Sweet and sour pork stir fry

On Tuesday night we had some sweet and sour pork stir fry leftovers that I had frozen last week.  The recipe is for two, but I doubled up the ingredients so that I would have enough left to freeze for a dinner at a future date when I was scarce on time.  I served my sweet and sour pork with rice both times.  The recipe was easy to make and extremely quick to prepare and cook.

Although the recipe has ingredients that are high in salt/sugar - the tomato ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce - which I wouldn't normally give to my baby, I decided to give some to my son the first night I made it.  He loved it!  Since then I have had him at the Dr with a rash that turns out to be a food allergy and have had to cut all fruit from his diet, re-introducing one fruit at a time, so I was unable to give it to him on Tuesday night due to the pineapple in it.

Alterations
The biggest alteration that I made to the recipe has already been mentioned - I doubled up the ingredients to make enough for the freezer.  With regards to the pork strips, I used pork loins instead.  I had several in my freezer, so I cut two up into small strips and used these instead of going and buying pork strips.  This saved me money on my grocery shopping.  I didn't bother with the garnish of shredded spring onions and added all the spring onions that I used to the pan instead.  I added a little water to the pan to make extra sauce.

Cost
The pork loins cost me €2.  I bought the pineapple on offer for €1 and had it in the cupboard.  I used two peppers which were on offer for 79 cent each, making them €1.58.  I used a bunch of spring onions which cost another 79 cent.  I have allowed 50 cent for the tomato ketchup, soy sauce, oil, sugar, white wine vinegar and cornflour, all of which were in my cupboard already.  This means that the total cost of the stir fry was € 5.87 (excluding the rice). 

This did two nights dinners for 2 adults and 1 child (the baby only ate it once) and we had an extra portion leftover for lunch one day as well.  So the actual cost for me per meal was probably more around the €3 mark including the rice.

Turkey meatballs in tomato and fennel sauce

Last night I made turkey meatballs in tomato and fennel sauce for dinner and we had the leftovers for dinner tonight.  The recipe appeared in the March 2010 issue of Good Food magazine.  I decided to make it when I realised that I had all the ingredients in that were required

As with a lot of the Good Food recipes I have used recently, this was really quick and easy to make.  My husband, daughter and son loved it - my daughter informed us that she wanted a second bowl of it after her first forkful!  I liked it to, but I think the next time I make it I'll add something to the meatballs to give them a bit more flavour.  They definitely need some seasoning at the very least.

With regards to the leftovers, instead of heating up the whole dish, I had prepared all the meatballs on the first night, leaving half in the fridge for dinner tonight.  I cooked them while the pasta was boiling and then added them to the sauce that I had made the night before and reheated.  It worked out really well and dinner was on the table in the length of time it took for the spaghetti to be ready.

Alterations
When I was preparing the ingredients for the sauce I added two onions instead of one as the onions I had in were quite small.  I also added three carrots as my carrots were quite small as well.  I omitted the tomato puree simply because I forgot to add it!  Other than that I stuck to the recipe.

I think it would be easy to add additional veg to the sauce without altering the taste too much.  As the sauce is blended, it is a handy way of getting veg into kids without them realising it which can be helpful if you have fussy eaters.

Tip
To save time on a busy weeknight, you could prepare the meatballs the night before and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them the next night.  In fact, you could even make the meatballs before freezing them so that all you had to do is lift them out of the freezer to defrost when you want to have them for dinner.  You could also make the sauce ahead of time and reheat it after the meatballs have been cooked while the pasta is boiling, saving more time.

Cost
This is another one that is difficult for me to work out the cost of as I got the turkey mince up north in Asda a while back and had it in my freezer.  The turkey mince was £1.98.  The can of chopped tomatoes cost 66 cent, the onions cost about 25 cent, the carrots were around 30 cent, the spaghetti that I served it with was about 80 cent (allowing for two nights) and I have allowed another 40 cent for the fennel seeds, breadcrumbs, oil and garlic.  In total I reckon that this dish cost me about €5 to make.  Considering that this did us for dinner for two nights that makes it about €2.50 per night to feed two adults, a four year old and an 11 month old baby.

Baked feta and tomato

I had initially planned to have baked feta and tomato last Saturday for my lunch, but Saturday didn't go as planned.  I ended up making it for my lunch on Friday instead.

