£10 for 5 days-Help

[BustyStClaire]

I have £10 for 5days, for 4 of us! Help me please, this includes school packed lunches. In the cupboard there is half a bag of pasta, spaghetti, some lentils, noodles, thats about it. Obvs kids feed first, but I just do not know how I am going to make it stretch!

[BustyStClaire]

I have been to Asda & stocked up on staples, got a pizza, potatoes, onions, carrots, tinned toms, ton of cheese, fromage frais, it is going to be ok, I am going to make some dough now, and make pizza for tea!

[LineRunner]

Do you have a pizza dough recipe that actually works?

[PickledFanjoCat]

Egg and chips is happy food!

Sounds good op. home made pizza is lush.

[Laquitar]

Value pitta bread is 20p for pack of 6, they are nice toasted with Donner's soup or for packed lunches.

Frozen peas are full of vitamins, they go well in pasta or rice.

[Frontpaw]

Pizza dough
500g strong white flour
7g yeast
About 10floz warm water
Glug of olive oil
Salt - a pinch if you must

Mix all together and knead until a smooth ball of dough place back in bowl and cover for an hour.

Roll a fist sized chunk into a thin round and pinch the edges inwards to get a crust

Topping - seive 2 tins chopped toms and add 1 tbsp puree. Use this as the base.

Spoon topping over the base and add whatever you want on top of that. Glug of olive oil and sprinkle of itaian herbs or oregano. NB watch out for 'watery' toppings as they make for a soggy bottom (whole cherry toms, courgettes, low fat mozarella...)

Over must be hell-hot! Put a backing stone or tray in to get hot hot hot and pop the pizza on there. Flour or polenta/bran flakes... Will stop it sticking.

Cook for about 15 mins. You'll get 4 large pizzas from that lot.

[LineRunner]

Thank you frontpaw, much appreciated.

[stressedHEmum]

Pasta and caramelised onion -
1 bag value pasta
1 decent sized onion per person
oil
salt, pepper, sugar

Chop the onions and fry gently in a decent amount of oil until soft and clear. Put pasta on to boil. Season onions well and add a spoonful of sugar, mix well and keep cooking until the pasta is done. Drain pasta, mix through onion mixture (you might need to add a little extra oil but probably not.) Serve sprinkled with a little grated cheese if you like. Costs about 25p per person and there might be some left overs for lunch for 1.

Pasta with eggs -

Cook a bag of value pasta acc. pack instructions. Meanwhile fry a a couple of chopped leeks or onions with some garlic. Drain pasta and mix through leeks/onions. beat 4 eggs in a jug and pour into pasta mix. Stir until eggs are set. Costs about 40p per person.

Split pea soup -

bag of split peas
couple of chopped onions/leek
couple of chopped carrots
couple of chopped potatoes
6pints of stock
salt and pepper

Bring to the boil and simmer until peas have broken down and veg is very soft. Serve with bread. You might need more stock because it gets very thick. On the second day you can either add more stock for soup again or fry another onion with some garlic and curry powder, then whack the thick stuff in and heat through for a simple dahl with rice or flatbread. This serves 12 easily and only costs about £2.

Lentil bolognese -

fry a chopped onion with some garlic add a tin of chopped toms. Season well and add some herbs, Add about 1 1/2 cups of lentils and 3 cups of water. Bring to the boil and simmer stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed and the lentils soft. Mix through cooked spaghetti. You might need a little extra water.

Basic frittata

Chop an onion and fry in some oil until soft, add a little garlic and a tin of new potatoes which you have drained and sliced. Fry about until potatoes start to brown. You can add other veg if you have them, red pepper or mushrooms are nice. Pour the veg into a deep baking dish like you would use for lasagne or cottage pie. beat six eggs with a splash of milk or water and season. Pour over the veg and sprinkle the top with a little grated cheese. Bake at 180 for 30-40 minutes until puffed, golden and set. Costs a couple of pounds, leftovers can be eaten cold for lunch.

Could you send the kids with soup and bread for lunch in a flask instead of sandwiches? Because the split pea sop would probably do them most of the week with enough left over for you to have some.

Buy some cheap porridge for breakfast and have toast as well. Toast is a good snack, too.

I second using the coins in the self service tills before using any notes. That way you get your money's worth.

[BustyStClaire]

There are some great ideas which I will definately be using!!

[Laquitar]

StressedHeMum can i just say that i like reading your posts and have used some of your recipes over the past few months. Thank you. I also like the simple no nonsense of your recipes and the cost info you add at the end.

You should write a book.

[Zoomania]

Visit the supermarket at the end of the day. I bought 5 loaves of expensive seeded brown bread for 10p each the other day and froze them all! Unbelievably this was in waitrose! Also try market stalls at the end of the day.

[LineRunner]

Soup in a flask is great. I had to do this for DD when she first got her train-track braces fitted and the school were a bit 'anti' at first but it's all she could actually eat.

Anyway, no-one ended up in hospital with soup burns or whatever the worry was, and it was really cheap.

(If your DCs only like Heinz tomato soup then Iceland do four regular tins for £2, and my DCs split a tin, with bread and butter.)

[treedelivery]

ALERT::::ALERT:::

Please no one eat their puss, Yorkshire or otherwise




I even have a Yorkshire puss, he's been looking nervous all afternoon.

DSOme cracking ideas in this thread, shows that huge food bills are something we shouldn't take for granted. Having said that I just did a £60 Asda online shop and seem to have bought very little indeed


stressedHEmum which lentils do you use? I am lentil ignorant.

[VodkaKnockers]

If you have an Iceland near you, you can get 12 eggs for £1.

[stressedHEmum]

Laquitar, thank you . I like simple things.

Treedelivery - I normally use green lentils for the bolognese, but red ones do fine if that's what you've got, the texture will be different because they break down (green ones keep their shape.) Red ones make a more saucy sauce iyswim.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I actually really like lentils. They fill you up for ages and are cheap in the asian supermarkets (so I'm told on here I got mine in tescos when they were half price).

Are you ok op?

[Frontpaw]

I made the lentil soup - bloody hell, its thick. Shall I zizz it or eat with a knife and fork?!

[aufaniae]

We DP and DS made bread yesterday. (I was chief taster )

Yum. I'd forgotten how lovely the smell of just-baked bread is!

My friend's anarchist dad used to bake bread as a political stance. He'd rant at all us young ones about how we should be baking more.

I'm starting to think he might well have had a point!