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Chickpea, courgette, fine bean and feta salad

A vegetarian midweek dinner or weekend lunch.

This is a great vegetarian dish for two when you have a little extra time in the evening for roasting vegetables.

I love the combination of the caramelised edges on the balsamic veggies with the creamy feta.

I prepare it using only a roasting tray, one medium sized pan and a colander. So it’s light on washing up as well as being reasonably healthy!

Ingredients
1 Can of Chickpeas in Water (400g) £0.55
1/2 Pack of Fine Beans (100g) £0.50
3 Salad Tomatoes £0.38
1 Medium Courgette £0.30
1 Red Onion £0.21
1/2 Pack of Greek Feta Cheese (100g) £0.60
1/2 Teaspoon of Mixed Herbs
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Basil to garnish (Optional)

Serves 2

Total Cost – £2.54
Cost per portion – £1.27
Total Cooking Time – Less than 50 minutes

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to about 200 degrees c.

Slice the courgette into half centimetre thick rounds, quarter the salad tomatoes and slice the red onion into about 8 wedges. Chuck these veggies into a roasting dish and splosh some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them. Add the mixed dried herbs and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Toss or mix the vegetables in the oil and seasoning. Pop the tray in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes.

I turn my veggies about every ten minutes, this will stop them over browning on one side and allows you to check how far the are through the cooking process.

Bring a medium pan of well salted water to the boil whilst you trim the fine beans at the stalk end. Once the water is boiling pop the fine beans into the pan, wait for the water to start boiling again and then cook the beans for three minutes.

Remove the beans from the pan using a slotted spoon and put them in a colander. Run the beans under cold water to stop the cooking process, you don’t want soggy, flaccid beans! Pop them on one of your serving plates ready for later.

Keep the pan of water. Strain the liquid from the chickpeas and give them a rinse in the colander. Add them to the boiling water for approximately five minutes.

Whilst the chickpeas are cooking chop the feta cheese into small cubes and tear some basil leaves for the garnish.

Remove the roasting veggies from the oven and add the fine beans. Strain the cooked chickpeas and add them to the pan as well. Give everything a good shake so the roasted juices coat all of the ingredients. Divide the contents of the roasting tray onto two serving plates.

Sprinkle over the feta and basil leaves and enjoy!

Scrambled egg, mushroom and smashed avocado breakfast

A vegetarian weekend treat for two, or one ravenous person (can also be eaten for brunch, or lunch)

Isn’t it annoying when someone uses up all the bacon on a Sunday morning?

Well not anymore folks! Now you have this spiffing recipe, you will no longer care that your brother in law ate the last two slices of heavenly bacon goodness. Because now you have this fantastic vegetarian creation to surpass the dull and unimaginative bacon on white bread.

This recipe is really supposed to be for two people but I ate both portions to myself and then had a little nap. A most satisfactory Sunday.

Ingredients
1 medium avocado – £0.85
2 medium free range eggs – £0.33
2 salad tomatoes – £0.22
1 hand full of chestnut mushrooms (70g approx) – £0.20
1 brown seeded roll – £0.18 – Gluten Free – £0.45

Coriander (to taste)
Drizzle of olive oil

Serves 1 or 2

Total Cost – £1.78 – Gluten Free -£2.05
Cost per person – £0.89 – Gluten Free – £1.03
Total cooking time – Less than 30 minutes

Instructions

Heat your oven to 190 degrees. Halve the tomatoes and quarter the mushrooms, pop them in a high sided roasting tray (if you have one, if not any old roasting sheet will do). Drizzle with the olive oil and season to taste. I chuck some dried Italian herb mix in too, but it’s not a necessity. This needs approximately 25 minutes in the oven.

I then mash up the avocado. Some people make a really bad hash of preparing avocado, like I used to 10 years ago. A chef friend of mine then showed me this technique, which is by far the easiest way. After de-stoning the avocado I use a dessert spoon to scoop the flesh from the skin. Then cut it into chunks and mash them up with a fork in a bowl.