This recipe is low GI and was really satisfying.  Although I made it for lunch, I think the salad would make a pretty decent evening meal. 

Alterations
As my husband doesn't like cheese (to my knowledge he hasn't tried feta yet, but all cheese is slimy according to him and there is no persuading him to try it) I made this recipe for one.  I halved all the ingredients except the tomatoes - I used 3.  I didn't substitute any of the ingredients in this recipe.

Cost
The feta was about €1, the tomatoes were 50 cent, the salad leaves were 50 cent and I would allow another 30 cent for the olive oil, garlic, dried oregano and balsamic vinegar.  The total cost of the salad was €2.30.  Considering the cost of some of the other lunches I make, this is quite expensive.  However, it was so tasty that I will definitely be making it again in the future.

Spanish bean stew

For dinner tonight we had Spanish bean stew from the December 2010 pull-out in the GoodFood magazine (image below).  We will be having leftovers tomorrow night.

To save time I made the stew on Wednesday night after the kids went to bed.  So all I had to do this evening was re-heat the stew - making sure the chicken was heated through - and serve.  As I used a stock cube to make my chicken stock, this meal was unsuitable for the baby.  Instead of having the stew, he had leftovers from the leek and mackerel pasta bake.

This recipe is suitable for freezing and according to the recipe can be kept for up to 2 months in the freezer, making leftovers a handy meal to have on standby in the freezer.

Alterations
As with the stew I made on Saturday night, I had no chicken thighs for the Spanish bean stew, so I used 2 chicken breasts instead.  I actually meant to use 3, but lifted the wrong freezer bag out of the freezer!  Anyway, to compensate for the lack of chicken I put an extra couple of potatoes in to the pot.  Instead of using one tomato I used a tin of peeled plum tomatoes, breaking them up with the wooden spoon as they cooked.  I only had 150g of chorizo instead of 200g.  As well as a white onion I used a red onion - both were quite small.  I didn't bother with the parsley as I had none in.


Cost
The chicken breasts cost €2, the chorizo was €1.52, the beans were €1.09, the tomatoes were 67 cent, the red onion was 15 cent, the white onion was 6 cent and I have allowed 50 cent for the potatoes, olive oil and stock cube.  The total cost of the recipe was €5.99, making the cost per meal €3.

Next time I make it I will be adding an extra chicken breast - 2 just was not enough. This will increase the cost by an extra €1 for the whole recipe or 50 cent per meal.  I still think that is quite a reasonable price for a yummy dinner.

Quick chilli

For the first time, I have been so tempted by a chilli recipe that I have decided to try it.  Usually, I look at recipes for chilli and decide to stick with my own after reminding myself of the saying 'if it's not broke, don't fix it'! 

The reason behind my decision to try a new chilli recipe?  Simple - this recipe includes chorizo which is one of my favourite ingredients! 

The recipe I am using is Nigella Lawson's Quick chilli from her book Nigella Express cookbook.  I have typed it out as Nigella has written it below.  After the method I have included some alterations that I made to the recipe in order to make sure that it is suitable for the baby to eat.

The recipe is as follows:-

Ingredients
150g chorizo sausage (not the salami sort), halved length ways and cut into 5mm half moons
500g minced beef
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cardamon pods, bruised
1 x 500g jar good-quality tomato and chunky vegetable sauce for pasta
1 x 390g mixed spicy beans
60ml sweet chilli sauce
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional, or if your beans are not spicy)


Method

1. Put the sliced chorizo into a hot, heavy-based pan and cook over a medium heat until the sausage crisps a little and gives up its orange-red oil.
2. Add the mince and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden fork to help it brown.
3. Stir in the spices and then add the tomato-vegetable pasta sauces, spicy beans and chilli sauce.  Also add the chilli flakes if you need more heat or if you've managed only to find some regular canned beans.
4. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. You can eat this with rice or just as it is.  If you're not adding any rice, you might consider dolloping with a blob of sour cream and sprinkling some grated cheese and chopped coriander.  I can't think of a way of eating this that isn't good.

Alterations
I made a few swaps when making my Quick Chilli to make sure that it was suitable for feeding to my baby.  To lower the salt in the recipe I opted to use a 800g can of chopped tomatoes instead of the pasta sauce.  I also used non-spicy beans and added the chilli flakes that were suggested by Nigella.  I was concerned that the sauce in the spicy beans may have salt and sugar added to it.  Plus, I already had non-spicy beans in my cupboard, so I didn't need to buy them.

