Gourmet grub on a skinflints budget.

Scioch

I'm fond of my grub but being a skin flint I dont buy fancy stuff so I try to make fancy meals out of whatever plain old stuff I have.

Today I had a hot waffle salad, waffles (not birds eye, nothing fancy here, just generic aldi waffles) cooked in toaster until golden brown (in patches), covered with a finely sliced slice of edam cheese (or what aldi claims to be edam, not that I'd know the difference anyway) with pre cooked chicken tikka and a side of coleslaw and potato salad (also courtesy of aldi).

Entire meal couldnt have been more than a euro fiddy or there abouts but was damn tasty and did a steller job of appeasing my slight delusions of grandeur and making me look a highly refined urbanite.

Any of you got any nice recipes to jazz up your commoner food ?

juan.kerr

Have you tried waffle burgers? Waffles in place of the bread bun.

phasers

eh did you just call a waffle with some cheese on it fine dining?

Scioch

juan.kerr wrote: »

Have you tried waffle burgers? Waffles in place of the bread bun.

No but I'll be trying it tomorrow !! Do you slice the burger in twain and put the garnish and sauce on the inside to stop it getting through the holes ?

Scioch

phasers wrote: »

eh did you just call a waffle with some cheese on it fine dining?

Course not, it had an accompaniment of chicken tikka and a side salad !

juan.kerr

Scioch wrote: »

No but I'll be trying it tomorrow !! Do you slice the burger in twain and put the garnish and sauce on the inside to stop it getting through the holes ?

Just make it like a normal burger, the waffle holes arent that large. I normally eat them with knife and fork rather though.

Or put a slice of cheese right on top of the bottom waffle and build from there.

Internet Hero

Get a few mini baguettes, some black pud, a few eggs and sausages and some mayo and ketchup. Cook all the pud sausages, boil the eggs and make egg mayonnaise out of them. Mash up the black pudding and slice up the sausages. Line the rolls with sausages, covered with a layer of egg mayo and topped with mashed up black putting. Best washed down with a cool glass of milk! Therell be cum everywhere

Scioch

Internet Hero wrote: »

Get a few mini baguettes, some black pud, a few eggs and sausages and some mayo and ketchup. Cook all the pud sausages, boil the eggs and make egg mayonnaise out of them. Mash up the black pudding and slice up the sausages. Line the rolls with sausages, covered with a layer of egg mayo and topped with mashed up black putting. Best washed down with a cool glass of milk! Therell be cum everywhere

I'm not a fan of egg mayo but I'm intrigued by this.

mackg

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056740660

I like those tins of chunky soup you get in Lidl with some Tesco value noodles thrown in.

PizzamanIRL

Thinly veiled ALDI-promoting thread :pac:

Internet Hero

Scioch wrote: »

I'm not a fan of egg mayo but I'm intrigued by this.

absolutely whopper, believe me. unbelievably filling though so dont have eyes bigger than your stomach haha

PizzamanIRL

Being serious though, in LIDL there's 12 beef meatballs for €2.79. Not the things in a can.

Not really a meal but they're lovely.

Ghandee

Iceberg lettuce
Tomato
Celery
Scallions
Beetroot
Boiled egg
Can of tuna

Tuna salad.

Scioch

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

Thinly veiled ALDI-promoting thread :pac:

Just to balance it out. Although aldi is amazing value for great tasting food in a fantastic range. I'm pretty sure a lot of it is solidified air with zero nutritional value and that if you live solely on aldi food you will slowly starve to death.




Disclaimer:
I neither work for aldi nor am I a spokeman for the food safety authority or have any clue what I'm talking about most of the time.

Tiddlypeeps

Pork steak is a totally underrated meat. Looks awful in the packaging but it's the nicest cut of pork imo. Sliced down the middle, lined with stuffing and roast in foil. Aldi super 6 for veg and potatoes. Will feed 4 people well for less than a tenner.

wandatowell

get your left over bones, throw them in a pot, add some broth, a potato

And baby you've got a stew going.



or something like that

Pride Fighter

For some reason thought it might be about the restaurant skinflint in town.

