Anyone been watching Economy Gastronomy

[woozer]

They seem to be suggesting you can make three main meals for 2 adults and 2 kids out of one kilo of beef mince and a few veg - my family would think I was trying to starve them - or have I missed something ?

[Rollo]

According to this the mince is only used as a "base" for some of the meals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/bra isedmince_91963.shtml

[woozer]

Hi Rollo thanks for your reply - it would probably stretch as far as one cottage pie and a chilli for my lot - no way on this planet I would get a third meal out of it - I bulk up my cottage pie with peas carrots and baked beans and put loads of beans in my chilli too - none of my lot has an obese bmi ! It just seems a wee bit too optimistic to me and I was disappointed as I really want to reduce my outgoings. Anyone got any suggestions for really filling tasty meals for meateaters ? Apart from eating the kids LOL

[Mortartube]

One way of reducing your outgoings is to cook large batches of one meal and then freeze portions. I doesn't take much more energy to cook 3 kilos of a chilli for instance, than one.

I also trawl the supermarkets later in the day and get things like mince when it is reduced in price. As long as you are going to cook it straight away and make a meal it is alright, and if you have the oven on cooking something else, chuck it in and cook a casserole ready to be frozen for instance. Casseroles are also good ways to use up the one potato left or the small single carrot in the back of the fridge.

I also buy the basics veg from supermarkets. (I notice in the programme most people have expensive brand name goods). I buy cooking onions and bags of carrots from Sainsburys. The only difference is sometimes the shape or size of each piece of veg. If it is too much you can blanch sliced carrots for intstance and freeze them. Or make carrot and orange/ or corainder soup.

Soup is a good way to use up mushrooms that may be just starting to look unappealing visually.

One thing I do buy sometimes is chicken legs as they are cheap and cook them whilst I am cooking something else in the oven. When cold, flake the meat for sandwich fillings, or make a chicken supreme, or as I did the other day, a chicken Biriani, which is great as much of it is rice so it goes a long way.

If you already have the oven on to cook something like a joint of meat, just put something else in too basically. It saves time and money.

Happy cooking.

[Buenchico]

(2 part post):

I sometimes find that I've got under a tenner (or even only a fiver) to spend on a week's food but I always seem to get by.

Here are a few hints which might help you:

1. Tesco do a 'Value' curry sauce, in a 390g can (i.e. the same size as a 'standard' can of baked beans). It's a mild but very fruity sauce, which makes a great base for a chicken curry. (Adding a few extras, such as sultanas, can make it really good). The price seems to vary dramatically, week by week. I've seen it go as high as 23p per can but it's usually under 10p, and quite frequently only 4p! It's at least as good as many 'cook in' sauces costing over �1 for the same quantity, so why not give it a try?

2. All of the big supermarkets sell 'value' pasta sauces, in 440g jars. (Asda has a particularly nice 'Smart Price' bolognese sauce). They make a great base for pasta meals, chilli dishes, curries etc. The typical price is around 36p. For a really simple & cheap meal, brown some 'value' mince in a frying pan. (I use 100g per portion, so that's around 25p). Add � jar of bolognese sauce per person. (About 18p). Stir occasionally until the mince starts to break down. (About 15 minutes). Pour over some 'value' pasta (about 7p), making a nice meal for about 50p. (That's the simple version. In practice I'd probably add some 'value' mixed herbs and freshly ground black pepper).

[Buenchico]

3. Frozen food shops (such as Farm Foods), and other stores, sell (cheap) frozen cooked chicken strips which can be quickly defrosted in a microwave oven. They're sold primarily for use as sandwich fillings, etc but they're great in a stir fry (e.g. with the curry sauce mentioned above).

4. Fish is usually expensive but canned pilchards in tomato sauce are really cheap. Here's my recipe for them:
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/ChatterBank/Que stion655723.html

5. Corned beef is cheap on the Tesco deli counter. A few slices, served with beans and chips (or a buttered jacket potato) can provide a filling meal. Otherwise use it to make a corned beef hash.

6. Baked beans seem to have gone up quite a lot in price lately. But Tesco now sell their 'value' baked beans with sausages for less than a similarly sized can of baked beans. Serve a can of sausages & beans on toast (from a 'value' loaf, of course) as a cheap meal.

Chris.

[NoK]

pmsl

[madmaggot]

'Cheap' mince is mainly fat, you're better to buy late in the day and get the better mince when it's reduced as Mortartube suggested.
The sausages in the basics beans and sausage are mainly breadcrumbs and fat so you won't get much in the way of protein from them, better to just have the beans.
It's cheaper to make your own sauces and you will know exactly what goes into them, rather than buy commercially prepared sauce that's full of additives such as monsodium glutimate.