So, this week will be the first week of my July challenge where I aim to limit my grocery spend to €50 per week. I hate to admit it but I am actually quite excited by my July challenge. I know, I know - this makes me sound extremely sad, but I think it will force me to exercise a bit of creativity to stay below the €50 each week.
Now, to be clear, this €50 will probably only be food shopping with the odd toiletery, pack of nappies or tub of formula thrown in. I have quite a large stockpile of toileteries, nappies and formula built up at the moment from buying when they were on offer or from using my Boots Advantage card to buy them. If I was to buy formula and nappies each week as well as the groceries, I think I would need to increase my shopping budget to €75 to accomodate this. So if you have decided to give yourself a July challenge, remember to allow yourself some extra money to allow for expensives items like this or you will be setting yourself up for a fall!
This weekend I am up visiting my parents as it is my dads 50th birthday, so I won't need to worry about grocery shopping for dinner on Saturday or Sunday evening. So, for this week my menu plan only needs to cover Monday to Friday.
So, my menu plan for the 2th July 2012 to 6th July 2012 is as follows:-
Monday dinner - Turkey meatballs in tomato and fennel sauce
Tuesday dinner - Leftovers
Wednesday dinner - Mushroom and rice one-pot
Thursday dinner - Better than baked beans and wedges
Friday dinner - Leftovers
For lunches we will have ham sandwiches, leftover mushroom and rice one-pot and tuna salad.
Friday 29 June 2012
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Patatas bravas with chorizo
Last night I made the patatas bravas with chorizo from the May 2010 issue of the Good food magazine. According to the recipe it serves 6 as an appetiser, but I made it for dinner instead, adjusting the volume of ingredients so that I made enough for two adults, one child and a baby.
The recipe was easy to follow and make, but I had to steam the potatoes for longer than the suggested 10 minutes as they were still rock hard after the 10 minutes had passed. Next time I will cut the potatoes smaller in the hope that they steam quicker. Another thing that I will change for next time is the type of potatoes that I use. We had roosters in the house, so I used these but they were too floury and feel apart in the pan a bit. I think that waxy potatoes might have held together a bit better.
To save time when I make this recipe in the future I will probably steam the potatoes the day before and keep them in the fridge until I am ready to use them.
For the baby I mashed some of the potatoes and stirred in some of the tomato sauce and onion. He loved it.
Alterations
Instead of using 250g of small cooking chorizo I used three large cooking chorizo from Marks and Spencers and cut them into chunks. I substituted the red chilli in the recipe for some dried crushed chillis instead and as there was no cayenne pepper in the house I didn't add it to the dish. As the recipe was only for two adults and one child I used less potatoes than the suggested 1kg.
Cost
The chorizo sausages that I used cost €1.25. I have estimated that the potatoes I used were €1.50, the onion was 20 cent, the can of chopped tomatoes was 67 cent and I have allowed 30 cent for the garlic, olive oil and spices. That makes the total cost €3.92 which is quite reasonable for dinner for the family.
If I used potatoes from the garden the cost of the meal would be reduced further, making it an even cheaper recipe to make.
The recipe was easy to follow and make, but I had to steam the potatoes for longer than the suggested 10 minutes as they were still rock hard after the 10 minutes had passed. Next time I will cut the potatoes smaller in the hope that they steam quicker. Another thing that I will change for next time is the type of potatoes that I use. We had roosters in the house, so I used these but they were too floury and feel apart in the pan a bit. I think that waxy potatoes might have held together a bit better.
To save time when I make this recipe in the future I will probably steam the potatoes the day before and keep them in the fridge until I am ready to use them.
For the baby I mashed some of the potatoes and stirred in some of the tomato sauce and onion. He loved it.
Alterations
Instead of using 250g of small cooking chorizo I used three large cooking chorizo from Marks and Spencers and cut them into chunks. I substituted the red chilli in the recipe for some dried crushed chillis instead and as there was no cayenne pepper in the house I didn't add it to the dish. As the recipe was only for two adults and one child I used less potatoes than the suggested 1kg.
Cost
The chorizo sausages that I used cost €1.25. I have estimated that the potatoes I used were €1.50, the onion was 20 cent, the can of chopped tomatoes was 67 cent and I have allowed 30 cent for the garlic, olive oil and spices. That makes the total cost €3.92 which is quite reasonable for dinner for the family.
If I used potatoes from the garden the cost of the meal would be reduced further, making it an even cheaper recipe to make.
