Budget recipe thread

[Quackpot]

Given so many people are concerned about the energy price hike, and contemplating heating or eating, I thought a budget meal ideas thread would be helpful. If we could add rough costings too. Might help us all through the rough patches.

My contribution is spaghetti carbonara.
Feed 4 for £5.54 with some food left towards next meal:

Spaghetti: 29p
Parmigianino reggiano: £2.75
6 free range eggs: £1
Bacon: £1.50

Parmesan will freeze so it doesn't get wasted, and can be grated from the freezer as needed.
The left over eggs and bacon can be used with the next meal, maybe omlette.

Here is the recipe I use, though it's for 2 so you need to double it for 4.

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/easy-carbonara/

The thing I like most about carbonara is that it's so quick and easy, therefore cooking costs are minimal too.

Stuffed peppers and garlic bred.

Pack of bell peppers (89pTesco)
Pack of Lincolnshire pork sausages (£1.79 I think)
Garlic baguette 32p
Parsley from the garden

Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seedy bit. Strip the skins off the sausage meat, put it in a bowl and mix with chopped parsley & black pepper.
Stuff the peppers with the meat mix. Put the tops back on. Put in dish in 170 degree oven for 45 mins.
Put the garlic bread beside it for the last 15 mins.

£3 for three people. Quick, dead easy, herby meat, caramelised peppers and garlicky butter.

@MintJulia

Stuffed peppers and garlic bred.

Pack of bell peppers (89pTesco)
Pack of Lincolnshire pork sausages (£1.79 I think)
Garlic baguette 32p
Parsley from the garden

Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seedy bit. Strip the skins off the sausage meat, put it in a bowl and mix with chopped parsley & black pepper.
Stuff the peppers with the meat mix. Put the tops back on. Put in dish in 170 degree oven for 45 mins.
Put the garlic bread beside it for the last 15 mins.

£3 for three people. Quick, dead easy, herby meat, caramelised peppers and garlicky butter.

Ooohh yummy. I've never thought to use sausage in them before 🤤

If you have a slow cooker, use it, likewise air fryer. Investigate ways of cooking instead of main oven.

Dhal costs pennies to make and is really nice with basmati rice. You can add spinach. I use Gymkhana's recipe, you have to register to see it, or it might be available elsewhere on the internet.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-to-cook-britains-best-indian-food-at-home-qpz0llqb5

On a similar theme to the OP, Nigella's marmite spaghetti is lovely. Pasta Putanesca is the original cheap tasty staple and can be made entirely from dried/canned/bottled ingredients (tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, spaghetti).

Nothing wrong with omelettes (try adding tinned potatoes) or eggs, beans or tomatoes on toast as a light meal.

If you have a freezer, microwave and a bit of space and spare money, put these to good use in batch cooking, avoiding waste, buying when on offer etc etc.

Spices don't have to be expensive, larger packets of Asian brands and frozen prepared garlic and ginger are available in most supermarkets at a fraction of the cost of Schwartz jars etc. You could buy a basic selection that could last for months for under £10 that would allow you to cook a huge selection of mainly vegetable and pulse based curries for very little.

I could add loads more but the main thing is that it really is worthwhile being able to cook, as this is key in being able to feed yourself well on a budget, so really is worth prioritising and getting the whole family involved in.

I’m crap at costing things out but I’ve just made a sausage pasta bake.
Reduced price sausages and Aldi peppers and bottom of the fridge veg. Roasted all together and then cut up the sausages in slices. Jar of tomato sauce and some frozen peas added.
Pasta mix all together and grate a bit of cheese on top. Makes a huge pasta bake with just 6 sausages.
Could add garlic bread if large family or wanted to make it go further.
For cheap meals go for old school favourites like shepherds pie or pasta bakes.
Big bags of potatoes are good if you can get them you can make your own wedges as well.
I also make my own pasties with mince and a few cooked veg and make pastry. You can make one massive long pasty and have it with mash and beans to serve a family.
Quick and cheap basic fairy cakes with a bit of icing drizzled on top are good for puddings you make lots for the outlay of flour, cooking marg and eggs. I don’t use butter.

Egg and Lentil curry. www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/curries/egg-and-lentil-curry-with-coconut-and-pickled-lime

@BarbaraofSeville

If you have a slow cooker, use it, likewise air fryer. Investigate ways of cooking instead of main oven.

Dhal costs pennies to make and is really nice with basmati rice. You can add spinach. I use Gymkhana's recipe, you have to register to see it, or it might be available elsewhere on the internet.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-to-cook-britains-best-indian-food-at-home-qpz0llqb5

On a similar theme to the OP, Nigella's marmite spaghetti is lovely. Pasta Putanesca is the original cheap tasty staple and can be made entirely from dried/canned/bottled ingredients (tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, spaghetti).

Nothing wrong with omelettes (try adding tinned potatoes) or eggs, beans or tomatoes on toast as a light meal.

If you have a freezer, microwave and a bit of space and spare money, put these to good use in batch cooking, avoiding waste, buying when on offer etc etc.

Spices don't have to be expensive, larger packets of Asian brands and frozen prepared garlic and ginger are available in most supermarkets at a fraction of the cost of Schwartz jars etc. You could buy a basic selection that could last for months for under £10 that would allow you to cook a huge selection of mainly vegetable and pulse based curries for very little.

I could add loads more but the main thing is that it really is worthwhile being able to cook, as this is key in being able to feed yourself well on a budget, so really is worth prioritising and getting the whole family involved in.

Unfortunately the recipe is behind the pay wall, do you have a screen shot please?

Spaghetti arabiata
Tuna, sweet corn and chilli fish cakes
Root vegetable casserole.
Cauliflower cheese
Sausage pasta bake

Unfortunately the recipe is behind the pay wall, do you have a screen shot please

I can't do that because it breaks copyright and MN are likely to delete the post.

If you register on the Times website, you can read one article a week for free. Or the recipe may be available elsewhere on the internet, or a similar one.

There are millions of Dal recipes out there, I like that one for its simplicity and because it's the nearest I've found to that from Bundobust, an Indian Street food bar I like. So I just make it at home in batches for the freezer and have something more complicated that I can't easily replicate when I go there.

I made this from the sainsburys magazine a few weeks ago and we have had it every week since.

Lentil, tomato and coconut curry

Potatoes, about 3 big ones chopped into bite size pieces
1 tin of tomatoes
About 200g red lentils
Chicken or vegetable stock
Curry spices - you can use curry powder on its own or a mixture, literally whatever you have
1 onion and a couple of cloves of garlic
Coconut milk or I recently discovered the powdered coconut milk - a big box lasts ages

Chop and fry the onion, add the spices, tomatoes, lentils, stock and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes and lentils are cooked, about 20-30 mins. Then add the coconut milk or powder.

Once you have a big bag of lentils and the spices in you can make it over and over again just by getting the vegetables when you need them.

The other thing we have once a week which has helped bring our food bill down is home made pizza.

The dough is just strong white flour and water, topped with passata which is cheap as chips and the cheapest mozzarella which is about 45p. We add pepperoni to the kids ones and I like anchovies and olives but the basic pizza is very cheap to make.

This is a great recipe for lentil ragu:

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lentil-ragu/amp

I'm not great at figuring out the costings, but you could certainly buy all the ingredients for

www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2013/10/spinach-and-coconut-dal.html?m=1

This is my favourite easy dal to serve 4/6 (4 dinner, 6lunches).
Red lentils about £1
Coconut milk £1 from world foods aisle
Spices/stock - from the cupboard
Frozen spinach optional but about 10p from a big bag

Serve with rice/naan and pickles/chutney
It’s nice with a 50p tin of chickpeas added, or fried paneer on top (£1.50), or chunks of roasted squash/sweet potato (50p)

About £1-£2 a dinner depending on exactly what you serve it with.

These sound lovely
I fry off onion and smoked paprika, add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes then 15 minutes before serving I add butter beans and kidney beans or whatever beans I have in the cupboard and a whatever stock cube I have
If I'm flush ill add some chopped sausages to the mix
Serve in a bowl with bread and butter

@MandyCarter

These sound lovely I fry off onion and smoked paprika, add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes then 15 minutes before serving I add butter beans and kidney beans or whatever beans I have in the cupboard and a whatever stock cube I have If I'm flush ill add some chopped sausages to the mix Serve in a bowl with bread and butter

I'm gonna do this for tomorrows dinner. It's great seeing what other people eat. Sometimes I feel we just eat the same stuff over and over.

We make this a lot www.theguardian.com/food/2018/dec/29/koshari-egyptian-rice-lentils-tomato-sauce-and-onion-recipe-vegan-meera-sodha

It costs under £1.50 in total to make, is surprisingly delicious and very filling.

Chinese rice-

Onion
Pepper
Mushrooms
Courgette
Garlic
Rice
Soy
Egg

Around £3.50 a portion 😊

I don't know how this stands up, but it has got me through a few tight spots.

You cook 'some' pasta. While it is cooking you brown 'some' mince (quorn would probably be fine). Add a tin of undiluted condensed tomato soup and Italian herbs. Maybe add a dash of worcestershire sauce. Mix cooked pasta into the mince/soup mix.

It sounds grim, and the price of mince isn't that cheap these days, but the pasta really bulks it out, it can stretch 250g of mince to easily feed four, it tastes fine, and it's quick. It's not brilliant but it isn't too unhealthy, especially if you use quorn or low fat mince. An undiluted tin of condensed tomato soup will stretch to cover between around 250g and a kilo of mince and pasta. If you have mince in your freezer, and the pasta and soup in your cupboard, it's good to go.

You can pretty it up with garlic bread and a salad, add a nice dessert or just heap a bowl with it. Most fussy eaters will eat it as well.

Another one that has got me through some spots.

Serves two. Soften a small onion, a carrot and two rashers of bacon. Add a tablespoon of flour and cook through. Gradually add a pint of some sort of stock with some mustard, mixed herbs, worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of marmite (obv optional). Simmer twenty minutes. Add a handful of grated cheese off the heat, stir in and serve.

I've served it without cheese more than I've served it with, but it always goes down well. It's incredibly warming on a cold day and incredibly tasty.

Minestrone soup
Home made pizza
Aubergine, spinach and chickpea curry

@Reallybadidea

We make this a lot www.theguardian.com/food/2018/dec/29/koshari-egyptian-rice-lentils-tomato-sauce-and-onion-recipe-vegan-meera-sodha

It costs under £1.50 in total to make, is surprisingly delicious and very filling.

Love koshari ❤️ so weird but so good 🤤

Lentil and bacon soup

Fry off 1 leek, an onion and 4 rashers of bacon, chopped, until soft. Add 2 carrots chopped into bite size pieces and 2-3 medium, floury potatoes, chopped, plush 150g red lentils. Stir, then add 1400ml of vegetable stock and a couple of bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

It’s more of a broth than a soup and is really filling. We have it with warm part baked rolls.

There’s only me and DH and it does us two days.

I use up the bacon with a pasta dish.

Chop the bacon and fry until crispy, add a leek and a dessert spoon of water and cook until soft. Then when the pasta is almost cooked add a big tablespoon, or more of you’d like, of cream cheese with garlic and herbs to the bacon mixture. Drain the pasta but keep back a bit of water to add to the sauce. Mix it all together and season with some pepper. Sometimes I add mushrooms to it.

Sometimes I just use the cheap plain cream cheese and a lazy garlic, it works just as well.

Sardine pasta! Two tins of sardines in tomato sauce (about 50p each), mash them into cooked pasta, add a squirt of mayo. That's the basic recipe. Add whatever veg needs using up, or what you have in your freezer - peas, sweetcorn, chopped peppers, olives. Feeds 4 for just over £1.

Winter veg soup. Buy one of the vegetable stew packs that most supermarkets offer for about £1. Make soup! Can make it as thick or watery as you like according to how much stock you add. We like it quite thick, and you can bulk it up with leftover mash, lentils, or instant mash flakes. One saucepan of that will do at least six servings for us for £2 in total.

It really a recipe but a tip. If you slow cook and shred your chicken it goes further.
So, 1kg of chicken for £6/7 shredded can make 3/4 meals.
chicken pie - 300g bulked out with leek and carrot.
Fajitas - 300g add peppers and onions
Curry- 300g bulked out with veg
Soup - 100 billed out with shredded carrot and a nest of noodles.

Bean chilli

One large onion (2 medium)
1 large carrot
2 sticks celery
Chop, sauté for 10 minutes, add 1 finely chopped chilli (whatever heat you prefer), 3 chopped garlic cloves 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground cumin and the stalks of a small bunch coriander chopped, add 1 can mixed beans, 1 can chopped tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes add the coriander leaves (chopped). Serve with rice, option of sour cream, cheese grated. Also nice with baked potatoes.

Cost for 4 adults £2.30 excluding optional items shopping at lidl and spices are based on usage not a whole jar.

Another cheap one
Anchovy pasta

300g spaghetti
2 cans anchovies
2 medium onions
1 can tomatoes
2 tsp capers
1-2 chilli
Bunch parsley
Dried oregano
3 garlic cloves

Cook spaghetti
Fry onion and chilli, add anchovies and garlic, add oregano, tomatoes, and capers. Add cooked spaghetti and parsley

£2.50

I have a soupmaker and do:

3 carrots,
1 large potato,
2 chicken stock cubes.
Spices: ginger, ground coriander, ground cumin.
Top up with water and go. Very velvety thick.

I always add single cream after its cooked but that's optional.

Serves 2 adults, 1 toddler, and 1 toddler portion for the freezer.

Carrots are 4p each. Potatoes are 25p because I get jacket spuds and hate peeling small potatoes - so could be cheaper still.