We all have those days we want something quick and easy, with a minimum of dishes. One-pot meals are very handy for those days - everything is cooked in the one pot. Dawn's Chicken and Rice is another one pot meal; this is my favourite one-pot beef dish. Like most of my recipes, this one has plenty of flexibility and can be varied. I'll share how I cooked it this week, plus a couple of variations.

Ingredients:
500g (1 lb) minced (ground) beef
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp oregano
1x 400g (14 oz) can butter beans, mashed
1x 400g/14oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tsp organic soy sauce
6 cups water
500g (1 lb) pasta spirals
2 cups frozen peas or 4 cups frozen green beans

Method:
Brown mince and chopped onion, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until no longer pink. Stir in oregano, carrot, celery, tomatoes, butter beans and sauces. Add the water, and bring mixture to the boil. When boiling, add pasta and stir gently to submerge. Cover and simmer for 15 mins until pasta is just tender. Stir in frozen veges and cook a further 5-10 mins.

Watch closely near the end of the cooking time, to ensure it does not get too dry and burn or stick - if necessary add more water. Or if it is too wet, leave the lid off for a while.

Serves 8

Variations:

• Originally when I made this, I would use twice as much beef, and leave out the butter beans and canned tomatoes, adding an extra cup of water.
• The original recipe I adapted this from used instant stock instead of soy sauce, no tomatoes or beans, and when the pasta was cooked, two extra cups of water were added, mixed with two packets of instant soup mix - mushroom or tomato. I don't use these because of the MSG and additives.

This is a very simple, tasty meal that is quick and easy to cook. The original recipe came from my friend Dawn, when my famiy was struggling with food allergies and I needed new ideas. It is salicylate, glutamate, dairy and gluten free, and only moderate in amines. If you don't have food allergies, that last sentence won't mean anything to you, but it will be helpful to those who do!

Many variations are possible with this recipe - add other veges, spices or anything you like, though even the basic version is very tasty and a family favourite.

When I made it this time, it was a last minute dinner decision, based on repeated recent requests from the kids. I grabbed two small cabbages that were threatening to bolt from the garden. My stock and cooked chicken were both frozen, but the beauty of this is that I could put them together in a separate pot and heat gently to defrost in a few minutes, then just pour them in when I needed them.

An essential ingredient of Dawn's Chicken & Rice is chicken stock. Store-bought stocks often contain MSG and other chemicals, which I avoid for my family. Besides, stock is SO easy to make, and very frugal! Every time I cook a whole chicken, I save the frame and bones to make stock.

To make chicken stock, simply place chicken bones into a large pot or crockpot. You can make the stock with nothing else but water, or for a richer more flavourful stock, add onions, some carrot peelings and celery leaves or stalks. Cover with water and add a dash of something acidic - lemon juice or vinegar. The slight acidity causes the calcium and other nutrients to be drawn out of the bones - when you've finished boiling the stock, the remaining bones will be soft and crumbly due to this process (at which time they can be added to the compost or garden). Bring to the boil and simmer for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to 48. 2 hours is good for those in a hurry, or those with amine allergies. Longer is otherwise better.

Strain off liquid, and if you like then also pick off any remaining meat from the bones, shred it, and add it to the stock. Freeze stock in portion sizes suitable for your own uses. I freeze 8 cup containers to use with Dawn's Chicken & Rice, and 2 cups portions for most other things.

