Frugal grocery and cooking advice

General Cooking tips

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Zuthuchi
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Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:04 am
Location: Boston

Come the weekend I am filled with optimism about the week ahead's cooking...

On Saturday we get all the food we think we need - but we always run out come Thursday.

My wife and I cook a large recipe from scratch that will be eaten at work (e.g. This week it was a beautiful chilli con carne, made into 6 portions).... then we have something for the rest of the week at night, often put in the slow cooker on Monday morning, ready for us coming home. e.g. a chicken casserole.

We intentionally cook lunches for 3 days for both of us, as thats enough in the week of eating the same thing, but as a result it usually ends up with me going to the shop on wednesday night / thursday night to top up the food shop to get us through to the weekend.

The slow cooker pot never seems to last beyond 3 nights max. Any ideas of meals we could make when we get closer to the weekend? One thing I noticed is we eat meat basically every lunch and dinner... maybe some meat free meals would be healthier, and cheaper?
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retropants
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Hello Zuthuchi, welcome to the forum!
this coconut (lentil) dahl is quite delicious, and very filling. It makes a large pot and only takes about 35-45 mins in total.

https://runningonrealfood.com/coconut-red-lentil-dahl/ (copy and paste link)

you can have it with rice or naan, whichever you prefer. I'll be making a vat of this tomorrow. I freeze portions so that we don't eat the same thing days in a row.

I also like to make spinach and ricotta canelloni with pancakes instead of pasta, apparently, this is called crespolini!
I can't find the recipe I normally use, but this is similar, you'll need to add 2 dsp of pesto and some grated nutmeg to the spinach mixture.

https://www.asdagoodliving.co.uk/food/r ... cannelloni

it makes 4 portions.

have fun, there's lots of ideas out there!
Westi
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I keep a freezer itinerary & just pull out the fridge crisper drawer as well each week to check what nearing it's end to chuck into what I make make. I find at this time of year I make a lot of soups, but go for the thicker 'chowder' type ones with potatoes in them, which are a meal in themselves with the dash of cream. I pull the last bits off a chicken to throw into a Chorizo & Chicken stew & when there is no chicken left I bulk it out with Risoni pasta & make more stock with the bones.

Get what you need but always check what you have as well - even lettuce can be thrown in. BTW Welcome to the forum!
Westi
Stephen
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Something which might suit your style of cookery and the winter is a root vegetable ragout.
I forget where the recipe I have came from but combines, celeriac, carrots, swede, onion, garlic and florence fennel. In simple terms, sauted then finished in a tomato and vegetable stock sauce. Add oregano to your taste. Works well with rice but you might use other carbohydrates.
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