Budget food/living

If I would still eat meat, I'd say that sounds nice!

That's 'fairly low' (equivalent of about five bright energy saving bulbs) consumption for, what was it, ten hours?

I don't know, I have a gas stove / oven, and even with risen gas prices I pay about six Euros a month total (and I cook every day and use the oven a lot).

Not eager to argue here, just don't understand the logic of it.

What's being quoted is the highest setting. Most slow cookers have at least a low and a high setting, with the low setting genuinely being light-bulb level. More modern/expensive ones have more settings in between.

I was given a pheasant for Christmas by Aroogah. It hung for almost 2 weeks as it was not very warm in my shed. Christmas eve I finally plucked and gutted it.

Last night a squash, carrots and onions were roasted in the oven with chilli and garlic.

Lardons were crisped up in a frying pan, one breast was removed from the bird and then quickly fried off in the pan with the bacon, this was deglazed with a splash of calvados and a bit of cream.

The whole affair was accompanied by Aroogah's home made blackberry and apple jelly, it was divine.

Yesterday I picked up some pork and apple sausages on special for 40p. These were coloured in a frying pan. The limbs of the pheasant were removed and they were also seared along with the carcass in the fat in the pan, finally the giblets were cooked to give them some colour. All the meat was placed in the slow cooker along with a few carrots, celery and some apples. The frying pan was deglazed with a little sherry and water to make an impromptu stock.

Everything was left on low in the slow cooker overnight. The house now smells so gamey! Upon inspection the pheasant is falling away from the bone, it is an autumnal pink inside. The cooking fluids need to be poured off and chilled to enable the fat to be skimmed.

The meat will then be separated from the bones, some cream added to the sauce and I will live like a peasant king for a week.

Chris, many thanks for the bird.

^ Looks lush!

Just had some pork cheeks, braised with some onions & garlic, then slowly cooked in a sweet cider & mustard sauce, with a bit of vegie stock. Added some creme freche right at the end. Ate with some lovely mashed potatoes.

Pig cheeks were well cheap, and really, really nice.

Meaty pheasant story

Gah! Missed this. You certainly made the most of that beast! I hadn't intended the jelly to go with the bird, but good call. Bravo DJ.

A truly lovely and cheap meal:

A bag of garden peas, one diced potatoe (for added creamyness), a small onion and a few cups of stock, and a handful of mint all cooked and blended together to create a lovely and cheap pea and mint soup.

wot no dead animal?

actually sounds quite good, clearly being deceived by the carnivorous canadian witch

I hear even cheap meat is expensive.

Not that I would actually know.

one diced potatoe

You are Dan Quayle and I claim my $5.

Just got me a slow cooker. This morning I actually said to my self I don't need one.

Off to asda for butter, slow cookers £5! It was madness and I'm ashamed to say I fully embraced it.
Tomorrow I buy meat.

This is a bit after the event, but here's a cheap way to make a very luxurious-seeming snack for parties (New Years Eve, Christmas, whatever).

**Walnuts in caramelised http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaggery Goor

**Get as many walnut halves as you want and cut off a block of Jaggery (most Indian-run grocers in London will have this) that's half the total weight of the walnuts. Break up the jaggery into thumb-sized chunks and stir in a pan on a low-medium heat until it melts and is evenly smooth. Add the walnuts and keep stirring for a couple of minutes, till the jaggery starts to go dark. Empty the pan onto a sheet of foil or baking paper and get to work pulling the walnuts apart before they stick together in one solid mass. Leave to dry (doesn't take long).

Allegedly, these keep for a week in an airtight container. Have never had any left over to find out.

Waitrose are flogging Delia Smith christmas cake kits for 99p in store. They were £10 two weeks ago, and make a whopping 1.5kg cake, which is supposedly 24 servings. Just need to add eggs and butter. Worth 99p alone for the massive bag of fruit mix it includes...

^ yeah I grabbed a bunch of these. I don't know what I'll be doing with them since it's that time of the year again, that is, diet time.

Also my local co-op was selling the banana Soreen malt loaf for 25p. I got six for the price of one normal malt loaf.

@Nhatt - sounds like a nice and very cheap recipe. Stews are wonderful but this thread has enough of them.

A truly lovely and cheap meal:

A bag of garden peas, one diced potatoe (for added creamyness), a small onion and a few cups of stock, and a handful of mint all cooked and blended together to create a lovely and cheap pea and mint soup.

Sounds very good, think I'll have that later if I can acquire fresh mint.

This is an interesting read...

http://www.theskintfoodie.com/index.html

How to make the best Bratkartoffles:

Cut potatoes in thin stripes and put them in a bowl of water (this will leech out starch).
Pre-heat the largest non-stick pan you have on high, add a bit of oil, or butter.
Put in drained Kartoffles, and immediately cover pan with a lid.
You want to cook them in their own steam, so keep the lid on the whole time!
Check every five minutes how they're doing, gently flipping them. Be patient.
Add a diced onion after about 20 minutes, but don't stir, just throw on top.
Stir everything together after five minutes, turn the heat up,
and cook without lid for another five minutes or so.
Enjoy!

I made veggie tempura last night. And a red onion balsamic vinegar tarte.
Was cheap (think I spent £3 total), and fed 5 people very happily.

1kg Co-op own brand rice is marked up at 74p, but came out at 71p each on the bill. I bought several. Unbeatable price for rice.......as far as I know.

Sainsburys basic white rice is 65p a kg.

How to make the best Bratkartoffles:

Cut potatoes in thin stripes and put them in a bowl of water (this will leech out starch).
Pre-heat the largest iron pan you have on high, add a bit of goose fat.
Put in drained Kartoffles, and immediately cover pan with a lid.
You want to cook them in their own steam, so keep the lid on the whole time!
Check every five minutes how they're doing, gently flipping them. Be patient.
Add a diced onion after about 20 minutes, but don't stir, just throw on top.
Stir everything together after five minutes, turn the heat up,
and cook without lid for another five minutes or so.
Enjoy!

ftfy

we need to lower the cost of rice more than that if we don't want a recurrence of the riots of 2011.

the first time was just a warning I tells ya.

Sainsburys basic white rice is 65p a kg.

My Caribbean and Indonesia friends say Thank You for that.
Good shout, and very unexpected.

iron pan

Kartoffles will stick inevitably .

Morrison's Ham Hock - £1.74
Grocer's 'stew pack' (diced leeks, potato, turnip, carrot) - £0.99
1 litre poverty spec cola - £0.27

Chuck it all in the slow cooker = amazing stew enough to feed 4-6.

Or add some shortcrust pastry for £1.19, reduce the finished stew a bit on the hob and make some giant pie/pasty things. Even better.

HFW variation on Janssens temptation

20g butter, plus more for greasing
1 small onion, or ½ medium onion, peeled and finely sliced
2-3 medium-sized waxy potatoes (about 400g), peeled and cut into matchsticks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
120g tin sardines in oil, drained
A dash or two of milk

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. In a small frying pan, melt the butter over a medium-low heat and gently fry the onion until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, fry for a few minutes, stirring, and season.

Grease a small gratin dish or oven-proof dish with a little butter, then tip in half of the potato and onion mixture. Top with the sardines, then tip over remaining potato mixture. Trickle over a little milk, cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Uncover and bake for a further five to 10 minutes, until golden on top.

This is really bloody nice, really cheap and can be made up with ease.

Morrison's Ham Hock - £1.74
Grocer's 'stew pack' (diced leeks, potato, turnip, carrot) - £0.99
1 litre poverty spec cola - £0.27

Chuck it all in the slow cooker = amazing stew enough to feed 4-6.

Even the cola?