See the thing is, whether or not you're a student or a working man with not too much money or time on their hands, we need to save money in this day and age so Phillip and I have thrown together some cheap recipes and cooking tips to help you lot out in a tricky situation. First I'll put mine up as the suggestions I have for this are more about food budgeting and cooking tips whereas Phillip has provided us with some superb budget recipes.
Ted's recipes & tips
Tip 1:
With reference to my noodle soup recipe (http://crazedcritic.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/uncle-teds-recipes-3-chinese-style.html), when you don't have enough money to buy a nice bit of chicken or salmon or some prawns, a good way to get protein in your soup is to poach an egg in it when its simmering and then serve.
This not only allows the egg to cook naturally in the soup but it will also absorb some of the flavour of the Chinese-style noodle soup so that you get a truly hearty dish. Keep in mind that this method of getting more protein is also low fat so everyone's a winner!
Tip 2:
Keeping an eye out for reduced products in the supermarket is a pretty obvious thing to do but getting allot of the food shopping for your week by doing this will not only help to save money but can even force you to be creative in a culinary sense.
Take for example if you found a 9-piece punnet of pre-cooked chicken in Sainsbury's you would think to yourself "What can I do with this? Some potato waffles and peas or pasta salad and spinach?". Its a bit of a standard thing to do but you'd be surprised how many people don't do it so get on down to your local supermarket late on Sundays and Mondays and you should be laughing.
This leads into budgeting your food such as setting an optimal limit on food shopping for yourself for £40 for one week but despite how mundane that might sound, you'd also be quite surprised how many uni students I talk to who don't ever take this into account and end up racking up even more debt than originally intended.
Tip 3:
One last tip from myself before we move onto Phillip's budget recipes is to keep in mind the value of tinned products and how much money they can save you. Getting a tin of sild in tomato sauce for about £1.20 is going to save you allot more than a quarter of a kilo of the stuff for at least two or three times as much. Not only this but tinned products can keep for insane amounts of time meaning that while stockpiling things like tinned pies, hot dogs, pilchards and peaches isn't the most glamorous thing to do, it can really help in the long run.
Phillip's budget recipes and tips:
Phillip should also help allot of you non meat-eaters out there on account of him being a vegetarian but even still, his recipes are easy for everyone to make and worth it just for the money-saving value.
Phillip's recipes and tips in this post do have a bit more cohesion as he's provided us all with a couple of his budget starters and mains and an interesting little pudding so you lot will want to pay attention if you want a good hearty budget feast.
Starter 1: Omelette sandwich
1)- Crack two large eggs into a bowl with a small amount of milk and whiz until smooth and creamy in colour then add in some fried onions as well as any added ingredients such as cheese or other vegetables.
2)- pre-heat a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil to a mid degree then pour in the mixture.
3)- cook on one side until the edges are solidified then gently lean off the frying pan and cook for the same time on the other side.
4)- serve in between some artisan bread with a small spreading of butter, salt and pepper.
Starter 2: Tomato bruschetta
1)- chop up some vine tomatoes, red onions, garlic and olives into a bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
2)- Add fresh chives and oregano and place on some nice artisan bruschetta.
3)- For an optional twist, add some mozzarella on top after placing the vegetables onto the bread then toast in the oven for 4-5 mins at about 160C.
Main course 1: Mash potatoes
1)- cut up the potatoes into quarters or smallish chunks, wash then place into a pan of cold water where the water is at least an inch or two over the potatoes and heat to boil. Boil the potatoes for about 15-20 mins until a knife can easily pierce through the potatoes.
2)- after boiling, strain the potatoes in a colander or sieve then return to pan before mashing with some milk and then adding in some herbs. After this point it would also be advisable to add in a bit of butter and a small amount of cream cheese to give the potatoes a nice creamy consistency.
3)- The potatoes can then be chilled for use later such as having with beans and sausages or being shaped into patties for making bubble & squeak.
Main course 2: Cashew & mixed veg stir-fry
1)- pre-heat a wok with olive oil at a high heat and add in mushrooms and fry until softening before adding in diced up carrot then cashews and diced up onion and cook for about 5-10 mins.
2)- Add boiled and drained ramen or vermicelli noodles and toss in the pan for a minute or two until nicely cooked while drizzling in soy sauce here and there.
Pudding: Ice cream bread
1)- melt two cups of any ice cream of your choosing and then mix with one and a half cups of self-raising flour.
2)- add in any extra ingredients you might like to add in such as baking cherries or chocolate chips before placing in a baking-paper-lined baking tin and then bake for 18-25 mins until springy when touched and then leave on side until cooled.
I'm sorry that this was a bit ad hoc for a food post but the reality is that as of late I've been just doing recipes I've uploaded before so I thought that some budget food tips would be the next best thing so on behalf of myself and Phillip I wish yo all the best and hope you all stay safe, don't do anything I wouldn't do and enjoy your meals!
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg
Phillip's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSig9Fw1OPuku7MwjmtTdUg
3)- cook on one side until the edges are solidified then gently lean off the frying pan and cook for the same time on the other side.
4)- serve in between some artisan bread with a small spreading of butter, salt and pepper.
Starter 2: Tomato bruschetta
1)- chop up some vine tomatoes, red onions, garlic and olives into a bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
2)- Add fresh chives and oregano and place on some nice artisan bruschetta.
3)- For an optional twist, add some mozzarella on top after placing the vegetables onto the bread then toast in the oven for 4-5 mins at about 160C.
Main course 1: Mash potatoes
1)- cut up the potatoes into quarters or smallish chunks, wash then place into a pan of cold water where the water is at least an inch or two over the potatoes and heat to boil. Boil the potatoes for about 15-20 mins until a knife can easily pierce through the potatoes.
2)- after boiling, strain the potatoes in a colander or sieve then return to pan before mashing with some milk and then adding in some herbs. After this point it would also be advisable to add in a bit of butter and a small amount of cream cheese to give the potatoes a nice creamy consistency.
3)- The potatoes can then be chilled for use later such as having with beans and sausages or being shaped into patties for making bubble & squeak.
Main course 2: Cashew & mixed veg stir-fry
1)- pre-heat a wok with olive oil at a high heat and add in mushrooms and fry until softening before adding in diced up carrot then cashews and diced up onion and cook for about 5-10 mins.
2)- Add boiled and drained ramen or vermicelli noodles and toss in the pan for a minute or two until nicely cooked while drizzling in soy sauce here and there.
Pudding: Ice cream bread
1)- melt two cups of any ice cream of your choosing and then mix with one and a half cups of self-raising flour.
2)- add in any extra ingredients you might like to add in such as baking cherries or chocolate chips before placing in a baking-paper-lined baking tin and then bake for 18-25 mins until springy when touched and then leave on side until cooled.
I'm sorry that this was a bit ad hoc for a food post but the reality is that as of late I've been just doing recipes I've uploaded before so I thought that some budget food tips would be the next best thing so on behalf of myself and Phillip I wish yo all the best and hope you all stay safe, don't do anything I wouldn't do and enjoy your meals!
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg
Phillip's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSig9Fw1OPuku7MwjmtTdUg
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