Am so poor this month, please chuck your cheapo recipes over here.

[lilacclaire]

I know this has been done a thousand times, but my mind is blank from skintness!
Have a 4 of us to feed.
We like all kinds of veg.
Not mega complicated, I can hold my own in the kitchen, but sometimes just cannot be bothered!
TIA

DD and DS live on cheesy pasta. Which is boiled pasta shapes with a knob of butter mixed in, and grated cheese on top. You can add broccoli and bacon or whatever. They love it, it's quick, simple and CHEAP.

1 onion (chopped)
1 tin of baked beans
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 small tin of kidney beans
1 red pepper (chopped)
some sausage or bacon

Fry onion and sausage/bacon until brown.
Add other ingredients.
Simmer for 15/20 mins.
Serve with crusty bread or jacket potatoes.

If you get the value range of tins, then this is a very cheap meal.

omelettes - add whatever you like

cowboy dinner - girlandboy beat me to it!

Mince, add lentils and heaps of veg and tinned tomatoes - stretches miles. Add chilli for a bit of a kick

Soup - veg, including carrots, potatoes, blitz half so it's chunky, serve with bread

homemade fishcakes

Bag of potatoes (mashed)
large tin of salmon or tuna
spring onions
breadcrumbs

mix everyting together and make into fishcakes then cover in breadcrumbs. Oven bake for 30 mins.

We have them with frozen peas or with carrots and broccoli.

Pasta and more pasta
pasta with tomato sauce (tin toms, onion, garlic, seasoning)
pasta with tomato and chickpea sauce (as above + tin chickpeas, whizz it up in the blender)
pasta and sausage bake (tomato sauce as above + chopped cooked sausages, pour over cooked pasta, top with breadcrumbs and cheese, bake)
pasta with pesto

Potato pie (sounds yuck, is nice)
1 large onion, diced and cooked in a little oil until soft
4 eggs
4 slices of bread, wet under tap and then squeeze out excess water
1 courgette, diced or grated
2 large potatoes, grated
1/2 - 1 cup grated cheese
salt, lots of pepper, paprika

Preheat oven to 250C
grease a baking dish
mix the onion with the eggs in a bowl.
break the bread into small bits and add to the onion/egg
add everything else and mix well.
pour into baking dish and cook for 30mins.
serve with salad or veg

You can chuck in pretty much anything else, chicken or sausages or more veg.

Tagletelli
double cream
bacon cut up
mushrooms
onion
splash of wine

cook pasta and set aside fry onion in olive oil and add mushrooms add wine fry for two mins add bacon fry until cooked ,pour over cream and cook for about 5 mins.
Pour over pasta stir in and serve .Gorgeous.

Sausage casserols

16 thin sausages
two tins toms
egg cup of water
pinch of mixed herbs
onion

Chop each sausage into 3 and put in ovenproof dish with onion and olive oil ,cook for 15 monutes .
Pour over toms water and mixed herbs cook for 45 mins.
Serve with mash . very filling.

Other stuff we have is omlettes ,jacket pots and chilli.

It wont help this week but sometimes if I have a bit extra I will make two of the same meal then if we hit a skint week (too often for my liking ) we can live off some meals from the freezer .

HTH .

This one is really yummy and even my meataholic dp loves it!
Lentil Supper

1 Tbsp vegetable oil. Heat in a large pan/ wok.
2 2 stalks celery, chopped. Add to pan.

1. 1 large onion, chopped. Cook until onion is soft (about 5 minutes).

4.1 can kidney beans, drained. Add to pan.

1. 1 can lentils, drained
2. 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
3. 2 tsp dried rosemary and pepper.

Heat until simmers gently.

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated.
Sprinkle over top. Heat until cheese melts

Quite partial to these too (apologies if these are originall MN recipes):

Pack chicken thighs
Roast in oven on 200 degrees for about 15 mins sprinkled with salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil over the top.
About 5 mins before chicken is ready, in a separate pan, empty about 250ml of creme fraiche and mix in 2 or 3 tablespoons of pesto in.
Tend to habe this with rice, then pour the green sauce over the top.

Tagliatelli carbonara:
Finely slice an onion and 1 or 2 cloves of garlic. Add some finely chopped rosemary (2 tablespoons?)Then stir in a pack of bacon, cut in to 1 inch squares. Stir until bacon is browned. When cooked, reduce heat then stir in 1 small carton of single cream. Once stirred in, turn off heat totally. Stir into tagliatelli - is really good!

green beans pack of
spaghetti half a pack
can of chopped toms, drained of some juice
garlic finely chopped
pinch of crushed chillis

cook well the green beans, and spaghetti to taste.

fast boil the toms, garlic and chilli.

mix all together and top with parmesan if you can if not bit of grated cheese!

Savoury rice

tub of chicken livers (44p) frozen section in supermarket
any veg - mushrooms,peppers,onions etc, that needs using up

Do your rice in the usual way
Chop up veg and saute until tender, put to one side on a plate
Chop chicken livers into smaller pieces and gently saute until cooked, add veg back into pan.
Meanwhile rice will have cooked, mix with veg and chicken livers - very tasty.

