$50 fortnight

A sweet treat (or two ) to add to a cup of tea or coffee.

February 16, 2016

A few of you asked for something sweet when I did these menus in the past. I admit I do not eat a lot of sweet things, So for me to not have biscuits, cakes and chocolate is not a big deal. I have, however, acknowledged that many of you do crave a bit of sugar in your lives 🙂 so I came up with this 2-in-1 recipe that does not sacrifice all your eggs and butter as sweet treats.

I made this recipe by combining two basic recipes and diving the batter to create 8 little cornflake cookies and 6 fruit salad cupcakes. They are just enough to satisfy that 11:00am craving for “something” with that morning tea cuppa.

“Sweet Treats – 2 in 1 “
Makes 6 cupcakes & 8 Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 egg
¼ cup (62g) Butter
⅓ cup (74g) Sugar
¾ cup plus one tablespoon (120g) Self Raising Flour
Plus
½ cup Cornflakes
¼ cup canned fruit salad well drained
Milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced oven. Line muffin pan with papers
Place baking paper on a small baking pan
Place the ¼ cup of fruit salad in a strainer over a bowl and allow to drain well.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg and beat until well combined.
Add the flour and mix well.
Divide the batter into 2 bowls at this point.

In one bowl, add ½ cup cornflakes. Mix gently and divide into 8 small teaspoonful’s. (they should be about the size of a 50c piece, they will spread a bit in the oven)
Place on the baking sheet, press down slightly to flatten and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar. (the sugar will add a sweet crunch to the top of the biscuit)

In the second bowl, lightly stir together the remaining batter, adding the fruit and a little bit of milk if it needs it. (maybe at most 2 tablespoons)
Spoon into muffin cases.
Place both pans into the oven. Check after 15minutes. The biscuits should be ready, while the cupcakes may be needing another few minutes.
Remove biscuits from oven and allow to cool. When the cupcakes are ready, remove from oven, leaving them in the muffin pans for 2 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool

$50 Shopping list and Menus for Feb 14-27th

February 12, 2016

Here is the shopping list and menus for a $50 fortnight.
(Click here to see a large version of the Coles Shopping List )

1 Loaf Multigrain Bread
1 doz eggs
250g Butter
3 litres milk
6pack Frozen crumbed fish
1kg Frozen Mixed Vege
200g pack 4 leaf salad mix
2 Brown onions
2 Carrots
3 large ( 170g each) Potatoes
200g Green Beans
2 Tomatoes
1 Fresh Corn
500g Beef Mince
500g Boneless Pork Pieces
1.25kg Chicken Drumsticks
250g Bacon
200g Cheddar Cheese
420g Can Baked Beans
500g pack Corn Flakes
400g Can Tinned Tomatoes
825g Can Fruit Salad
500g Spiral Pasta
1kg Self Raising Flour
1kg White Sugar

TOTAL $50.35

Click here to see the menu full size and download it.

Calorie King calculated it as being a little too low in calories, 🙁 with week one averaging 1498 a day and week two averaging 1522. I know from past experience though that I will not be hungry on this.

The “sweet treats” are yet to be baked, but I am planning on Cornflake cookies and a basic cupcake with a bit of fruit inside.

$50 Fortnight Week 2 Days – 1&2

September 26, 2015

Two days menus here in this post.

I am getting through the food basket I have put aside for these challenges. I am more than confident that there is plenty of food to last the week.

I am working on the next fortnight’s shopping list and menu plan as well. I am hoping to get these posted in the next day or so.

So, on the last couple of days meals.

Day 1
Breakfast.
Scrambled eggs today. ( You know I love my eggs )

Lunch
Pasta with Bacon, Tinned Tomato and the last remnants of the packet of mixed vege.

Dinner
Potato Frittata.
I always think that “Frittata” is such a fancy name for what is basically eggy potato bake 🙂
Most traditional recipes make frittata in a pan and then finish under a hot grill. While I have made them this way, I invariably end up breaking the frittata trying to turn it out. I prefer to make the dish in a small casserole dish an oven.

Slice a large potato as finely as possible.
In a jug or bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk and 1 cup of grated cheese.
Butter the bottom of a small oven proof dish and place a layer of potato.
Pour over a little of the egg/cheese mixture. Add another layer of potato.
Repeat. Make the layers thin, you want lots of layers with a little egg/cheese mix between each layer.
When you have used up all your ingredients ( try to finish with a potato layer.) Dab over a bit of butter and place in a 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is tender.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a it before running a knife around the edge of the dish and turn out onto a plate.

Day 2

Breakfast
Baked Beans on Toast

Lunch
Leftover Frittata

Dinner
A new recipe that I found online and adapted to what I had.
I made this for both the Man of the House and myself and allowed enough left over for a lunch the next day as well.

