Cheap recipes

[Andy Hamilton]

Got any cheap recipes to add to our budget living section over on the main site. Just put 3 war time recipes up. It would be nice to add to it.

[Green Aura]

How about Picallili risotto? Sounds bad but is really tasty, and I relied on it as a penniless student nurse to get me to the next payday!

It's not really risotto - basically fried rice with picallili added and of course my mother's homemade picallili is best.

Simply boil a pan of rice - whatever/however you like.
When cooked, fry in a pan in a little oil. You can add anything you like at this stage. I sometimes added chillies but it doesn't need much else.
Chuck in a couple of spoonfuls of picallili and warm through - you want the veg hot but still crunchy.

If you can afford, it goes well with a piece of meat, vegeburger or even a fried egg.

I suppose you could use any pickles really, but I always had a huge supply from home - it needs to be something with chunky veg though.

[StripyPixieSocks]

Haven't got war time recipes but I have got alot of others including the Falafel recipe on this thread, that is ultra cheap.

Thing you have to remember these days is cheap is great but often wartime recipes (and some new and cheap recipes) are not always very nutritious and really shouldn't be encouraged.

The best way to get cheap meals is to buy in bulk and buy for a month at a time and get things that will do more than one meal. Case in point is we can get a chicken to last us for about 6 meals if we eat a leg and wing with a roast dinner, two days of chicken salad sandwiches and the carcass for stock for soup.

IMHO that is the key to cheap living not eating unbalanced meals in the name of cheapness... if you see what I mean... hopefully you do and don't think I'm being awkward but as someone who has to watch her health these days I have to be careful hence the next time I make falafel it will be in the oven for health reasons!

I think what I am trying to say is there is a difference between cheap and cheap and good for you.

[Sally Jane]

Thing you have to remember these days is cheap is great but often wartime recipes (and some new and cheap recipes) are not always very nutritious and really shouldn't be encouraged.

The wartime generation were said to be surprisingly healthy, probably due to the lack of sugar, and the emphasis on fresh vegetables in the diet.
Of course, the other big difference is that they got far more exercise that most people do today. People walked much more, work tended to be manual, and even housework was far more labour intensive as there were fewer of the mod cons we take for granted, such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners.
If we reverted to a wartime-type diet but with today's less active lifestyles, we would probably end up huge!
However, if we revert to a wartime, low-tech, highly physical lifestyle we'd probably be fighting fit!
All a matter of balance, I suppose.

[Milims]

While we were in France we were served a home made buffet. There was this sort of eggy, bready, loaf thing with cheese, fish, ham, veg etc in. It was really yummy so I asked for the recipe. It turns out it was very similar to Grayes grannies war time cheese pudding recipe!

1/2 pint milk
2 eggs
4 oz grated cheese
1 large cup breadcrumbs
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp mustard

Mix it all together. Put it into a greased oven proof bowl and bake until firm and golden.

Graye - I hope you don't mind me posting this again - it's just sooooo good I want everyone to know!!

Anyway the only difference between this and the French thingy is that you add slightly more bread crumbs (great way to use up stale bread) and less milk so that the mixture is firmer. You can also add things like left over veg, ham, fish - what ever is hanging around the fridge. You bake it in a loaf tin and it turns out quite firm and easily sliced. Yummy!

[Graye]

No, no problem! The more people who enjoy it the better!

I'm still working on Grandma Leah for more of her wartime recipes but at the moment she's reminiscing about her father (the non-English speaking Polish tailor) and how he arrived in the 30s with nothing but a family and his handcart and went from being a master tailor in Warsaw to being a cutter for another tailoring firm in Birmingham. In no time at all he set up his own little part-time business, working late into the night. He was apparently making exquisite hand-embroidered made-to-measure ladies underwear from parachute silk or, if that was hard to come by, teddy bears from offcuts of suit material. I seem to remember one from when I was very small - a natty navy pinstriped teddy with camel coloured ear lining and paws and a pointed little embroidered face!

I shall try to steer her back on course and see what else she can come up with from her recipe book. She promised me spicy beetroot stew but it isn't forthcoming yet - I'll ask her to find the information if I chat to her later though and post it.

[missy]

don't know if these will be of any use to you...

http://www.retrofoodrecipes.com/

http://www.vintagerecipes.net/

[starchild]

soup has to be the ultimate - just throw in all the bits of veg that are a bit too limp to enjoy steamed, add butter (because that hides a multitude of sins ) some herbs, garlic, perhaps some left over tinned tomatoes and a handful of red lentils.
Serve with home made bread and it's frugal and healthy!

[LBR]

In this part of the world, beans are considered the pantry staple of thrifty kitchens.

Easy and popular are

Crocketpot Beans

Put two cups of sorted, washed beans to soak overnight in filtered water. Whether small red beans, black, pinto, adzuki, navy, kidney, or butter beans, you'll need about 8 cups of water on those beans.

The next day, cook 1/2 pound of bacon, previously cut into bite-sized pieces, in an iron skillet, until fat is clear, or just turning colored. Put the bacon, fat and all, into your slow cooker. (Bacon can be cut up and put cold, into the cooker, but the flavor is more traditional when cooked a bit beforehand.)

Add the soaked beans, and a large can of diced tomatoes in a slow cooker (crock pot).

Cook on high for 6 - 8 hours.

Fifteen minutes before serving: add salt and pepper, and any other flavorings you like.

Seasonings added before the last fifteen minutes tend to lose their flavor, or turn bitter.


Beans average $1.40 per pound, and store-bought bacon averages $3.00 pound. Organic, of course, cost more.

Variations: split peas and ham, navy beans and ham

[shell]

I picked up a cook book in a charity shop ,the recipes were given by people interested in raising money for the charity,the recipes are cheap and cheerful mostly and came from all around the uk,i use it often hence the very tatty state,
here are a few,
baked bean pie,
1 1/2 mashed pots,
2 onions chopped small,
6 streaky rashers cut small,
8 oz tin baked beans,
2 oz grated cheese,
grill bacon,mix with onion and beans, line casserole dish with half the potatoes,fork into a well so that the potatoe slopes up the side of the dish,tip bacon onion beans in the centre,cover with rest of potatoes and grated cheess,cook in a hot oven for 30 mins,the cheese should be crisp,
a good cold weather dish,feeds family of 4 cheaply.

salmon pancakes,
1/2 small tin pink salmon,
1/2 pint evaporated milk,
3 eggs,
salt and pepper,
cooking oil
1 tbs plain flour,
Mix salmon with beaten egg add s and p and 1 tbs flour.heat oil in heavy based pan,pour in enough mixture to caver bottom of pan thinly, cook for only a few minutes each side. serve with lemon juice.

quick curried chicken snack
1/2 pound cold cooked chicken
1 dst curry powder
1 large onion
1 oz butter
1 tin pineapple pieces
salt and pepper to taste
top of the milk.

Fry onion in butter,add curry powder and stir,add juice of pineapple and seasoning,then pineapple and sliced chicken,heat through and add milk,serve with rice
have to say not tried the latter but sounds good.if you want any more from this book i`ll type a few more,theres puddings,chutneys,etc,but its very old and some of the ingredients may need to be changed to the modern equivelent(excuse spelling)its printed on paper and typed, even the cover is paper not hardboard if you know what i mean

[StripyPixieSocks]

Having to be thrifty as we have £10 - £20 / week for food these are a couple of my favourite cheap meals until our circumstances improve. Luckily we have lots of herbs, spices, pulses and pastas in as store cupboard essentials so we make what we can when we can really!

I absolutely love this recipe and will often make it in bulk and freeze the extra in portion sizes, it always tastes better after being in the freezer for a while too :)

2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
2tbsp Root Ginger, Grated
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes
1/2 cup Sultanas
1tsp Ground Coriander
1tbsp Dried Parsley
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
2 Cans Chickpeas
2 tbsp Tomato Puree

Fry the Onion until golden and all all the spices. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, sultanas, parsley and tomato puree and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and thickened. Serve with Couscous.

There's also the mixing baked beans with mince for Cottage Pie as the bans make it go much further!

This is another cheap favourite in this household, again made in bulk and frozen for later:

1 packet of ready-made paneer cubes from your local Indian shop - about 500g
2 medium onions chopped finely
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
A generous bowl of frozen peas

The usual chunks ginger, chillie, garlic from your freezer (thawed of course)
2 (heaped) teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
3 (heaped) teaspoons garam masala
1 and a half teaspoon of haldi (turmeric)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 pinch of cumin seed if you have some

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of veg oil in a frying pan until hot and then add the cube sof paneer and fry until golden brown - turning over frequently to ensure even browning.


When the paneer cubes have browned - place them onto a plate lined with kitchen paper so that the excess oil is absorbed away. In the meantime - get a large-ish pot and heat some vegetable oil in it until hot - and add the pinch of cumin seed and wait until it splutters.


Then add the chopped onions and fry until goldeny-brown. After which add the ground dry spices and fry some more for about 5 mins gently.


Then when the spices are infused int he onion mixture - and the oil begins to separate from the onions - add the tin of chopped tomoto - and stir around on highish heat for a few mins.


After about 5 mins of simmering tomato-onion-spice mixture - add about 4 small glasses of water to the pot - and bring to simmer. Then add the previously-fried cubes of paneer to the pot and let it simmer for a few minutes more.


Then add the bowl of frozen peas - mix it about and simmer with the lid partially on for about 20 mins - stirring occasionally. The paneer cubes - which started out as "stodgy" plain cheese pieces should by now be of a texture a bit like sponge - and should have absorbed the masala flavours too.


