With the "Credit crunch" I thought it might be an idea to start a budget recipe thread, here's mine

packet of cheap pasta
tin of value chopped toms
tin of condensed tomato soup
tin of sweetcorn

Makes loads and left overs can be put in the fridge for a cold snack

With the "Credit crunch" I thought it might be an idea to start a budget recipe thread, here's mine

packet of cheap pasta
tin of value chopped toms
tin of condensed tomato soup
tin of sweetcorn

Makes loads and left overs can be put in the fridge for a cold snack

Looks good to me !:thumbsup:

On weeks where I need to budget I will buy a whole chicken for about £4, cook it and half it. Use one half for one meal and the other half the next day. I sometimes do that with pork too.

if you have a slow cooker do a batch of stew. meat will be the most costly item and some veg. use some one day and freeze rest in one portions. can get up to 8 single portions.

yep the pasta thing is great we were skint last week so i bought

bag of pasta
6 toms
half a cucumber
spring onions
1 big block cheapo cheese
and 4 cheapo chicken breast

added a few dollops of hellmans
some cheap salad cream

and OMG so nice this is my signiture dish though made it for years feeds about 6 max but it's best if you do it the day before and leave it in the fridge then all the flavours mix together really nicely though its nice too when its firts done as the cheese goes really soft and squidgy but defo do it day beforwe for maximum flavour and chuck in your own bits too!

www.allrecipes.com

has any body ever visied this website they have allsorts of recapies to look at
from sweet to savorey ive used it many times.:thumbsup:

With the "Credit crunch" I thought it might be an idea to start a budget recipe thread, here's mine

packet of cheap pasta
tin of value chopped toms
tin of condensed tomato soup
tin of sweetcorn

Makes loads and left overs can be put in the fridge for a cold snackI don't think anyone could beat that for cheapness... thats like the basis of a meal... before you actually put the proper ingredients in! :hihi:

Getting veg from the market that's in season is really cheap.

Also if you get bacon mis-shapes/offcuts instead of slices of bacon they are dirt cheap (£1/lb) and you can chop them up into lardons and stir fry to put into any pasta dish eg carbonara or the above.

Bolognese and chilli are good ones for making in bulk really cheap and freezing, especially if you use value mince (at market £1/kg - which will make 8 servings, 3 cans kidney beans for £1)

My mum brought us up on a shoe string, its still one of my faves even now

Also, I know it's not ver PC right now but we have bought 2 roasted chickens for £5 from Somerfield and they have lasted us all week...

-Separate the meat from bone on the first night & have the hot fresh chicken in sarnies or wraps.
-Chuck the bones straight into the slow cooker and simmer with an onion for at least 24hrs to make the richest nicest stock ever.
-with leftover cooked chicken you can make fajitas or chicken divan*
-make chicken noodle soup with the stock, vermicelli, a small amount of leftover shredded chicken & some herbs & hendersons relish. I normally make 2 days worth of soup cos its extra nice reheated.

That's a whole week of meals for 2 for about a tenner! Plus our dog eats the manky bits of chicken so really none gets wasted at all.

*chicken divan: layer cooked brocolli & chicken in a dish. mix together campbells condensed chicken soup, cream, curry powder & splash lemon juice. Top with lots of grated cheese. Cook in oven. Sounds disgusting but it's yum!

The things I lived on as a student when i was skint and still love:

Can of tuna flakes, mashed potatoes and green beans if I was feeling rich or peas and some parsley sauce. If I was feeling particularly lazy or skint this degenerated to smash and a can of tuna!

Also Tatties and onions, slices of potatoes and onions cooked really slowly so the onions caramalise and the potatoes absorb the flavour with a bit of HP sauce, sometimes with chopped up bacon if I had any - yum yum

The things I lived on as a student when i was skint and still love:

Can of tuna flakes, mashed potatoes and green beans if I was feeling rich or peas and some parsley sauce. If I was feeling particularly lazy or skint this degenerated to smash and a can of tuna!

Also Tatties and onions, slices of potatoes and onions cooked really slowly so the onions caramalise and the potatoes absorb the flavour with a bit of HP sauce, sometimes with chopped up bacon if I had any - yum yum

sounds nice i will have to give it a go !!:love:

if you have a slow cooker do a batch of stew. meat will be the most costly item and some veg. use some one day and freeze rest in one portions. can get up to 8 single portions.

You could do a stew with some liver and sausage and some frozen casserole veg. I did it the other day and put it on a pancake. Lovely with a bit of hendersons.

one of my favourite meals is poached eggs on toasted muffins. Can't get much cheaper than that - butter one muffins and put pesto on the other. If your are flashing the cash add some salad :D

Also, a couple of times a month we try and have beans on toast (which I adore).

