Sausages, homemade in seconds.

Possibly the easiest sausages in the world. Buy minced meat, add herbs of your own choice and allow to 'steep' (which is a Scottish word for marinate or infuse). We love sage especially with pork so its a good job we grow lots.

We often do these with pork and chopped sage, but any meat and any herb that you love will work.

The 'steeping process' - it aint pretty. Once 'steeped' brace yourself and form golf-ball sized delightful little lumps. This process is sticky and messy, unless you use an ice-cream scoop. Flatten and 'dry' fry in a pan a couple minutes on each side.

Absolutely delish, no fillers, no crap just sausage with herbs. Nice on a bun (muffin) with a poached/fried egg and a slaither of cheese. You know someone should really look into that. Be an awesome breakfast sandwich I think I'll call it the McMuffin, a Sausage and Egg delight.  Genius. Oh dear I might have had this idea before.

Link here - http://orkneyflowers.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/great-mcmuffin-swindle.html

Also good with chicken/turkey and cajun or smoked paprika spices, beef and italian spices, fish minced with bacon is good, and 'sage and onion stuffing' also make a nice veggie version or cold rice and beans mashed together with some paprika. The list is endless. No cases, no faffing just lovely homemade sausages in seconds.

Until next time, how many types of 'well know fast food' can you save a fortune by ripping off (erm I mean being inspired by) and cooking at home? -  Happy Scoffing.

Neeps for sale

As I ambled by the Stromness Chippy the other morning I saw this delightful sign. And, priced at a bargain for such giant neeps. If only it hadn't been 9am and chips still snoozing until lunch time. Its a fine chip shop too and serves mushy peas, in case you were in the mood. But, back to the Neeps, they are Swedish Turnips to you and I, just in case you wondered. And they are fine fodder for making a hearty meal out of including my favourite of clapshot - yum, which is claimed to have been invented here, not sure about that but I'll say for now, its a hearty Scottish dish from many a region!

I did rather like the ingenuity of their sign, quite accurate too as these were enormous. A bit more exciting that the sign in another shop in town. But, given the time of year, I guess some folks aren't maybe as excited about neeps, they are a plenty at the moment. This basket full was also full to bursting at the local tool/ironmongery shop. My word the difference in price between the peeider (smaller) toon of Stromness  (60p a neep) and the city of Kirkwall (80p a neep) some 15 miles east.  I also saw neeps at the charity shop for a similar kinda price - still a bargain at under a quid in my mind! Think of those poor neep farmers having to pull each enormous beast out of the soggy ground.

Its taken me a good 13 years to fathom that Orkney grub is a plentiful and luscious, however finding out where to buy it from is often delightful and unexpected.  There are also neeps in the local garage for sale, where else eh?

Until next time - get a bit of local grub under your belt - wherever you happen to discover it, I'm sure it will be a bargain - Happy Scoffing!

I'm off out neep spotting :) if you see any more local ones which are bargainous do let me know - I love a bit of neep research :)

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.

Beans on toast

Today was fresh and chilly and definitely a 'beans on toast' kind of day.

Mind you in my book everyday can be a beans day, as long as they stay OFF the toast.

I don't like soggy when soggy isn't expected! But I do LOVE comfort food like this when I'm cold and hungry after a long walk.

Until next time, what cupboard favourites do you love? Happy Scoffing.

Cuppy egg

Boiled eggs smashed up in a cup with a wee dod of butter and a pinch of salt - utterly awesome. Always eaten as soon as it's made*, warm in the cup and perfect with soft boiled eggs.

Some childhood grub should be eaten your whole life! 

Until next time, don't forget your childhood favourites whatever they are - Happy scoffing!

 

*Hand scalding is normally essential when performing this ritual.

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.

Humble Tattie - Frugal grub

As far as instant nice grub goes, you'll not get much better than the humble tattie. Boiled, mashed, fried or baked, its one of my favourite veggies.

 

Instant grub too if quickly baked and served with some butter. Or as my favourite - with some prawns in mayonnaise with a dash of chilli sauce to give it a bit of a kick.

 

You've heard of Mr Potato Head haven't you.

I'm Ms Tattie Heid with her trusty potato hunting hound.

 

Until next time, look again at that potato you often put at the side of your meals - its the star of the show.- happy scoffing!

Special fried rice - Frugal Food

We've often got rice, vegetables and the remnants of a roast or some meat kicking about the fridge. It doesn't take much inspiration to quickly turn these into Chinese special fried rice. IN my mind its the bubble and squeak of the rice world, perfect leftover fodder. Frugal and quick, darn tasty too. There are really no rules with this oriental favourite, aside TRY to use cold rice or it all goes a bit sticky.