Anyway, I made dinner for 2 for about 4 euro today. Mashed butternut squash, 1 euro in superquinn, lidl stuffing, 49 cents, and savoury mince (quorn mince, was 2.50). Added various spices and herbs to the mince. Was pretty good if I say so myself.

Scioch

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

Being serious though, in LIDL there's 12 beef meatballs for €2.79. Not the things in a can.

Not really a meal but they're lovely.

You could slap a bit of cheese on there with a side salad and you have yourself a gourmet meal !

Scioch

Pride Fighter wrote: »

For some reason thought it might be about the restaurant skinflint in town.

Anyway, I made dinner for 2 for about 4 euro today. Mashed butternut squash, 1 euro in superquinn, lidl stuffing, 49 cents, and savoury mince (quorn mince, was 2.50). Added various spices and herbs to the mince. Was pretty good if I say so myself.

Something I may get is some herbs and spices.

Anyone

Scioch wrote: »

You could slap a bit of cheese on there with a side salad and you have yourself a gourmet meal !

Do you prenounce the T in gourmet when describing these meals?

PizzamanIRL

Anyone wrote: »

Do you prenounce the T in gourmet when describing these meals?

I don't think anyone does.

Do you?

gjc

Scioch wrote: »

You could slap a bit of cheese on there with a side salad and you have yourself a gourmet meal !

I can see you as a Pot Noodle kind of guy

Scioch

gjc wrote: »

I can see you as a Pot Noodle kind of guy

Havent had a pot noodle in a long time. And is it so worthy of contempt to be trying to make the best of what few morsels ya can afford in these troubled times ?

Excuse me sir but I dont have the money to squander on fancy stuff like McCain chips and Dr Oetker Pizzas. I have to get McBain chips and Fr Doekter pizzas. Then I just add some extra cheese and slap a side salad on there to jazz it up some. Is that such a crime ? Is it ?

gjc

gjc wrote: »

I can see you as a Pot Noodle kind of guy

Hmm pot noodles..


http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/790738/

Internet Hero

also op you really cant bate a big feic off rasher sandwich for price, ease of prep and flavour! bag of chips from the chipper on the side and a carton of milk and you have a serious meal. if you want to class it up lash on a few candles while yer eatin it.

AnonoBoy

You know those fancy schmancy deli shops?

If you wear a suit they never expect you to shoplift from them.

Foie gras anyone?

Scioch

Internet Hero wrote: »

also op you really cant bate a big feic off rasher sandwich for price, ease of prep and flavour! bag of chips from the chipper on the side and a carton of milk and you have a serious meal. if you want to class it up lash on a few candles while yer eatin it.

Thats a good idea, few candles, start a row without someone on boards for conversation purposes and have a program about a restaurant on the telly. Just as good as going out really !!

cloud493

I threw something together the other day which consisted of

off date tesco's own noodles
Off date tesco 's own chorizo
Couple of eggs
And tesco's own ham
Ketchup

Lovely jubbly it was

Scioch

cloud493 wrote: »

I threw something together the other day which consisted of

off date tesco's own noodles
Off date tesco 's own chorizo
Couple of eggs
And tesco's own ham
Ketchup

Lovely jubbly it was

I cant go near that chorizo stuff. But I do make some noodles with chopped hot dog and bbq sauce on occasion.

flash1080

I have a craving for burgers and waffles after reading this thread. Feck sake.

Reiketsu

My friends and I would sometimes check out the reduced section in supermarkets and see what they have on offer. We did this on Sunday and got our meat for next to nothing- turkey, venison and partridge. Bought some spud for mash, Auntie Bessie's roast potatoes in goose fat and had gravy in the cupboard. Fed four of us for less than a tenner!

El Weirdo

Homemade pizza and homemade chips.