I had two forced alterations - my cardamon pods had gone off and I have run out of ground coriander so I couldn't add either of these ingredients.  Having never tasted the chilli before I didn't miss them, however the next time I make it I might add them to see how they alter the taste of the dish.
As I wasn't adding a pasta sauce with vegetables added to it I decided to add a finely chopped two small onions and a grated carrot large to the chilli in order to make sure that some vegetables other than the chopped tomatoes were included.

To make the meal stretch further additional vegetables could be added to the recipe.  If I was to make it again I think that I would add some mushrooms and grated courgette to bulk it up and increase my family's intake of vegetables.

Tip
Although this recipe is quick to make, if I was making it again I would make it the night before and re-heat for dinner when I get home from work.  Doing this would mean that it would only take as long as it takes to prepare the rice to have the dinner ready.

Cost
I used a pound of mince in this recipe - I know it says 500g, but I still buy it in pounds and have no idea how many grams is in a pound.  Anyway, the pound of mince I used came from my butchers and cost €3.  The chorizo I used were cooking chorizo that I bought in Marks and Spencer's on offer - 2 packs of 6 chorizo sausages for €7.  I used 3 sausages in my chilli, so that is a cost of €1.75.  The chopped tomatoes were €1.  The can of mix beans I used was bought in Aldi a while ago and I can not remember the cost of it, so have estimated it at €1.  For the remaining ingredients - spices, onions and carrot - I am allowing 50 cent.  The total cost for my version of the recipe is €5.50.

Using my version of the recipe I made enough chilli to feed my family of 4 (2 adults, a pre-schooler and a baby) two nights.  The portions were generous and I served them with rice.  I think that including the cost of the rice, the meal cost €3 for each night. 

Very quick chicken stew

Dinner tonight was very quick chicken stew from Olive magazine's December 2006 issue.  I don't buy Olive magazine but the GoodFood website has some recipes from the magazine on it.  I found this recipe when I was looking for a low GI chicken meal on the website.

The stew serves two.  As I wanted to have it for dinner on Tuesday night as well I doubled the ingredients.  While saving time on preparing dinner tomorrow night, it did take slightly longer than the 30 mins stated to make as there was a lot more in the pot.

I made a few alterations to the recipe.  I had chicken breasts in the freezer, so I used four of them instead of the chicken thighs listed in the recipe ingredients.  Also, I had now fresh tarragon in.  I do have dried tarragon in my cupboard, but rather than use it, I decided to use some parsley as I had bought some for the quinoa (bulghar wheat) tabbouleh and had some leftover.

As I want to have give some of the chicken stew to my baby for dinner tomorrow night, I left the chicken stock cube out of the recipe, just adding boiled water instead.  As the chicken and vegetables were going to be cooking in the water I figured that they would flavour it.  To be sure that the stew had plenty of flavour without the stock cube, I threw a couple of bay leaves into the pot and seasoned with pepper to add a bit more flavour to the stew.  You can buy low salt stock cubes suitable for giving to babies, but I do not have any of these in the house.  While the stew tasted ok - it was much better the second night, I think it would have tasted better if I had used chicken or vegetable stock in it.  Next time I make it I will use some chicken or vegetable stock that I make myself in advance.


TIP - Anytime I have a roast chicken for dinner, I always boil the bones after the stripping all the meat from it to make stock.  I throw in a carrot, celery and an onion (skin on) if I have them in the house.  I then pour the stock into some 'Pour and store' bags and put in the freezer for when I need it.  Unfortunately I didn't have any in the freezer for this recipe, otherwise I would have used some.

Cost - The chicken breasts were bought at the butchers when it was 12 chicken breasts for €10.  I used four chicken breasts in this recipe, so the cost was €3.33.  The potatoes were 99 cent, the shallots were 49 cent, the carrots were 50 cent and the peas were 50 cent (another estimate).  I have allowed 20 cent for the parsley, bay leaves and pepper.  The total cost is €6.01, making the cost per meal 0.005 cent over €3!  Not too bad.