With this in mind, I tend to either make rice up for a meal and make an extra portion for either later or freezing (1 mug uncooked rice = one family portion, 1/4 cup uncooked rice = one person portion) (cooked rice = 1 cup per person), or if I'm making this for tea I'll cook the rice the day before or in the morning to let it cool.

Ingredients for the rice can be anything from chicken/turkey/prawns/ if you're a carnivore. These get chopped up into slices or cubes. I tend to use leftovers so I don't need to cook anything, but if you fancy this and have no leftovers cook up a bit of chicken/turkey and shred up. Lots of veggies are great in this too, again anything goes from garden peas to broccoli, sweet corn (baby and kernels) to onions, courgettes, carrots. Just what you've got to hand. (It's a 'fakeaway' - there are no rules)

I tend to have everything chopped and most of the ingredients are already cooked and ready before I fire up my pan.

Now, often I'll put an egg into this too, specially if there's limited meat, its good for increasing the protein in a cheap and cheerful way. But, if you've no eggs, no stress leave them out. So here is the 'leftovers' and veggies for this version. (Every version is different depending on the leftovers or what you fancy.)

Once everything is chopped and ready to go I give the family a holler, get the table set and give myself a minute - I make up a sauce to go with the dish. Its basically a rich gravy (thick jus if you're over the pond) which is enriched with a splash to taste of soy/chilli sauce/sesame oil.

It makes a really glossy yummy accompaniment to the dish. If you like a wee bit of this, I use up the dregs from the roast dinner. Or cheat by starting a pan off with a stock cube, add some gravey thickening to this with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce (optional, one table spoon), a splash of soy (about a teaspoon)  and a nice splash of sesame oil(around 1/2 teaspoon), stir and serve either at the side in a jug or lathered over the rice once its done.

Once the sauce is ready to go - I then fire up a large heavy based pan with a dash of oil. Egg gets a quick cook off first til its a the 'scrambled but not set yet' egg stage.

 

So, if using eggs to I'll start a pan with a teaspoon of oil in it and quickly scramble the egg. You can do this in the mircrowave too.

Next goes in the meat to heat through and the veggies too and give it a good stir through until its hot.

Once this is nicely mixed and hot, I'll add my rice. Now often I'll heat the rice up in the microwave prior to adding it to the pan to give it a head start, but its really up to you. The rice is added to the egg/veg mix in the pan with a sloop of soy sauce, just enough to colour. Minutes later you've got an amazing leftover 'fakeaway'. The chaps here like prawns in theirs too as a treat, but really anything goes.

Yum. I'm proud to say we're getting to the stage that we prefer the home version to the Chinese restaurant one. Honest.

 

Until next time, why not have a bash at your favourite takeaway by remembering to scoff your leftovers - happy scoffing.

Scones - Quick Frugal Fodder

*I'm moving all my food recipes from my normal blog to this one - so some of these are 'something I did earlier' - excuse the duplication but we make these 15 minute scones, just about every other day. Perfect every time and a great way to use up sour milk, or excess milk. To be honest if there's a day  the milk goes over to smelling a bit funny - we make these. Or we label the going off milk as 'for scones' and throw it into the freezer for when we fancy them. Seems better than chucking milk away and they rise so beautifully with sour milk. (Fresh milk works just as nicely too).

The fifteen minute scone routine is thus:
Oven on (highest setting),
Find a bowl/cutter/cup measure/knife out cupboard,
Get a tray out too.

Ingredients
2 cups SR Flour
1 TBSP sugar
Pinch salt
1TBSP butter/marg/oil
3/4-1 cup Milk

Lob all dry ingredients into bowl** - (2 cups sr flour, 1tbsp sugar), dust tray with flour, then lob in 1tbsp butter to dry ingredients, rub in  butter, then grab butter knife and add 3/4-1 cup of milk to the dry ingredients - mix with knife until a soft dough forms, then stop and onto floured board.

Don't over mix or kneed, life's too short for rock hard scones. Minimal handling makes for better scones - lightly pat until the mix is about 1" thick, you'll thank me for it. Honestly LESS is more in this case.

Cut into shapes - a glass does the job just as well as a cutter - honest.

Lob into oven, timer on for 12 minutes - which is a perfect amount of time to tidy up and get a cup of tea ready.

