I hate buying salsa because it always tends to open and half-used at the back of my fridge. This fresh variety has the bonus that you can make as little as you need and it tastes a lot better.
Am using 'X' as a measurement to show ratios.
1x Tomato
1x Cucumber
1/2x Onion
1/2x red or green pepper
1/8x green or red chili
sprinkling of herbs depending what's available: Oregano, Basil, Coriander Leaf, Parsley. Today I used fresh oregano from the garden and a sprinkle or dried basil.
chop everything as finely or as chunky as you like and mix. Allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes for the flavours to meld.
Thursday 11 June 2015
Chinese Crab and Sweetcorn soup - only 27p per portion
I LOVE Chinese food and a Chinese takeaway is definitely my guilty pleasure. If I had the money, I could happily have Chinese takeaway every night of the week, I love it so much. With wise choice of ingredients, though, it's really not expensive to replicate at home. Crabmeat and Sweetcorn soup is one of my favourite dishes, and not only is it cheap to make, it's also dead easy. I mean throw everything in a pot and cook for 20 minutes easy. Hell, that's less effort than calling the Chinese Takeaway!
Ingredients (for 4 large portions):
Necessary:
1 tin sweetcorn (35p)
6(ish) seafood sticks (pack of 20 for £1 = 30p for this recipe)
1 fish stock cube (£1.50 for pack of 8 = 18p)
2 tablespoons cornflour (75p for 250g = 9p)
Hot water (I just tend to fill my pot up, I estimate about 2 pints)
salt (to taste)
1 egg (89p for 6 FREE RANGE - something I will not compromise on = 15p for 1)
price = £1.07 = 27p per portion (all prices at Tesco 11th June 2015)
Optional:
dash soy sauce (£1.19 for 150ml = about 15p)
dash fish sauce (£1.39 for 150ml = about 18p)
dash sesame or peanut oil (£1.60 for 250ml = about 13p)
tsp fresh ginger grated (about 30p)
additional egg (15p)
2 spring onions, chopped (about 10p)
total price = £2.08 = 52p per portion (all prices at Tesco 11th June 2015)
With the 'luxury' version coming in at only 52p per bowl this is a huge saving on your takeaway version. If Chinese cooking is something you do a lot of, it's work going to a Chinese Supermarket and bulk-buying things like soy, fish sauce and sesame oil - you'll get a much better price there than at a normal supermarket.
How to make:
- heat the water and add to pot with stock cube.
- pour in the tin of sweetcorn.
- roughly chop the seafood sticks and add
- grate ginger if using and add
- if using, add soy sauce, fish sauce and oil
- bring gently to the boil.
- mix cornflour with a little water and then add a spoonful of the hot soup. Pour this mix into the soup and stir while simmering until thickened.
- crack the egg or eggs into a bowl and beat until mixed. Take the soup off of the heat and, while stirring, slowly pour the egg mixture into the pot in as thin a dribble as you can manage. The egg will cook as soon as it hits the hot liquid, making textured strands of egg.
- top the soup with the chopped spring onions and add salt to taste if necessary. Serve. =)
Ingredients (for 4 large portions):
Necessary:
1 tin sweetcorn (35p)
6(ish) seafood sticks (pack of 20 for £1 = 30p for this recipe)
1 fish stock cube (£1.50 for pack of 8 = 18p)
2 tablespoons cornflour (75p for 250g = 9p)
Hot water (I just tend to fill my pot up, I estimate about 2 pints)
salt (to taste)
1 egg (89p for 6 FREE RANGE - something I will not compromise on = 15p for 1)
price = £1.07 = 27p per portion (all prices at Tesco 11th June 2015)
Optional:
dash soy sauce (£1.19 for 150ml = about 15p)
dash fish sauce (£1.39 for 150ml = about 18p)
dash sesame or peanut oil (£1.60 for 250ml = about 13p)
tsp fresh ginger grated (about 30p)
additional egg (15p)
2 spring onions, chopped (about 10p)
total price = £2.08 = 52p per portion (all prices at Tesco 11th June 2015)
With the 'luxury' version coming in at only 52p per bowl this is a huge saving on your takeaway version. If Chinese cooking is something you do a lot of, it's work going to a Chinese Supermarket and bulk-buying things like soy, fish sauce and sesame oil - you'll get a much better price there than at a normal supermarket.
How to make:
- heat the water and add to pot with stock cube.
