Budget belly busters

[Disabled Preppers]

I do tend to rush hands on cooking when i throw a stew together i put it on 1 or 2 and walk away lol , i just never got it right with risotto but i might have ot try i always see it and go wow looks nice and as whe have huge stocks of it ,i must try to make other dishes .
Cheers mate

 

[Paul_B]

As a kid my parents used to make a nice meal when camping. We had a two ring, gas camping stove but they took our home pots including a pressure cooker.

This meal was lovely but simple enough for a camping stove. Chicken and rice. It was a lovely creamy sauce and had peas in. I can't remember what else but it was served in a nest of long grain rice. The sauce is held in by the rice but gradually seeps through it. The chicken was always well mixed in the sauce and was like just small bits of fibre it was do well cooked. That's why i think it was cooked in the pressure cooker.

I was never around the tent when cooking happened. We were sent away and tbh with the summers back in the late 70s or early 80s we were rarely at the tent , but out getting into trouble with mates we made on the campsite. I should really get the recipe.

Forgot to say, if I knew the recipe I'd tell you DP because that meal might be good as it has no big lumps of food if you're having difficulties with that. Reading what I've written above it sounds like I'm describing food you give young kids on the move to solid food. It's not, it's more like a risotto cheat and just as tasty.

 

[gg012]

I do tend to rush hands on cooking when i throw a stew together i put it on 1 or 2 and walk away lol , i just never got it right with risotto but i might have ot try i always see it and go wow looks nice and as whe have huge stocks of it ,i must try to make other dishes .
Cheers mate

TeeDee is spot on, slowly does it. Stir it constantly, you want to think about massaging the rice with the spoon if you can imagine that.

Sent from underground

 

[ESpy]

Some possible hints here -

How to make the perfect risotto

Risotto is one of those dishes which should be quick, simple and delicious, but is actually just very easy to get very wrong

www.theguardian.com

Many ways to skin that particular cat.
With paella I usually pour all the stock in at once - but I can't resist occasionally scraping the pan, which I know isn't traditional; the crunchy bits are supposed to be there. I just don't want the entire thing burnt on

 

[gg012]

...the crunchy bits are supposed to be there. I just don't want the entire thing burnt on

Are you sure you aren't thinking of paella? I have never had crunchy bits in a risotto in Italy.

Sent from underground

 

[ESpy]

...
With paella...the crunchy bits are supposed to be there.

Are you sure you aren't thinking of paella? I have never had crunchy bits in a risotto in Italy.

I'm sure that I am.

 

[gg012]

I'm sure that I am.

And I can't even read
***

Sent from underground

 

[bigbear]

In

Stovies.. ..fer ate

5lb tatties
Hauf a neep
fower currets
Twae ingin
1lb links
1pt watter
Saut n pepper

Brin tae the bile and simmer for up tae 3\4 of 'n hoor till watters gone

Serve n a bowel wae rid or broon sauce

Interesting……I think it is Elizabeth Luard who has a recipe for stovies which is just left over spuds, roast meat and gravy with an onion cooked very slow and low, also delicious!

 

[Potatohead]

Quick tip the missus discovered when knocking up a batch of Ragu for doing quick dinners for the little nose-miners.

Instead of using 1kg of pork & beef mince, we’ll now use 500g and bulk out with lentils and finely grated carrot. Then use the stick blender to pulse it all to a good ragu consistency

Reduces the meat cost, same volume of ragu, increases the hidden veg

 

[gg012]

We had a friend that used hazelnuts to bulk out mince, it worked surprisingly well although I am not sure if it would save any money unless you had a nut tree

Sent from underground

 

[Potatohead]

This one i cant claim the credit for as it was right there on the tin lol. But i didnt know about it or spot it, till it was pointed out to me so just sharing my enlightenment.
So very simple and cheap.

Campells 2- step chicken bake method.

1 x tin campbells condensed cream of mushroom soup

4x chicken breasts or 8x boneless thighs

Put the chicken in a baking dish
Pour over the soup.
In the oven at 200C for 30 mins (or till chicken is done)

Job done.