Monday 25 June 2012
Menu plan 25/6/2012 to 29/6/2012
I didn't get a chance to plan my menu over the weekend and just used whatever was in the freezer. I needed to put a bit of thought into what I am planning for the next few days before heading off to the shops though, so I put together a menu plan for the next of the week.
So, my plan for the rest of the week is as follows:
Monday dinner - wraps
Tuesday dinner - Patatas bravas with chorizo
Wednesday dinner - Grilled pork loins, potatoes, peas and sweetcorn
Thursday dinner - Sweet and sour pork stir-fry
Friday dinner - Summer-in-winter chicken with olive oil baked potatoes
For lunches we will be having sandwiches, wraps, broccoli and almond soup and baked tomato and feta.
I'll be continuing my inventory this week in preparation for my July challenge. I am hoping that by using a lot of the contents of my store cupboard and freezer contents that I will be able to limit my grocery spend to €50 per week. I've also been reading through some of my recipe books and Good Food magazines to try and get a few ideas of recipes that won't cost the earth to make.
So, my plan for the rest of the week is as follows:
Monday dinner - wraps
Tuesday dinner - Patatas bravas with chorizo
Wednesday dinner - Grilled pork loins, potatoes, peas and sweetcorn
Thursday dinner - Sweet and sour pork stir-fry
Friday dinner - Summer-in-winter chicken with olive oil baked potatoes
For lunches we will be having sandwiches, wraps, broccoli and almond soup and baked tomato and feta.
I'll be continuing my inventory this week in preparation for my July challenge. I am hoping that by using a lot of the contents of my store cupboard and freezer contents that I will be able to limit my grocery spend to €50 per week. I've also been reading through some of my recipe books and Good Food magazines to try and get a few ideas of recipes that won't cost the earth to make.
Wednesday 20 June 2012
July challenge - €50 per week
So, as the title suggests I have set myself a bit of a challenge for July. I intend to limit my grocery spend for each week in July to €50 per week. I've recently re-done my monthly budget again and I've lowered my grocery budget down to €100 per week again, so if I manage to spend €50 per week throughout July I'll be able to save €200 which I'll put into my savings account.
There are a few reasons why I've decided to do this. Firstly, it'd be nice to put the extra money into my savings account as it'll come in handy come Christmas time. Secondly, I am hoping to run down the contents of the freezer. Thirdly, if I limit the amount I am spending each week to €50 then I'll be forced get creative with the contents of my store cupboard.
So, to help to try and complete this challenge I will be taking an inventory of my kitchen cupboards and freezer so that I have an accurate list of what I have in the house. I'll then plan my weekly menu using this list, as well as considering what is on offer in the shops each week.
Hopefully I'll be able to stick to it and still make some yummy meals for my family!
If anyone has any suggestions of cheap and cheerful, yet tasty meals then please leave a comment sharing your suggestions.
There are a few reasons why I've decided to do this. Firstly, it'd be nice to put the extra money into my savings account as it'll come in handy come Christmas time. Secondly, I am hoping to run down the contents of the freezer. Thirdly, if I limit the amount I am spending each week to €50 then I'll be forced get creative with the contents of my store cupboard.
So, to help to try and complete this challenge I will be taking an inventory of my kitchen cupboards and freezer so that I have an accurate list of what I have in the house. I'll then plan my weekly menu using this list, as well as considering what is on offer in the shops each week.
Hopefully I'll be able to stick to it and still make some yummy meals for my family!
If anyone has any suggestions of cheap and cheerful, yet tasty meals then please leave a comment sharing your suggestions.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Chorizo chicken
On Saturday night past, I made chorizo chicken for our dinner. The recipe appeared in the September 2008 issue of GoodFood magazine. The recipe in the magazine includes chilli wedges, but they are made from sweet potato which my husband really doesn't like. So, I served my chorizo chicken with some oven chips and a bit of side salad.
I decided to make the chorizo chicken as it has been on my 'to make' list for a while now and Dunnes had an offer on a selection of Spanish meats which included Chorizo slices, so I bought them specifically to make this recipe.
Unfortunately I made a bit of an error on Saturday morning and forgot to lift some chicken breasts out of the freezer. By the time I realised my butcher had closed, so I had to nip up to Superquinn to get some chicken there. Superquinn's free range chicken is on offer at the moment, so it actually worked out cheaper to by two free range chicken breasts than their non-free range chicken breasts, but they were still expensive.