Ingredients:
1 cabbage
1 cup oil
4 cups rice
2-4 cups shredded cooked chicken
8 cups chicken stock
Salt to taste

(Optional: diced onion and/or carrot, cooked with cabbage below)

Method:

Finely shred sufficient cabbage to ¾ fill stock pot. Heat 1 cup oil in pot. Add cabbage, and cook over med-high heat, stirring frequently, until volume reduced by half. Reduce heat. Add rice, stir thoroughly so rice is coated with oil. Add chicken stock, salt and shredded chicken. Stir to combine. Place lid on and simmer over low heat for approx 15 mins or until liquid is all or mostly absorbed. Serve. Serves 8

I'm calling this "Any Way You Like It Stew" because this recipe is so, so versatile! You can literally take the basic recipe and use it for ANY meat (beef, lamb, chicken, rabbit, duck, goat, venison, you name it - even the cheapest cuts work great) and you can cook it ANY way you like - in a pot on the stove, in a slow cooker, or in the oven! You can also add any veges you like to it, make it gluten free if you wish, and serve it with many different side dishes. Once you know how to make this, you really can have it any way you like it!

I found some cheap blade steak bought on special weeks ago hiding in the freezer, so made this yummy dinner.

Ingredients:
2 onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
1 kg (2 lbs) meat of choice, cut into cubes (I used beef this time).
2-3 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
2 tsp organic soy sauce (beef stock powder may be used instead)
600 mls (1 pint) boiling water
Cornflour or similar to thicken (see variations below)

Method:
Meat may be browned with onions and garlic before assembling, but I only do this when cooking in pot on stove, and occasionally if I'm cooking it in the oven. Otherwise, I assemble all ingredients raw and then cook together in oven or crockpot.

Place ingredients in order given into crock pot or oven proof dish and stir to combine. Cook in crockpot on auto or low for approx. 6-7 hours, or in covered dish in oven at 180C (350 F) for 1.5 hours. Stir 2-3 times during cooking.

The photo to right shows assembled ingredients before cooking. The picture above shows it after cooking.

If cooking in pot on stove, brown meat with onion and garlic, then add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer on low for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Thicken before serving. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and green vegetables. Serves 6-8

I have a meat sauce recipe that is a family favourite, and we use it to make Spaghetti Bolognaise, Lasagne, Nachos, or simply serve it on rice or mashed potatoes. It is very simple and tasty, but ordinarily I would use 1 kg (2lbs) of mince to make it for my family. In the interest of my Frugal Fortnight I wanted to use half as much mince, and use up some of the canned beans in the pantry, so I did exactly that, using two cans of butter beans to ensure there would still be plenty of meat sauce to satisfy everyone. Both variations are explained in the recipe below.

Ingredients:
1 kg mince (2lbs ground beef)
OR 500g (1lb) mince and 2x 400g/14oz cans Butter Beans, drained and rinsed
1x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
1 can of Tomato sauce (ketchup)
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Soy Sauce (I use naturally brewed organic soy sauce)

Method:
Brown mince in a little oil in a large pot. When well browned add other ingredients, using empty tomato can to measure tomato sauce. Bring to boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 15-20 mins stirring occasionally. Serves 6-8
Note: If your children don't like the pieces of tomato in the sauce, then whiz together the tomatoes, tomato sauce, herbs and soy sauce in a blender before adding to the pot. That's how I always used to make this anyway.

To put together this meal, first put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. While this is heating, place side-dish veges into a pot ready for cooking, and make the meat sauce as above, using the smaller amount of mince plus butter beans option.

By the time you have the meat sauce simmering, the pot of water should be boiling, and you can turn on the pot of veges to cook (in my case I used frozen beans).

Add pasta to pot of water. Adding  a little cooking oil to the water will help prevent the pasta from sticking together. Boil with lid off for approximately 10 mins, until pasta is done. Did you know that the Italian chef way to tell if pasta is cooked is to throw a piece of it at the wall or ceiling? If it sticks, it's cooked just right! Teach that one to your kids - they'll LOVE helping you test the pasta!

To serve, pile some pasta on a plate, spoon meat sauce over the top, and sprinkle grated cheese on it. Serve with veges of your choice, or a mixed salad.

Other options: Use either variation of the meat sauce (or try your own combinations of meat and beans or lentils) on corn chips for nachos, layered with cooked lasagne pasta and cheese then baked for 45 mins to make lasagne, or simply serve it over rice or mashed potatoes. Also good on toast as a Sloppy Joe alternative.

