Discussion
Also, you do your massive bargain bolognese and freeze it but you get bored after a few days - just add some cumin powder, chilli powder, kidney beans (and whatever else you fancy) and there's your con carne. Just to mix it up.
Also another popular one on here - the trusty fish finger sandwich.
Pasta and cheese - grate a little cheese, add to pasta with just a bit of butter and it's surprisingly nice. Un-bland it with whatever you want.
Can't go wrong with baked potatoes. A good addition I find is steam a load of cut up leeks, broccoli, carrots, spinach leaves, whatever, add to a cheese sauce, make a load and freeze and you've got a constant source of goodness to go with just about anything. And a good way to get kids eating veg. I leave a bit of steak before I leave my cheesy veg!
Home made soup always a healthy long-term bargain.
Also another popular one on here - the trusty fish finger sandwich.
Pasta and cheese - grate a little cheese, add to pasta with just a bit of butter and it's surprisingly nice. Un-bland it with whatever you want.
Can't go wrong with baked potatoes. A good addition I find is steam a load of cut up leeks, broccoli, carrots, spinach leaves, whatever, add to a cheese sauce, make a load and freeze and you've got a constant source of goodness to go with just about anything. And a good way to get kids eating veg. I leave a bit of steak before I leave my cheesy veg!
Home made soup always a healthy long-term bargain.
Wander out to the garden, pick a courgette, aubergine, a couple of onions, handful of tomatoes, a cauliflower, and a couple of peppers, including a red chilli. Chop the lot, Lob it into the pan with some curry powder. Serve with chipped potatoes (from the garden) and home-made nan bread. Job done for almost nothing.
The next suggestion is to increase the size of your sunday roast and use leftovers for other meals.
Buy a whole turkey instead of a chicken and you can then do a curry and have meat left over for sandwiches etc Use the carcass for stock and you just have to add some veg and make a really tasty soup.
Get bigger joint of beef and use leftovers for stovies.
Paella, risotta, couscous etc are all cheap and easy and can be very tasty with simple, cheap ingredients.
Baked spuds are a good call, don't go and buy a bag of 4 washed spuds from tescos though, go to a farm shop and buy a big sack of them, the cost per unit is probably 70% lower and if you store them in a cool dry place they'll last for months.
Same with eggs, buy in bulk. They last for ages.
All your grains and even dry pasta can be bought en-masse from makro/costco, again big savings can be had per meal.
And you could always resort to roadkill...
Getting an airgun is a good idea if you live in a rural location. Rabbits and wood pigeon are stupid and easy to hunt. Both very tasty. Buy a spring-powered .177 calibre airgun and a simple scope (4x40 is quite sufficient). With a few hours practice with paper cans you should be able to knock over bugs bunny at 25 yards. Might cost you £150 but it will last for years. Pellets are £3 or £4/500.
I fed myself for 5 years at uni on sacks of spuds, big strings of onions, a tin of bisto and woodies/rabbits. At least twice a week I'd do something like that and, surpringly, never got tired of it. Difficult to get variation but rabbit makes a good curry.
Buy a whole turkey instead of a chicken and you can then do a curry and have meat left over for sandwiches etc Use the carcass for stock and you just have to add some veg and make a really tasty soup.
Get bigger joint of beef and use leftovers for stovies.
Paella, risotta, couscous etc are all cheap and easy and can be very tasty with simple, cheap ingredients.
Baked spuds are a good call, don't go and buy a bag of 4 washed spuds from tescos though, go to a farm shop and buy a big sack of them, the cost per unit is probably 70% lower and if you store them in a cool dry place they'll last for months.
Same with eggs, buy in bulk. They last for ages.
All your grains and even dry pasta can be bought en-masse from makro/costco, again big savings can be had per meal.
And you could always resort to roadkill...
Getting an airgun is a good idea if you live in a rural location. Rabbits and wood pigeon are stupid and easy to hunt. Both very tasty. Buy a spring-powered .177 calibre airgun and a simple scope (4x40 is quite sufficient). With a few hours practice with paper cans you should be able to knock over bugs bunny at 25 yards. Might cost you £150 but it will last for years. Pellets are £3 or £4/500.
I fed myself for 5 years at uni on sacks of spuds, big strings of onions, a tin of bisto and woodies/rabbits. At least twice a week I'd do something like that and, surpringly, never got tired of it. Difficult to get variation but rabbit makes a good curry.
Edited by Lefty Guns on Wednesday 22 July 08:17
If there is deals going at the supermarket on for store cupboard items you use (and you are in the car), stock up!
I often take my mountain bike if I just need some bits and pieces, as the nearest store is around a 6 mile round trip, keeps me fit and have some fun on some off road trails, saves probably 1 litre of fuel compared to if I took the car, so a pound, and I can have a beer as reward while cooking
I often take my mountain bike if I just need some bits and pieces, as the nearest store is around a 6 mile round trip, keeps me fit and have some fun on some off road trails, saves probably 1 litre of fuel compared to if I took the car, so a pound, and I can have a beer as reward while cooking
Mobile Chicane said:
loltolhurst said:
Mobile Chicane said:
- Pay attention to the cheapest cooking methods (my steamer and slow cooker paid for themselves within a month)
- Grow things that are otherwise expensive to buy, like fresh herbs and chillies
does slow cooking cheap pieces of meat cost more in elec/gas than cooking quicker expensive pieces of meat?- Grow things that are otherwise expensive to buy, like fresh herbs and chillies
ETA: My domestic electricity consumption reduced from £50 a month to £25 a month, purely by switching to a slow cooker and steamer.
Having fresh herbs to hand is great too! My chillies are really taking their time to grow after the initial few. Need to do some more research...
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff