Budget belly busters

[Paul_B]

Good old meatloaf. I use Turkey mince, good high meat content westmoreland or Cumberland sausages. I skin them. One egg, breadcrumbs good to use slightly to stale bread, but I forgot that once and it didn't affect it. You can fry and add onions if you want plus whatever flavouring like paprika, chilli powder, herbs according to your preferences.

Hand mix in large bowl and press into a loaf tin with greaseproof paper lining. Really cover it and press down hard. You can leave it like that overnight to cook later or cook to eat. Once cooked leftovers are good cold or reheated. It all can be made day before to make it easy when home. Batch cook option and it freezes well. The recipe is basically meat, eggs and breadcrumbs. Everything else and the details are up to you and your tastes.

I'm a believer in meaty, high protein meals among the veggie dishes. Not every day but good occasionally. Ime protein meals fill me up more than carb dishes.

 

[gibson 175]

absolutely fantastic thread. Please Sir, can we have some more(recipes)?

 

[ESpy]

...
1lb links
...

*Posh* stovies
I'd have gone with stovies too, but tortilla is a good second. With chorizo for a fancy version, but anything in season works (reminds me - I've got runner beans to use up).

 

[SaraR]

Despite living in Wales I refuse to go completely native and suggest Cawl. Rumour has it there's an Indian grocery shop opening in Carmarthen so going to attempt making my own Mutton Haleem. It's been years since I last had any.

I make a veggie cawl with plenty of vegetables and potatoes, which makes it very filling.

 

[SaraR]

Lentil stew!
0.5 L of mixed dried lentils (red, brown and whatever else you have).
Diced potatoes, carrots and onions.
Any other vegetables you have to hand (frozen veg, peas, swede, dried mixed veg etc), if you've got it.
About 1.5-2 L of stock (start with less and add more as needed).
Herbs, bay leaves and spices (black pepper, paprika, smoked paprika etc).
Some onion gravy powder towards the end.

Serve as is, with bread, rice or mash.

ETA:
Directions:
Soften the onions in some oil (or fat of your choice).
Add diced potatoes, carrots and any other veg that will take longer to cook. Give it a stir.
Add the lentils and seasoning and give it a stir. Then pour in enough stock to cover the content. Give it a stir.
Add remaining vegetables: You can pour in all your other vegetables now to if you like, but if you have delicate ones, you can add them later. E.g. if they only need 10 min, just wait for 20 min and then put them in.
Bring it up to simmering, put a lid on and keep stiring occasionally (you do not want it to burn to the bottom of the pan!) and add more stock as needed.
Cook it until everything has gone soft enough. E.g. check the potatoes (eat one) and the brown lentils, which need about 30 min to cook.

Comments:
- I tend to just throw it all the vegetables at once in at once, because this is one of my low effort dishes and it isn't very sensitive to overcooking either.
- I use a combination of vegetable stock cubes, very low sodium stock cubes and vegan Marigold Bouillon powder. Lentils can soak up a lot of salt, but I don't like overly salty food, so this combination gives me loads of flavour without too much salt.
-I often add a handful of pearl barley, but that needs longer to cook, but it's easy to just leave it on the hob for a bit longer and then test a kernel or two.
- The lentils: the red lentils will break down completely and thicken the stew and the brown lentils will retain their shape and give a bit of structure to it (plus I really like brown lentils). I use about half and half of these two. Then I add whatever else I have, such as dark green speckled lentils, green lentils and black beluga lentils, to make up the total volume of 0.5 L.
- If you cut the potatoes into different sized cubes some will dissolve and help thicken the stew and the others will provide a bit of structure.
- The onion gravy powder at the end helps improve the colour, gives more flavour and thickens it up a bit. You can also add some smash (instant mashed potato powder) at the end to thicken the stew up.
-This recipe makes a large batch of stew (6-8 portions), but the stew reheats well, freezes well and can be used as a base for veggie/vegan shepard's pie.

 

[gibson 175]

Lentil stew!
0.5 L of mixed lentils (red, brown and whatever else you have).
Diced potatoes, carrots and onions.
Any other vegetables you have to hand (frozen veg, peas, swede, dried mixed veg etc), if you've got it.
About 1.5-2 L of stock (start with less and add more as needed).
Herbs, bay leaves and spices.
Some onion gravy powder towards the end.

