Can we have a credit crunch recipe thread?

[Titsalinabumsquash]

I've been thinking about this today, there are loads of posts about food poverty and how it's getting worse as the cost of living rises.

I thought it might be helpful to have a recipe thread for those on a tight budget, if anyone thinks this would be better in the recipe section please say and I'll ask HQ to move it.

One of my staple 'skint' meals is this, it's a thick soup/stew and it can be adapted to whatever you have in or whatever is reduced to clear at the supermarket.

2 carrots
1 stick celery
1 onion
1 tin tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube
1 handful dried pasta
1 handful greens/kale
1 tin any beans (I use kidney beans as they're usually cheaper)
1 tin or frozen green beans
2 clove Garlic clove/granules or paste (not essential but better if you do have it)
Also tasty is a bit of paprika or chilli powder.

Chop all fresh veg and sauté until soft, add the tomatoes and chicken stock cube, 1.5 litre of water.
Add any herbs or spices now along with the pasta.
Simmer for 15 mins before adding all beans and finally the greens. Season well with s&p and serve when everything is softened to your preference.

It makes a big potful and it's lovely and warm and filling for not a lot of money.
I use value tinned ingredients and any veg that the supermarket has reduced to clear or on offer/sale.

My kids call it 'bits and bobs soup'

Marking place

Oooh I've perfected the whole get as many meals out of a chicken thing!
Yesterday I made a roast dinner-always cook the meat on low for at least half hour with it upside down in the pan-makes chicken more tender and falls off the bone easier.

After stripping I boil up carcass for 3 hours to make stock-usually get at least 2 litres from it.

Today I made a chicken leftover soup- 1litre stock, 1onion, leftover veg, 1parsnip and a handful of chicken. Simmer for 1 hour let cool and whizz together, add water for consistency,herbs and salt/pepper to taste.
Also made chilli chicken noodle soup-rest of stock, 1onion and handful chicken, 1leek, half a chilli or as much/little as you want-simmer until onions soft, add cheap packet noodles to bulk out and salt/pepper to taste-serve with fresh baked bread. We often have this as an evening meal and fills us up nicely.
Also did chicken casserole in slow cooker- chicken, chickpeas, 1onion, 2 carrots, 2 cubed potatoes, any other veg, 1 litre water, stock cube and a sprinkle of chicken spice.

Finally did chicken, mushroom and leek pie with the leftover chicken. (Does us for 2 meals) All in all 6 meals for 2 adults/2 children (7,5) for approx £15.

Sometimes instead of leftover soup I do leftover Yorkshire on a mon night. Fry up all the leftover meat, potatoes, veg plus an onion and a touch if Italian seasoning in a pan whilst heating a glass dish with oil in the oven. Once heated thoroughly pour all into glass dish and pour over Yorkshire pudding mix. Bung in the oven until yorkies risen and serve with gravy. Very filling and tasty.

spaghetti and bacon went down lovely in our house tonight plus there's enough for tomorrow to!

Marking my place here! Such good ideas

great thread Titsa

Just posted this onthe Frugal January thread , but thought i'd stick it here also..

Proper Spanish Tortilla

(just like wot they make in Calpe)

My Dh's Spanish cousin taught us how to make proper tortilla, its simple cheap and fab fab fab .. this is enough for 4/6 greedy people

First slice some waxy (new or salad) potatoes thinly (enough to almost fill your frying pan in if they were put in, ]in layers ) and 2 or three onions also thinly sliced and choppped , Fry gently and slowly ( you really dont want them browned) in quite a lot of olive oil in a wide non stick pan ,(dont worry you need that oil to make it taste good ) By quite a lot id say 'a good glug' 3/4 tablespoons (we are not deep fat frying here ) . A 'good glug' of Extra virgin olive oil is best for taste ,

When pots and onions are tender (that is cooked but not browned), place then in a large bowl and allow to cool a bit ( so you dont get scramble when you add the egg)

Mix 6 to 8 eggs in a jug .. beaten with plenty of salt and black pepper (remember theres no seasoning in it at all yet so be generous)

When pots and onion cool enough mix in the egg in bowl and stir it in gently .. (it looks like a big mess now.. but trust me)

Smear just a little olive oil back into your clean pan.

