Ahhhhhhh... Saturday morning breakfast. We love greeting the day with warm buttery pancakes (with the occasional chocolate chip added...) This is a "buttermilk" recipe without the buttermilk. I can never figure out what to do with the rest of the buttermilk when I buy it, so this is my answer. Cheap fries up crunchy bacon on the side as a nice complement. Mmmmmm... my mouth is watering as I type...

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract


Canola oil for pan frying

Optional add-in's:
Chocolate chips (our fave)
Banana
Blueberries
Toasted Nuts
Cinnamon

Directions
Mix milk and vinegar in a small bowl. Let sit and milk will sour and thicken like buttermilk (about 5-10 minutes)

Whisk dry ingredients together

Add egg, vanilla, and almond to "buttermilk" and whisk together.

Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix together.

Pour oil in pan so there is a thin layer covers the bottom (this helps make the edges of he pancakes nice and crispy). Heat oil.

Ladle batter into the pan and fry 'em up!


I love Saturday mornings!

This is not your typical hot chocolate. Let me forewarn you, this is liquid chocolate and should be consumed in small doses. It is not your typical watered down cocoa mix.... oh, is it worth it.

Ingredients:
4 oz of favorite chocolate or about 3/4 cup if using chips (Cheap likes milk chocolate and I like dark)
1/4 cup boiling water (You could also use milk but it does mask the chocolate flavor)

Optional
1/4 tea cinnamon or 1/4 vanilla extract

Directions:
Pour hot water into a small mixing bowl and add chocolate. As chocolate begins to melt, stir together.

You can re-heat over a double boiler or in the microwave. Serve in small glasses and sip. Chocolate lovers unite!

Now this is football food. I can't take credit for this dip but oh my word it's divine. A friend of mine brought this to a party and all of us left with the recipe. I made a few tweaks but it's pretty much the same. Cheap and I like to munch on this some weekends to feel very American. We can actually get Franks hot sauce in the UK for a reasonable price. Serve it with tortilla chips and make a lot!

Ingredients
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I cook mine with a slow-cooker in chicken broth. It makes it extra moist and really easy to shred)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch or blue cheese dressing
3/4 cup Franks hot sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Directions
Preheat oven to 350F

Stir together chicken and hot sauce and spread in the bottom of a greased 8x8 dish

Stir cream cheese and dressing together (sometimes it helps to warm in microwave)and spread over chicken mixture

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake for about 20min or until bubbly

Serve with tortilla chips- enjoy! I'm proud to be an American.

We've been craving Chinese take-out (or "take-away" as the Brits would say). But with our limited budget we haven't indulged ourselves, which has made the craving inevitably stronger. While I know that home-made stir-fry doesn't hold a flame to traditional take-out, this Martha Stewart inspired General Tso's recipe does. It met our hankering perfectly and didn't feel like we had to sacrifice taste to save £'s.

Ingredients:
For sauce:
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
3 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
dash of salt

2-3 chicken breasts, sliced nugget size and breaded (drench in flour, egg-wash, then dry bread crumbs) Sometimes pre-breaded chicken is cheaper, so if you're looking for a quicker meal, grab some of those.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F and bake breaded chicken until golden, about 25-30 minutes

In a glass, microwavable bowl, dissolve cornstarch in the water. Once dissolved mix the rest of the ingredients with water mixture.

Heat sauce until bubbly in the microwave (it will also thicken). Depending on the microwave, it should take 30sec-1min.

Pour sauce over breaded chicken, serve with fluffy rice. Enjoy!

Oh, garlic! Let me count the ways... One of nature's medicines this gem seems to be jammed packed with goodness. With my extensive (5 minute) Google search it looks as though garlic lowers cholesterol, helps prevent the common cold, improves circulation, keeps mosquitoes away, and the list goes on... So why not slather it on some bread?! Let's do it!

Ingredients:
3 heads of garlic
olive oil
salt

Serve on Crusty bread

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F

Rub off any excess, dangley skin from the garlic head. Slice off the top of the head (about 1/4 inch down)

Place garlic heads, cut side up, on a large strip of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt.

Wrap foil around all 3 garlic heads and whack them in the oven until tender, 45 min. (Makes your house smell great).

Serve with crusty bread. Scoop cloves out with a butter knife and then mash and spread. FAB!

