Category Archives: frugal food

Gluten Free Pancakes

Budget recipes, frugal food



Hello Dear Reader,

There are some recipes that I just know by heart and cook frequently. We love pancakes and have them for a the occasional weekend breakfast.

150g of gluten free flour
350ml of milk
1 egg
tiniest pinch of salt

Combine in a blender or food processor and make sure it is lump free. Pour into a jug or bowl. You’ll need a ladle to add to pour out the right amount.


Melt 30g of unsalted butter - plus a little more for brushing the pan or griddle. I always use a crepe pan and mine is well worn and bought in France a few years ago but they can be easily bought here.

Heat the pan, when hot brush with oil.

At the last minute, add the melted butter to the batter mix and whisk.

Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the pan with butter.

Use a ladle to pour one ladle full onto the crepe pan, immediately move the crepe pan around to cover the pan with the batter mix.

When the pancake has crisped at the edges and I like mine to be wafer thin and as much like a French crepe as I can get it, then use a pallet knife to flip it over.

Serve with what every you like, we usually eat ours with a smear of jam and a big mug of coffee for breakfast.

How do you like yours? Any one else love those thin French crepes? I’m always envious of people eating them when I’m there as I have to stick to buckwheat pancakes which are gluten free so has anyone. I must remember to bring some ‘farrine de sarrasin’ home with me.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxx

Not quite eggs Florentine.

frugal food, Gluten free
Hello Dear Reader,
I always know when I’m not at my best as I crave dark green veggies……I must need a boost of iron. Eggs Florentine is usually a couple of toasted muffins, wilted spinach and Hollandaise sauce. Mine’s a bit different. No muffins for me as I’ve never seen gluten free and never can be bothered to go out and find any just for me. DB had his on toasted muffins but it could have gone onto a halved baked potato but I didn’t fancy that either….,so I just went without.
Here’s what I did.
Melt a spoon of butter in a pan.
Add - six sliced mushrooms and sauté.
Wash spinach and squeeze the water out.
Add to the mushrooms and butter, cover with a lid and cook very gently until wilted.
Poach two eggs.
Finely grate a small amount of strong cheddar.
Arrange the spinach and mushrooms on a plate
Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Layer the poached eggs on top and I added a sliced tomato.
All very healthy, meat free (as we aim for two or three meatless days) and cheap too.
I’m off to put my feet up…..no idea why I feel so tired….perhaps age is catching up with me!
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx

Homemade tomato sauce for pasta

frugal food

Hello Dear Reader,
Terrible photo but a lovely cheap and simple supper
3 garlic cloves- crushed
6 tbsp olive oil
1 carton passata
Heat the oil and garlic for about ten minutes but don’t boil it, just warm as the garlic infuses.
Add the passata and gently heat for another ten minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add what you like!
I added half a bag of spinach and a pack of sliced garlic sausage that I cut into thin strips. I let the spinach wilt, added the sausage and then added cooked drained GF pasta, but you can use the 20p a pack ordinary pasta. You can also add grated cheese on top
This cost about £1 each as GF and the fresh spinach were expensive but a great quick and easy supper.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx

Friday night takeaway

frugal food
Hello Dear Reader,
There are sometimes when I could kick down the door of the chippy and take over the fryer! Firstly, it’s really cold and I didn’t want to stand on a windy street in a queue. I’m also in no mood to spend a fiver on a takeaway.
So, I opened a tin of
Cut them up, popped them on a baking tray and sprayed them with fry light.
Added three fillets of pollock and again gave them a spray, I put them in a hot oven, 200 degrees, for twenty minutes.