Quick chicken chasseur

I have made this Quick chicken chasseur recipe from the good food magazine a number of times in the past but had forgotten about it until my husband requested it one day.  Previously we have had it with various different types of potatoes - mash, boiled and even chips - and rice.  To be honest, while I am sure it is supposed to be served with potatoes my family seem to prefer it when it comes with rice.  We had it for dinner last week, but I am only getting a chance to write about it now.

It is ready really quickly making it an ideal mid-week dinner to prepare when you get home from work and have to get something on the dinner table quickly.

The can of chopped tomatoes I used didn't have any garlic in them, so I added a couple of gloves of garlic at the start of cooking.  I usually don't bother adding the flour to the recipe and I use bacon medallions rather than streaky rashers in order to lower the fat content of the recipe.  I didn't have any fresh parsley in so I used some dried parsley and I added this towards the end of the cooking time.  When I made this for dinner last week I used two cans of chopped tomatoes instead of one.

Cost - Although I have made this recipe many times before, I have never worked out the cost of it so I am interested to see how much it works out as now.  As I was making it for two people and one child, I only used 2 chicken breasts and 3 bacon medallions.   The chicken breasts where bought on offer for €10 for 12, making the cost of the chicken that I used €1.67.  The bacon medallions were 75 cent - I bought them on offer for €1.50 a while ago and put them in the freezer.  The mushrooms were 99 cent, the chopped tomatoes cost €1.33 and I have allowed 50 cent for the garlic, dried parsley and beef stock cube.

The total cost of recipe €5.24.  As I indicated I only used two chicken breasts as I was only intending to serve two adult portions and one child's portion.  However, adding the extra can of chopped tomatoes bulked up the meal enough for me to be able to get extra portions from the pan for dinner another night, so I managed to get 4 adult and 2 child portions for this price, making the cost for me (minus the rice) €2.62 which is really good.  This works out much cheaper than using 4 chicken breasts to get the same number of servings.

TIP - As I am trying to give my baby as much of the same food as we are eating I refrain from adding the stock cube until the same point that I add the Worcestershire sauce so that I can give him a little of the chicken chasseur to try.  I then let the pan simmer for a few more minutes before lifting it off the heat and serving.

Chicken and veg bake with mashed potatoes

My husband prepared dinner tonight from a recipe that I taught him how to make - chicken and veg bake.  We had leftover mash from yesterdays roast dinner with the chicken and veg bake.

I usually use a can of chicken soup for this recipe but we had none in the house so used a can of mushroom soup instead.

Ingredients
2 x chicken breasts (€2)
carrots (30 cent)
celery (50 cent)
broccoli (59 cent)
can of mushroom soup (€1 - estimate)
milk - I use around 250ml (50 cent - estimate)
slice of bread (5 cent)

Method

1. Prepare the veg and cut into chunks.  Steam until almost soft and remove from the heat.
2. Cut the chicken breast into chunks and cook in a non-stick frying pan.
3. Heat the soup and add milk to it.  Once is it starting to warm lift it off the heat.
4. Make breadcrumbs with the slice of bread in a food processor.
5. Put the veg in the bottom of a rectangular roasting dish.  Put the chicken on top of the veg and then pour the heated soup on top of it.  Scatter the breadcrumbs across the top.  Put the dish in the oven.
6. Heat until the breadcrumbs are beginning to brown.  Lift out of the oven and serve.

TIP - This recipe is already low in fat, but to lower it further I use low fat condensed soup. 

TIP - To save time on making the meal tonight I prepared the veg in advance so that all my husband had to do was steam it.  After preparing the veg I put it in a resealable sandwich bag and stored it in the fridge.

COST - The total cost of the recipe is €4.94.  As this is doing dinner for two nights (we are having leftovers tomorrow) this means that the cost is only €2.47.  Not bad, although the mash increases the cost slightly. 

Black bean and chorizo soup

At the start of the week I made a black bean and chorizo recipe from the Olive magazine in November 2010.

I have to say I give it a ten out of ten for taste!  I was a bit dubious about it as I have never cooked with black beans before.  Before Christmas I had got some dried black beans in for a different recipe that I never got round to making.  So I used them for this recipe. 

There was no cumin in my kitchen when I went to make the soup, so I just left it out.  Also, I couldn't find hot smoked paprika anywhere so just used ordinary hot paprika instead.  I have come across a few recipes that call for smoked paprika but I have never come across it in a shop.  If anyone knows where I could get this (in Ireland), then please post and let me know!  My mum has been on the look out for it for ages as well.

