We have a food budget of about £200 per month for 2 of us plus a 1 year old baby.

I am trying to work out some meals that i can make in bulk and freeze based on good wholesome ingredients. Thinking stews and casseroles, curry, chilli and the like.

We like flavoursome food, spices and so on. Eat fish also so fish pie will be in the mix as will home made pizzas.

looking for good recipes for things like Mediterranean bean casserole etc.

Fish Cakes – whatever cheap smoked fish you can find, some mashed potato, a red chilli if you so desire. Cook the fish and spubs, mix together and add the chilli. Shallow fry until golden on each side. Servce with salad and home made tartare sauce (Mayo, chopped capers and a squeeze of lemon juice).

Risotto – Make lots in bulk, add whatever you have left over to it when you’re ready. i’m making mine with salmon and leek tonight!

Carbonara – Mix 4 egg yolks with a good grating of hard cheese and lots of salt and pepper, fry some pancetta or smoked bacon, cook some pasta. Throw it all together in a pot and serve, do not cook the egg mix, the heat of the pasta will cook it.

How does that sound?

If you eat meat then look out for “forgotten” cuts such as pigs cheeks, ham hock, pork belly etc etc. IMO they have loads of flavour and are really cheap. Enough Pigs cheeks to feed 2/3 people can be had for £1.50 at Waitrose although they do seem to sell out quickly from the butchers counter.

I had a pigs cheek curry last night and it was great. Bit of curry paste, tin of coconut milk, 2 peppers, 2 onions and the cheeks. Seal the cheeks in a pan after dusting em in seasoned flour, fry off the peppers & onions (cut em into large chunks not thin strips). Heat the curry paste & add the coconut milk then put it in a lowish oven in a covered cassorole dish for 2.5 – 3 hours. Cook up some rice & bingo. If you get the right curry paste its better then you’ll get out in a resturant.

Oh & if your cooking chilli then ad some dark chocolate for a really deep rich flavour.

Enjoy.

Stuff with eggs in doesn’t freeze too well, I have discovered.

Rice isn’t great either, but thats easy enough to cook up on the night.

£3.30 out of your first months budget on this wouldn’t be a bad idea. Has lots of good ideas!

Trust me, the carbonarra is so quick to make you won’t want/need to freeze it. I can get it on the plate in under 10 mins if i use fresh pasta.

lunge – Member

Fish Cakes – whatever cheap smoked fish you can find, some mashed potato, a red chilli if you so desire. Cook the fish and spubs, mix together and add the chilli. Shallow fry until golden on each side. Servce with salad and home made tartare sauce (Mayo, chopped capers and a squeeze of lemon juice).

Risotto – Make lots in bulk, add whatever you have left over to it when you’re ready. i’m making mine with salmon and leek tonight!

2 forgotten gems – cheers

Kleftico is always a favorite in our house.

Chicken or lamb in a deep frying pan with a lid, brown meat in olive oil, add garlic, stock, wine, oregano, lemon juice and seasoning, cover and cook for a couple of hours on a low heat. Freezes well, serve with rice or roast pototoes and veg.

Even quicker carbonara type thing

Cook pasta, fry bacon and mushrooms, add garlic, add parsely, add wine, add tub of half fat creme fraiche, add bbit of lemon juice, add to pasta – serve.

vegetable biriani is incredibly cheap to make, i use hansa’s in leed’s recipe.

One of the tastiest dishes I’ve ever made is along these lines: Lamb tangine

Not sure how the fruit would fare in the freezer but you can add and remove ingredients as you wish.

Also a massive fan of frozen bulk cooked chilli – with a little dark chocolate added for richness!