When the "soup" in the pot is of the consistency that you prefer - simmering with the lid off to let some water evaporate - then just stir in some freshly chopped coriander leaf if - and switch the flame off - put the lid on - and then go and prepare some pitta bread or toast - or whatever - to accompany the mutter paneer.

[StripyPixieSocks]

Thing you have to remember these days is cheap is great but often wartime recipes (and some new and cheap recipes) are not always very nutritious and really shouldn't be encouraged.

The wartime generation were said to be surprisingly healthy, probably due to the lack of sugar, and the emphasis on fresh vegetables in the diet.
Of course, the other big difference is that they got far more exercise that most people do today. People walked much more, work tended to be manual, and even housework was far more labour intensive as there were fewer of the mod cons we take for granted, such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners.
If we reverted to a wartime-type diet but with today's less active lifestyles, we would probably end up huge!
However, if we revert to a wartime, low-tech, highly physical lifestyle we'd probably be fighting fit!
All a matter of balance, I suppose.

I wasn't having a go but alot of people think health = weight and it doesn't... take for instance myself and my OH I am very overweight and trying to reduce it but my cholesterol is just under the perfect level which shocks the hell out of people when they see me and make assumptions about what I eat and my health. My OH on the other hand is slim and looks fit but his cholesterol is high and needs watching...

Seeing how my Nana used to cook (and incorporating alot of war time meals cooked with lard and whatnot) I was talking about the health risks of things such as strokes and coronaries through high cholesterol levels which is to all intents and purposes a silent killer... cheese, lard, dripping and eggs were all used widely in war-time cooking so they may be cheap but the cholesterol levels are a killer.

Exercise is great but it doesn't get rid of cholesterol and hardened arteries though.

[Green Aura]

I've got this recipe, which I found ages ago, which should fit the bill here. I can't remember where I got it from.

Unusually I copied the text intact, because I really enjoyed it. I don't know if anyone's heard of this book but I'd quite like to have get it. Here it is.

Lentils With Love
Adapted from The Peaceful Cook, by Harriet Kofalk (Peace Place, 1991).

From Annie: I was clearing out a cupboard in my kitchen the other day, and I came across
the gem of a book, "The Peaceful Cook," by Harriet Kofalk. She was a deep ecologist who
deeply believed in peace.

Here are some of her thoughts about cooking, which are particularly nice to resurrect
since she was killed tragically a number of years ago:

"Cooking in peace - with peace - creates an atmosphere of peace in which we can grow
more fully. As we become more peaceful cooks, so do our lives become more peaceful.
Peace is the ultimate challenge to create, which in itself creates the ultimate joy.
Peace is a power within, and we who spend any time in the kitchen can reconnect with
peace there."

View of the Whole: "Love your body," many healers recommend. One way we can do this is
to feed it high-fiber meals which allow its inner toothbrushes to work most effectively.
Positive thoughts are the "high-fiber" meals our minds need to work most effectively, a
good thought to ponder while preparing this dish.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
1/4 cup raisins
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp. basil
1 Tbs. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin powder
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup tomato paste

Soak dried lentils if you prefer. Drain; add raisins and stock. Simmer 10 minutes. Add
other ingredients and simmer 30-40 minutes, until tender, adding more stock if needed.
May be served over rice, noodles, or with corn tortillas. Serves 6.

To prepare tortillas: Heat 2-3 corn tortillas per person in a hot dry skillet, 30
seconds on a side (just until softened and warm). On top of each tortilla put 1/2 cup
"Lentils with Love," then top each stack with 1/2 medium zucchini, shredded, 2 Tbs.
yogurt, and 2 Tbs fresh alfalfa sprouts.

Embracing Mother Earth: The amazing list of high-fiber foods includes most of the major
ingredients in this meal: corn, lentils, zucchini, raisins, and tomato. So it tones the
body while it nurtures us with the love of cooking meals that satisfy. Enjoy!

[Thomzo]

Muesli-porridge

Porridge oats are really cheap
If you like good muesli it can be really expensive. Make your own combination to suit your budget. Ideal for colder weather.

Take a large jar and half fill with porridge oats.
Add as much or little of the following as you like or can afford:
chopped nuts
dried fruits (chop larger fruits such as prunes but leave sultanas whole)
edible seeds
other flakes
chocolate sprinkles.

Shake to mix well.
You don't want to fill the jar. Leave a good space so that you can thoroughly mix it up by shaking it.

To serve, pour on some milk and microwave for a minute and a half (or cook on the hob if no microwave).

Chopped nuts can be expensive. You can get really cheap packets of mixed nuts now that Christmas is over. Put them in a sturdy bag, seal and bash to bits with a hammer or heavy rolling pin. Great exercise for the bingo wings and wonderful therapy.

To make it go further, chop in an apple before microwaving.

Cheers
Zoe

[shell]

i found a few cheap recipes on this site, downthelane.net