When it comes to dipping sauce, I used to be an olive oil skeptic. I never really understood the restaurants that gave you a plate of plain olive oil and bread. My thought was always, "butter tastes much better than this tasteless goo". Now I know olive oil purists might gasp at the thought of my unrefined taste, but the truth is, extra virgin olive oil that holds substantial flavor is expensive. And remember, we're cheap. But this puppy right here is my answer. I could dip bread in this tasty olive oil for weeks. It still contains the health benefits of olive oil and brings out a much stronger flavor than oil alone. It's EASY, classy, and sure to win big fans.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese, grated
fresh ground black pepper

Plain French or Italian bread (I recommend plain because flavored breads compete with the flavor of the oil)

Directions:
Pour olive oil onto a saucer (my Ikea saucer has a blue dot in the middle, so that's why it's colored a little funky)

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

Serve with warm bread. Let the dipping begin!

Yes, yet another soup. I know, I know. But we've been so cold! I actually didn't even take a picture of this one because I didn't think it warranted keeping. I was wrong. This is a waaay quick soup that's really light, so it goes well with a gooey cheesy sandwhich. It's made with stuff I tend to have in my freezer so it's great for last minute, or to use up some frost-bitten items.

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tea garlic powder
1 cup frozen 3 pepper medley (cheaper way to get peppers at Trader Joe's or Tesco)
3/4 cup frozen corn
1 small onion, diced
1/3 cup favorite salsa
4-5 cups vegetable broth (or chicken if you don't have veggie)
1 tea basil
1/4 tea cayenne pepper (if you're not already using hot salsa)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I know this isn't a typical frozen item, but I actually never know how to use up the whole bunch of cilantro before it gets wilty. So now I chop up the extra, ziploc it and throw it in the freezer. I'm lovin' this idea)

For optional topping:
crushed tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
1 avocado, diced

Directions:
I was trying to come up with a soup quickly (I had some very hungry folks waiting) so I just threw everything into a pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes. If you have more time you could saute the garlic, corn, pepper and onions for a toastier flavor.

My mom would make this for my family when I was in High School. My favorite memory of Bark was when my mom put the pan out on the deck to cool and after an hour, she brought it back inside with a quarter of it chewed off and squirrel footprints over the rest of it. I bet it was a taste of heaven for the squirrel. Every time I take a bite of these, I immediately warp back into late 90's Christmas time, chilling on the couch with my brother. Good memories. I love that taste and smell can give such wonderful flashbacks.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
Box of graham crackers (amount changes with size of jelly roll pan)
12 oz bag chocolate chips

optional:
1 cup nuts


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover a jelly roll pan with foil, and spray with cooking spray. Place graham crackers on the foil.

In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter (two sticks) and add 1 cup of brown sugar.

Bring to a boil and boil 3 minutes. Pour the mixture over the graham crackers.

Bake the caramel and graham crackers in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove from the oven. Sprinkle 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips over the caramel graham
crackers. You may need to return the pan to the oven briefly to melt the chocolate chips. Smooth over with spatula. Top with nuts if desired.

Refrigerate to harden chocolate. (I like to cover mine and stick it outside since I usually make this in the winter)

Break into chunks of "bark."

Brrrrrrrr! England is bone chillingly cold! And when our only source of transport is Sweet Pea's stroller, these blustery, rainy winds are frigid. Too bad Graco doesn't make a "push-chair" (as the Brits would say) with a heater. This soup is inspired by a minestrone from my old local Italian restaurant that I would frequent in college. It's easy to make and heart-warming with veggie pasta combo. Even our anti-veggie one-year-old gobbled this up.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small diced onion
1 small zucchini diced
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes (14 ounce)
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 cup small shell pasta
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 tea dried basil
1 tea salt
1/2 tea ground red pepper flakes
1/2 tea dried oregano
1/4 tea dried thyme

Directions:
Pour round of oil in bottom of the pot and sautee garlic, onion, and green beans for about 5 minutes

Add broth, water, can of tomatoes (with juice), carrots, spinach, pasta, and spices; bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle some shedded parm or cheddar on top. Enjoy!

Come home from a long day to tender ribs! Yes. I used spindly ribs in the picture. I'll be sure to put a better picture up when I don't purchase sale, meatless, ribs. After all, we are cheap. This cut of meat ended up being just a bit too sad, but on the up swing, the meat that was on the ribs was nice and juicy. My mistake was that I did not use the juicy baby back ribs as I typically do. Oh America and your cheap pork prices, how we miss thee. This is a fall-off-the-bone rib recipe, and it's way easy. You just need 10 hours to let the ribs cook. Make it in the morning, set it, and forget it!

