Calling all cooks...

[sxcascinn]

HI,

One trick to streach the budget is to only add 1/2 to a 1/4 of the meat you normally would. Take a pound of hamberger and only use half of it in spagetti sauce instead of the whole thing, you can streach it into several meals that way instead of one.

Took the words right out of my mouth...
I was going to suggest a casserole based exactly on this theory..
Using a piece of rump or chuck steak thats normally enough to feed one, I would chop it into very small pieces, boil it up in a pot full of mixed veges and some barely too... I can't help it love that stuff and barely helps to add to the full feeling. Chuck in some stock cubes herbs etc whatever flavours you like. Boil it for an hour or 2 then add instant gravy so it's nice and thick.. Mash up some potatoes and there you go... I do this quite often as their is just me and the kids.
Considering we are in a drought and the price of meat is soaring I have to make things stretch...
I use a big pot, cut the meat as small as possible.. loads of veges and quite often it feeds us for 2 meals... The smaller you cut the meat the better, it adds to the feeling that your actually eating more of it then you think...

 

[matriarch]

Veg. Stew.

I usually make this up, pot it up into 5 containers (those wonderfully useful Chinese take-away plastic storage containers with lids they use now - perfect), and take one a day to work for my lunch, zap in the microwave for 2 1/2 mins, and the aroma as I walk back down the corridor, drives everyone mad and has heads popping out of doors to see what's going on.

Courgettes (zuccini), carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, celery, peas, green beans.......whatever you have going.

Dice them all up, heat the wok or large pan with a little oil, not a lot, and stir/fry the courgette first, then the celery and carrot, then peppers, them mushroom and onion (the hardest, longer to cook always go in first). turn down the heat, chop and add the tomatoes, then a good slug of tomato puree (paste), a hefty sprinkling of oregano and basil, stir the whole thing well then add water until it's just covered. turn down the heat to simmer until it all reduces nicely to a not too watery stew - just don't let it dry out. (around 20 to 30 minutes - honest).

At the same time, I cook up a pot full of whatever pasta is open/available. My favourite is the one shaped like little conch shells. Holds more of the sauce.

When both pasta and and stew are cooked, add the pasta to the stew. At this point I quite often like to add a can of tuna.

Stir the whole thing together, then grate in a pile of whatever cheese you like, stir briefly so the cheese gets a chance to melt in, then serve. Or put in boxes and in the fridge for lunch.

Cheap, nutritious, filling.

 

[matriarch]

Just for the record.
You will NEVER see aubergine (egg plant) or ...*shudder*.....garlic......*gag* in any of my recipes.

I detest them both with a vengeance.

 

[Weird Harold]

Do you have any good Veggie recipes for two inveterate meat-eaters? We can't afford to keep eating as much meat as we have been, ...

We love the taste and texture and full-feeling of meat, so any veggie food that you think would satisfy these sorts of appetites I'd really love to know...

One word of caution about going to veggy recipes and reducing your meat budget: Watch the calories! Almost all the ways I know of stretching the meat budget involve "stomach ballast" aka carbohydrate heavy bulk staples like beans, macaroni or rice.

For most meats, I'd suggest cutting into very thin strips and/or very small chunks for inclusion in casseroles, rice dishes, or stir fry veggies -- as others have noted, cutting thin and merging with sauces or other dishes makes the meat seem like more than it actually is.

 

[colddiesel]

Australia and Faggots

Either: Move to Australia, I live half the year there and half the year in Europe and the meat is about 40% of UK prices. Fruit & veg are cheaper & better too.

Or: Make some Faggots . You need 3 parts Hearts, 3 parts liver, 1/2 to one part kidneys and even lights(lungs) ok forget the lungs, Chop up 3 or 4 large onions . Mince all the meat coarsely and fry it off gently with the onions. Then mix the meat and onions (40%) with well seasoned breadcrumbs(60%) by volume.

Then,(this is the fun bit) take take lumps of the mixture about as big as your fist wrap each one individually in sheeps Caul( the lining of a sheeps stomach) it's very easy. Put say eight of them in a dish and bake in a hottish oven for about 45 minutes. Serve them with mushy peas and mashed potato.

They freeze well either pre or post cooking. You can if you like add a little gravy stock prior to cooking but not too much. If you like gravy add some of the minced liver to it.

Most recipes for this old fashioned dish specify pig meat but personally I prefer Mutton as pigs liver from older pigs can be a bit too strong flavoured.

 

[SensualCealy]

Either: Move to Australia, I live half the year there and half the year in Europe and the meat is about 40% of UK prices. Fruit & veg are cheaper & better too.

