Four days of meals

[Becauseisaidsookay]

Get paid on Monday evening, not much until then. I need to get dinners for tomorrow until Monday-two adults, one young Dc
Any ideas of cheap but yummy, as find it a bit depressing eating boring pasta on a Friday/Saturday night

Which veg would you put in chilli?

I'm convinced this is a joke now! Ever heard of google OP? Despite the 3 pages of help so far, I agree with another poster, obtuse replies, not answering genuine questions and not even a thank you!

It's a bullshit thread or simply someone seriously ignorant who needs to learn to use Google and learn some simple recipes that aren't bloody tuna pasta.

I'd either pick a protein or go with a theme, if it's 4 nights.

Off the top of my head, homemade pizza nights 1 and 4.
Curry and an Italian tray bake the other 2.

Cheese, tinned tomatoes, peppers, onions, chicken thighs.

Have you got spices and flour? It's quite difficult if you've nothing on your cupboards.

Or a kilo of chicken breasts is £6 in Tesco àt the moment. Get a £1.89 pack of bacon and you could do roast, a pie, a tray bake, then one random night?

How do two adults old enough to have a DC not know what veg to put in chilli?

I'm not sure what help you're expecting when you're not outlining how many meals exactly (dinners, or lunches and breakfasts too? How old is the DC, do they eat adult portions?), what country you're in, what things you like to eat/dietary requirements, how much of the 40€ you want to spend on this...

I’ve been at work the rest of the day 😔

😮

Okay, some mean responses, I’ve been working today and only really reading through now, thank you to those genuine & helpful replies 🙏 i’m
doing a list now. In terms of veg in chilli, I was asking because Ive always just put onion and garlic with my mince and tomatoes & spices etc, I was just curious what veg people were adding, yes I will Google it, it was just chat about it
Thanks to those who gave nice ideas X

I spent less than that in Aldi last week for 5 meals plus a few other things like milk
We had chicken satay with rice noodles, an omelette, pork chops with new potatoes and veg, stuffed pasta with a salmon and cream cheese sauce, burger, mash and baked beans

It's so yummy! Especially the oats, they soak up all the flavour of the sauce or gravy in a way that meat/meat replacements don't seem to.

My husband is quite stuck in his ways but he still likes me to do this even now we aren't on such a budget :)

I hope you enjoy!

For chilli i would do something along the lines of fry onion, garlic and mushrooms, add meat if using or soya mince if vegetarian, some kind of powder flavouring so either a sachet of chilli seasoning or a mix of cumin, paprika, chilli powder and whatever spices you have handy, some kind of tomatoes whether it's fresh, or tomato puree in a tube or tinned tomatoes, or passatta or a mix of all, some sweetcorn either a tin or some frozen, a tin of rinsed kidney beans, then any other veg you have knocking around your freezer. Those cheap bags of small mixed veg that are a bit dull on their own work well in this. Spinach works well in a chilli as it disintegrates into indistinguishable pieces (my dp would never ever touch spinach normally ha).
It's a meal that's difficult to get wrong, you just adjust according to how thick or liquid you want, how spicy, how tomatoey, or how veggie-ful (yes those are all technical terms ha!).
I don't follow recipes, I just use what I've got, taste as I go along and cook on a low heat so it's difficult to mess up.
As for "just ask google" when it comes up with a billion and one recipes I guess that can be a bit overwhelming, plus it's a pain following an exact recipe.
I find playing around with food in the kitchen quite intuitive and easy but I know lots of people who don't, same as I wouldn't be able to just play around with another skill like doing hair or diy etc.

Thank you 😊

Buy a large chicken. Have roast one night (that’s weekend-y); if you get all the bits of meat off it, you can get at least another couple of meals from the leftovers if you take all the meat off it. Green curry and a pie with some bought puff pastry? With risotto or pasta? Meals from leftover chicken always a favourite in our house.

I'm a big fan of baked potatoes.. can be a super cheap meal.
Or what about a couple of cheap own brand pizzas (I think tesco are about £1) and adding some of your own toppings to jazz it up a bit.

Chicken thighs - roasted on top of seasonal veg with spices

Basically anything with chicken thighs

Make some flatbreads and serve with a chickpea and veg curry

Paella, with chicken thighs again and green beans

Risotto

Egg and chips

Lord Woolton pie

Cheese and potato pie

Brisket in giant yorkshire puds. Turn the leftovers into scotch broth

Sausage meat plait

Meatloaf with mince, bulk out with oats, tinned tomatoes and dried herbs

Jacket spuds

Meatballs made with pork and beef mince

Sausage casserole

Practically any, butternut squash, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, onions. You name it, OP, and you can put it in.

Check out Meals by Mitch on Instagram. He has some great recipes for under a fiver for a family of 4.

Pancakes, you have all the ingredients.

How many people is this for?

You could make a batch of pancakes and then bake a couple at the time stuffed with cheese and mushrooms or tomatoes or whatever you have.

You also have the makings of a Yorkshire pudding so toad in the hole, it doesn't have to be sausages it can be chops or meatballs or even veg.

Beans and or cheese on toast.

toasties.

If you have the food in you could do a full English for breakfast on Saturday and then have a simple dinner like a sandwich.

Someone mention meatloaf, you can bulk that out with cornflakes if you don't have oats.

Something I do for breakfast or an easy tea is bacon and tomatoes.

Cut bacon in to chunks (t works really well with streaky bacon that is often cheaper) and fry until crispy. Chop fresh tomatoes and add them to the pan followed by boiling water.

Mush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and serve with bread and butter to dip in.

I also always put grated courgette into any bolognese sauce or chilli but first I peel off the green as I have a DS who has a severe aversion to anything green. If you are careful enough with the peelings (no HINT of green!) I also can mix grated courgette with grated cheese at a 25/75% ratio and sneak in some extra veg that way.