by Thrifty Lesley | Feb 1, 2024 | All Recipes, Dinners, Stretch A Chicken
How to stretch a chicken to last the whole week Do I need to buy a whole chicken? Buying a whole chicken and jointing it yourself is cheaper than buying ready jointed chicken pieces. If you are going to roast a chicken, then a whole one is much nicer to present at the...
by Thrifty Lesley | Mar 27, 2023 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches
I bought a 200g packet of smoked mackerel fillets and wondered how I could stretch them into lovely meals for 2. The first one I tried was this recipe for mackerel pâté that is super simple and very delicious. What do I need to make mackerel pâté smoked mackerel...
by Thrifty Lesley | Mar 24, 2023 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches
A mixed vegetable quiche is a classic British dish that comes out very cheap with a bit of frugalisation. If you think quiche or flan sounds like something your granny makes, you could always call it a tart and feel all contemporary. If you decide to use the oil...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 20, 2022 | All Recipes, Dinners, Stretch A Chicken
Got a little bit of chicken to use up? Try it in this spicy pasta bake- make it as hot and spicy as you like! What do I need to make Spicy Chicken Pasta To make 4 servings Pasta Bake ▢ 120 g cooked chicken around 150g if using raw chicken ▢ 150 g onion ▢ 2 tsp oil ▢ 1...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 17, 2022 | All Recipes, Dinners, Stretch A Chicken
Pizza is one off the worlds favourite foods for at least 1000 years, loved, and made, by millions. Pizza toppings can make a meal from little things leftover in the fridge, or as here, from chicken left after a roast. Homemade Pizza Dough Mix the pizza base...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 17, 2022 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories, Stretch A Chicken
This recipe is part of a series on stretching a chicken to the max. I took one medium chicken of 1.5kg and made it feed a family of 4 for a week, with 7 different budget stretching chicken recipes. I roasted the chicken, had a roast lunch with my husband, then...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 17, 2022 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories, Meal Plan 11, Stretch A Chicken
Risotti are incredibly useful to use up all kinds of bits and pieces. Or, as here, using leftover roast chicken and a couple of vegetables to make something truly delectable. How to make Italian chicken risotto This leftover chicken risotto uses meat leftover from a...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 29, 2021 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories, Meal Plan 2
Post first written in September 2013. Refreshed and updated November 2021. This recipe makes a generous portion of pasta, dressed with olives, tomato puree and soft cheese. Very quick to make, just taking as long as the pasta does to cook through. How To Make This...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 27, 2021 | All Recipes, Cakes and Bakes, Less than 500 calories, Meal Plan 12, Meal Plan 14, Meal Plan 2, Meal Plan 9
Post originally published October 2013, refreshed and updated November 2021 These little biscuits are fun to make, especially if you make tiny hearts or teeny squares. Spice them up with cinnamon or mixed spice at Christmas time. Or see the variations for masses of...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 21, 2021 | All Recipes, Dinners
Post first written in July 2013, refreshed and updated in November 2021. Tomatoes, red lentils and a few spices made into dhal and served with brown rice. Quick, very cheap, and easy – what’s not to like? I like the dahl just on its own, but it would go well with a...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 21, 2021 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Meal Plan 2
First written in August 2013, refreshed and updated in November 2021. I wanted to try a couscous salad that I have been doing for a while and see if I could get it sub 50p. Well, it worked out at 71p for the dish in the picture, and there is plenty there for two, so...
by Thrifty Lesley | Sep 30, 2021 | All Recipes, Lunches
This post was originally written in October 2014 and refreshed and updated in October 2021. A delicious way of using up carved Halloween pumpkin insides – a gently spiced, coconut pumpkin soup. I am a little confused today. I went to a WI garden group meeting...
by Thrifty Lesley | Sep 24, 2021 | All Recipes, Bready Things, Breakfast, Cakes and Bakes, Less than 500 calories, Meal Plan 2, Meal Plan 4
This post was first written in October 2013. Re-written and refreshedin September 2021. If you take 250g flour, some yeast and water, you can add many, many different things to it and get a lovely loaf, with 4 portions, to use for any meal, as an anytime snack or...
by Thrifty Lesley | Sep 16, 2021 | All Recipes, Dinners, Meal Plan 1, Meal Plan 12
This post was first written in June 2013 and updated in June 2021. These falafel are pan fried and served with a super simple salad of carrot and peanuts. Add differing spices to ring the changes What do I need to make pan fried falafel To make enough for 2, you will...