I doubled up the ingredients and managed to get 5 portions of soup for lunches out of the pot.  I think that this soup would also make a lovely hearty dinner.  Just serve with some bread.

TIP - Using dried beans instead of tins of beans can make the recipe a lot cheaper.  You need to remember to prepare them in advance though.  While off on maternity leave I say a brilliant tip from Rachel Ray for dried beans.  She suggested that you should rehydrate the beans, divide them into portions and then stick them freezer, ready for when you need them.  Then when a recipe calls for them, just take them out of the freezer and add them into the pot.  I haven't done this myself, but I think it's a brilliant idea and intend to do it in the future as it would be a real time saver.

Cost wise, I used 50 cent worth of chorizo, 2 peppers that cost 45 cent each, a red onion that cost 23 cent, a lime, which I think cost around 30 cent (my receipt has gone missing this week so I can not double check) and I will allow another 80 cent for the spices, vegetable stock cube, beans and 3 garlic cloves (this is just an estimate).  The total cost of the recipe was € 2.73.  That's 55 cent per portion.

Cream of scallion (spring onion) soup

Spring onions were on offer in Dunnes this week for 45 cent per bunch.  I remembered seeing a recipe for Cream of Spring Onion soup in a recipe book at home, so bought 3 bunches to make it.  I then set about the somewhat mammoth task of trying to find the recipe (note to self - must write down the name of the cookbook I see recipes I'd like to make in so that I can find them easier!).  Anyway, I eventually found the recipe yesterday and set about making it to have for lunch today.

It tastes quite similar to leek and potato soup, so if you like it you should like this.  The recipe is from 'The Soup Bible' published by Hermes House.  The recipe is as below.  I've added any alterations I made in brackets.  The recipe serves 4-6 people and can be served hot or cold.

Ingredients
25 g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter
1 small onion
150 g/5 oz/1.75 cups spring onions, chopped  (I used a bunch and half of the spring onions I bought in Dunnes)
225 g/8 oz potatoes, peeled and chopped
600 ml/1 pint/2.5 cups vegetable stock
350 ml/12 fl oz/1.5 cups single cream  (I didn't use this, so my soup was really just spring onion soup, not cream of spring onion soup!)
30 ml/2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to season

Step 1

 Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add all the onions.  Cover and cook over a very low heat for about 10 minutes or until soft.
2. Add the potatoes and the stock.  Bring to the boil, then cover again and simmer over a moderately low heat for about 30 minutes.  Cool slightly.
3. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor.  (I used my hand blender so didn't need to do the first part of step 4)
4. If serving the soup hot, pour it back into the pan.  Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.  Reheat gently, stirring occasionally.  Add the lemon juice.  (I don't add seasoning.  I put salt and pepper on the table and let each person season their own instead)
5. If serving the soup cold, pour it into a bowl.  Stir in the cream and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Cover the bowl and chill for at least 1 hour.
6. Sprinkle with the chopped spring onion greens or chives before serving.  (I didn't bother with this)

TIP  To lower the fat of this recipe I didn't add the cream.  It was still tasty.  The fat content could be lowered even further by using fry lite instead of the butter.

Cost - Again, this is another recipe that was quite cheap to make as a result of the scallions being on offer in Dunnes.  I used a bunch and half in this recipe, so that's 68 cent.  The potatoes I had left over from a bag I had from a previous week, estimated cost 50 cent.  I had a lemon in already as I had bought a tray of 4 for €1 two weeks ago.  I used half of a lemon, so that is 12 cent.  The onion was leftover from a bag I got for 49 cent, so 6.5cent for it.  I've allowed 50 cent for the remaining ingredients, making the total recipe cost €1.86!

Obviously if I had added the cream this would have added quite a bit to the overall cost of the recipe, so omitting it kept the recipe under € 2 as well as lowering the fat.

Pizza night!

So, tonight we had a frozen pizza for dinner.  Although cheap and cheerful (it cost just two euro), we do not have pizza very often.  It was a special treat for me and my eldest as my husband was away at a night class.  He does not like cheese and wont eat pizza, so this is an ideal treat for nights when he will not be joining us for dinner. 

