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This week I am starting a new years resolution, a bit late but what the hay? I am about to embark on a quest…to boldly go where no icklehelen has gone before…to save money.

I have never been good at economising, my efforts of saving money always tend to end up having the reverse effect.

I recently spent a small fortune in the Next Sale. While in the store foraging up and down the busy isles I was convinced I had enough to wear for the whole season…YAY MEEE!!! (sorry I have to watch way too much of the Disney channels  “suite life of zac and cody” than is healthy for an adult).

Anyway…

In the cold light of day what I actually had was 4 articles of clothing which didn’t fit (my logic while in the shop was I was going to diet?) , a couple of rather boring jumpers that make me look like a granny and a rather *special* pair of jade coloured skinny jeans, hmmm..cant think why they ended up in the sale rail?!

But you see, I can’t resist a “bargain“ even if said bargain stays hiding at the back of my wardrobe for six months before being hauled out for charity.

I am so popular with those folk that post the charity plastic bags through the door that they always leave me 2!

And I am possibly worse with food.

I really like too cook and big J really likes to eat and I am just no good at what my mum call’s  “cheap dinner nights”.

It always starts out well with a plan to make something like egg and chips but I end up coming back from the shops with a leg of lamb ( a total bargain with a whole £2.00!! off  and all the ingredients for garlicky potatoes and chocolate cake! (well in  all fairness I did use the eggs..and the potatoes!)

So I guess you could say that up until now I have been pretty much a lost cause, and a source of endless family jokes. But I really do want to change, with the times the way they are and the real need for a bigger house looming (Milly still sleeps in daddy and mummy’s room through lack of space, fun now… but when she’s 5? not so cute) I feel like I have to grow up and get with the program…the Economize and live in the real world program!

So this is plan/challenge A – go to the super market at around 4.30 daily (when they reduce the food about to go off…. yum!  and find stuff to make that nights meal… I have only £5.oo to feed all 5 of us.

And this is the first, I am going to try and leave a recipe dairy here everyday for the whole week, to maybe share ideas and also to keep me on the frugal straight and narrow. If I have to fess up to you guys daily I am less likely to cheat ;D

So hear it is, some of the ingredients I had already in and I have listed them as store cupboard items, hopefully thats not cheating too much. Your one time big spender, Helen xxx

** Oh and just a little icklebabe update for you, I have been working with big j on a lovely new retro style site and I have decided to come up with all new pretty things (hopefully) to match, these are the first off the production line/kitchen table ;D hope you like them!, matching artwork and other stuff coming soon….**

Minty Lamb Kofta style meatballs

I packet of minced lamb (£2.10 from the “use by tomorrow“) section

1 tin of value plum toms (52p)

2 onions (15p approx)

2 cloves of garlic (15p approx)

1 tin of chick peas (59p)

A little over a 1/4 of a pack of Halloumi cheese cut into little cubes ( £1.00 approx )

From store cupboard-

2 teaspoons of dried mint,

1 teaspoon of dried oregano,

1 teaspoon of lazy chilli paste,

1 tablespoon of tomato puree,

250 g couscous,

300ml of chicken stock (I used sainsbos basics cubes, 12p for a box),

100ml of milk,

A couple of nobs of butter

First blitz the onions garlic, chilli and oregano in a hand blender until it forms a paste, then put half the mixture in a pan along with a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter  and fry on a really low heat for 5 -10 mins being careful that the mixture doesn’t catch (it should not go brown).

Put the other half of the mixture to one side, and blitz the bread with hand blender to make bread crumbs , add it to the minced lamb along with 1 teaspoon of mint, halloumi cheese, egg and the other half of the garlicky chilli onion paste.

Then blitz the toms with hand blender and add to the pan along with 1 tablespoon of tom puree and 100ml of water, cook gently for another 10mins.

Once all the meatballs are in add a touch of salt and pepper and cook uncovered for 25 mins.

While thats cooking and towards the end of cooking time, make the couscous. In Aa large bowl add hot stock to the couscous along with a teaspoon of mint and a good nob of butter and the drained chick peas. Place a plate on to of the bowl and just let the couscous cook for five mins, after that time fluff it up with a fork and serve it with the meat balls…

YUM! my first frugal triumph! .. yay mee! (clapping hands London Tipton stylie ) …. sorry again ;D

Tags: budget cookery, cheap dinners, cookery, family food, meat balls, The Recession

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 5:00 pm and is filed under Craft, Misc, family life, food, parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.