How about sharing recipes to make the most of those pennies?

You can make meals for far cheaper than buying stuff already made.

I make my own baked beans and they are far nicer than even the most expensive bought ones. They can be frozen as well so you can make a big batch. Things like hummous is easily made too.

As for tin soups..... it is far easier to make your own and they taste so much better and a lot cheaper.

I buy onions in 20Kg bags and large sacks of potatoes when I run out of home grown ones. Go to farmers shops and you can get sacks of potatoes for much less than you get them in a supermarket. Same with carrots and other vegetables.

Ministrone soup. The best frugal soup ever! I mean, who ever uses up all the celery, cabbage and peppers. Add a potato, slightly bendy carrot and one of those soggy tomatoes that is past its roll around date...handfull of whatever pasta and tada...with a few extra flourishes from the spice cupboard you have a pan of comforting lovliness. I like it with a bit cheese in the bowl that sticks to the back of the spoon and has to be scraped of with the teeth!

Any time you have veg or mushrooms that are starting to go past their best - make soup!

I haven't yet found a mixture that I didn't like and it's a real money and waste saver.

buy some sausages cook cut them up into small pieces, fry peppers onion and mushrooms together put these in a dish with the sausages, add tomato ketchup just a few tablespoons, boil the pasta, drain add this to the peppers, mushroom, sausages, mix in the pasta sauce put in the over cook slowly, grate cheese over the top put back in the over till melted cheese hey presto sausage pasta bake enjoy it can feed 6 people even eat with a nice salad as well

out of date bread, make bread pudding family will love it, and a cheap pudding as well,

Just to add... the "reduced" supermarket stock is brill if you catch it at the right time... The 24 hour ones seem to always have tomatoes on offer after 8pm (maybe that is just mine?) read the "parsley" thread and grow some oregano and basil, couple of onions and some mushrooms and you can make a huge vat of pasta sauce for pennies (sweat the onion and mushroom in some olive oil, add the tomatoes chopped however you like the sauce (want chunky sauce, big chunks, want a smoother sauce, finely dice!) and simmer with the herbs of your choice for about an hour. Leave to chill, then get some freezer bags and freeze individual portions, much nicer than any of the jars of bolognese sauce from the supermarkets, and it's very versatile.

As my family is always trying to keep salt and fat intake to a minimum, My favorite recipe with this is Spaghetti with Chili turkey meatballs (again home grown chili's are great for this!) All you need is finely chopped chili(however much you like... 1 will add a little zing, 2 or 3 will add a bit more bite! Remember though, smaller chili's are generally hotter!), and the 1 expensive item of the meal, turkey mince (which is very low fat, and still really cheap!) and some wholemeal spaghetti. Mix the turkey mince with the chili, Roll it into balls about the size of a 50 pence piece and place on an oven tray and cook for 40 mins, time the other items to coincide with the time this finishes. Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the packet, drain, and add the pasta sauce (defrost it in a microwave if frozen. Just bring the spaghetti and sauce to a simmer, Serve that on a plate, and pop the meatballs on top. If you're feeling extravagant, add some grated cheese

that sounds really nice, i dont go out after dark i have to go during the day by bus so miss all the bargains of the day but think ill have to watch this much more, i love the posts on here the tips are really good especially in these hard times thanks

When using the broccoli florets for one meal keep the rest of the stalk to make a delicious broccoli soup by boiling it till very soft then blending even using some left over chicken stock to create a chicken and broccoli soup. It can be made creamy, spicy or cheesy! Whichever is to your taste.

i have done that many times bought veg in large amounts and froze it you save a lot of money that way anything on special offer as well if you can use it then buy it

I find a late swing round the local market get a few bargain lots of fruit and veg, I also have resurected my mums old pressure cooker.pulverises cheap meat, pulses etc makes a good jamming pan as well The stock can be reduced down and makes frozen "stock cubes" same with herbs they make good frozen cubes.. I think it might even cope with road kill... no perhaps not! I do watch out for £1.00 shops though some are bargains but other items can be cheap but nasty rather than good value.I remembered where the money went when this years fortnums catalogue arrived addressed to ex mrs waitrose marks and sparks where are they in town? Between me the kids and the hounds even the mice go hungry, not the pet hamsters but with a bit of genetic manipulation who needs turkey?

Bit of a tongue in cheek post here (as this is more a snack / light lunch in my eyes), but still interesting....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15752918

I was being serious about the pressure cooker though! Origionally Papins Bone Digester invented to help feed starving French peasants it really does let you make use of cheap and tough cuts of meat and is magic for soups,steam puddings christmas puds etc If the French, who have recipies for anything that walks crawls swims or flies found it useful thats an endorsement.

A slow cooker is also good for cheap meals using tougher cuts of meat - and you can't beat coming home in the winter to a nice hot stew.

If you don't already have one, check out the charity shops before paying full price.

