Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry

I liked the Chickpea and Spinach Madras so much last time that I decided to make this again, but this time I decided to bulk it out with potatoes. I also used curry powder for a different flavour, rather than using curry paste.

Ingredients:

Serves 4 - 6

• 500 g small potatoes, chopped into cubes
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• 2 tins of chopped, tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of medium curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of tomato purée
• 1/2 tin of water
• 350 g frozen spinach
• Salt and Pepper
• Oil for frying

Serve with Basmati rice

Method:

1. Add the oil to the pan on a medium heat, add the chopped onions and cook for a couple of minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic, stir through and cook for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the potatoes and cook until they start to colour, for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the the chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, curry powder, water and cook through for 10 minutes.
4. Put the Basmati on - I normally cook 1 mug to 2 mugs of water. I will then use boiling water, bring the rice and water to the boil. Turn the heat down, put the lid on and cook until all the water is absorbed.
5. Season the curry with the salt and pepper and serve with Basmati rice.

If you're serving for 6 then use 1.5 mugs of rice to 3 mugs of water. Tomorrow I shall be making the courgette lasagne...

Gym and jacket potatoes!

After eating too much at the BBQ this weekend and PLENTY of leftovers, I'm trying to not eat as much this week. For a low cost and healthy dinner tonight I thought I'd have my cottage cheese and jacket potatoes. I chopped some fresh chives into the cottage cheese on the top. 

I used fresh chives as I have some growing in the garden and I think its a little nicer to add them fresh. You can obviously used the tubs of cottage cheese with chives already in. 

I've started going back to the gym last week, after quite a fairly long period of not going. I've been bogged down with work and really not felt like going. I'm back on track now though and trying to eat a little healthier. Hopefully I'll be able to lose a couple of pounds too!

I've strayed away from the meal plan a few nights this week, but I think tomorrow I'm possibly going to have Turkey Courgette Lasagne Tomorrow.

Rasberry & Strawberry Jam and Orange Marmalade

I've decided that this year I'm going to try and make jams, marmalade and chutney's throughout the year. I'll use some of them myself, then keep some of them back to put in home made hampers for Christmas.

I really enjoyed making the marmalade and jam last year, but found it a bit of a rush so close to the festive season. It also seems a shame not to make the most of some of the fruits when they are in season. It'll also be nice to have them for ourselves too!

Seems a bit early to be thinking about December at the moment, but I figure I should be making the most out of fruit and vegetables.

I'll share my attempts with you as I try them out, hopefully I'll be having a go this weekend.

I'm kind of new to all this, so if anyone has any tips or good recipes to share then please do!

Menu 21/07/13 - 27/07/13

After overspending on the meats for our "small" BBQ yesterday, I've already bought the food for next week so the below will be the menu. We have frozen some of the leftover raw meat and we have plenty of cooked meat and salad left. We've been eating salad a lot since the warmer weather, so we'll be having some of the leftover meats with our salads. The rest will be frozen and use for the next menu from 28/07/13.

I think it will be a good thing to use up some of the items in the cupboard and freezer. It will save us some money after our overspend and make sure that we're eating through our stored items too. 

Menu 21/07/13 - 27/07/13

Lamb Curry and Tarka Dhal

Chickpea, Potato and Spinach Curry (from last week, as I didn't end up making it)

Turkey and Courgette Lasagne

Broad Bean and Bacon Risotto (also from last week)

Jacket Potato with Cottage Cheese and Chives

Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

Kidney Bean and Carrot Burgers

Shopping 

Gluten Free Cereal (Choc Stars) £2.00

GF Bread £2.50

Milk £1.00

Sweetcorn £1.00

Red onion (0.13 kg * 2) £0.20

Cucumber £0.50

3 Mixed Peppers £1.00

Lettuce £1.00

Bananas (8 - approx 1.36 kg) £0.92

Apples ( 6 apples - approx 0.96 kg) £3.59

Tuna  £4.00 *

Lamb neck Fillet (300 g) £7.00

Butchers Selection Rump Steak (283 g) **

Garlic £0.30

Asda Tomatoes £0.75

Yellow Split Peas (500 g) £0.58

Coriander Seed £1.40

Courgette £0.50

Carrots 0.66 kg £0.51

Chopped Tomatoes x 2 £0.62

Sausages £1.70

Cottage Cheese £1.00

Desiree Red Potatoes (2 kg) £2.00

Bacon ( 2 pack) £4.00

Onions £1.00

Gluten Free Ciabatta £2.00

Sliced Ham £1.00

Total  £42.07

Prices were all correct at time of publication (from Asda)

Breakfast: Cereals, Eggs, Toast

Lunch: Tuna, Leftover BBQ Meat, Salad, Cheese / Ham Sandwiches, leftovers

Snacks: Apples, Bananas

Leftovers:  Chillis, spinach, rice, chives, broad beans, sausages, kidney beans, cheese

* I expect to have some Tuna left for the following week, as we will be using some leftovers this week.

** I will not be using this during this weeks meal plan, I've frozen this for use on my next meal plan.

BBQ

As were having a BBQ today, I won't be having much time to blog. I've still got a couple of meals left from this weeks meals, so you'll probably see them appear again in this weeks meal plan! 

I'll hopefully be able to share some of these recipes soon, we haven't totally made our minds up on everything yet so some will be a surprise to me too!

I'm really looking forward to relaxing, having a Pimms or two and having some nice BBQ food.

Turkey Mince Chilli

We really like Chilli in our house and think that with the right flavourings Turkey mince can be a good substitute for beef. It's also lower in fat, so good for those of us trying to watch our weight a little bit. 

It's also pretty economical in price as I've used half a 800g pack of Turkey mince, the other portion is in the freezer and will be used to make another meal soon. 

3 servings

Ingredients:

Turkey Mince Chilli 400 g (£3.50 / 800 g) - £1.75

1 Onion, chopped (£1.00 / 4) - £0.25

Tin Chopped Tomatoes - £0.31

Chilli Beans - £0.49

Tomato Purée 15 g (£0.48 / 200 g) - £0.04

2 cloves of garlic, minced (£0.25 / 12 bulbs) - £0.04

1 tbsp Oil  (£3.00 / 750 ml) - £0.06

1 tsp Hot Chilli Powder (£1.10 / 100 g) - £0.06

1 tsp Hot Paprika (£1.38 / 34 g) - £0.20

1 tsp Cumin powder (£0.57 / 41 g) - £0.07

2 Bovril Cubes (£0.92 per 12) 0 £0.15

210 g white Basmati rice (approximate) (£1.78 per kg) - £0.37

A Dash of Hendersons relish (£1.57 /284 ml) - £0.08 (i based this on approx 15 ml)

Salt and Pepper

Total - £3.87

Total Per Portion - £1.29

The above are approximate prices as I found it difficult to cost some of the spices, but in the end I based a teaspoon of spice on 5g. But it's only meant to give a rough cost, this is also based on prices on Asda.com 17/07/13.

Method:

1. Boil the kettle.
2. Put the oil in the pan and start to soften the onions on a medium heat. When the onions have started to soften add the minced garlic.
3. Add the Turkey mince to the pan and cook until it has been browned off or cooked through. Add the spices and crumble in the stock cubes and add the Henderson's relish and stir through. 
4. Add the tomato purée, tomatoes and chilli beans, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 - 15 minutes.
5. Add one cup (mine was about 210 g of uncooked Basmati rice) and 2 cups of the boiled kettle water to a pan, add a little salt and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and cover with a pan lid. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.

There are definitely ways that you could bring down the cost of this meal even further, for example using the smart price long grain rice at £0.40 for 1 kg instead of Basmati to name one, but this is what we prefer to use.

I like this meal as it is low cost and is easier on the calories that beef chilli.

I may make Turkey burgers with the remaining mince meat, otherwise please feel free to leave your suggestions

Gluten Free Tagliatelle Carbonara

I'm really liking this pasta at the moment, I like the texture of this a bit more than the dried stuff. I also like the fact that it's ready in 3 minutes.

I also really like Carbonara and this was no exception. It was easy to make and the non gluten free other half still liked it.

The original recipe that I adapted is here

Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients:
300 g Free From Tagliatelle
150 ml double cream
2 garlic cloves
100 g Pecorino, grated (you can use Parmesan)
2 eggs
1 small or 1/2 large onion
110 g streaky bacon, chopped (I used this is this as this is all I had left, I'd suggest using 150 g)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. Boil the kettle. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and drain. Keep some of the cooking water to one side.
2. Start to fry the chopped bacon pieces in the oil and cook until it starts to crisp, then add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onion starts to soften. 
3. While the bacon is cooking, whisk the 2 eggs with the double cream and most of the cheese. 
4. Add the pasta to the pan with the onions, add the cream mixture and stir through on a very low light.
5. Season and serve with the remaining grated cheese

I used Pecorino as I like this cheese and it is a bit less expensive than Parmesan. Overall this cost under £5.00 for the both of us as we had half each, I actually think you could get away with 3 servings!