Budget meal ideas?

[droverjess]

The $100 week challenge is a really good thread.
I can't really do it to match you as we live in UK and we luckily have a lot of our own meat and veg in the freezer but am very interested in making more budget meals since we lost our jobs. I have however already cut my shopping to the bare minimum and shop mainly at Aldi now. It is hard to cost per week though, but I know I am spending much less.
Heinz Tinned tomato soup is preferred by the men and at .75pence per mini tin I now regard it as a luxury!
I so prefer home made soup.

Please can you help suggest new ideas, tips and recipes?

It is much easier for DD and I to live on these meals than the men of the house. DD is in her own rented flat  now so I need new ideas for DH and DS in the hope they will enjoy them. I don't eat cooked cheese as it makes me ill but I can still use it for the others, although its easier if we eat he same. I can always eat homemade soup!

A favourite of DD and mine is the good student staple of bacon rice. This is not a TMX version.
Multiply these ingredients by number of people eating.

1 onion, fry in 1T oil until gently browned.
Dice and cook 2 rashers bacon ( we like ours browned)
Add 1 portion cooked rice and 1 portion peas , or sweet corn, or other veg by choice.
Season and continue to cook in pan over highish heat until all heated through and / or crispy.

Enjoy. Some people add extra soy sauce upon serving, but we don't.
It's cheap and tasty.

I look forward to your replies.
Thankyou for  reading and contributing.
DJ xx

[achookwoman]

DJ,  spaghetti Bol,  I have posted a recipe in non TMX.  Fish cakes made with tinned fish salmon and potato,Cornish pasties. Chow mein.  Pizzas.home made bread saves a fortune.  The above recipes are all enjoyed by the men in our house. DJ you will cope as you are strong and have plenty of good ideas.  Aldi is good for staples.  In Australia ,  we can save 1/3 on our grocery bill by shopping at Aldi.  I do an Aldi shop once a month.
Do you make your own cleaning products?
From force of habit, I cost out food as I buy it.  For example,  a large roasting chook for$8 on special,  will do for the 2 of us, 4 meals,  roast dinner, chicken and salad sandwich, chicken and mushroom pie and chicken soup made with the bones. 
Good luck,  let us know how you are going.

[snappy]

Sounds like fried rice DJ!

What about macaroni beef from this forum as well?  I cook for two boys and one man - lets just say 3 boys!  And I find that pasta based meals are great because they are cheap and filling.  Add some homemade bread rolls on the side and it is normally enough for them.

I also use a lot of chicken drumsticks for the boys because I can get them for around $3 a kilo.  Like chookie, I cook them up and use the meat for chicken and vegie pies so I get an extra meal out of them.  My boys favourite drumstick recipe is honey soy drumsticks done in the slow cooker and served with rice - I just put 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup honey, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tbls of sweet chilli sauce in, mix add drumsticks and cook for about 4-5 hours on high.  The meat falls off the bone!

[snappy]

Just thought of another budge meal - pizzas!  I freeze any extra pasta sauce i make for any other dishes to use on pizzas, imake the tin and crispy pizza bases, and then the toppings consist of whatever left over meat from the week.

You can make one drumstick, one sausage, a bit of ham, some chicken and even left over roast vegies and meat go a long way on pizzas.  It's fantastic for using up leftovers that aren't quite enough to have on a meal by themselves.

[Aussie Brenda]

DJ reading that you DH likes the Heinz Tomato Soup, have you tried JD's Tinned tomato soup, sorry I don't know how to link but JD will do it for me .  I only made 1/3 of the recipe as it makes such a lot but it is really nice and I'm not a fan of Tinned tomato soup. You are doing well, stay strong.

[obbie]

pasta  based meals, rice ect are pretty cheap to make.

Also a lot of soups use lentils, which are cheap to make.  eg pea and ham soup.
I do cheap tuna rissoles, Shepards pie, with mince, frozen peas/corn, potatoes on top, cooked in the oven.

I made 4 pizzas sunday night, and that feed 4 adults, 4 kids, and we have lunches with the leftovers at work..

