I’ve had a little play with the shopping list ingredients, shared them out over the 7 days and this is what I’m thinking of at the moment
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | ||
| day 1 | porridge | lentil burgers with oriental salad | chicken casserole with dumplings | |
| day 2 | pancakes with peanut butter, soy sauce, chilli | ind pie of lentils, onion, sprouts, cabbage, carrots, oil, soy | stir fry with noodles | |
| day 3 | cabbage pancakes, chilli sauce | lentils & veg salad with chilli sauce & soy | chicken casserole with dumplings | |
| day 4 | porridge | ind pie of lentils, onion, sprouts, cabbage, carrots, oil, soy | stir fry with noodles | |
| day 5 | pancakes with peanut butter, soy sauce, chilli | chicken soup | chicken with coconut & peanut butter sauce | |
| day 6 | cabbage pancakes, chilli sauce | lentils & veg salad with chilli sauce & soy | savoury oats, roast veg | |
| day 7 | porridge | chicken soup | chicken with coconut & peanut butter sauce | |
| Cakes & Bakes | ||||
| oaty biscuits, plain scones , Bannocks with roasted veg hoummous | ||||
I’ve got the lentils soaking in a saucepan, I’ll be cooking them tomorrow and starting to test the ideas here.
On Monday, I went to Uckfield Radio, a very local radio, to talk about Thrifty Lesley. The studios are in a beautiful rural situation at the picturesquely named Bird In Eye farm. Also on the site is a farm shop. So I had to go and have a look didn’t I!
I got a lovely little bit of beef to slow cook. We had some of that yesterday with veg and mash and we’ll have the other tomorrow as a cottage pie. It was super tasty, a beautiful bit of local East Sussex beef. When cutting up the beef this afternoon to make the cottage pie, I separated the fat, put it in a small saucepan, and gently rendered it down. So now I have a simply delicious little dish of the most glorious dripping. Once the fat had all rendered out, there were half a dozen little crispy morsels left in the pan. They disappeared smartish in the direction of my mouth and mmmmm sounds ensued.
I also got a MacSween haggis
It can actually be purchased from Amazon, maybe just in January. My local butcher does it, and a vegetarian version too. If you haven’t got a butcher to get it from, and you would like some, here is the Amazon Link
I had a quarter for dinner this evening with a jkt potato and some veg. It was absolutely delicious, and very filling. As I was enjoying it, I was wondering if I could work it in to a Thrifty Lesley budget. It has such a strong, spicy flavour, it would work well in many dishes, and a little would go a long way. Like a spicy sausage.
You could use it instead of chicken in a haggis and onion pie, which would be gorgeous. MacSweeny’s site recommends using it in scones, which sounds lovely, or with raita in pitta which would be fab for lunch. Or you could make a tapas style dish of fried potatoes and haggis, sprinkle little bits on pizza, maybe with caramelised onions, in a risotto with little bits of caramelised, roasted swede. So there are lots of lovely ideas you can do with it and keep to a £1 budget.
Just thought the tons were your way of saying ‘loads’ !
Sounds yummy. I’m working my way through a very full freezer and store cupboard, or I’d be down the butcher getting a haggis They have McSweens all the year round
Even I haven’t got a pan big enough for 4 tons, obviously 4 tins. Blame arthritis and pudgy fingers
Oh I also added four tons of tomatoes!
Hello Lesley, I’ve recently discovered your wonderful blog. Your recipes will be featuring in my meal plans. Haggis is a wonderful ingredient as it has such a strong flavour. In my kitchen there is a haggis ragu pleepsing on the stove.I have used 3 large onions, 4 very large carrots and a McSweens 454g haggis. From this I will get a shepherd’s pie mith a topping of bashed neeps (swede) and tatties, and a lasagne. Both will serve 3 adults for dinner with left overs for lunch. Not bad from £1.50 Haggis.
Is turnip in Scotland what we call swede in England? I love both swede and turnip. While I’ve got haggis, I could have it the traditional way couldn’t I. I’ve got plenty still to try different things with.
I’ve just read that someone buys it in January and freezes it for use through the year. I might get a couple more from the butcher and pop them in the freezer
alESLEY IN SCOTLAND WE ALWAYS HAVE MASHED TURNIP AND MASHED POTATOS WITH HAGGIS TURNIP GOES EXTRA WELL WITH HAGGIS. SOMETIMRES TURNIP CAN HAVE A STRONG FLAVOUR BUT I USUALLY PUT IN A SPOT OF CREAM DELICIOUS
Thank you for another plan, Lesley, and with lots of lentils, yummy!