Eating cheaply but well

Maybee70 I add finely chopped courgettes when there’s a glut and in cottage pie with the orange lentils.

MayBee70

I’ve started making a sauce to use for lasagne etc by frying onions, garlic, celery and grated carrot, then adding tinned tomatoes. I then add a small amount of mince and a larger quantity of green lentils. All the years that I bought sauce in jars and I never thought to just make my own.

I like the sound of this. Do you have to pre-soak the lentils.
Bottled sauces contain sugar and preservatives, so beware.

Yes, 2.56kWh.

The article presumably refers to a smaller size but you say you have two cookers, that's why I said you don't need to buy a new one!

I’ve started making a sauce to use for lasagne etc by frying onions, garlic, celery and grated carrot, then adding tinned tomatoes. I then add a small amount of mince and a larger quantity of green lentils. All the years that I bought sauce in jars and I never thought to just make my own.

But if the appliance is 320w, doesn't that mean that it actually uses 2.56kw to cook the meal, assuming it's on for 8 hours?

Clever grans on here! ✅

Oldnproud you don't need a different slow cooker!

You're confusing the wattage power of the appliance e.g. 320w with the actual energy used to cook a meal e.g. 0.7kWh

Jaxjacky

www.frugalfamily.co.uk/is-a-slow-cooker-really-cheaper-than-your-oven/
This does some sums, I use our slow cooker a lot. Thanks for the link Boz.

I think I need a different slow cooker!
The two I have (Cookworks, in different sizes) both use a lot more energy than the article suggests. The label on the smaller one says it's 160 - 190w, and the larger one 320w.

I have a slow cooker these days, years ago I had a wood fired Rayburn that heated the water as well. All time consuming but cheap, had to fuel it up an hour before you did any baking, LOL.

www.frugalfamily.co.uk/is-a-slow-cooker-really-cheaper-than-your-oven/
This does some sums, I use our slow cooker a lot. Thanks for the link Boz.

That's where the slow cooker comes in Oldnproud. If you can afford the initial outlay they save a fortune in fuel bills. They are very cheap to run. If you don't have one, check them out, for instance at Lakeland.

Unfortunately, given that it is about eating cheaply, the cooking times given in that article put me off straight away.
Cooking onions for "a very long time" and the tomatoes for "1-2 hours, (and that's before you let it cool down then reheat "for extra flavour") is not going to be cheap on energy!

The average electric hob is not very energy-efficient, and given how long a slow cooker is on for, it is debatable whether that is any cheaper to run either.

A slow cooker is also so much help with things that need to be cooked slowly, if people can afford them - and so much cheaper than using the oven or hob.

I do a chorizo stew which is loved by my Uni GD and her housemates.

Fry some chorizo (or similar) in large saucepan with onions and garlic (optional). Throw tin of tomatoes on top plus 2/3 tins of water (using can) to top up. Then chuck in your cheap root veg and a stock cube or two and boil to veg cooked. Eat with a chunk on bread; nicer next day.

Eating cheaply is not difficult, but it does take time and skill to make use of cheaper ingredients. I did a lot 30 yrs ago with 4 sons and a husband to feed, could do it again if needed, so could a lot of grans.

Thank you for this. The tomato sauce hint and frying pasta is a very useful thing to know and I will be applying it this week!

Thanks Boz. An eye opener for me.

Very interesting, thanks for the link.