[nazar]

 l make spag bog and next night make lasagna l add heaps of vegies ,=l also spread  the spag bog on puff pastry and roll up and cut and cut into slices can sprinkle on cheese on to some off them

l use the left over chicken like chookie and others do but l  also add it to pasta with sauce and vegies

[mcmich]

Meatballs, tuna bake and meatloaf.
I add a tin of lentils to my spag bol, no one knows it's there and it makes it go that little bit further.
The men would be OK with homemade soup for lunch with a toasted cheese and tomato, or ham and tomato sandwich to go with it.

[fundj&e]

DJ we have this for dinner tonight http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=10715.15 very cheap to make

[judydawn]

Chicken Kiev makes 6 Kievs using 500g chicken fillets.

Varoma corned beef is a cheap meal with leftovers for sandwiches.

Beef enchiladas - men usually like this type of meal.

Curried sausages - a favourite of men.

Swiss Beef is delicious

[obbie]

swiss beef is one of our favorites.

Bafs chicken and all the variation's too

Risottos

[meganjane]

All great ideas guys.

Food budgeting can be such a drag. I hate it that all the home brand stuff is cheaper but it's not Australian made or owned. It kills me to buy it, but I just have to watch our spending.

When I think of budgeting, I think of my mum. She didn't so much budget, as she bought the best meat, but she utilised everything she had very well. Nothing was wasted. Stews were turned into curries, leftover meat into Shepherd's Pie. Her soups were legendary and cooked up every day with new things (usually left over veg) added.

Something I always do when I cook a chicken is to boil up the carcass with onion, carrot and celery to make a really nice stock for risotto or soup.

Good luck with feeding your man. Guys love anything sweet, that's probably why he likes tinned tomato soup! Just add lots of sugar and salt to everything!! 

Take care
x

[droverjess]

Thanks everyone.
Funny enough chooky we have a vat of spag Bol in the fridge made yesterday from our large stock of mince. It was all I could manage with my limited equipment.

Pasta is not  a great hit with DH, but he will eat the above and lasagna. So maybe get some cheese next time I am out  to add to a sauce for that. I usually don't make it cos of my cheese problem.
DD and I love tuna and white sauce with pasta, we ate loads when we were packing at the other end, but the men don't!

Am unpacking some of the kitchen today, hard to fit the contents in a smaller area and still be functionable. It won't all be done today. I can see Thermy but no room yet to let out of box.

Bought cheap pasties and doughnuts today for lunch from Greggs just as a change from endless sandwiches. DH had been out and come back damp and cold so a hot lunch, made by someone else was a bit cheering for all of us.

I was brought up by a mother who went through the war and rationing and therefore I already make stock, hotpot, shepherd's/cottage pies, rissoles etc. I adore home made soup but the men don't. After next lot of tinned soup gone, won't buy any more and see what happens.

In fact I have a left over cheap roast chicken than fed 4 of us on Friday night, plus a couple of rolls on saturday, ready to go into stock and soup now.

Going to try Aldi sausages in toad in the hole tomorrow, but since we used to have our own pigs pork i think we're going to be a tad disappointed.

I have signed on with a nanny agency for temporary work and am waiting for my police check to come through. If I get work first then they'll have to do some cooking....... !
I did say with my first pay we'd have a curry out as something to look forward to, on a weeknight when they have an offer on.
We've also had horrid bugs and are just not ourselves quite yet. The men had full on manflu, I am just headachey and sore throat with annoying little cough, and just very tired.

Just need to get house more sorted. I will post a pic, you will understand why we are so down when you see it. Plus we feel so hemmed in both inside and out. DH now applied for 9 jobs since the axe fell. It is quite scary actually not knowing when it will come right.



Ah well back to the kitchen sorting..... Thanks for your support girls, it means a lot. Sorry I haven't been on here much.

[Yvette]

Good luck with everything DJ just take your time and everything will get done. Hope you both get jobs soon 

[Jude59]

I hope things turn around for you very soon!
Have you tried savory crepes?  I make a pile of largish crepes and fill them with leftovers or tuna mixed with mayo, curry, cream, sauces whatever you have. Fold them into parcels and place in a baking dish. Spoon over some bechamal sauce or spread some cream over them and top with buttered bread crumbs or cheese and bake til hot through.  They are very practical and look fancy crepes/pancakes freeze really well too un filled, which makes it easier to whip up a meal.