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'

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.

Very basic recipe but I'm always shocked when I see people buying oat so simple etc
Porridge: 35g-50g value oats in a bowl, cover with milk and microwave for 2 mins
Can add chopped fruit at the end or sultanas etc

Savoury bread and butter bake

Make some sandwiches with cheese and tomato (or cheese and ham). 1 sandwich per person. Cut into triangles.
Lightly butter an oven dish
place in sandwich triangles point side up
Beat 1 egg per sandwich and 50ml milk per egg together ie 4 sarnies for 4 people is 4 eggs and 200ml milk
Pour over sandwiches and top with a bit of grated cheese
Leave to stand for 20 mins then bake at 180 degrees for 25 mins. The egg and milk will souffle up
Serve with baked beans or tinned toms. Very filling.

Veggie crumble
Use leftover veg or cook some up whatever you fancy
Add 1 tin chopped tomatoes and some creme fraiche or small pot double cream.
Put in a baking dish.
Rub in 125g butter and 250g plain flour until it looks like breadcrumbs. Mix in 50g rolled oats and 50g grated cheese. Can add nuts but this makes it more expensive.
Sprinkle over veg and bake 180 degrees for half an hour

I found videos on YouTube of a lady cooking what she ate through the Great Depression in the US. Sadly she passed away a couple of years ago, aged 98, but her videos are entitled Great Depression Cooking.

Lots of potatoes and onion cooked with veg and eggs, very little meat. Some I can think of are what she calls pasta and peas, diced potatoe and onion sauted until soft, can of peas added with the water, add pasta and serve once pasta is cooked.

Another is egg soup, cubed potatoe and onion sauted, add stock and then eggs once the potato is cooked.

I really enjoy watching her.

This evening I did a half kilo of frozen white fish with onion and carrot, would have had rice too but no one was hungry enough. I sauted an onion, recipes says 3, and 3 carrots, recipe says 1, then added these to a buttered dish, added the fish and baked it. Recipe says add white wine but I forgot, could easily use water with lemon if available or stock.

500g pork mince
Packet bean sprouts
One sliced red pepper
Pack of hoi sin sauce
Noodles - add to wok or cook some dried noodles yourself
Spring onion,
Add some coriander if you have it.

It goes on forever - at least 6 big portions. Its a bodybuilding recipe rather than a money saving one but flip is there a lot of it and does it taste good,

Marking place