Add eggs potato mix and cook onmedium heat until you see that edges are cooked.. Turn down heat and cook a little longer ( up to 20/30 mins until it looks almost done through , top not quite so yet.. low heat so it is NOT burnt on the base .. this is a slow omlette!

Now the fun bit....

Take a large dinner plate bigger than pan , put over your pan and invert tortilla onto plate . ( be brave! ) wipe pan if it needs it and add a v thin film oil into pan , and slide the tortilla back into the pan to cook the top side.. (its easy , dont lose your nerve)

It will take about 5 mins more check its cooked all the way through by sliding a knife in.. (if you chicken out you can put the pan under grill but youll get a crispy top and have to be careful of pan handle etc.. and Spanish cousin will laugh at you for being a wimp! )
.
Invert tortilla onto plate again and allow to cool..Eat at room tempreture or cold ..

It really is good.. so simple but yummy with salad and salsa (and CHEAP ).. We make it for parties,picnics , just for ourselves.. Everyone loves it (and its only potatoes and eggs .. but somehow tastes AMAZING . )

marking my place

when we are having a lazy day I let dd's spread ketchup on a tortilla and cover with cheese for a quick pizza.

can also chop up into triangles to make some crisps

Laska, I know what we're having for tea now. Thank you. :)

A seasonal one - courgette pasta. Fry onion and garlic add a tin of anchovies and their oil. Grate 2 courgettes and squeeze the juice out. Add to the pan. Mix into cooked spaghetti and top with parmesan (or cheaper version) and pepper.

Another pasta - Fry onion and manky veg with tin of chopped toms or carton of passata (whichever is cheaper). Add a tin of sardines in tomato sauce and 1/2 tub value philly. Serve with pasta.

We do cheapo sweet and sour made with value pineapple chunks and served with 'rice and bits'. Fried rice with whatever veg needs using up, left over meat/ham and scrambled egg.

My mum was one of 7 bought up by a widow during rationing. She really knew how to s-t-r-e-t-c-h a pound of mince. I think she passed her skills on to me and my sisters.

Place marking, another one from the frugal thread.

I do frozen veg curry in the microwave, could easily be done on the hob though. Mixed frozen or left over/languishing veg, whichever you have most of, 1 cup of basmati, or plain white, rice, curry paste or dried spices and 2 cups of water. Cover and microwave for 10 mins, stir and repeat. Original recipe calls for the more expensive options but I ignore that.

Another one that worked recently, fry either onion or leeks until soft with some dried herbs if you have them, add bits of chopped bacon/sausage/whatever protein you have, then once that's cooked add a can of tomatoes and a little water, let it reduce. Serve over pasta/rice/mashed potatoe/toast.

My late mother's super skint meals were pilchards or sardines, canned, on toast or rice baked with a chopped onion and butter.

Thanks all, fantastic ideas here!

Pizza - for 6!
Ciabatta/French bread slices lengthwise (6 for £1.50 Asda)
1 bag frozen Mediterranean veg (£1)
Tomato sauce (a bought pasta sauce or homemade with passage and onions about 50p)
2 x Own brand mozzarella cheese ball (40p)
Ham/pepperoni/chorizo (optional but £1 a pack)

Put sauce on the bread then the veg, ham if used then cheese. Oven for 15-20 mins. Makes 6 portions of 2 each. We're a family of 5 so 1 portion in the freezer

Works out at less than 80p a plate or cheaper if you have stuff in.

The frozen Med Veg should be defrosted/drained and chopped by the way

Marking place

Special fried rice.

Boil rice then cool rapidly by running it under the tap.
Fry up an onion, mushrooms, courgette, few prawns or bacon/ham what have you. I fry them in sesame oil bought when on offer.
Then add the cold rice.
Make little holes in the rice and pour in a couple of beaten eggs into the holes.
Let the egg set for a bit then break it up so that you have omeletty bits.

Don't be tempted to use hot rice it just clags together.

This is adapted from slimming world!

Fry some garlic in one cal spray.
Add bacon cut up into pieces.
Add crème fraiche.
Use as a pasta sauce topped with parmesan and black pepper if you have it.

and this is by my Granny

Nettle soup (practically free)

Wearing rubber gloves collect a bag of nettle tops and wash em.
Fry off an onion
Add chicken stock/vegi stock made with a cube if necessary.
Add the nettles and a potato cubed.
Season
Boil for about 15mins then liquidise.