Ingredients:
1 rack of baby back pork ribs
3 Tbs favorite rub (if you don't have one and want to make one, check out this rub recipe from the grill master at BBQ U: Rib Rub)
Bottle of favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:
Generously rub the rub all over the ribs

Place in slow cooker and drizzle favorite BBQ sauce (no need to drench the ribs with sauce, you can do that later. I just like to add sauce at this point to get some carmelization)

Set slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours. The ribs will cook in their own juices.

When cooked, take ribs out and drench with BBQ sauce. Enjoy the moist meaty goodness. This is when I'm extra glad to be a carnivore.

Talk about a tempting centerfold... This recipe was inspired by the center pic in some of our recent junk mail. The picture not only looked tasty, I had most of the ingredients on hand. In terms of being a fan of cheesecake, I'd put myself on the lower end of the scale. There just doesn't seem to be enough mixture of flavors for my well-seasoned pallet (ha!). Well, this puppy did the trick. And, it was actually the first time I tried to convert from English weights (grams) to US measurements (cups). I've been advised that converting is a bad idea and that it never turns out quite right, but with a little creative flare added, I think I did a good job (I'll just reduce the amount of cocoa that I mistakenly doubled for our dessert-whoops!).

Ingredients:
Brownie Base
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, or 3.5 oz
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs

Cheesecake Topping
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300F

Grease a spring-form pan (ours was about 7inches in diameter). Take a piece of foil and wrap the base of the pan because it will cook sitting in a roasting pan of water to keep the cheesecake from cracking. You're basically water-proofing the bottom of the spring-form pan.

Melt butter and chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave and mix together. Then add dry ingredients and finally the eggs.

Spread the brownie mixture in the bottom of the pan.

Mix together cheesecake topping ingredients in another bowl. Spoon over the brownie mixture in the pan.

Place the filled and foil-bottomed spring-form pan into a roasting pan. Fill the pan with about a half inch of water. The cake pan should be sitting in "the bath".

Bake for 1 hour or until the cheesecake is set around the edges. Turn off the oven and let the cake sit in the oven until the oven cools. I let ours sit for about 45min. This keeps the cheesecake from cracking.

You can decorate the top with drizzled, melted chocolate or shaved chocolate bits.

Dig in, it's divine. The best centerfold ever.

Now I've never been to Mexico, but I've had this soup a few times and always find it fab. I have fam that have actually been to the home of this delight so they would probably be the first to attest that this is not incredibly authentic, but it is still yummy. The soup actually provides a bright taste for cold winter days... in Mexico...hmmmmm. Maybe I should call this English Lime Soup with Mexican flare, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it and I don't think you find too many limes in the UK... Alright, I'm sticking with the original. The ingredients are pretty basic because we're keeping it cheap! (my only out-of-the-ordinary purchase was cilantro and limes, since England has something against selling lime juice in a bottle)

Ingredients:
7 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or a 1 tea garlic powder)
2 tea oregano
1 tea basil
1 tea salt
1/4 tea cayenne pepper
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup corn
4 limes, or 8 Tbs lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Crumbled tortilla chips for the top (make sure you do this, it's sooo yummy. We didn't have chips the day I took this picture but I bought some for the leftovers and it was worth it.)
Shredded cheddar for topping

optional:
1 cup cooked rice (I like to add rice to make soup a little more filling)

Directions:
So I always feel as though my directions are missing something because they feel a bit brief...

Bring broth to a boil

Add all the ingredients.

Let simmer until all is cooked through.

Top with chips and cheese and serve.


Now I just need to figure out what to do with all my leftover cilantro...

For someone who's not really a cucumber fan, I tell you what, this is a great side dish. Our grocery store unexpectedly bestowed upon us a free cucumber. I don't really like cucumbers and would have preferred cheese or chocolate, but I took my gifted cucumber and made cucumberaide, so to speak... I mean, talk about sweet, crunchy, and refreshing, this salad is going to do well for us in the summer. I've become slightly more of a cucumber fan. Just slightly (but a huge fan of this salad).

