A varied diet?

[Going to Cali]

My girlfriend and I are trying to cut down our unnecessary expenditure to save some money. First port of call is our food budget, we don't wish to compromise on quality but plan our meals more and buy what we need, not just what we see on shelves in the supermarket.

My problem, although I'm a reasonable cook, what I cook is not the most varied. Typically, I make

Curry
Risotto
Sweet potato soup
Meatballs
Chille con Carne
Stir fry
Bacon and avacado salad
Lasagna

What dishes do people typically make during the week?

 

[Jonny69]

Peri peri chicken with roasted potato wedges and roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Just season up, throw it all in the oven and wait.

I bake bread and the tailings make bread and butter pudding, awesome croutons that go in a salad, garlic bread, breadcrumbs.

Home made burgers. Either beef, pork or turkey.

Pasta with a range of sauces made around a home-made tomato sauce base.

Weekend stuff includes roast chicken, beef stew, game when it's in season. Carcasses are used to make stock which then become soup and the gravy for next week's roast. I need to phase out using Paxo and make my own stuffing with leftover breadcrumbs, sage and onion.

All sounds expensive, but my food bill is consistently cheaper than anyone I know. Eat less, eat better. Also, shop near closing time and scoop up the meat when it gets reduced

 

[tom_nieto]

Pasta dishes are really easy to conjure up on a budget. If you make your own meatballs and lasagne you could easily make spag bol or a meatball based pasta dish. Try making your own pesto from fresh basil. Arrabiata and carbonara are two other easy ones and cheap too. If you can make a good tomato and basil base you can pretty much add anything to make it more interesting.

 

[Jonny69]

Don't forget to cook in bulk and freeze, if you've got the freezer space. You can justify putting in the kitchen time if you've got loads of ready meals for later, plus it does work out cheaper

 

[krooton]

We try to ensure a different 'meat' component each night.

Mon was steak, last night was pork, tonight is salmon, tomorrow is veggie pasta, and friday is chicken.

Then the weekend is whatever we feel like.

 

[D.P.]

Although i know how to cook a lot I tend to end up cooking the same meals for various reasons (convenience, simplicity, favorite food, and when i am tired I cook like a root without thinking and just prepare a big batch of chili or lamb curry etc).

 

[The Halk]

Vegetable soup is an easy thing to add. Jonny mentioned it already for the carcasses, it's really just carrots, very cheap soup mix, and whatever leftover veg you have. Cheap, healthy, satisfying, quick to heat up and eat...