Just fed a family of 4 for well under a tenner and way healthier and tastier than any of that frozen, packaged muck.

ham_n_mustard

sandwiches that are made up of the last bit of everything you have are great. 2 sausages, an egg, a potato waffle, the last 2 fish fingers in the freezer....cook them and stick it all in between your last 2 slices of bread, which is usually 1 slice and a crust. cover in whatever type of sauce makes the stale bread bareable. Thats dole living!!

yunglassiegurl

Cheapo pizza / 'open wrap sandwich'

Tortilla wrap (Discovery wholewheat works well)
Squirt of barbecue sauce
3 slices roast chicken breast from tesco
grated cheddar (30g)
option: some spices

Bung it in the oven for 6 mins at 180 degrees, slice into 4 and serve

Comes out as under 350 calories, 36g protein, 18g carbs, 17g fat

Gbear

I think the best way to do it is to invest in a little bit at the start and get yourself stocked with a decent supply of herbs, spices, flour and that sort of thing - things that cost a fair bit at the start but will contribute to lots of fairly cheap dinners.

Then you can rustle up something like boeuf bourguignon for about 20 quid and it'll make about 10 servings.
You can go one further and grow things like rosemary in your garden/windowsill.

Same goes for curries, spagboll, and so forth.

In terms of nutrition it's almost certainly cheaper to be buying proper food than ****e like fish fingers.

admiralofthefleet

granby burgers on toast, amazing

Mam of 4

Some leftover chicken,well,the pickings of the carcass,whatever pasta,those last few tomatoes in fridge,lucky if you have tin of chopped tomatoes!few herbs,use the stale bread for breadcrumbs,if you've cheese,well bonus! Can make a tasty pasta bake

admiralofthefleet

El Weirdo wrote: »

Homemade pizza and homemade chips.

Just fed a family of 4 for well under a tenner and way healthier and tastier than any of that frozen, packaged muck.

likewise, i did mash, veg and chicken halfs for 4 adults today for under a tenner

GalwayGuy2

Hmmm, is it really that hard to feed four for under a tenner?

cloud493

Depends on what you buy, what meal it is. Can be more, can be less(obviously) Tesco at around 9 in the evning is great for the old bargains. Got 12 doughnuts in there last night for a euro, the proper ones like.

admiralofthefleet

GalwayGuy2 wrote: »

Hmmm, is it really that hard to feed four for under a tenner?

its not hard at all.

marknine

I used to make this a few years ago.
There was a sale in Holland & Baretts and they were selling dried dates for, I think it was €2.99 a KG or something like that. The dates were very dry, but I bought about 3KG of them as they keep for ever. I bought the very cheep Lidl low fat yogurt at 59C per 500ml at the time. And I used to chop a few dates up and mix it in the yogurt, leave it over night and the next day OMG, it was fantastic. It was almost like yogurt with caramel and the cheep runny yogurt became a golden sweet fantastic inexpensive treat that was good for you. I can tell you, that 3KG of dates lasted almost a year. Really good for you and really good to eat.

vicwatson

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

Pork steak is a totally underrated meat. Looks awful in the packaging but it's the nicest cut of pork imo. Sliced down the middle, lined with stuffing and roast in foil. Aldi super 6 for veg and potatoes. Will feed 4 people well for less than a tenner.

Got two for eight euro in Tesco the other day on special.

Had one tonight - 4€, potatoes from Aldi 0.49c sauteed in the pan and beans 0.70c for 3 of us !!!

€1.73 a piece and that pork steak grilled was great

B0jangles

If you invest in some spices from your local indian/chinese supermarket you can make extremely delicious meals for very little. I always look out for beef steak or mince in the selling-off section of my local supermarket since it's always useful.
If you do have beef mince and are sick of bolognese or cottage pie, consider Keema Mattar - an indian curry based on minced meat. I've made it out of lamb and beef and both were really good.

