Blog – Page 10 – The Food Wife

Feed Your Family for a Fiver

7th May 20248th May 2024
by thefoodwife

I promised Lisa at West Wilts Magazine that I would do a few recipes where you could feed a family of four for a fiver. Iâ€™ve gone with three meals with a Â£15 spend (priced using one of the big supermarkets beginning with T).

Where Iâ€™m using basic store cupboard ingredients I have assumed you already have these at home; salt, pepper, dried herbs and spices, oil and vinegar.

You wonâ€™t be using all the pasta, honey, mayo, salad cream, garlic, cabbage and carrots so although this was 51p over my Â£15 spend youâ€™ll have some ingredients left for another dayâ€¦

Shopping list:

500g Spaghetti Â£0.75

2x tins of Tuna Â£1.70

2 onions Â£0.28

Garlic Â£0.55

2x 500g Passata Â£1.10

12 Sausages Â£2.85

1kg Small Potatoes Â£0.99

Honey Â£1.20

1-1.2kg chicken wings Â£2.09

4 Baking potatoes Â£0.75

Cabbage Â£0.80

1kg Carrots Â£0.68

Mayonnaise Â£0.86

Salad cream Â£0.91

Â£15.51

Tuna Spaghetti

Serves 4

Iâ€™ve been making a version of this for the last 25 years. So simple to make and itâ€™s delicious – a crowd pleaser! Add chilli flakes if you like a little kickâ€¦

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (Olive) Oil

300-400g of spaghetti depending on appetites (gluten-free if required)

2 tins of tuna in Springwater, drained

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic sliced or crushed

1 tsp Herbes de Province/mixed herbs

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

2Ã—500g passata or 1x passata 1x tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Chopped Parsley to serve (optional)

Step 1: Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a heavy-based saucepan or frying pan, over a medium heat. Next add the garlic and onion and cook until softened.

Step 2: Add the dried herbs, chilli flakes (if using) and cook for 30 seconds. Add the passata (and chopped tomatoes if using) along with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Cook down for five minutes. During this time, get on with cooking the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.

Step 3: Add the tuna to the tomato sauce and stir through, cooking for a further five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Drain the cooked pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, add the pasta to the sauce adding a little of the reserved pasta water to loosen. Stir until everything is combined and then serve with a garnish of freshly chopped parsley, if desired.

Balsamic Glazed Sausage Tray Bake

Serves 4

I do love a â€˜shove it in the oven and then itâ€™s ready and deliciousâ€™ meal. Especially on a weeknight. Yes you do have to visit the oven a couple of times to add things but this only takes a minute.

You can serve this as it is, or add some extra veg if you like. We had it with a cauliflower cheese dish Iâ€™d picked up reduced to 29pâ€¦ bargain!

Ingredients:

10-12 sausages

800g small potatoes, quartered or large votaries cut into small chunks

4 carrots, cut into 1cm thick slices

1 tbsp oil

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c fan and get a high-edged baking dish ready.

Step 2: Spread the potatoes and carrots in a baking dish. Drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes.

Step 3: give everything a shake or mix with a spoon, spread back out and then add the sausages. Bake for a further 20 minutes.

Step 4: Mix the honey and balsamic vinegar together and then drizzle over everything and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Wings, Wedges and Slaw

Serves 4

We often have this winning combination, it such a crowd pleaser! The cat always has to be shut out of the room as he cannot resist trying to be a participant in the meal!

The great thing about this is that the wedges and the wings cook simultaneously while you make the slaw. You can just season the wings and wedges with salt and pepper but the world is your oyster for flavour if you desire. Add some dried herbs or spicy Cajun seasoning. I decided to use Cajun spices in both the chicken and the potatoes but added a big splodge of bbq sauce to the wings too.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1kg chicken wings

1/4 white/red cabbage

2 carrots

1 small red onion

2 heaped tbsp mayonnaise

1 heaped tbsp salad cream

4 baking potatoes, cut into wedges

Salt and Pepper

Vegetable oil

Step 1: Prepare two oven trays and preheat the oven to 200c (fan).

Step 2: Season the wings and wedges separately. Drizzle the wedges with 1tbsp of oil and use your hands to ensure theyâ€™re coated. Spread the wings and wedges on a tray each. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Step 3: Meanwhile make the slaw. Finely slice the cabbage, carrots and onions. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise and salad cream. Stir through the chopped vegetables, until coated.

Serve everything at the table and dig in!

Banana â€œCarrot Cakeâ€ Muffins

5th April 20245th April 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 12

These muffins, combine banana and carrot with spices to create a light and fluffy treat. These are super easy to whip up and will store for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

I used vanilla sugar in my mix, but if you donâ€™t have this use regular caster sugar, and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients. Happy baking!

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 large carrot, finely grated

280g self-raising flour

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp mixed spice

120g (vanilla) sugar

125g vegetable oil

2 eggs

60g natural/greek yoghurt (plant-based if dairy-free)

Step 1. Pre-heat the oven to 200Â°C (fan). Place 12 cases in a muffin pan.