The chorizo chicken was fairly simple and easy to make. I had it and the oven chips in the oven at the same time. Unfortunately the bits of chorizo that weren't touching the chicken ended up getting a bit overdone (read burnt!!), so take care to make sure that your chorizo is tucked tightly to your chicken.
If I am honest this didn't turn out quite as I expected. The chorizo chicken was not as spicy as I expected, however it was really moist and tender. I think if I was to make it again I'd make chilli wedges to go with it, but with potatoes instead of sweet potatoes, to add a bit more spice to the meal. In saying that, there are a lot of other dishes that I would make again ahead of this one.
Cost
As I said, the chicken breasts I got were quite expensive - they were €4.02. The chorizo slices were about 80 cent, the chips were about €1 and I've estimated that the salad I served was also about €1 (the salad consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, olive oil and sherry vinegar). The total cost was €6.82.
If I had used the chicken breasts that I get from my local butcher then the cost of the meal would have been €4.82 which is much more reasonable. If I make it in the future I'll take care to remember to lift the chicken out of the freezer if I need to!!
I decided to make the chorizo chicken as it has been on my 'to make' list for a while now and Dunnes had an offer on a selection of Spanish meats which included Chorizo slices, so I bought them specifically to make this recipe.
Unfortunately I made a bit of an error on Saturday morning and forgot to lift some chicken breasts out of the freezer. By the time I realised my butcher had closed, so I had to nip up to Superquinn to get some chicken there. Superquinn's free range chicken is on offer at the moment, so it actually worked out cheaper to by two free range chicken breasts than their non-free range chicken breasts, but they were still expensive.
The chorizo chicken was fairly simple and easy to make. I had it and the oven chips in the oven at the same time. Unfortunately the bits of chorizo that weren't touching the chicken ended up getting a bit overdone (read burnt!!), so take care to make sure that your chorizo is tucked tightly to your chicken.
If I am honest this didn't turn out quite as I expected. The chorizo chicken was not as spicy as I expected, however it was really moist and tender. I think if I was to make it again I'd make chilli wedges to go with it, but with potatoes instead of sweet potatoes, to add a bit more spice to the meal. In saying that, there are a lot of other dishes that I would make again ahead of this one.
Cost
As I said, the chicken breasts I got were quite expensive - they were €4.02. The chorizo slices were about 80 cent, the chips were about €1 and I've estimated that the salad I served was also about €1 (the salad consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, olive oil and sherry vinegar). The total cost was €6.82.
If I had used the chicken breasts that I get from my local butcher then the cost of the meal would have been €4.82 which is much more reasonable. If I make it in the future I'll take care to remember to lift the chicken out of the freezer if I need to!!
Monday 18 June 2012
Sunblush tomatoes and spinach tagliatelle
Tonight I made sunblush tomatoes and spinach tagliatelle for dinner. This is one of my favourite quick vegetarian meals and is a handy recipe to have up your sleeve for a busy midweek night.
I chopped some of the tomatoes, spinach and pasta up into the chunks and feed it to the baby who devoured it! I added a little cooled boiled water to it before giving it to him to help keep up his water intake. He was not impressed when his was all gone and we ended up giving him some tagliatelle to feed himself while we were finished ours as he was looking at us with puppy dog eyes!
Tip
I make my own sunblush tomatoes by roasting them in the oven. Making your own will save a bit of money as shop bought ones can be quite expensive. I also find that shop bought ones can be extremely oily. If you are using shop bought ones in the recipe, put a spoonful of the oil into the pan before adding the tomatoes and frying. Do not pour the whole lot into the pan straight from the tub! My husband did this one night as I wasn't very direct in my instructions with regards to dealing with the tomatoes and the dinner was really greasy and not as pleasant to eat as it normally is.
When I make my own, I add a bit of extra flavour by adding some crushed garlic, dried basil and oregano, as well as olive oil to the tomatoes before putting them into the oven to roast. As I had the oven on for dinner last night to cook the oven chips we had with the dinner last night I put the tomatoes into the oven at the same time so that the oven was on once. After lifting out the chips, I put the oven up to gas mark 9 for five minutes and then turned it off, but left the tomatoes in the oven to continue roasting. Once the oven was cooled I removed the tomatoes and put them into the into a tub and put them in the oven ready to use in the dinner tonight.
Ingredients - enough of each to serve the number of people you are cooking for.
