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!
