Dear reader,
Hope you are well. Weather not too bad here, quite mild. We usually have snow this time of year so it's quite mild.
Have been running quite well and am doing the couch to 5k or C25k for short.
Only on week one but from small acorns.....
We are doing well with the monthly spend so far and have cut down on the shopping a lot. Am just trying to go every other week now and am spending about £85 a go.
Am trying to use up every little bit of food we have. For instance, Big Man likes jacket potatoes with tuna inside. I bake them and then remove the potato and mash it up with the tuna before restuffing.
There's usually a bit left over-Fishcakes!
Have been cutting up celery and carrots to have with homemade humous, lots of leftover ends-vegetable soup. Even threw in some lettuce leaves. Lovely!
Tonight did a quick dinner, ham, eggs and oven chips for Big man. I had pasta and a simple tomato sauce I made over the weekend.
I have tried to buy a few different veg that we wouldn't normally eat. This week was celeriac.
Ugly looking thing with wizened edges but I peeled half and had it as mash with a beef stew. The other half I squirted some lemon juice on to stop going brown. Then I grated it in the processor with a white cabbage and made coleslaw. Quite nice, slightly aniseed tasting. Probably wont get again.
I got a bag of parsnips in Lidl for 39p. Have par boiled and roasted and will freeze for quickness to use again. Saves time when in a hurry.
What do you do to save time when cooking? Have you got any go to recipes that are quick and easy?
We tried celeriac at the beginning of January- our conclusions were the same as yours! I try to use the oven for lots of things at once, and will fill a big roasting dish with all sorts of chopped up veg and roast them. EVERYTHING goes in,including the sad apples from the bottom of the fruit bowl, and squishy tomatoes. Drizzle with oil, scatter some herbs over and roast 40mins! If I have some butternut squash, that is cubed and added but I DO NOT PEEL IT - Jamie O suggested that, and it works fine, the peel is quite edible - saves loads of preparation time.
ReplyDeleteAlso I make humungous quantities of tomato and veg sauce, and freeze it in 2 person portions [there are 2 of us usually] Then I can defrost quickly and serve with pasta - I can add mince for extra protein. Or add mince and top with mash. Or blitz half of it, add stock or boiling water to make a veg soup, or serve with rice, or serve with sausages... Not particularly original, but works for me.
Oh, and I often keep a mcvities jamaica ginger cake in the cupboard. They last forever.One slice, topped with some fruit or jam, and then some yogurt, makes a quick pud.
I had never thought of roasting and freezing parsnips till I read your post. As I am the only parsnip eater round here, that makes economic sense for me - I can batch prepare, then cook one at a time when we have a sunday roast. Great idea, thanks!!
It used to be that dishes using tuna were a really cheap and tasty standby, but with the way the price has escalated of late it's no longer the case, is it! We have no tins of it in our cupboard at the moment and I certainly won;t be re-stocking during our "Frugal Food February" challenge!
ReplyDeleteI always make a quick hamburger soup (mix it up with variations of veg and grains like barley). It never ceases to satisfy my hunger, especially with a nice side salad and or buns. The other good thing is to freeze meals ahead but I have such limited freezer space that this doesn't work if I also want to stock up on meat on sale.
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