Courgette and Ham Frittata

I really like courgettes and I don't really eat enough of them, so I decided to make a frittata this week. Plus it's a really quick and easy meal to make after work. When we get the garden sorted properly, I wouldn't mind giving growing courgettes a go (though who know's when that will be!).

I had a slice of ham leftover in the fridge, which wasn't really going to be used for anything so I decided to chuck that in too.

I used a small frying pan for the above as I was making a single portion.

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 medium courgette, chopped
• 1 handful of grated cheddar cheese (I used mature cheddar)
• 1 slice of ham, torn / chopped into pieces
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 small glug of milk
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tablespoon of oil for frying (I used oilve oil)

Method:

1. Put the frying pan on a medium heat, add the oil and cook the courgettes for approx 10 minutes until they start to soften.
2. In the meantime, beat your eggs with the milk. You can season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the egg mixture over the courgettes, sprinkle with the cheese and ham.
4. Cook until most of the egg has cooked through, then pop under the grill for a few minutes until the top has cooked.

If you're going to make this for more than 1 person, you'll need to use a bigger pan. Other than that, you can just double the recipe. You can always chuck in some leftovers that you have in the fridge too. 

Menu 14/07/13 - 20/07/13

So this last week has been glorious weather wise, we've had some much needed sunshine. There's only 5 meals this week, as we decided to make the most of the weather and have a mini BBQ for the 2 of us today on the Sunday. We're also planning to have a bigger BBQ on Saturday (weather permitting).

While the weather is warmer, we're also tending to eat more salads for lunches to take to work. This week, we're going to BBQ some chicken thighs, then have these with the salads with some crispy streaky bacon. 

Please bear in mind that some of the below list is for my other half who is not gluten free and although I do not eat gluten I am not Coeliac.

Meal Plan 14/07/13 - 20/07/13

Tagliatelle Carbonara

Broad Bean and Bacon Risotto

Chickpea, Potato and Spinach Curry

Courgette Frittata

Turkey Chilli

Breakfast: Cereal, Smoothie

Lunch: Chicken and Bacon Salad, Leftovers, Jacket Potato with Cheese and Beans

Leftovers / Store Cupboard Items: Spinach, Bacon, Tomato Puree, Yoghurt, Frozen Fruit, Baked Beans, Madras Paste, Jacket Potatoes

Fruit and Vegetables:

2 x carrots (0.145 kg) - £0.12

1 Garlic Bulb - £0.25

Asda Cripps Apples (550 g - 5 apples) * 2 - £2.50

Lettuce * 2 - £1.00

Bananas (1.53 kg) - £1.04

Mixed Peppers - £1.00

Spring Onions - £0.50

Smart Price Small Potatoes - £0.69

1 * Courgette (0.2 kg) - £032

Onions (4) - £1.00

1 * Cucumber - £0.50

Chilled:

1 * Orange Juice - £1.00

Free From Tagliatelle - £1.78

Meat:

Turkey Mince (350 g) - £3.50

Chicken Thighs (515 g) - £3.58

Eggs and Dairy:

2 x 500 g Asda Extra Mature Cheese £5.00

160 g Pecorino - £2.00

Double Cream (150 ml) - £0.60

12 Pack of Free Range Medium Eggs - £1.98

Cereal, Tinned, Dried:

Gluten Free Choc Stars - £2.00

Crunch Nut Cornflakes (750 g) - £2.00

Basmati Rice (1 kg ) - £1.78

Risotto Rice (500 g) - £1.10

3 x SP Chopped Tinned Tomatoes - £0.93

2 x tins of sweet crisp sweetcorn - £1.00

Chilli Beans - £0.48

Condiments, Sauces & Seasonings:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - £3.00

1 x pack Knorr Vegetable Stock Cubes - £1.67

1 x pack of Chicken Stock Cubes - £1.67

Frozen:

Broad Beans (750 g)- £1.00

Total - £44.99

Just as  note, all of the above were bought from my local Asda on 14/07/13 and prices were correct at time of publication. I've not included the BBQ items that we bought as we will not be using them all, some will be used in next weeks BBQ.

Some of the prices in the above are offers and some will be stored away for use in future weeks. Some items will replenish the store cupboard.