And apprently works with other condensed cream soup flavours too.

We found You can also shred the chicken once done and stir in some cooked pasta.
Makes it go much further.

 

[Tengu]

I love a chicken carcase too. True luxury, money cant buy that.

 

[Paul_B]

I've cooked with Campbells condensed tomato soup before now. Also nice added to tomato based dishes.

 

[Stew]

Quick tip the missus discovered when knocking up a batch of Ragu for doing quick dinners for the little nose-miners.

Instead of using 1kg of pork & beef mince, we’ll now use 500g and bulk out with lentils and finely grated carrot. Then use the stick blender to pulse it all to a good ragu consistency

Reduces the meat cost, same volume of ragu, increases the hidden veg

I remember either here or BB that someone said about adding porridge oats to bulk out spag bol type dishes. I very occasionally do it - only when I can manage it without the wife noticing! She doesn’t like the idea so doesn’t like the dinner if she knows I’ve done it. If she doesn’t know, she’s fine with it.

 

[Disabled Preppers]

@Paul_B yes my wife has thrown in the old tom soup to a bolo before today if we do not have any sauce made in the freezer , see we use to can or jar it but one year had a huge batch go furry in the jars so now we make the batches as and when the freezer has room and put in to the little take away type plastic pots freeze and thne we can take them out the tub and put them in bags with others , we like our home made tom sauces as i grow far to many toms in the poly tunnel don't ask each year i say cutting back and we grow so many we just hand out or put out front for people to take .
The tomato sauce in the bolo does work but you do have to watch it makes it to sweet sometimes i have noticed that but we just put in extra herb as try and keep the salt low as well .
I know campbells is very high salt or use to be

 

[nigelp]

Quick tip the missus discovered when knocking up a batch of Ragu for doing quick dinners for the little nose-miners.

Instead of using 1kg of pork & beef mince, we’ll now use 500g and bulk out with lentils and finely grated carrot. Then use the stick blender to pulse it all to a good ragu consistency

Reduces the meat cost, same volume of ragu, increases the hidden veg

I make my Ragu only with lentils and diced carrot/mushroom - cooked down nicely it is pretty much the same as a meat one.

I also use lentils only in a vegetable stew.

 

[Stew]

I make my Ragu only with lentils and diced carrot/mushroom - cooked down nicely it is pretty much the same as a meat one.

I also use lentils only in a vegetable stew.

Any lentils in particular or just a bit of all sorts?

 

[nigelp]

Any lentils in particular or just a bit of all sorts?

Green, Puy or brown ones. I cook them separately until just nearly done and add in towards the end to take up the flavour.

The ragu recipe is based off a Hairy Bikers recipe

https://www.copymethat.com/r/t5mXMYnaf/mushroom-and-lentil-ragu-hairy-bikers/

 

[ESpy]

Green ones. I cook them separately until just nearly done and add in towards the end to take up the flavour.

That sounds good. I'm lazy and bung in red lentils without precooking them to bulk out ragus. I'm prone to using a small amount of meat, loads of tomatoes and the previously mentioned grated carrots as well as the lentils.

The other thing I really like the pressure cooker for is cooking beans & pulses - limited faffing around, on a timer - hands off cooking. I've got a 5kg pack of chickpeas to work through, so that's a godsend.

https://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php is generally in the right area for timings.

 

[nigelp]

That sounds good. I'm lazy and bung in red lentils without precooking them to bulk out ragus. I'm prone to using a small amount of meat, loads of tomatoes and the previously mentioned grated carrots as well as the lentils.

The other thing I really like the pressure cooker for is cooking beans & pulses - limited faffing around, on a timer - hands off cooking. I've got a 5kg pack of chickpeas to work through, so that's a godsend.

https://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php is generally in the right area for timings.

I use red lentils for Dal - I make loads of that.

Chickpeas are great and I add those I to the dal also. Pulses are cheap in tins and even cheaper dried and used that way.