Isambard Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 I am on right old budget at the moment so as a result I am saving money- first one was pubs (dont go as often it all) Second one is food. Now I like my food I am sure we all do - can anyone give me some meal options for somebody who lives alone. I do omelette and salad - eggs are so cheap 1.77 a dozen and keep for ages. On the Foreman - Chicken Breast with Corguettes and onion Cheese toasties again on Foreman with Salad Veg Stir Fry Dried Pasta with a jar sauce....Lloyd Grossman £1 jobbies Anything else?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Pressure cooker. Followed by dhals. Soups and stewy stuff. Nothing beats pressure for turning cheap hardtoeat cuts into food. quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Can't go wrong with pasta.....olive oil, garlic and chili .....option to add any veg, any cheese any meat, anything..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeholder Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 If you can only afford one thing eat potatoes, lots of them. Cheapest way to keep going in an emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 If you can only afford one thing eat potatoes, lots of them. Cheapest way to keep going in an emergency. Potatoes are good. Sod the allotment thing. Just go to a proper market, or veg wholeseller. Bland but good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Potatoes are good. Sod the allotment thing. Just go to a proper market, or veg wholeseller. Bland but good. Anything 'bland' can be jazzed up with a few spices......cheap to make a good veg curry.....or as in season a sublime roasted pumpkin risotto........so got your 25kg sack of pots...mega bag of rice and/or pasta.....quids in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Pressure cooker. Followed by dhals. Soups and stewy stuff. Nothing beats pressure for turning cheap hardtoeat cuts into food. quickly. +1 for the pressure cooker, add hand blender and small slow cooker to that list of essential utensils. super cheap is soups and stews. 1)have sunday roast as normal...buy boned ham joint or boned chicken.de-bone and keep small bits in fridge for later in the week. 2) for monday/tuesday boil up chicken carcase in pressure cooker and leave to cool overnight.in the morning remove the carcase and add coarse chopped spuds,swede,carrots etc, and boil up again. check after about 45 minutes and the attack with hand blender.add some peas and then boil again for further 15 minutes. ...if you want scotch broth : add the 1/2 the chicken bits and 1/4 cup of dried pearl barley when chopping up the veggies,and add some chopped up leek in with the peas. if using ham /gammon roast on sunday, same procedure...soak 1/4 cup full of dried soup mix overnight,.use ham stock and chopped carrots+onions+lentils(I also like a bit of tinned tomato soup or puree), plus any other extra bits of ham leftover. boil up as before, attack with blender, then add the soup mix you soaked overnight for wednesday...do the pasta option.spaghetti bolognese is just so cheap.(buy a big mince and use 1/2) thursday, use up the rest of the chicken in a stir fry with some rice/ noodles and veggies(done in wok with sesame oil is the best,with a bit of spice or aromat to jazz it up a bit) friday..if you have done rice yesterday hope you have done a big vat of it, because a risotto would be quite tasty. saturday...use rest of mince, chop up some peppers,get some refried beans and use the last of the rice, buy some tortillas and some fajita/burrito sauce mix....lets go mexican. if you want to be really boring then boil /mash up some spuds,chop some onions and do shepherds pie instead. hopefully that's a fairly cheap and moderately entertaining weekly dinner menu without resorting to beans and/or chips every night,and won't cost you an arm or a leg. I think the total of that shopping basket comes to about £25(the pasta and rice will likely be kilo bags and will last a good few weeks hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Potatoes are good. Sod the allotment thing. Just go to a proper market, or veg wholeseller. Bland but good. Fry them in butter. Yum yum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isambard Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 Great posts- its amazing with what you can do with a bit of budgeting - many thanks For me I am a big pub man but I am tired of paying 4.50 a pint now, its getting ridiculous. Got a pint of peroni in a standard London bar last weekend for 5.75. !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isambard Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 Veg curry sounds good- cauli - peas pots that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Great posts- its amazing with what you can do with a bit of budgeting - many thanks For me I am a big pub man but I am tired of paying 4.50 a pint now, its getting ridiculous. Got a pint of peroni in a standard London bar last weekend for 5.75. !!!!! Some people could eat for a week on that.......still most of us can have a banquet for a day for that.....topped up with a few pence homemade tipple or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Great posts- its amazing with what you can do with a bit of budgeting - many thanks For me I am a big pub man but I am tired of paying 4.50 a pint now, its getting ridiculous. Got a pint of peroni in a standard London bar last weekend for 5.75. !!!!! see the homebrew thread! lots of good ideas for tasty and cheap methods of getting wasted!,but it's not quite a social as going down the local with your mates for a pint or 4 and watching the footie/rugby etc obviously of you're on your todd you also need ways and means of maintaining a social life, so I would be making inquiries about your local CAMRA pubs. that way you can meet a few new people,discuss ideas+try new beers/lagers etc and do the occasional "come get blotto with me" homebrew exchange visits or if you have a few mates in similar predicaments when a crate of fosters and netflix of a saturday(and rotate the venue each week), will go some way to giving a change of scenery. That's one time if you've got 4 of you everyone chipping in a fiver for a buy one get one free pizza deal works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RentingForever Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 This works out pretty cheap: Mix up some beef mince, chopped spring onion, chopped apricots and a crumbled beef stock cube; form into meatballs and bake on a tray. Serve on couscous flavoured with harrissa paste and with (if you've got them) some flat parsley or coriander folded in, a spoon of yoghurt on the side and some toasted nuts on the top. The only expensive(ish) bit there is the harrissa paste, but a small jar will last you many meals. Mince and couscous are cheap as anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Chicken thigh curry. Base of onions tomatoes and with spinach. Including rice about £2 a portion. For a really nice meal. Keeps for 7 days in fridge and so does the rice. When I can be arsed I shall post my recipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 This is a very cheap and tasty meal.....you will not be disappointed....homemade tomato pizza. Pizza base....easy to make. 400g strong white flour. 100g finely ground semolina. 1/2 teaspoon salt. desert spoon level sugar. 2 tablespoons oliveoil. 7g dried yeast. 330ml lukewarm water. Mix together, kneed for 5 mins, put in clean oiled bowl cover with plastic bag or clingfilm for about 45 mins. for topping:....slice about six to ten medium tomatoes, put in bowl with two cloves of squeezed garlic, some salt and a little olive oil, let rest till pizza dough ready... (can add some herbs such as basil or thyme ) Roll dough out to fit large greased with olive oil baking tray or two trays.....pull to fit do not be afraid to stretch dough, any holes fill and patch......put a thin layer of tomato paste from tube over dough, add the tomatoes and cook in hot oven 250 degrees for 10 to 15 mins or until dough cooked and slightly brown on edges.....nice both hot but also cold the next day.....enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 My quick and easy lunch favourite is instant mash topped with a tin of sardines and hot sauce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 My quick and easy lunch favourite is instant mash topped with a tin of sardines and hot sauce. Sardines on toast lovely, mashed with folk, bit of lemon juice, seasoning and mayonnaise ......only just discovered mackerel in spicy sauce, they do it in other ways great on toast....fills a gap and good for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 People slag off instant mash but Its not a bad food. And you can use it to thicken curries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 People slag off instant mash but Its not a bad food. And you can use it to thicken curries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankief Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 As someone earlier mentioned stews, and winter will be coming along (I know autumn is a bit late this year!) then invest a tenner in a slow cooker. Chuck in a cheap cut of meat (they are the tastiest, they just take an age to cook), couple of potatoes, carrot, whatever veg you like, add water & leave on low for 8 hours. You'll have a few meals outy of that and when you get to the bottom of the pot you can add more water & get a bowl of soup to finish. Reminds me of the delicious stuff my gran used to make in the oven over her coal fire - and she grew up in times of real austerity, knew how to feed a family on little money. Those skills are gone from our society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The XYY Man Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 People slag off instant mash but Its not a bad food. It's also more than 50% cheaper per gram than Solvite paste - so it's great for those who are wall-papering on a budget... XYY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 As someone earlier mentioned stews, and winter will be coming along (I know autumn is a bit late this year!) then invest a tenner in a slow cooker. Chuck in a cheap cut of meat (they are the tastiest, they just take an age to cook), couple of potatoes, carrot, whatever veg you like, add water & leave on low for 8 hours. You'll have a few meals outy of that and when you get to the bottom of the pot you can add more water & get a bowl of soup to finish. Reminds me of the delicious stuff my gran used to make in the oven over her coal fire - and she grew up in times of real austerity, knew how to feed a family on little money. Those skills are gone from our society. Pressure cooker is a fast slow cooker. It knocks a 0 off the cooking time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 As someone earlier mentioned stews, and winter will be coming along (I know autumn is a bit late this year!) then invest a tenner in a slow cooker. Chuck in a cheap cut of meat (they are the tastiest, they just take an age to cook), couple of potatoes, carrot, whatever veg you like, add water & leave on low for 8 hours. You'll have a few meals outy of that and when you get to the bottom of the pot you can add more water & get a bowl of soup to finish. Reminds me of the delicious stuff my gran used to make in the oven over her coal fire - and she grew up in times of real austerity, knew how to feed a family on little money. Those skills are gone from our society. With slow cooking.....you can eat some great meals using meat you would not normally buy, such as lamb breast, pigs cheeks, ox's tail....brisket and skirt......the best of the best, when coked surely but slowly....ask your butcher, he will provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The XYY Man Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Pressure cooker is a fast slow cooker. It knocks a 0 off the cooking time. So if you made some instant coffee in it - you'd actually travel back in time...? XYY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Pressure cooker is a fast slow cooker. It knocks a 0 off the cooking time. you really can't beat properly slow cooked meat.tastes even better the following day. pressure cooker for soups, slow cooker for stew. job done. I'm really partial to slow cooked braised beef. but we are talking about decent meals on a shoestring here,so dice it up and bulk it up with plenty of spuds/barley/peas/carrots and onions for a vat load of stew which will last 3 or 4 days...with parsley+herb dumplings! yummy! no problem freezing it either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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