For lunch today we had tomato, lentil and lime soup. The recipe is from the April 2012 issue of Olive magazine. I found the recipe on the Good Food website by searching for lime soup. There were a few lime left in my fruit bowl (they are starting to look a bit sad so I wanted to use them up) so I decided to see if there was a recipe that would allow me to use one of them for lunch.
One thing that I liked about this recipe (other than the fact that the soup was delicious) is that it uses both the zest and the juice of the lime, so there is no waste. The recipe is easy to follow and quick to make. I had a little bit more soup than what was needed to serve two people, so I have a portion left over for lunch tomorrow (there may well be a fight over who gets to take it to work!) as well as being able to feed two adults and a child lunch.
I didn't give it to my son as I used a stock cube to make the vegetable stock. To make the soup suitable for giving to a baby you need either make your own vegetable stock from scratch, omitting salt or use a low salt variety of stock cube (for example, Boots sell low salt stock cubes suitable for weaning in the baby food section of their shops).
Alterations
I made a few small alterations to the recipe. I couldn't find my cumin seeds so I decided to use a little ground cumin instead of spending ages looking for the seeds. I didn't have a large carrot, but had four small ones which I used instead. Also, while the soup was simmering, the volume of the liquid decreased quite a bit, so I added some boiled water from the kettle to the pot.
Cost
The onion for the soup cost 20 cent, the carrots were about 30 cent, the can of chopped tomatoes were 45 cent (from Lidl), the lime was 25 cent and I have allowed another 50 cent for the stock cube, ground cumin and puy lentils. That makes the total cost of the soup €1.70 for three adult portions and a child's portion. I think this would easily feed a family of four if the children are quite young. If they are a bit older you might want to double to ingredients and have any leftovers you might have for lunch the next day.
If I had successfully grown my own carrots and onions this year (as I did last year) then the cost of the soup would have been €1.20 which is extremely cheap for lunch for the family.
Showing posts with label baby weaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby weaning. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
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.
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.
Monday, 2 July 2012
Not exactly going to plan...
So, day one of my July challenge hasn't exactly gone to plan as I ended up not being able to do my grocery shopping as yet for a number of reasons. Instead of having the turkey meatballs that we were supposed to have this evening, we ended up having fish, chips, peas and sweetcorn. There was fish in the freezer and I used tins of peas and sweetcorn, so all that needed to be bought were the chips which my husband picked up on his way home from work, along with some bread and bananas. He spent €5.38 in total leaving me with €44.62 for the groceries for the rest of the week.
As we didn't have the turkey meatballs this evening, I am going to make them for dinner tomorrow night instead. I'll just bump my entire menu plan along one day, freezing the leftover better-than-baked-beans instead of having it the following evening for dinner. I could just stick to the recipe and make enough to serve dinner for one night, but it is such a simple recipe to double up and save the leftovers for another night that it would be a shame to waste the opportunity to save time another evening.
I am hoping to get my groceries tomorrow so I've done my shopping list in preparation for going. It is REALLY short this week so I know that I am definitely going to stay within my budget. It is as follows:
I am actually quite excited to see what my food shop comes to for the week. I think I'll put whatever extra I save, on top of the €50 that I am aiming to save, into our savings account as well.
As we didn't have the turkey meatballs this evening, I am going to make them for dinner tomorrow night instead. I'll just bump my entire menu plan along one day, freezing the leftover better-than-baked-beans instead of having it the following evening for dinner. I could just stick to the recipe and make enough to serve dinner for one night, but it is such a simple recipe to double up and save the leftovers for another night that it would be a shame to waste the opportunity to save time another evening.
I am hoping to get my groceries tomorrow so I've done my shopping list in preparation for going. It is REALLY short this week so I know that I am definitely going to stay within my budget. It is as follows:
- Red Pepper (on offer for 79cent in Dunnes at the moment)
- Mushrooms x 2 punnets (on offer in Lidl for 69 cent per 250g at the moment)
- Milk - slim line x 2 litres
- Milk - full fat x 2 litres
- Cheese - babybel
- Ham
- Bacon medallions (on offer in Lidl for €1.69)
- Cartons of ready made formula x 15 (10% back in Dunnes on baby products ending on the 3rd July)
- Toilet cleaner
I am actually quite excited to see what my food shop comes to for the week. I think I'll put whatever extra I save, on top of the €50 that I am aiming to save, into our savings account as well.
