A quick and easy pasta dish- perfect for summer picnics!

I love love love this recipe. It's a bit of a cheek to even call it a recipe, it is the simplest but tastiest pasta dish in the world. The secret ingredient? Sun dried tomatoes. These little bad boys, in a jar of oil (£1.35 in asda but available everywhere) are my new Top Ingredient. I have never really used much of them before but honestly, they are worth trying in this simple dish. Tossing the al dente pasta in the flavoured oil with a few fresh ingredients (from the herb garden darling!) is guaranteed to make me feel more luxurious than frugal. And Mr Frugal and Miss Frugal agree. So, winner, winner. Pasta dinner!

Sundried tomatoe and basil pasta
Serves 4

500g dried pasta eg fusili
1 small jar of Sundried tomatoes
1 large onion
1 big handful of parsley
As much basil as you have/can handle
Any other ingredients you fancy such as sweetcorn, mushrooms, olives etc.

1. Cook the pasta until al dente
2. In a frying pan fry chopped Sundried tomatoes, onions and other ingredients you may choose (not herbs) using the oil from Sundried tomatoes.
3. Add pasta and toss about until all pasta coated in oil.
4. Add basil and parsley and cook until slightly wilted. Season well with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with salad/garlic bread/meat or leave to cool and eat in packed lunches.

As with all things I make this recipe is just my starting point. I add whatever I have although always the tomatoes. I estimate this costs:
Tomatoes: £1.35 (asda)
Pasta: 50p (asda)
Onion: 40p (average cost)
Herbs: Free

So, £2.25 and it is plenty for 2 evening meals and 2 lunches (so 4 meals altogether) So 56p a meal, bargain when you consider the taste!

A thrifty little breakfast

Pancakes, who doesn't love them?! Are they just for Pancake Day? Hellllll no! These little bad boys are an ideal weekend breakfast to have up your sleeve when your out of bread/have guests or just feel like a sugar high first thing! I am not trying to teach my Grandmother to suck eggs on this one- I promise! But prior to the last few months I thought pancakes were something you made out of a mix. I was shocked how simple and "store cupboard" they are. Sometimes as a Frugal Goddess it is about having these little tips up your sleeve, a few fail safe ideas for each meal that you can pull out again and again. For me, it's also about being able to have fun with food, feed my family interesting and variable diets- even if money is tight. There's never a pancake left and Mr Frugal and Miss Frugal have declared this the best start to the weekend!

So, here's my simple pimple recipe.

110g/4oz plain flour
2 eggs
200ml milk mixed with 75ml water
50g/2oz butter
Pinch of salt

Method

1, Sift flour (hold sieve high to air flour) into a bowl, add salt.
2, Make a well in the middle and break the eggs into it.
3, Whisk it all up- get all the flour in, even the bits around the side.
4, Gradually add milk and water mixture, keep whisking- don't worry any lumps will disappear.
5, Whisk until smooth- should have consistency of single cream.
6, Heat a little of the butter in your non stick frying pan. The butter should be really hot so heat on high then turn down to medium heat before adding batter.
7, Ladle in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. This should take under a minute to cook. Flip pancake over (using a spatula if your not confident with the wrist action!) and cook for a few seconds on other side.
8, Stack on a plate as they are ready and serve.
9, Serve with anything, left over fruit, honey, butter, sugar, Lemon juice, chocolate sauce- you get the idea :)

TIP: I use a smaller frying pan to make it look like more pancakes as I find it is sometimes mind over matter!

TIP: If you are feeling pedantic place the pancakes between sheets of grease proof paper as they are ready. Keep them in a pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water to keep warm until they are all ready.

I hope this becomes a favourite little breakfast with you and your clan. What budget friendly breakfast do you pull out of the bag for those lazy weekend mornings?

Ps, Please ignore the very poor quality of my photos- they were taken before I decided to start blogging and are literally snaps. I will start taking some photos of meals being made and then more of me attempting to serve them in a style that would make Mr Oliver proud! And yes, the amount of honey Miss Frugal used was anything but frugal...Unfortunately, she is not so concerned with budget but very concerned with sugar!

More honey? Why the devil not...

A little introduction

Hello there!

If you are reading this you have some how stumbled across my own little corner of the internet- well done and thank you! Over the next few weeks I will be adding my family favourite recipes and any frugal tips I have. These are obviously based on my personal experience and opinion and are in no way conclusive :)
Anyways, as the blog is brand new tonight I will start by running through a little list of handy store cupboard items that I find are a god send for making cheap, last minute meals. This may be pointing out the obvious, or it may be more about personal taste but I do find with these bits and bobs in the cupboard and freezer I am able to get by on very tight weeks and keep us all fed.

• Herbs and spices- I try to get into the habit of picking a new pot or jar of something up every week- a simple bag of frozen chicken breasts can be reinvented a million times over with a well stocked selection of flavours! If you use a lot of a certain spice I advise using Indian/Chinese shops or the worldwide aisles in the major supermarkets- often they will have much larger packets for much cheaper prices.
• Tinned tomatoes and passata. The base of many a good meal and an absolute staple for the cupboard.
• Mayflower medium curry sauce, powdered. Available in Farmfoods (Frozen food specialist and all around life saver for food budgets) I know this is available in other places but is very reasonable from Farmfoods. It is a plastic container with curry powder in and it lasts forever. If you like Chinese chip shop curry you will love it- I will blog my chicken curry and egg fried rice recipe soon. Cheaper, healthier, very quick and I PROMISE just as nice as your local take away.
• Pasta, all types, cheap and filling- stock up :)
• Stock pots. I.am.in.love.with.these.little.guys - I always pick a few packs when they are on offer as I tend to use them a few times a week.
• Bulk bags of flour and self raising flour. Seriously, you would not believe how easy pancakes, naan breads, tortilla wraps, batter etc are to knock together and how few ingredients you need!
• Tinned tuna- ideal for the weeks when fresh shopping has taken a slide. They keep for years, are a family favourite and go with everything from Jacket pots to pasta to sandwiches. Well worth looking out for the BOGOF offers.
• Olive oil. There are always offers on this in the big supermarkets and Aldi do a huge bottle for a very reasonable price. I don't use this as our main form of oil but I do find a little of this drizzled on salads or used for dipping bread can give a cheap meal a touch of luxury.
• Tinned mushrooms. Are they any good for breakfasts? Hell NO. Are they good in a slow cooked dish? Hell Yes. Beats frozen, I always use fresh where possible but like to have a few tins of these there for emergency mushroom situations!
• Cous cous, cheap and uber versatile. It can be anything from plain to spicy- get experimenting with those herbs and spices! Best bit? Cooked in 5 mins!
• Garlic Puree- I use a lot of garlic, this does not go off, leave little lumps, need chopping finely etc. Besides its cheap. I buy the Sharwoods tube but I am sure all puree is created equal :)
• A packet of pizza dough, well under a £1 in Supermarkets and you only need to add water and oil to make a fab pizza base. Great fun spinning it around like a master chef with the kids! Great way to use up left over meat, veg, sauces and odd bits of cheese. Fantastic way to get the veggies into the kids- put them on first and then the cheese ;) 60p plus leftovers and you have a feast for 2-4. Add salad and potato wedges to bulk it out- or just make two!!

I will add to this list as I go along and will also add my freezer favourites and best fridge buys too.