Easy. but you need to make a big pot of gravy . lots of roast vegetables, you don't need a lot of meat. and make sure you have lots of stuffing so everyone gets a good piece, it has the meat flavour through it and use the left over bread.
kindajojo,
Dec 11, 5:33am
Rice pudding win a few cranberries through it.
uli,
Dec 11, 5:49am
Ummm - how do you know they get "that big that fast"? Did you watch them? How do you know how long they took to grow?
I only eat free range and when I see things like size 30 chickens I do wonder what they have been fed to get them so big so fast. probably loaded with antibiotics or summink. It certainly isn't natural.
kaddiew,
Dec 11, 6:43pm
I've been wondering the same. And it must surely take a lot of very slow cooking to produce a moist result - but maybe it's been injected with whatever chemical "marinade" they use that turns the flesh soft and sludgy.
sarahb5,
Dec 12, 12:23am
They taste fine - either cooked on the BBQ with a can of beer or in the oven in a roasting bag - I certainly couldn't afford to feed my family with free range organic food all the time, they eat too much for that, but I do cook from scratch every day and apart from the occasional sausage I don't buy any pre-prepared foods except breakfast cereal - I haven't quite learnt how to make Weetbix yet!
sarahb5,
Dec 12, 12:24am
Well thinking about the economics of it then yes, a size 30 to feed 5 adults for 3 days is certainly a cheaper option than a size 14 costing more than half the price that will barely feed 5 adults for 1 day
fey,
Dec 12, 1:27am
In the days when I was quite broke, I used to stretch one chicken a lot even though it was just me. One roast meal, one on the night, one frozen for another night. Meat then stripped from the bones, half used cold for sandwiches, half for a chicken salad. Then the bones went into the vegetable water (saved from a couple of nights boiling veges), and any veges would be thrown in with a handful of pasta, with toast I could stretch this to two meals. Even then I suspect my portions were largish. Things not so tight anymore but I can't get out of the habit of looking at a chook and thinking how to stretch it out.
sampa,
Dec 12, 1:31am
Shame on you Sarah. first you sow the wheat. no, wait, first you hoe your field. Got a field BTW? ;-)
sarahb5,
Dec 12, 3:42am
Well now you mention it, there is one behind our house but it's the high school sports field - do you think they'd mind?
sampa,
Dec 12, 4:00am
Not at all they'd either be out there chowing down on your crop (that would be the boys since we all know that in their teens they'd eat pretty much anything that vaguely resembles food! ) or celebrating the fact that compulsory sports were no longer possible. :)
Go forth and sow your wild oats. umm. wheat that is.
claudds,
Dec 12, 4:21am
at xmas time i think it is what we eat every year.some of us cannot afford the expensive stuff. there is alot of wastage because there is all ways too much prepared. some of my grandies will not eat these puddings etc that are made only at xmas time. happy xmas every one what ever you are eating . my father always went and had a sleep after lunch.it was a tradition in those days.cheers.
thuntzster,
Dec 12, 5:27am
Am thinking that the people on this post really care about the family and friends they are catering for and making Christmas a truly festive occasion. Your families are blessed because they have you, and that is worth way more than a big budget.
seafield1,
Dec 13, 3:20am
We have always had Christmas at our house and it always seemed to cost more money than you would believe because I was bullied into the demands of family.
A few years ago I put a stop to most of it and asked that people contribute to the meal, and help with the cleaning up which I had always been left with. After the first year of doing this we now have fewer people at the table and I stay within budget mostly.
I make sure the tables set nicely and choose seasonal food that will go a long way. Lunch is normally roast chicken and sliced ham with lots of fresh veges. Dessert I make a pavlova and its finished with fruit and cream. I do get orange juice - its a real treat for us.
Expensive store bought nibbles I no longer supply, son and any other kids gets sweet and treats in Santa sack and there is always more than enough baking in the tins.
I use fresh flowers from the garden to decorate the table and put away crackers / and other extras through the year. Lots of the veges come from the garden. Another thing I don't do now is feel pressured into getting preprocessed options, it saves big money if you can do these things - ie whip cream, make custard, make pavlova etc etc
Thats how we do it and we are very happy.
sampa,
Dec 13, 5:07am
That sounds like a lovely and sensible approach to celebrating Christmas day seafield1.
seafield1,
Dec 13, 8:59am
Its all about having a nice day together. Pressures of modern life mean it doesn;t happen often enough. Wishing you all the best for the festive season.
nunesy,
Dec 19, 12:59am
I've been on a tight budget for years, although some years it's been more intense than others. I find that normal food with a bit of style added helps it be festive - ie we only have chicken, but stuff it or baste it with flavours that I wouldn't usually do. We do things like brownies with cream and tinned boysenberries or fresh strawberries. Basic, but if you cut the brownies in a long triangle, pour the berries over and add the cream on top, it looks amazing and a bit 'flash' :) I also cut wild flowers or leaves and decorate the table with decorations bought the previous Feb (75% off!) that can be reused each year in different ways. My sister loves coming to my house because of how I decorate the table! I keep an eye out for specials on 'treat' food and then adjust the menu accordingly. Eg I LOVE passionfruit curd, so bought it a while ago, and am now a little bit too excited to make mini tartlets with it :) Have a lovely Christmas everyone, whatever you're eating.
punkinthefirst,
Dec 19, 2:27am
Can I offer a hint I learned years ago which will give you a couple of extra slices of chicken per bird? It might not be much, but adds up when you are feeding a lot of people. Lay the raw chicken on its back, breast towards you. Lift the flap of skin where the neck used to be, and, with a small , sharp knife, free the wishbone, by inserting the knife-point into the base of the neck, and scraping around the inside of the wishbone. Lift it out. Clean it if you want to use it for "wishes". Stuff the chicken as normal and cook it. When you come to carve the bird, you'll be able to get at least one more slice off each side of the breast, because the wishbone doesn't get in the way.
chchgurl,
Dec 19, 3:10am
We've got a lamb leg in the freezer (was $25 on special and will do several meals) Will also do a nice lettuce salad, buttered new potatoes, some stuffing balls, roast kumara, mint sauce and gravy. Pudding will be berries, pav, jelly and ice cream. We will also have a few nice nibbles throughout the day. Apart from the pav and a few nibbles everything else has just come out of the standard grocery budget.
duckmoon,
Mar 26, 5:52pm
if my goal was to do it as the same price as a regular dinner.
two slices per person of champane ham (from the supermarket) new potatoes roasted kumera and carrots (with cashew nut dip - from the chiller section stirred through it) peas with mint
then a trumpet to finish or perhaps I would make a chocolate mouse
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