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hey,
+ Show Spoiler +
i know pretty little about cooking. the other day i cooked chicken breast in a frying pan with some "premade chicken herb" (actually paprika & pepper) for the first time. in the past i always stuck it in the oven and it tasted pretty shit. but this was gorgeous.
but i cant afford chicken every day, £100+ per month on one meal of the day T__T
i can however get ridiculous amounts of mince (ground) beef.
i used to just slap 800g into my pot and add some tinned peas, carrots and/or kidney beans at the end, sometimes adding chopped tomatoes (or tomato pasta sauce which is cheaper). a few times i would add peppers (yellow red green) but they are waayyy too expensive, however juicey they are.
but without a sauce or flavouring, having mince beef & peas for weeks on end gets old pretty fast.
i can't afford "premade" sauces, like the supermarket curry sauces, plus they are all plain and boring as hell.
so what i am looking for now is common herbs that i can add to my mince beef to make it really nice and varied.
i know its different to adding stuff to chicken pieces in a frying pan, so i dont know if it will work.
the advice i want is what herbs should i get to mix into my pot of mince beef? and if you have any other ideas about how to make the most of mince beef, please share them! Remember: cost is an Issue
making casseroles and sherpards pie and stuff that takes more than ~25 minutes total doesnt really interest me. i just wanna sling in my mince, add my cheap tinned veg (or boiled potatoes), sprinkle on some amazing herbs and enjoy a powerful and varied taste each time.
so far i have jotted down these:
vinegar
sage
thyme
black pepper
there are several polish and arabic shops around, but you can probably forget about the less common asian herbs (whatever they may be) unless i can get them in my shitty supermarket
well i have to go to bed now otherwise i would spend some time browsing random recipes to see what herbs are used in them
edit: i am also wondering what "cream" or sauce or oil people put on top of salads to make them incredibly tasty? i would make a salad out of lettuce and eggs probably (cant afford tomatoes here ROFL). there is some really nice shit the restaurants put on salads but idk what it is
 
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For salads, any really basic dressing of oil/balsamic vinegar/other types of vinegar/ mustard really turns around basic lettuce and makes it delicious.
As far as spices for mince beef, its hard to say as it really depends on what else is going to be in it, if its really just mince meet, any steak spice is going to give it some nice taste. Else if you can manage to get fresh herbs, which are usually pretty cheap at local markets, basil, thyme, coriander, etc. all can add up a little kick to it, really depends mostly on which one you prefer.
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do you add multiple herbs to one dish, like mix them all up? i guess there is some rule for each one
really must go to bed now , tnx for reply/s
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When I hear "minced beef" I always associate it with hamburgers so... check out some recipes online and try to see if you can follow them?
Also try meatballs.
As for salads,ranch dressing and the like are dirt cheap in the US, so it isn't a problem. You can try making your own Thousand Island dressing by mixing ketchup with mayonnaise (also both dirt cheap in the US) and adding chopped pickles and w/e to suit your own taste.
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On September 01 2011 10:58 FFGenerations wrote:
do you add multiple herbs to one dish, like mix them all up? i guess there is some rule for each one
really must go to bed now , tnx for reply/s
When it comes to fresh herbs at least (and to a certain extent dried one too) mixing it up can be really good, the thing is it mostly depends on peoples taste. Some prefer to put just one herb, some prefer multiple in the same meat. All fresh herbs really bring a particular taste to your dish, you just have to learn which one you love and which combination you love.
Also, some cheap steak spice mix from any grocery store can add some nice taste to beef too
edit : checking hamburger recipe is also a very good idea as per suggestion above.
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if you want something ok, that doesn't take a long time and is cheap from mince i would just make meatballs and get like a chopped tomato sauce. you won't really NEED anything in that to make it edible or anything but any combination of basil/oregano/garlic would definitely improve it and make it like italiany tasting (and totally better with pasta than veg which will probably be even cheaper and easier to cook).
for herbs you can have like a big mix of loads and yeah there are some you probably wouldn't have together i can't think of many examples but basil and chili would go badly together i would imagine.
this seems to say what things taste like etc http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A505513
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I don't work with minced(ground for Americans) meat too often, but there are lot of herbs that you could use with it. You should really just try several with it and see what you prefer. Basil, rosemary, thyme(as you're familiar with), chervil can work alone or in a combination of some sort. It depends on what you really want to achieve.
As far as a dressing for your salad goes, you can make some great vinaigrette's with just oil, a flavored wine vinegar(fruit ones are nice[blueberry, raspberry, etc.]), dijon mustard, and some seasonings. Top that salad with nuts and maybe cheese of your choice and you have a very delish salad.
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ty guys ill let you all know how it goes
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woohoo, just had my first home-made salad. 5 eggs (not boiled enough), lettuce (bit too much), black pepper, and french salad-sauce (didnt taste of much tbh even tho i put way too much)
over-all the meal was 7.5/10
this is definately a meal i will look forward to in the future, tho i will look at giving it a stronger flavour maybe by trying other sauces when i run out of this one.
approx cost of future meal (6 eggs, 1/5 lettuce, 1/5 sauce) : £1.20
nutritional content: 30g protein + hopefully not too much shit in the sauce, 400-550kcal
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5 boiled eggs is a lot of cholesterol for one meal.
To boil eggs, place eggs in a pot with just enough water to cover eggs, and bring water to a boil. Then, turn off heat and let the pot cool but don't remove from stove top. When water reaches temperature you can touch the eggs will be done.
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EPT