I hate washing up scrambled egg pans, so I cheat and do them in the microwave. Crack the eggs into a microwaveable bowl, add a splash of milk (if you’re not dairy intolerant) and whisk for a few seconds. Pop in the microwave on full blast for 40 seconds. Vigorously stir with a fork and pop them back in for another 40 seconds. One last stir and pop them back for a final 20 seconds.

Just after you have shoved the eggs in the microwave cut the roll in half and pop it in a toaster. Toast it to your liking. If you haven’t got a roll use any old bread you have in the house.

Butter your toasted roll if you like, spread the smashed avocado on top and tip your scrambled eggs over the pile. Grab the tomatoes and mushrooms out of the oven and pop on the plates.

I added some coriander as a garnish. I know, some people hate coriander, but I don’t, so yeah. Don’t add it if you hate coriander, if not pop some on and you might be delighted!

Sausage, chickpea and tomato stew with extra vegetables

A rustic and hearty autumn stew packed full of flavour

I love sausages. If anyone ever was to ask me “would you like a sausage with that?” the answer, invariably, would be yes.

Do you want a sausage with that slice of cheese cake? Yes. Would you like a sausage with your new double mattress? Yes. Would you like a complimentary sausage whilst you sign your official marriage certificate. Yes, I certainly would.

Jokes aside (not joking though), this is a simple dish that packs a lot of flavour and colour into one pot.

When I first decided to add the orange zest to this recipe I was a bit unsure how it would come out, but I was impressed how well the subtle orange flavour complimented the other ingredients.

I also used two different kinds of chickpeas for this recipe, one can of ‘normal’ white chickpeas and another of brown chickpeas, also known as Kala Chana. They are smaller and slightly firmer than regular chickpeas and have a deeper, smokier flavour. You don’t have to use Kala Chana if you don’t want to, or can’t find any. I found mine in the Eastern European section of my local Co-op and they were the same price as regular chickpeas.

Ingredients
1 pack of sausages (400g) – £1.70
2 tins of chickpeas in water – £1.10
2 tins of chopped tomatoes – £0.70
1 medium white onion – £0.21
2 medium courgettes – £0.60
3 cloves of garlic – £0.05
3 cubes of frozen spinach (75g) – £0.15
250ml chicken stock – £0.08
Zest of one medium orange – £0.25

Vegetable oil or fry light for cooking

Crusty bread for sauce mopping (optional)

Serves 4

Total Cost – £4.84
Cost per person – £1.21
Total Cooking Time – Under 60 minutes

Instructions

Chop your vegetables first; dice the onion, finely slice the garlic and cut the courgette into 1 cm thick rounds.

Heat some oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sweat this down until the onion starts to soften and turn translucent.

Add the sausages and cook for 5-7 minutes. Mine didn’t brown off too much, it doesn’t matter as we’re going to stew them for a while. I think I preferred the texture without a crispy skin, but it’s up to you how much you brown off your sausages.

Add your courgette and again allow these to sweat down and brown off slightly for 5 minutes.

Now you can bosh in all of the chopped tomatoes and chickpeas. Turn the hob down to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes with the lid on.

After the 15 minutes are up you can add in the chicken stock, spinach cubes and orange zest. Let everything bubble away for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring everything together every so often.

Get your plates ready because it’s time to eat. You might be lucky enough to have some juicy tomato, sausage and orange liquid left on your plate. If you do, you should definitely mop this up with some crusty bread.

Chicken wrapped in bacon with potatoes, green veg and cheese sauce

Two meats and three veg. What’s not to like?

This is a more indulgent meal to prepare midweek, taking a bit more time and cash; but is still reasonably simple and affordable. But it’s perfect for date night, singing to your favourite tunes in the kitchen whilst preparing the meal.

I used a mixture of green and yellow fine beans for this recipe as we grow several varieties in our vegetable plot, but shop bought ones are perfectly fine and ‘normal’.

