Something from "nothing"

A meal made in a hurry may moons ago when I forgot to buy potatoes -and it remains a family favourite. We were meant to be having gammon rashers, sweetcorn and potatoes, but as I said, no potatoes. I cooked about 1 - 2 oz of rice each, stirred the sweetcorn and some butter into it, made some cheese sauce and we had gammon rashers with rice-and-sweetcorn with a couple of spoons of cheese sauce to bring the twoi together.

A very good store cupboard standby is a tin of ratatouille. By adding different herbs or spices, plus whatever else you might have to hand, it can make the basis of a pasta sauce or curry.

Thanks, you have all given me some ideas to pass onto DD who felt she was running through the same old meals week in and week out.

One of my few skills is that I can make a meal out of nothing!

(a nice meal, I should add)

Riverwalk that is an admirable skill !

Grannyknot I exaggerate - from nearly nothing! I recently made something like this

Parmesan & spinach pudding

from bits and pieces in the fridge and cupboard. Very tasty!

That sounds delicious River I'm just printing it now!

What a good way of using left over bread. I'll make that soon.

Here's another one of my (old) favourites made with tins of pilchards, I used to make it for the kids when they came off the beach hair all stiff from the salt water, and naturally, hungry:

Beach Cottage Pie
Two large cans of pilchards (feeds 4-6). I always use "in tomato sauce".
Drain the pilchards and reserve the juice. Fry a finely-chopped onion in two tablespoons of butter till soft, but not brown. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of flour, then add cup or cup and a half of milk and pilchard juice. Add grated cheddar to taste. Once the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth, add good handful of fresh parsley. Mix in the flaked pilchards and tip into buttered dish. Top with mashed potato with a scant teaspoon of BP in it, and dot with butter, bake till brown and bubbly.

As a kid I used to have cheese and onion soup? Chop and fry (or not if you like a bite) an onion, bring a pint of milk to the boil, add onion, grate in lots of cheese, simmer until the cheese is melted, season, eat with fresh crusty bread.
Really the quantities are up to you,

Great suggestions here, I loved Grannyknots three fishcakes, and the parmesan and spinach pudding.
Warm garlic through in oil, add cooked pasta, and when that's covered in oily garlic, add a can of sardines. To get some of your 5 a day, make a salad or coleslaw of whatever you have left in the fridge. Toast any left over bread if you're hungry (I usually am)

I often make that savoury bread pudding - got the idea from my Mum.
I usually add a tin of tuna, a tin of corn and some onion.
Another idea, if you have some leftover chicken or turkey, make a risotto. You'll need some stock cubes, which I usually have in the cupboard.
We're fond of roast veg, just use odds and ends from the veg. rack, coat in olive oil and a little salt, roast in a hot oven.

I always keep a tin of potatoes tucked away, ready for a Spanish omelette when all else fails. I wouldn't touch them for anything else, but they work quite well here.

Tuna rice. In summer with chopped cucumber, tomatoes, corn and anything else to hand and in winter, hot with cheesey sauce (leaving out the cucumber)

That's good idea Ariadne.

I am really mean with food, I hate waste, probably from all the work that goes into having grown my own veg until this past year.

So this is the one I am most proud of - broad bean skins. Once you have removed the beans, slice the pods into one inch strips, dip into milk, then into a bag filled with flour with salt, pepper and something like chilli or any other spice you like. Fry in that oil until brown and crispy. They are absolutely delicious, a bit like vegetable chips. A wonderful free snack.

Two tins of fish and a fish fillet is "nothing"?

Yes, for three people, two of whom are big strapping men - and the two tins of fish were tiny!

I'm sure the fish cakes were lovely and a good, nourishing meal but, given enough potato, my mum would have made fish cakes for the seven of us with that amount of fish, tiny tins or not.

Just remembered I used to make fishcakes for four people with one tin of sardines. We had them with an accompaniment of cheese sauce and some green veg.

My favourite very cheap meal is to layer up all the root vegetables you have, using a mandoline - potatoes, carrots, celeriac, parsnip, turnip and onion - sprinkle each layer with very, very finely chopped rosemary leaves and then pour over the lot either stock, or milk or a mixture of te two and top with any left overs of any cheese you have. It has to be said that parmeggiano is best but any will do. Bake slowly in the oven until the liquid is absorbed and the topping golden.

Spotted a cheesy bread and butter pudding for sale in a farm shop yesterday. Anyone make this?

Ooh, you've set me off thinking what I could make. I've just knocked up some pastry for a cheese and onion pie, which will contain the rest of my cheeseboard and a few more that are languishing in the fridge - cheddar, white Stilton, half a small truckle of double Gloucester and chives, feta, parmesan, and the remainder of a tub of cream cheese, added to a little mashed potato and softened onions. Should be very tasty!

The Spanish do "revuelta" which I think means "returns" - basically scrambled egg with whatever you have in the fridge - cheese, a prawn or two, couple of mushrooms. You do not need tidy-omelette-producing skills to make this. You start as if you were going to make an omelette with something in it, mess it up, swear, bit of a stir and serve

MicElf - I like your idea, which is a variation on roast mixed veg.
Also reminds me of vegetable kugels, a german/jewish dish. You grate the veg., add to a flour and egg batter, and bake like a cake.