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, 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.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Maple and pepper-glazed chicken with roasted carrots
Last Wednesday night we had maple and pepper-glazed chicken with roasted carrots for dinner. This recipe was from the March 2010 issue of Olive magazine. It was delicious!
I am only getting to write about it now as I have been a bit unwell the last week. I did make the dinner, as it was a quick one, and took a few photos so that I would be able to post about the meal as it was so delicious.
The meal was really quick and easy to make. When I put the carrots in to roast, I put a few potatoes on to boil so that I could make a little bit of mash to go with the chicken and roasted carrots. To be honest, I don't think the mash is really necessary, but I knew my husband would be starving and would appreciate a bit of mash.
I gave the baby a bit of mash and chicken. I only gave him a little of the chicken though as I was conscious of the fact that it had been cooked in stock. He had some of the roasted carrots to eat as finger food. They went down really well and I ended up giving him more from my plate.
Alterations
Other than using three chicken breasts instead of two and more carrots, I made no alterations to this recipe.
Cost
The chicken breasts cost €3, the carrots cost 40 cent and I have allowed €1 for the remaining ingredients and potatoes. The total cost of the meal was €4.30.
I am only getting to write about it now as I have been a bit unwell the last week. I did make the dinner, as it was a quick one, and took a few photos so that I would be able to post about the meal as it was so delicious.
The meal was really quick and easy to make. When I put the carrots in to roast, I put a few potatoes on to boil so that I could make a little bit of mash to go with the chicken and roasted carrots. To be honest, I don't think the mash is really necessary, but I knew my husband would be starving and would appreciate a bit of mash.
I gave the baby a bit of mash and chicken. I only gave him a little of the chicken though as I was conscious of the fact that it had been cooked in stock. He had some of the roasted carrots to eat as finger food. They went down really well and I ended up giving him more from my plate.
Alterations
Other than using three chicken breasts instead of two and more carrots, I made no alterations to this recipe.
Cost
The chicken breasts cost €3, the carrots cost 40 cent and I have allowed €1 for the remaining ingredients and potatoes. The total cost of the meal was €4.30.
Thursday, 17 May 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Leek and mackerel penne bake
According to GoodFood, the bake is perfect for midweek winter nights. Given the weather we have been having lately I figured it was perfect for a midweek winter night in May 2012!
Most of the pasta bake recipes that I've come across have cheese in them. My husband refuses to eat cheese or any sort (apparently it's slimy and they all taste the same - go figure!) so I was delighted when I came across this recipe for a pasta bake with no cheese in it.
Don't forget to remove any bones you find in the mackerel - the recipe doesn't mention this, but it is especially important if you are going to be giving it to small children.
Alterations
The biggest alteration I made was that I used fusilli instead of penne. I used slightly more pasta than the recipe calls for - 200g instead of 175g. I used an extra leek and 3 smoked mackerel fillets.
Using the extra ingredients meant that I had enough to do dinner tonight, a lunch tomorrow and two dinners for the freezer for my baby. I didn't give the baby any capers as I wasn't sure how these would go down. My daughter ate one and was not impressed!!
Cost
It is difficult for me to work out the cost of the bake as I no longer have the receipt for the mackerel. I got it in aldi and from memory it was around €1.70. The leeks were €1.99, the pasta was 30 cent, the crème fraîche was €1.30 and I have allowed 50 cent for the butter, capers and breadcrumbs. The total cost of the bake €5.79.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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
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.
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
- 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.
- Add the mince and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden fork to help it brown.
- 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.
- Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- 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.
Monday, 30 April 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Irish coddled pork with cider..again!
Back in January I made this Irish coddled pork with cider recipe from the GoodFood magazine and it went down a treat. I decided to make it for dinner today when I saw that both cabbage and turnip were on offer in Dunnes yesterday for 29 cent each. There we pork loins in our freezer and we got some bulmers when we were in Asda last week (note - we bought 'Magners' not the English Bulmers), so I didn't need to buy them which made this recipe a cheap enough option for me this week allowing me to stay well within my grocery budget.
The cabbage on offer in Dunnes was a quarter of a white cabbage for 29 cent, so I only used a quarter of cabbage this time round. There was still more than enough to go around.
I wouldn't normally post about a recipe I've made previously, but I wanted to show how tailoring your menu to suit what the stores have on offer on any given week can reduce the overall cost of your menu for that week by comparing the how much it cost me to make the coddled pork this week to when I made it back in January.
