Help with cheap recipes

[ndo4000]

Need to inspiration.....

Family of 5 - 2 pescatarians and 3 meat eaters. Income is about to be slashed so I need to change our food budget. I normally spend about £100 a week.

Does anyone have any good meal ideas?

• Baked potatoes with tuna/sweetcorn, coldslaw, cheese.

Do you have a pressure cooker? Great for cooking dried pulses- which are also cheaper to buy than canned ones.

• For the meat eaters- pulled chicken in slow cooker can last for a couple of days. (Pasta salad, sandwiches, soup etc).
• vegetable lasagne really cheap at the moment as courgettes are in season.
• lentil sheperds pie
• Pasta arribiatta (tin of tomatoes, Pasta, dried chilli's, garlic, pasta and some seasoning)

Homemade pizza (so simple and so cheap)

We meal plan- really important when on a budget. I plan for one or two 'luxury meals' like fish tagine and then a couple of cheap meals like egg and chips or toasties and soup.

Meal plan lunches and snacks too. It helps to account for everything you need in a week.

Cauliflower, chickpea and spinach curry.
Mixed bean and veg chilli
Tuna pasta bake
Tuna and chilli fishcakes
Homemade falafel and pitas
Shakshuka
Roasted veg fritata
Pasta arabiata
Vegetable crumble.

These are brill - please keep them coming!!!!

Whatever veg you can get on sale, roasted and served with pasta. We ike it with a bit of feta but depends on if you will use the rest for something. Ideally add fresh tomatoes if you can get them cheap (on sale, slightly over ripe are perfect) but a tin of tomatoes will work.

A ring of chorizo can be a bit pricey (buy the supermarket own brand one) but can go a long way - we used to do chorizo and baked bean "stew" when watching pennies. Sautéed onion, add the chorizo which you've cut into small chunks (you need no more than a quarter of a ring per person, can get away with less), then baked beans or a mix of baked beans and whatever other tinned beans you like (if you want to make it saucier in that case, add a bit f water and/or a stock cube). Add a few drops of vinegar (balsamic by preference) and some worcester sauce. Cook for 15 minutes and serve with rice. Bit of grated cheese on top.

Boned chicken thighs cooked in the slow cooker with veg, stock and some herbs as per your preference go really far as you can strip them from the bone before serving. A £2.50 pack of chicken would easily do two meals on this basis. Served with rice or potatoes.

@TiredButDancing

Whatever veg you can get on sale, roasted and served with pasta. We ike it with a bit of feta but depends on if you will use the rest for something. Ideally add fresh tomatoes if you can get them cheap (on sale, slightly over ripe are perfect) but a tin of tomatoes will work.

A ring of chorizo can be a bit pricey (buy the supermarket own brand one) but can go a long way - we used to do chorizo and baked bean "stew" when watching pennies. Sautéed onion, add the chorizo which you've cut into small chunks (you need no more than a quarter of a ring per person, can get away with less), then baked beans or a mix of baked beans and whatever other tinned beans you like (if you want to make it saucier in that case, add a bit f water and/or a stock cube). Add a few drops of vinegar (balsamic by preference) and some worcester sauce. Cook for 15 minutes and serve with rice. Bit of grated cheese on top.

Boned chicken thighs cooked in the slow cooker with veg, stock and some herbs as per your preference go really far as you can strip them from the bone before serving. A £2.50 pack of chicken would easily do two meals on this basis. Served with rice or potatoes.

Should clarify - the tomatoes are cooked WITH the other veggies. Not added after.

This Delia Smith recipe is fabulous and only requires potatoes, onions, eggs, salt, pepper, a little olive oil and some salad to go with it. It really doesn't need more.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tortillaspanishomele_67957

Really cheap, makes loads of portions and is really filling too:

www.wearesovegan.com/spaghetti-lentil-ragu/