The fiver-a-meal challenge
By Sally O’Connor & Ben Bruges
Local activist Claudine Eccleston set HIP a challenge to collect meals for under a fiver to help people in Hastings struggling with the increasing cost of living. We would like our readers to send in ideas for meals; you can either email us your recipe or send in a video showing how it’s made.
So, here are not one but five meals for a fiver each to set the ball rolling. These are four-person meals, so you can adjust accordingly. Our recipes are based on ingredients that can be bought in Aldi with prices at the time of writing. Most are easy, family friendly and for people in a rush. If you have kids, the pizza may be a good Sunday activity – they can design their own.
If you are looking for more recipes, Tesco is currently doing a ‘five meals for a fiver’ meal plan and updating it each month. M&S is doing something similar.
• Send us your fiver-a-meal recipes to [email protected]
Southern spiced chicken, potato wedges and salad
£5 exactly!
• 1kg chicken thighs (8 or 9) £2.25
• Ready, Set…Cook! Southern fried seasoning 79p
• Four Seasons lightly spiced potato wedges (frozen) 89p
• Nature’s Pick baby leaf salad 57p
• Pack of Everyday Essentials cherry tomatoes 50p
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
2. Pat chicken dry. Coat lightly in oil, cover with seasoning.
3. Leave for ten mins or so.
Keep skins on as they are nice crisped up.
4. Cook in pre-heated oven for around 30 mins. Check they’re cooked by sticking in a sharp knife – if juices run clear, they’re cooked.
5. At the same time, pop wedges on a baking tray (instructions on packaging) and cook with chicken.
6. Prepare the salad. Enjoy!
Sausage Roast Dinner with Gravy
£5.27
• 8 x Cumberland sausages £1.49 (two each)
• 2.5kg red potatoes £1.29
• 500g carrots 24p
• 1 sweetheart cabbage 55p
• gravy granules 85p
• sage and onion stuffing for stuffing balls 35p
• 15 Yorkshire puddings 50p
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Peel potatoes and cut into good sized pieces.
2. Par-boil the potatoes for 5-10 mins. Meanwhile pre-heat oil in a roasting tin.
3. Add drained potatoes to oil, season and spoon over hot oil. Cook for 25 mins.
4. Remove potatoes from the oven and turn. Put sausages on a greased baking tray and cook alongside potatoes for 25 more mins.
5. Make stuffing according to the packet and roll into balls. Sit for 10 mins and cook for 20 more mins with the sausages and potatoes.
6. Shred cabbage and cook in the microwave for best nutrition. Peel and cut carrots into circles and microwave as well.
7. Put Yorkshires alongside sausages for the last 4 mins. Prepare gravy. Serve up.
(Any leftovers will make tasty bubble and squeak the next day.)
Bacon and tomato pasta with broccoli
£4.56
• Everyday essentials penne 500g 32p
• 8 smoked lean rashers bacon £1.79
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes 52p
• onions 55p (some left over)
• button mushrooms 85p
• broccoli 53p
1. Fry one chopped onion in a little oil in a saucepan.
2. Once softened, chop bacon and fry with onion.
3. Add tomatoes (and tomato puree and veg stock cube if you have them).
4. Cook for 5 mins, then pop in chopped button mushrooms.
5. While the sauce is finishing, cook penne (around 100g per person) in boiling salted water in a large saucepan (around 10-11 mins). Then strain ready to serve with sauce.
6. While preparing the penne, cook broccoli in a microwave or in boiling water. Serve.
Vegetable korma curry
£5.03
• 1kg long grain rice 45p
• 1-2 onions 55p
• 3 loose potatoes 60p
• 240g spinach 75p
• 1 aubergine 69p
• tin chickpeas 45p
• korma cooking sauce 69p
• 8 poppadums 85p
• garlic and ginger (optional)
1. Peel and boil potatoes until soft. Cube then set aside.
2. Fry onions until soft. Add garlic and ginger if you have them. Dice aubergine and fry with onions for 5 minutes. Add korma sauce (or other choice) and cook for further 5 minutes.
3. Add spinach – if frozen, wilt with hot water. Strain and add tin of chickpeas.
4. While curry is cooking, boil the rice.
Serve with poppadums.
Cheese, tomato and ham pizza (cooked from scratch)
£5.13
The basic pizza
• 1.5 kg plain flour 55p
• easy-bake yeast sachets 65p (some left over)
• Everyday Essentials tinned, peeled tomatoes 28p
• tomato puree 39p
• onion 55p
• jar of dried oregano 49p (some left over)
Suggested topping (or choose your own favourite)
• 2 x Everyday Essentials mozzarella (400gm) 98p
• cooked ham, 10 slices 79p
• tin sweetcorn 45p
1. Weigh 500g flour to make four pizzas. Mix in a sachet of yeast and add about 400ml of water.
2. Mix and knead by hand –this should absorb all liquid and form a ball. Add a bit more flour if sticky. Add warm water if too dry and mix again.
3. Remove from bowl and knead for 10 more mins on a flour-covered surface.
4. Lightly oil the mixing bowl, put the pizza ball back in. Cover with plastic wrap or tea towel and leave to prove for 2/3 hours.
5. Make tomato sauce by frying onion (add garlic if you have it). After 5 mins add chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Add half tsp oregano (a bit more if you like flavour) and season.
6. Cook for about ten mins to make a thick sauce.
7. Take the pizza ball and divide into four. Dust with flour and shape into frisbees.
8. Add sauce, then decorate with choice of toppings (mozzarella, ham and sweetcorn).
Cook on a baking tray (or pizza tray) in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees) for 15 to 20 mins. Keep checking after 10 mins so as not to overcook.
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