Ingredients:
1 small cucumber , thinly sliced (lengthwise or crosswise) with a vegetable peeler
1 small red onion , sliced (I never have red onion since white is so much cheaper, I slice a white onion very thinly)
2 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp favorite vinegar
pinch of salt

Directions:
Slice cucumber, sprinkle with salt and place in a colander to lose excess moisture

Slice onion and mix with vinegar and sugar

Add cucumber and chill for 1 hour at least.

Cucumber-haters out there, beware!

I'm posting this recipe to remind myself of this very easy, very classic breakfast. I tend to make this with croissant's when living abroad, and with biscuits when living State-side. We find that this delight is a great way to greet the morning and have the day start on a special note. My mouth is watering at just the thought of this diddy.

Ingreidents:
(Serves 1, you can figure it out from here)
1 croissant or flakey biscuit
2 strips of crispy bacon
1 egg beaten, slightly salted
1 slice of cheddar (brie can work well too)

Directions:
Toast croissant in the oven or bake the biscuit

Cook egg over the stove as to make a thin pancake (when we need to speed things up we cook the egg in the microwave for about a minute and you can do that with the bacon as well. About 1 min 30sec per slice, it gets nice and crispy)

When all is warm, put the egg, bacon, and cheese into the croissant or biscuit and dig in! Oh, this is so yummers.

Do you have some of those rock-hard pears on your hands? My problem with these under-ripe sweeties is that by the time they are ripe, I've completely forgotten about them and think of them as part of my kitchen decor. To ensure that we enjoy our pears before it's too late, we poach them in a delectable spice sauce. It goes famously with ice-cream and cookie crumbles on top.

Ingredients:
4 firm pears- pealed, gutted, and cut in half lengthwise
1 1/2cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea allspice/apple pie/pumpkin pie spice (whichever)
1/4 tea ginger

Directions:
Lay sliced pears in the bottom of the slow cooker

Dump everything else on top and swish around a bit.

Slow cook for 3-4 hours on high, or until pears are soft but don't fall apart

Sometimes the juice stays a bit watery, so I occasionally mix 1/4c flour with 1/4c water and pour it in about an hour before the pears are done. It thickens the sauce into more of a syrup


Serve on top of some classic vanilla, or as is. I personally think this dish needs a bit of crunch so we like to top ours with crumbled cookies, wafers, graham crackers... whatever tickles your fancy.

Always an inexpensive crowd pleaser, this ancient Aztec cuisine has persevered through the centuries. With longevity like that, it's worth a taste. Now, I can't vouch that this recipe is how the Aztecs made it, but it's darn good anyway.

Ingredients:
2 avocados (the cheapest ones I've found in the US are at Aldi)
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 roma tomato, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tea garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tea salt
1/4 tea cayenne pepper

Optional: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (if you have it around, I highly recommend it)

Directions:
Scoop avacado pulp into a small bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix and smash, mix and smash...

You're done. Easy as pie (Actually, it's much easier than pie).

This is obviously great with tortilla chips, but if Cheap and I are digging into a midnight dish we sometimes bake salted tortillas in the oven until crispy. Makes it an even healthier dish.

Carbonara Rimanenza or "Leftover Carbonara" (at least according to Google translate). I actually like to call it Garbage Carbonara where you throw in any veggie you have leftover that you're not sure what to do with before it spoils. With a market down the street, this happens quite a bit for us. The only veggie that I highly recommend you keep in the following recipe, are the grape tomatoes. They add a sweet pop to the dish. Eat up!

Ingredients:
1 lbs Fettuccine
5 strips of crispy bacon, crumbled or 5 oz diced and sautéed pancetta
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 eggs, beaten together
1 cup grated parmesan (we use a block of parm, we like it better and it can be a bit less expensive in the UK )
1 tea dried basil (use fresh if you have it)
Salt and pepper to taste

1 pint of mushrooms cut into fourths
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 pint of grape tomatoes

Directions:
Sauté bacon or pancetta in a frying pan

When meat is cooked, set meat aside and fry mushrooms, onions, and garlic in the leftover grease.

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta

While pasta is boiling, mix parm, eggs, and basil together. Make sure this sauce is finished before the pasta.

Once pasta is finished, drain and and quickly return to pot. The pasta needs to remain hot in order to cook the eggs in the carbonara sauce. Add sauce and mix together.

