The Original One Pot Wonder - Student/Post Furlough food: Spanish Omelette or tortilla

 "The oven won't turn off".  The words I was greeted with by my 19  year old on return from an emergency dental appointment.  The cooker, which was second hand when we moved in 18 years ago, had finally given up the ghost.  Cue about 8 hours of drama whilst we turned off the gas to the house and tried to get a gas engineer during a pandemic where over a million people are isolating in the UK alone.  Finally after an emergency call out fee of £200 we had the cooker made safe - and had a hob but no oven. We could get a new cooker but couldn't get it installed for three and a half weeks (did I mention the number of people isolating).   Now we are nearing the end of the tunnel (2 nd of August can't come soon enough), we are sick and tired of pasta and rice and need to find £700 for the callout, new cooker, installation and disposal of the old one added together; oh and the "hot zone" has to be a minimum size above the cooker or they can't install it (cue adding more tiles to extend it up the wall behind the hob and to either side which has necessitated taking down a kitchen cupboard and three shelves!  More money and a storage problem which we are kicking down the road for now). 

So, this is an ideal protein packed recipe that I often forget. It is cheap, filling, carnivore or veggie depending on what you put in it and can use up the debris left in the bottom of the veggie rack to avoid food waste and postpone that trip to the shops.  As always the basic basic version, plus ideas to jazz it up.

Spanish Omelette (serves 3-4)

1 onion, sliced

oil

300 g potatoes, cooked and cut into chunks

5 large eggs

Make sure you have a large frying pan, ideally one that fit under a grill but this is not totally necessary.

Soften the onion in the oil, add the potatoes and stir until the onions are just starting to get a little brown on the edges (not too much or they will be bitter).

Break the eggs into a bowl or mug and lightly beat together to break up the yolks.  Spread the veggies out into a thin layer and then pour in the eggs and turn down the heat.  Now watch the edge of the pan- you should see the egg mixture at the edges start to turn solid, , this will spread over the bottom of the pan, do not stir.  When it looks like only the very top is still wet then either flip to the other side (use a plate to turn it over) or if your frying pan has a heat proof handle put under a hot grill.  After about another minute the omelette is done.

Variations:

Add chopped peppers to the onions at the start of the recipe

Add sliced mushrooms

Add chopped chilli

Add chopped bacon when you add the potatoes

Add leftover roast meat or sausages (already cooked) or meat alternatives just before you add the eggs

Use tinned potatoes instead of fresh

Use leftover roasted veggies

Add garlic

Use leeks instead of onion

Add chopped chives (garlic chives are good) or use the tops from garlic or onion plants from the garden if you are growing them

Add mixed frozen veggies after the onion but before the potatoes to allow to thaw and start to heat through

Add herbs such as thyme or basil

Add chopped or sliced tomatoes (especially good for cherry tomatoes that are overripe)

Add spinach or kale to the onion

Add grated cheese to the top before putting under the grill

Serve hot or cold, on it's own or with salad

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Post Furlough/Student Food: Stuffed Potato Galette

 Anyone who reads through this blog knows that I am a big fan of the humble spud for bulking out other ingredients without breaking the bank.  This recipe is a kind of stuffed potato pancake filled with what could be left overs and cooked on the stove top not the oven.  It would be pretty difficult to find another one that sounds more like me!  Not only that but it uses mashed potato so you can use the store cupboard instant stuff if you need to which can make it FAST.  Served with some vegetable matter on the side it serves 4 amply.

Stuffed Potato Galette - serves 4

for the minced meat filling:

olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

300 grams of minced beef

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chilli

chopped fresh parsley

Fot the potato dough:

800 g potatoes, peeled

1 egg

salt and pepper

approximately 200 g plain flour

For assembly

50-60 g grated cheese

Make the meat filling whilst the potatoes are cooking. Fry the onion in some olive oil until soft. Add the crushed garlic and the minced beef and cook breaking up any lumps with a spoon. Once the meat is brown add the spices and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the aroma really gets going. Stir in the fresh herbs and set aside to cool.

Boil the potatoes untill tender, mash and allow to cool until at least cold enough to touch. With your hands make this into a dough with the egg and enough flour so it holds its shape and is not wet. Depending on your potatoes and how starchy they are this may be more or less flour. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.

Using baking parchment draw a pencil line the size of your frying pan, turn the parchment pencil side down and using the first piece of dough flatten the dough into a circle that fits the shape you have just drawn. Now we are going to assemble the galette in the pan.

