Delicious food on a budget!

8^th September 2013

“If you are losing a tug-of-war with a tiger, give him the rope before he gets to your arm. You can always buy a new rope.”  Max Gunther

Slept like a baby thanks to the joys of modern medicine, I couldn’t have another night being woken up with stomach cramps, I’m all for being a REAL woman but parts of it suck!  So I’m full of beans this morning and ready to spend some time in the kitchen cooking I thinks, I’ve got a chicken ready for the slow cooker.  I was quite productive yesterday I sorted my surroundings, defrosted the freezer, sorted the kitchen cupboards, I know know exactly what I have and how many ProPoints are in everything, they’re all marked up ready for some meal planning today.  I did go shopping but didn’t buy as much as I normally would although had you seen me you may not have thought so!  I will be working my way down the last bit of stuff in the freezer that’s been there a while.  I bought a Dolmio lasagne kit, on offer in Sainsbury’s for £2, it works out at 7pp per portion plus the mince, I bought extra lean mince which is 4pp per portion, so the meal will be 11pp not bad for a lasagne! And as the mince was part of the 3 for £10 range, the whole meal will cost £5.33 for 4 portions.

 

I bought Jamie Olivers new book yesterday and I can feel a lot of cooking coming on over the next few weeks, I bought the book because one I adore Jamie’s cook books but two because this ones about money saving meals and we all need a bit of that don’t we!  I’m looking forward to trying some of recipes just need to ProPoint a few up first, ProPointed two yesterday,  Sicilian squash and chickpea stew works out at 10pp per serving, when serving 6 and the Sag Aloo is 7pp each, serving 6.  Just about to ProPoints his baked onion in the hole, I love Yorkshire pudding so that should be delicious, and when he talks about a glug of olive oil, I’ve worked it on a tablespoon.  I’m loving the book, especially the vegetarian section, for the baked onion recipe he also says you could use portobellow mushrooms, or chunks of butternut squash, that would be devine wouldn’t it, and served with rich onion gravy mmm, a meal in itself.  I don’t think he’ll mind me sharing one recipe with you (it’s not like Yorkshire pudding is a new recipe) so here goes;

Baked onion in the hole!

Serves 4 (total 27 ProPoints, 7pp per serving)
Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

5 red onions
olive oil (I’ve ProPointed for 2 tbsp) (8pp)
120g plain flour (12pp)
2 large eggs (6pp)
100ml semi-skimmed milk (1pp)
1/2 a bunch of fresh thyme (15g)
4 fresh bay leaves
optional: 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon English mustard
Worcestershire sauce
1 vegetable stock cube

Preheat the oven to 180^oC/350^oF/gas 4. Peel 4 of the onions, keeping them whole, then trim the roots so that they'll sit flat. Cut a cross into the top of them, going about three-quarters of the way down and leaving them intact at the root. Season the insides with salt and pepper, then place in a
roasting tray (roughly 25cm x 30cm) or divide between four small individual dishes (roughly 15cm in diameter each - place the dishes on your largest roasting tray to make them easier to handle). Drizzle the onions with oil, cover with tin foil and roast for around 1 hour, or until soft.
Meanwhile, put 100g of flour into a jug with a pinch of salt, whisk in the eggs, then gradually add the milk until you have a smooth batter. Pick the thyme leaves. Once the onions are soft, turn the oven up to 220 ^oC /425^oF/gas 7. Add a drizzle of oil to the tray or dishes, then put back into the oven to heat up. Once hot, quickly but carefully pour the batter around the onions, then sprinkle over the thyme and bay leaves. Return to the oven and cook for around 30 minutes if making one tray and around 20 minutes if making individual portions, or until puffed up and golden (don't be tempted to open the oven during this time).

Meanwhile, to make the gravy, peel and finely slice the remaining onion, put it into a medium pan on a medium heat with a lug of oil and cook for around 15 minutes, or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the balsamic towards the end (if using) and a splash of water to stop it sticking, if needed Stir in 1 heaped tablespoon of flour, the mustard and a few swigs of Worcestershire sauce, crumble in the stock cube and add 600ml of boiling water. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until you've got the consistency you're looking for. Remove the tray or dishes from the oven and serve straight
away with the gravy and some seasonal greens on the side.

(To take this recipe to another level, Jamie suggests you poke a nugget of blue cheese into the top of each onion as soon as they come out of the oven – it’s heavenly).  10g = 1pp I might need to try that!

Right best get that chicken in the slow cooker before I walk Alfie, I’m thinking I’m going to do a variation of my Nigella 40 cloves of garlic recipe, can’t wait to smell that wafting round the house all day. (recipe here http://wwbevsworld.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/lifes-too-short-to-starve.html)

Eat Gorgeous and BeYOUtiful, because life really is to short for anything else. xx