Super cheap batch cooking with TVP

TVP (or textured vegetable protein) is about £2 for a big bag from Holland & Barratt. It replaces minced beef (or other meat) in cooking. £2 of minced beef will make about 2 portions. £2 of TVP makes 28!!!!

Basic recipe (for 4 portions):

TVP
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
Tinned tomatoes

extras:
carrots
celery
courgettes
kidney beans
lentils
spices
herbs


Soak 50g TVP in 150ml water for about 10 mins.

Chop and gently cook 1 onion & 2 cloves of garlic. with a bit of salt and pepper.  If you want to squeeze some veg in, now is the time to add a finely chopped carrot and 2 celery sticks. Then add the mince and a tin of chopped tomatoes.  It's that simple.

Now you can turn it into all sorts of things. To make it a bit 'meatier', add an OXO cube, a teaspoon of marmite or some dark sauce such as Worcestershire, Soy or Tamarind.

If you add a tin of red kidney beans, some chilli powder and serve it with rice, you have Chilli.

Add peas and carrots (or any other veg), cover in mashed potato and cook in the oven until golden, it's cottage pie.

Herb it up with some oregano and serve it with spaghetti and you have bolognese.

Layer your bolognese with white sauce, cheese and pasta sheets and it's suddenly a lasagna.

Cook it with diced potatoes, swedes or turnips and wrap it in pastry and it's a pasty.

You can add pretty much any spices or herbs to change the seasoning and then bulk it out with different veg or pulses and completely change the meal.

Mary MacFarlane's 1st year of Uni recipe

This is what I lived on for my first year of college:

Chop half a courgette finely, and start frying in a tablespoon of olive oil. Meanwhile, chop about 4-5 mushrooms finely. When the courgettes are just starting to look cooked (slightly translucent, not yet brown), add the mushrooms. Then chop 4-5 medium-sized tomatoes (it's easier to chop tomatoes if you have a serrated knife), and add them when the mushrooms are starting to look cooked. Chop and add a clove of garlic and some cayenne pepper or chilli powder, then leave it all to cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the tomato juice is mostly cooked off. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, heat up a couple of tortilla wraps. When the veg mixture is cooked, spoon it into tortillas and add a spoonful of plain yoghurt and some cheddar cheese if you want. 

Is VERY NICE, takes about 20 minutes, and has pretty much all the food groups! I've also added things like kidney beans or used tinned tomatoes if I've had some that needed using up, but this is the best version because the courgettes, tomatoes and mushrooms all come out quite sweet and the combination of sweet veg, cayenne pepper and yoghurt is really lovely.

Magic Gug - basic veg

I was brought up on this stuff.  It's totally adaptable so do experiment and lob anything in that you fancy.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 courgette (or carrot, or red pepper etc or a mixture of some, whatever you have)
1 tin tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 tsp cumin (this can be with other spices, herbs or exchanged for something else, it depends what you fancy)



Heat some oil in a big pan and add the onion.  Cook until a bit see through then add the garlic, spice and chopped veg.  Stir them about for about 5 mins and then add the tomatoes, topping up with water until the liquid just covers the veg.

Leave this to quietly bubble away for about half an hour, or until the veg is softish.

Meanwhile, cook a jacket potato, some rice, pasta or cous cous.

Have what you want at the time and keep the rest as a base for other magic gugs.  You can freeze portions or it will keep in the fridge, covered for a couple of days.

It costs about £2 to cook the whole thing and will easily feed 4 people.  or you, 4 times!