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Favourite (cheap) recipes

  • 08-05-2010 1:35am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,011 ✭✭✭


    Hey ,
    Being a student living on the cheap is always on the agenda , what kind of meals or anything you have that are great but super cheap.

    Always found it way nicer to make pasta with sauce from scratch . Bit of oil , chopped onions , tomatoes , little herbs and little salt . You get such a great taste and you will never want to go back to jar sauce again

    Also carbonara , get some bacon ( two strips or so but now to much) chopped into tiny squares , whisk a couple of eggs , fry bacon , as you drain pasta put straight back in the pot while the pot is hot but gas is off , add whisked egg and mixed until coagulated adding pasta gradually

    Spanish omelette( great if you have a few people) , chopped onion , chop enough potatoes into cubes to cover the pan almost , gentle fry potatoes and onions and when it looks like apple colour . 2 whisked eggs for each person you are cooking for . Most of these dishes cost like 5-7 euro to make but can feed 4-6 . so it's great value . I post some more if people add

    anyway feel free to add some :)


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,882 ✭✭✭phlegms


    Delicious Pasta;
    -Pasta
    -Cream Cheese
    -Pesto
    -Small pinch of Paprika to taste (optional)
    -Optional; Sun dried tomatoes and black olives. Also Chicken if the budget stretches

    Cook pasta and mix ingredients.
    Bam.
    Done.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,011 ✭✭✭cHaTbOx


    phlegms wrote: »
    -Optional; Sun dried tomatoes and black olives. Also Chicken if the budget stretches.
    drizzle olive oil and oregano if the budget permits and leave for a while , gives the sun-dried tomatoes a lovely sweetness .


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,089 ✭✭✭jefreywithonef


    Strawberry jam + Brennan's Bread (today's bread today I'll have you know) + slab of butter.

    Simple, cheap and (above all) righteous.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 204 ✭✭red herring


    Beans on toast. The holy grail of student living :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,029 ✭✭✭Extrasupervery


    Madras curry is my mistress. So easy to cook with, so facking delicious. I have it with diced courgette, asparagus, bay leaves, baby corn and whatever other veg is lying around. I prefer basmati rice with madras but make sure you've let it boil and then...simmer? Think that's the right word - for ages. It's gotta be well done and fluffy. Add some poppadums and you've got a cheap and quick (the rice takes longest) meal.

    Add chicken or diced beef if that's what you're into.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,713 ✭✭✭✭Novella


    Porridge, lots and lots of porridge! You can make it with water if you don't wanna splurge on milk, or go half and half - that's what I do.

    69c spaghetti from Tesco. Boil. Stir fry vegetables (whatever is on special offer).

    Actually, anything Tesco own brand works for me!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,089 ✭✭✭jefreywithonef


    Novella wrote: »
    Porridge, lots and lots of porridge! You can make it with water if you don't wanna splurge on milk, or go half and half - that's what I do.

    Porridge is so filling as well. I used to eat Ready Brek all the time in semester one until one fatal week I ran out of the money and therefore had to have it twice a day to stave off the hunger. Needless I got totally sick of it. Eat it in moderation and you're grand though!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,713 ✭✭✭✭Novella


    Monzo wrote: »
    Porridge is so filling as well. I used to eat Ready Brek all the time in semester one until one fatal week I ran out of the money and therefore had to have it twice a day to stave off the hunger. Needless I got totally sick of it. Eat it in moderation and you're grand though!

    I completely forgot about Ready Brek! :( Ready Brek is soooo nice <3


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,089 ✭✭✭jefreywithonef


    Gets a bad rep in college though. Just add sugar you fools!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,713 ✭✭✭✭Novella


    Add anything! Chocolate, honey, nuts, fruit! I used to have it all the time when I was a kid :)


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 731 ✭✭✭seriousfizz


    I remember the days when I used to have ready brek... man, I lived like a king back then. Need to buy some this weekend :p


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,207 ✭✭✭Ally7


    Macaroni and cheese is really good! Boil your pasta in one saucepan, fry mushrooms and rashers in another frying pan, pour in a small bit of flour, stir in milk and cheese and salt, mix the pasta into the cheese sauce and your done :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,029 ✭✭✭Extrasupervery


    Baby potatoes. 89 cent for a bag in tesco.

    You can boil them, fry them, add them to salads and curries. Have them with veg or bake them and add cheese or baked beans or whateverthe****.

