Recipes to Save Money at Cook's Corner.

There are many, many good cookery books available in bookshops and libraries, but here we are concentrating on producing tasty meals that will save money, time and effort.

In other words, our ideas are not normally found in books, but are based on saving money but providing good meals at the same time. Also we concentrate on ingredients that you will have readily available - not recipes that list about 20 obscure items and that leave you with these vague ingredients sitting on the shelves unused for years.
Been there, done that!

Best of all, your plan to economise will not show because the meals are all so tasty. So sit back and enjoy the compliments as well as the food.

A tip here if you are entertaining. When you serve any of these meals, present them well. Lay your table in an attractive manner. If you have white plates, so much the better. Any design on a plate detracts from the meal itself. Use a white paper serviette to complete the picture.

Follow these tips and your guests will not have a clue that you are about to save money, they will be concentrating on the effort you are making for them, making your aim easier. Presentation, presentation, presentation.

Don’t say, ‘It’s only omelette tonight’– 'sell' your meal with - ‘ I am making lovely cheese and chive omelettes tonight with a new salad'. If you are using free range eggs - say so. You just need to arouse your guest's taste buds then they will be keener than ever to eat.

If you can serve a very simple starter (a thick vegetable soup) and a dessert (fruit) followed by coffee, they will be completely bowled over and your budget should be intact.

Before you buy any ingredients for these recipes take a look here and save even more money.

RECIPES

These ideas are easily adjustable to the size of your family, your taste and will save money.

All can be produced with a minimum of effort and fuss. All are suitable for entertaining either a small or large number of friends. Nothing is set in stone. You can choose ingredients according to what you have available. All are quick, easy and best of all, tasty and will save money.

Perhaps the best money saver of all is BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. Traditionally they way of using left-overs from the Sunday lunch this dish was served on Monday with either some cold cuts of meat (more left-overs) and pickles - piccalilli was a great favourite.

So easy - just mash or rough chop the left-over cooked potatoes and cabbage together. Add a splash of olive oil to a frying pan. When hot add the chopped vegetables, Push into a large, flat pate shape. Cook until brown on one side, flip over and cook on the other side.

This is great served in many ways - with fried eggs, bacon, tomatoes, in fact whatever takes your fancy or that you have to hand that needs using up.

For a quick and tasty meal for the family try our recipe for PASTA WITH TUNA.

First of all, cook a 1 lb. (500g) packet of wholemeal fusilli pasta following the instructions on the packet. (Tesco sell a good one).

Now, while the pasta is cooking, lightly fry two medium sized chopped onions (red skinned ones are good) in a wok in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil When softened but not brown add one tablespoon tomato puree and two tins of chopped tomatoes. If you have any available, a small glass of wine added with the chopped tomatoes gives this dish a lovely ‘lift’. Cook for a few minutes. (The dish is still very tasty without the wine, so no panics!)
When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the tomato mixture in the wok. Then add two tins 185g size of Tuna, drained – use the type in sunflower oil, not the brine – too much salt is not good for you. For ease, break the tuna down into small pieces with a fork before mixing into the hot Pasta. Serve hot with a bowl of grated Parmesan cheese with perhaps a mixed salad. To save money here, you could use a tasty, mature Cheddar cheese.

Another serving suggestion is when the pasta is on the plate, make a hollow in the middle of the pasta with a spoon and fill with peas. Very pleasing on the eye - and a complete, tasty meal.

Getting right away from the usual salads, try this unusual PICK ‘N’ MIX SALAD recipe.

Just select whatever ingredients you have to hand, or which are cheapest and in season.

In a bowl mix together, chopped celery, finely sliced carrot(do this with the aid of the potato peeler, quickly taking thin, round slices from the top of the carrot), flaked almonds, sultanas, watercress, chopped pepper, halved seedless grapes, halved cherry tomatoes. Drizzle some olive oil over the top of these ingredients, mix in, serve and enjoy. This salad will keep for up to three days in the fridge and seems to improve on keeping (if it's not eaten before!). Tip - if you can make this salad an hour or two before serving, it improves after allowing the oil to soak in to the ingredients. This recipe from Guy in Norfolk. Many thanks.

For a tasty, hot meal try TUNA BAKE.

In a large, lightly oiled oven-proof dish about 2½” deep, arrange a layer each of sliced potatoes, carrots and onions. If you have them - a layer of frozen peas adds some colour to the dish. If you have a food processor use the slicing disk for the root vegetables.

The potatoes must be the first layer to form a base for the rest of the dish, followed by the onions and carrots.Then add a thick layer of drained tinned tuna – 2 cans (185g size) or more depending on the size of your dish and family. Flake this with a fork for ease of spreading. Add another layer of onions and carrots and the peas if you are using them. Then add a can of Campbell’s concentrated celery soup, diluted with no more than 1/2 a can of water. Top the dish with a layer of sliced potato neatly arranged in rows. There is no need to add additional salt - there is enough in the canned soup. Cover with oiled tin foil and cook for 1½ hours in a medium oven, 200°C. or until vegetables are tender. Serve with a green vegetable or green salad.

This meal is filling and a great way to save money.

SAVOURY OMELETTES can form the basis of quick supper meal. They are also a great way of using up leftovers. Create your own individual recipe!

