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The NSC £5 Recipe Challenge



sam86

Moderator
Feb 18, 2009
9,947
I like cooking, as I know quite a few NSC members do, but lately I've got myself into two frames of mind;

A) Trying to cook cheap, but cheerful dinners *good*

B) Cooking the same meals over and over, because I like them, and they're cheap *bad/boring*

I don't really have the time (meaning, I can't really be bothered) to read through articles, cook books, etc. for cheap dinners. So, I'm going to put it to the good chefs of NSC.

There aren't many rules;

* The meal has to be large enough for at least 2 people
* The ingredients must come to under £5 in your local supermarket

That's about it. It can be as simple as;

* Spaghetti Carbonara;
- - Pancetta
- - Parmesan
- - Garlic
- - Spaghetti

But perhaps not as simple as;

* Goodfellas Meat Feast Pizza;
- - 1 x Goodfellas Meat Feast Pizza!

I'm talking main meals here, as I don't often eat starters/puddings. But, if you've got enough in your £5 budget. Go for it.

There are items that obviously cost quite a bit, but can be bought in fairly large quantities and used over multiple days, e.g. cheese. So feel free to include items like this, but only if it's used in small quantities per meal.

If someone posts a similar meal, but you have your own twist, comment on it.

If someone posts something you like the sound of, and you try it. Post a review on it.

Lets see what we can come up with! :drool:
 










Moshe Gariani

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2005
12,191
Baked chicken parcels are easy enough and not expensive

Per portion

Sheet of tin foil
Olive Oil
Chicken breast
Bits of carrot and leek - thin
Splash of white wine
Flavouring - herbs, lemon, etc
Parcel it all up in the tin foil and cook for 30 mins

Result - lovely moist, flavoured meat and some tasty bits of veg

Serve with mash and broccoli (or whatever carbs / greens combo you fancy...)
 














sam86

Moderator
Feb 18, 2009
9,947
Baked chicken parcels are easy enough and not expensive

Per portion

Sheet of tin foil
Olive Oil
Chicken breast
Bits of carrot and leek - thin
Splash of white wine
Flavouring - herbs, lemon, etc
Parcel it all up in the tin foil and cook for 30 mins

Result - lovely moist, flavoured meat and some tasty bits of veg

Serve with mash and broccoli (or whatever carbs / greens combo you fancy...)

You're probably getting close to £5 there, with two chicken breasts, enough potato for two portions of mash, veg, lemon, etc. But I'll take your word for it. Sounds pleasant.
 








matt

Well-known member
Mar 19, 2007
1,564
Current Co-operative supermarket deal:

1 x British chicken
1 x bag of British Maris Piper potatoes
1 x bag of carrot, cauliflower and broccoli mix

Total Price: £5

And enough chicken left over for your sandwiches the next day.

Rock on.
 


wallington seagull

Active member
Sep 8, 2003
426
Macaroni Pie (Bajan style)
Ingredients:
Biggish lump of mature cheese
1 large onion
1 egg
Packet of macaroni
1 bottle of tomato ketchup
Small squeeze of mustard
A few drops of Lea and Perrins.

Grate/slice thinly the onion into a large bowl.
Grate the cheese into same bowl
Mix together with egg for binding
Add dash of mustard, a few drops of Lee and Perrins, salt and pepper.
Mix together well
At same time boil some macaroni. Drain and mix together with cheese and onion mix.
Put in oven for 30 minutes, delicious!
 




The Antikythera Mechanism

The oldest known computer
NSC Patron
Aug 7, 2003
8,072
Macaroni Pie (Bajan style)
Ingredients:
Biggish lump of mature cheese
1 large onion
1 egg
Packet of macaroni
1 bottle of tomato ketchup
Small squeeze of mustard
A few drops of Lea and Perrins.

Grate/slice thinly the onion into a large bowl.
Grate the cheese into same bowl
Mix together with egg for binding
Add dash of mustard, a few drops of Lee and Perrins, salt and pepper.
Mix together well
At same time boil some macaroni. Drain and mix together with cheese and onion mix.
Put in oven for 30 minutes, delicious!

At what point do you add the bottle of tomato ketchup?
 


scooter1

How soon is now?
Tuna & Pesto pasta:
Any cheap bag of pasta shapes - 60p
Jar pesto - £1.19 @ sainsburys
Tin tuna - £1 for a decent tin
small jar olives - green or black, your choice - I prefer green
Parmesan - with whatever money you have left at the cheese counter

Boil pasta, drain and add pesto and tuna. Re-heat gently for a few mins. Spoon into 2 bowls, shave or grate parmesan and add olives
 
Last edited:


skipper734

Registered ruffian
Aug 9, 2008
9,189
Curdridge
Very posh students now. In my day we lived on egg sarnies.
Anyhoo scooter has it, but substitute cheap bolognese sauce for pesto and sweetcorn for the olives (far to beatnick) and if you must have cheese use chedder then you can put what's left in your sarnies or toasties, using Tesco Toastie bags £1.79 for a packet of two.
Boil up the pasta, open the tins and jar, throw in a dish and nuke it for 3 mins, drain pasta and throw on sauce. About £1.00 per portion.
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,605
The Fatherland
£5 for two is easy peasy. I've been making risotto a lot recently. I've always found this to be difficult to get right (likewise it is always a good test of a restaurant I think). I think I'm there though, the key is constant attention for 20 mins.

I'll post my chicken, pea, asparagus and spinach recipe on here later.
 




keaton

Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
Nov 18, 2004
9,964
Thai Pork and Green Bean Stir-fry

Fry off 200g Sainsbury's Outdoor-reared pork mince (£1.25)
with 2 cloves of garlic and three medium green chillies(finely sliced) (40p)
till pork's browned

Add 150g chopped green beans (80p), tsp sugar (1p), tsp soy sauce (1p) 3 tbs fish sauce (2p), couple of splashes (I pay about 50p it appears) and cook for 8 mins. Serve with jasmine rice (50p)
 


happypig

Staring at the rude boys
May 23, 2009
8,158
Eastbourne
Pig's Chilli

Rice - 50p
Tesco veggie mince 75p (a bag is 1.50 and you only need half)
Bird eye chillies - 74p
Red onion - 25p
Tin of Kidney beans - 40p
500ml packet of pasatta

Chop the onion and fry gently till soft.
add the mince and fry for a minute
lob in the passatta, 1-3 chillies (depending on preference) and kidney beans
add a bit of salt and black pepper to taste
Simmer for 15 minutes

Plenty there for 2 people and well under a fiver (you could even add a green pepper and still be under budget - just soften it off with the onion)
 


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