Serve as is, with bread, rice or mash.

how do you cook it Sara?especially the lentils..do you use tinned or dried?

 

[gg012]

Channa saag daal thing

1 onion
4 cloves garlic
Handful of red lentils
2 tins of chickpeas
2 tins of tomatoes
Frozen spinach lumps
1 tsp Turmeric
3 tsp Cumin
Chilli flakes
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice

Fry the onion, add garlic when soft.
Add tomatoes and spices, drain chickpeas and add them, then the lentils.
Chuck in half a dozen or so frozen spinach lumps.
Add water until it looks right then simmer for 40 mins or so until the pulses are done
Season to taste and add a good glug of lemon juice to bring out the flavour.

Sent from underground

 

[Scottieoutdoors]

.....think I'll avoid those last few recipes, as lovely as they do sound...

I quite like sleeping in the same bed/room/house as my wife... I suspect I'd find myself banned... (without the tent...)

 

[SaraR]

how do you cook it Sara?especially the lentils..do you use tinned or dried?

Right, fair enough! will edit my post above.

and I use dried lentils.

 

[Disabled Preppers]

Well i like the thread the ideas are great the wife and i have to watch spicy food i owuld like to try but well long story short health says not a chance lol .

Our fav is onei have just done
Chicken Carcass Stew

The name tells you it we keep our chicken once we have had it roasted, i tend to use the legs and the breast meat and the wings get nibbled but there is so much good meat left on a roast carcass when we say to people about it people go yuck but omg how many have now tried it and gone and we have been throwing it away all these years .

We take the carcass and pop in a pan broken up to help release the meat a bit but you get it to boiling then simmer for a while to help it release the meat more and then i drain it keeping the stock and then pick out as much meat as we can throwing back in the pain of stock then goes in anything from the garden veg beds , i then let the whole lot simmer i do sometimes throw in potato mash balls that have been made before these are frozen from the times i make to much mash these get popped in the stew as it helps thicken the stew but it really is so easy and so simple just the first parts takes the work then it just all goes in a one pot cook so simple .

 

[Toddy]

No one's mentioned the pressure cooker
@Disabled Preppers
If you put two or three of those carcasses into a pressure cooker with some water, two or three mugs worth, and then bring the thing up to the 15lbs, and keep it there for half an hour, it'll reduce a lot of the carcass to jelly. Pick out the bones while the stuff is still warm enough not to set, strip off what meat you want to keep, and shred it.
Season the jus and shredded meat, and then pour it into little ramkins or bowls, or perhaps whatever you use to store portions in the freezer. Set it aside someplace to cool right down and set. The fat rises to the top, and if you don't want it, it's easily removed.

Potted meat is an old fashioned dish, but it's a great base for a stew, it's really good on oatcakes or buttered toast, it makes a meat portion with veggies, it's a good start for something like a curry too.

I don't eat meat, but my husband really likes potted hough....that's the shin (I think that's what an English butcher would call that bit) that's cracked and then seasoned with bay leave, ground mace, salt and pepper, and stewed in the pressure cooker until the meat falls off the bones.

 

[Paul_B]

Years ago when living on my own I used to do something different every so often. One time I decided I'd do a one pot meal using a pressure cooker. Whole small chicken, spuds, carrots, leek, pearl barley I think but could be mistaken. Basically a stew sort of thing. Anyway at the end of it all I had got 7 or 8 meals out of one small chicken and a few cheap veg. I used to need to eat a lot back then. Basically 4000 to 5000 calories so that's 7 or 8 big meals.

I do think cooking slowly in one pot or quicker in a pressure cooker you can get the most out of meat purchase. With the carcass you can get good stock too.

Away with friends for a few days in a hostel we clubbed together for food. First night we got a started a stew. We kept it going all trip. It was full of flavour and very filling. Cheap too.

 

[ESpy]

No one's mentioned the pressure cooker

My go-to whenever I have bones around - chicken, pork, beef, pigeon, rabbit...
Had a chicken from Costco Thursday night, ate the legs, stripped the carcass down and bunged it in the pressure cooker (Instant Pot, about 45 mins). Still got the breasts to use for meals and the stock will probably be used for a risotto. Or maybe paella. Or a veloute sauce...

