by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 24, 2025 | All Meal Plans, Dinners, Meal Plan 7
In meal plan 7 we have a cottage pie, a lasagna and spaghetti bolognese. All three recipes use the same easy ragu as a base. What do I need to make Beef Ragu – used 3 ways 500g beef mince. The 20% fat beef mince is usually cheapest, but 20% of it is fat –...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 12, 2024 | All Meal Plans, Meal Plan 14, Meal Plans For 4
The Fourteenth Meal Plan – wow, that’s three and a half months worth! Plus all the celebration and 5 day ones! This one, as per usual shows 3 meals a day, plus some cakey extras to fill any gaps, for 7 days, for 2 adults, and this time, two 15 year old...
by Thrifty Lesley | Apr 27, 2023 | All Meal Plans, Meal Plan 11, Meal Plans For 2
Weekly Meal Plan Eleven For this, our eleventh weekly meal plan for 2 adults, we base it around a whole chicken, bacon and lots of vegetables. As at 5th October 2024, you will need £31.60 in your purse at the checkout, but the amount of food actually consumed (if you...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jun 17, 2021 | All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Meal Plan 1
This post was first written in June 2013 and updated in June 2021. Delicious little lunchtime patties, if you aren’t at home, they could be eaten cold in a lunch box, or use the same ingredients to make a soup and take to work in a flask. How To Make Potato,...
by Thrifty Lesley | Dec 28, 2020 | All Recipes, Christmas, Dinners, Love Your Leftovers, Lunches
Brussel Sprouts that are already cooked Bubble and Squeak The first and most obvious way is in bubble and squeak. Take a few cooked sprouts and chop them into quarters, add a couple of roasties, chopped small, mash in a few cooked carrots and parsnips. Squidge...
by Thrifty Lesley | Mar 24, 2020 | All Recipes, Dinners, Meal Plan 1
This post was first written in June 2013 and updated in June 2021. This recipe is one of those extremely variable ones. You can bake this as a pie, leave the top of and bake as a bacon and sweetcorn tart, or steam it as a pudding and change the filling in a great many...
by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 22, 2019 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches
I’ve rewritten this post a bit, and taken some new pictures. Panzanella is gorgeous with very ripe, full flavoured summer tomatoes. In 2013, I tried Panzanella for the first time. I was looking through one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s books for inspiration for...
by Thrifty Lesley | Apr 3, 2019 | All Recipes, Bready Things, Dinners, Lunches
The U3A cookery group came round today. We have such fun, exploring recipes, stirring, tasting, baking and talking about flavours, options and possibilities. Not to mention the large amount of laughter and gossiping that goes on! This month, we made Peanut Butter...
by Thrifty Lesley | Dec 17, 2018 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches
This recipe was suggested by Ailsa Jones on the Facebook group. Look in the comments if you’d like to see the original recipe. I forgot the garlic and the smoked paprika mind, and they would both be lovely additions. Ingredients for Tomato & Bacon Pasta...
by Thrifty Lesley | May 3, 2018 | All Recipes, Dinners
This post was last revisited, repriced and updated in April 2018 Inspired by the Great British Budget Menu, I thought I would have a look at the Carbonara sauce recipe I use and see how much it costs. One of my favourite recipe books, and I have a few! is the Italian...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 28, 2017 | All Recipes, Breakfast, Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Round Up Post
I have made lots of different sandwich pastes and toast toppers. This round up post gathers together 8 of them. I’ve really liked each of them. They are quick and cheap to make, freeze well and can be used as sandwich fillers, toast toppers, jacket potato fillings and...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 13, 2016 | All Recipes, Breakfast, Less than 500 calories
Had a lovely twiddly play in the kitchen yesterday. Made some more Fruit & Nut Case paste. I had enjoyed the last of the previous batch on a couple of crispbread. Spread generously, and topped with value soft cheese, it was a glorious interval in a busy day. When...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 13, 2016 | Breakfast, Meal Plan 14, Round Up Post
I am a new convert to overnight oats, and I’m loving them. These are wonderful if you are time stretched. You can make up dishes ready to be topped, or a big bowl that can be used over several days, or directly in little pots ready to be topped and carried off...
by Thrifty Lesley | Apr 3, 2016 | All Recipes, Love Your Leftovers, Lunches, Other
This recipe was given to me by a friend, although, I must admit, she didn’t call it Dead Good Old Tarts. The name just popped into my head when I was wondering what to call them, so Dead Good Old Tarts it is 🙂 I have been looking at ways of using up bread for a...
