Cheap Meal Ideas

mariposa - http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2009/03/sweet-n-hot-noodles.html (but I use plain rice noodles usually as they're cheaper & easier to get ahold of)

My family's homemade marinara sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cans Italian chopped tomatoes
1 can water
8-10 basil leaves (or a couple tsp. dried)
sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Basically just sautee the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Then dump in everything else and simmer for 20 min.-1 hour. I usually do it for about an hour because it gets much richer.

I never measure the sugar! I usually throw in a few tsp. - enough to cancel the acidity of the tomatoes, and a little extra to add some sweetness. If you like it a bit thicker, add some tomato puree.


I lived on this stuff with angel hair in college. Practically every day. Very economical. I usually make a huge batch and separate it into containers and freeze.



ETA: I also like to buy whole chickens when they're on sale (Tesco has had £2 chickens a few times in the past 6 months!) I like to roast them and shred the meat and freeze it. I make lots of things with it (curries, chillis, stir fries). My husband likes to cut them up raw and has gotten very good at it. It is ridiculous how much cheaper it is!

My family's homemade marinara sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cans Italian chopped tomatoes
1 can water
8-10 basil leaves (or a couple tsp. dried)
sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Basically just sautee the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Then dump in everything else and simmer for 20 min.-1 hour. I usually do it for about an hour because it gets much richer.

I never measure the sugar! I usually throw in a few tsp. - enough to cancel the acidity of the tomatoes, and a little extra to add some sweetness. If you like it a bit thicker, add some tomato puree.


I lived on this stuff with angel hair in college. Practically every day. Very economical. I usually make a huge batch and separate it into containers and freeze.

That's very easy!  How big are the cans of chopped tomatoes?

The cans are 400g. Make sure they are "Italian chopped tomatoes" rather than just "chopped tomatoes." The latter is very watery and will result in a very thin sauce.

I like to save leftover mash (or purposely make a bit extra) and keep in the fridge until the next day. I add a tin of tuna, the zest of one lemon plus half the juice, some dried dill and a few spring onions (or regular onion if that's what I have on hand) and then dredge in flour, egg, and back into flour or breadcrumb, depending on what I have on hand, then fry in sunflower oil until crispy. Delicious fish cakes, so cheap!

Hey I've got a great cheap meal idea...get pregnant and get morning sickness that lasts all day long so the only thing you can eat all day is plain toast...and when you feel a little bit better, you can throw some butter or peanut butter on it.  YAY!!  I'm saving all kinds of money!   

Vegetable stews are really cheap, and you can always add meat afterwards.

The one I just made uses some dried pea and barley mix I picked up at Sainsbury's (I use about a quarter to a third of the bag), stock cubes, onion, garlic, soy sauce, herbs and spices, and canned tomatoes (after the peas/beans are cooked).  I also add whatever soup veg I have on hand.  Like this one I added mushrooms (needed to use them) and carrots.

A couple of pounds all told probably, and we will eat it for a few days (with me eating it for two meals).  I will add sausages to Mr. A's, and along with a sandwich, he will be totally satisfied for dinner.

Soups in general are very economical.  For instance, I made leek & potato soup last night.  Ingredients?  Leeks, few garlic cloves (saute these in butter), potatoes, and water + 2 stock cubes.  Cook til potatoes are soft then blend everything with a hand blender.  Add salt + pepper to taste.  You don't even need cream/milk because the pureed potatoes make the 'creaminess' of the soup.  Serve with crusty bread (homemade is best!) and enjoy a meal that's pennies per portion .

My friend at work always goes to the supermarkets to look for their "whoops" items.  She gets tons of stuff and freezes it.

We've gone a few times and once got a bakewell tart pie for 2p! 

Lately, I've been making shakshouka a lot, which is quite cheap and very filling.

My friend at work always goes to the supermarkets to look for their "whoops" items.  She gets tons of stuff and freezes it.

I do that too... at the moment I've got an ocean of fish in the freezer!

I do that too... at the moment I've got an ocean of fish in the freezer!

I was put off by buying stuff that is almost out of date, but she's still alive so I thought I would try it.

I was thinking about getting a Costco or Makro card as well.  Although it's just two of us, we go through toiletries like mad!

My friend at work always goes to the supermarkets to look for their "whoops" items.  She gets tons of stuff and freezes it.

Half the stuff in my freezer is the reduced stuff. DH and I buy a bunch every time we go. We've never had a problem with out of date stuff, and it's SO CHEAP. Especially at Asda. We got perfectly good mince meat for 20p per pack!! like 500g each. It wasn't turning or anything, it's just fine!

I like to save leftover mash (or purposely make a bit extra) and keep in the fridge until the next day. I add a tin of tuna, the zest of one lemon plus half the juice, some dried dill and a few spring onions (or regular onion if that's what I have on hand) and then dredge in flour, egg, and back into flour or breadcrumb, depending on what I have on hand, then fry in sunflower oil until crispy. Delicious fish cakes, so cheap!

Left over mash is really useful, you can add plain flour and  an egg and make potato gnocchi, which can be simply made into another meal with some pesto, or olive oil and parmesan or PL's marinara sauce

Or you could make a really simple parsley sauce add some poached cheap fish (pollock, or whatever) and layer the mash on top, to make a cheap fish pie.

You can make bubble and squeak, and have it with a poached egg, I love a bit of bubble and squeak.

There's some great ideas on : http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

I like to save leftover mash (or purposely make a bit extra) and keep in the fridge until the next day. I add a tin of tuna, the zest of one lemon plus half the juice, some dried dill and a few spring onions (or regular onion if that's what I have on hand) and then dredge in flour, egg, and back into flour or breadcrumb, depending on what I have on hand, then fry in sunflower oil until crispy. Delicious fish cakes, so cheap!

I do the same with tinned salmon and lots of chopped parsley.