Don't Crumble Under the Crunch (Cooking on a Budget!)

Member Name: cookie334

Product:	Cooking on a Budget!
Date:	05/11/08 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, easy, yummy, kids can help make them

Disadvantages: None

I watched a programme on STV the other day. I think it was called "The Five Thirty Show" but can't be sure. Actually I didn't really watch it. My partner was watching it in the kitchen as we prepared dinner. I'm always trying to save money wherever possible, so my ears pricked up when they mentioned cooking on a budget. However, I nearly choked on my cup of coffee when they went on to say that the meals they were going to show cost less than £5.30 (for a family of four). How much?!? On a budget?!? I spend that much when we decide to splash out! Is this really how much people spend on an evening meal on a daily basis? And more than this usually, as this is supposed to be on a budget?

Anyway, it got me thinking that perhaps I should bestow some of my wisdom on some other like minded penny watchers.

I'd like to make clear before I begin though that I have absolutely no idea on calorie content etc. As a family we eat pretty healthily anyway, so I don't tend to look at fat content or anything like that. I do believe these recipes are fantastic for children though. They can help out at making most of them and they can be adapted to suit fussy eaters or different tastes.

I'm going to give details of three meals. I would usually make these Monday through to Wednesday and it would be based on the fact that we had a roast chicken dinner on the Sunday and the cost is including Sunday's meal.

** Thin Base Pizza **

What you'll need:
185ml warm water
7g sachet of fast action yeast
300g plain flour
250g cheddar cheese
1 small tin tomato puree

Put the water and the yeast in a bown and add a handful of the flour. Mix until smooth then cover and leave for 20 minutes. When you go back it should be slightly frothy looking on top.

Add the rest of the flour and mix well with hands. It will be soft to start with but will go elasticky after a few minutes.

Cover with a cloth and leave for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to about 200degC and prepare a baking tray.

The dough can either be halved to make two huge pizzas or quartered to make four good sized ones.

Flatten the dough until stretched wide and thin. You can use a rolling pin if you want, but it's easy enough done with hands.

Spread some tomato puree and sprinkle with cheese. You can add anything else you want. We usually try and add at least two portions of veg at this point - sweetcorn, onions, mushrooms, anything really, but make sure it's something you already have to save money.

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until it looks right for your individual taste.

~ If the kids get sick of boring old pizza, you can try making pizza wheels. Do everything as above, but before you put it in the oven, roll the pizza up like a swiss roll and slice it.

We usually serve with potato wedges - potatoes chopped into wedges, drizzled with a little oil and baked in with the pizza's


** Veggie Pasta with Garlic and Onion Sauce **

What you'll need:
Frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix
2x carrots
1x tin sweetcorn
1x onion
1x tub onion and garlic sauce (if you're a dab hand in the kitchen I'm sure you could make your own for cheaper)
Pasta

This is a quick and easy dish to make. Boil up your pasta. In another pot, boil up or steam your veg.

When the two are ready, drain the water, add the dip and mix the whole lot over the heat for a minute or two.

Serve

~ You can adapt this for summer as well. Just cook the pasta, but instead of cooking the veg, chop a carrot, some cucumer and some onion. Put in a dish and add some sweetcorn and the dip. When the pasta's done, allow it to cool and mix together.

Both of these taste great with some pepper over the top.


** Tuna Wraps **

What you'll need:
2x tins tuna
1x tin condensed mushroom soup
1x onion
1x carrot
1x pk tortilla wraps

70g butter/margarine
40g plain flour
600ml milk
Cheddar cheese to taste

Chop onion and carrot and put in a large bowl. Add the tuna and soup and mix altogether.

Fill the wraps

Melt butter/margarine in a pot, add the flour and stir until quite thick. Keep stirring and gradually add the milk, stirring all the time. Add the cheese still stirring, keep adding more until you get the strength of sauce that you want.

Pour over the wraps and bake in the oven at 180degC for about 20 minutes.

I would usually serve these with mashed potatoes and veg (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)


** Cost **

I haven't counted the cost of milk and butter as I have taken for granted that most people will have these in the fridge anyway.

The prices here are based on prices for these items at my local Tesco store

Yeast (60p for 6 sachets) = 10p (1 sachet)
Plain flour (Tesco value 43p per bag) = 11p (quarter of the bag)
Cheddar Cheese (Tesco Value small size) = £1.49
Tesco tomato puree = 25p
Bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix = £1.09
Bag carrots (Tesco value) = 45p
Tin sweetcorn (Tesco value) = 32p
2x onions = 36p
Onion and Garlic dip = 88p
Pasta (1kg bag for £1.25) = 25p (fifth of the bag)
Whole chicken = £5.75
Bag potatoes = 79p
2x tins tuna (Tesco Value) = 96p
Tin condensed mushroom soup (Campbells) = 69p
8pk Tesco tortilla wraps = £1.29

The total price is £14.78 for four evening meals (£3.70 per meal)

This can be stretched further by making chicken soup from the chicken carcus, making a bit extra of the pasta or a couple of extra wraps for lunches etc.

I wont go into how much can be saved if you grow your own veg, but even just with simple things like carrots and potatoes it can make a huge difference.


I hope you all find this useful and that it can save at least some people a little money in these hard times.

Summary: Great easy meals on the cheap