3 course meal for 4 people £10?!

[NC543210]

Hi all

Looking for some MN wisdom
My middle dc is just leaving 1st year at college and they've been set a task by their form tutor who's in charge of their pastoral care (and is the food tech teacher too)

They don't have to take part but ds wants to.

They have to design and cook a 3 course meal for 4 for £10
Rules are
£10 and you have to buy everything you need.

Store cupboard essentials not counted are any spice or herb. Oil, stock or thickening agents (but not enough flour to make pasta) and strictly no pot Noodles 🤣

We have a full spice cupboard but the teacher has said they have until then end of term to raid her spice rack and that she's convinced there is not a spice or herb she doesn't have.

They have to show receipts and photos at the start of term and score cards from their " guests" haha.

DS is a decent cook and we have a few ideas but just wanted some MN ideas too 😊

Creamed mushroom on toast
Pork Loin creamy spinach garlic a few mushrooms concuction
stewed fruit and cream

I would raid the reduced to clear in a few supermarkets.

I'd go for a Dahl as meat will really eat into the budget. Could do with some roti or naan and roasted tandoori cauliflower

Tomato soup
Pasta bake with brocolli, cheese, a little onion, cpl chicken thighs - serve with a simple salad
Pavlova with gently braised plums

You need chat gpt for this, if you don’t mind “cheating”.

Is foraging allowed?

Trinidadian doubles. You could substitute frozen roti, which is pretty cheap.

https://www.redonline.co.uk/food/recipes/a46135374/doubles/

He could look at Asda's recipes for meals at less than a pound per serving - covers starters and mains. Could easily experiment and create variations but they're good starting points.

Would leave him 2-3 pounds for desert, which is enough for something using fruit and (ice-)cream, or a fancy rice pudding, or a posset etc.

https://www.asda.com/good-living/article/cheap-budget-meals-under-one-pound

ChatGPT says:
🥣
Starter
: Carrot & Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 large carrots – £0.30
• 1 onion – £0.15
• 1 garlic clove – £0.05
• 100g red lentils – £0.40
• 1 vegetable stock cube – £0.05
• 1 tbsp oil (from cupboard)
• Salt & pepper (from cupboard)

Total: ~£0.95

🍝
Main
: Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

• 300g dried spaghetti – £0.30
• 250g mushrooms – £0.85
• 1 onion – £0.15
• 2 garlic cloves – £0.10
• 200ml crème fraîche or soft cheese – £1.20
• 1 tsp mixed herbs (optional, cupboard)
• Oil, salt & pepper (from cupboard)

Total: ~£2.60

🍏
Dessert
: Stewed Apples with Custard

Ingredients:

• 4 apples – £1.20
• 2 tbsp sugar – £0.10
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional, cupboard)
• 1 tin custard (400g) – £0.85

Total: ~£2.15

Mushrooms with toasted cumin and garlic fried served with yogurt with coriander

dal, rice and pickled aubergine (I’ve costed this to 50p a portion)

baked apple with cinnamon and honey.

I could certainly cook this for under the £10 with enough for ice cream to go with the apple but on the proviso i only charge 40% of the lentils (as only need 200g) and similar only a proportion of each ingredient in the pickle and so on. I use a lot of ingredients cooking but it’s a dash of this, pinch of that

I’d do soup for starter £3
sausage meatball pasta for main - 4.50
mug cakes and ice cream for dessert?

Starter : 1 bag of new potatoes halved and covered in oil, season with salt, pepper and garlic or curry powder or whatever... Bake for 30-40 minutes at 200°C. Serve with a dolop of cottage cheese or sour cream on the side.

£2.50 max

Main: Pasta Bake: make the sauce from passata, add some tomato puree oil and leftover cottage cheese or sour cream. Season with salt pepper Smoked Paprika and Italian herbs. Poor mixture over boiled Pasta and cover with cheese, 20 minutes or till cheese is melted.