Add sautéed veggies, garlic, and the fresh grape tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste (I add quite a bit of salt, I'm a big fan)

Top with a little more grated parm. Serve and gustare! (Thanks again Google Translate)

Since we're in England, I thought I'd post something a bit more English, yet still very cheap. I saw J.Oliver make something like this and my first thought was... Mmmmmmmm. Cheap and I made this dish one morning and it got a big thumbs up. It has quite a simple flavor and goes well with coffee, a nice combo on an early morn.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
2 Eggs, beaten together
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 crumpets (they're 57p for 8 in the UK, I know you can purchase them in the States at large grocery store chains)
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar (or favorite cheese)

Directions:
Beat eggs, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl

Soak crumpets, one at a time, in the eggy mix

Place soaked crumpets on a hot pan and cook until crumpets are nice and toasty

Once ready, place crumpets on dish and top with cheese. Eat immediately.

We like to have a side of bacon or sausage with ours.

There's nothing like a chocolate flourless torte to make one feel like an accomplished baker. Whenever I make this I feel like I should open a bakery and this would be my prized item on the menu. It's so easy, and so good. Having a bad day? Make this guy and you'll feel better. I promise.

Ingredients:
12 oz. of chopped dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips (1 bag)
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
dash of salt
1/2 tea of cinnamon
1/8 tea cayenne pepper (for a little sass, shhhhh....)

Milk chocolate topping (optional)
4oz or about 3/4cup milk chocolate


Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F

Melt butter and chocolate together either in the microwave or with a metal bowl over a pot of steaming water (double-boiler)

In another bowl, mix the eggs and sugar together

Add chocolate mixture to the egg mixture a bit at a time, while whisking. Add spices.

Ideally, pour mixture into greased spring form pan. I don't own a spring form pan so I used a cake pan. You can't take the tort out, but it's still pretty.

Bake for 20-25 minute or until knife comes out clean. Let torte cool completely.

For milk chocolate topping:
Melt milk chocolate with milk in microwave or over double boiler (don't let it boil)

Spread over cooled torte and let harden

Dust with powdered sugar (I use a metal strainer to dust)

Unlike most things, this is best served luke-warm. It's nice and fudgey that way.

"This is definitely blog worthy, you can quote me." -Cheap

Inspired by our value-brand ground beef that has been taking up space in our freezer, I decided to make a fun twist on an old-fashioned fave. I made this for dinner today and the only hard part was Sweet Pea vying for my attention while I was cooking. This dish is an excellent heart-warmer. I mean, you just can't go wrong with meat, potatoes, and cheese. In the end, Sweet Pea loved it too!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound meatballs (I made mine but you can use store bought or even just brown some ground beef)
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot or about 3/4cup, shredded
1 Tbs oil
1/4 cup flour
1 14oz can diced tomato, drained
3 cups chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tea dried basil
1/2 tea garlic powder
2 cups sharp cheddar
1 cup milk

Directions:
In a pot on med-high, sauté onion and carrot with a Tbs oil.

Add flour to pot and mix with carrot and onion (this will thicken the broth)

Add the 3 cups of chicken broth and potato and let simmer until potatoes are cooked through, about 15 min.

Throw in drained tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, cheese, and cooked beef. Cook through.

Measure out 1 cup of milk and add a Tbs of soup mixture to the milk (to temper it so it won't curdle). Pour the milk into the soup. Once all is heated, serve and gobble it up!

This is a crowd pleaser for sure! Yummers!

Talk about soul food. After cold rainy days in England, these gooey treats warm our hearts and remind us of home. Even Sweet Pea loves these, especially the olives. It's made from ingredients we typically have on hand and we are a cheesy (yes, realistically and figuratively) family so this is prefect. Sweet Pea points to fridge daily and announces "cheese!", which actually sounds more like "keys!". This recipe meets a frequent cheesy craving.

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded chicken, cooked
1 small-med onion, diced
4 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
1 1/2 cups sour cream
8 8 inch tortillas
1 can diced tomatoes, drained of liquid
3/4 cup green olives, sliced in half
1/4 tea cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Extra sour cream and salsa for topping (or smothering)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F or 175C

Mix chicken, 1 cup sharp cheddar, onion, and 3/4cup sour cream in a bowl.

Evenly fill each tortilla and place in a 9x13 casserole dish. Enchiladas should end up in a single line.

Melt the rest of the sour cream and cheese in a microwaveable bowl. Add cayenne, garlic, and drained tomatoes.

Pour cheesy sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with black olives

Whack it in the oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Cheap and I top ours with salsa and more sour cream to make it even gooier (pictured).