After your twelve minutes - out they come. If you can get them into a tea towel in a basket or on a plate it helps to keep them nice and soft. Serve to suit we often have these at breakfast, if you're a bit pushed for time, you can always get the dry ingredients ready the night before and add the butter/milk first thing - pop into oven, get dressed and instant brekkie.......

These really are best eaten the same day - or frozen once just cold and used as you like. We never quite get to the 'freezing' stage in our house. 

Perfect frugal fodder for breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea or supper.

 

Cost - if using 'value' flour roughly 20-30p a batch.

 

Like they ever get to supper........

 

Until next time - if you've got some milk that's on the turn - why not think I've got 15 minutes I'll just make some 'scones'.

 

Happy Scoffing.

 

** this recipe is adaptable to add fruit/cheese/herbs into your scones. You would normally add flavourings after the rubbing in stage at the start and before you add the milk. Obviously if they're a 'sweet scone' keep the sugar. If savoury omit it, just saying.........

Yorkies - traditional, cheap and cheerful.

*I'm moving all my food recipes from my normal blog to this one - so some of these are 'something I did earlier' - excuse the duplication! Yorkies or Yorkshire puddings are a main stay in this household. Great way to make a bit of meat go further - or to have a 'meatless' roast dinner - just make these and a pile of veggies, you'll not miss the meat. They can be a much maligned misunderstood fodder. Some folks say they can't make them. I say they can. This recipe is fool proof. I am a fool and even I can do it. Therefore 'fool proof'. Simples. Onwards to the recipe.

Dear Manchild,
As requested here's the new start of the recipes you often ask for.
As you've claimed this recipe as your own for years, I don't know why I'm even writing this down for you, you already know it off by heart. Cheap as chips, yorkies are a great fill up food which costs pennies.

If you're eating these straight away, put your oven on at the highest setting. If you're making them earlier in the day to let the mix rest (always good) then prep the mix and put the oven on to heat about 30 minutes before you want to serve these. Put oil in your tray and put this in the oven, it needs to get really, really, really hot. Or the mix won't work, simplest fact about Yorkshires is if the ovens not hot enough it won't work and look like a flopped pancake.

Ingredients

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of milk/water or beer

2 eggs

2 tbsp oil or dripping (funny white greasy stuff you'll find in the butchers or in the chill cabinet)

Equipment

A jug or bowl for mixing

A bun tray or a large oven tray

Oven gloves

Time - 20 minutes cooking, 10 minutes preparation

Temperature - highest on oven 220 degrees C

 

Measure out ingredients into a bowl or a jug - measure flour before wet ingredients as its less messy to clean afterwards. Sour milk works as well as fresh, water does at a push, using beer is fab - but on the other hand, as a student you might want to drink the beer. Its traditional.

Thoroughly mix the ingredients. Lumpy yorkshire pudding is not your friend, its quite manly (or womanly) to use a kitchen gadget to help you to do this like a hand blender, an electric whisk or a food processor. Or, if you want to get this whipped by hand, think of something or someone annoying and go for it. The batter should be thin and free from lumps. If you're making this in advance, pop it in the fridge until its needed. If you're using it straight away make sure the bun trays/oven dish is hot, the oil wants to be smoking quite scarily.  Pour into the dishes carefully and put straight into the oven. It should take about 20 minutes and is ready when these are puffed up and golden brown.

And we all know you can drop sausages, turkey, chicken, beef or vegetables  into the mix to make many a tea.
 

Serve with mash, gravy and some vegetables, or just dunk in gravy!

One day I'll see if I can take a decent photo of my own, but don't hold your breath.

Love

Mum

Happy Scoffing.

Frugal Food - Meatballs

Now when is a beef burger, not a beef burger. When its a meatball. I often see reduced burgers in the chill cabinet - its not really my kind of food. But with a bit of TLC two beefburgers (usually with a high meat content) can be turned into a hearty meal. Simply cut up the burgers like cake segments, roll and brown in a pan. Add some stock and lots of home grown veggies to bulk it up, and thicken the stock.

Served with mash or rice or flat breads - the one time burgers make a meaty feast.

These burgers were lurking in the freezer - a reduced bargain lobbed in the depths of the kitchen ice caverns for later.

 

As its a use it up month in my house - during our £50 September grocery challenge - the stores and the ice caverns will be raided lots. You can hear more about that HERE on my 'tother long suffering blog.

 

The burgers were 74% Scots beef - its not quite been BBQ weather up here. Whilst the weathers been grim and outdoor eating not really an option, I've gained a delicious cosy supper.

 

 

Burgers 120p, veggies and tatties free.