Or: Make some Faggots . You need 3 parts Hearts, 3 parts liver, 1/2 to one part kidneys and even lights(lungs) ok forget the lungs, Chop up 3 or 4 large onions . Mince all the meat coarsely and fry it off gently with the onions. Then mix the meat and onions (40%) with well seasoned breadcrumbs(60%) by volume.

Then,(this is the fun bit) take take lumps of the mixture about as big as your fist wrap each one individually in sheeps Caul( the lining of a sheeps stomach) it's very easy. Put say eight of them in a dish and bake in a hottish oven for about 45 minutes. Serve them with mushy peas and mashed potato.

They freeze well either pre or post cooking. You can if you like add a little gravy stock prior to cooking but not too much. If you like gravy add some of the minced liver to it.

Most recipes for this old fashioned dish specify pig meat but personally I prefer Mutton as pigs liver from older pigs can be a bit too strong flavoured.

I need a bucket! (where is a vomit face when I need one!)
Is this not what North Americans would call organ meat sausage?
C

 

[SensualCealy]

Decreasing your meat doesnt always mean increasing bad carbs. You have to really look at your options and what is available.

Roasted winter veggies with either a few potatoes, rice, or couscous and then a smaller portion of meat is acceptable.

Stews with lots of low cost veggies, turnip, celery, carrots etc. The key there is good stock base.

Im still looking for ideas for you Vermilion!
C

 

[xssve]

One word of caution about going to veggy recipes and reducing your meat budget: Watch the calories! Almost all the ways I know of stretching the meat budget involve "stomach ballast" aka carbohydrate heavy bulk staples like beans, macaroni or rice.

For most meats, I'd suggest cutting into very thin strips and/or very small chunks for inclusion in casseroles, rice dishes, or stir fry veggies -- as others have noted, cutting thin and merging with sauces or other dishes makes the meat seem like more than it actually is.

not as much of a problem as you might think if you stick to whole grains - it's really fat and not carbs you need to cut down on if you want to lose weight. You can pretty much eat all the whole grains you want and not worry too much about it if you're even moderately active - how many fat Chinese you ever seen?

If your activity level goes up, then you need to up your calorie intake - think in terms of metabolism, it's like a car, if you drive more, you ned to fill up more often, if you drive less, you don't need so much gas.

I tend towards a low calorie diet, I eat very little when my activity levels are low, I basically snack a lot, cheese and crackers, Sardines, Hummus and Tabouli, with whole grain crackers, bread and oil, fresh veggie platters, etc., antipastos and appetizers, it promotes more efficient digestion, i.e., your digestive system adapts by extracting more usable energy from what you do eat, and this in turn places less stress on the digestive system as it increases it's efficiency.

I'm not, however, one of those people that thinks you can live on air - when I do have to increase my physical activity and subsequently burn more calories, I increase my calorie intake, eating more and more often, up to and including whey based bodybuilding drinks for extra protein - when I do increase my physical activity, I tend to increase it a lot.

 

[Ness73]

When doing Weight Watchers I had to cut down on my meat portions and increase the veges. One of my favourite recipes was the spaghetti bolognese - 200gm mince, stick of celery, 1 carrot grated small, about 1/2 a zucchini grated (and liquid squeezed out) then the usual ingredients. Instead of 2 servings, it makes about 5-6 and still looks and tastes like normal bolognese.(I sometimes added roasted eggplant too)
I also like lentils - cheap and easy, add some herbs and stock and you are done.
I buy eggplant and capsicum when in season and roast, skin and freeze them, then I always have them to add to stuff. I have just bought a box of tomatoes and have dried them and they are in the freezer too. I'm not sure what else this will work for, but is worth looking into to save some cash.

 

[Frank Noir]

Howzabout a good old Spanish Tortilla (which is in fact an omelette, not the Tex-Mex pancake thing):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/tortillaspanishomele_67957.shtml

 

[MagicaPractica]

A favorite from Betty Crocker's Healthy New Choices cookbook

Macaroni-Bean Skillet

1 cup salsa
2/3 cup (2 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni (preferably whole wheat)
¾ cup water
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 can (15 ounce) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 ounces) reduced-sodium tomato sauce
½ cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Heat all ingredients except cheese to boiling in 1-inch non-stick skillet, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent macaroni from sticking to pan. Cook until macaroni is just tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Serves 4

1 serving: Calories 270; Fat 2g; Cholesterol 3 mg; Sodium 540 mg; Fiber 10g; Protein 17g.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Howzabout a good old Spanish Tortilla (which is in fact an omelette, not the Tex-Mex pancake thing):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/tortillaspanishomele_67957.shtml

Huh. We call that a fritatta where I'm from.