Cost - As I said I had Pork Loins in the freezer. They were recently on offer in our butchers at 5 pork loins for €5. This recipe used 2 so this it cost €2. The turnip was 15 cent, the cabbage was 29 cent, the carrots were 25 cent, the bacon was €1, potatoes were 60 cent (I used 4 instead of two) and the bulmers was 25 cent (the offer I bought them on was not as good as the one I got before Christmas making this ingredient slightly more expensive. This makes the total cost of the meal €4.54.
I saved 46 cent on this recipe this week when compared with how much it cost when I made it in January. I used an extra potato but less cabbage. Even if I had bought an extra quarter of white cabbage, I would still have saved money on the recipe as this would only have cost another 29 cent.
A saving of 46 cent doesn't really seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but if I saved this much in every meal I made in the week I'd have an extra €3.22 at the end of the week. Considering that I have some recipes on here that cost less than €3 to make, this extra money means that I could feed the family for an extra day on what I had saved. Something to think about I guess.
The cabbage on offer in Dunnes was a quarter of a white cabbage for 29 cent, so I only used a quarter of cabbage this time round. There was still more than enough to go around.
I wouldn't normally post about a recipe I've made previously, but I wanted to show how tailoring your menu to suit what the stores have on offer on any given week can reduce the overall cost of your menu for that week by comparing the how much it cost me to make the coddled pork this week to when I made it back in January.
Cost - As I said I had Pork Loins in the freezer. They were recently on offer in our butchers at 5 pork loins for €5. This recipe used 2 so this it cost €2. The turnip was 15 cent, the cabbage was 29 cent, the carrots were 25 cent, the bacon was €1, potatoes were 60 cent (I used 4 instead of two) and the bulmers was 25 cent (the offer I bought them on was not as good as the one I got before Christmas making this ingredient slightly more expensive. This makes the total cost of the meal €4.54.
I saved 46 cent on this recipe this week when compared with how much it cost when I made it in January. I used an extra potato but less cabbage. Even if I had bought an extra quarter of white cabbage, I would still have saved money on the recipe as this would only have cost another 29 cent.
A saving of 46 cent doesn't really seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but if I saved this much in every meal I made in the week I'd have an extra €3.22 at the end of the week. Considering that I have some recipes on here that cost less than €3 to make, this extra money means that I could feed the family for an extra day on what I had saved. Something to think about I guess.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Turkey, thyme and leek meatloaf
One of the recipes on my menu planner for this week was the turkey, thyme and leek meatloaf from the December 2006 issue of the Good Food magazine. This is another recipe that I have made quite a few times in the past, but I've never tried to work out how much it costs so I am interested in working out how much it costs. Unfortunately I am not sure exactly how accurate my calculation of the cost will be as I bought the ingredients in Asda when I was visiting my parents house up north, but I think I will have a go anyway and convert the cost to Euro.
Turkey mince is not something that I have noticed for sale in my local shops, so if anyone reading this knows where I might be able to find some turkey mince I'd be grateful if you could point me in the right direction. My local butcher doesn't sell it. So, sometimes when I visit my parents I take a trip to Asda to buy some turkey mince specifically for this recipe.I soften my leeks in a couple of squirts of fry lite instead of sunflower oil to lower the fat content and tend to use dried thyme instead of sprigs of fresh thyme. Other than that I tend to stick closely to the recipe. From previous experience I find that smoked bacon tastes a bit better on the top of the meatloaf than unsmoked.
The method of suggests putting the meatloaf under the grill to make the top crisp on top, however, I have found that it gets quite crispy in the oven so I've never bothered with this stage.
The suggestion at the end of the recipe has tempted me a couple of the times in the past, but my husband has only recently started to eat butternut squash and cranberries so I haven't tried it yet. I hope to try it sometime in the near future as I think the substitutions suggested sound delicious.
Cost - The turkey mince cost £1.98, the leeks cost £1 and the bacon was £1. I had an egg, bread and dried thyme in and I've estimated 50p for them. This brings the total cost to £4.48 which converts to €5.48 according the xe.com. This feeds my family for two nights along with potatoes and vegetables. This means that a meal for my family costs €4.20ish depending on what vegetables I serve.
Monday, 23 April 2012
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.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Sweet potato and easy chilli bake
Dinner this evening I made sweet potato and easy chilli bake - see the 'try' note at the bottom of the recipe to make the recipe into a bake.
