Frugal Food-al

[The Reverend]

After reading KatyKickers excellent blog on cheap tortilla it got me thinking about other cheap food recipes you know of. I have been known to make cheap pizzas using left over wraps in the fridge with some passata/left over bolognes and then left over cheese on top. I could use Katy's tortilla to make the bases for a really cheap meal.

Another thing to do with left over wraps/tortilla is to cut them into triangles and put in a big mixing bowl. Drizzle over some oil and give them a shake. Then throw some Fajita mix (in the jars like herbs) over them and give them another shake. Then tip the contents of the bowl into an oven at 160 and bake them. They then turn into some tasty 'dorito' like chips. You can also do something similar with pita bread. Great if you have leftovers you don't know what to do with them.

What is your frugal food(-al) recipes?

 

[AWW]

Slow cooker mince.

Brown off the mince, onions and garlic in a pan and dump into a slow cooker.

Add a can of drained kidney beans, can of chopped tomatoes, pasatta, tomato paste. Mix.

Add spices, tumeric, paprika, chilli powder to your taste.

turn on and leave for about 3 hours. If there's too much lquid leave the lid off the slow cooker for an hour or so more.

Freezes very well, and tastes nice cold as leftovers 9i like it with some rice and peas)

 

[katykicker]

[member=2509]The Reverend[/member] I loved your comment about using a pasta maker - I'm going to do this today!

I'm turning today's tortillas into tortilla chips. I use a pizza cutter for cutting them up and I stack them all on top of each other. I use a pastry brush to apply the oil, just a little, and bake them at a low temperature (same as you) to make sure they don't burn when I get distracted haha.

Here are a few of my recipes, hope they help someone:

http://katykicker.com/simple-tortilla-recipe/
http://katykicker.com/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/ (cheap cut)
http://katykicker.com/slow-cooker-roast-chicken/ (can use a frozen one if you want)
http://katykicker.com/rubber-roast-chicken/ 4 meals, soup and sandwiches from a roast chicken (for 2 people).
http://katykicker.com/chicken-spinach-filo-pie-recipe/ (great for leftovers from the chicken above)
http://katykicker.com/pasta-sauce-recipe/
http://katykicker.com/honeycomb-recipe/

Also, tips to save money on food shopping: http://katykicker.com/save-money-on-your-food-shopping/
Meal planning tips: http://katykicker.com/meal-planning-tips/
Meal planning with mince: http://katykicker.com/meal-planning-with-mince/

I'm looking forward to working on more recipes in the coming months while on maternity leave. I have about 30 that I want to share but I like to try and upload with photographs if I can.

 

[EmilyDav]

It's not very adventurous; but basically any old odds and ends left in the fridge chopped and added to a risotto. All you need is a base of an onion; the rice and a vegeie oxo with some hot water and you can put almost anything in it; and it's so easy after a long day at work.

 

[The Reverend]

There are so many meals out there that can be cheap.

[member=258]alditoharrods[/member] makes a really nice pasta sauce out of a can of chopped tomatoes, chopped veg and some spice, mix in with pasta lovely light meal, sometimes we will have cooking bacon as well

But if got leftovers Bubble n Squeak

At the moment I'm trying to reduce the amount of carbs I eat. I've been experimenting with using courgette instead of pasta. I've made a lasagne and spag bol with this and I've also used courgette as noodles in a stir-fry. It works really well. Just use a knife to turn it into either thin slices or ribbons. I have seen people use a spiraliser for the same effect.

 

[Twiggy]

I'm a 'make it up as I go along' cook, and as long as I have a can of tomatoes/or puree, rice and an onion, I can usually make a meal out of anything.

 

[EmilyDav]

Depending on whether you are a vegetarian or not [member=2509]The Reverend[/member] you could always try chorizio slices instead of lasagne sheets? I did one like that recently with mashed butternut squash to help fill it out as well; the flavours seemed to work well together, especially when covered in melted cheese!

 

[The Reverend]

Depending on whether you are a vegetarian or not [member=2509]The Reverend[/member] you could always try chorizio slices instead of lasagne sheets? I did one like that recently with mashed butternut squash to help fill it out as well; the flavours seemed to work well together, especially when covered in melted cheese!

[member=2532]EmilyDav[/member] - I'm not a veggie but I'm also not a pork eater (most of the time). When I did I would add slices of pepperoni in my lasagnes as the paprika would help flavour them. I found the courgette gives a 'normal' pasta layer to it, but it does need a knife to cut it unlike standard pasta that can just be cut with the serving spoon!

 

[The Reverend]

I'm a 'make it up as I go along' cook, and as long as I have a can of tomatoes/or puree, rice and an onion, I can usually make a meal out of anything.