Sunblush tomatoes - (I made my own with 1.5 punnets of cherry tomatoes)
Spinach, stalks removed (I used one small bag of baby spinach)
Tagliatelle (I used 6 nests of Dunnes tagliatelle)
Method
Cost
I've estimated that the tagliatelle cost me €1, the tomatoes were €1.50 and the spinach was €1.49, making the total cost less €4 exactly. In the past I have used spinach that I've grown myself to make this meal, meaning that it can cost me as little as €2.50.
I chopped some of the tomatoes, spinach and pasta up into the chunks and feed it to the baby who devoured it! I added a little cooled boiled water to it before giving it to him to help keep up his water intake. He was not impressed when his was all gone and we ended up giving him some tagliatelle to feed himself while we were finished ours as he was looking at us with puppy dog eyes!
 |
| I paused long enough to take this photo of my tagliatelle before eating it! |
Tip
I make my own sunblush tomatoes by roasting them in the oven. Making your own will save a bit of money as shop bought ones can be quite expensive. I also find that shop bought ones can be extremely oily. If you are using shop bought ones in the recipe, put a spoonful of the oil into the pan before adding the tomatoes and frying. Do not pour the whole lot into the pan straight from the tub! My husband did this one night as I wasn't very direct in my instructions with regards to dealing with the tomatoes and the dinner was really greasy and not as pleasant to eat as it normally is.
When I make my own, I add a bit of extra flavour by adding some crushed garlic, dried basil and oregano, as well as olive oil to the tomatoes before putting them into the oven to roast. As I had the oven on for dinner last night to cook the oven chips we had with the dinner last night I put the tomatoes into the oven at the same time so that the oven was on once. After lifting out the chips, I put the oven up to gas mark 9 for five minutes and then turned it off, but left the tomatoes in the oven to continue roasting. Once the oven was cooled I removed the tomatoes and put them into the into a tub and put them in the oven ready to use in the dinner tonight.
Ingredients - enough of each to serve the number of people you are cooking for.
Sunblush tomatoes - (I made my own with 1.5 punnets of cherry tomatoes)
Spinach, stalks removed (I used one small bag of baby spinach)
Tagliatelle (I used 6 nests of Dunnes tagliatelle)
Method
- Put on the tagliatelle to cook according to instructions. Before rinsing, remove a mug of water from the pasta pot. Rinse the starch off with hot water from the kettle.
- Heat the tomatoes in a frying pan and add the spinach. Cook until the spinach has wilted.
- Add tagliatelle to the frying pan and stir into the tomatoes and spinach. Add a little of the water from the mug at a time to coat the pasta. Serve.
Cost
I've estimated that the tagliatelle cost me €1, the tomatoes were €1.50 and the spinach was €1.49, making the total cost less €4 exactly. In the past I have used spinach that I've grown myself to make this meal, meaning that it can cost me as little as €2.50.
Sunday 17 June 2012
Salmon with basil veg
Last week I made a version of the spring salmon with minty veg recipe from the Goodfood website for dinner one of the nights. Mine was more like spring salmon with basil veg though as I had leftover basil in the fridge and decided to use it, as per the suggestion at the bottom of the recipe.
With regards to the veg, I used a mix of fresh and frozen veg. I used broccoli, green beans and frozen peas. This meant that I had a little bit of prep to do for the broccoli, but I was able to do this while the potatoes were boiling so it didn't really take any extra time.
Cooking the salmon in the microwave worked really well. I have used the microwave to cook fish before and I've found that you have to be very careful when doing it as it is easy to overcook it and make it rubbery. However, with this recipe the salmon stayed really moist owing to the that it was covered with the dressing. I stopped the microwave after 3 and a half minutes to check it and then gave it another 15 seconds and it was done. If you've not used a microwave before to cook fish then it might be a good idea to check the salmon periodically while it is cooking to make sure it doesn't overcook.
Tip
I made extra salmon, potatoes and veg and chopped it up and froze it in portions for the baby for during the week. He devoured his portion and ate some green beans as finger food as well. If I am doing a dinner that is suitable for him I have started making extra to freeze for him rather than making food specially for him now. When I defrost a portion and heat it up for him I will add a bit of boiled water to it as it can be quite dry when it comes out of the freezer. I find this is a handy way of getting water into him as well as he can be a bit reluctant to drink it some days.