- pour in the tin of sweetcorn.
- roughly chop the seafood sticks and add
- grate ginger if using and add
- if using, add soy sauce, fish sauce and oil
- bring gently to the boil.
- mix cornflour with a little water and then add a spoonful of the hot soup. Pour this mix into the soup and stir while simmering until thickened.
- crack the egg or eggs into a bowl and beat until mixed. Take the soup off of the heat and, while stirring, slowly pour the egg mixture into the pot in as thin a dribble as you can manage. The egg will cook as soon as it hits the hot liquid, making textured strands of egg.
- top the soup with the chopped spring onions and add salt to taste if necessary. Serve. =)
Tuesday 10 March 2015
Resourceful Cook Mealplan
Last week I thought I would try something a little different, and try out a mealplan website. Resourceful Cook allows you to pick how many people you want to plan for, and then you can choose from a few weekly plans, and customise a few of the meal options.
I decided to choose their 'Frugal Favourites' for two, as it included some items I already had in the cupboard and I like to cook enough for two and have the leftovers for my lunch the following day. As I sometimes deviate from the plan though, I switched the customisable options to 'for one', that way I knew I had some leeway if I had something else for lunch or dinner one day.
Choosing the plan was easy enough, and it was cool that I could switch between options. The meals that I settled on are the following:
Chilli Con Carne (for two)
I decided to choose their 'Frugal Favourites' for two, as it included some items I already had in the cupboard and I like to cook enough for two and have the leftovers for my lunch the following day. As I sometimes deviate from the plan though, I switched the customisable options to 'for one', that way I knew I had some leeway if I had something else for lunch or dinner one day.
Choosing the plan was easy enough, and it was cool that I could switch between options. The meals that I settled on are the following:
Chilli Con Carne (for two)
Spaghetti Bolognese (for two)
Sweet & Sour Pork (for two)
Italian Pork & Bean Stew (for two)
Stir-fried Chicken & Veg (for one)
Chicken Tagine with Couscous (for one)
Easy Tuna Pasta (for two)
Sweet & Sour Pork (for two)
Italian Pork & Bean Stew (for two)
Stir-fried Chicken & Veg (for one)
Chicken Tagine with Couscous (for one)
Easy Tuna Pasta (for two)
The site provides you with a shopping list and estimated prices, and off I went to the shop. When I got there, I found that the shop was doing a meat deal, so I decided to get frying steak instead of chicken, which made my mince and pork cheaper.
The first meal I made was the Tagine.
I substituted beef for the chicken, and used some flavoured couscous that I already have in the cupboard. In place of 'mixed spices' (what does that even mean?) I used cinnamon, paprika, ground coriander and allspice. The recipes on the site are obviously written to assume that you only have basic herbs and spices, if any at all. I know they are an expensive investment, but I think they make a big difference. I also had an open pack of cashew nuts, so I added a handful of those too. The resulting meal was delicious, but obviously quite different from the recipe. lol.
The next night, I made Bolognese.
I borrowed some courgette and red pepper from the stir fry recipe, but otherwise followed the recipe, and it was nice enough, but not as delicious as my usual bolognese.
[I had bought some half-bake ciabattas and decided, as I had a friend coming over for dinner, to make garlic bread by mushing butter, minced garlic and a small amount of pesto sauce together to make a garlic butter. I cut the ciabattas in half, spread the butter thickly on each half and then baked as per the instructions of the bread. I also made a mozerella and tomato salad with pine nuts (which I had in the cupboard) and pesto. Not a part of the meal plan, but just something to make dinner a bit more exciting for my guest.]
The next night, was the stir fry, using beef instead of chicken, and with added cashews and only 1/3 red pepper and 1/3 courgette as I lent some to the bolognese. This meal didn't provide any carbs, so I had mine with brown rice, which I had in the cupboard, but I thought it was odd that it didn't include this.
The following night I made Chilli Con Carne.
I couldn't believe that the recipe had no cumin in it, which is, in my opinion the signature flavour of the dish. So I included cumin and paprika as well as chilli. I didn't have the soured cream, as I'm not a fan, so I just had it with brown rice.
Then I took a break from the meal plan for a couple of days, as I was hosting a meal for my church group, and then going out for dinner with my brother.
