments.
Comes to under £2.50. Boil pasta and drain, chop bacon into small bits and fry. Add the peas, turn heat to low, add cream, add pasta.
Ive taken this far too seriously havent I?
Don said:
ad551 said:
Thanks for the recipe
You are very welcome. Would you believe I made it last night too!Yours looks exactly right.
It's a filthy, dirty pleasure. Not exactly slimming food. But tasty...oh yes...
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