Give me your best cheap meals!

[MollyBloomYes]

Unexpected bill, not much left for one more food shop this month. I need some cheap meals, to feed 5 plus a toddler. I'm pretty useless so usually do pots of stuff with rice or pasta. So far I've got a bean goulash, jacket potatoes and fillings, leek and bacon pasta bake, I need four more. No dietary requirements but one diner won't even eat cumin as it's 'too spicy' (yes this does make meal planning trickier!) Please inspire me lovely mumsnetters!

Dhal is officially the cheapest and greatest meal out there It goes with rice as well, and a few veg on the side if you have them.

If you see anywhere doing cheap chicken thighs then there's a Jamie Oliver tray bake with potatoes www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/crispy-and-sticky-chicken-thighs-with-squashed-new-potatoes-and-tomatoes-recipe.html - you can change what you put in it, put some veg on the side etc.

My staple is always pasta, pesto and frozen veg...

Beans on toast
Huevos Rancheros (baked eggs on a tomato based sauce)
Welsh rarebit
Stories
Corned beef hash

You could use green lentils as a change from rice and pasta

Google BBC cheap eats

Apart from pasta and rice staples

broad bean and lemon risotto (frozen broad beans, lemon, bit of onion, stock, rice). Know its rice but its a bit difference and lovely!

Home made flatbreads (literally flour and water) with ham / tuna if you like it, carrots, cucumber, cheese etc

Eggs and homemade chips

A kind of patatas bravas - little roasted pototoes with spiced tomato sauce over the top

Homemade soup - boil up any veggies you have, homemade bread (dead easy) or cheapie part-baked baguettes

homemade pizzas (dead easy to make the base) just throw on whatever you have

Bag of frozen Mediterranean veggies, about £1, box of tomatoes 50p asda, packet of pasta 50p asda. Cook the veggies in a pan or the oven, add the tomatoes with some garlic (maybe) bit of chilli sauce and mix in cooked pasta. If you're feeling flush then add some garlic bread.

Fry off any veg, onions, peppers etc with leftover Ham, bacon or chicken chopped up, bit of tomato purée, any spices (vinegar, sugar, salt and Chinese spice/Cajun/Italian/whatever) then add cooked rice, stir through and cook for five minutes, done!

I find buying frozen veg, especially chopped mixed peppers/sweet corn means you can throw a handful in almost anything. Bulks it out.

Pork shoulder steaks are cheap, add a couple to the slow cooker with some bbq sauce and a chilli. Cook low, shred, add more bbq sauce and a tin of mixed beans in water (50p). Serve on cheap tortillas with cheese, microwave for a minute. Or put into wraps with cheese inside and micro. Serve with wedges and coleslaw (homemade is amazing) and salad.

Soup! Yes! But buy a huge tiger loaf for about 50p-£1 sorted

Amazing! Loving these ideas!

Pasta with mozarella, we are having it tonight with alsorts chucked in out of the fridge, onions, chilli, pepper, cherry tomatoes and all cooked up chucked in a pot With a tin of tomatoes, a couple of mozzarella balls, cooked pasta and some grated cheese on top, it always a winner in this house with teenagers and toddlers.

I saw this on Pinterest the other day and thought it looked filling for a cold day.

www.themagicalslowcooker.com/2015/02/10/poor-mans-stew/

Dahl
Chickpea curry
Anything with potatoes - leek and potato soup would be great in this poopy weather
Parsnip soup
Bean quesedilas/enchiladas
Cauliflower cheese
Mac and cheese

Corned beef hash

Mince and tatties

Omelettes

Risotto

Potato cabbage and cheese layered bake, or make it even more filling with a middle layer of pasta such as bows or twists.

Egg & chips.

Bean casserole.

Stretch out things like chicken casserole by adding a cobbler topping, or mince/beef stew by adding dumplings.

You can also cook small dumplings or gnocchi in soup, or add small pasta to make it more of a filling meal.

Here are some old threads with ideas which may help : )

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/food_and_recipes/2122710-What-is-the-absolute-cheapest-meal-you-can-make

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/food_and_recipes/2133991-Help-need-quick-cheap-nutritious-meals

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/food_and_recipes/1956734-Looking-for-ideas-for-really-cheap-meals

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2388533-to-ask-you-for-your-best-skint-meal-ideas-please-And-what-to-buy-at-lidl-to-help-this

You are all marvellous, thank you

Toad n the hole - pack of sausages, eggs, milk, flour + Veg

Macaroni cheese - cheese sauce and macaroni

Jacket potato

Go,to,supermarkets about 6.30ish, food is reduced although you can't guarantee what's available

Frittata, cheap eggs and then use up leftovers and serve with veg or salad depending on what you have.

If you can get a reduced piece of meat then try slow cooking it to get every last scrap and use it over 2 or 3 meals. It's a gamble but you might get lucky. I got a very reduced piece of pork shoulder last week that made pulled pork for Saturday night's dinner and the leftovers made enchiladas today which I could have bulked out with more veg and beans.

Also you can make pancake cannelloni, make pancakes and use them to wrap any kind of filling (meat, bean, veg etc). Place them in an oven proof dish and cover in a sauce (tomato or cheese) and bake.

I did this one for world hunger day a few months back - works out at 33 p per head! :) www.eatdrinkcook.co.uk/world-hunger-day-recipe-sausage-tomato-pie/

List everything in your storecupboard and freezer Molly you have probably got enough for a couple of meals, perhaps unusual combinations but still a filling meal.

It's called cooking "with a twist" ATM and is very trendy.

I got a recipe from the guardian family section a while back, something like 'Edna's Soup' if you google. It's basically v cheap v delicious lentil soup and it's like the magic porridge pot- it just makes masses from hardly anything. You can't mess it up and you can add in any veg or random stuff you have in the fridge

Here it is (scroll down). I make it about once a week!

Doh! www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/oct/27/readers-favourite-photographs-songs-recipes

Omelettes, frittata or scrambled egg on toast. Basically egg based stuff.

Jacket potato and whatever is in the cupboard.

Beans on toast.

Fried breakfast for tea.

I have just invested in a slow cooker, this week I have been living off campfire stew ( a slimming world recipe ), it has fed me for 3 days and there's still some in the freezer. It's basically a small joint of pork or bacon joint ( around £3-£4 ), 1 tin of tomatoes, 2 tins of baked beans, smoked paprika, onion and what ever veg you have lying around ( I put some potato in mine too ), it makes loads.

Pasta is always a cheep meal ( macaroni cheese goes down well in my house ).

Stir fry.

Jacket potatoes or stuffed potato skins.

Home made pizza, or pitta bread pizza.

Veg curry.

Cheese, ham and sweetcorn fritters with baked beans (you don't really need much cheese and ham) - really cheap. (there's a mumsnet recipe somewhere for the fritters, I added the ham myself).

Bubble and squeak. I use instant mash and some cold cooked veg. Serve witha fried egg. Or a bit of ham, leftover roast meat, a couple of sausages - whatever you have in. Add a bit of pickle if you like it.
Fish cakes, again instant mash works fine, with tinned tuna. Apparently tinned sardines work as well (really really cheap, around 35p for a tin)
Egg fried rice - cooked rice, onions, peas/sweetcorn, eggs, splash of soy sauce. Add ham if you like it.