Eating cheaply but well

A recipe that is made regularly in this house has lentils and brown rice as a base, and uses up fridge-bottom veg. If I am pushed for time or there is no lurking veg I sometimes use a bag of frozen mediterranean veg. I add cheese, but if you are vegan or if that pushes it out of budget it could be left out. I use a pressure cooker, but I'm sure you could cook it on the hob in a pan, so long as you check regularly so that it doesn't stick.

The recipe makes four quite large portions depending on how many vegetables you use, so you might need to adjust quantities. You could leave out or substitute most ingredients if you don't like them or have similar ones to use up - just make sure that you get the ratio of rice and lentils to water right. Everything else is adjustable to taste. It will freeze.

* 1/2 red onion finely chopped
* 1/2 red pepper finely chopped
* mixed veg. Celery is good, as are carrots, leeks, aubergines, courgettes or whatever you like. There is no need to weigh the veg - just use as much or as little as you want to use up. One type or a mixture is ok - you really can't go wrong. If using frozen mediterranean veg, just use it straight from the bag - there is no need to defrost.
* 4 garlic cloves chopped, or a squirt of garlic puree
* 3/4 cup brown rice
* 3/4 cup brown lentils
* 2 1/2 cups water and a veg stock cube or stockpot
* 1 can chopped tomatoes 14 oz.
* chopped jalepinos to taste. I use about half a jar of the ones in brine, drained and chopped.
* 1 tbsp taco seasoning (I use a third of a pack of old el paso mix, but the main ingredient is paprika, so you could use a tablespoon of that if you have no taco seasoning in). The rest of the pack will keep to make two more quantities another day.
* 2 tsp dried oregano
* lots of black pepper
* a handful of grated cheese (I use mozzarella and parmesan, but you can use whatever you have in the fridge, or leave it out if preferred)
* a handful of chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Put it all except the cheese and coriander into the pressure cooker (water and tomatoes on the bottom) and set to 15 minutes on high pressure, then let the steam release for another 15 minutes and fast release any remaining steam. Stir in the cheese and add coriander to serve if using. Enjoy.

Jaxjacky

www.frugalfamily.co.uk/is-a-slow-cooker-really-cheaper-than-your-oven/
This does some sums, I use our slow cooker a lot. Thanks for the link Boz.

Useful lik thank you. I've just checked my electricity price per kwh and it's 27.090 pence per hour!

My spaghetti recipe:
half a tin of Easy Onions (spanish onions fried in olive oil) Morrisons have them. Freeze the rest.
Microwave for 10 mins then add a tin of tomatoes and half teaspoon of salt. Microwave for 15-20 minutes.
you can mix in some grated cheese after it has cooled a little if you want. don't put the cheese into it when it has just cooked, you will end up with chewing gum strings!
Meanwhile cook spaghetti and toss the sauce through. Yummy and a lot cheaper than cooking on the hob for hours.

that article assumes that the cook can afford the fuel cost or has the low power equipment....and saving pasta assumes a fridge or a freezer. so yes great for people who aren't in real poverty.

There are simple things to do for prolonging life of fresh food. I stopped putting cucumbers in the fridge years ago. Keeping them out keeps them fresh for quite a while. A tip I heard today was to put a piece of paper towel in a bag of lettuce once it is opened. I stopped using expensive pasta sauces a long time ago. Cheap tinned tomatoes with added garlic and Italian herbs plus the important squirt of tomato ketchup is so easy to make and so much cheaper.

Another one I make fairly regularly is a red lentil flan.

Line a flan dish with pastry and blind bake it. If you use wholemeal flour it will be even more healthy than white.

In a large frying pan, fry a large finely chopped onion until soft, adding garlic to taste. You could use ready-chopped frozen onion if preferred - it won't spoil the dish at all. Stir in 4-8 oz red lentils depending on the size of your flan dish, and roughly three times as much water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are cooked and a fairly thick 'mush'. Add more water as you go if necessary. When cooked, stir in Marmite to taste (start with a teaspoon and work up, as it is strongly flavoured), and 2-3 eggs. Pour into the prepared flan dish and bake for 15-20 mins in a medium oven. Take out and top with sliced tomatoes. You can cover the whole top or just make sure that each portion has at least one slice. Sprinkle grated Cheddar on top and return to the oven until the cheese has melted and the lentils have set. Eat warm or cold - the flavour is less intense when it's hot.

Again, you can miss off the cheese if you are serving vegans, but it does add flavour.

greenlady102

that article assumes that the cook can afford the fuel cost or has the low power equipment....and saving pasta assumes a fridge or a freezer. so yes great for people who aren't in real poverty.

I don't think this is about real poverty, so much as eating tasty food without spending a fortune, though.

I am re-visiting two recipe books from years ago "Frugal Food" by a young Delia Smith and "More for Your Money" by Shirley Goode & Erica Griffiths.

I have still a pandemic pantry's worth of lentils, dried legumes, and a variety of grains. I am actually adding to them as I shop.
I've read that there is already a shortage of barley and oats, as farmers can't get the fertilizer necessary to grow them.

Wheat? Cooking oil? Well we know there is already a shortage of it globally. There are very little products on the shelves that don't contain either wheat or oil, so watch the prices rise.
I stocked up on Basmati rice because of the shortage of it in India whose crops ( and workers) have suffered so much due to the extreme heat.

Those who have had longtime experience with stretching food without wasting a scrap of it, or those who had a bit of a crash-course due to the shortages during the pandemic and the resulting 'supply issues', will have an advantage, I think.

My DH doesn't like tomatoes or pasta, and thinks rice should be in puddings
I use my slow cooker a lot, but use my Mum's recipes from WW2 - where stews, pastry topping or mashed potato toppings ruled the day. Now the war in Ukraine has decimated the 'breadbasket of Europe' grain for flour and pasta is going to be pricy, so is meat as cattle food has already doubled in price.

GSM, is a slow cooker good for braising cabbage ?If sol how long woiuld it take to cook the cabbage, chopped onion, and chopped carrot until tender?

i have just eaten sauteed potatoes with braised cabbage with onion and carrot. I added chilli powder, VEG Oxo, and butter to the veg. It really was delicious. Lacked protein though.

Caleo

GSM, is a slow cooker good for braising cabbage ?If sol how long woiuld it take to cook the cabbage, chopped onion, and chopped carrot until tender?

I don't know about green cabbage, but it's perfect for red cabbage.

There will have to be food rationing with special allocation of National Dried Milk for babies.

I always make my own pasta/ tomato sauce. I try and use good quality tinned tomatoes ( like Mutti ) as a lot of the cheaper brands have citric acid added to them.

I make Felicity Cloake’s (Guardian) Bol mixture. It makes enough for two meals. I either turn it into a Lasagne - always enough left over for a second meal or a Bol. Leftovers from a Bol are turned into a Cottage pie. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a bottled sauce except something like tomato ketchup. When the children were small and I was a stay at home mum, I got into the habit of making everything from scratch and adding things to leftovers to make another meal. I suppose I’m still a bit like that now although we aren’t destitute!

Sorry Caleo just saw your post. I agree with growstuff, excellent for red cabbage but I have never tried green cabbage in it. I suspect it might end up a bit mushy and watery.

My small Lakeland slow cooker only needs a 3 amp fused plug so cannot use much power.

GSM re green cabbage slow cooker. I will have to just put it in a pyrex dish in the over, or slow on the hob. Thanks.

BTW I added a small handful mixed nuts to my braised cabbage, and it was really nice.