Cheap meals/menu planning thread - please contribute money saving tips

[popsycal]

I know it has been done before but need to start cutting back again and getting organised.

DS1 apparently wants me to go and 'do some interesting chores' with him so back later with my plans.......

we rarely eat biscuits or cakes tbh.

re the sausage casseroles? do the sausages stay crispy or do they go soggy? I like really well done sausages - so may be better to leave them out and add at the end?

bump for GO!

Use cheaper cuts of meat - bear in mind cheap does not necessarily mean low quality.

For example, chicken breast fillet is priced at a premium. But chicken wings are dirt cheap.

Use chicken wings for coca cola chicken. Bung chicken wings in a pot with dark soya sauce and enough coca cola to cover. Bring to boil, then simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. The sauce will be reduced and absolutely delicious - children guaranteed to like it. The meat of the chicken just falls off the bone. Eat with rice or noodles. Have a veg on the side - eg chinese greens or broccoli.

Dead easy to make.

Hi new here! This is so interesting! I ammaking the sausage pie recipe posted below for tea!
My 6 year old daughter has decided she wants to be veggie and is so fussy any ideas what i can feed her?

Frankfurter Cassoulet.

Onions in oil,
celery and carrot if required (£1)
Fry on low for 10mins
1 tin tomatoes 50p
Add Franks £1 if on bogoff
1 tin kidney mixed beans 50p

Serve with Rice 50p

Total £3.50 for healthy meal for 4, less if bargain hunting.

If you've got a lot of time on your hands grow your own veg. Surprising how much money you can save they're so expensive now.

Chorizo Hash (from Good Housekeeping)
piece of chorizo (about £1.60 from deli counter in supermarket
Onion
Potatoes
Eggs

You can add as much or as little as you like depending on how many you are feeding. If I am feeding 4 I use two saucepan so I can fit 6 eggs in!

Peel the potatoes and slice up in circles, put in a saucepan to boil.
Dice the chorizo, fry without oil in an overproof frying pan
Add chopped onion, which will cook in the oil that the chorizo gives out.
Drain the potatoes and then chop them up a bit more so they are in smallish chunks.
Add the potatoes to the frying pan and mix well.
Make wells in the mixture and break an egg into the well
Place the saucpan into the oven for a few minutes, check on the egg, the idea is that it will cook on the outside but stay running on the inside.

Cowboy pie

1 Tin corned beef
2 onions
Celery, carrot (optional)
1 tin beans (baked, kidney, mixed, whatever you have - optional)
beef stock cube
Worcester sauce (or brown sauce if you like)
2 Tbs of sweet pickle (branston etc)
oil, seasoning and herbs

Chop the onions and sweat off in a bit of oil

When translucent add other veg and soften

Chop the corned beef into cubes, add to veg

Add beans if using

Add the pickle

Check for flavour, add beef stock cube, sauces, seasonings and herbs to taste

Put in a casserole then top with mash or plain scone mix

Bake in oven til topping is golden.

Serves...as many as you like. at least 4 but you can stretch it to 8

It's really flexible, put in what you like or have to hand. I've done it with tomatoes in too.

It also freezes well in it's untopped or potato state

Smoked haddock with baked Potatoes

Smoked haddock
Jacket potatoes
Creme fraiche
lemon
chives
butter
salad

Put the oven on and bake the potatoes for 1hour and a half.
Put the haddock into an oven proof dish, with 2oz of butter and the juice of half a lemon. Cover with tin foil and put in the oven for 10 minutes.
When the potatoes are done, cut open and scoop out the flesh, put it in a bowl and mix up with 200ml of creme fraiche, chopped chives and the juice from the fish. Flake the haddock and then gently stir in so as to not break it up any further.
Put mixture back into the potatoe skins and then put them back in the oven until hot.
Serve with a salad.

My boys ate them and even my husband was happy, despite being a bit of a caveman!!

pitta bread/stale bread/baguette
ketchup
cheese

Spread ketchup on bread
top with cheese
bake in oven.

Can add toppings if you have any.

Homemade pizza and garlic bread is a top one at Grouchy Towers. I keep an eye out for whatever interesting meats such as salami and pepperoni etc, Nice cheeses like dolcelatte and mozzerella have been reduced at the supermarket. I stash these in the freezer

I make a basic bread dough for the pizza bases. You can add chesse, herbs if you fancy so long as you stick to the basic recipie (I use the one on a packet of easy bake yeast)then...

...The Grouchy pizzarria is open.

Fab

Garlic bread

Chop as much garlic as you like and mix in as much butter as you want. add a squeeze of lemon and some parsley (dried or fresh) and give a good stir. (I wizz it up in the magimix.)
Slice 3/4 way though a baguette and put the garlic butter into the cuts. Wrap in foil and bake for 20 mins {slurp]

Pizza sauce

Put crushed clove of garlic, squeeze of Tom Puree, Slug of oil, large pinch of dried mixed herbs and the juice from a can of chopped toms. Wizz up with a hand blended till garlic incoporated. Gently stir in the tin of chopped toms.

Bish bash bosch. Jobs a good un and cheaper than chips

Soya mince is very cheap (and healthier than beef mince too).

I make a curry with soya mince, potatoes and mushrooms (or just the mince and peas).

Also chilli non carne (dried kidneys beans are a real faff imo so always buy tinned)

Rice, dhal and raita (very cheap)

Veg curry (Indian or Thai)

Veg stir-fry

Soup

Loads of pasta meals. For example, pesto; pasta and bean soup; spag with oil & garlic; pasta with tuna, lemon & parsley; pasta with bacon, tomatoes and chilli.

I also use Mr Miaou's pizza sauce recipe!

make soup with tomatoes, garlic, onion, carrots and dried beans (can be labelled soup beans so lots of variety in them). Just fry the onion, carrots and garlic. Add loads of chopped tomatoes and a tin of chopped. Add some beans (tinned butter beans or lentils or dried ones soaked) and some water, black pepper. Cook until carrots etc are soft. Blend all together.

makes enough for a few lunches at home - i think this gives me a better healthier meal than sandwiches so i eat less rubbish later on too - my kids eat it too sometimes