Step 2: Loosely combine the banana, carrot, flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, mixed spice and sugar in a bowl.

Step 3: Next in a jug combine the oil, eggs and yoghurt.

Step 4: Lightly combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Keep mixing to a minimum, this is essential for a light muffin.

Step 5: Fill the 12 muffin cases to the brim. Bake in the oven at 200Â°C for eight minutes, then lower the temperature to 180Â°C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to three days.

One-pot Penne Puttanesca

2nd April 20242nd April 2024
by thefoodwife

Serves 2 (but easily scaled up)

Iâ€™ve become a big fan of one-pot pasta cooking. Essentially the pasta cooks in the sauce and the end result is a wonderfully flavoured pasta in about 20 minutes. And only one pan needs to be washed upâ€¦ result!

This sort-of Puttanesca can easily be adapted to be gluten-free and suitable for vegetarian or vegan diets (by omitting the anchovies/cheese).

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

4 anchovy fillets (leave out if making this vegetarian or vegan)

3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1/2 – 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tin of cherry tomatoes

150g penne (gluten-free if required)

3 tbsp pitted olives

2 tbsp capers

Chopped parsley and grated Parmesan/Grana Padano to serve

Step 1: Heat the oil in a large pan (which also has a lid) over a medium heat. Add the anchovies and cook for one minute, moving around the pan so they break up. Add the garlic and lower the heat slightly. Continue to stir. After another minute add the chilli.

Step 2: Add the tomato purÃ©e and cook for a further 30 seconds and then the tinned tomatoes. Add the dried pasta and 300ml of recently boiled water. Stir, bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Step 3: After 10 minutes add the olives and capers. Stir well, and replace the lid. Continue to cook, stirring and checking the pasta every 3-4 minutes. When the pasta is cooked (for me it took 18 minutes with the gluten-free pasta I was using) sprinkle with chopped parsley and then serve. Top with the grated cheese if you like.

Chicken & Tomato Rice Traybake

26th March 202426th March 2024
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

This one pan meal is so simple and very tasty. Use a seasoning of your choice on the chicken (just salt and pepper or I like to use a Cajun seasoning for an extra kick). Serves two hungry people (or it will stretch to more depending on appetites).

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thighs (skin-on, bone-in)

150g brown basmati rice

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Salt & pepper/seasoning

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c (fan). Place the four chicken thighs, skin side up in a deep roasting tin. Season the chicken with either salt and pepper or you could use a spice mix of your choice (I like a Cajun spice mix). Spread the rice around the chicken, ensuring it doesnâ€™t go on top of the chicken.

Step 2: Empty the tinned tomatoes into a 1L jug and then fill the empty tin with recently boiled water or hot vegetable/chicken stick and stir together. Carefully pour over the rice.

Step 3: Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Step 4: Check that the rice and chicken are cooked before serving, with a green salad.

Spiced Roasted Cauliflower Salad with a Yoghurt Dressing

26th March 202426th March 2024
by thefoodwife

Serves 2-4

This was a happy lunch, made when I looked in the fridge and saw a rather sad cauliflower, half a swede and a bit of savoy cabbage, that all needed using immediately or it would be going in the compost. Waste not want not!

The result, a spiced warm salad that was delicious! It would have served two people as it was or would stretch to four with the addition of a flatbread each on the side.

You can use whatever veg you have to hand to compliment the cauliflower. I had 1/2 a swede but a butternut squash would have been great too. If you had a sweet potato or peppers that needed eating they too could have joined in.

A great, one-pan, warming salad. Give it a go!

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower cut into florets about 2 inches long

1/2 butternut squash/swede peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

Red onion, sliced (fresh or pickled)

Coriander or flat leaf parsley

2 tbsp Pomegranate seeds

1 tbsp Olive oil

2 tbsp Ras Al Hanout

4 tbsp Plain yoghurt (vegan if required)

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180c (fan). Spread the cauliflower and butternut squash or swede, along with any other veg your using, onto a baking tray, drizzle with the oil and the ras al hanout (reserving 1 tsp for the yoghurt dressing). Toss together and bake for 50 minutes, giving everything a shake/turn half way through cooking.

Step 2: Mix together the yoghurt and reserved ras al hanout. Set to one side to use as the dressing.

Step 3: Allow the vegetables to cool a little and plate up when they are warm. Either dress one plate that everyone can help themselves from or plate up individually.

Step 4: Spread the warm vegetables on their serving plate and dress with a few slices of the red onion, the pomegranate seeds and a few torn parsley or coriander leaves. Finish by drizzling with the spiced yoghurt dressing.

Serve immediately.

Feed Your Family for a Fiver

Banana â€œCarrot Cakeâ€ Muffins

One-pot Penne Puttanesca

Chicken & Tomato Rice Traybake

Spiced Roasted Cauliflower Salad with a Yoghurt Dressing

Banana â€œCarrot Cakeâ€ Muffins