ChatterBank1 min ago
Very cheap meals for one!
29 Answers
I am making a bet with my friend that i can make a tenner last longer than him, regarding spending money on dinners. Any ideas on what very cheap meals I can make - suitable for one person and preferably one portion, no repetition or left overs.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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potatoes, pasta and rice are all cheap as are most vegetables and you can buy small amounts of them all. The expensive part is the meat but you can buy one chicken breast for a curry or fajitas or a pasta dish or you could buy half a pound of mince and use half for spaghetti bolognese and half for a shepherds pie.
Cheaper and healthier than processed stuff and more on your plate.
Cheaper and healthier than processed stuff and more on your plate.
(2-part post):
Meal 1:
Buy some 'value' mince from a Asda, Tesco, etc. Divide it into 100g portions. (That typically works out at about 24p per portion).
Also buy some 'value' pasta sauce (or Asda's cheap Bolognese sauce). That's about 36p per jar. You're going to use ½ jar at a time, so about 18p per portion.
Brown a portion of mince in a frying pan (with a very small amount of oil). Add the pasta sauce. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, cook some 'value' pasta. (You get 6 or 7 portions from a pack costing about 40p, so say 7p per portion). Then simply pour the mince and sauce over the pasta. So you've got a meal for about 50p. (Adding some 'value' mixed herbs and/or some black pepper will enhance it, but it's not strictly necessary).
Meal 2:
As above (using up the other half of the jar of sauce) but add some chilli powder to the sauce and cook rice instead of pasta. So you've got an equally cheap chilli con carne. (OK, it's not got the beans which you normally associate with chilli con carne but it still tastes good).
Meal 1:
Buy some 'value' mince from a Asda, Tesco, etc. Divide it into 100g portions. (That typically works out at about 24p per portion).
Also buy some 'value' pasta sauce (or Asda's cheap Bolognese sauce). That's about 36p per jar. You're going to use ½ jar at a time, so about 18p per portion.
Brown a portion of mince in a frying pan (with a very small amount of oil). Add the pasta sauce. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, cook some 'value' pasta. (You get 6 or 7 portions from a pack costing about 40p, so say 7p per portion). Then simply pour the mince and sauce over the pasta. So you've got a meal for about 50p. (Adding some 'value' mixed herbs and/or some black pepper will enhance it, but it's not strictly necessary).
Meal 2:
As above (using up the other half of the jar of sauce) but add some chilli powder to the sauce and cook rice instead of pasta. So you've got an equally cheap chilli con carne. (OK, it's not got the beans which you normally associate with chilli con carne but it still tastes good).
Meal 3:
Use another portion of mince! Brown it and cook lightly in the frying pan with a bit of gravy. Add half a can of 'value' baked beans and transfer to a shallow dish, with a bit of black pepper. Top with mashed potato (made from the 'value' powdered stuff) and cook in the oven for around 30 minutes at 200C (gas mark 6).
Meal 4:
Use some more mince to make a curry. (Either use some more pasta sauce as your base, with some 'value' curry powder, or buy the 'value' canned curry sauce which Tesco sells really cheaply). Serve with rice or (if you can find some cheap ones) with a jacket potato.
When I'm not working I usually try to live on a tenner per week. (I've survived on a fiver for a week). There are loads of cheap meals you can make. (Experiment further with pasta and different sauces). You can always make cheap sandwiches - Tesco's 'value' ham is surprisingly tasty and goes a long way in 'value' bread.
Chris
Use another portion of mince! Brown it and cook lightly in the frying pan with a bit of gravy. Add half a can of 'value' baked beans and transfer to a shallow dish, with a bit of black pepper. Top with mashed potato (made from the 'value' powdered stuff) and cook in the oven for around 30 minutes at 200C (gas mark 6).
Meal 4:
Use some more mince to make a curry. (Either use some more pasta sauce as your base, with some 'value' curry powder, or buy the 'value' canned curry sauce which Tesco sells really cheaply). Serve with rice or (if you can find some cheap ones) with a jacket potato.
When I'm not working I usually try to live on a tenner per week. (I've survived on a fiver for a week). There are loads of cheap meals you can make. (Experiment further with pasta and different sauces). You can always make cheap sandwiches - Tesco's 'value' ham is surprisingly tasty and goes a long way in 'value' bread.
Chris
The rules are: Just evening meal. No beans on toast as that really is a lunchtime snack not a proper meal. No repetition means: no making a huge pot of chilli and making it last 6 days! Just one meal per evening, as if eating at a canteen, and trying to have a decent portion so you aren't hungry, and also eating healthily enough, with variety!