This is my Roasted Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry on Rice. (serves 2-3)
Cut pumpkin into approximately 2cm cubes ( you want about 3 cups of pumpkin cubes) and place into a hot oven for about 15 minutes or until tender and just starting to brown

Meanwhile, in a pan melt a tablespoon of butter and sautee off a diced onion and a level tablespoon of curry powder. Add a tin of undrained chickpeas.
Stir until the liquid comes to the boil, then lower the heat until the liquid reduces to a “saucy” consistency.
Add in the roasted pumpkin, stirring gently so as to not break up the pieces.

Serve on rice.

This is going to be a very versatile recipe. For those not on as strict budget as $25 per week, add chicken, meatballs or even sausages cut into pieces the same size as the pumpkin. Some baby spinach leaves would be good added and allowed to wilt down just before you add the pumpkin.
Top with a good dollop of sour cream or yogurt

$50 fortnight Week 1- Days 6&7 $25 menu Week 3 Days 6&7

September 21, 2015

Hello to all my lovely followers.

This is another catch up post to bring us up to the end of last week.

$50 menu Day 6

Breakfast
Baked Beans on Toast

Lunch
Left Over Tex Mex Rice Slice

Dinner
Chicken , vege and pasta

$50 Menu – Day 7

Breakfast
Poached Eggs on Toast

Lunch
Cheese Salad Sandwich

Dinner
Tuna Filled Spud

25 menu Day 6

Breakfast
Porridge
Lunch
Cheesy Pasta Bake.
This turned out really yummy.
In a pot I boiled 1/2 cup of pasta and 1/2 cup of mixed vege until not
quite cooked ( about 6 minutes)
In a separate pan I sauteed a bit of onion in some butter and
then added about a 1/4 of a cup of milk and the last of the cheese sauce sachet.
Stir until a thick sauce is made.
Pour the cheese over the drained pasta and vege.
I then placed a few slices of tomato into the bottom of a buttered dish
and loaded the cheesy pasta mix over. Press down firmly and bake in a
180 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.
Allow to cool a little before running knife around the outside and turning out
onto a plate. Serve with salad if desired.
Dinner
Filled Spud
This spud just had vege cheese and bacon.

$25 menu Day 7
Breakfast
Baked Beans on Toast

Lunch
Tuna, vege and pasta in soup/sauce
Boil up the pasta and veges until al dente.
Drain and add the tuna and a cup-a-soup made up
in less water so it forms a sauce.

Dinner
Bacon and Cheese Burger

$50 fortnight Week1 – Day 5 and Week 3 – Day 5

September 17, 2015

$50 Fortnight Week 1 – Day 5

Breakfast
Souffle Omelette
I really enjoy souffle omelettes. The fluffiness of the eggy mixture coupled with a bit of cheese and veges is just a joy to start the day with 🙂 It just seems so much more than 1 egg.

Lunch
Quiche.
If I had given this day’s meal plan more thought, I would not have quiche after having eggs for breakfast.

Dinner
“Tex Mex Rice Slice”
I invented this combination a week or so ago when I discovered the range of rice and pasta sachets in Woolworths. One of the rice varieties is Mexican Rice. I loved the idea of having beef with it, but Mince is expensive from the supermarket so I did not think I was going to be able to do this until I could build up a stockpile. Then I found the Meat Sauce. 🙂 So my Tex Mex Rice Slice was born.

Recipe (using the Mexican Rice sachet)
In a pot, make up the rice as per the instructions.
Once the rice has finished cooking, allow to cool slightly.
Microwave or boil a cup of mixed veges. Add to the cooked rice along with
1/2 cup or so of meat sauce.
Add in 2 eggs which have been lightly beaten.
Mix well and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes.
or until well set.
Allow to cool a little before cutting and serving with salad.

OR
Recipe ( using plain white rice and a sachet of Taco Seasoning)
In a pot, melt 2 teaspoons of butter, add rice and stir until the rice is well coated in butter.
Add 1/2 packet of Taco Seasoning mix stir well to combine all.
Add 300ml of water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer until the rice is cooked.

Once the rice has finished cooking, allow to cool slightly.
Microwave or boil a cup of mixed veges. Add to the cooked rice along with
1/2 cup or so of meat sauce.
Add in 2 eggs which have been lightly beaten.
Mix well and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes.
or until well set.
Allow to cool a little before cutting and serving with salad.

I am going to make this again with brown rice and minced beef. It would be really lovely served with avocado and a good dollop of sour cream.

$25 Menu Week 3 – Day 5

Breakfast
Porridge ( Again i don’t cook this)

Lunch
“Pizza”
Bread spread with a bit of the tomato sauce from
the tin of baked beans then topped with chopped bacon, onion and cheese.
Grill until the cheese is melted and everything is hot.

Dinner
Tuna Rissoles withe Vege and Salad.