I posted on another thread about some things I do with the cheaper cuts of meat etc., but here goes.
I find Chef Google to be a great help when looking for inspiration for meals, or for any wierd and wonderful ingredients I come across. I've always been pretty adventurous in my food tastes and I love to try new things. In UK we are very blessed by some of the choices we have, if we keep an open mind and ignore the food miles anything might have travelled. On an aside, I find it astonishing that I can buy a large pineapple in any of the big supermarkets for a fraction of the price I pay in areas growing the confounded things; wither that's in a supermarket or a roadside stall adjacent to the pineapple fields. Lunacy, but that's how we are. But, that's a digression.
Since that recent thread, I've been thinking I'm going to have a real experiment, really focusing on cheaper cuts and "stuff" I've never tasted before, or "Yellow Bargains"; our house name for the reduced chiller. So, yesterday when I dropped into Tesco for a couple of bits, I picked up some River Cobbler, which I haven't tasted before, but it's a dense white fish. That'll go in the oven for maybe 20 minutes, and I'll do it with a few veggies. I'm due a fridge clear anyway, which is when I have a real look to see what needs to be used or out. Looking in this morning, I have some Mediterranean veg which I'll randomly chop into a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and slap in the oven for 10-15 minutes, before I add the fish. When I do this, I'll no doubt scan the herbs and spices and lob something on there, in addition to a little salt and lots of black pepper. The fish has a reduced price tag of 97p, so that's going to be a cheapie whatever else I add. At the same time, I picked up 2 plaice fillets; each under £1 and now in the freezer.
I talked about the pork/gammon hock I did before; boiled for around 45-60 minutes then cool the joint to room temperature. Save the stock for soup or gravy. I tend to reduce and freeze it. Score the cooling joint skin, so that it creates it's own crackling. This is important as it's soooo delicious. Slip the joint in a moderate oven for 60-90 minutes, depending on size, then increase the heat to 200c or there abouts for 15 -20 minutes to ensure the crackling is perfect. Keep an eye on it at this last stage, to ensure it doesn't burn. I recently paid under £2 for a hock, which gave me 3 decent meals, plus the stock for something else later. For something like this, which is in the oven for a while, I sometimes cook a couple of chicken portions for the next evening, then the hock cold cuts move out a day, but they're fine for 3 days anyway.
Spicy Rack of Ribs, in the slow cooker is brilliant for one of those meals to give a decent ignoring to as it cooks. Firstly, cut your rack of ribs into shorter racks that will sit in your slow cooker. Mix together some paprika, chilli powder, cayenne, basil and cumin and rub it all over your ribs, on both sides and leave that for a while if you can.
For the sauce, I use canned tomatoes, or very ripe fresh ones, a couple or peppers, a glug of vinegar (ideally cider vinegar), garlic. If you don't have fresh, use garlic salt or granules. A small onion and a dash of lime, or lemon juice if you have any to hand. Again, if I have something veggie in the fridge that needs to be used, I just add it to the mix.
Put a litte of the sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker, then add the ribs and remainder of the sauce. Cook on High until the sauce bubbles, then reduce the heat to Low and ignore for 4-6 hours. Deeeelicious. I know these aren't sticky, nor do they have the BBQ crust on them, but bot, are they tasty.
Belly pork is an all-time favourite in our house, but it has to be slow cooked. So, MrB, who is the King of Belly Pork, buys untied belly pork and asks the butcher to make squar-ish blocks, or cuts it himself. When cooking, he rests it at room temperature for a couple of hours, before cooking; usually in the grill, so that it's out of the way of any contamination or flies in the summer. He then roasts for several hours at 150, raising the oven to 220 for the last 15 minutes for crackling. The long slow cooking makes the belly grow, like a tower block (amazing to see), and makes it as tender as anything. Quite stunning, but maybe the fuel costs negate the meat costs a bit?
Spicy beef burgers - From The Incredible Spice Men - Minced meat of your choice, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric. Squidge up with your hands to combine well, then divide into patties, and fry gently. Serve with whatever you choose. Delicious.
Canned fish is very cheap and can but flaked up and tossed through salad leaves, with a bit of mayo for a delicious salad.
I find a decent spice rack really helps being able to mince or beef shin or braising steak into chilli or curry and so much cheaper then using canned or jarred sauce mixes. Again these can be done in the slow cooker. Short beef ribs, cooked similarly to the pork ribs are delicious, although different spices, probably.
As I say, Dr Google is helpful in channelling me to Jamie, Nigella, James Martin (he loves hearty food), Merrylees Parker for Indonesian ideas and there are some fabulous ideas on this forum, if you search in the Low carb area.
Good luck with it all.