I was being serious about the pressure cooker though! Origionally Papins Bone Digester invented to help feed starving French peasants it really does let you make use of cheap and tough cuts of meat and is magic for soups,steam puddings christmas puds etc If the French, who have recipies for anything that walks crawls swims or flies found it useful thats an endorsement.

I 100% agree with the pressure cooker. The science behind it is that water boils at a higher temperature when under pressure, and the cooker seals in the air and food, and it expands as it heats, putting the contents under pressure, increasing the boiling temperature to 122 degrees, so it cooks quicker, and for meat it breaks the tough fats and sinew down more, making it much tastier and the meat is always tender.

When using the broccoli florets for one meal keep the rest of the stalk to make a delicious broccoli soup by boiling it till very soft then blending even using some left over chicken stock to create a chicken and broccoli soup. It can be made creamy, spicy or cheesy! Whichever is to your taste.

I LOVE this tip. The stalks are always thrown away in our house, but they won't be any longer. Thanks

I always make homemade soup with leftover veg, and I am getting the slow cooker out now to use for lentil & bacon stew and lamb and onion stew with pearl barley & lemon, very old fashioned recipe and very very tasty.

I always make homemade soup with leftover veg, and I am getting the slow cooker out now to use for lentil & bacon stew and lamb and onion stew with pearl barley & lemon, very old fashioned recipe and very very tasty.

Neck of lamb is cheap and really tasty.

My husband likes the faggots that our local butcher makes. They're 50p each and so big you only need one per person.

I also find that the local greengrocer has better veg than supermarkets and tend to be quite a bit cheaper. This time of year it's worth getting a sack of potatoes if you've got a family and somewhere cool to store them - the potatoes that is - not the family. Saw sacks costing £5.50 the other day yet paid £1.70 last week for 2.5 kg.

i second the home made soup - much tastier than the tinned variety and cheaper than the fresh stuff in the supermarket!

My trusted ingredients for dishes in hard times include:

Dall (lentils cooked until they go mushy) - you can add an onion, or a stock cube and curry for taste - this is cheap and filling and can go with bread, pasta, rice or couscous - can be thinned down to make lentil soup. Cooking time 20 mins

Porridge - if you are feeling flush you can add milk and sugar or dried fruit, but it is a healthy super-cheap meal if you just add water. Cooking time 5-10 minutes.

Bacon bits (usually bought in markets and local variants of Farmfoods or Iceland) - can be used the basis from soups stews and egg'n'potato/tomato'n'potato bakes - soak in water to get rid of the salt, then dry and fry to bring out the flavour. Cooking time 5-20 minutes.

Gone-past-sell-by-date tins (usually bought in markets and local variants of Farmfoods or Iceland) - savoury contents can be thrown into stews or soups, various beans can be used to make salads. Cooking time 0-10 minutes.

Offal and cheaper cuts of meat such as ham shank, pig foot, sheep's head, goat (various) - can be used to make nourishing and tasty soups, stews, casseroles, fry ups, roasts or used as the basis for pate's or meatloaf. Cooking time 5-90 minutes.

Toast - can be adorned with spreads, beans, sardines, jam, etc. - cheap and filling. Cooking time 5 minutes.

Gone-past-sell-by-date tins (usually bought in markets and local variants of Farmfoods or Iceland) - savoury contents can be thrown into stews or soups, various beans can be used to make salads. Cooking time 0-10 minutes.

Take a look http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/ (bankfodder posted it elsewhere, but defo worth pointing out to those subbed here!)

Thanks for the approvedfood link, Locutus. I'll be passing on that link to others.

Thanks for the approvedfood link, Locutus. I'll be passing on the link to others.

With the lentils (dhall is the spelling I was given) you can add fresh coriander and tomatoes, very yummy.

My other 'newer' recipe is to add a can of chopped tomatoes to some plain boiled rice, throw in a handful of mixed frozen veg and cook for about 10 minutes or until veg is unfrozen, can be stretched to feed quite a few people for not a lot of effort. You can add fresh herbs/spices to your taste, I like basil and oregano with this. Its up to you if you put parmesan or similar cheese on top.

Indeed, Sillygirl1, there are almost many ways to spell dal(l)/dhal(l)/dahl(l) as there are delicious ways to prepare it! Hmm, using tinned toms as a basis for a 'vegetable splodge' offers some tantalising variations. If you are partial to frozen veg, I'd recommend Aldi's chargrilled veg which include onions, red peppers and aubergines - tastier than the popular peas, sweetcorn and carrot mixes. Bon appetit!

A very quick minestrone can be made from a can of tomatoes and one of those small 50p packs of fresh diced veg from Morrisons.... you can thow in some soup pasta if you want.

I can remember we made pasta when we were kids and used the Playdoh fun factory to make our shapes, had cars and other odd shaped pasta for ages!

Don't forget with brown bread (sliced or chunks) tipped into a bowl, can of pineapple chunks or chopped pineapple and some brown sugar then grilled til the sugar caramalises makes a nice pud, to make it more adult you can put in a bit of rum or other tipple...