Money Saving Recipes for Teachers on a Budget!

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Hello everyone, 


I don’t know about you but I recently had a really difficult maths problem delivered to my house. At least, that’s what I assume because my energy bill, despite rising by 50%, seemed to have increased by around 175% based on an estimate that used one data point as a reference. 


Honestly, I don’t know what maths these companies use but it is beyond my humble brain. Anyway, I know I am not the only one caught up in this fun new cost-of-living chapter of The 2020’s: Decade from Hell reality TV series we all seemed to have signed up to so I thought that this week I would share some money-saving recipes with you all.



Teachers need to eat. But we don’t have any time and convenience is costly, not only on our wallets but also on our health. This week’s blog post, written with a lot of help from my amazing wife (@lauren_headley), contains enough recipes to see you through an entire half term with a different meal every week.


Now, some caveats. Three of these meals require a slow cooker (you can pick them up fairly cheaply from places like Lidl and Aldi). I am assuming that you are okay with eating the same thing for lunch every day of the week (I do). I am assuming you eat meat (although the meat in the meals could be switched out daily easily; just make sure you’re getting your protein from somewhere - you need your health!).


With those things in mind, the only thing left to say is that all of the recipes are in metric, so apologies to my American readers. A quick Google search will give you cups and ounces.


Let me know if you try any of these recipes; really let me know if you like them. They all cost less than £15 for the whole week (at the time of writing) and really will provide you with five good portions. They’re also pretty healthy and will fit in well with pretty much any of the weight-loss club schemes (Weight Watchers, Slimming World etc.), if that’s important.


My podcast this week will be looking into money saving ideas that you can actually use (anyone else fed up with being told to order one less coffee a week?). So if that is something that is of interest to you, head over to mrmsmusings.com and click on The Podcast tab.




Chicken with Butter Beans

You will need (for 5 servings):

  • 10 chicken thighs (filleted, skin-off)
  • 1 tins butter beans
  • 1/2 tube tomato puree
  • 1/2 pack green beans
  • 3 medium carrots
  • 1/2large brown onion
  • 2 cloves garlic (or 1tsp garlic powder)
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp sugar


Method:

  1. Brown the chicken thighs in a frying pan - not for too long, you’re just looking to seal in the juices.
  2. Finely chop the onion and garlic - then fry until transparent (you can use the same pan as the chicken… but remove the chicken first).
  3. Chop the carrots and green beans into 1cm chunks (roughly, you don’t need to get a ruler out!).
  4. Pour everything into the slow cooker and give it a gentle stir.
  5. Set the slow cooker to cook overnight.


This is delicious on its own or served with skin-on mashed potato. It’ll freeze quite happily or keep it in the fridge for up to a week.



Chicken Potacchio

You will need (for 5 servings):

  • 10 chicken thighs (filleted, skin-off)
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 large brown onion
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Dried chilli flakes
  • Rosemary


Method:

  1. Brown the chicken thighs in a frying pan - not for too long, you’re just looking to seal in the juices.
  2. Finely chop the onion and garlic - then fry until transparent (you can use the same pan as the chicken… but remove the chicken first).
  3. Zest and juice the lemon and add to around 175ml of chicken stock.
  4. Pour everything into the slow cooker and give it a gentle stir.
  5. Set the slow cooker to cook overnight.


Again, this goes very well with skin-on mashed potato and you can also bulk out the serving size with a portion of broccoli or other vegetable of your choice.


Bolognese

    You will need (for 5 servings):

    • 1kg minced beef (5% fat)
    • 1 kg mushrooms
    • Porcini mushrooms*
    • 1 large brown onion
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 1 tube tomato puree
    • 3 or 4 medium carrots
    • 1 beef stock cube
    • 1 tsp sugar


    Method:

    1. Wash and chop all the mushrooms into tiny pieces. This can be done by hand but a food processor works just as well. Use the pulse setting and chop five or six mushrooms at a time. You’re looking for small chunks (1-2 mm), not a paste!
    2. Chop the onion and garlic as small as you can - the smaller the better but don’t use the food processor!
    3. Fry the onions and garlic in a pan until transparent then add the beef.
    4. When nice and brown, transfer everything to a large saucepan (I use a spaghetti pan).
    5. Pour all the mushrooms into the frying pan with the carrots and cook until they halve in size (they really will disappear!).
    6. While the mushrooms are cooking, add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, sugar and carrots to the large saucepan/spaghetti pan and give it a stir. Simmer until the mushrooms are ready.
    7. Stir the mushrooms and carrots into the large saucepan/spaghetti pan.