As stuffing and wrapping the chicken takes some modicum of effort I cheat with the cheese sauce and use the packet variety. If you have more time and energy than me then please feel free to make your own from scratch! Also let us know your recipe by commenting below…

Double check the ingredients on cheese sauce packet to make sure there’s no gluten, if you have an intolerance.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (approx 300g) £1.62
4 rashers of unsmoked bacon £0.55
4 teaspoons of garlic and herb roule cheese £0.60

New Potatoes (350g) £0.60
1/2 Pack of fine beans (100g) £0.50
Head of broccoli £0.64
Cheese sauce packet £0.85
Milk – to packet instructions

Serves 2

Total Cost – £5.36
Cost per portion – £2.68
Total Cooking Time – Less than 40 minutes

Instructions

Take the two chicken breasts and make incisions in the side of the breast without cutting through to the other side. Fill each incision with two teaspoons of the soft garlic and herb cheese.

Lay out two rashers of bacon on a baking tray, I arrange them top and tails, thick end to thin end. Then place the chicken breast at the bottom of the rashers and roll tightly away from you. I don’t bother securing the bacon round the chicken, you don’t need to if you roll it tightly enough and place the chicken down on the bacon seam.

Chuck the wrapped chicken in a preheated oven set to 190 / 170 (fan oven) degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

Whilst the chicken is cooking, pop the new potatoes in a pan of boiling water that has been well seasoned with salt. I always halve or third the larger spuds so the cooking time is reduced. Boil the potatoes for about 13 minutes.

Boil the broccoli and fine beans in a pan of water for approximately 3-4 minutes.

Prepare the cheese sauce to packet instructions. Whilst this is cooking drain the potatoes and green veg, smash on a plate with the wrapped chicken. Pour the sauce over the rest of the food.

Nom it down.

Tuna, new potato, egg and fine bean salad

A store cupboard lunch fit for unexpected guests.

If you have ever had an unexpected visit from friends or relatives you know the pain of feeding loved ones only from the remnants of your store cupboard. Or feel the dread of washing dishes for additional people, part of the reason I love this recipe is that you can recycle your pan and water for two different elements.

I always have some kind of salad in the fridge, (on pretence of living healthily!) and tuna on the shelf so this is can be knocked up pretty quickly. Plus everybody loves buttery new potatoes, even my mum when she’s (supposedly) on a diet!

I now have the art of boiling eggs to my liking down to a ‘T’. This is something that will develop with practice, but a great place to start is with good old lass, Delia Smith’s guide. After enough trial and error, you won’t even need a timer to know when your eggs are done.

Ingredients
New Potatoes (700g) £1.20
2x tins of tuna in spring water £2.50
Pack of fine beans (200g) £1.00
6x Free Range eggs £1.00
6 Salad tomatoes £0.75
1 medium cucumber £0.65
Salad leaves (200g) £2.00
Reduced fat Caesar dressing £0.25

Mayonnaise (Optional)
Butter & chives (Optional, to dress potatoes)

Serves 4

Total Cost – £9.35
Cost per portion – £2.34
Total Cooking Time – Less than 25 minutes

Instructions

I cook my new potatoes in a pan of boiling water that has been well seasoned with salt. I always halve or third the larger spuds so the cooking time is reduced. Boil the potatoes for about 9 minutes.

In this time trim your fine beans for cooking, prepare and plate the salad tomatoes, cucumber and leaves.

Add the fine beans to the boiling potatoes and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your beans.

To save on time and washing up I remove the potatoes and fine beans from the pan with a slotted spoon into a colander to drain.

I then reuse this water to boil the eggs. This reduces your water consumption for the meal and saves energy reboiling a kettle or heating an additional pan on the hob.

Boil your eggs to Delia’s instructions or your own liking. Combine butter and trimmed chives to dress the potatoes, in a small ramekin, if desired.

Whilst your eggs are cooling before shelling, drain your tinned tuna, add to your salad plate. Dress the salad with the Caesar dressing and toss the potatoes and beans in the butter mixture.

Shell the eggs, halve and add to the plates with the potatoes and beans.

Preferably eat outside on a summer evening with family.

Creamy chicken, onion and avocado salad.

A light but satisfying salad, perfect for a no-fuss meal.

A delicious combination of creamy comfort food and healthy salad that I make for a summery weekend lunch.

It’s pretty quick to bash together and only uses one pan that needs scrubbing!

