Kitchen's Kitchen - February 2021

Beth Is Back - With Simple, Tasty Recipies For A Chilly February

In my house, I do very little of the cooking. My two daughters are the chefs of the house, therefore not only do I shop on a budget, but the meals need to be simple, use very little equipment and need only basic skills (although if you ask my youngest, she will tell you she is going to win Masterchef because she is so good!).

Following my £30 shop I shared a few weeks ago #feedingfamiliesfor30, I was asked for some recipes. So here is what my daughters made at the weekend. I have broken down the costs for each meal and pudding as well as the whole cost of the shop.

Friday - Chicken Masala and brown rice

Chicken or potatoes or tofu - £2, Tin of tomato soup - 45p, Onion - 15p, Greek yogurt - 70p, Spinach (optional), Stock cube (optional), Brown rice - 83p

Friday - Greek yogurt lollies

Greek yogurt (from the pot used for the Chicken Masala), Strawberry jam - £1 for a jar

Saturday - Whoopsie Bean

Whoooopsie meat or veg sausages - £1.25, Mixed beans - 65p, Baked beans - 24p, Onion - 15p, Sweet potato - 15p, Passata sauce - 25p, Carrots, spinach, celery, courgette, peppers (optional)

Saturday - Jam Sponge Pudding

Strawberry Jam (from the jar used for the Greek Yogurt Lollies), Sponge mix - 27p, Cream - 89p

Sunday - Carbonara

Cream cheese - 65p, Spaghetti - 45p, Wafer thin ham - £1, Mushrooms (optional)

Sunday - Cheesecake

Cream cheese - 65p, Double cream (from the tub for the Jam Sponge Pudding), Ginger biscuits - 40p, Strawberry jam - (from the jar used for the Greek Yogurt Lollies), Butter - £1.49

£12.97 for the whole shop

Friday - 90p per person

Saturday- 84p per person

Sunday- 75p per person

Chicken Masala-

• Melt some butter in a pan and fry off the chicken until golden brown
• Remove the chicken, add more butter and fry off the onions until soft
• Add the chicken back in
• Add curry masala powder and mix so the chicken gets covers
• Add a tin of tomato soup
• Crumble a stock cube in if you have one
• Add some salt and pepper
• Put on a low simmer heat
• Add the rice to some boiling water
• Once the rice is ready, drain the rice
• Add some spinach into the curry if you wish just before draining the rice
• All done! Add a little blob of Greek yogurt on top

Greek yogurt lollies/ice cream pot

• Put 2 tablespoons of jam in a bowl and stir to loosen it up
• Add the Greek yogurt (but save 4 table spoons for your curry!)
• Mix together
• Add into a container- if you haven't got lolly moulds anything container wise will do- you can wash out old yogurt pots and use them
• Place in the freezer for minimum 3 hours
• Enjoy! Nice and cooling after the curry!

Carbonara

• Cook the spaghetti and drain
• If you chose to put mushrooms in, fry these off
• Whilst it is draining, add sliced up wafer thin ham to a ferrying pan
• add 2 table spoons of cream cheese to and mix until it loosens
• Throw in the spaghetti
• Mix
• Add salt and pepper and dried parsley if you have any
• Done! You can top with a sprinkle of cheese if you wish

Cheesecake

• Place ginger biscuits In a food bag or tea towel and smash with something hard (rolling pin, wooden spoon, etc)
• Melt ½ a pack of butter in a pan or microwave
• Add in the smashed biscuits and mix
• Push down into small containers, a round tin, individual glasses, bowls-whatever you have to hand!
• Pop them in the fridge for 2 hours
• In a bowl mix the rest of the cream cheese and the cream and whisk until firm
• Add some vanilla essence if you have it- just 5-6 drops
• Get the bases out of the fridge and spread some jam on the bottom
• Add the cream cheese and cream mix on top
• Pop in the fridge for 3 hours
• If you have a tin of strawberries or mixed fruit add on top just before serving

Whoopsie bean

• Select your whoopsie meat (I got turkey mince for 30p the other day and made into balls) or sausages or veg sausage and fry off in a pan
• Fry off some onion
• Add 1 cup of pastas sauce
• Chop up sweet potatoes into chunks and add
• Add a tin of mixed beans
• Add a tin of baked beans
• This is where you can get sneaky with veg if you have it (dice into small squares or great any of the optional veg and add if you wish
• Pop the lid on and cook for 25 min on a medium simmer
• Serve!

Jam hot sponge

• Mix the sponge mix
• In a cup put a blob of jam at the bottom
• Top with sponge mix to ¾ of the way up the cup
• Pop in the microwave for 2 mins
• Top with cream (but save some for your cheese cake!)
• Enjoy! Desert in 4 minutes!

Why not give them a try yourself - and post the results on social media using the hashtag #feedingfamiliesfor30. We hope you enjoyed Kitchen's Kitchen - maybe we can get Beth and her girls to come back next month! In the meantime if you would like to try some more tasty budget recipies, why not visit Feeding Families With Simon Wood.