Post Furlough/Student Food- Butternut Squash Risotto

 Having used tidying the pantry shelves as a diversion activity I found a tin of coconut milk that I had obviously picked up and forgotten about.  I decided to try this butternut squash and coconut combination which had been on my mind for a while.  It uses roasted butternut squash (or pumpkin) - this freezes beautifully so do not use the oven just for this but throw some in to make use of the space when you have it on for something else, I made use of the spare space from cooking Sunday lunch.

Butternut Squash Risotto - Serves 4

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into rough chunks 

vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, sliced

350 g risotto rice

1 tin coconut milk

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock (made from a cube will do!)

Toss the squash in some vegetable oil and roast in the oven (in a metal tray) until slightly soft and with some caramelised edges. - you can freeze the squash at this point to use another time.

Put a little oil in a pan and saute the garlic for about 1 min.  Do not allow to brown.  Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil, then tip in the squash followed by the coconut milk.  (You can use the stock to rinse out the tin if there is any stuck on the inside), Allow to come to the boil and as the liquid is absorbed add a ladleful of the hot stock, stirring all the time, until the rice is cooked.

Variations:

If you cannot get tins of coconut milk then the block form is fine, dissolve about 20 g in boiling water for the same result.

Risotto rice is the best for risottos but of you cannot get it then pudding rice is the next best followed by basically any rice you can get, the texture will be different but the taste will be the same.

You can also sweet potatoes instead of (or as well as) the squash.

Many supermarkets also sell squash in the frozen aisle...

Cost (from Tescos as a mid range ball park)

butternut squash - £1

1 tin coconut milk=69p

1 stock cube (50p for 10) = 5p

1 clove garlic (25 p per head, assume 1 head has 6ish cloves) =4p

Risotto rice (£2 for 1 kg) = 70p

total = £2.48 or 62p per person.

 

Post Furlough/Student Food: Simple Cream Cheese Pasta

 This is another one of the many recipes that is throw it in a pan that I can do in my sleep.  It was something that I discovered as a student 30 years ago and something that we still have for dinner today.  It can be cheap and cheerful or have "added extras" to make it feel more like a whole meal even though it just uses left over bits and pieces.  But what it really is is a substantial comfort food that does not use tomatoes - essential in our house since my daughter was sent home from uni with a stomach ulcer from all the worry.

Cream Cheese Pasta (serves 4)

300 g pasta - any kind will do (75 g per person)

1 onion, chopped

vegetable oil

1/2 a 250g tub of cream cheese, unflavoured or flavoured - up to you

splash of milk

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Saute the onion in the vegetable oil until it is soft.  When the pasta is almost cooked add the cream cheese to the pan with the onion and stir - the objective is to let it melt.  If it looks like it is too thick then add a splash of milk, you want to make the consistency like double cream.  Drain the pasta and add to the pan and toss until coated. 

Serve.

Variations:

Do not use low fat cream cheese - it splits!

Second the cream cheese I mean is the one that is like Philadelphia - not Dairylea, a friend of mine made this mistake and I have to say it was really gross.

The savers brands from the supermarkets work just fine making this a nice cheap version in it's simplest form (62p at time of posting for a whole tub at Morrisons)

Now onto the additions...as always as many as you like...

Garlic can be added to the onion (add when onion is nearly done though so it does not burn)

Add sliced mushrooms

Add chopped peppers

Add leftover roast - any kind

Add tinned tuna

Add tinned sweetcorn

Add sliced cooked sausages

Add leftover cooked cauliflower or broccoli

Add bacon

Add leftover sandwich meat such as ham

Add leftover smoked salmon (Christmas treat!)

Cost for the basic version... 

Morrisons prices used from their website as a mid range cost.

300 g pasta (500g for 45p) = 27p

onion= 10p

Cream cheese (250g for 62p)=31p

total =68p for 4 people or 17p per person plus a couple of pence for oil and milk.

And if you wrap the half used tub of cheese in clingfilm then it will keep for a whole week easily in the fridge making it less than 10p per person for week 2.  Impossible to beat on the money front!

