meals on a budget

[zelu koloria]

my boyfriend an I are both on a really tight budget this week, my gran is going to lend me £80 and give me some eggs from her chickens and tomatoes from her garden and then I am going to do a cheap shop at the supermarket. Please post some recipes/ideas for tasty (pork-free) meals on a budget.

[zelu koloria]

aaaaah, I lost all my money last night. looks like another week fo toast.

[ali patts]

Been there! I tend to head for slow cooked dishes stew, goulash, chili, bolognese type sauces (also roast belly pork, I know that is a no go but it is a very cheap cut of meat). Ok so bolognese/ragu can only really be eaten with pasta but I make the goulash work for longer by serving with potatoes some days and rice others, plus the only ingredient I would have to buy is the meat, as I tend to have tinned tomatoes/onions/potatoes/rice etc in the cupboard. Speaking of which... Cupboards are always worth investigating - you may be suprised what you actually have kicking around!

[toodie jane]

we used to make a lot of filled crepes when we were students on a budget. You can make a big batch and freeze them for later.

Fill with leftovers of any type, or scrambled eggs, and they are filling and don't taste budget-y.

Also make good anytime snacks just heated, brushed with butter or jam and dusted with confectioner's sugar. No need to gild the lily.

[zelu koloria]

thankyuo, I just remembered that bbc.co.uk has this funstion too so am looking now.

[The Dairy Queen]

Well, anything you can do with eggs like frittata or strata or a quiche.

Anything you can do with beans, like a vegetarian chili or a black bean soup. Actually, soups in general, like a potato soup.

Pasta dishes.

If you could buy a whole chicken and roast it, you could stretch that over several meals, like chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, chicken pasta, then use the carcass to make soup.

If you want inexpensive protein, you could substitute tofu for meat in a variety of dishes.

Also, if you go to epicurious.com, use the advance search where you can select "main dish" plus your main ingredient (main dish+eggs, main dish+potatoes, main dish+beans, etc.) and it will give you lots of main dishes using the cheap main ingredients I listed.

~TDQ