Put the pan onto a medium to low heat and add a little oil. Put the first circle of dough into the pan and top with half of the cheese, followed by the meat mixture followed by the remainder of the cheese. Leave a border round the edge so that the dough can be pressed together to seal. Quickly flatten the second piece of dough in the same way and the first and place on top of the filling. Press all round the edges with a fork or spoon to seal the two layers of dough together.

After about 5 minutes sneak a peak at the underside of the dough, it should be brown. Turn the galette over to cook the other side with the help of a plate. and cook for 2-3 minutes on the second side.

Serve with salad or other vegetables on the side.

Variations and tips:

Since the potatoes for the dough have to be cold before use anyway make the most of your fuel and make this dish the day after you have potatoes for dinner and cook double. In the summer I do a big batch an turn half into potato salad and half into this recipe.

Make it veggie - instead of the meat mixture use sauteed mushrooms and other veggies such as peppers and courgettes. Or use vegetables that you have oven roasted previously (making good use of the oven by cooking them at the same time as something else of course).

Flavour the mince meat with different herbs and spices. This version is flavoured with chilli but you could make it more Italian by adding basil and oregano and a squirt of tomato puree. You could make it more Greek by using oregano and a little cinnamon. Use spice mixtures such as ras-al-hanout or Z'atar to flavour the meat. Use other meat instead of the minced beef.

Instead of cooking the meat from scratch use leftover spag bol sauce, or chilli. Leftover curry also works but with this leave out the cheese.

This also make a good recipe to add to the mix if you are into doing a freezer cooking day using minced beef.

In this recipe you need a cheese that melts nicely but this could be Cheddar, something like a mozarella or even a blue cheese.

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Food for 1 week - a Sainsbury's v Morrisons comparison

 I am ashamed to say that I do not use my nearest supermarket.  For me I have spent years comparing items pricewise and Sainsburys has come out more expensive overall.  However, recently they have introduced a price match for ALDI which means that suddenly the odd item here and there is cheaper than where I usually do my shop (Morrisons).  With this is mind I revisited my £15 meal plan and compared item for item to see if it would be cheaper.

In short the total is cheaper - instead of £14.96 the total would be £14.17 but the devil as they say is in the detail...

1)First up margarine £1.00 using an item on offer at Morrisons when the post was written

Price is the same (albeit for own brand) - interestingly own brand at Morrisons would be slightly more expensive if they did not have an offer.

2) 500 g frozen mixed veg 85p at Morrisons

A winner at Sainsbury's thanks to the price match

3) Passata - 35p per carton at Morrisons

40p per carton at sainsburys - not so good

4) 1 kg of onions - 65p at Morrisons

a whole 20p more expensive at Sainsbury's

5) 500 g red lentils £1.15 from Morrisons

same price

6) Loaf of bread (800g for 49p at Morrisons)

Price match to the rescue again - a 13p saving at Sainsbury's

7) 2 pints whole milk - 80p at Morrisons

no change in price - not a big surprise really...

8) 500 g pasta 45p at Morrisons

Sainsburys is a loser this time at 10p more expensive

9) 1 head garlic - 45p at Morrisons

A nice surprise to find a 20 p saving here!

10) 6 eggs for 75 p at Morrisons

15 p more expensive at Sainsbury's

11)1 kg of granulated sugar 65p

This one looks like it is cheaper but look at the pack size - gram per gram it is more expensive and would last me half as long BUT if the bottom line is the total at the checkout this week then it saves me 15p on the total bill - you pays your money you takes your choice...

12) Own brand baked beans 30p per tin from Morrisons

Price match again - 9p per tin saving

13) 500 g plain flour - 45p at Morrisons

Same price BUT look at the pack size.  Thanks to price match this is a massive 3x the amount for the same cost OR I could have chosen to have a pack the same size for a 5p saving...

14) 1 kg frozen cauliflower/ broccoli 99p at Morrisons

£1 at Sainsbury's - let's call this one a draw...

15) £1.89 for 350g cheese

smaller price saving 39p off the total BUT for a smaller pack (the next nearest was 400g of cheese for £2)

16) 100g curry powder 65p

15p more expensive at Sainsbury's

17)  Mixed herbs 95p

10 p saving

18) 8 pack of sausages £1

20 p saving thanks to price match

19) 80 value tea bags 55p 

Half as many teabags for 15p definite loser for the final item.

So what is the conclusion-.  Well as a generalisation the ALDI price match makes all the difference.  You can find out what is included by following the link on the Sainsbury's Groceries homepage  and this includes over 250 items at the latest.