Emergency Meatloaf

 The other day I started cooking Sunday lunch only to discover after all the veggies etc were prepped that the chicken that I had picked up had gone off. What then to do?  My sons are simple as they already have sausages instead of roast meat (it's an autism texture thing...) but this still left me, my eldest and my OH with only veggies, and I had deliberately left off going shopping as long as possible as well so had hardly anything in. (chicken nuggets anyone?)  In the back of the fridge I had 250 g minced beef for the next day and so this was going to have to do.  Luckily I also had a box of savers sage and onion stuffing (no idea when or why I picked that up) .  I followed the instructions on the stuffing mix and made this up and then added the mince and mixed well with my hands to combine it all.  This I then put into a loaf tin and cooked alongside the boys sausages.  Served with roasted veggies and gravy it was absolutely delicious and may well be something that I "pull out of the hat" again.  It would even feed 4 non-greedy people and would have cost about £1.55 total if I used the 15% mince from Tesco.   This would be less than £1 per head even by the time the veggies were added in, not bad for a Sunday Roast if I do say so myself.

Using up leftovers : Calzone Pasties

 Leftovers are a dangerous thing in our house.  I will cook enough to feed 4 and then my OH will insist on dishing up dinner and I'll discover that instead of another two portions I will have barely enough for lunch for one.  I vividly remember cooking enough for 6 from a new recipe (for just OH and I)- serving up one portion for me and taking my kids to the support group meeting at the local soft play (back when such things were allowed) and when I got back there was  only just enough for lunch for me for the next day.  When I asked OH if it was nice he said - "Yes but there was too much and I'm absolutely stuffed." Of course he was shamefaced when I pointed out it should have fed 5 people not just one and a half.

Anyway I am still getting used to cooking for 2 adults for most meals (my two boys having something different due to autistic sensory issues) and so we often have leftovers since if a recipe feeds 4 and freezes well why not cook two batches, so in theory I ought to have a freezer with lots of lovely home cooked meals ready to reheat.  (She looks at the freezer drawer and discovers - zero!)  So yesterday true to form we had a tiny amount of spag bol sauce left over. Not enough for a main meal on it's own and the size of portion that OH usually decides is not enough to put in the fridge/freezer and pigs for "supper" behind my back.  Inspiration struck in the form of a comment on the Old Style Money Saving Expert Forum from "goldfinches" when she said that pasties made from spicy carrots, peas and potatoes were cheap and good.  So formed the idea of a pasty, filled with leftover spag bol sauce topped with grated cheese.

Take pastry (shortcrust or puff it doesn't matter) , homemade is cheaper

Cut into circles about 6 inches in diameter- top with one half of the circle with left over chilli or spag bol (you only need a couple of tablespoons) followed by a sprinkle of grated cheese.  Fold the other half over to cover the filling and seal and crimp the edges.

Bake in a hot oven for about 25 minutes.

All I can say is we served ours with HM wedges and steamed veg and it was delicious although it would have made a good lunch just on it's own.

Variations:

If you don't have left over spag bol then use tomato puree and top with your favourite pizza toppings

e.g

-Mushrooms

-peppers

-cooked sausage sliced

-left over roast meat

-crispy bacon

-tomatoes

-sweetcorn

-fish

and the list goes on...

you could also use cream cheese rather than tomato puree and something like chicken for a more "blond" version

Post Furlough/Student Food: Cottage Pie

What does a "budget meal" consist of?  The answer of course depends on where you stand.  "Cheap" is in the eye of the beholder and it is something that causes OH and I to disagree- whilst he likes the bottom line of "cheap" (he is as he would put it "as tight as a duck's a**e in a power dive") as soon as you put something in front of him that does not have meat in it he looks like you have just served him something that smells like it has come out of a dogs bottom.  I went back to a resource which I used to use many years ago now The Money Saving Expert "Old Style" forum board.  Having had nearly two months on unpaid leave due to family problems, will (and spare cash) is running low.  Looking through the suggested recipes on the latest Grocery Challenge thread many of them are now way out of the price range of a lot of the readers.  Not surprising really when you consider that many of them are based on prices from years back when tins of tuna were only 29p (now 59p) and I came across a corned beef one that stated that corned beef was 69p a tin (now £2.30 a tin for 300 g) so I think it is time to rethink what is cheap.  This along side a free Kindle book entitled "Cheap recipes Cookbook" by Thomas Kelly Delicious Cheap Recipes That Can Feed The Family Without Breaking The Bank" where every single recipe was meat based and used 4 chicken breasts chopped up to feed 4 people.  Sometimes we need to be aware that everyone looks at the world through their own lens.