I will only be using half of the Turkey Mince (the other portion has been put in the freezer and will be used next week). I also don't expect to be using all of the cheese I have bought and actually expect this to last about 2 - 3 weeks. I have also opted to buy frozen broad beans instead of a tin, this means that I will have some more in the freezer to use in some upcoming recipes

I'm going to have a full stock take of my fridge, freezer and cupboards before planning properly for next week. With the warmer weather here, we'll be having some BBQ's, so I just want to make sure that I use up the food that I already have to make sure I'm not just buying food that will not be used.

Broccoli, Brie and Cherry Tomato Gratin

As I've been looking for some easy recipes this week and also thinking of a way to use up the rest of the Brie (aside from the bits I pinched when cooking.... oops!) I came across this recipe. I thought this seemed pretty simple, as well as a nice way to get in some veggies.

I did actually like this recipe and it was just what I needed, I think I would like to put some bacon bits into this as well for some extra flavour.

Ingredients:

200 g broccoli florets

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons of oil

80 g Brie, cut into small cubes

Salt and Pepper

Approx 8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 slice of gluten free bread, blitzed into crumbs

1 match box sized piece of cheese

2 garlic cloves

Bechamel Sauce:

20 g butter

20 g gluten free flour

300 ml milk

small handful of grated  cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C fan, 200 C
2. Put the broccoli florets and onions into a baking dish, sprinkle with oil. Add the garlic cloves (skin on) and bake in the oven for approx 15 - 20 minutes.
3. While the broccoli is cooking, add the butter to a pan on a medium heat. Add the flour, stir through and cook for a few minutes. Take off the heat, add the milk. Stir through to avoid any lumps, put back onto the heat and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. I added a small amount of grated cheese to the Bechamel sauce.
4. Blitz the bread with the cheese.
5. Take the broccoli out the oven, squeeze the garlic cloves and add to the broccoli mixture, discarding the skins. Add the Brie, cherry tomatoes and stir through. Sprinkle the crumb and cheese mixture on top of the broccoli, put back in the oven for approx 15 minutes.

Brie, Cherry Tomato and Basil Tagliatelle

I decided this week I would try out gluten free Tagliatelle in the fresh section of Asda. The pasta cooks in 3 minutes, so thought it would be a good for a quick after work meal.

The pasta in my opinion was quite nice, it really did just take 3 minutes to cook and with the Brie, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil it tasted really fresh. My idea of a good summer meal without too much fuss.

Serves 1

Ingredients:

100 g Tagliatelle

1 handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped in half

Approx 80 g of Brie, chopped into cubes

1 teaspoon of dried basil (you can use fresh if you have it)

Small glug of oil

1/2 teaspoon of garlic granules

Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, add some salt into the water. Drain the pasta, keeping a little of the water from the pasta and tip back into the pan.
2. Keep the pan on the heat, add the tomatoes, Brie and basil, a little of the water that you have reserved and a little oil. 
3. Stir through the garlic granules, add more garlic if you like. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

You could add a little Parmesan cheese on top if you wanted to.

Meal Plan 07/07/13 - 13/07/13

As we ate out a couple of times this week, we had a couple of meals from this week leftover so we will be putting this back into this weeks meal plan.

Asda have started doing packs of  free from fresh pasta in the chilled section now, they have Tagliatelle which I've decided to try this week and also Penne. As I've been quite busy at work and expect this week to be no different, I thought that it would be good to have some very quick meals that I could make. The pasta only takes a few minutes to cook through, so I'm hoping that I will enjoy it.

Meal Plan 07/07/13 - 13/07/13

Chicken Thai Green Curry

Sausage and mixed bean casserole

Spicy Tomato, Bacon and Pea Tagliatelle

Cherry Tomato and Brie Tagliatelle with Basil

Broccoli, Brie and Spinach Gratin - Jamie Oliver

Baked Potatoes with Cheesy Beans

Item Price 

Gluten Free Bread £2.38 (I actually bought the fresher for longer dietary specials bread from Morrisons)

2 x packs of streaky bacon - £3 (Morrisons) 

