Times are hard, the cost of living is rising, and so, like many people, I’m trying to cook cheaper meals for the family. I recently did the Piri-piri chicken wing, wedges and corn traybake from BBC Food.
Wings are cheap, potatoes are cheap, and corn isn’t crazy expensive. The limes were probably the most extravagent ingredient. Total price, probably £2-£3 per person.
It was great, and the family all enjoyed it. To the point where it would go on the regular rotation even if we had suitcases full of cash stashed around the place!
What are your best economical recipes that aren’t just beans, chickpeas, and rice? Meals you actively looks forward to, rather than just a budget way of getting calories inside you?
On my list for the coming week:
- Carbonara
- Sausage and mash with onion gravy
- Chicken Quesadillas
- Mac and Cheese with salad
- Spicy black bean tacos
- Stir-fried tofu
- Slow cooker leek and potato soup
I can supply recipes for any of these.
Every year, I buy a farm share (CSA) that gets me about half a bushel of produce every week during the growing season, plus PYO privileges; right now, it’s running about $400 for 24 weeks, so about $17 a week. The CSA model is that you pay up front, so the farm has the money to run for the year without being dependent on extreme variables like weather and crop prices. When it’s a good year, I get extra produce; and if it’s a bad year, well, prices in the stores are going to rise anyway. And after I buy my share, I don’t have to buy produce for like 2/3’s of the year. Anyway, it all means that my meals are very veggie-based, and seasonal; and that I have less of a ‘feel’ for the cost of my meals because I pay most of it up front.
Stuff that I make with my share (I freeze about half the stuff I make and eat it through the winter and spring):
Leafy-green stuff: salad; stir fry; frittatas; lettuce soup (okay but not great, but prevents letting stuff spoil when I get sick of lettuce month); kale chips; spinach salad, spinach dip.
Veggie dishes: eggplant Parmesan; zucchini boats; stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers; feta-crusted baked tomatoes; cinnamon roasted potatoes; French onion soup; seven layer casserole; pizza; mashed turnips with potatoes; colcannon; moussaka; baba ganoush; roasted daikon; radishes with butter; three beet salad; double garlic soup; garlic scape dip; chili; garlic mashed potatoes; creamy corn chowder. [This also doesn’t include simple “direct” stuff like roasted carrots or potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, etc.]
Canning / freezing / dehydrating extras: marinara; salsa; tomato paste; red pepper flakes; hot sauce; pickled garlic, pickled onions, pickled beets; giardiniera; dilly beans; apple slices, apple skins, apple butter; sauerkraut; garlic scape relish. Lots of various herbs.
Fruit-based or dessert-type stuff I make from my share: strawberry muffins, strawberry shortcake; blueberry pancakes; raspberry jam; blackberry compote; apples baked in lemon custard; zucchini bread, butternut squash bread; pumpkin pie; peach kuchen; sweet potato pie; baked sweet potatoes with apples; baesuk.
There’s undoubtedly a lot of stuff that I’m forgetting to list.