Serve with salad if budget allows (just do a simple vinaigrette with a little mustard for a better taste)
£4.- max

Pudding: shop bought chocolate brownies, apricot jam (or raspberry or a can of peach slices) and vanilla ice cream. Cut chocolate brownies in 1/2 and use the jam / drained peach slices as filling... decorate with a dollop of ice-cream on the side. (That's basically a fake Sacher Torte!)
£3.- max

Obviously prices depend on where you shop and if you buy the cheapest option available!

I love this sort of challenge.

I'd do

Starter: butter bean and roasted courgette salad
1 tin of butter beans - 49p
1 courgette - 46p
Store cupboard: olive oil, lemon juice, chilli flakes

Main: whole roast cauliflower & mint yoghurt sauce and pomegranate seeds, with giant couscous & dressed lettuce on the side
Cauli - £1.80
Mint - 52p
Garlic - 40p
Yoghurt - 55p
Couscous - £1.10
Pomegranate - £1.30
Lettuce - 60p
Store cupboard - veg stock, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cumin powder, coriander powder, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mixed herbs, mustard powder

Pud: jelly and cream, with the rest of the pomegranate seeds
Jelly - £1.00
Cream - 90p

Total £9.12

If you go on to Beat The Budget on Instagram, she has a whole load of recipes that might help with inspiration.

get him to do his own homework if he wants to take part!

Here's my summery menu, I priced it with Ocado, using the 'best buys' and 'good value' items when possible.

Starter ~ avocado vinaigrette
Main ~ mushroom stroganoff served with tagliatelle
Pudding ~ individual ramekins of baked egg custard served with raspberries

https://oursouthend.wordpress.com

Lol at every course being cream.

I suggest soup (whichever flavour), spag bol with lentils not meat, and chocolate banana "nice" cream.

Basically a bunch of cheap veg, a tin of tomatoes, spaghetti, dry or canned lentils, a bunch of frozen bananas and cocoa powder.

Bruschetta, pasta bake topped with grated cheese, garlic bread and side salad, apple crumble and custard
I've made this for 6 for around £9.79 for all only added herbs for bruschetta and butter for garlic bread from my own cupboard

Id try and choose ingredients thst go with multiple courses.

So for example lentil fritters and a yoghurt dip(s) with a salad of carrot and cucumber ribbons.

Main dahl, rice, spicy roast cauliflower, raiti.

Pudding poach pears in simple syrup (half sugar/ half water) maybe with chai spices. Then combine poaching liquid with leftover yoghurt to make a sorbet. Easy if you have ice cream maker if not just chuck in freezer and fork through every ten minutes until set.

Are you able to count the cost of part packets etc? Eg if you make a dhal, you'll use some of a packet of lentils that might cost £1 or £2 but the actual cost of the lentils in the recipe might only be 30 p so would make quite a difference to the costings.

Stuffed portobello mushroom

lentil Dahl/pasta bake/lentil bolognaise

apple and bramble (they are free) crumble

About the costing, if you buy a loaf of bread and only use two slices, does the cost of the whole loaf of bread count towards your budget? Or you buy a 500g packet of spaghetti and only need 250g, are you budgeting the cost of the whole packet or only half?

If you're charged for the whole amount then I would avoid using things like bread and only use rice or pasta if you can buy it very cheap and ideally in a small packet.

If making something like curry where you're using rice, lentils etc, he could check to see whether there are any ethnic or health food shops locally where he can just buy the exact quantity that he needs, or otherwise just go somewhere like Lidl and get the smallest packet they sell.

In the Ottolenghi Simple cookbook there is a lentil and aubergine stew which is absolutely delicious and wouldn't cost very much to make. You essentially need two small aubergines, 200g cherry tomatoes, 180g lentils, vegetable stock and crème fraîche, and the rest is store cupboard essentials and herbs. Leave the white wine out.

I echo make him do it himself !

I see that a lot of menus are very low protein.
A pack of 8 chicken thighs in Aldi are £2.99.

Lol 😂

Sounds crazy written down and would be disastrous if you couldn’t cook. But a good cook could make that into an incredible meal.