    So good, so cheap.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,011 ✭✭✭cHaTbOx


    Ally7 wrote: »
    Macaroni and cheese is really good! Boil your pasta in one saucepan, fry mushrooms and rashers in another frying pan, pour in a small bit of flour, stir in milk and cheese and salt, mix the pasta into the cheese sauce and your done :D
    Made that the other day but when it was done I put it in the oven
    Baby potatoes. 89 cent for a bag in tesco.

    You can boil them, fry them, add them to salads and curries. Have them with veg or bake them and add cheese or baked beans or whateverthe****.

    So good, so cheap.

    sooo soo nice


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,810 ✭✭✭Seren_


    This is a really nice veggie recipe I've discovered in the last few weeks :D

    Put on your pasta to cook. Always add a wee bit of oil to your water before you put in the pasta, so it doesn't stick together/to the bottom of the saucepan.

    Get a can of mixed beans and cook them. Drain the water off them when they're cooked, and add a tin of chopped tomatoes and some garlic and mustard. Just let this all heat up for a few mins :) When this is ready, throw it on top of your pasta (which has been drained by now!) and grate some cheese on top of it. Om nom nom :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,713 ✭✭✭✭Novella


    This is a really nice veggie recipe I've discovered in the last few weeks :D

    Put on your pasta to cook. Always add a wee bit of oil to your water before you put in the pasta, so it doesn't stick together/to the bottom of the saucepan.

    Get a can of mixed beans and cook them. Drain the water off them when they're cooked, and add a tin of chopped tomatoes and some garlic and mustard. Just let this all heat up for a few mins :) When this is ready, throw it on top of your pasta (which has been drained by now!) and grate some cheese on top of it. Om nom nom :D

    That sounds really good!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,532 ✭✭✭Ginja Ninja


    Novella wrote: »
    That sounds really good!
    +1 filling too.

    My way of making pasta sauce: Get a Jar of passata[italian strained tomatoes,makes it a lot easier] add some crushed garlic[or powder] and some oregano and basil,pop in some oil and BOOM pasta sauce.Simmer it for a while and add what you like

    I love chopping up a some pepperoni/salami and putting that into the sauce as the pasta cooks and then just mash the two together,it add some meat[everything is better with meat :P] and that lovely spicyness.Or some paprika and a dash of tabasco,throw some jalapenos in if you want some spicy pasta[it works].
    some tomato puree really adds some tomato-y-ness[it's totally a word] if you like it plain.You can throw in a dash of cream to dull it down and stretch the sauce a bit.

    Another great tip is to make some white sauce[milk,butter,flour] and throw in some of the above.Make a very nyomable carbonara


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,034 ✭✭✭✭It wasn't me!


    Was clearing out ends of various bits of fish from the freezer a while back. This would be nicer with fresh fish, but otherwise frozen works well. Cheapness depends on catching it yourself.

    I used a bit of monk tail and some prawns, but mussles, scallops, prawns, and any white fish would go well.

    Several cloves of finely chopped garlic
    black pepper
    sea salt
    lemon juice
    chopped parsley
    half a dozen tomatoes
    sunflower oil
    white wine
    Spaghetti
    Various bits of fish

    Heat the sunflower oil in a wok, then add the garlic, some chopped parsley, a good grind of black pepper and some lemon juice, toss for a minute or two until the garlic starts to soften and you get that smell of it starting to cook. Toss in your various bits of seafood. Big white flakes of whitefish go really well here. Toss the fish through the garlic and herbs until done. Be cooking the pasta meanwhile. When the fish is cooked through and nicely flavoured, add a good few roughly chopped tomatoes, with a good sprinkle of sea salt, another grind or two of black pepper and a splash of lemon juice. Start rolling the tomatoes around until they start to break down and soften. Now add a generous splash of white wine, turn down the heat and let it just simmer so the wine reduces somewhat. When you've got a nice sauce, with no smell of alcohol coming off the pan, add your spaghetti and stir it through the mix until it's picked up all the lovely flavours. This generally doesn't even make it to a plate. I tend to eat it straight out of the wok.

    The next recipes will depend on a source of free rabbits and venison, but it shouldn't be too hard to find someone who's potting a few and won't mind picking up a few extra for you, especially if you cook for them.