I opened a tin of mushy peas, heated them up in the microwave and that massive supper cost 92p each. We could have eaten less but sometimes I just want to stuff my face!
No, this isn’t a push for Tesco, you can buy pollock cheaper in Lidl and the peas and spuds are the same price in Asda. If you’re not watching the calories then you can use some sunflower oil and give a fry up. I just baked mine.
I’m now stuffed and off for a bit of sewing.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxx

Cowboy potatoes and beans

frugal food

Hello Dear Reader,
Cowboy potatoes? It’s any potatoes, cooked with onions in a skillet. It’s not the healthiest recipe but once in a while it’s a big hit. We’ve always loved this since we used to camp when the kids were small. We used to have a one burner wonky hard to balance gas cooker so there was just one pan cooking. When we camped, eggs and beans went into the same pan and we’d sit on the campsite floor to eat it.
Take a 500g pack of cooking bacon, that’s basically off cuts of bacon and cut it up into bite size chunks. Three small onions sliced and ten mushrooms. All of those ingredients are ‘supermarket value’ and that’s fine for us.
When the bacon and other ingredients have rendered down add cooked potatoes. I used tinned potatoes for speed and ease.
Once they’d cooked, I added half a pack of cream cheese, just because I had it and it needed using up. You could add dried herbs, garlic, chopped sun dried tomatoes, any cooked veggies, just do your own thing.
Serve with what ever you like, we kept the camp cuisine thing going with beans.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx

Stocked up with plenty in store?

frugal food





Hello Dear Reader,

If you’ve ever been really skint at any time in your life, then you’ll get this. I grew up with no money and as a family we were always skint and there was never enough. I left home still a teenager and was skint. I had children and was skint. In fact, I was skint (lived on minimum wage, had two jobs, could barely pay my bills every month) until I got a ‘proper job’ at 37. I then had financial ups and downs, had to choose to be really careful with money and now choose to live on less for my future financial well being.

Sound familiar?

One of the things that makes me feel really really wealthy is to have a well stocked pantry. I stock up every other month. I also like to have a stock of cleaning and laundry products. If there is ever a seige then I’ll probably be OK and you can come round to my place and there will be plenty!

We don’t have Tesco near us so I organised a late night £1 delivery, I have stacking boxes ready by the door to do a box to box transfer to save on paying for carrier bags.

This little lot will keep us going for months!

Over to you Dear Reader, does my ‘seige mentality’ sound familiar or sound alarms? Who else likes to ‘stock up’ once in a while?

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxx



Quantity Product Price Total
1 Lea And Perrins Worcestershire Sauce 290Ml £2.15 £2.15
2 Tesco Everyday Value Lasagne Sheets 250G £0.29 £0.58
1 Tesco Everyday Value Sultanas 500G £0.84 £0.84
4 Tesco Everyday Value Crunchy Peanut Butter 340G £0.62 £2.48
2 Tesco Butter Me Up Spread 500G £0.89 £1.78
1 Tesco Everyday Value Soap Filled Pads 15 Pack £0.44 £0.44
3 Tesco Everyday Value Penne 500G £0.30 £0.90
2 Tesco Crushed Chillies 28G £0.85 £1.70
2 Tesco Everyday Value Eggs Minimum Weight Box Of 15 £1.25 £2.50
2 Tesco Everyday Value Strawberry Jam 454G £0.29 £0.58
2 Tesco Everyday Value Digestive Biscuits 400G £0.31 £0.62
4 Tesco Everyday Value Cream Cleaner 500Ml £0.30 £1.20
1 Tesco Shortcake Biscuits 200G £0.40 £0.40
1 Tesco Malted Milk Biscuits 200G £0.40 £0.40
3 Tesco Everyday Value Orange Marmalade 454G £0.27 £0.81
3 Tesco Everyday Value Spaghetti 500G £0.20 £0.60
2 Tesco Everyday Value Plain Flour 1.5Kg £0.45 £0.90
2 Tesco Everyday Value Self Raising Flour 1.5Kg £0.45 £0.90
6 Tesco Everyday Value Baked Beans In Tomato Sauce 420G £0.24 £1.44
12 Tesco Everyday Value Skimmed Longlife Milk 1L £0.49 £5.88
3 Tesco Everyday Value Dark Red Kidney Beans 400G £0.30 £0.90
6 Tesco Everyday Value Plum Tomatoes 400G £0.34 £2.04
6 Tesco Everyday Value Sliced Carrots 300G £0.19 £1.14
2 Tesco Everyday Value Cooking Bacon 500G £0.80 £1.60
3 Tesco Cannellini Beans 400G £0.55 £1.65
5 Tesco Chickpea 400G £0.55 £2.75
2 Tesco Butter Beans 400G £0.55 £1.10
4 Tesco Everyday Value New Potatoes 567G £0.20 £0.80
2 Tesco Everyday Value Lard 250G £0.39 £0.78
2 Tesco Everyday Value White Fish Fillets 520G £1.70 £3.40
3 Tesco Everyday Value Sliced Mushrooms 285G £0.41 £1.23
2 Tesco Dried Coriander Leaf 16G £0.70 £1.40
1 Tesco Ambience Fabric Conditioner Limited Edition 1.47L £1.00 £1.00
2 Tesco Super Concentrated Biological Liquid 630Ml £2.00 £4.00
2 Tesco Everyday Value Salad Cream 540G £0.60 £1.20
1 Tesco Rich Tea 400G £0.40 £0.40
2 Tesco Everyday Value Onions 1Kg £0.60 £1.20
2 Tesco Everyday Value Spaghetti Hoops 410G £0.20 £0.40
2 Tesco Everyday Value Mixed Herbs 30G £0.85 £1.70
3 Tesco Everyday Value Tomato Puree 200G £0.40 £1.20
2 Tesco Everyday Value 20 Pork Sausages 1Kg £1.40 £2.80
3 Tesco Everyday Value Toilet Tissues 6 Roll £1.00 £3.00
1 Aasani Red Split Lentils 2Kg £2.49 £2.49
2 Tesco Garlic Granules 56G £0.70 £1.40
4 Tesco Everyday Value Tomato Ketchup 985G £0.55 £2.20
1 Ds Wholesome Seeded Sliced Loaf 300G £2.50 £2.50

