Mushy peas and chips!

Possibly the finest dinner on the planet - mushy peas and chips. Frugal, filling and fwoar! And, yes I have NO class. I'm fine with that.

I'm so glad I saved 'half a tin' of peas for a later time and froze them. YUM YUM.

Ok, so its not everyones fodder of choice, but I'm a happy lass. One large potato fried up as chips, one slice of bread and butter, half a tin of the glorious godly mushy peas.  And British no less. And although the website tells me they're 16p a tin, I think I paid more than that, but they're still a cheap meal. If my spud was a home grown one, this is a 7p meal :)

Until next time, what's your favourite cheeky, frugal comfort on-your-own meal?

Come on, spill the beans (or the peas!) - Happy Scoffing.

Pizza rice

Pizza Rice.

Often enough in 'wir' hoose, we have a quick cheap and cheerful risotto for tea. More often than not this is 'Pizza Rice' - all the joys of a pizza, in a rice. Tomatoes, veggies, cheese and tonight just a slice of lovely smoked bacon dropped in too for a bit of decadence.

 

Whilst we can use risotto rice, when making 'proper' risotto, which is lovely, if a bit costly. However like tonight, more often than not its just a cup of normal rice cooked in stock/tomatoes/fridge foraged veggies and cheese added. Super quick too.

 

Ready from scratch in less than 15 minutes, costs less than £1, probably a lot less. We buy value basmati rice and a bag lasts for ages. Everything gets lobbed in the pan at once - stirred and watched, cheese goes in right at the end. It's a really easy dish for kids to make too.

 

So that's Pizza rice - all the joy of pizza, in a hot steamy tomato-ey, cheesy rice.

 

Its a family tradition stemming from old university days when one bag of rice went a long, long way. The kids love it. Tasty too.

 

OK so we COULD call it roasted Mediterranean vegetables in a homegrown tomato infused rice with Orkney smoked bacon, scallions and cheese but who are we kidding - it's pizza rice!

 

Next time, think outside the (pizza) box - happy scoffing!

 

 

Cheap cheerful chowder

*

Now when you rush in from work like a crazy lady, never mind its also Saturday, you want something fast, filling and hot for tea. Chowder does that for me. Today's was also cheap and incredibly cheering and whilst home made in reality half of it was out of a tin from the cupboard (sweet corn).  At well under £1 for a tea to feed a few folks, its a good staple filling fodder. Soup for tea is a good way to keep those pennies working hard for you.

 

Leftover tatties cubed - around a cup 

(free as home grown)

A can of sweetcorn (325g)

(cheapest and cheerfulest range) (c35p)

A ham stock cube (or chicken) (c2-10p)

(the price range is value to posh - your choice)

Around a third to half a tub of cream cheese

(cheap and cheerfulest range) (c20p)

or cream or milk

A splosh of garlic is optional - be moderate though

 

So you lob in a stock cube into around a pint of water and start to boil. Its one of the few things I like a ham/bacon stock cube in as its cheaper than actual bacon. You can easily keep the whole dish veggie by using a veg cube. I like the hammy flavour, its a personal thing.  If you're feeling decadent add some ham or bacon. As you do this the can of corn meets its maker and gets lobbed enthusiastically into the pan. Please recycle the can, even if its just for me.

 

Next the potatoes go in and bring the mix up to the boil. If the tatties are cooked it doesn't really need cooking per se but it wants to be just at that bubbling stage. If you're using uncooked tatties - cook them out until they're soft.

 

Add the cream cheese now - you can use milk/cream but I think that whatever's to hand works. I like this as a creamy soup - but equally it would work with tomatoes.

 

To get a quick soup fix and scoffing as soon as possible I would blend this now with a hand blender - not to mush - but sort of half blended. Thickens the soup nicely and gives a good texture too. Again this is a person thing - you don't need to do it.

 

Have a slurp and season. A bit of pepper or paprika is lovely.

 

Lob into a bowl.

 

Happy cheap and cheerful in a hurry scoffing - until next time.

 

*the cheap and cheerful range is for most store cupboard things is a good spend. If you're into organic or certain brands - crack on - its your cupboards. Personally mine are stocked with cheap and cheerful where I can't tell the difference. That way I get to spend a few extra pennies on things I do like. And I do like a well stocked store cupboard - makes eating quickly a real essential.

 

PS excuse the lack of photos of the soup. Firstly it was scoffed in milliseconds. Secondly I really need to fathom how to take photos of grub in my dark kitchen especially at night.