Transformed into meatballs, tea for four folks. Whilst I know 30p each isn't as frugal as some folks can manage - I'm chuffed I took decent quality nosh and turned it into something we'd all eat.

 

This months got off to a great start.

 

My £50 quid is intact and I've made tomorrows tea :)

 

Until next time - Happy Frugal Scoffing.

Mackerel - eat it!

Now I love fish, I don't eat enough mackerel. Silly lass. This fine beastie made for a wholesome lunch then turned into fish cakes for tea and 16 Peedie cakes later, 12 ended up frozen. At £1.53 a fish, now that's frugal food. And, local. Yum.

Until next time, viva la fish. Happy scoffing.

Fantastically Frugal Brownies

Janey's brownies - quick and perfect.

Now I'm not much of a cake eater, strike me dead now, but I'm not. However, if the mood takes me, or visitors call unexpectedly, or we're on a road trip - we make these  and they are just brilliant. Nice and tasty, no faffing with melting chocolate and really really frugal too. Works every time like a charm, keep for well over a week - cost approximately £1-£1.50. 

Reduce the sugar if you like, but don't stint on the cocoa powder if you want them really chocolatey. So  possibly the most perfect brownie recipe in the world, and as its NOT mine I can claim it as utterly brilliant, its from a close friend. Enjoy - its simple quick and so tasty you'll stop faffing with other recipes which insist you melt chocolate. Not this recipe, just use cocoa powder and you're sorted if really stuck use drinking chocolate but its really not as good, you've been warned. But, if you have a brownie emergency then I understand, just crack on. It's really this simple.

I'm on a road trip later this week to collect my manchild from university. I'll be doing a batch of these - half for the trip, half for those abandoned at home. Whilst I don't like cake, brownies are a whole different ball game. I'm so grateful my chum shared this recipe.

 

Janey's Brownies (makes 24 brownies)

8oz granulated sugar

1 1/2 oz cocoa

3 oz self raising flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk (or water)

4 oz butter melted

(or use cooking margarine/vegetable oil, to be honest aside the thought of it, I really can't tell the difference)

Butter a tray or line a tray with foil or greaseproof paper, 20cm by 3cm, or 12" by 8".

Mix the dry ingredients, beat eggs and milk (optional you can use water).

Add melted (not hot) butter.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon
(not difficult, like a muffin mix, no need to over mix).

Bake for 25-30 minutes  (depending on how gooey you want them) in a preheated oven 180 o C (360 o F) oven, Gas 4-5.

Until next time, don't stint on the cocoa! Happy scoffing.

Comfort food

So I've been sick with a cold. My answer to any illness is to eat it into submission and that means comfort food. Cauliflower cheese. Costs pennies, tastes like heaven. This bad boy was also heavy on the mustard and horseradish lobbed into the sauce for a bit of a kick.

Until next time, don't get sick! Happy scoffing.

Girl needs porridge

This lass loves porridge, cooked with water and a pinch if salt, milk and a tiny sprinkle of sugar at the side, it's delicious. In the olden days I hear that the use to cool it and set in a drawer, taking slabs off as needed. Sounds a bit yuk until you think of flapjacks, perhaps that's the modern version?

Oats are a superfood don't you know. I wonder how you take yours?

 

Until next time, happy scoffing - love your porridge!

Mushy peas - comfort food!

Some days a plate of these mushy with crusty bread or chips or fish AND chips is just the ticket.

I told you it wasn't all fine dining! This is pure comfort sitting in your jammies food And mushy peas aren't everyone's favourite I think they're like Marmite, love em or hate em. I've eaten them posh as quenelles with mint and olive oil, or straight out the tub from the chipper. Love 'em all! Although NO one else in my household shares my delight for them, all the more for me!

Until next time, happy scoffing (however you're dressed).

'Anything you want for breakfast Sundays'

In our house Sundays are traditionally ANYTHING you want for breakfast (as long as you get it yourself). It's a long silly tradition started when my children were under school age to make Sundays special. And, to just terrorise their father, I'm cruel like that.

Today in true traditional style, I'm having gnocchi and asparagus with butter for breakfast. sadly I'm out if eggs. A poached egg would have just turned this from awesome to sublime. Love both, working all day, so I knocked up some of this for lunch and it looked so good I had some for breakfast too.

Love anything you want Sundays. As the cellist has exams I've made her some cinnamon and apple Danishes. Made with reduced pastry, a really wrinkly looking apple and a dollop of cinnamon, these cost less than 35p for eight of them. Great way to use up old fruit......

 

Well I had to test one......don't want her poisoned!

Until next time, happy scoffing!