Less cooking, money saving

frugal food
Hello Dear Reader,
I’m into my stride now my work pattern is back to normal. Weekends have a rhythm to them of giving the house a deep clean, get the laundry done and cooking for a few days.
I’ve made two veggie shepherdess pies, like shepherds pie but with a vegetable base instead of meat. We’ve eaten one this weekend and one is in lunch boxes for the week. They’ll just get reheated.
Before Christmas, I bought and froze a boned and rolled pork shoulder joint, it’s been taking up half a freezer drawer ever since. I’ve cooked it today plus enough veggies and as I never cook on Mondays so that’s why I’ve plated four meals; we had two for our Sunday lunch. I’ve wrapped up the cooked pork and roasties in foil. The gravy and veggies had gone into clip down boxes.
At this rate, I won’t have to cook again until Thursday! It will save my electricity bill; the dishwasher won’t have to do much. It all might seem a bit stingy but I’m on black belt savings mode this year.
We’re off ‘home’ to France at the end of March and we’re saving to do some renovation work. Even though it will be done in manageable chunks it will still require a year of belt tightening. Cutting back on each and every bit of money spending all adds up.
Plus…….I’m ‘off’ cooking and the less I can do, the better!
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx

Streeeeeeeetching Meals

frugal food
Hello Dear Reader,
Nothing fantastic about my cooking of late. Our dark drive at either end of our day is tiring and with the poor visibility and constant rain it’s miserable too. Food just needs to be simple, quick to cook and come in on budget. Here’s an example. Last night, I cut up six Bratwurst sausages, from Lidl, 89% pork and no gluten for £1.99, cooked with leftover boiled potatoes. I served them with plenty of cheap steamed veggies….oh, and a squirt of cheap ketchup. Big bottles of which were 39p in Aldi when I was last in there. I made six sausages stretch to six meals, three for our suppers last night and then three lunches to warm up at work. One sausage looks so much more when it’s cut up.
Tonight it was all about making two chicken breasts into five meals. I used also used 200g of a kilo bag of ‘bacon bits’ or ‘cooking bacon’. I rarely buy bacon rashers anymore and like the pot luck of buying these big kilo bags of bacon off cuts as I can get bacon steaks, rashers and random chunks.
I also make as much as I can on the gas stove top as it’s so much cheaper than the electric oven, I also try to cook as much as I can in my slow cooker.
Back to my casserole.
1 onion, sliced.
1 green pepper, sliced.
2 chicken breasts
200g of cooking bacon.
1 tin of tomatoes
1 tsp of garlic granules
1/2 tsp of mixed herbs
1 tbsp of gravy granules ( I use gluten free which is expensive but you can buy it much cheaper if you buy regular)
After browning, add the garlic, mixed herbs, plenty of black pepper and the tin of tomatoes, I also rinse out the tin with water and add that too. Simmer for twenty minutes.
I stretch every meal by having mainly veggies. Instead of butter in mashed potato, I add skimmed milk which makes it creamier than you’d think. It also means we only need to buy one 250g pack of butter a week between us all.
So here it is a very stretched meal. The expensive ingredients of two chicken breasts made four and a half meals. My lunch for tomorrow, our supper tonight and tomorrow night. I’m back to university for a short stint so I’ll be back very late and will need ‘ding cuisine’ when I get home.