Bag of Pink Lady Apples 1.49 (Morrisons) *

Milk - £1.00

Asda Chicken Selecton Pack (1.8 kg) - £5.00 ***

Sliced Ham - £1.00

French Brie - £1.00

Dressing - £0.50

2 x tins of chopped tomatoes - £0.62

Tuna (4 cans) - £4.00

Beans (Fridge Pack) - £1.00

Free From Tagliatelle - £1.72

Sweetcorn x 2 - £1.00

4 x Baking Potatoes - £1.15

Mixed Peppers - £1.00

Broccoli - £0.60

Lettuce x 2 - £1.00

Gluten Free Plain Flour - £1.65

Reduced Bananas (Apprpx 2 kg) £0.30 **

Cherry Tomatoes - £1.00

Red Onion x 2 (0.265 kg) - £0.21

Bananas (1.220 kg) - £0.83

Gluten Free Choc Star cereal - £2.00

Cucumber - £0.50

Gluten Free Butchers Sausages - £1.70

Total £35.65

Breakfast: Cereals, Eggs, Toast. Banana Bread

Lunch: Leftovers, Sandwiches, Salad with Tuna or Chicken

Snacks: Apples, bananas, satsumas

Leftovers:  Peas, Cereal, Chicken, Sausages, Mixed Beans, Cheese, Eggs

* I saw these on offer and as it was a good deal and as I normally buy these apples, I decided to use get them from Morrisons

** They have large bags of bruised bananas for sale at reduced prices, I decided to get one of these and I'm going to make some banana bread later on in the week

*** I've got this chicken mainly to use with the salads, but I do expect to have some left for next week. I'm going to portion the chicken up and put it into the freezer.

Prices correct at time of writing - 07/07/13

Menu 30/06/13 - 06/07/13

With my other half starting his new job this month, it's been a bit tighter on the old purse strings than usual.

I've tried to keep the cost of this weeks meals down.

We bought some meat from the market last weekend, so we've used up these leftovers in this weeks menu. 

We are eating at mum's for Sunday lunch, so we only have 6 meals this week. We're eating some leftovers from last week's meal for dinner.

Meal Plan 30/06/13 - 06/06/13

Creamy Crab and Pea Spaghetti

Sweet Chilli Pork Stir Fry

Chicken Thai Green Curry

Courgette and Pea Risotto

Bacon, Pea and Cheese Sauce Spaghetti

Sausage and mixed bean casserole

Item Price 

Gluten Free Bread £2.00

Milk £1.00

Bananas (8 - approx 1.36 kg) £0.92

Pink Lady Apples ( 6 apples - approx 0.96 kg) £3.59

Onions £1.00

Crème Fraiche £1.10

Crab Meat £1.06

Coconut Milk - Light £1.40

Coriander £0.78

Sweet Chilli Stir Fry Sauce £1.20

1 Courgette (0.22 kg) £0.35

Bacon (2 for £4) £4.00

Salad Cream £0.58

Sweetcorn £1.00

Red onion (0.13 kg - approx weight) £0.10

Chopped Tomatoes £0.31

Cucumber £0.50

3 Mixed Peppers £1.00

Lettuce ( 2 at a price of 50 p each) £1.00

Sliced Meat £1.00

2 Heinz Veg Soup £1.20

Extra Mature Cheese - 200 g £1.50

Honey mustard dressing - 250 ml £0.90

Gluten Free Sausage £1.70

Risotto Rice £1.10

Stir fry vegetables £1.20

Total  £31.59

All of the above were correct on 30/06/13 on asda.com

Leftovers: Peas, Cereal, chilli, chicken, rice, Pork, Spaghetti, Hard Cheese, Frozen mixed vegetables, Eggs, Lemongrass, flour

Snacks: Apple or Banana

Breakfast: Cereal, Egg, Toast, Sausages, Bacon

There are ways you can still bring down the cost of the above, such as buying cheaper apples. We really like these apples in particular, so tend to buy these.

Purple Majesty Potatoes

When strolling through Asda this week, I saw that Purple Majesty Potatoes were £1 for 1.25 kg (true at time of writing 29/06/13). I'd never tried them before, so decided it would be nice go give these a try and see what they are like. I must admit, that they looked good when they were peeled and chopped.

I tried mine mashed and I think they had a nice taste to them and mashed really well. They went well with my bangers, mash and onion gravy. 

They were slightly lighter after cooking and mashing, but still kept their purple colour. All in all, a nice potato and one that I will be using again.