We also buy bread when it is cheap at the end of the day and then freeze, taking out a couple of slices at a time for lunchtime sandwiches.

I also make a huge pot of (vegi) spaghetti bolognaise and then make individual lasagnes with the remaining mixture. Lasts two of us 3-4 meals :)

750g bag of cheap pasta - sainsburys about 60p/cheapest in aldi/lidl/netto/tesco
6 x cans cheap toms - sainsburys = 70p/tesco, about 60p??
salt, pepper to taste,
italian mixed herbs about 1tbsp - usually store cupboard stuff
big bottle of passata - cheap one from aldi/lidl 49p
cheap spicy sausage - £1.69 for chorizo @morrisons or 99p @ tesco/ 99p lidl/aldi for a spicy sausage
3 tins cheap beans (haricot beans or cheap baked beans with tom sauce rinsed off, about 40p)
2 or 3 red peppers - tescos do a cheap bag for about £1?? ( i got a bag reduced to 40p)
1 chopped up onion
bit of cheap cheddar to sprinkle on top ...

stir fry onions, peppers and chorizo, add all tinned toms and passatta and seasoning/herbs.
simmer for about an hour or 2 on lowest heat ... but heat up slightly to reduce sauce right down. cook cheapo pasta, add to peppers/sausage/toms, bung in a casserole dish and sprinkle with a bit of cheese, finish off in oven for 8-10 mins.

quality of sausage needs to be fairly good otherwise too much fat comes out, but you can make it with cheap plain sausages or spicy such as those mattesons ones, or use a chorizo like i do ...
will feed 5 very hungry people, or more if you add more pasta ... pad it out with a cheap garlic bread (49p aldi) and it will go further :D

This is what's known to family and friends as all purpose industrial paste

2 lb mince. 3 cans of cheap tomatoes, small can/tube of tomato puree,
3 or 4 onions, 1/2 a head of celery and a couple of carrots cut up small
garlic, herbs, paprika salt and pepper
fry off the meat and then add the onions, celery and diced carrot saute until onions are soft. add the herbs/garlic etc followed by the toms and puree. Leave to simmer for an hour or so
add mushrooms, peppers, courgettes, sweetcorn and cook for a further 1/2 hour
allow to cool and portion up and freeze.



by adding various herbs/spices and other bits and bobs you can get a weeks worth of meals from this
pasta and sauce. lasagne, moussaka, cottage pie, chilli, curry etc etc.

i make my own pasta salad me and the kids love it

2 tins of tuna chunks
1 bag of pasta
Mixed peppers (if liked op)
1 medium onion (op)
1 tin or frozen sweet corn
About 3/4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
a desert spoon of mixed herbs

Or just find the veg that you would prefer
Chuck it all in bowl mix in the mayo
Boil the pasta until cooked
Then wash all the starch off with cold water
Mix all together put in fridge for a few hours for all the flavours to work
Hay presto pasta salad
It’s great on its own or with a salad
:love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

Corned beef hash

large tin of corned beef
two or three tins of tomatoes
carrots, onions, parsnips, swede, celery etc etc
Fry off the onions and celery, add the tomatoes and any herbs or spices you fancy
cut the root veg up into 1 inch chunks and throw in,
add the tin of corned beef and then cook for about an hour,
You may need to add some water to get the consistency right.
I find a couple of large carrots a large parsnip and a couple of large potatoes will make this a meal for 6.

I've got a cookbook called Grub on a Grant By Cas Clarke. I've had it since i was a student and the lifesavers section is ace. Not to be done long term as there is little nuitition in it but:

Spaghetti; Flavour up with a blob of marge, black pepper and herbs. Serve with tinned tomatoes if can afford.
Baked Potatoes If you can afford it with Grated cheese to make it go further.
Rice and Potatoes. Rice, potatoes cubed and fried. Add soy sauce if you have any.
Yorkshire Pudding. Add Fried onions and gravy if available.
Pizza - flour, baking powder,salt, milk. tomato puree herbs and cheese.
Sweetcorn or Apple Fritters.
Pancakes. With whatever you've got in the cupboard.
Always great the week before payday or grant cheque.

There are loads of good cheap recipes in the book - one called Nigel's bake my mate copied when we were students and it's still her signature dish.

Yorkshire Pudding. Add Fried onions and gravy if available.
.

thats one of my favourite meals! I have to add hendersons to it though :love::hihi:

I like...
pasta
tuna
mushrooms
mushroom soup

You can stick anthing in though really that' left in the bottom of the fridge, peppers, onions, bacon, whatever really! tasty and cheap!