 

[TeeDee]

My go-to whenever I have bones around - chicken, pork, beef, pigeon, rabbit...
Had a chicken from Costco Thursday night, ate the legs, stripped the carcass down and bunged it in the pressure cooker (Instant Pot, about 45 mins). Still got the breasts to use for meals and the stock will probably be used for a risotto. Or maybe paella. Or a veloute sauce...

Fancy AND Frugal!!! Needs a new word

Fruncy!!!

 

[Disabled Preppers]

@Toddy Oh yes the pressure cooker does get used lol shhhhhhhhh , the wife has me do ham hocks in it and the meat falls off the bones , but i do sometimes svae the chicken carcasses in the freezer then do 2 or 3 depending on size in the pressure cooker i never thought of saving it as a jelly but that is a good idea to i might look at that in the future but the 2 freezers are rammed right now and we still have loads of stuff to harvest hmmmm
I will be like Tom in the goodlife before long he wheeled his wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow sing veggies and fruit alive alive oh lol .

 

[Paul_B]

I once started to store mackerel and other fish bones, tails and heads in a freezer bag in the freezer. I intended to wait until a decent supply of frames built up then boil them up for stock probably in the pressure cooker. I have no idea what I'd have cooked with the resulting stock or how good it would be. It got thrown out before I'd got enough bones and I've never thought about doing it again.

I think I started to do that after watching a programme on TV about cooking thriftily and a cooking programme about fish that mentioned doing this.

I don't like wasted food. I was brought up with clearing your plate even if it made you gag to do so. Now I've chilled about that because my partner and son waste food with every meal and even throw food away unused. That used to annoy me but I've had to mellow about it.

 

[TeeDee]

Just made it - can't be rushed and needs to be made with some love.

Mushroom Risotto - Lots of chunky chestnut mushrooms, homemade black Garlic , -rice is so cheap it means you can add the luxury elements of parmesan cheese with a heavy hand.

 

[Disabled Preppers]

@Paul_B fully understand where your coming from i grew up in the miners strikes times but i was also looked after by nuns at a very young age and many a time they would pin me in my chair as a 4 year old and force veggies in my mouth holding nose and forcing my jaw shut making me swallow oh yes nuns are lovely lol , but i do understand you on the times we grew up in .

The point i am making on my posts is a meal can be had from most anything and like Toddy pointed out i might try their idea save a few and make some nice jelly stock i can then freeze inthe fridge but i will say the chicken carcass stew as i call it is one thing the wife and i love as thee colder weather starts to kick in .

Also i can blend it if need be as i struggle with solid foods going in due to a major health issue so again this thread has given me a few ideas and i will be trying the ones with chickpeas and can blend them down as the wife and i have many tins and always wonder what to do with them i use to just roast them for her as a sort of peanut replacement lol

 

[Disabled Preppers]

Just made it - can't be rushed and needs to be made with some love.

Mushroom Risotto - Lots of chunky chestnut mushrooms, homemade back Garlic , -rice is so cheap it means you can add the luxury elements of parmesan cheese with a heavy hand.

I would love to be able to say i can do a risotto but if you ask the wife i have tried a few times but it either ends up stuck to the bottom of the pan no matter how much i watch and stir or it ends up as a soup lol yup she refused to eat that one .

Isthere any sure fire way to get it right other than practise

 

[TeeDee]

I would love to be able to say i can do a risotto but if you ask the wife i have tried a few times but it either ends up stuck to the bottom of the pan no matter how much i watch and stir or it ends up as a soup lol yup she refused to eat that one .

Isthere any sure fire way to get it right other than practise

Sounds like your heat is too high. You need to think of it as 'slowly and lowly ' ie - slow- long time cooking , lowly - low heat - more a 2/3 , not a high 7/8/9 on the hob.

Also just add the liquid in smaller batches -don't just hoof it in as one , mentally divide it in 4 equal amounts and slowly pour it in until absorbed. The rice will get plumper and creamier and then repeat the process.