Store Cupboard Fritters

These are inspired by Jamie Oliver from his book Jamie's Italy , he writes about being served these fritters made from spaghetti with  pork in a broth. The first time I made these I pretty much followed the recipe, but today I've winged it a bit. I love that these are made with pasta, something my children eat a lot of, but served in a different way. I've adapted the recipe to what I had available,  my very favourite type of cooking. 
These are really simple and quick to make. I broke up a handful of dried spaghetti and cooked in some boiling water with just a sprinkle of stock powder. Then i whisked 2 eggs together in a bowl, and added a handful of cheese (Jamie uses parmesan, I've used just normal cheddar)
I added chopped ham and some cooked frozen sweetcorn and peas, a teaspoon of mixed herbs and the cooked pasta.
I dropped spoonfuls of the mixture into a frying pan and fried until cooked golden brown on both sides.
We served with ketchup to dip it into, eating  with our hands!
If you wish you can omit the stock,  and add whatever is hiding in your fridge instead of the ham and veg I used: leftover chicken, peppers, mushrooms. ..whatever takes your fancy.

The using up veggies 5-a-day pasta sauce....with some help from Jack!

I've been a bit inspired this week by Jack Monroe (you can read her blog here ) who's currently undertaking a challenge to live under the poverty line....good luck to her! In her blog this week she explains how she makes her stock cubes go further, and I was so impressed I had to make it one of my saving money tips :) Basically it involves breaking all your stock cubes up and putting the powder into a jar. That way when you come to make stock you can use less than a cube's worth. It's also a great tip for if, like me, you use stock cubes to season a chicken before roasting because you don't need to use the full one. So my veg cubes are now mashed up in a spice jar on the rack all reafy to use. 
In my slow cooker today I've been making pasta sauce. It was a bit of a fling it in and hope concoction, but a quick taste test and it's delicious! I am a big fan of making your own sauces rather than resorting to jars, you know what's in it if you've made it yourself for a start, and it's really not as hard as it might seem.
My sauce today consists of: an onion, a couple of past their best carrots, a left over pepper, some mushrooms a tin of tomatoes and a squirt of ketchup. I added a sprinkle of stock cube powder -remembering that it is for the children so keeping it to a minimum - and a can and a half of boiling water. I decided to cook it in the slow cooker but it could easily be simmered on the hob too, until the veggies are cooked through and it has reduced a bit. Give it a whizz with a blender and it's done.
I portion it up into freezer bags once cool, freeze flat and it's quicker to defrost. This is a great standby to have if you have little time for a meal. By the time you've boiled up some pasta it can be defrosted and warmed through in the microwave.
Spaghetti and sausages with ours tonight!