I've just blogged about a chicken satay I made using ingredients from my cupboards. Nothing bought just for it.

http://thereverend.co.uk/blog/food/home-made-chicken-satay/

£2.50 for the chicken
£0.80 for the coconut milk
£0.10 for the garlic cloves
£0.20 for the ginger

Salad was all in the fridge already, but lets say £1 worth

£2.30 per portion for 2 portions of chicken satay. Definately not the cheapest receipe around but with the Chicken taken out the freezer, only the ginger and garlic need to be had 'fresh'.

 

[katykicker]

Thanks for the recipe [member=2509]The Reverend[/member] - I've just bookmarked it! YUM!

Also, thanks for the idea on pasta maker/tortillas. I used it last night. Didn't make them round, obviously, more oblong, but I cut them before dry frying. Then once dry fried I snipped them with scissors and turned into tortilla chips (I have done this lots before but this time I sprinkled with paprika). They were lovely and even have leftovers for a lunch today

 

[RickyRaj]

Soups are great, healthy and great to use up left over veg. Base ingredients for any soup are an onion, carrot and celery. The rest is up to you. I make mine in bulk and then freeze it so I double the base ingredients.If you want a smooth soup then blend the ingredients with a blender. ;D

 

[katykicker]

I use my nutribullet for a lot of blending (husband has it for smoothies etc). As long as you chill the soup before you chill it there is no issue (Sometimes heat makes the lid basically pop off when you open it and the blades are wayyyy too sharp for that lol). Just an idea for anyone who has a nutribullet

 

[alditoharrods]

Oh my word that chicken satay looks amazing!

I love cooking, and now I've got more time for cooking our grocery spend has gone down. A few weeks ago I went through our freezers and came up with a list of 21 meals that didn't require buying anything more than some veg when needed. Here it is actually: https://www.instagram.com/p/BACIBHOlTVL/

I did this week's grocery shopping yesterday and it came to £20.71. We will need bread and milk throughout the week (another £2-£4) but I'm thrilled.

I buy a LOT from the yellow sticker shelf though, so our freezers are full of good quality meat but at a fraction of the cost!

 

[The Reverend]

Oh my word that chicken satay looks amazing!

I love cooking, and now I've got more time for cooking our grocery spend has gone down. A few weeks ago I went through our freezers and came up with a list of 21 meals that didn't require buying anything more than some veg when needed. Here it is actually: https://www.instagram.com/p/BACIBHOlTVL/

I did this week's grocery shopping yesterday and it came to £20.71. We will need bread and milk throughout the week (another £2-£4) but I'm thrilled.

I buy a LOT from the yellow sticker shelf though, so our freezers are full of good quality meat but at a fraction of the cost!

[member=258]alditoharrods[/member] Thanks. I think it could be made cheaper. I tend to use Coconut water with a high coconut percentage. You can pick up cans for 50p or less but they usually have 30% or less coconut content. I've never used them but I'm sure they would do the job. My cheat is the bottle of lime juice. Just so much less hassle and mess than an actual lime. But you do miss out on the grated lime zest in the sauce if you don't go with the real thing. At a push, with some small skewers you could actually make 3 portions as the chicken comes in a packet of six. Slice the thighs up into fingers and then let them marinade. The before you grill them put them on skewers and I think that would be an acceptable lunch/dinner if everyone gets a portion of 2 thighs. That drops the price per portion to £1.38 which really is quite reasonable!

 

[Midnight]

That chicken satay looks lovely! And so simple too. Adding it to my meal plan for next week

 

[RickyRaj]

I make a point to always have a look at the discount counter in supermarkets to see if there is anything that is heavily reduced. Even better if you find something that you can freeze!

 

[Kellyb]

I love the reduced sections in supermarkets - I often end up trying something I wouldn't think to buy. Just before Xmas I found some baked Camembert with cranberry jam reduced to 99p in asda and it even came with the reusable baking pot!

 

[Storm89]

I do the same! Quite often pop into the supermarket on my way home from work. Haven't bought any bread products full price for months, and quite often pick up some meat/fish reduced which I then bag and put in the freezer.
I'm going to make up lots of meals to freeze and then chuck in the slow cooker. Already bought everything except the meat (buying most from musclefood) and vegetables. I've got about 30 meals planned but think most of those are for 4-6 people and there's only 2 of us so should last us a while

 

[katykicker]

Muscle foods is brilliant! I have started using them recently and the quality is fab!

I've posted more here: http://www.themoneyshed.co.uk/index.php?topic=5139.0

Including a code to get some freebies if you're a new customer X

 

[Kellyb]

I know @thriftyhusband - I'm afraid I don't tend to browse the supermarkets so end up buying the same stuff week in week out so I do like the reduced section - everything all together for a quick perusal! We had some super cheap Ready made Mexican stuff recently for a fraction of the price. Love a bargain!