I opted to make the bake instead of just serving the roasted sweet potatoes with the chilli inside as I thought it might be easier to serve it to my children that way. My daughter is not keen on sweet potato and I worried that if I served it to her with the chilli in it that she would just eat the chilli and leave the sweet potato. With the bake she mixed it altogether and ate it all without question. I served to to the baby the same way. They both really enjoyed it and I have to say I enjoyed it myself. Unfortunately my husband was out, so I didn't get any feedback from him on it. Though, if I am honest I don't think he would have eaten any of it as he claims to hate sweet potato. Perhaps if he had been here I would have had to mix it all together the same way my daughter did and give it to him that way!!
Anyway, to save myself some time I roasted the sweet potato last night. TIP - when roasting sweet potato avoid using a pizza tray. In my haste to get my potatoes on last night I roasted them on the first oven tray I could put my hand to and it was a pizza tray. Result - the sugar that oozed out of the sweet potatoes as they were roasting dripped through the holes in the tray and is now all over my oven. So - that's oven cleaner for the shopping list this week :-(
The recipe is for 8, so I halved the ingredients. I had loads left over so I froze the leftover chilli and made a portion for lunch tomorrow. I didn't freeze the little bit of sweet potato I had left over as there was sour cream in it and I didn't think that the cream would freeze well. Next time I'll make a bit less sweet potato as I had to throw a bit out.
I used chilli powder instead of Cajun seasoning as I don't have any Cajun seasoning.
COST - The mince cost €3, the sweet potatoes were €2.74, the chilli was 40 cent, the onion was 28 cent, 400g tin of tomato is €1 and the can of kidney beans €1.09, making the total cost of the chilli €8.51! Gulp!! I think that it is safe to say that this might be the most expensive meal I had made to date. Of course, some of it is in the freezer, so I have actually not spent that much on what we had for dinner this evening, it's more like half of that - €4.26, which sounds an awful lot better!
I opted to make the bake instead of just serving the roasted sweet potatoes with the chilli inside as I thought it might be easier to serve it to my children that way. My daughter is not keen on sweet potato and I worried that if I served it to her with the chilli in it that she would just eat the chilli and leave the sweet potato. With the bake she mixed it altogether and ate it all without question. I served to to the baby the same way. They both really enjoyed it and I have to say I enjoyed it myself. Unfortunately my husband was out, so I didn't get any feedback from him on it. Though, if I am honest I don't think he would have eaten any of it as he claims to hate sweet potato. Perhaps if he had been here I would have had to mix it all together the same way my daughter did and give it to him that way!!
Anyway, to save myself some time I roasted the sweet potato last night. TIP - when roasting sweet potato avoid using a pizza tray. In my haste to get my potatoes on last night I roasted them on the first oven tray I could put my hand to and it was a pizza tray. Result - the sugar that oozed out of the sweet potatoes as they were roasting dripped through the holes in the tray and is now all over my oven. So - that's oven cleaner for the shopping list this week :-(
The recipe is for 8, so I halved the ingredients. I had loads left over so I froze the leftover chilli and made a portion for lunch tomorrow. I didn't freeze the little bit of sweet potato I had left over as there was sour cream in it and I didn't think that the cream would freeze well. Next time I'll make a bit less sweet potato as I had to throw a bit out.
I used chilli powder instead of Cajun seasoning as I don't have any Cajun seasoning.
COST - The mince cost €3, the sweet potatoes were €2.74, the chilli was 40 cent, the onion was 28 cent, 400g tin of tomato is €1 and the can of kidney beans €1.09, making the total cost of the chilli €8.51! Gulp!! I think that it is safe to say that this might be the most expensive meal I had made to date. Of course, some of it is in the freezer, so I have actually not spent that much on what we had for dinner this evening, it's more like half of that - €4.26, which sounds an awful lot better!
Monday, 20 February 2012
Who doesn't like a Sunday roast?
To be honest, until a few years ago I had gone off Sunday roasts altogether. During my final few years living at my parents house we seemed to have roast chicken or beef with potatoes and vegetables all the time. At least, that's what it felt like. After I left home to go to university I stopped eating roast dinners, even managing to avoid eating them when I went home. I had become sick of them! Fast forward a (good) few years and I love having a roast dinner. We don't have them every Sunday though - I don't want to get to the point where I am bored of eating them again - and I try to shake things up a bit by having different vegetables on the side or cooking the potatoes a different way.
Yesterday we had a roast chicken dinner. I got the chicken from my local butcher on Saturday. It cost €6.99 which is a bit more expensive than the whole chickens you can get in the supermarkets but I prefer to buy it from my butcher as I feel it tastes much better.
