Budget Bites: Hobnobs (3p each)

As James will tell anyone I’m a complete biscuit addict – they’re my favourite food and I love them in the afternoon with a cup of tea. I decided to make one of my favourite varieties; hobnobs!

The sweet, oaty crunch you get with a hobnob is perfect!

This recipe makes 28 chunky biscuits and they price up at 3p each or 85p for the batch.

Ingredients:

225g self raising flour – 7p
225g sugar – 18p
225g porridge oats – 16p
225g margarine – 38p
1tbsp golden syrup – 5p
1tbsp hot water - free
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda – 1p

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and oats together.
3. In a pan, on a low heat, melt the margarine, syrup and water. Once it’s completely melted add the bicarbonate of soda.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the melted mixture in. Stir well until all of the ingredients are combined in a sticky, oaty ball.
5. Take little handfuls and roll into small balls and place onto a greased baking tray.
6. Once all the mixture has been made into balls, flatten each one either with your hand or a fork.
7. Put into the oven on a middle shelf for around 15  minutes. The biscuits should be a golden colour, not brown when they are ready.
8. Enjoy!

These biscuits are delicious and keep well in an air tight container for at least a week (if they last that long!).

They make the perfect addition to an afternoon tea break!

**Biscuits can be bought for cheaper than this but I bet they don’t taste half as delicious and are probably full of chemical ingredients.**

Budget Bites: Mackerel Kedgeree (49p per portion)

 

The sunny weather seems to have spurred Dotty and Maggie (our hens) into egg-laying action! We’ve had 2 eggs each day since Thursday so I wanted to use some up for our evening meal. I also had a pack of two smoked mackerels that needed using up today. What better recipe to make with fish and eggs than kedgeree?

Mackerel is a firm favourite in our house. We usually have it once a week in some form or another to make sure we’re on the way to getting our Omega oils quota. It is quick and easy to cook with but is also one of the cheapest oily fish varieties. We also love salmon but usually I just can’t justify the price.

This recipe serves 4 (it served us as a main meal each and there was leftover for one of us for lunch the next day). It cost £1.94 to make or 49p per portion. However, if using shop bought eggs it would’ve cost £2.25 or 57p per portion (still great value!).

**All costings are done using budget or basic brands from Sainsburys or Aldi**

 

Ingredients:

• 1tbsp oil (I used vegetable oil) – 3p
• 1 onion, finely chopped – 6p
• 125g rice, cooked – 7p
• Pack of 2 smoked mackerel - £1.61
• 50g frozen spinach (or a good few handfuls of fresh spinach) – 8p
• 2tsp curry powder – 9p
• 2 eggs – free (from our hens)
• Optional: sprinkle of coriander (I had some leftover in the freezer so used a little bit)

Method:

1. First, hard boil the eggs and cook the rice as per the packet instructions.
2. Whilst the eggs and rice are bubbling away, flake the mackerel flesh into a bowl and discard the skin (or give to the cat that’s staring longingly up at you – which is what I did!).
3. Once the eggs have boiled, cool in cold water and peel when ready.
4. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and gently fry off the onions for about 5 minutes. Then add in the frozen spinach, stirring until defrosted and mixed with the onions.
5. Add the cooked rice and the curry powder and mix well until all the ingredients as distributed evenly.
6. Mix in the mackerel and cut the eggs into chunks then add in.
7. Finish by sprinkling in the coriander, if using, and plating up.

I served ours with green beans and seasoned James’ and my meal with salt and pepper for extra flavour.

This meal was really tasty and filling and a great way to use things up.

(I’ve just noticed that there are four eggs in the pictures above – I used two for the meal and boiled up an extra two for James’s packed lunch tomorrow.)