    Rabbit is a wonderfully easy and versatile meat to work with. To prepare them, take the fresh rabbits and put them in a big bason with a fistful of salt overnight. This whole process is most worthwhile with a good few rabbits, as you can prepare them in quantity and then use them for everything. The soaking draws the blood out of the meat and leaves them tender. The next day, get the biggest cooking pot you can find, fill it with water, add another chunk of salt, and bring it to the boil. Now, let it come down off the boil and add the whole rabbit carcasses. Turn it down to a low to medium heat and let it simmer for a good three hours to three and a half, depending on how many rabbits you've used. They're done when you can just flake all the meat off the bone, which, incidentally, is the next step. Put it all in a very large bowl, give a decent grind of black pepper, and cover it in olive oil, which will help it keep for most of two weeks from this point in the fridge. The meat is delicious used in salads or tossed into fried dishes or for wraps or anything else you'd typically use chicken for. It's also significantly higher in protein and lower in fat than chicken.

    Another nice studenty recipe for rabbit is to cook it in cream and cider. After you've prepared the rabbit by soaking overnight, rather than boiling and flaking it, you can do it like so. Looks very fancy, but doesn't cost anything much and is a very tasty meal.

    Chop up an onion, heat some olive oil in a casserole pan on low to medium heat and soften the onion in it. Pour in a can of dry cider (see the studenty bit?) a sprig of rosemary, a bay leave, two teaspoons of mustard and a jointed rabbit. Leave it until the rabbits starts to soften (it'll take a couple of hours) then add a pint of cream. Melt some butter and stir flour in to thicken it, then add that to the pan as well. When it's cooked, serve it on buttery mashed potatoes with spinach. It works out costing only a few quid for a few people if you're getting the rabbits free, but is very tasty.

    Another favourite is to just do the rabbit in a fairly typical tomato pasta. I like doing it from scratch, by getting a pan of oil, heating it, adding garlic, black pepper, chopped parsley, some chopped beef tomatoes and then some halved cherry tomatoes and a a splash of white wine vinegar. Add another grind of black pepper and cook until the tomatoes are breaking down, then stir in the flakes of rabbit as prepared in the first recipe, serve with any pasta. Absolutely delicious and costs practically nothing.

    If you've got any friends shooting deer, a few jobs for them should see you gifted a few nice joints of venison, and it's another serious treat, free, delicious and very healthy. It makes delicious chilli with the cheap, gelatinous cuts around the shoulder and ribcage and the lower neck. I'm going to deal with two other cuts however. The first recipe involves the fillet, the second a haunch.

    Take the fillet from a piece of venison (If you can get it, it's about the nicest meat there is, anywhere, from anything) and cut it into decent size chunks, about an inch and a half cubed. Cook them in some good hot oil, with a sprinkle of black pepper, but make sure they're good and rare so you get the full impact of the wild flavour. Serve with buttery mashed potato and lingonberry jam. I got that from Finland when a friend was over, but you could probably find it in Dublin or order it from somewhere. It's a bittersweet Scandinavian berry, makes a wonderful accompaniment for venison. They eat it with reindeer and elk in the various Scandinavian countries. This recipe is very quick and extremely tasty.


    If you like roasts, take a boned and rolled haunch of venison, line a roasting tray with tinfoil and put the haunch in the middle. Now splash over a decent chunk of olive oil, grind on some black pepper and sea salt, some chopped rosemary and thyme. Now cut some oranges, thick slices about a centimetre in depth, and cover the haunch with them. Take a good fistful of cranberries and sprinkle them over the top, and finally a generous splash of red wine. Take the foil and fold it over the top of the roast, cook in a very hot oven for about forty-five minutes (You want the meat to still be nice and pink through - this is much more lean than beef, so you don't need to worry about the slightly fatty taste of rare roast beef) and serve it up on buttery mash with a bit of black pepper through it. Make a gravy with the juice in the roasting tray then, as it'll have lovely sweet, sharp fruity flavours, combined with the meat juices and the olive oil and wine.

    All of those wild meat dishes sounds quite fancy, but they're all very easy to cook and cost almost nothing, so remember that next time you see them on the menu of an upmarket restaurant for twenty-five quid a pop. ;) They're also significantly healthier than their chicken or beef counterparts, with none of the commensurate abuses of commercial farming. I like cooking... Roll on the end of these damned exams and I'm going to go see about a few bunnies.


  • Registered Users Posts: 268 ✭✭scoopmine


    Pasta Bake!
    Chicken fillets fry them up..
    Boil pasta....
    put into a large plate mix around with pasta bake sauce and cover in cheese and put into the oven for 5 mins or so bonny job!