This means that I struggled to think of a recipe that wasn't sausages AGAIN for tea tonight.  The freezer yielded lots of bags unlabelled bags and whilst I don't really want the excitement of "Guess the mystery meal" I have some mince that is calling my name and not wanting pasta or rice again (OH has been doing some of the cooking if you complain it is curry again he always just serves pasta) I think cottage pie is the one for me.  Definitely on the cheap side of a meaty meal although you can do a veggy version and a comfort meal for these horrible dark wet days.  As usual basic version with variations and a reminder that all the variations will freeze well, and the base can be served without the potatoes on pasta or as a pasty filling as well so if it is more than enough to fill the ovenproof dish you are using don't waste the leftovers.

Cottage Pie - serves 4

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pack of beef mince (450-500g)

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

dash of Worcestershire sauce 

450g potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed

Variations

On the mince front get the one with the lowest fat that your budget will allow (your heart and waistline will thank you for it eg the cheapest mince at Tesco is £1.49 but 20% fat - go for the 5% one instead and it is £2.59)

Use lamb mince instead - makes this shepherds pie rather than cottage pie.

More veg - you can go up to half and half with chopped/grated veg (whatever you have) and mince and it will still be delicious.  Either add to base mixture and reserve half for another meal (freezer!) or only use half the mince.  Easy way to feed 8 from the same pack of mince rather than 4.

Add crushed/chopped garlic at the same time as the mince

Add grated cheese to the top of the mash

Add horseradish sauce to the mash

Use a mixture of sweet potato and potato for the mash

Use soya mince instead - works brilliantly

Add a sprinkle of oats to eak out the mince

Add a sprinkle of red lentils to eak out the mince (Tell OH it is a tomato seed he he)

Sliced mushrooms make a good addition to the base mixture too

Use a spoonful of marmite if you don't have any stock cubes

Tinned tomatoes work instead of passata of course - IMHO they are more watery and about the same price - why not go for 1p more per person but a better flavour?

Substitute cooked lentils (tinned) for half the mince

Ring the changes with the flavour of the mince.  The classic is a splash of Worcestershire sauce (if you want a giggle try watching YouTube where an American tries to pronounce it...), but there are no rules that say the mince cannot be more Italian (add dried mixed herbs instead) , Jamaican (add cumin, chilli and thyme), Tex Mex (add chilli powder, cumin and ginger), Greek (think moussaka oregano and cinnamon), Indian (curry powder or your own blend of spices to make a keema style mince), or even South African (curry powder, mango chutney and dried fruit as in Babotie).

Cost

This one really does depend on where you shop and the standard of mince you want to buy so going for the £2.59 for 500 g from Tesco for the prices below in the sure and certain knowledge that you can do better if you have too!..

500 g mince (5% fat) - £2.59

1 onion - 10 p

2 carrots - 8 p

1 heaped tablespoon of flour - 2 p

1 carton value passata - 32p

1 beef stock cube (Tescos own 10 for 50p) -5p

Worcestershire sauce (£2.80)- 2p

 potatoes (99p for 2.5 kg)- 20p

 total cost is £3.38 or 85p a head before you add any sides that you may wish to have with it.  Still well under the £1 a portion that seems to be the most popular benchmark for "cheap" even before stretching it with the cheaper ingredients; but definitely not Jack Monroe standard!

