Cheap but tasty recipe ideas wanted!

[missus]

I'm heading back to uni in October and I'm quite anxious to be more economising when it comes to food (and everything else, if I'm honest).

I know you are probably all thinking, "Why doesn't she eat baked beans on toast or cold rice pudding out the tin like the I did when I was a student!?" but it may amuse you all to know that, at the royal age of 21, I suffer from a severe case of food snobberyitis.... (Yes, when my student loan comes in, I head straight for the M&S food hall NOT Wetherspoons...shock! horror!)..

My 'given' excuse is that I really enjoy cooking but I really need some cheap meal ideas that are as nutritionally balanced as possible so that I don't end up, at the end of term, sobbing into a bowl of lidl own brand choco pops which I am forced, by my own folly, to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!!

All recipes(and money saving tips, if you have any) welcome....

[Applespider]

Home-made soup is your friend - particularly if you've got access to a freezer. Go to your local market and buy whatever they are selling off for a ?1 a scoop - broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots, potatoes (and/or a mix) etc. Stock is better (less salty) if you make your own but stock cubes are cheaper and easier. Saute some onion with some butter or oil, toss in the vegetables and then add the stock and simmer for an hour. You can liven it up with chilli, make it richer with cream, add in bacon bits or cheese. Nothing like home-made soup with a bit of crusty bread on a winter night's after lectures.

Other student staple is pasta - but learn/experiment with different sauces. Tins of tomatoes are cheap and again, you can add whatever veg is going cheap into it. Would recommend having the ingredients for a puttanesca around - it's really rich and flavoursome but v quick and you'll get multiple portions out of the jars (anchovies, capers, olives, chilli flakes)

Dried pulses are another cheap option that you can do lots of different things with. Again, best if you have a freezer since they're easier to cook in big batches and freeze.

Make your own wherever possible - raw ingredients are usually cheaper (tho possibly not from M&S). Even pizza nights can be cheap if you make your own bases - and a bit more of a giggle with interesting shapes/toppings!

[dbboy]

braised chicken wings. brown the wings, add to chicken stock, carrots, borlotti beans, flour to thicken and tyne. Simmer for about an hour and serve with crusty bread. Simple yet enjoyable.

[Rolo Tomasi]

Brown Stewed Chicken - around ?10 all in, feeds you for a few days at least

?

1 whole chicken cut up/or 8 pieces

Add to this...

5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 scotch bonnets, chopped

2 large scallions/spring onions, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

Handful of thyme

Season with crushed black pepper

Add soya sauce and browning, however, if you can't get browning then don't worry too much??(2 teaspoons each)

Mix it all together and leave covered in the fridge for a couple of hours at least.

Then,

Brush off the marinade and keep to one side.

Now, get a frying pan nice and hot add oil and brown the chicken pieces.

When the chicken is browned put it in a saucepan and cover with cold water

Add the marinade that you set aside and add two large spoons of tomato ketchup. ?Add more to taste as it cooks.

Cook it on a very gentle simmer for 2-3 hours (lid slightly off) until the meat falls of the bone.

Serve with rice or potatoes

Thank me later...booyakah!

[Jeremy]

Sausage curry

Baked bean curry

Burger curry

[SteveT]

Porridge.

Homemade soup of the season:-

packet of bacon offcuts or a pack of bacon and fry then set to one side.

Onion diced and fried gently until slightly coloured, then keep to oneside.

Dice seasonal veg potatoes and carrots then drop into hot oil and fry in the saucepan for a few minutes.

Pile the bacon rashers then slice down through them into matchsticks, or the technical term is julienne.

Add the bacon to the saucepan along with the onions and finally a half litre of boiling water.

Last to go in is any green veg diced and boiled over a simmering flame for an hour.

Eat your fill and put the remains to cool,

then portion it before freezing,

leaving one portion unfrozen to place in the fridge for your next meal.

[HAL9000]

Homemade pizza - cheap, easy and delicious: http://www.pizzarecipe.org.uk/

[.......]

I always find big meals easy and cheap. Like beef casserole, lasagne, stews, currys - all things you can cook in bulk and freeze/fridge and reheat later. I created a Word document with lots of budget recipes in, if you want I can email it to you.

[DirtyBox]

make a big pot of meat sauce (mince, onions, garlic, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, dried herbs, red wine - cook until thickened nicely), cool, then put in freezer bags in invidual portions and freeze. Will last for a few months and is great if you can't be bothered to cook due to a massive hangover.

[felt-tip]

check out a book called 'beyond baked beans'

really good student cook book.