Can we have a thread for really cheap dinners to feed the family! To help all those people who are skint at this time of year (i.e. me!!).

[HouseOfMinnie]

I’m thinking along the lines of tuna pasta etc. Meals that have some nutritional value that are very cheap to make and can feed a family of 4? Really grateful for any replies as buying gifts and trying to feed the kids isn’t going to well for me. Thank you.

Meal ideas with recipes would be ace!!

There is corned beef hash, corned beef & baked potatoes.
Stew, buy cheap lamb bones, they make a very tasty meal.
You can also use them for curries.
Bubble & squeak
You should buy reduced food at the supermarkets, you can often eat better than a queen.
I purchased 3 tubs of grapes yesterday, they should have been £2 each I paid 20p each and I also bought a big pack of spuds for 16p instead of £1.60.
You need to shop around to make your money go further.. just saying

Thanks for replying. I don’t drive and my local supermarket is a half hour walk away and the times I’m there, there seems to be a very limited amount of reduced stock 👎🏻

Bulk things like Bolognaise out with red lentils and grated carrots. Can make it last a 2 or 3 days.

Egg curry is great. Make a curry sauce (fry onions, garlic with curry paste or spices, add water then lots of diced potatoes and cook until tender. Add hard boiled eggs towards the end and heat through. No need for rice. Again, will last a few days.

Have a cheap tea night a couple of times a week. Beans on toast or jacket potatoes. Use up leftovers and look in the cupboards. Make soup.

Look up frttatas, eggs are cheap and you can put all sorts of veg in.

Cook whole joints rather than buying sliced meat. A gammon will do sarnies and a roast dinner. And soup!

I like soup.

Jack Monroe has loads of great budget recipes on her site.
We often have the carrot, kidney bean and cumin burgers.
Lentils are your friend, dhal and rice
Lentil bolognaise
Lentil shepherds pie
Jacket potatoes with beans and cheese
Fritata (particularly good for using up bits and pieces)
Vegetable chilli
Tuna and chilli fishcakes with veg
Vegetable curry

Look for post war era recipes, there are hundreds. Also expand the net to international cuisine such as Pakistani potato curry, Red lentil and pumpkin dahl, Persian Lentil stew .... In general pulses are cheap & nutritious and a good substitute for meat. You could also tart up something like home made baked beans with frankfurters & potatoes.

Many popular recipes can also be altered to make them more economical, e.g. you can use 1/2 the amount of required mince to make bolognese sauce or/and just make 1/2 the amount of sauce and mix it with pasta in a pan before serving - a bit of chilli, paprika or OXO will makeup for the loss of flavour.

pack mince dishes out with things like carrots.more onions.courgettes or other thing on offer,cheaper etc.
always buy the big packets on offer.you can cook it all and either freeze or have in different version the next few days.
jacket potatos are great.
leftover bread into breadcrumbs then into savoury crumbles.or frozen.
when your cooking your evening meal cook a joint of meat at the same time.so your saving oven expense time.and then you can have the joint the next day either reaheated or cold with lovely salad and bread.
cook whole chickens. you can then use some for a pasta bake.stir fry,pie.and some for a lovey tea of potatos chicken and veg or salad
find yourself a good dressing recipe.it can add flavour to so many dishes.
roast veggies couscous.
chuck it in tea has been really helpful,fun and poplular,baiscally getting the kids involved too.seeing a few times a wee what needs using or you have in the cupboard and doing mystery box type meal where you have to invent a good meal to eat.often weve had some veggies or sliced ham or salmi.stirred this through some tinned tomatos and beans and had a lovely stew thing with rice or pasta.
learn some dough recipes.jamies five ingredient flat bread is awesome and you can top it with anything really.
use French stick instead of pie crust topping.
big batch of mince.then use one night for spag bol and the next for chillie or top with sliced potatos.
if you have apple going off or fruits.oven cooking makes them really tasty.add a little nutmeg cinnamon and sugar oat or cereal if you have an spare.
custard with digestive bscuits and sliced banana is a yum pud!
any biccies going a bit soggy or old.melt some butter in to make little cheesecake bases.
tray bakes.you can make with a base of potatos and veggies and topping with ant meat or fish.
mac and cheese on top of some salmon fillets.
mince on toast.
mince with doritos.
mince in wraps.
enchiladas.
cook rice in stock or add a little season like cajon or turmeric to the water.make lovely addition to rice.stir through some frozen veg and make a lovely rice dish.

tinned condensed campbells tomato soup mixed with pasta and tin of tuna.
hot dog sausages pasta jar of dolmio.
leftover veg or potatos pan fry with garlic.
baked bananas with a few pieces of choc and some marshmellows.
tuna envelope.pack of ready roll pastry lay onto baking sheet.make a basic white sauce.add tuna salt and pepper and sweetcorn.then pour into the middle of the pastry sheet.bring the corners together to make tuna pastry envelopes.bake.

Leek and potato soup, served with lots of hot buttered toast

Omelettes - cheese, cheese & ham etc with wedges

Tortilla (Spanish omelette) - either traditional style or with added veg (mushrooms, red pepper, tomatoes, peas)

Dhal, rice and lassi

Baked potatoes

Beans on toast

Stir fried noodles with veg

Macaroni cheese

Puds like apple crumble or rice pudding will fill you up so you can make a smaller main course

Risotto - just add peas or whatever you have. Can top with a piece of cut up crispy bacon to make it meaty without using too much.

Roast a chicken and have that one night, chicken stew the next night and some chicken wraps with what's left a day later so you have a night off!

Do you have Jamie's book "Save"? I have an enormous book collection and that's the one i go to most. Your local library might lend it to you?

I really heavily on veg and pulses.

Red lentils are £1 a pack and 1 pack easily makes a lentil soup ( add a tin of tomatoes (31p) and a handful of spinach (£1 a bag)
And a dhal (add onion (3 for a £1) and spices / curry powder) make basic flatbreads (plain flour 65p and water)

So that's two meals for four with leftover flour, spinach and onions.

With the spinach and onions - add to tortilla/frittata (eggs £1)

Three meals for 4 under a £5.

The same goes for chickpeas- dried bags are £1 and make 2/3 meals. You just have to soak them overnight- then you can make a chickpea curry, chickpea "meat" loaf and a chickpea and lentil stew (onions, tomatoes and dried herbs/ spices needed).

Butter beans are £1 for a pack dried - make mash, burgers and a tomato bean stew. (Again onions, tinned tomatoes and seasonings needed)

I'm always confused at people who say it's expensive to eat vegetarian - veg and pulses are shockingly cheap compared to meat! First thing I do to save money on shopping is cut down on meat, and increase the pulses

My 4yo DD absolutely loves pork and apple stew. I get a big piece of pork shoulder (which is so cheap) and simmer it for a few hours with any veg (carrot, onion, mushrooms, celery are all good) and roughly chopped apples. And that's it really. After long enough the pork just falls apart, I sort of tear/chop it into chunks and mix with the veg. Add a bit of the stock (not loads as pork stock isn't as good as others), maybe a bit of cream and serve with mash or bread and butter. Makes absolutely loads with very minimal effort (it takes time but not hard work) and is totally adaptable to whatever you have in the fridge