Here is to hoping that whatever your own version of "cheap" is having to be you manage to keep your bellies full.#

 

Post Furlough Food/Student Food: Sausage and Tomato Pasta

It never ceases to amaze me that people need to buy pasta sauce.  You know just the tomato and herb kind. It is the easiest thing in the world to make and you can even freeze it if you need to.  Why is it something that supermarkets sell multiple brands of ?   The answer is of course that it is so versatile, it can be used in countless pasta recipes and can even make the transition to rice dishes (jambalaya and the like) or be used in things like pie fillings.  However for most "with tomato sauce" recipes you just need a tin of tomatoes or in my case for more flavour value passata.  The following is just one idea with variations.

Sausage and Tomato Pasta - Serves 4

vegetable oil
1 Onion chopped
8 sausages
carton of value passata
300 g pasta
Courgette, chopped

Heat oil in pan and fry onion and courgette until soft. Remove the skins from the sausages and add to the pan and cook for 10 minutes breaking them up as they brown. Add the passata and season. Bring to the boil and cover and simmer for 10 minutes until cooked. 
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water once the  passata has been added to the pan. Drain and stir in the sausage mix .

Variations:

Tinned tomatoes can be used instead of passata but you may need two tins or one tin and a squeeze of tomato puree to get the same depth of flavour, a single tin is only 4 p cheaper than the passata but also more watery.

Add crushed garlic when you add the sausages.

Use sausages with herbs in for more flavour

Veggy sausages also work well

Substitute any other veg for the courgette, mixed veg, carrot, sweetcorn, peppers, peas any mix of what is in the bottom of you fridge can be added maybe not potatoes though as you already have the carbs from the pasta.

Add mixed dried herbs at the same time as the passata.

Add chilli instead of herbs

Add grated cheese before serving

Use leftover cooked meat instead of the sausages.

Use cooked pulses in place of sausages.

Turn into pasta bake and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese

For a storecupboard emergency recipe tinned hotdog sausages can be used, sliced rather than "crumbled"

Skip the skin the sausages stage if you can get sausage meat - sometimes this is cheaper for example Tesco sells pork sausagemeat for £1.50 for the same weight as their mid range sausages which cost £1.70

Prices from basic version (Tesco used as "average" supermarket price, with mid range sausages- could be done cheaper if necessary)

Hearty Food Co Spaghetti  (20p for 500g) -12p

1 onion- 10p

8 pack of Lincolnshire sausages - £1.70

Growers Harvest Passata - 32p

courgette- 40p (yep really- seasonality has hit as I write this at the beginning of November!)

that's about 66p per person but you could buy value sausages and swap the courgette for a handful of frozen mixed veg and bring the total cost down by another 70p to give a price of  49p ish per head and of course if you have been clever enough to grow your own veg then that shrinks a little more than that even. A big filling plateful for four for the less than the price of tins of spaghetti hoops in tomato sauce from the brand leader at 68p per tin.  Four tins of hoops or homemade.  No contest.

Crafting Hack - Foiling using a laser printer and a laminator

 This week saw my silver wedding anniversary.  We marked it quietly at home sheltering as much as possible from this unprecedented year.  We also made cards for each other rather than buy them.  Not exactly fair as my husband is about as practical as a blind man wearing boxing gloves but he did his best and found a lovely cat image which he stuck on my card.  Meanwhile I used the occasion to try a hack I noticed on the internet some time back and was curious to see if it worked.  

One of the advantages of the schools being shutdown earlier in the year was that I was pushed to (finally) get a new laser printer after our old one died after about a decade.  Laser printers (and photocopiers) use ink that is a powder that it set by heat rather than liquid ink like an ink jet and this is exactly what you need for this technique.

1) produce your image or sentiment that you want to foil and print in black and white only (the card you print on may be coloured but the image should be black ink only)

2)Lay the heat reactive foil over the top of the image  (foil side up) and then top with a sheet of paper to protect the foil

3)Put through the laminator

It really was that simple.  

I used the Minc silver reactive foil from Amazon UK (the price has gone up a little since I bought mine - I paid about £5.50)

Other colours are available and since the roll is 5 feet long I should get lots of use.  Thermoweb is another brand that you could also use which has even more colours, but not as long.