On Tuesday afternoon I needed a quick and easy dinner, so I headed out into the garden with my basket to see what I could gather. I found a head of purple cauliflower, some small broccoli sprouts, a few tiny brussel sprouts and a spring onion that was about to go to seed. I pulled up one tiny carrot seedling to see if they were big enough to bother thinning yet, picked a couple of calendula flowers, some parsley and a few leaves off the silverbeet, and headed inside to create a meal.

Since we have copious amounts of eggs from the hens, I decided to make a simple garden quiche. This is incredibly simple, gluten free, and you can use any combination of veges you happen to have.

Ingredients:
A selection of vegetables - anything you like
Plenty of eggs
A little milk

Method:
Cut up veges into small pieces, and arrange in an oven proof dish.
Beat together eggs - at least two per person - with some milk added. The milk extends the amount of liquid, but don't go too far.
Pour egg mixture over veges, aiming to get everything at least wet but preferably mostly submerged. Sprinkle with salt if desired.
Bake at 180C/350F until set - approx 30-40 mins.

In this quiche, I used the spring onion, silverbeet, purple cauliflower, parsley and calendula petals.

I served the quiche with cubed boiled potatoes and a little butter, plus broccoli and brussel sprouts. Quick, simple, cheap and yum!

Since I didn't know how the mince and lentil dinner would be received, I decided to plan a dessert, just in case. Besides, my sweet-tooth was clamoring for a little attention. We had some bananas on hand, and a little vanilla icecream left in the freezer, so I made some delicious Rich Fudge Sauce to go with them. If you have kids with food allergies, this sauce can be a wonderful treat - no colour or nasty chemicals, and can be made gluten free.

Ingredients:
60g (2 oz) butter, melted
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 TBSP cornflour mixed with 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup cream or milk

Method:
Combine all of the above in a small pot, and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Simmer two minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.

To serve, spoon over icecream and sliced bananas. Great as a topping for many desserts.

Quite some time ago, I was given some cans of lentils, chickpeas and beans by someone who did not know how to use them. I never buy them canned, instead I purchase dry staples and cook them myself, but figured that it shouldn't be hard to use up the canned items. Yet somehow they've just sat in the pantry....until now.

One of the reasons I've been slow to use the lentils is that my husband and a couple of the kids have stated adamantly that they loathe lentils. Years ago, when we were living remotely with few resources, lentil dishes featured in our menu frequently, and they were ok at the time - even well received - but it got to where everyone was sick of them, and then came to intensely dislike lentil dishes.

But, I figured, lentils are good for extending meat in a dish, so I would give it a try. With a few simple ingredients, I put together this very tasty dish which turned out to be a hit. When I reminded the family "But you hate lentils" I was informed, "Oh, we only hate lentils when they don't have meat with them." NOW they tell me!

Ingredients:
500g (1 lb) lean minced beef (hamburger)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp mustard powder
2 TBSP Worchestershire or soy sauce
1/2 cup tomato sauce (ketchup)
400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
400g (14oz) can lentils, rinsed
2 TBSP fresh chopped parsley
2 TBSP fresh chopped chives


Method:
1. Brown beef and onion in a large pan or pot, stirring frequently.
2. Add the mustard, soy and tomato sauces and stir well. Add the canned tomatoes plus 1 can of water. Bring to simmer.
3. Stir in lentils, then cover and simmer for 30 mins until well cooked and reduced to rich sauce. (I used a fork under the edge of the lid to enable steam to escape). Add the chopped herbs just before serving. Thicken if desired with a little cornflour & water.
Serves 6-7

I served it with mashed potatoes and broccoli. And it was followed with a yummy desert - see next post.

Fortunately, it's the time of year when my chickens are laying well, and the young pullets have also started laying. So we have an abundance of eggs.

