What's for dinner? Budget version

[LottyD32]

I thought a budget dinner thread might be a good idea for inspo and ideas.

I'm having soup tonight:

Shredded chicken
Onion
Celery
Garlic
Ginger
Turmeric
S&P and herbs
Water
Stock cube
Worcester sauce
Tinned mushrooms
Frozen broccoli, spinach and cauliflower

Cheap, easy, goes far and has load of immunity boosting ingredients.

And I'll probably add a couple of flour and water dumplings or flatten and fry them into flatbreads the whole reason I eat soup

Roasted squash, red lentil, fresh root turmeric and chilli soup. I've been cooking it all afternoon and it's heavenly.

Seeded rolls and butter with it.

we're having a roast chicken....local butcher deal and it's just me and dh so I can MNchicken it and do a pie or risotto and I have some sweet and sour sauce to use up so dh can have first dibs to use that up for night shift.

And maybe soup too! for the freezer.

I buy a couple of bags of the root veg stew pack (not the ready chopped stuff the whole veggies), 79p for carrots, parsnips onions and a swede. That makes a huge pan of soup when you throw in a couple of veg cubes and some water. Toss in some dried herbs (parsley is fine). I freeze it in portions and it lasts the month at least. Also part baked rolls 49p at Lidl for half a dozen. And they freeze. So that's soup and rolls for the month for just over £2.

I also make Ragu in bulk - half a dozen tins of the cheapest tomatoes, onion, couple of veg stock cubes and some dried Italian herbs. Freeze that in batches then add it to mince or leftover roast chicken or some roasted veg and you've got pasta sauce for the month costing less than £2.

Sausages in a tomato & olive sauce, I usually serve it with pasta, but having it with quinoa & brown rice tonight because I'm running down my winter store cupboard.

Basmati rice
Any ropey veges (spring onion, shredded radish, red pepper, peas, sweet corn)
2 leftover cold sausages diced

Could’ve added fried egg on top but didn’t

Omelette and cottage fries.
3 Eggs, mature cheddar, tomato, two slices of ham and cottage fries are done in the oven with salt and petter spice.

Mexican hash

Fried cubes of potatoes (can par boil first if you want)
Black beans drained and rinsed well
Sweetcorn, drained
Choice of chipotle paste, homemade stuff, ancho paste, pick your favourite spicy paste, add your own spices.
Poached or fried eggs if wanted.

Poached eggs on a yellow stickered sourdough bread . Leftover pancakes for pudding

Tomato rice with pinto beans, rocket and grated cheese,

Rice
Tinned tomatoes
Tinned pinto beans
Couple of chopped onions
Salt, pepper, bit of sugar
Sprinkle of cheese on top of each serving
Rocket on the side for greenness

Mince beef (reduced to £1.40) from M and S
Onion (25p)
OXO x 2
Potatoes (78p)
And carrots (37p)
Homemade cottage pie for 4 for less than £3!

Last night was really cheap.
Sausage curry and rice

Reduced pack of Richmond meat free sausages, roasted
Couple of sorry looking carrots chopped and roasted
Couple of onions
Cupful of frozen peas
1/3 pack mayflower curry sauce
Rice

@Guineapigssweak

Omelette and cottage fries. 3 Eggs, mature cheddar, tomato, two slices of ham and cottage fries are done in the oven with salt and petter spice.

What are cottage fries?

We just had fried egg, chips and beans. The DDs absolutely loved it.

It's not something we have often but trying to save money at the moment. I remember my mum cooking us egg and chips with some ketchup when we were kids.....we were totally skint but were always so excited when we had that for dinner... proper chips done in a chip pan. We don't deep fry anything at home so it was oven chips tonight but I'd forgotten how bloody lovely simple food like that is!

Fried eggs and bread is one of my dh's favourite things.

I've got to admit I like a runny dippy egg too.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses

Pasta bake - cook broccoli, peas, penne, mix in with a jar of pesto. That can all be done in one pan. Put in Pyrex dish, top with feta and Parmesan, bake in the oven for 20 minutes on six. Sub feta for goats cheese if you prefer.

Sounds gorgeous! But not particularly cheap depending on the brand of feta/goats cheese.

Pasta with tomato sauce, tinned tuna, and cheese.

Leftover stew:

• any veg eg we had a leftover leek, chopped small
• tin of tomatoes
• tin of chickpeas or any pulse/bean
• a sausage (or chorizo or smoked sausage) chopped small
• cumin or paprika

Campfire stew aka sausage pasta bake
Sausages
Pasta
Passata
Tin of beans
Herbs and stock cube

I’m having the ultimate “fuck everything” day today So we had lasagne that was cooked last week, portioned up and put in the freezer for days like today when actual cooking just isn’t happening.

shop bought fish in batter and home made chips with bread and butter

@Justanotherobserver

One that I started making in 2020 is bacon and onion roly-poly pudding. It's incredibly filling and you don't need a lot of bacon in it. Make a dough with SR flour and suet - roughly twice the amount of flour to suet, I use 280g flour to 115g suet. Roll out about 1cm thick and lay on bacon slices, finely chopped onion, white pepper. Roll up, seal the edges and wrap loosely in grease-proof, tie ends shut with string. Steam on low for two hours. It looks horrible but is really tasty. We have it with gravy and vegetables.

The first time I cooked this, it gave my digestive system a bit of a shock and I had to go for a lie down after eating

Bacon pudding is even better oven cooked.

Crispy on the outside and lovely and squishy on the outside.

Was a weekly treat in our house growing up.

Homemade pizza from scratch.🍕
Dough made from aldi bread flour (59p a bag and enough for at least 10 pizzas) easy yeast, drop of olive oil.
Sauce, saute onion in drop of olive oil then add aldi passata 35p again enough for about 10 pizzas. (I freeze in tiny pots so can make easily anytime)
Fresh Italian mozzarella ball 45p aldi but I prefer asda's at 60p (I'm fussy😋) plus sprinkling of mature cheddar.
Cheaper than the cheapest frozen pizza but much nicer and healthier, add toppings if you like (sometimes use frozen peppers, tuna, bacon bits ect for my sons but I like my pizza plain)

Potato topped lentil bake. Lentils, leek, garlic, broccoli, smoked tofu, tomato puree topped with mashed potato with thyme with cheese melted on top. It is a new recipe and I was a bit dubious due to it being so orange but it was delicious. Lucky really because we've got the rest of it tomorrow.

Roasted Jerusalem artichoke (from the garden), potato, cherry toms and garlic, with a little oil and some black olives. Lush and enough left over for tomorrow.

We had beef tonight so not my most purse friendly meal although it wasn't too bad. I bought some ready cooked sliced of beef in gravy that was delicious- cost £3.99, then just added potatoes and veg.

A kilo of carrots was 29p in Lidl the other day so I have to use them up. Might make lentil soup tomorrow - onions, carrots, lentil and vegetable stock cubes - super cheap and tasty but makes me fart like one of the Klumps