Stretching Meat Out

You could do an Asian stir fry. Have you ever noticed how Chinese food is mostly vegetables with a little bit of meat?
Anyway ,you mentioned meat and potatoes. My aunt puts plantains, or lentils or carrots or yucca, or a combination of all of them in meat to stretch it out for surprise guests.

 

I always keep some smoked bacon lardons in the fridge. They'll go with any meat - chicken, pork, beef or turkey - and as well as adding bulk, they add an extra dimension of flavour. That way, it looks as if you planned to cook the meal like that, rather than just trying to eke it out to feed more people. It works well in bolognese sauce, chilli con carne, chicken or pork casserole, cottage pie - just about anything really. Lardons also give a boost to vegetable soup - they really are a great fridge standby, and they keep for several weeks, so you can afford to have a pack on hand all the time.

 

Right now, my fiancee and I are in the midst of converting from meat eaters to vegetarians. We went from eating meat every day to eating meat a few times a week to now eating meat only on weekends (if that). What we do is, for example, put beans and potato into our stews. If we want a wholesome meal then we'll make pasta with a lot of vegetables and add crab meat in there. Your best option is to add a lot of high-protein items like what you've been doing already. Of course, adding a lot of veggies to your meal will do wonders for you and your wallet.

 

It really depends on what you're making. You can always add more vegetables, potatoes, noodles or rice. Another way to stretch things is to serve smaller portion and add to the courses. Adding a cup of soup, a side salad and/or a good bread can stretch the main course and still fill everyone up nicely.

 

This is a great set of tips. If you add a protein source like beans, you can really stretch it for a low amount of money, high nutrition, and your guests won't feel hungry a little while later. It obviously depends on the dish you're making, of course, but even adding it as a side dish or into a casserole can stretch the meat farther.

 

We're notorious for the three (or four) day roast. Day one is a pot roast (we favor chuck roast) with potatoes and carrots. Day two the roast is cut into stew sized bites and more broth added, sometimes more veg if needed. Day three (and four) it becomes beef soup. We add cabbage and peas and pasta (usually small stars.)

Whole chickens are another good meat to get several meals. We start with a roasted chicken one day. Strip the carcass for whatever we decide to make (enchiladas, casserole, etc) and the carcass goes in the pot to make broth/stock which become soup. Our favorite is a Portuguese chicken, rice and egg/lemon soup that's pretty similar to Greek avgo limono.

Grilled hamburger left overs can get diced up mixed with taco seasoning to make taco salad, nachos or enchiladas.

I hate throwing away usable food and like getting creative. Sometimes it's a keeper and sometimes...meh!

 

I always cook my meat with vegetables. Not only does it stretch the meat, but it makes it healthier as well. Most commonly, I'll cook ground meat with ground up mushrooms. If you cook them together, you can't see or taste the difference.

 

Try adding pearl barley to stews and soups to thicken them up. Also, snapping up spaggetti strips and adding them will help to bulk things up. A few tins of chilli con carne and baked potatoes is always a nice bit of munch. Pour the chilli con carne over the top of the baked potatoes and grate cheese over it all. Num!!

 

I think everyone else pretty much has it covered. I do alot of what Nakhash does. It really does help to stretch the food budget dollars. For surprise visitors, adding pasta or potatoes is a good way to stretch a little into a lot. Also serving side dishes and breads can help make sure that everyone gets full.

 

Ditto on the asian stir fry, you can make some pretty large servings of beef with broccoli or cashew chicken with just a small amount of meat per person.

You could also go italian and just slow cook it in a red sauce until it falls apart and shreds into pieces, pasta will fill people up pretty quick too. I love it with ricotta cavatelli.

 

Thank you for this thread. There are some really great ideas to stretch out meat. Even as a single person, I want to get the most for my grocery dollar.

 

I use the Asian stir fry all the time. The rice and vegetables are very filling, and I really like soy sauce drizzled on top. The potatoes are a great way to stretch out meat combined with carrots and green beans. It's really a waste to just cook meat without anything else.

 

You could also shave chicken or steak and cook it with a bunch of peppers, onions, and mushrooms to make Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, if you get a little tired of stir fry dishes.

 

I agree with adding more sides. I just cut smaller portions of the meat and increase all the sides and lots of breads.. That way everyone gets full. A great dessert doesn't hurt either. With times being so lean these days, I try to cook bare minimum without waste. I often get a surprize kid or 2 that ends up here at a meal time. I just whip up another side dish that can be as simple as a sald or just make a different vegie dish. Potatoes also make a great filler food to fill hungry bellies.

 

Adding more grains and veggies is a cheaper and healthier option. If you're eating spaghetti, instead of adding meatballs or chicken, put in zucchini and mushrooms and other things that go well in spaghetti.

If you're eating a generic meal and just want something that will fill you up and tastes good, coucous with chopped veggies tastes good. Quinoa is another tasty grain. I also really like different kinds of rices instead of just eating the typical brown rice or white rice. There's all different types of wild rices that I've found at the store that have little added grains, spices and herbs.