Cook spaghetti.

Meanwhile, fry an onion and some bacon (I use veggie bacon or leave it out). Then add a packet of garlic and herb cream cheese and a dash of milk and melt it down to make a sauce. Add lots of black pepper and some chilli flakes if wished. Add frozen peas if you need a vege but tbh I'd rather have it with a sharply dressed salad and leave out the peas. Slap the sauce on the spag; guzzle it up.

cheese and potato pie

mash potato with butter/marg and some soft cheese if you have any. add in lots and lots of grated cheese (cheapo stuf will do). put in oven dish and top with sliced tomato. serve with bacon and/or beans

My end of the month meals;
Jacket pots with brocolli and cheese
Lentil dahl
Wholewheat spaghetti with a very simple tom sauce- dried herbs,onions, garlic, toms- cook it long enough and it will taste fine
It is also cost effective to roast a chicken and make a stock
Use the leftover chick the next day with noodles and left over veg
Have a vegetable soup with crusty bread for dinner the next day
Hope that helps, good luck!

Thanks everyone!
Went shopping today, sometimes you just need new ideas for cheap recipes.

Beans on toast/ jacket potato is a favorite in my house. Cheap and filling.

Cook a v large roast chicken:
Day 1: roast dinner
Day 2: Chicken and veg pie
Day 3 remove rest of chicken, boil carcass for stock, make risotto, add what's left of the chicken and plenty of leeks and peas.

chicken curry.
Put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, ginger and chilli into a blender or food processor, and puree.

Cut the chicken into strips, then spray a pan with Fry Light and quickly cook the chicken to seal it and set aside. If you use frozen chiken its cheeper and you get quite a lot for your money.

fry the spices (except for the garam masala) for about one minute. Add the pureed vegetables and stir fry gently for 10 minutes, adding a little water if it starts to stick.

Add the chicken strips to the sauce and cook for around 15 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the sauce is thick and fragrant. Add green beans and garam masala and cook for a further 5 minutes and serve with boiled rice.

It doesnt cost much if you get vaule rice etc.

Another cheep meal is jacket potatoes... we live off of them.
We also eat a lot of soup with nice bread and shepherds pie isnt too expencive to make either.
I usualy fry the mince with an onion and add some gravey and a little bit of fruity brown sauce. I also bulk it out with some carrots and peas and top it off with mash. doesnt need to cost much you can get mince for £1 in asda atm.

1 Pack of mince split 3 ways:

Chilli:

• Chop and fry an onion.
• Cut up 1/3 of the mice and add. Mush up and brown the mince.
• Add a tin of (cheap value) kidney beans including all the juice.
• Add a tin of (cheap value) chopped tomatos.
• Add chilli
• Serve alongside either rice or over a jacket potato.

Spag Bol:

• Chop and fry an onion.
• Cut up 1/3 of the mince and add. Mush up and brown the mince.
• Wash, cut and add (cheap value) mushrooms.
• Add some (cheap value) frozen mixed peppers.
• Add a beef oxo cube, some chilli, some toamto puree and some black pepper for flavour.
• Add a (cheap value) tin of chopped tomatos and stir in.
• Serve with spaghetti.

Mince and potatos:

• Peel potatos.
• Add potatos, mince and mixed veg to a pot and cover with water.
• Add some bisto to make a gravy.
• leave for 20 mins and serve.

Tater pot:

Uber cheap meal to make!

• Peel poatos.

• Chop an onion.

• Put in a pot and add some frozen square sausages.

• Cover with water.

• Bring to the boil, mix bisto and cold water up and add to the pot to make your gravy.

• Leave for 15-20 mins and serve.

• You can add mixed veg to this as well to get in some veggies.

Buy a big chicken and split it several ways:

• Cicken dinner.

• Chicken casserole

• Carcus for chicken soup

• Chicken stir fry (great if you have left over chicken and rice):

• Chop an onion and brown in a wok/frying pan.

• Add chicken pieces.

• Add chopped mushrooms.

• Add some frozen peppers.

• Add some mixed veg.

• Add black pepper, chilli powder and soya sauce for flavour.

• Add rice and stir in, or serve on top of the rice instead.

• Serve.

Massive pot of lentil soup:

• 2 kettles worth of boiling water into a BIG pot.
• Add 2 ham and 1 vegetable stock cubes.
• Wash red split lentils, barley, and broth mix in a siv - leave the hot tap on and wait until it runs clear.
• Add to the water.
• Chop a couple of leeks, wash and add to pot.
• Buy a pack of chopped carrot and swede, wash and add to pot.
• Add some black and white pepper.
• Stir and leae to boil for about an hour on a medium heat.
• Don't forget to stir frequently.
• Serve with bread or rolls.

Any leftover rice use to make egg fried rice. Fry up rice, scramble an egg and add it to the rice. Add some Soya sauce, black pepper and salt. Serve. Also add some green peppers and mushrooms if you need to use up veg - yum!