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Wednesday 2 March 2016

Jamie's cheap dinners, even cheaper.

I was flicking through the tv guide a couple of days ago, just for something light while I knitted, and found Jamie Oliver.  He was making "cheap" meals for around £1.65 per portion. That may be cheap in the Oliver household but there are thousands who need to feed  their family for as near to that amount as possible.
I did a little rootling round the larder and fridge and came up with these versions.

Banh Mi 



Chose your bread, soft rolls, baguette or in my case a RTC tiger loaf. Place in oven to warm through.




Make a pickle with half a cucumber and a grated carrot, squeezed out in a tea towel, add a quarter of a white cabbage and toss together. Mix in 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar, 1 tsp low salt soy sauce and a shake of lemon juice.


Take leftover roast meat, I used shoulder of pork, and slice up.


Open a pack of pate, I used coarse, this was RTC from £1 to 30p. Otherwise I would have used the cheap one from Lidl.



Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the meat and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add a glug of sweet chilli sauce, I used the Caribbean chilli and lime from Farm Foods £1 a bottle, and a dollop of chilli and tomato jam with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir round and let simmer for 2 minutes. 



Take bread from oven, slice open and spread with half the pate. Then pile in half the pickle and all the meat with its sauce.
Press the loaf together and cut into slices, chunks or wedges. Serve with the rest of the pickle. You can add some sliced red chilli and coriander leaves if you have them. Sliced sweet pepper and radish would work well, as would fine sliced celery and red onion or shallot.

It was yummy and too much for two.

Barbecue Beans.



Peel 2 small carrots and 2 small red onions, slice and heat in pan with a little oil, add a generous pinch of salt and pepper.



Add a heaped tsp of smoked paprika and another of cumin seeds along with a pinch of chilli flakes. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.


Pour in a quarter of a a bottle of barbecue sauce,


with 2 tins of beans, any will do.


Stir up and add a splash of water to slacken the sauce,


Pour in a tetra pack of tomato passata and rinse it out with some water, pour that in as well.




Mix together well and pour into an oven proof dish, slide into the middle of an oven at 180c and cook for 1 hour. Wash a potato for each person and prick the skin, rub in a little oil and bake on the top shelf for an hour.
Serve up and enjoy. You could add bacon, sausage, cooked meat to the beans if you want, a Kilo of chunky bacon from Lidl will set you back £1. 45.  You can vary the veg, celery and sweet peppers would work, mushrooms and any root veg can go in. 


I have not priced these up as lots of the ingredients are from the larder. I use any RTC bargains that I can find and will happily chop and change things to utilise what I have.

One thing that I will not do is buy the top priced brand names, it is not necessary. The bean mix is similar to the Boston Baked Bean recipe that I have used on and off for years and should freeze well. Next time I make this I will be filling the oven and getting some into the freezer.

                     TTFN                                                Pam





21 comments:

  1. You are like me live well for less, xx

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    Replies
    1. I intend to carry on as my Granny taught me, eating well and healthily for as little outlay as I can manage.

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  2. what a good idea :) i bloody hate Jamie Oliver! £20 on a shoulder of lamb! that £20 is half our fortnightly food shopping money i can get much more than just that lol xx

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    1. Once you have a larder stock built up of spices and herbs, which can be supplemented by home grown, and a few tins or packets of pulses then you can create good tasty meals. I would never spend that sort of money on a single joint. Pork shoulder is £2.49 per Kilo in Lidl and chicken legs are £1 per Kilo in my local butchers.

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    2. We are slowly getting the pantry stocked, as we are doing it bit by bit , but it's a lot better than what it used to look like haha :) qwow £1 for 1kg of chicken is really good! we buy a £3.50 whole chicken and it normally last 3-4 meals for two and we use the carcass for stock, so not a drop gets wasted lol I can't wait to get started on our veg garden :) xx

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    3. If you just add 1 item a week to your pantry stock it will build up, I shop mainly in Lidl but some tinned stuff is cheaper in Home Bargains and Poundstretcher. I am careful not to pick up dented tins though.

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  3. Great post, Pam. I do similar for home made Boston Baked beans, much tastier and better for you than bought! I particularly like the idea of your huge butte! Banh Mi - I'd never heard of that, it sounds really scrumptious! And I've been reading a lot about quick pickles lately - yours sound great. Keep up the good cooking! Lx

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    1. My Boston Baked Bean recipe is very similar, but I plonk a couple of "cooking bacon chops" in the middle. The bean recipe will feed 4 tonight with sweet potato cooked in the skins and some shredded spring greens for a blast of iron.

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  4. TV cooks always throw in a bunch of stuff that the food doesn't need. I like the look of what you've cooked.

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    1. I nearly always simplify recipes, I do make my own spice mixes up and store in jars. It saves me time and having the work top covered with jars and tins.

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  5. I'd love to know where they get the portion price from for these 'cheap dinners' surely they must be including buying everything from scratch! I rarely buy top named brands either & I love your idea of BBQ beans. They would be great with a jacket potato xx

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    1. Most of the high price is caused by brand names, I buy mixed beans at less than 50p a tin. Baked beans are 25p at the most, I just wash the sauce off if I need them naked.

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  6. 2 great recipes. I have got quite good at picking up RTC goods these days particularly from our local Co-op so there are no fuel costs to take into account either.

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    1. I used to use the Lincolnshire Co-op, my nearest decent size store is at Cross Hands, about 15 miles. My local store often has RTC stuff, but you have to remember that there prices are a little higher to begin with.

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  7. I consider £1.65 a portion to be quite expensive. I try to keep my meals to £1 or less per portion, any more and it's a treat. I do a version of Boston Beans we call Cowboy beans. If I'm in a hurry (or feeling lazy) I cheat and just bung in a good glug of barbecue sauce to a mix of baked beans and kidney beans plus a chopped onion and some garlic. Lovely served with jacket spuds.

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    Replies
    1. The price per portion is high because he uses brands and organic produce. I buy my spices in bulk and dry my own herbs and those two steps save quite a bit. I can buy 200gs of some spices for the same price of a small pot in the supermarket.

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  8. Both recipes look really, really good.
    Thanks for sharing them-x-

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    1. They are very good, the beans were very tasty, I got 4 generous helpings from the recipe. I will be trying another of his tonight, split pea dahl with roast aubergine.

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  9. Great recipes Pam I am sure you could do a great TV show showing people how to eat well for less

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    1. Ha! I'd love to see a cook off between Jamie Oliver and our Pam! I know who's food I'd prefer - he always slugs on olive oil on everything he makes. YAK!
      Pam the sand which looks and sounds absolutely out of this world. I have pate in the freezer - I now know what I'm going to do with it!

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  10. Banh Mi Thit Dac Biet is one of my most favorite sandwich.
    I rarely make it with Pate and only very thin slices of grilled pork.
    But what is a must is lots of pickled veggie and very soft bread little crisp on the outside.
    I do a fast pickle on the carrots and daikon, then add to the sandwich thin sliced radish, cilantro leaves, and a must jalapeno pepper, sprinkle a small amount of the pickle sauce and squeeze of lime.
    You can make it with any leftover meat from chicken to duck. Or if you have a Asian market near you Vietnamese French ham.
    It is my go to leftover sandwich.
    I am enjoying reading your blog.

    cheers, parsnip

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