Other than the cost, and my daughters delight at getting a treat, the other good things about having a frozen pizza for dinner is that there is no cooking involved and it is ready very quickly.

Now I'm off to dig out an exercise dvd to burn it off!!

TIP  Make your pizza healthier by adding some chopped vegetables to the top before putting it in the oven.  Peppers and mushrooms are ideal.

Creamy chicken soup

On Saturday night we had a roast chicken dinner (and it was good!!).  Anyway, on Sunday I made a chicken soup with the leg meat from the chicken.  This is another cheap soup to make and makes good use of the chicken by using the bones for stock.

To make the soup you will need some chicken, chicken stock, an onion, 2 carrots, 2 leeks, 2/3 medium sized potatoes, butter, plain flour and thyme (I use dried).

First of all I boiled the bones of the chicken to make a stock for the soup.  Sometimes I will add onion, carrot, celery and maybe a few peppercorns to the water for a bit more flavour, but on Sunday I just boiled the bones.  After about half an hour, I strained the contents of the pot and set the stock to the side for use in my soup.  I usually have about 1.5 litres of stock for this recipe.  A chicken stock cube can be used instead, but I prefer this soup made with stock I've made myself.

To make the soup I begin cooking the vegetables in a frying pan.  I try and cut all the vegetables into small chunks of a similar size.  First, I chop the onion and fried it in fry lite (usually I will fry it in butter), then add chopped carrot and potato.  I put a lid over the frying pan and cook the vegetables for a few mins before adding chopped leeks and some thyme (I put about a teaspoon of dried thyme in).  I give the vegetables a good stir, before putting the lid back on the pan and cooking for a further 5-10 minutes, taking care to not let the vegetables burn.

Meanwhile, I get the stock ready for adding the vegetables.  I melt a knob butter in the bottom of a non-stick soup pot.  I then add 2 tablespoons of plain flour and whisk.  The stock that was set aside earlier is then added to this mixture a little at a time, whisking each time stock is added, until it is all in the pot.  I bring this to the boil and then add the vegetables to the pot.  I then simmer the soup until the vegetables are soft. 

As soon as the vegetables are soft I add the chicken that was leftover from the roast dinner to the pot.  Once the chicken is heated through the soup is ready to serve.  It is very filling and makes a brilliant dinner on a winters night, but this week we will be eating it for lunch.

TIP  To lower the fat content of the soup, omit the butter and flour and simply heat the stock in the soup pot and add the vegetables.

Chilli con carne - well, my version of it anyway!

For dinner on Thursday night and tonight we had chilli con carne.  I make it the way my mum always made it, which is a bit different from a normal chilli as we use baked beans instead of kidney beans, and I serve it with pasta instead of rice.  A lot of people think it's a bit strange, but as it's the way it was always made in our house I've never questioned it.

So to make my chilli I used a 800g tin of chopped tomatoes (€1 on special offer), 1lb of mince (€3 from my local butcher), 1 onion (39 cent for a net, 6.5 cent for one), punnet of mushrooms (99 cent per punnet), heaped tsp hot chilli powder, a tsp of hot papkira and a can of baked beans (€2 for 4 on special offer, so 50 cent for one).  I fry off the mince in a non-stick pot until cooked and then add the onion and mushroom after slicing them.  Then I add the spices and cook them for a few minutes before adding the can of shopped tomatoes and the can of baked beans.  I then simmer for about 15 minutes.  Usually I put my pasta (49 cent for 500g) on during this time.

This recipe makes make enough to do dinner for three for two nights, plus two portions for lunch, making it under €3 per meal.  I usually freeze one portion to use a night when I'm too busy to prepare something from scratch.  As it is this dinner is quite quick to make, but on the second night it only takes as long as it takes the pasta to cook for this meal to be ready as I heat the chilli up in the microwave at the same time.

Potato and savoy cabbage soup

In line with my meal planner dinner for this evening was potato and savoy cabbage soup.

According to the recipe it takes just 20 minutes to make and I can confirm it took me around 20 minutes to make it.

The picture shows that the soup is served with crispy streaky rashers scattered on it.  I omitted these from the recipe in the interests of saving money and lowering the fat content.  By leaving out the rashers, and using vegetable stock to make it, the soup is suitable for vegetarians.

This soup cost less than €3 to make.  As there is enough for dinner tomorrow night as well this makes it even better value