One of the highlights is the 1kg of rice for 45p which would make a good substitution for the pasta in my original list and give more food in the long run for the same price (yes at a pinch one form of carbs is pretty much like another).  Other things like eggs, flour, teabags are geared towards the bigger value packs though - great if you are scaling up to feed a family - or can operate on a monthly budget, not so good if you are hand-to-mouth on a week by week budget.  I still cannot get all the way down to £10 for 1 person without cheating and using value packs and proportional pricing - well not unless you want baked beans on toast for lunch and dinner for 7 days!  What it really underlines is that it is very rarely cheaper on everything when you compare one shop with another and you also have to weigh up things like travel costs as well.  Using a price book (and stocking up if you can) for groceries that have a long shelf life does help, so can combining journeys like the work commute (assuming you still do one) so long as you are disciplined and don't fall for the offers etc instore.  Finally, don't forget that if you can have a little wiggle room in your food budget for emergencies this will help with the mindset as there is nothing that will make you stick to your old (bad) ways more than knowing even if you don't like it you have to eat it or go hungry;  just remember even an emergency tin of beans or soup will do and try that recipe you have been recommended by your mate - it might even change your mind.

Post Furlough/Student Food: World's cheapest soup? Potato Soup

 With the wind and rain blowing a hoolie this morning soup springs to mind for lunch.  I have previously done a "cream of anything" soup post which made the use of those veggies that are about to go in the bin - incidentally it is also great made with tinned or frozen veggies as well.  This time this is the cheapest (thick) soup that I can think of - at it's most simple it is just stock, potatoes and a splash of oil and so can be really cheap, but of course it would not be one of my recipes if I did not include some variations if you have extra money in your budget or ingredients in your fridge/cupboard.  It begins to sound like the real life version of Stone Soup.

Potato Soup (serves 4)

450 g potatoes, peeled and cubed

Splash of oil

Stock to barely cover (can be homemade or from a cube) ~ 1 1/2 pints

In a large pot toss the potatoes in the oil and allow to saute for a few minutes until just starting to begin to start to colour.

Add the stock and bring to the boil.  Simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Mash with a potato masher or use a stick blender.  Add extra liquid to get desired thickness.  Serve

Variations:

Ah where to begin...

When you add the extra liquid use milk or cream instead of stock.  I have even used skim milk powder instead of fresh milk, still adds a creamy flavour.

Add a chopped onion to the potatoes, allow to soften for as long as possible before adding the liquid.

Use sweet potatoes instead of all "normal" spuds

Add cooked bacon for extra flavour

Add grated cheese for extra flavour

If garlic is you thing then add some garlic along with the potatoes

Add chopped leek to the potatoes

Add chopped chives or chopped dill on the herbs front.

Add curry powder or garam masala (mix into the veggies after they are softened in the oil but before the stock and allow to become fragrant before adding the liquid)

Post furlough food: Dump and go pork and potato casserole in the crock pot/slowcooker.

 This weekend was a bank holiday for the UK.  We found ourselves at IKEA collecting a bed for our 17 year old having discovered that the metal bed frame had broken on his bed and his bum was halfway to the floor each night - he hadn't bothered to tell us for months!  Anyway this involved a 4 hour drive to to click and collect and then get back home during which time our two autistic sons were tasked with taking the old bed apart on their own- which they did much to their surprise.  They then got to put the new one together with only help when absolutely stuck (Dad was banned!).  Final comment was "It's just like a big Lego really"  so a very well done A and B- I told you you could do it!

This meant of course a very late day and whilst the boys love pizza or sausages and chips the grown ups in the house not so much so I put together this dump and go from some pork I had in the freezer before the road trip.

Pork and Potato Casserole - serves 4

500g pork - I used tenderloin as this was what I had in the freezer but you could use cubed meat or chops, even mince

1 tin of cider

2 courgettes, chopped

2 carrots chopped

500 g new potatoes, washed and halved

1 tsp garlic granules or 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 chicken stock cube.

At this point you can put all the ingredients in a freezer bag and freeze if desired.

Place all the above ingredients in the slow cooker and leave to cook for bout 6-8 hours - or in our case 10, the longer you leave it the more the cider will soak into the potatoes.

To serve,

Fry a sliced onion until softened and brown.  Add the liquid from the slowcooker and 2 tsp of cornflour that have been mixed with water to make a paste.  Stir all the time and bring to the boil when it should be thick.  Mix back with all other ingredients and stir to make sure everything is coated.  Serve.

Variations:

-The reason I add the onions at the end is because I loath the taste of "boiled" onions which is what you get if you add them at the beginning - however feel free if you want a dump and go bag for the freezer and you don't mid the taste

-this works well with sausages instead of pork

- if you don't do alcohol then use apple juice instead

-Add some sage if you have it, pork loves sage

-Use other veg instead of courgettes and carrots - any root veg will work well as will squash, don't add mushrooms though they go slimey.