Cheap healthy family meals- need 7 ideas

[BoysWillGrow]

Im having a cheap week, I need to save some money as I've got my 2 DS's birthday parties coming up, presents to buy and a baby due any day.
I want some quick, healthy & filling evening meals that my toddler & 4yo will want to eat.
Any ideas?

List all the foods in your cupboards, fridge and freezer and see what you can make from them.

Ideas: (assuming you have some of the ingredients already)
Home made pizza
Lentil and bacon stew
Jacket potatoes and whatever toppings you can muster
Chicken - roast one day then the rest in risotto the next
Pasta / potatoes with whatever you can find in the freezer.

Spanish omelette, fillings as above!

Spanish omelette - loosely termed as I chuck anything into it, generally a sliced potato (boil first), a pepper, an onion and some sort of cheese.

Gnocchi grill bake - packet of gnocchi, 2 x cans of chopped tomatoes, 1 diced pepper, 1 finely diced onion, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, some torn basil, a sliced ball of mozzarella. Fry onion and pepper for 5 minutes on a low heat, add garlic and stir, add gnocchi and chopped tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, then stir in basil. Heat grill and arrange sliced mozzarella on op of the gnocchi; grill until melted.

Tuna and broccoli pasta bake - enough pasta for everyone, can of condensed mushroom soup, milk, broccoli, can of tuna, 2 large sliced potatoes, grated Cheddar. Boil the pasta, broccoli and sliced potatoes (potatoes separately). Drain, mix pasta and broccoli with the can of tuna. Pour/spoon the soup into a bowl and mix in a canful of milk. Pour over pasta mix. Arrange the sliced potatoes over the top and scatter the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 200C/gas mark 5. You can add a can of sweetcorn if you like.

Fish fingers, peas and rice.

Soup and bread.

Veggie stir-fry.

Beans on toast.

All approved by my 2yo :o

poached egg on toast
beans on toast
cottage pie (mince and mash)
pasta with sauce and cheese
hot dog
sausage chips and beans
fishfingers
jacket potatoes
homemade burgers
porksteak stirfry

Casseroles/stews: cheap stewing meat, veg, stock and serve with rice or potatoes. Easy, healthy, cheap.

Also can do bean or lentil casseroles. Use bacon/chorizo to add the meatiness but you don't need much.

Jacket potatoes stuffed with tuna and cream cheese and a few green veg on side.

Buy packets of frozen veggie peas and corn - can be much cheaper and still v healthy.

Chicken thighs are cheap, and often on sale. Marinade then Roast or grill them and serve with baked potatoes and veg.

Ribs are also v cheap and go brilliantly with jacket potatoes and veg. Cook them with marinade slowly in oven and then just crank up heat at end.

Lentil Bolognese!
It's one of my favourites. So cheap and healthy.
Google the recipe. It's on Netmums!

Lentil soup with naan bread, followed by apple crumble and custard.

Baked potatoes - take out the potato, mash it with cheese and butter and pile back into the skins; bake until golden. Have with salad or baked beans (except the latter are the food of Satan imho!).

Homemade wedges with omelettes/fried eggs and peas.

Pasta pesto with cherry tomatoes/peas/salad/whatever.

Veggie sausage casserole.

Remus do you have recipe for veggie sausage casserole?

Yup - I use the Sainsbo's own brand veggie hotdogs from the freezer section: they are 2 packets for three pounds and I use one packet to make the following...

Fry 2 chopped onions, with three chopped carrots and 2 cloves garlic;
add a good sprinkling of paprika, a big teaspoon of grainy mustard and a teaspoon of honey. Add a tub of passata then fill the tub with water and add that.

Stick it in the oven until the carrots are almost tender.

Add a drained tin of either butter beans, cannelini beans or green lentils (my dds prefer the green lentils) plus the sliced hotdog sausages (just let them deforst a bit so you can slice them) and some salt and pepper, plus a chopped red pepper. Cook for another ten minutes or so until it's all warmed through.

It tastes nice and smokey because of the paprika - we often have it with baked potatoes and soured cream.

Thanks Remus sounds yummy! I will try that when the summer holidays start!