    You add in other things I sometimes add in rashers can feed ya for a few days depending on how much ya make!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,470 ✭✭✭highlydebased




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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,590 ✭✭✭Pigwidgeon


    Pasta, half a tin of tomatoes, some tomato purée, mushrooms, tesco's Italian herbs (comes in a spice jar), whatever other vegetables you feel like, some bacon and cheese. Serious nyom.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,939 ✭✭✭goat2


    pan fried pork chops with mushroom sauce

    fry your chops when cook set aside keep warm
    in same pan toss in sliced mushrooms, black pepper, little garlic, when cooked toss in some cornflour which thickens, then stir in soya cream and a knob of butter, plate chops put mushroom sauce on top generously, serve with oven chips and peas
    a very fast easy dish
    20 minuits from start to finish max


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12,806 ✭✭✭✭KeithM89_old


    Tin of chopped tomatoes - add some sliced up sausages and a few herbs and dump it on top of some pasta Yummy:)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,939 ✭✭✭goat2


    goat2 wrote: »
    pan fried pork chops with mushroom sauce

    fry your chops when cook set aside keep warm
    in same pan toss in sliced mushrooms, black pepper, little garlic, when cooked toss in some cornflour which thickens, then stir in soya cream and a knob of butter, plate chops put mushroom sauce on top generously, serve with oven chips and peas
    a very fast easy dish
    20 minuits from start to finish max
    you can substitute pork with chicken


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 10,070 ✭✭✭✭pq0n1ct4ve8zf5


    Let us not forget noodles dear students! The McDonnell ones are the best I think, bit more expensive but way more filling than Koka. Cook them and then add some chopped veg and you can kid yourself into thinking it's healthy and all. And I know it sounds weird but a pack of peanuts thrown in is nice too.

    Kidney beans are one of the cheapest things around and good for a bit of protein and other things what are good for you, throw em into a pasta sauce (homemade or from a jar). Chickpeas and other beans are relatively cheap as well, but seriously, you can get a tin of Tesco brand kidney beans for about 30c.

    On the topic of jar sauces, I usually cook from scratch but Uncle Ben's chilli szechuan is great, especially seeing as a little goes a very long way, you'd easily get three or four goes out of a jar. And for people making sauces from scratch, a stock cube and or a dash of soy sauce adds a nice extra flavour boost. My own basic sauce recipe is diced onion and a few cloves of garlic fried in oil for a few minutes, add some spices (I like chilli, cumin and smoked paprika, you can buy all those in powdered form cheaply in Tesco or anywhere), stir for a minute, then a tin of tomatoes, kidney beans, any veg you have lying around (for me that's usually mushrooms, peppers, sweet potatoes and carrots), a cup of stock and a dash each of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce if I have them. Leave that to simmer and reduce while you're cooking your pasta or rice or whatever you're having. Also no element of that recipe is indispensible, so use whatever spices/condiments you have, and leave out the beans and/or veg if you want.

    For sandwiches, if anyone likes hummus Tesco do a pretty good premade one, big tub for I think €1.50, definitely less than €2, well worth getting.

    A nice pasta recipe is to put some cooked pasta (preferrably penne or fusilli, but spaghetti would do as well) in an oiled pan and add sliced cherry tomatoes, finely chopped garlic, dash of lemon juice a little bit more oil and a generous spoon of cream cheese (I use the vegan equivalent which ain't cheap but I'm guessing you can get some kind of tesco value philadelphia yoke). Spinach is a nice addition to that as well. Just stir til everythings mixed well and heated through.

    Holland and Barret is worth a look for the special offers as well, I got a kilo of popcorn for €4 there one time, lasted a very long time, and proper popcorn is much nicer, healthier and more filling than microwaveable stuff, not to mention a million times cheaper.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 951 ✭✭✭sorrywhat


    Home made pizza - really cheap

    self raising flour 100g
    water 4 tablespoons
    subflower oil 3 tablespoons, 2 go in the mix one for the frying pan

    Make dough

    Mix items together until dough is all mixed together, shouldnt be sticky. The bowl should be clean

    Tin chopped tomatoes - for sauce
    Cheese
    And whatevers at hand, some onion, peppers, sweetcorn etc.

    Handy for getting rid of whats left in the fridge

    Roll dough out about 1cm thick. Fry on pan for 3-4 mins on moderate heat.
    flip over add sauce,cheese and toppings. will take about 3 mins

    band the whole lot under the grill for 5 mins or so until toppings heated and cheese melted/

    Serve with garlic bread

    Its delicious once you get the hang of it. Takes a few trial and error runs


  • Registered Users Posts: 88 ✭✭Cheers!


    Madras curry is my mistress. QUOTE]

    Hi, Is there any chance you could post your madras recipe?
    I've tried some but they always end up a bit yuck a tried and tested recipe would be great thanx!!


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