    Add this delicious bolognese sauce to whatever pasta you choose. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week, or you can freeze it. I would always prepare fresh pasta though (not homemade, just freshly prepared!)


    Lasagna

      You will need (for 12 servings - you might want to freeze half this one!):

      • 1kg minced beef (5% fat)
      • 1 kg mushrooms
      • Porcini mushrooms*
      • 1 large brown onion
      • 3 cloves garlic
      • 1 tube tomato puree
      • 3 or 4 medium carrots
      • 1 beef stock cube
      • 1 tsp sugar
      • Lasagna sheets (dried is fine)
      • Cheese to taste (parmesan is delicious, cheddar will work just fine).

      Oven: 190℃ / 180℃ (fan) / 350℉ / Gas Mark 4


      Method:

      1. Make a bolognese sauce (see previous recipe).
      2. In an ovenproof dish (ideally rectangular), spoon in enough of the bolognese to cover the base, then add enough lasagna sheets to cover. Continue layering bolognese and pasta sheets until no more will fit.
      3. Sprinkle with grated cheese and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.


      This lasagna is delicious on its own and even better as left-overs; however, you might want to make more of a meal out of it by adding some vegetables. I really recommend broccoli but anything you like will do!


      *These dried mushrooms are absolutely delicious and often on sale in shops like Lidl. To prepare them, add around eight dried mushrooms to a mug of hot water to rehydrate them, then chop and use as normal.


      Bechamel Sauce (for Lasagna)

      If you want a top layer of white sauce (called bechamel), you will need:

      • Plain Flour ~ 50g
      • Butter ~ 50g
      • Milk ~ 500ml
      • Grated cheese ~ 50g

      (I can’t give you exact measurements for this because I have only ever ‘eyeballed’ it!)


      Method:

      1. In a saucepan, melt the butter.
      2. Add the flour and stir together until you have made a paste.
      3. Add a little of the milk and stir until it has been absorbed.
      4. Keep adding the milk little by little until all the paste has dissolved.
      5. When the past has completely dissolved, add the rest of the milk and bring to the boil. Keep stirring though; it’ll stick to the pan otherwise!
      6. When the solution is boiling, turn off the heat and sprinkle in the grated cheese. Stir it in until it has completely melted.
      7. Add this to the very top layer of the lasagne. Do not add any pasta sheets above it; just more grated cheese!


      Tuna Pasta Bake

        You will need (for 5 servings):

        • 2 or 3 tins tuna
        • 1 head of brocolli 
        • 1 large brown onion
        • 3 cloves garlic
        • 1 tube tomato puree
        • 1 tsp sugar
        • 500g pasta shapes (your choice)
        • Grated cheese to taste (parmesan is delicious, cheddar will work just fine).

        Oven: 190℃ / 180℃ (fan) / 350℉ / Gas Mark 4


        Method:

        1. Boil the pasta in a very large pan until you can easily bite it in half*.
        2. While the pasta is boiling, finely chop the onion and garlic, and roughly chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
        3. Drain the pasta and add the tuna, onion, broccoli, tomatoes, sugar and some of the cheese (if you like) to the pan. 
        4. Give everything a stir and transfer to an oven-proof dish.
        5. Top with the rest of the grated cheese and bake for around 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.


        *If you really can’t be bothered, you can use the pasta dry but be sure to add 1 ml of water for every gram of pasta. I don’t recommend this method!