Cost
The salmon was €6 for three fillets (I used Donegal catch frozen fillets which are skinned), the basil was 40 cent, the lemon was 25 cent, the frozen peas were 30 cent, the broccoli was 40 cent, the green beans were €1.50 and the potatoes I used were 99 cent. This means the total cost of the meal that I made was €9.84. For this I feed two adults, two kids and got 8 portions for the freezer for the baby.
This is one of the more expensive meals that I have made, but given that I got so many portions of dinner for the baby out of it as well I think it works out as quite good value when you consider the cost of jars of baby food. If I had used all frozen veg then the cost could have been lowered a bit. Also, when my potatoes and green beans are eventually ready in the garden, and if I planted some herbs, I could lower the cost further.
With regards to the veg, I used a mix of fresh and frozen veg. I used broccoli, green beans and frozen peas. This meant that I had a little bit of prep to do for the broccoli, but I was able to do this while the potatoes were boiling so it didn't really take any extra time.
Cooking the salmon in the microwave worked really well. I have used the microwave to cook fish before and I've found that you have to be very careful when doing it as it is easy to overcook it and make it rubbery. However, with this recipe the salmon stayed really moist owing to the that it was covered with the dressing. I stopped the microwave after 3 and a half minutes to check it and then gave it another 15 seconds and it was done. If you've not used a microwave before to cook fish then it might be a good idea to check the salmon periodically while it is cooking to make sure it doesn't overcook.
Tip
I made extra salmon, potatoes and veg and chopped it up and froze it in portions for the baby for during the week. He devoured his portion and ate some green beans as finger food as well. If I am doing a dinner that is suitable for him I have started making extra to freeze for him rather than making food specially for him now. When I defrost a portion and heat it up for him I will add a bit of boiled water to it as it can be quite dry when it comes out of the freezer. I find this is a handy way of getting water into him as well as he can be a bit reluctant to drink it some days.
Cost
The salmon was €6 for three fillets (I used Donegal catch frozen fillets which are skinned), the basil was 40 cent, the lemon was 25 cent, the frozen peas were 30 cent, the broccoli was 40 cent, the green beans were €1.50 and the potatoes I used were 99 cent. This means the total cost of the meal that I made was €9.84. For this I feed two adults, two kids and got 8 portions for the freezer for the baby.
This is one of the more expensive meals that I have made, but given that I got so many portions of dinner for the baby out of it as well I think it works out as quite good value when you consider the cost of jars of baby food. If I had used all frozen veg then the cost could have been lowered a bit. Also, when my potatoes and green beans are eventually ready in the garden, and if I planted some herbs, I could lower the cost further.
Friday 15 June 2012
Menu plan 16/6/2012 to 22/6/2012
It's been a while since I put together a proper menu plan but I decided that I needed to take the time to put one together this evening for the next week. So, my menu plan for the 16th June to the 22nd June is as follows:-
Saturday lunch - spring onion soup
Saturday dinner - Chorizo chicken
Sunday lunch - leftover soup
Sunday dinner - Steak, mushrooms, onions, chips, sweetcorn and peas (Fathers day request)
Monday dinner - Tagliatelle, sunblush tomatoe and spinach
Tuesday dinner - Shepherds pie
Wednesday dinner - Leftover shepherds pie
Thursday dinner - Bacon and mushroom pasta
Friday dinner - Fish, chips and peas
For lunches through the week we will have ham sandwiches and tuna salad.
Spring onions (scallions) and mushrooms are on offer in Dunnes at the moment for 48 cent. I picked up two bunches of scallions to make soup for lunch over the weekend and I picked up 3 packs of mushrooms for use in various dishes through the week. Youngs frozen battered fish is on offer in Dunnes at the moment for €2 for 2 large fillets. I picked up two boxes of these for the freezer and will use one of them on Friday.
Tip
There were quite a few offers on frozen products in Dunnes and I picked up several. When I got home I discovered that I didn't have as much room in my freezer as I thought, so I removed the Youngs fish fillets from their packaging and put them in freezer bags to save space. The box for the fish was quite large in comparison of the actual size of the fillets, so this saved a lot of space in the freezer.
Saturday lunch - spring onion soup
Saturday dinner - Chorizo chicken
Sunday lunch - leftover soup
Sunday dinner - Steak, mushrooms, onions, chips, sweetcorn and peas (Fathers day request)
Monday dinner - Tagliatelle, sunblush tomatoe and spinach
Tuesday dinner - Shepherds pie
Wednesday dinner - Leftover shepherds pie
Thursday dinner - Bacon and mushroom pasta
Friday dinner - Fish, chips and peas
For lunches through the week we will have ham sandwiches and tuna salad.