The Ingredients
Serves 3-4
1 tablespoon cooking oil/ Ghee if you have it (ghee tastes a lot better hur hur)
1-2 medium onions, chopped
5-8 cloves garlic, chopped
500g minced lamb or beef
A 2 inch cube of ginger, peeled and grated
As many or as few chillis as you like
2.5 teaspoon ground coriander seeds (get whole and mangle them with a mortar n pestle
2 teaspoons ground cumin / 1 tsp whole
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 squirt of tomato puree
1 cinnamon stick
250ml water
300g peas (frozen are fine)
About 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon garem masala
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
The Cooking
Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or so until they’re starting to turn brown. Don’t worry about under or over cooking them too much, this dish is quite forgiving. Add the garlic and fry for one more minute, giving it a bit of a shake and stir so it doesn’t burn. Add the whole cumin and fry til it starts to pop.
Now add the minced meat, ginger, chillis, ground coriander seeds, ground cumin and cayenne. Give it a good stir.
Fry for about 5 minutes or so on a fairly high heat, breaking up any lumps as you go.
When it’s nice and brown, add 150ml water and the stick of cinnamon. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for 30 minutes. Check it every now and then and use the power of your brain to assess whether it’s too dry and needs more water or it’s fine. Taste often and adjust the spicyness as needed - be warned it may seem a bit bland since there is no salt at this stage.
Now add the peas, salt, garam masala, lemon juice and maybe a bit of water if it seem like it needs it. Mix it all in and bring it back to a simmer – cook until the peas are done (about 5 minutes). Taste it. Add more salt if you feel it needs it.
Serve with bread/rice/dhal.

Millicent

Scioch wrote: »

I cant go near that chorizo stuff. But I do make some noodles with chopped hot dog and bbq sauce on occasion.

Have you ever fried it? Or cooked in a stew? It's bloody lovely stuff.

I know hundreds of cheap tasty recopies the thing about cooking good food on a budget is that you need to be a good cook in the first place.

what about spicy chrizo chickpea and lentils its gorgeous and very cheap to make.

vicwatson

flash1080 wrote: »

I have a craving for burgers and waffles after reading this thread. Feck sake.

I love those Birds eye frozen burgers with onion - "real beef 100% beef " those ones, they are feckin gorgeous on batch with real butter.

cloud493

Millicent wrote: »

Have you ever fried it? Or cooked in a stew? It's bloody lovely stuff.

Yeah, fried chorizo is amazing stuff.

admiralofthefleet

just over an hour ago i made 12 rock buns, the ingredients cost a combined €5. they are lovely with a cup of tea and turn great profit:)

Shryke

Great things can be done with a pack of mince and a tin of tomatoes. And you get a really large quantity too. Add some onion, a little garlic and whatever else, and whatever herbs or spices you have.
You can make a bolognese and cook some pasta or something more like chilly with some rice. If you don't want to use mince and things are a bit tight for chicken fillets you can always dice a few rashers and fry them up with a diced onion and make a spicy bacon tomato sauce. It's lovely, and the fun thing is you'll have a bit of variety depending on whatever is in the house.
And obviously whatever you make you bang some cheese on top. Serve with a glass of the finest half price wine you can find in Tesco to really shwank things up. Pure class.

hattoncracker

Left over chicken. Tin of mushroom soup, tin of chicken soup, lidl 49c each.. You can get a kilo of bacon misshapes for €2 in lidl and a packet of mushrooms, basil and parsley from the window..


Makes a serious chicken supreme that you can serve with rice, or a pie filling if you like making pastry.

We buy 5kg of good quality rice in tbe Asian supermarket for a tenner and it lasts for months.

Or the packets of noodles from the Asian supermarket, 70c each and much bigger than koka, a bag of dehydrated pork for €1..

Boil up the noodles, add in a few pieces of pork and crack an egg over it. Cover tbe pot and poach tbe egg in the noodles. so cheap and filling. Lived on it in college!