        Cheat’s Cassoulet

        You will need (for 5 servings):

        • 5 sausages (or one pack)
        • 1 large brown onion
        • 2 medium carrots
        • 2 celery sticks
        • 1 tin of cannellini beans (or any beans except ‘baked’)
        • 1 tube tomato puree
        • 500ml chicken stock


        Method:

        1. Fry, grill or bake the sausages until they are cooked.
        2. Finely chop the onions and garlic, then fry until transparent.
        3. Chop the carrots and celery into 1cm cubes.
        4. Put everything into the slow cooker and set to cook low and slow - overnight is ideal.


        This is another great skin-on mashed potato recipe but it also goes well with couscous, believe it or not!


        Salads

        I was never a big fan of salads but then I discovered the joy of adding things to them!

        Your basic salad will need to be prepared freshly every day but it doesn’t use a lot of ingredients.

        For one person, you will need:

        • ¼ Cucumber
        • ⅕ lettuce / bag of mixed leaves
        • 5 baby plum tomatoes
        • ½ bell pepper
        • ½ lemon or lime juice


        To this, you can add:

        • Slices of chicken breasts, baked or fried. Add a variety of herbs and spices to liven things up a bit. Personally, I love adding paprika, chilli flakes and some cajun spices but rosemary and lemon work just as well. Use the chicken when it is still warm, mmm-mmm!

        • Freshly cooked sweetcorn. This can be from frozen, from a can or, best of all, straight from the cob. Bake it for 30-45 minutes and use a sharp knife to slice off the delicious kernels.

        • Sausages or, if you’re feeling flush (or you’ve found it in the discount aisle), steak.

        • Avocado, mashed.

        • Boiled baby new potatoes, tuna, anchovies, olives and a boiled egg. Now you have a (sort-of) Nicoise, fancy!

        • Tortilla chips - I’m not even kidding.


        A final note

        You would be surprised how many things freeze. I recommend freezing things in portion packs though because once you defrost things, you can't refreeze them safely (I found this out the hard way!). Ziplock bags are fine but glass Tupperware is better for the environment.


        On the subject of freezing things, did you know...


        You can make your own guacamole (mash fresh avocado in a bowl with some lime juice) and freeze it in portions. It stays delicious and green!


        You can also make and freeze home-made chocolate chip cookies:

        • 200g caster sugar
        • 1 egg
        • 300g self-raising flour (plain is fine though, add 1 tsp baking powder)
        • ½ tsp baking soda (this is the same as bicarbonate of soda)
        • 3x 100g chocolate bars (30p ones, cheapest you can get)
        • 150g butter
        • 1 tsp vanilla (extract or essence, whatever you can find/afford)

        Soften the butter in the microwave for around 30 seconds; beat in the sugar, eggs and vanilla; add the flour with the other dry ingredients. Finally, rough chop the chocolate. Spoon out golf ball-sized portions and place on a lined baking tray, leaving a gap of 5 cm all around (about 8 to a tray). Bake for 12-18 minutes on 170℃ (fan), depending on how crispy you like your cookies. Alternatively, if you can’t be bothered with shaping balls, roll the whole thing into one large rectangle and cook as a traybake. You won’t get crispy edges but maybe you don’t care about that!


        That's right, these cookies freeze! You can eat them straight from the freezer (I do) or you can use them as edible ice packs for your lunch box!


        Thanks for reading this far and let me know if anything I’ve said has struck a chord! I know it's a little off-piste but I also know that we're all feeling the pinch at the moment.


        If you do like the recipes you've seen, please drop my wife a tweet to say thanks; it'll mean a lot! Also, my recent posts haven't received a lot of love (what gives?). So, if you have the time, please let people know about the blog and the podcast. If you're not seeing things that interest you, let me know. I'm aware that posts about parents' evening and marking tips are more popular but I don't want to saturate the blog with those things exclusively. 


        Help me out, guys, let me know what you want to read about or be more informed on in the world of education. And I do mean the world. I'm happy to do the research and I'm in a position where I have the time to do it. 


        Maybe your Head or Principal has asked you to do something and you want to know if it truly falls within your remit as a teacher? Maybe you're looking to further your own education and want to know how best to suggest the school pays for it? Maybe you just want to know if academies are actually the devil's work but you don't have the time to look into it. 


        Tell me. Let me do the leg-work for you!


        In the meantime, remember: You can do this; you're awesome!



        Carl Headley-Morris


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