What are you cheapest, family-friendly meals?

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Am on a tight budget for the next couple of weeks. 3 adults and a 10yo.

No-one is particularly fussy but I'm am trying to eat low calorie and lose those pesky Christmas pounds. I shop at Aldi normally and am spending about £100 a week at the moment.

pinchofnom.com/recipes/campfire-stew/

This campfire stew uses mainly tinned ingredients plus few cheap vegetables (carrot, onion, I use frozen peppers). The recipe has a piece of gammon in but you could leave that out to save money - it would have plenty of protein from the beans and mushrooms.

It makes at least 6 portions and is very filling. We like it with rice or mashed potato.

Carrot and red lentil soup with crispy bacon cubes on top and swirl of cream, and some garlic bread. There was a long thread here about garlic bread and it has ignited a craving for the damn thing.

Toss chicken drumsticks and any vegetables you have at hand, chopped in largeish chunks, with a bit of oil, balsamic vinegar and salt, in the oven for 40ish min. Fab with salad or any carby thing, wraps, rice, pasta, whatever.

Mushrooms in any way imaginable; chop and saute with garlic, heap on toast with poached/fried egg? Saute with bacon and add a dash of cream or cream cheese and have with whatever is at hand?

Fry chopped chorizo with loads of onion, add any beans in water/tins what you have, tin of chopped tomatoes - have on its own of chunk of bread.

Eggs in whichever way, love eggs. Boil, mix with mayo, add flaked smoked mackerel, have on toast?

Pesto pasta
Baked potatoes with tuna and sweetcorn
Vegetarian Chilli

Spicy sausage pasta:

Aldi low fat sausages
Pasta
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Assorted veg (recommend red onion, carrots and 2 peppers)
Couple of garlic cloves (chopped or crushed)
Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Chilli flakes
Splash of olive oil

De-skin the sausages and chop the veg
Heat the oil in the pan, add the veg and sausages. Breakdown the sausages into small pieces, cook sausage and veg for about 10 mins.
Add in the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 2 mins
Add in the chopped tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 15-20 mins.
Cook pasta in a separate pan, drain and combine with sauce.

Everything available at Aldi, can be scaled up or down depending on how many people you are feeding. Also good for using up leftover veg.

Chilli made with kidney beans and veg

Spanish tortilla, so plenty of chopped up boiled potatoes and veg. A little chorizo chopped up, you could use ham or bacon instead if you want meat.

Basically use far less meat and eat more beans, pulses and lentils for protein.

Fajitas
Wraps with those chicken strips in Iceland (so many flavours)
Chilli con carne
Roast dinner
Ham egg chips
Fish chips mushy peas
Pizza with homemade wedges
Curry with rice and chips
Jacket potatoes with cheese and salad

Cooking Bacon!!! Jack Monroe's brie and bacon rissotto but with only 50g bacon, but added 100g peas and 100g mushrooms per person
Tomato pasta with cooking bacon.

Jack Monroe's salmon paste pasta

Bean burgers imohub.org.uk/quick-and-delicious-budget-recipes-carrot-cumin-and-kidney-bean-burgers/
Chilli www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chilli_con_carne_with_75631
Tuna pasta www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/linguinewithtunafish_70041
Egg fried rice www.greengiant.eu/sweet-corn-fried-rice/
Cheesey bread pudding www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/savoury-cheese-pudding/

I posted this on another thread yesterday
Cauliflower and chick pea curry is always really cheap.
Tuna pasta bake
Tuna fish cakes
Fritata
Pasta arabiata
Pasta with blue cheese, red onion and mushrooms
Home made falafel in pitas
Toad in the hole
Sausage casserole.

If you have a big enough freezer, keep bread, pitas etc in there to reduce waste.
We had a piece of gammon yesterday. We served as a roast and have so much left, will do sandwiches and probably will slice with a pineapple and chilli salsa and then in a pasta bake. I’m sure that it was less than a fiver.
Use seasonal veg. Avoid pre-prepped fresh veg as it’s more expensive and doesn’t last as long. Frozen veg is obviously fine.
Plan your meals to reduce wastage. E.g if you use half a packet of sausages in one meal make sure you know how you will use the rest.
Use strong flavouring in smaller amounts to give flavour but keep costs down, things like bacon, chorizo and strong cheeses.

Thank you some brilliant ideas on here. Loving the look of the savoury bread and butter pudding 🙃