For one person, whip two eggs together with salt and pepper. Put a small amount of olive oil into an omelette pan. Heat until almost smoky hot, pour in the egg mix and stir around until starting to set, then add your chosen filling. Flop half of the omelette over the other and allow to brown. Serve with a portion of the Pick N Mix Salad and some crusty bread or jacket potato.

Ring the changes with the following fillings:

1. Cheese and chives.
2. Cheese and parsley.
3. Spanish mix. Chopped onion, skinned, chopped tomatoes and garlic. Par cook this mix in the pan before adding the egg mix.
4. Chopped onion with garlic, cooked in the pan with very little olive oil before adding the egg mix can form the basis of an interesting omelette.
5. Any left over meat. Cold sausage finely sliced, small pieces of chicken etc. chopped cooked bacon.
6. Small portion of left over risotto.
7. Almost anything you need to use up – chopped spring onions, sweet corn, prawns, chopped courgettes and peppers (cook in the pan first). Tinned or fresh crabmeat, sardines, chopped, cooked potatoes,

Serve with a selection of vegetables or the Pick N Mix Salad.

Why not make your own POTATO WEDGES and save the expense of buying them? So easy to do. Take some Desiree potatoes, about three inches long, wash and quarter them length-wise. No need to peel. Dry on paper towelling. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil and a sprinkling of salt into a plastic bag. Add the potatoes, close the top of the bag firmly in your grip and shake until the potatoes are coated in oil. Tip into a shallow baking tray and bake in a hot oven until golden brown and cooked. These wedges would sit well with the omlettes above.

CHEAT'S RISOTTO. (For those in a hurry)

In a saucepan cook 10ozs. Long grain brown rice as per the instructions on the packet. To save money - Tesco do a very reasonably priced brown rice. For extra flavour cook the rice in vegetable stock made with a cube or a teaspoon of Vegemite or Marmite.

Now, while the rice is cooking, in a wok heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, add one red, chopped onion, 1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed. Cook until the onion looks transparent but is not browned.

Add any of the following: Chopped celery, chopped courgette, chopped pepper, finely sliced finger thick new carrots, tinned sweet corn, frozen peas. Add the raw vegetables first. They will take a few minutes to cook, then add peas and sweet corn. By this time the rice should be cooked. Strain and add to the wok. Mix in well. Your Cheat’s Risotto is done. This recipe freezes very well if you have enough left over for another day.

To get the children to eat Cheat’s Risotto, use just red sweet pepper, yellow sweet corn and green peas. Call it Traffic Light Rice and they should tuck in.

For more money saving tipsjust click hereand have a good read.

Do you know of a good tip? Why not pass it on to us via the Contact Us page

SLOW COOKER RECIPES. (CROCKPOT RECIPES).

It will pay to look around and you may well be able to save money by careful selection here. Take a look at some independent adviceand compare prices. A bonus is that manufacturers usually include a recipe book with their cooker.

In best money saving tradition, this one came via www.freecycle.org so try here first.

CHICKEN CASSEROLE.

Pre-heat your Slow cooker as in the manufacturers instructions and then follow this very simple recipe. Place thinly sliced carrots, onion, parsnip, chopped celery – or whatever vegetables you have to hand in the cooker. (In a Slow Cooker vegetables take longer to cook than meat.) Add either chicken breast portions or drumsticks (skin removed) sufficient for your family. Add three tablespoons of pearl barley that will bulk up the meal and take on the flavour of the chicken etc.and taste delicious. Cover with a gravy mix with some added Vegemite for flavour.

For a change, and a lighter looking meal, add a can of condensed chicken soup and any left over white wine or cider. Set the Slow Cooker to auto and just leave for 9 hours, or overnight on the cheap electricity until the meat is tender.

Wild rabbit, if you are lucky enough to get one, is excellent cooked in a slow cooker. Unless you have a friend who shoots, try your local Farmer's Market. Here it pays to shop around. Your local butcher often buys in rabbits from his 'local source', and you can guarantee the animals will be fresh.

Variation on the above recipe are:

BEEF WITH BEER, PORK WITH CIDER, LAMB WITH CHICKPEAS.

**NEW**
A good, cheap lamb recipe is for lamb neck fillets. Cut into small pieces, cooked with sliced carrots and onion, pearl barley, a tin of chopped tomatoes and some gravy mix. Depending on the quantity of lamb you buy, this total recipe should cost around £2.50 and feed 5 persons. Serve with sliced potatoes seeTip No. 5.

Gammon hocks are a cheap and easy meal that will save money. Try cooking with cider, celery, carrots and leeks. Serve with creamed potatoes.(Tip No.4)

For sauces in a Slow Cooker, Campbell's concentrated soups are ideal to use. Canned, chopped tomatoes are also a good addition. Also any wine, beer or cider - depending upon the type of meat - can also be used. A Slow Cooker is an absolute blessing. Quick, easy and time saving. Quite literally toss in the ingredients, switch on, forget it until it is time to eat.

As you sit and enjoy these recipes and the tips, whether alone with the radio, TV or a good book, with the family or in company of good friends, allow yourself an inner smile. Not only for the good meal, but that you have learnt not only how to save money, time and effort but have not sacrificed taste and quality.