Thinking caps on please ladies

[lucysmam]

Need a weeks worth of shopping for £20ish but not boring stuff out of freezer aisle all week...any ideas before I write my list?

Ta

Corned beef hash, one of my favourites and so cheap and easy to make! Get a massive bag of spuds, an they will probably do u nearly a week of meals, can do roasties, mash, chips etc, then just buy stuff to go with it. I love doin a roast chicken, then can make soup from the leftovers! Xxx

oooh,not had corned beef hash in ages, good one! Got plenty of spuds & veg in (&2 tins of tuna I found lurking) but other than that nothing. I seem to have done our last monthly shop a tad short ....should have lasted until next Monday not tonight!

Very odd that I didn't notice either & was still convinced this morning there should be more food in the house [numpty]

Second the recommendation to buy a bag/sack of potatoes. We got one for just over £4 the other day.

Baked potatoes with beans (supermarket brand less than 50p a tin I think). Or tuna mayo/cheese.

Buy cheap, seasonal veg such as carrots, onions or swede.

Big bag of pasta. jar of pesto and stir into cooked pasta, topped with grated cheese.

Buy a big block of cheese for protein, can make cheese sauce cheaply to go with pasta and/or over vegetables.

Tinned fish such as sardines are cheap and healthy if you like them.

Bag of rice. Make a veggie risotto.

grated cheese bags are cheaper tbh
what other staples do you have in?
have you got flour,butter,milk etc?
also what supermarkets are in your area?

lentils, tinned toms, anything reasonable on BOGOF, cheap cheese. Family needs protein and carbs. For a short while, super veggies aren't essential. Eggs good. anything with white sauce.

tuna pie - cover a plate with pastry, blind bake. Mix 2 tins of tuna into a thick white sauce, (can also add cooked mushrooms or sweetcorn if you want) put the filling onto the partly cooked pastry, cover with another plate sized circle of pastry, brush with milk, bake until golden. Nice cold too.

just another thought but is there anything that you won't/can't eat?

I buy a chicken for sunday roast and use the leftover chicken to make a curry with a jar of pataks paste, onions and chopped tomatoes.

I buy two packets of mince (normally on offer in supermarkets) make a spag bol from scratch (using carrots left over from roast) and then use the left overs to make a lasagne the next day. One packet of mince = 2 dinners.

Can do the same with chilli and turn the left overs into enchiladas the next day by wrapping in tortillas and covering with passata.

2 packets of mince and a chicken does us for 6 dinners.

bytheMoonlight, great ideas, thank you, & enough variety for us to not get bored.

Tuna pie I'll do with the 2 tins of tuna I have already, have flour to make pastry for it.

pasta & pesto or cheese sauces for lunches. May add some rice for a bit more variety as I have loads in.

aseriouslyblondemoment, there's nothing we can't or won't eat, none of us are fussy (apart from the baby but she's happy to eat what I'm having usually so will just feed her from mine for the week.

Thanks for the ideas ladies, long time since I've had to plan like this rather than for a whole month in front so I don't panic thinking there's nothing in.

I do a lovely one pot dish with curry paste, rice, a tin of chick peas and frozen spinach which is awesome and easy if you would like the recipe?

Easy and cheap (was a staple during my student days!) - Layered potato bake:

Slice one or two large potatoes (about the thickness of a pound coin)

In a casserole/oven-proof dish, layer the potato slices with whatever veg you have to hand.

Onions are pretty essential, finely chopped garlic is also good, but anything else can go in there.

Season each layer with salt/black pepper and finish with a layer of potato.

Then take a can of Campbells condensed soup - mushroom or celery work very well - mix it with a can full of water or milk, and then pour all over the potato.

Cover with foil (or lid) and bake in the oven till the potato is soft.

Also nice if you take off the foil/lid and add some grated cheese on the top, and cook till this is browned/bubbling.

I'd like that recipe please Christiana

Yes please Christiana!

I'm going with the tuna pie tonight & some veggies since I have what I need in to do that. None of us can be bothered to walk up to Netto at the mo so will pick the rest up tomorrow after dd1 comes home from nursery

ooh you've got a netto near you?
if you can manage to get down there before closing you should be able to pick up a few bits heavily reduced
i've filled a trolley before with loaves of bread at 20p each!

I picked some bread up in the co-op this morning. Think they're having a pre-christmas clear out in there, there's baskets and trollies all over the place with stuff for 25p & roundabout that! Got 2 loaves to last the week for 50p. Figured I may as well since I have the freezer space

I found some butter icing lurking in there last night when I checked to make sure there was absolutely nothing else. So long as it's still alright I'll make fairy cakes with dd1 with the last egg one afternoon

I really don't want to spend more than necessary this week....dp thinks I'm being a bit tight, but what's the point when I'm doing a months worth next week for Xmas, new year and well beyond!?

We will probably get to Netto late afternoon tomorrow, fingers crossed there's some reduced stuff, would be great if there was

oh you have a coop too?!
our local one is great for reduced meat and veg esp the cheapo cuts which can be put in the slow cooker
maybe you can add dumplings to this?

It's from 101 One Pot Dishes (BBC Good Food) which I have to say is a great cookbook - some bargain, easy recipes, hardly any washing up and the book only costs about £3.50 on amazon

Anyway, here goes:

Curried Rice with Spinach

1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 crushed garlic cloves (I think you could leave that out if you don't have money to buy it)
2 tbsp medium curry paste
250g basmati rice, rinsed
450ml veg stock (I use Marigold stock powder)
400g can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
handful of raisins/ sultanas
175g of frozen leaf spinach, I cook it in the microwave for 3 or 4 mins
handful of cashew nuts
natural yogurt, to serve (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick pan that has a lid, then fry the garlic and curry paste over a medium heat for 1 minute, until it smells toasty

1. Tip rice into the pan with the stock, chickpeas and raisins, and stir well with a fork to stop the rice from clumping. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 12 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

1. Squeeze the excess water from the spinach and fork through the rice. Serve scattered with cashew nuts and drizzled with natural yogurt if you like. I also like a dollop of chutney.

I hope you like it

By the way it says it serves four

it just about covers DH, me, DD1 (nearly 5yo) and DD2 (18mo). We are obviously quite greedy!

lol, we're the same! It looks as though it would do the four of us & my almost 4yo eats nearly as much as me sometimes. I swear she's a teenage boy in disguise