With the chicken yesterday we had a little bit of mash potatoes, roast potatoes (made the same way that the roast potatoes were made last weekend), mashed carrots and parsnip and gravy with onions, some carrot and parsnip through it. For dinner this evening, we had leftovers from yesterday. The baby had the same dinner as us, minus the gravy.
TIP - Having a whole chicken - then get as much out of it as possible. After slicing the roast chicken for our dinner yesterday and today, I pulled the remaining meat from the wings and legs and put it in a bowl. Then I made chicken stock by boiling the carcass in water in a stock pot on my cooker. I used the chicken stock and the meat to make a soup (a version of the creamy chicken soup mentioned earlier in the blog) for lunches this week.
Cost - Sometimes paying for a whole chicken can seem a bit expensive, however you can get more out of a whole chicken than you can out of chicken breasts making it good value for money. We had dinner for 2 nights - slicing a breast for each night - plus six portions of soup from our lunch during the week. The chicken was € 4.66 (I've allowed two thirds of the cost for the roast dinners), the parsnips were 49 cent, the carrots were 99 cent per 1 kg bag (I used them all between the soup and dinners), the potatoes were about € 1.50 and the onion was 28cent. The total for the roast dinner was €7.92, making it €3.96 per dinner.
Looking at the cost of our roast dinner I can easily understand why my mum made so many of them. It was good value for money and offered a well balanced meal of protein, carbs and veg.
Yesterday we had a roast chicken dinner. I got the chicken from my local butcher on Saturday. It cost €6.99 which is a bit more expensive than the whole chickens you can get in the supermarkets but I prefer to buy it from my butcher as I feel it tastes much better.
With the chicken yesterday we had a little bit of mash potatoes, roast potatoes (made the same way that the roast potatoes were made last weekend), mashed carrots and parsnip and gravy with onions, some carrot and parsnip through it. For dinner this evening, we had leftovers from yesterday. The baby had the same dinner as us, minus the gravy.
TIP - Having a whole chicken - then get as much out of it as possible. After slicing the roast chicken for our dinner yesterday and today, I pulled the remaining meat from the wings and legs and put it in a bowl. Then I made chicken stock by boiling the carcass in water in a stock pot on my cooker. I used the chicken stock and the meat to make a soup (a version of the creamy chicken soup mentioned earlier in the blog) for lunches this week.
Cost - Sometimes paying for a whole chicken can seem a bit expensive, however you can get more out of a whole chicken than you can out of chicken breasts making it good value for money. We had dinner for 2 nights - slicing a breast for each night - plus six portions of soup from our lunch during the week. The chicken was € 4.66 (I've allowed two thirds of the cost for the roast dinners), the parsnips were 49 cent, the carrots were 99 cent per 1 kg bag (I used them all between the soup and dinners), the potatoes were about € 1.50 and the onion was 28cent. The total for the roast dinner was €7.92, making it €3.96 per dinner.
Looking at the cost of our roast dinner I can easily understand why my mum made so many of them. It was good value for money and offered a well balanced meal of protein, carbs and veg.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Parsnip mash with apple
For dinner today we had a roast beef dinner. For veg sides I decide to try something different that we hadn't had before. I picked parsnip mash with apple as parsnips and apples were on offer in Aldi this week and I had picked up some, so had all the ingredients in that I needed. The other good thing about this side dish was that it was perfect to serve to the baby.
Instead of Bramley apples I used Granny Smiths as these were the apples I had. I had no ground coriander in the house so just omitted it. It went down well and I will definitely be making it again.
The rest of the dinner was delicious as well. I served roast potatoes with the dinner which my husband made by peeling some potatoes and putting them on the roasting tray beside the beef in the oven. At the end, when the beef was resting, the potatoes were put back in the oven to finish off. They were delicious.
For the baby I put a bit of the parsnip and apple mash, potato mash and some of the beef pulled apart.
I had quite a few leftovers with this meal, so I prepared two containers of food for the baby and put them in the freezer. The remaining parsnip and apple mash was put in a container and frozen while the mash potato was put in a tub and put in the fridge to be used for dinner tomorrow night. My husband has declared that he is going to use the leftover beef for sandwiches later this evening - I shall try to convince him to leave them for lunch tomorrow instead.