Picking it up again, I made the Tuna pasta. Or rather... I didn't. Because I realised, looking at the recipe that it wasn't a pasta bake and it had tomatoes in it.. and what I really fancied was lovely cheesy comfort food. So instead, I made a Tuna Pasta bake by making a white sauce, mixing that with a tin of tuna and a tin of sweetcorn and topping it with cheese and crushed up cheese-flavoured crisps, which I had left over from hosting my church group, then baked it. The crushed crisps give it a lovely crispy topping, which is really yummy.
Next, I made the Sweet & Sour.
I have to admit that whereas I am normally a big ambassador of making things from scratch, sweet and sour is one of those things I just normally buy a jar of. I mainly followed the recipe, except I added less of everything sauce-wise, as there just seemed to be such large quantities there. I substituted some of the sugar for honey too and used the last of the cashews. This turned out really yummy, definitely something I will make again.
Finally, the Pork & Bean Stew.
Besides using chicken stock instead of vegetable, I followed this recipe exactly. It was delicious, and something I've never made or even tried before. Again, though, a lack of carbs.. I suppose it's meant to be eaten with bread?
Besides using chicken stock instead of vegetable, I followed this recipe exactly. It was delicious, and something I've never made or even tried before. Again, though, a lack of carbs.. I suppose it's meant to be eaten with bread?
In summary, I think this proves that I cannot follow recipes without changing things lol. The resulting meals were delicious, but as I changed things up, I can't really judge if the recipes themselves are any good. It was nice to have the initial planning done for me though with a shopping list to work from and I tried a couple of new things I haven't made before which is good. I think I'll definitely use this site again, when I get into a making-the-same-things rut, but I will go into it expecting to adapt the recipes.
Sunday 1 February 2015
Special Shepherd's Pie - under a fiver
'Special' because I decided to switch things up from my normal way of cooking this dish and use the rest of the creme fraiche.
serves 2-3:
250g lean lamb mince - £2
6-8 medium potatoes, diced - 50p
3 cloves garlic - 10p
1 onion - 16p
1 carrot - 8p
1/2 red pepper - 30p (this I had leftover so not the cheapest option)
about 120g half-fat creme fraiche - 55p
1 lamb stock cube - 10p
1 tbsp cornflour or 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour - 5p
salt and pepper to season
Olive oil to cook
stick of dried rosemary - free as I grow my own and it's practically impossible to kill.
Total cost: £3.84, per serving: £1.28
Dice potatoes into half-inch squares and put on to boil.
cook garlic and onion until starting to soften, then add mince and cook until mostly brown.
add the rosemary (minus the stalk), carrot, red pepper, the stock cube and 1/2 mugful of the potatoes' cooking water. Stir well until the stock is dissolved and then sprinkle over the flour and stir until dissolved and thickening.
Drain the potatoes and roughly mash, stir in the creme fraiche and then season well with salt and pepper.
Fill the bottom half of an oven dish with the meat-mix, then spoon the potato-mix evenly on top. Bake in the oven on a medium heat for 20 minutes or until top is browned.
To make it go further:
use a cheaper alternative to the red pepper, such as frozen or tinned peas
add more onion and carrot to bulk out the meat.
Switch the creme fraiche for a small amount of butter or margarine.
Use quorn mince, which works out cheaper, but you may need to boost the seasonings to make up for the blandness.
serves 2-3:
250g lean lamb mince - £2
6-8 medium potatoes, diced - 50p
3 cloves garlic - 10p
1 onion - 16p
1 carrot - 8p
1/2 red pepper - 30p (this I had leftover so not the cheapest option)
about 120g half-fat creme fraiche - 55p
1 lamb stock cube - 10p
1 tbsp cornflour or 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour - 5p
salt and pepper to season
Olive oil to cook
stick of dried rosemary - free as I grow my own and it's practically impossible to kill.
Total cost: £3.84, per serving: £1.28
Dice potatoes into half-inch squares and put on to boil.
cook garlic and onion until starting to soften, then add mince and cook until mostly brown.
add the rosemary (minus the stalk), carrot, red pepper, the stock cube and 1/2 mugful of the potatoes' cooking water. Stir well until the stock is dissolved and then sprinkle over the flour and stir until dissolved and thickening.
Drain the potatoes and roughly mash, stir in the creme fraiche and then season well with salt and pepper.
Fill the bottom half of an oven dish with the meat-mix, then spoon the potato-mix evenly on top. Bake in the oven on a medium heat for 20 minutes or until top is browned.