Here’s the top view, mostly veggies with a dollop of creamy mash and a very stretched casserole. Our veg goes a long way too, half a savoy -20p, 1/4 bag of carrots, 10p and half a pack of leeks 50p - 16p per portion for a huge pile of steamed veggies.
So over to you, we’re all trying to eat healthily, although none of us a perfect but what do you do to stretch every little bit just that little more?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx

Chickpea and butternut squash curry

frugal food
Hello Dear Reader,
Cheats quick supper. You know how it goes, a drive home in the dark, a ferry trip and another dark drive. £1.72 in total and 43p per portion as there’s enough for four meals.
Dice the onion and the peeled butternut squash.
Add to the curry sauce along with the chickpea and pop into a casserole dish and go out and walk the dogs for an hour. To make the ‘rice’. Cut the cauliflower into florets and blitz in the food processor for a few seconds. Cook in the microwave for eight minutes. I use roasting bags that I buy in poundland. Follow the instructions on how to use the bags.
Serve the veggie curry with the ‘rice’. The sauce is very mild and but spicy enough for even me to eat.

Dessert is another ‘cheat’. I peel apples, pop them in a pan on top of the woodstove for about half an hour. I add sweetener but you could add some sugar. We have it with a dollop of Greek style yogurt. I then keep the cooked apple in a tub in the fridge for handy puddings. I always buy the buckets of low fat natural yogurt for a pound and it lasts us all week for sweet treats.
Cheap, quick, gluten free, low (ish) carbs and plenty for lunch tomorrow.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxx
The gluten police are out, so here’s the curry sauce label.

Pasta bake and frittata

frugal food

Hello Dear Reader,
Yesterday, we had a tiny free range roast chicken and there wasn’t enough left to make another meal for us both tonight. I did have plenty of veggies and cooked for a couple of days. I made a pasta bake for DB.
This will feed him tonight and for his lunches for the week.
I used:
1 Polish sausage - 99p in Lidl
1/4 bag of pasta - 5p
Leftover veggies - 20p
Cheese sauces - tbsp butter spread 5p, 1tbsp of cornflour, 2p, 1/2 litre UHT milk 25p, 50g of cheese - half in the sauce and half on top. Blend and microwave until thickened- take out and stir every minute. 40p
Total £1.71 and has five portions. - 34p per portion.
My frittata has four eggs 60p 100g of ham 35p - left over veggies - 20p and serves four. £1.15.
There’s something about January that make me even more budget conscious. It might seem piffling to count pennies in the way we do but it really adds up. We don’t eat this cheaply every day but by having low budget days means I can balance the books each month. A pasta bake or a frittata is a go to staple that reheats well. Both will keep well in the fridge for a few days, can be popped into a lunch box and pinged in a work microwave.
Now, here’s to the rest of January of general thriftiness. I’ve got a kitchen to save up for and I’m going to do the sums to work out if homemade curtains, with the cost of fabric, are cheaper than shop bought. I will of course check charity shops and online auctions. We’re also studying French at home and online and I’ve got plenty of sewing to catch up on.
I don’t know about you but I love challenge and finding ways of getting there.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx