low budget cooking

Tater Tot Casserole...

Our biggest challenge was we could not find Tater Tots in the UK (I know other people have, but we couldn't). My oldest daughter works for a Jewish family and made this awesome discovery...Latka's. They are almost identical to Tater Tots and much more available in the UK. She picks them up at Asada. The other key is to use the thick, genuine Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup.

I have a large family (well had...I have had to buy smaller pans now that they are all abandoning me). But basically bake the Latka's as instructed on the package. Fry up about a pound of mince (either lamb or beef...but obviously beef is more American). In your casserole dish mix the baked Latka's fresh from the oven with the cooked mince as well as a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (about 1 can per large bag of Latkas). You can add a couple of spoons of sour cream for an added flavour. You can also add various spices to taste including onion, garlic and season salt. Then smooth out and cover in grated cheese. Bake at 5 or 6 until the cheese melts and is lightly browned.

And shame on you...my mouth is watering. I want one now...except I made a lasagna yesterday and put it in the fridge for tonight.

That's really good. I have a feeling that DF is a much bigger eater than your DH! 
With a small to medium chicken we usually get 2 meals. I usually pop the carcass into the freezer until I've collected 2 to make stock.

We usually have a lot of vegetables to go with it! 

Tater Tot Casserole...

Our biggest challenge was we could not find Tater Tots in the UK

At the potato processing factory where we work, I am told that oven crunchies are basically the same as tater tots.  I haven't tried them yet, though!

I tend to be pretty inventive in the kitchen, but sometimes not as resourceful with what we have available, if you know what I mean.  Like, we have had roast chicken so many times, and we only eat the breast and throw the rest away...  :\\\'(  I feel so wasteful!  I cook quite a bit and usually more than we can eat, but I never freeze anything.  I hear that good freezer bags and/or containers are hard to come by here in UK... is that true?  

Why do you throw away the rest of your chicken? Even if you don't freeze it  why don't you keep it in the fridge and eat it over the next couple of days or put it in sandwiches?

You can buy freezer bags and boxes in Wilkos and most supermarkets or order them by Lakeland or even use old margarine cartons. Once the dish is frozen in a block, take it out and put it in a freezer bag, then you can reuse the container.

I tend to be pretty inventive in the kitchen, but sometimes not as resourceful with what we have available, if you know what I mean.  Like, we have had roast chicken so many times, and we only eat the breast and throw the rest away...  :\\\'(  I feel so wasteful!  I cook quite a bit and usually more than we can eat, but I never freeze anything.  I hear that good freezer bags and/or containers are hard to come by here in UK... is that true?  What brand does anyone suggest, or what is the best method of freezing leftovers?  I have never, ever done this... it's just sad!  There are only 2 of us, and we are spending between £70-100 per week!  No wonder we never get a weekend away, we are literally eating all of our money!
Thanks for the suggestions....

It's pretty shocking (to me) that you eat the breasts and dump the rest!  The dark meat is so moist and has so much flavour... i can't imagine not eating it.

Not sure where you heard that it's difficult to get good freezer bags... every supermarket has them, although i've found that Tesco's bags are thicker than Morrison's, so i prefer them.  If you end up with thin bags, then just double-bag them!

I wouldnt even bother freezing it, though... cant you just eat it the next day?
Roast a chicken on Sunday, shred the bits you dont eat and make a curry or chicken chilli or chicken risotto or chicken tacos, etc the following day.   Then you dont have to bother with freezing.

It's pretty shocking (to me) that you eat the breasts and dump the rest!  The dark meat is so moist and has so much flavour... i can't imagine not eating it.

Not sure where you heard that it's difficult to get good freezer bags... every supermarket has them, although i've found that Tesco's bags are thicker than Morrison's, so i prefer them.  If you end up with thin bags, then just double-bag them!

I wouldnt even bother freezing it, though... cant you just eat it the next day?
Roast a chicken on Sunday, shred the bits you dont eat and make a curry or chicken chilli or chicken risotto or chicken tacos, etc the following day.   Then you dont have to bother with freezing.

Am also surprised how many people do this - I prefer dark meat to light, myself, but we use every last shred of meat on ours and boil the carcass up afterwards for soup or risotto! 

If you miss Ziploc freezer bags, you can get them here at Costco. 

I prefer dark meat to light, myself 

me too!
i find the white meat too dry, so it's great to use in a curry or some other sauce... moistens it up a bit!

me too!
i find the white meat too dry, so it's great to use in a curry or some other sauce... moistens it up a bit!

Or enchiladas....mmmm.  Now I just need some tomatillos! 

I'm going to challenge myself to stretch the chicken we had for dinner last night. I was going to make chicken pot pie with some of it tonight, but I have to go back to work in a bit for a parents' night. I hope I get a lot of meals from it! I'm trying to get back on track with my blog and though this would be nice. 

I made a HUGE batch of chili con carne yesterday (a large slow cooker pot full) for £3.00. My husband and I do 99% of the weekly shop at FarmFoods and other bits from Somerfield with their yellow label value range. For the 2 of us we spend about £15 a week on food.

Wow, my boy and I are trying to economize at the moment, but we're no way near you - well done! Although, we are shopping at Waitrose, which may be the problem

We spend £35-£40 a week on groceries by really planning what we have for dinner everyday.

Sunday - Spaghetti Bolognese
Monday - Crispy belly pork with stirfried veg and rice
Tuesday - rump steaks, veg, mashed potatoes
Wednesday - Caesar salads with chicken
Friday - Chicken Curry with homemade chapatis
Saturday - Pork stroganoff & cous-cous and courgettes

So we bought

Mince beef - £1.99
Belly pork - £3.20
Steaks 2 @ £2.50 each ( i think they're 24% off atm, we had them last week and they were lush - so tender!)
Pack of 8 fresh free range chicken breasts (on offer £8 reduced from £12) - they're individually wrapped so 4 can go in the freezer for next week
2 loin chops £3

Potatoes, veggies, passata, jar of basil pesto,  cous-cous, garlic dough balls, it all came to about £35 which is great, although a lot of chicken this week.

I don't want to scrimp on quality of meat or start eating frozen processed pies but I think we're doing quite well as we were spending more like £60 a week and being wasteful etc which makes me really annoyed, i hate throwing anything out.

We started getting our fruit and veg from Aldis.  Its really good quality and cheaper than most supermarkets.

I try to make a lot of soup as its great for lunches and cheap to make.  My newest favourite is cream of carrot! Yum!

 Like, we have had roast chicken so many times, and we only eat the breast and throw the rest away...  :\\\'

Sorry to come to late to this (and be a veggie) but if you are only going to eat the breast, then why not buy a couple of breasts instead of a whole chicken?


Vicky

Belly pork - £3.20

Oh yeah, belly pork is really cheap, and tastes great!  Some supermarkets call it 'streaky slices' or something like that, but it's the same thing.

Not sure why we don't eat it all.  We just aren't big on eating leftovers, I guess.  I know it's bad....
Sooooo, be prepared to be proud, as this Sunday I roasted a chicken for Sunday dinner, then last night we had jacket potatoes stuffed with bbq chicken.  Now I shall boil the carcass and make a chicken and rice soup of some sort.  The only thing is, I am starting yoga tonight and I don't have time to make the soup tonight (doesn't it take a few hours to make stock?) and I am wondering if the chicken will still be good if I make the soup tomorrow night?  (That will be day 4 of being in the fridge)
Anyway, I think I am doing much better now...

Not sure why we don't eat it all.  We just aren't big on eating leftovers, I guess.  I know it's bad....
Sooooo, be prepared to be proud, as this Sunday I roasted a chicken for Sunday dinner, then last night we had jacket potatoes stuffed with bbq chicken.  Now I shall boil the carcass and make a chicken and rice soup of some sort.  The only thing is, I am starting yoga tonight and I don't have time to make the soup tonight (doesn't it take a few hours to make stock?) and I am wondering if the chicken will still be good if I make the soup tomorrow night?  (That will be day 4 of being in the fridge)
Anyway, I think I am doing much better now...

while you are out at yoga put the carcassin the slow cooker if you have one, or on a low light until you get back, if hubby is in he can keep an eye on it. I do this all the time, in fact i made a leek and potatoe soup the other night in the slow cooker, used the left over choicken carcass to make stock then bunged everythign in the slow cooker and left it on low until i got back, then fresh soup the next day.