To make it go further:
use a cheaper alternative to the red pepper, such as frozen or tinned peas
add more onion and carrot to bulk out the meat.
Switch the creme fraiche for a small amount of butter or margarine.
Use quorn mince, which works out cheaper, but you may need to boost the seasonings to make up for the blandness.
Saturday 31 January 2015
'Crab' and Rocket Linguine - under a fiver
When doing my meal plans this week, I came across a recipe for crab and rocket linguine. It looked delicious, promising a balance of sharp and sweet flavours. The problem is that even tinned crabmeat is out of my budget at the moment, so I decided to adapt the recipe to something more in my price range.
Just like the original recipe, this meal has a peppery kick from the rocket, a zing from the lemon zest, and the seafood sticks, tomatoes and creme fraiche add sweetness. All in all, it was delicious and certainly didn't taste 'budget'. Also contains 2 portions of your 5-a-day.
per person:
100g pasta - I used a mix of tagliatelle and spaghetti to finish off odd packets. (10p)
olive oil for cooking (10p)
1 large garlic clove, minced (5p)
2 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche (40p)
6ish seafood sticks, ripped into strips (30p)
handful of rocket, chopped roughly (30p)
zest from half a lemon (15p for half lemon)
5 cherry tomatoes, halved. (20p)
salt and pepper to season
Total: £1.50 per person (prices estimated from used percentage of item, costed at tesco, value range if available)
If you were making this for 4, you could use less garlic and lemon, and it'd definitely come in under a fiver.
cook pasta in water
cook minced garlic in olive oil until soft, then stir in the creme fraiche, tomatoes, rocket, zest and seafood sticks.
heat gently until warmed through. Drain the pasta and stir in.
Season with salt and pepper as necessary.
Garnish with a couple extra rocket leaves.
I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese over mine as I happened to have bought some for a risotto this week.
All in all, including chopping it took less than 15 mins and very little washing up (always a bonus!)
Worth noting that even with my substitutions, this is a 'luxury' dinner for me - creme fraiche and rocket are not usually on my shopping list, but I factored them into my mealplan, planning to use the rest of the packets elsewhere this week.
Whenever I use lemons, I try to get the most out of every part of it. Juice is squeezed and used or frozen to be used later and then the remaining outer pith and skin is quartered and used to de-scale my kettle (simply pop them in with a full kettle of water, boil and leave overnight). Lemon juice can be used for cleaning, but with pancake day approaching fast, I might just freeze the juice to use then.
Just like the original recipe, this meal has a peppery kick from the rocket, a zing from the lemon zest, and the seafood sticks, tomatoes and creme fraiche add sweetness. All in all, it was delicious and certainly didn't taste 'budget'. Also contains 2 portions of your 5-a-day.
per person:
100g pasta - I used a mix of tagliatelle and spaghetti to finish off odd packets. (10p)
olive oil for cooking (10p)
1 large garlic clove, minced (5p)
2 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche (40p)
6ish seafood sticks, ripped into strips (30p)
handful of rocket, chopped roughly (30p)
zest from half a lemon (15p for half lemon)
5 cherry tomatoes, halved. (20p)
salt and pepper to season
Total: £1.50 per person (prices estimated from used percentage of item, costed at tesco, value range if available)
If you were making this for 4, you could use less garlic and lemon, and it'd definitely come in under a fiver.
cook pasta in water
cook minced garlic in olive oil until soft, then stir in the creme fraiche, tomatoes, rocket, zest and seafood sticks.
heat gently until warmed through. Drain the pasta and stir in.
Season with salt and pepper as necessary.
Garnish with a couple extra rocket leaves.
I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese over mine as I happened to have bought some for a risotto this week.
All in all, including chopping it took less than 15 mins and very little washing up (always a bonus!)
Worth noting that even with my substitutions, this is a 'luxury' dinner for me - creme fraiche and rocket are not usually on my shopping list, but I factored them into my mealplan, planning to use the rest of the packets elsewhere this week.
Whenever I use lemons, I try to get the most out of every part of it. Juice is squeezed and used or frozen to be used later and then the remaining outer pith and skin is quartered and used to de-scale my kettle (simply pop them in with a full kettle of water, boil and leave overnight). Lemon juice can be used for cleaning, but with pancake day approaching fast, I might just freeze the juice to use then.
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