Last season, I grew 134 kg of zucchini in the garden, and as well as eating it, pickling it, giving it away, and dehydrating it, towards the end of the season I got where I had some I just needed to do something quick with, so I simply grated it up and put it in 2 cup bags in the freezer (flattened to they stack well in the basket once frozen).

When I needed a quick idea for last night's dinner, I turned to an old family favourite - Zucchini and Bacon Slice. I haven't made this in a while. I just had a piece cold for lunch today, and oh my, I can't tell you how GOOD it is!! Makes me long for the days of summer and more fresh zucchini. That's it, I'm definitely sowing zucchini seeds in the greenhouse this week! Normally I'd make it with fresh zucchini or marrow (with marrow, I peel off the skin first, as it's tough, though zucchini grated whole gives the resulting dish a nicer look), but it worked just fine with frozen. I was in a hurry, so grabbed the bags of frozen zucchini, tipped them into a bowl, and broke them up with a spoon, then went ahead and made the recipe per normal, allowing a little extra cooking time. You could defrost first, if you have time. I always double the following recipe, and cook it in a roasting dish, providing generous servings for 8 people.

Ingredients:
500g zucchini or marrow
3 rashers bacon (raw) or substitute
1 cup self raising flour (or plain flour + 1.5 tsp baking powder)
5 eggs
1 large onion
1 cup grated cheese
1/3 cup oil
salt and pepper

Method:
Grate unpeeled zucchini (or peeled marrow) coarsely. Finely chop onion and bacon. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into well-greased tin. Bake at 180C (350F) for approx. 30 mins until set. Serve hot or cold. Serves 4.

Glossary (aka some translations for my American friends):
A "rasher" of bacon is a slice of bacon
A "marrow" is an oversized (overgrown) zucchini. I think of it as a marrow once they get to the size where the skins are tougher.
500 g = 1 lb, or probably about 3-4 cups of grated zucchini (haven't measured/weighed it as I don't have any fresh zucchini on hand, but this recipe is very forgiving about the quantity of zucchini).

This month I have two different but related challenges before me:
1) A lot of extra bills, and no extra money to cover them
2) A lack of space in the freezer - now the lambs have been born, our extra animals need to move off the paddocks and into the freezer, but there's not room due an extraordinary amount of bits and pieces - some produce from last season's garden, odds and ends of meats and soup bones, mutton fat rendered or awaiting rendering and so on. The kitchen cabinets also have a selection of odds and ends that keep getting not used - cans of beans and lentils I was given, various ingredients from my days of being gluten free, and so forth.

The solution to both? Temporarily reduce grocery spending, and get creative using up all those things in the cupboard and freezer! That way I use up things, and free up some dollars to pay the bills.

Normally, I do the grocery shopping every other Friday (fortnightly). Two weeks ago, I shopped more or less as per normal. This week, I purchased only a small number of items (toilet paper, flour, rice, pasta, oil and a packet each of mince, bacon and cheese). I also bought some carrots, onions, apples, bananas and celery (carrots, onions and celery are staples in a lot of meals here, but the ones in the garden are only just beginning to grow). I've spent about one sixth of our normal grocery budget.

So, the goal now is to NOT spend any more money for the next two weeks on food or groceries, except $30 for  milk which we buy direct from a farm every 4-5 days, 10 litres at a time.

What will we eat? I'm not sure just yet! While normally I plan our meals, of late I've gotten out of the habit, and the last month has been so crazy I haven't given it a lot of thought. But I know we'll do just fine - as long as I take the time to plan at least a day ahead (to allow for things that need soaking or extra prep time), and resist the temptation to go to the store.

It's amazing what simple things can create an unexpectedly amazing meal - I remember many years ago living far from both roads and stores, and having nothing left except a can of tomatoes, a few lentils, a stick of celery and one carrot, plus a few herbs, and coming up with a delicious soup that became a family favourite for a time!

Time to get creative - I'll be sharing some of the recipes and ideas I come up with on this blog. How about you - do you have a favourite, frugal meal?