Spring onions (scallions) and mushrooms are on offer in Dunnes at the moment for 48 cent. I picked up two bunches of scallions to make soup for lunch over the weekend and I picked up 3 packs of mushrooms for use in various dishes through the week. Youngs frozen battered fish is on offer in Dunnes at the moment for €2 for 2 large fillets. I picked up two boxes of these for the freezer and will use one of them on Friday.
Tip
There were quite a few offers on frozen products in Dunnes and I picked up several. When I got home I discovered that I didn't have as much room in my freezer as I thought, so I removed the Youngs fish fillets from their packaging and put them in freezer bags to save space. The box for the fish was quite large in comparison of the actual size of the fillets, so this saved a lot of space in the freezer.
Summer pea pasta
Like many parents, when feeling unwell I still have to make dinner for my kids regardless of how I'm feeling. So on Monday night I wanted something quick to make so that I didn't have to stand at the cooker for long. Also, given that I wasn't feeling very well, I didn't want something creamy or heavy to eat. I found this recipe for summer pea pasta in the August 2010 issue of the Goodfood magazine and thought it would make an ideal meal for my family.
This recipe was really handy for me to make as I had all the ingredients in the house except the basil and chilli which are available in my local green grocers, so I didn't have to go to a supermarket to get ingredients for dinner.
Tip
Eating vegetarian can be a good way of cutting the costs of a meal so I have decided to try and introduce more vegetarian meals to my family. Unfortunately, my husband tends to expect meat with every meal (show me an Irishman who doesn't!) so I find that when I suggest adding a vegetarian option to the menu that it is usually meet with a 'what meat are we having with that' from him. On Monday night he had no idea what he was having for dinner as the menu hadn't been prepared in advance, so couldn't protest at the lack of meat, so perhaps my plan for the future should be to just spring meat-free dishes on him!! Fortunately for me, this dish was really tasty and filling, so he couldn't complain too much about the lack of meat. If he did I think I would have told him how much it cost and pointed out that he could maybe have a nice steak some night soon with the money I saved!!
Alterations
As I was making this for two adults and one child, I used a bit less pasta, basil and peas than what the recipe suggests. I used the full amount of red chilli, garlic and lemon zest suggested despite using less of the other ingredients and the result was a dish full of flavour.
Cost
This was quite a cheap dinner to make. The basil was 40 cent, the pasta was 50 cent, the peas were 50 cent, the red chilli was 30 cent, the garlic was 20 cent and I am allowing 10 cent for the olive oil. This means that the total cost of the dish is €2.
I haven't counted the lemon zest in the overall cost as I still have the lemons to use in another dish and didn't want to end up counting the cost of them twice.
This recipe was really handy for me to make as I had all the ingredients in the house except the basil and chilli which are available in my local green grocers, so I didn't have to go to a supermarket to get ingredients for dinner.
Tip
Eating vegetarian can be a good way of cutting the costs of a meal so I have decided to try and introduce more vegetarian meals to my family. Unfortunately, my husband tends to expect meat with every meal (show me an Irishman who doesn't!) so I find that when I suggest adding a vegetarian option to the menu that it is usually meet with a 'what meat are we having with that' from him. On Monday night he had no idea what he was having for dinner as the menu hadn't been prepared in advance, so couldn't protest at the lack of meat, so perhaps my plan for the future should be to just spring meat-free dishes on him!! Fortunately for me, this dish was really tasty and filling, so he couldn't complain too much about the lack of meat. If he did I think I would have told him how much it cost and pointed out that he could maybe have a nice steak some night soon with the money I saved!!
Alterations
As I was making this for two adults and one child, I used a bit less pasta, basil and peas than what the recipe suggests. I used the full amount of red chilli, garlic and lemon zest suggested despite using less of the other ingredients and the result was a dish full of flavour.
Cost
This was quite a cheap dinner to make. The basil was 40 cent, the pasta was 50 cent, the peas were 50 cent, the red chilli was 30 cent, the garlic was 20 cent and I am allowing 10 cent for the olive oil. This means that the total cost of the dish is €2.
I haven't counted the lemon zest in the overall cost as I still have the lemons to use in another dish and didn't want to end up counting the cost of them twice.
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