It's very green and very lovely.

Lasagne can be an expensive on but here's a stretched recipe.
250g minced beef asda £1.87 5% fat
1 carrot 10p
1 onion 10p
Quarter bag frozen peppers 25p (farmfoods)
tinned tomatoes 39p
pasatta carton 39p
Teaspoon basil & oregano & garlic 10p
Half packet aldi lasagne sheets 32p
1 jar aldi white sauce for lasagne 87p
Salt & pepper.

That's £4.39 but will do 8 portions

Make up the bolognaise & layer with the pasta. Leave it to stand for an hour before layering the top with the white sauce.

pensioner I made the meat loaf tonight for tea tomorrow but dh and I sneaked a taste first....it's lovely! thanks for the recipe

Great thread!

Spicy lentil and tomato soup

2 leeks, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 or 5 carrots, grated
4 sticks of celery, chopped
1 carton passata
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 bag red lentils
4 litres veg stock
1 good teaspoon chilli flakes
1 tablespoon black pepper

Soften veg in a little butter. Add tomato products, lentils, stock and spices. Bring to the boil and simmer until lentils have broken down and veg is very, very soft. Makes about 6 litres of soup for less than £4.

Spicy tomato and lentil soup

2 onions, chopped
4 or 5 carrots, chopped
4 sticks of celery, chopped
2 cartons of passata
small tin of tomato puree
bag of lentils
tin of peaches, drained
4l veg stock
good tablespoon curry powder
tin coconut milk

soften veg in a little butter. Add everything else except coconut milk. Simmer until everything is very soft. Blend until smooth and add coconut milk. heat gently until very hot. Again makes 6 or 7 litres of soup for around £4. This can be mixed with fresh cooked rice or pasta on the second day, if you don't fancy soup again.

Caramelised onion pasta

Soften 1kg of onions, sliced, in a mixture of oil and butter for about 10 minutes. Add some salt, pepper and teaspoon of sugar. Cook for another 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile cook a bag of pasta. Mix onions into drained, hot pasta. serve and top with a small amount of finely grated cheese. Costs about £1 and serves between 4 and 6 people depending on age and appetite.

If you have a Turkish or Greek shop nearby, you can get a bucket of 'feta' insanely cheaply - ours is 3.99 for over 1 kg and lasts for ages - a good couple of months. Obviously you have to spend the money upfront but it is a great source of protein and I use it virtually daily.

I crumble some in to my version of the Bits & Bobs soup mentioned above.

Or steam some kale, chunk of feta, cover with can of chopped tomatoes with any seasoning you like, into oven for 20 mins.

Or crumble some into cooked couscous (which costs pennies) with chopped tomatoes, lime juice, sprinkle of chilli, bit of oil, bit of fresh coriander.

Or put a bit sprinkled on top of whatever really cheap white fish you're using (pollack is a fave) under the grill. Makes it nice and creamy and crunchy.

I made an approximation of this for my dinner tonight:
toor dal tadka
I had impulse bought toor dal a while ago and thought I'd better have a go at something with it. Normal yellow split peas presoaked would work just as well though and are v cheap.

Recipe: (scaled down to feed 1 with a large appetite)

Put the 100g toor dal, tsp turmeric and water in a heavy-based saucepan and boil for 45–60 minutes or until the peas are soft. (I speeded this up by soaking them in boiling water a few hours earlier so only took about 15 mins to cook).

Meanwhile, grate 1cm ginger and crush 3 cloves garlic into a dish and put to one side. Heat oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add 1tsp mustard seeds and 1tsp cumin seeds, and dried chilli flakes to taste and let sizzle for a few secs. Add the ginger & garlic and a pinch of asafoetida if you have it and fry gently until fragrant. Stir into the cooked dhal.

Add the 80g chopped fresh tomato and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and garnish with coriander leaves (i used frozen).

I had it with rice and steamed spring greens. I also sliced and slowly slowly fried half an onion til it was all brown and crispy and sprinkled this on top - a lovely texture.