You can swap out the chicken breasts in this recipe for chicken thighs if you are on a budget. Thighs still on the bone are cheapest and don’t really take too much effort to debone. The job is made much easier by having a decent, sharp knife. If you haven’t deboned a chicken thigh before, take a look at this video by Butcher Cuisine, it’s short and can be watched without sound, perfect for bus stop learning!

Ingredients
2x chicken breasts (approx 300g) £1.62 (or thighs if on a budget) 80p
1 small red onion £0.21
1/2 tub of half fat creme fraiche (200g) £0.53
200ml of chicken stock (Optional)

1 medium avocado £0.85
1/2 Pack of cherry tomatoes, halved (approx 170g) £0.45
Bagged rocket salad £1.25
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Serves 2

Total Cost – Breast £6.53 – Thighs £5.71
Cost per portion – Breast £3.26 – Thighs £2.85
Total Cooking Time – Less than 25 minutes

Instructions

Prepare your chosen chicken. Remove the skin and debone the chicken thighs (if using) and then chop the meat into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Slice your red onion thinly and add to 1 teaspoon of oil in your pan on a medium heat. Stir the oil into the onion and sweat down for 3-4 minutes.

Turn up the heat on the pan to medium – high. Add the chopped chicken to the pan and stir fry the mixture for approximately 7 minutes, or until the chicken is browned on all sides. You can then dump in the creme fraiche, making sure you mix everything together well, including the gooey chicken and onion juices on the bottom of the pan. Yum.

You can add in either 200ml of water or chicken stock and stir in. Then let the sauce simmer down for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whist the chicken is simmering prepare your salad, slicing the avocado and tomatoes and popping then on top of the bagged salad with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Bosh the chicken and onion mixture on top. As we say in Norfolk, “job’s a good ‘un”!

Creamy chestnut mushroom and smoked bacon gnocchi

An Italian style midweek dinner, which can be made Gluten Free.

This is a spin on a classic Italian gnocchi dish that is easy enough to rustle up for a satisfying midweek dinner. I use Gluten Free gnocchi but I’ve given costs for ‘normal people’ too.

Remove the bacon from the ingredients list and check the Italian hard cheese for animal products to make this dish vegetarian.

Ingredients
500g Packet of gnocchi £0.75 (Gluten Free – £2.99)
Chestnut mushrooms (250g) £0.89
2x Rashers of smoked bacon (100g) £0.50
Brown Onion £0.10
3x garlic cloves £0.05
1/2 tub of half fat creme fraiche (200g) £0.53
250ml vegetable stock
4x cubes of frozen spinach (100g) £0.20
Olive oil

Basil leaves (optional)
Italian hard cheese (optional)

Serves 2 / 3

Total Cost – £3.02 – Gluten Free Cost – £5.26
Cost per portion – £1.51 – Gluten Free – £2.63
Total Cooking Time – Less than 40 minutes

Instructions

Firstly I clean and roughly chop an entire packet of chestnut mushrooms and set them aside in a colander ready for cooking.

Cut the onion into small cubes and crush and chop the garlic cloves. Heat these with some oil in a large frying pan or wok. I use whatever is clean and at the top of the pile in my cupboard.

Sweat the onions and garlic down until they start to turn transparent. Using kitchen scissors, cut the rashers of bacon directly into the pan. Cook until the bacon is as crispy as you like it.

Now add in the chopped mushrooms and sweat them down by a quarter before adding the vegetable stock. I then let this simmer for approximately 8 – 10 minutes before adding half a tub of half fat creme fraiche and the frozen spinach.

Whilst the mushroom and stock mixture is simmering get a pan of salted water on the hob to boil.

Once you have added the creme fraiche and spinach to the pan and your salted water pan is at a rolling boil, you can start to cook the gnocchi.

I add a handful of gnocchi to the pan to start with and add another one in every of minute or so. This means that as you are removing the cooked gnocchi the next batch is cooking underneath.

Gnocchi takes about two minutes to cook and is ready when it floats to the surface of the water. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and dump it directly into the mushroom and bacon pan, stirring the mixture as you add the gnocchi in. The stirring will also break down the cubes of frozen spinach.

Once you have stirred in the last batch of gnocchi you can plate up. Garnish with fresh basil and sprinkle or grate over the Italian hard cheese to your taste.