Cost - This was quite an expensive meal, but when you consider all the leftovers it's no too bad. My parents were visiting, so it feed 4 adults, one child, one baby and had quite a lot of leftovers. The roast was eye of the round and it cost €13.99, the potatoes cost €1.50, the parsnip cost 74 cent, the apples cost 16 cent and the broccoli was 40 cent. The total is €16.79.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Grocery shopping - meal planner 11/2/2012 to 17/2/2012
Meal plan for Saturday 11th to Friday 17th February is as follows:-
Saturday lunch - Sausage, bacon, black pudding, fried eggs and rolls
Saturday dinner - Barr's butchers steak and onion pie, wedges and baked beans
Sunday lunch - Leek, potato and bacon soup
Sunday dinner - Roast beef, parsnip and apple mash, turnip, broccoli and roast potatoes
Monday dinner - Chicken and veg bake with potatoes
Tuesday dinner - leftovers from Monday
Wednesday dinner - Salmon with leeks and parsnip
Thursday dinner - Spag Bol
Friday dinner - leftovers from Thursday
For lunches we will have ham sandwiches, leek, potato and bacon soup, black bean and chorizo soup and tuna salad. We were having a big lunch on Saturday owing to my parents visiting. They brought with them the dinner for Saturday night, which saved a bit of money so I decided to buy some eye of the round to roast for dunner on Sunday. It is a nice cut of meat and is a bit more expensive than the cut we usually get at the butchers for roasting.
The baby still has some food left in the freezer. I need to make up some fruit for him to take to creche though. They mix it in with his breakfast.
I discovered Aldi this week. I had never been shopping in aldi before and was pleased to pick up some groceries at a really reasonable price. I am off to do my grocery shopping tomorrow, so I'll post up my costs for the week then.
It's my mums birthday today, so I am debating picking up something nice for desert. I'll see what is in the shops when I go. If I was more organised I'd have made a cake or something instead.
Saturday lunch - Sausage, bacon, black pudding, fried eggs and rolls
Saturday dinner - Barr's butchers steak and onion pie, wedges and baked beans
Sunday lunch - Leek, potato and bacon soup
Sunday dinner - Roast beef, parsnip and apple mash, turnip, broccoli and roast potatoes
Monday dinner - Chicken and veg bake with potatoes
Tuesday dinner - leftovers from Monday
Wednesday dinner - Salmon with leeks and parsnip
Thursday dinner - Spag Bol
Friday dinner - leftovers from Thursday
For lunches we will have ham sandwiches, leek, potato and bacon soup, black bean and chorizo soup and tuna salad. We were having a big lunch on Saturday owing to my parents visiting. They brought with them the dinner for Saturday night, which saved a bit of money so I decided to buy some eye of the round to roast for dunner on Sunday. It is a nice cut of meat and is a bit more expensive than the cut we usually get at the butchers for roasting.
The baby still has some food left in the freezer. I need to make up some fruit for him to take to creche though. They mix it in with his breakfast.
I discovered Aldi this week. I had never been shopping in aldi before and was pleased to pick up some groceries at a really reasonable price. I am off to do my grocery shopping tomorrow, so I'll post up my costs for the week then.
It's my mums birthday today, so I am debating picking up something nice for desert. I'll see what is in the shops when I go. If I was more organised I'd have made a cake or something instead.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Chunky chicken and ham chowder
Our dinner tonight made use of some of the food we had in our freezer. At Christmas, the ham we got was very large (I had to get the butcher to cut it in half so that I could cook it!) and we had quite a bit leftover. So I sliced it and froze it to use in dinners early in 2012. I decided to use some of the ham this week, but didn't fancy having a dinner of meat, veg and potatoes both nights that I am having ham, so opted to make the chunky chicken and ham chowder from February 2006 issue of Goodfood dinner tonight.
TIP - Although the fat content of this meal is low to begin with, it is possible to lower it further by using fry lite spray in place of the olive oil and by using skimmed milk.
I made it earlier in the day for dinner later one. This worked out well, although I did find it necessary to add a bit of water as it becomes extremely thick when standing.
For me one of the best things about this chowder was the fact that I was able to give it to the baby as well without making an alterations. I just mashed the veg and finely chopped the meat before giving it to him. He really enjoyed it and actually ended up having some from his dads bowl as well!!COST - As I already had the ham leftover it is difficult to work out the exact cost for this recipe. The leeks were €1.32, the potatoes were 50 cent, the milk as 80 cent, the chicken was €2 and the peas and sweetcorn were about 60 cent. So, excluding the cost of the ham, this recipe was €4.62 for 4 servings (I have counted the baby and toddler serving as one, plus serving for lunch earlier in the day when I made it).
To be honest, I found that there was a lot of meat in it and I think that the next time I make it I will use one chicken breast instead of two, which will lower the cost a bit. I also think it would be possible to add some extra veg to it and make it last for a second night or lunches the next day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)