Ideas for cheapish meals for 8 for a week, please

[itsbeingsofearful]

OP in wrong section so thought I'd try again, as I'm sure you weren't just ignoring me

Just realised that from tomorrow I am going to have to feed 8 people, all but one with adult appetites, for a whole week, and it's half-term, so lunches too.

Oh and money's very tight.

I reckon I can get away with pasta twice, and a chicken tagine, where I can just increase the amount of veg and carbs, without spending too many more pennies on extra meat/fish. But what about the rest of the week?

Any ideas?

er....corned beef hash?

lentil chilli

veg soup (made from 2 packs of pre prepared soup mix packs for about £1 each)

er...

Black beans and rice (dried beans). Nom nom nom

Vegetable curry? I make one by Nigel Slater - it basically chickpeas, pumpkin, carrots and sweet potato, plus the usual spices. Delicious, inexpensive and filling - I usually serve it with couscous instead of rice and a bit of yoghurt.

For lunches home made soups are cheap, easy and healthy. Baked potaotes are good too.

A big chilli and rice is pretty cheap to make?

I make a slow cooker pork cassoulet which is cheap and lovely

Home made pizza is cheap to make and much nicer than bought pizza?

And the apple flapjack on the mumsnet recipes is brilliant!

Roast pork belly?

Spag bol, or shepherds pie, or chilli

Could ge a couple of the big pizza from Asda for lunch. They are not very cheap, but not too expensive either

Sausage casserole - yum yum!

Or home made pizza - super cheap

Pitta bread pizzas

4 packs of pitta bread

couple of large jars of basic pasta sauce

frozen sweetcorn

large block of cheap cheddar, grated

any cold meat that you like or any other pizza topping.

2-3 pitta bread pizzas per person, vv filling and not expensive.

flappythebat I use tomato puree instead of pasta sauce, much cheaper and gives it that real junk food taste

as for suggestions, any meal that can be made in a single big pan with rice, couscous, pasta, mash etc...so bolognaise, chilli, curry, stew, casserole.

Waitrose are doing a huge veg bag for £4 atm, chop half of it, stick it in a pan with some stock and thou'll have enough veg soup for 8 for about 3 days...that and a loaf of value bread...sorted for lunch too!

I think your biggest prob will be having pans big enough, good luck.

chick pea curry
butterbean and tomato stew
rice and beans
lentil stew
fishcakes (tinned fish)
shepherdess pie
tuna, peas and corn in white sauce with rice
spicy split pea soup (leftovers can be served as a dahl with rice)
pinto beans with cornbread
hm polenta with tomato sauce and cheese
scrambled egg rice with onions, garlic and peas
bread omelette
farmhouse scramble
pasta with cream, peas and bacon
pasta with lemon, peas and philly
tomato pasta with cheese
pasta with condensed mushroom soup, a little milk, tinned mushrooms and corn
wraps with refried beans (made from dried beans), cheese and salad
lentil loaf
lentil sloppy joes
lentil and potato curry
potato and spinach curry
mince with cond tomato soup, tin tomatoes, tin tomato puree, onion, oxo cube mixed with cooked pasta, topped with cheese and baked for 20 minutes.

Thank you all

StressedHE, that's a recipe book. I thought I had quite a wide repertoire of family meals, but now I feel very humbled.

I will work through all those I know at least 2/4 of the kids will eat and will get them to make their own pizzas - after all my mum's down, so she'll clean up after them