Definitely an impressive way to whip up something easy for breakfast, or as a side to a main dish or salad. The first time I served this to Sweet Pea, around 14 months old, she took one bite and proceeded to stuff the rest of it into her mouth. As a kid, I still remember sitting on the kitchen floor watching these gems inflate in the oven. Needless to say, this recipe is fun for kids, and infants apparently.

Ingredients:
This recipe is for a 6 cup muffin tin, double if using a 12 cup one
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tea salt
1/4 cup melted butter
Optional: 1/2 cup favorite shredded cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450F (230 C)

Whisk eggs and milk together, then add salt and flour. I mix until slightly frothy on top. If you want cheesy pudding, add the cheese now too, it's quite delicious (pictured above)!

Pour melted butter into the bottom of the muffin cups, just enough to cover the bottom

Fill muffin tins about 1/2 to 3/4 full with batter

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until towering and golden.

Serve immediately because puddings deflate a bit. I usually use a knife to punch a hole in the top of each to let the steam escape.

Just like crepes, these can be eaten salty or sweet. Top with jam or powdered sugar for sweet, or butter for savory. Enjoy the doughy, eggy goodness!

This is most definitely a family fave. In our family, you just can't go wrong with an Asian-style burrito stuffed to the gills with stir-fry. Mu Shu is my favorite Chinese take-out dish, but we haven't found it here in Britannia (not that we'd be eating out anyway- student budget and everything). This recipe tastes like you bought it from a restaurant but it's much cheaper. Yea!

Suggestion- sometimes I throw the pork roast in my slow-cooker with a few Tbs of soy sauce for 6 hours. The pork just falls apart so you don't have to bother with slicing it.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb pork roast cut into thin strips (can use chicken, if you wish)
3 Beaten eggs
1 bunch green onion
2 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup matchstick carrots (or use coleslaw package where carrots and cabbage are combined)
1 cup bean sprouts (sometimes I omit sprouts if too $$)
Handfull of white mushrooms, sliced
2 tb Soy sauce
1/2 tea Salt
1/2 tea Sugar
1/4 tea ground ginger
Oil for pan

Burrito-sized tortillas or if you want authentic, Mandarin pancakes from an Oriental market
Plum sauce, sweet & sour sauce, duck sauce, or hoisin sauce for serving (whatever you have on hand)

Directions:
Add about 1Tbs of oil to hot frying pan and add pork.

When pork is about half-way done, I add a little more oil and put in the the veggies.

When cabbage is starting to wilt add the beaten eggs and scramble them.

After eggs are cooked, add soy sauce, ginger, salt, sugar. (If the dish is looking dry add a couple Tbs of water)

Fill the warmed (micro-waved) tortillas with chosen sauce and Mu Shu stir-fry. Eat immediately!

Cheap and I usually have leftovers so we gladly feast on this fare for two nights. No complaints here.

For some reason, whenever I'm living in England (this is my 4th move over here) I find myself craving the American good eats of Fall, even the ones that I don't typically desire while living State-side. For our Halloween party this year, I whipped up some American spiced apple cider in the land where "apple cider" is on draft at the local pub. With the discrepancy in terminology, I decided to cut to the chase and do what my mom always does, spice up some apple juice. Nobody knew the difference, it stayed cheap and it was a hit!

Ingredients
1/2 gallon of apple juice (or 2 one-liter boxes here in the UK)
1 tea ground cinnamon
1/2 tea ground allspice (or pumpkin pie/apple pie spice)
1/4 tea ground cloves

Directions
Dump the juice and spices into a pot.

Bring to a simmer and ladle into cups when ready.

Enjoy!

Due to an unfortunate visit from the flu, I have had no desire to cook (nor eat) for the past few days. I'm at that point where nothing sounds good, but I'm hungry and so is my family. Thank you Chicken Noodle Soup for soothing a yucky tummy.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
1 tea garlic powder
1 Tbs dried basil (if you have real, use it!)
7 cups Chicken Stock (I use bouillon because it's cheap and easy)
1 1/2 cups egg noodles (or any noodles you have on hand)
1 large cooked chicken breast, shredded

Directions:
Pour stock into a pot and place on heat.

Throw your mirepoix- onion, carrot, and celery into the pot (and yes, I used a fancy term to feel smart and chef-like. I'm an Emeril fan. Learn more about the Mirepoix).

After a few minutes, add noodles and let cook.

When noodles are tender, add chicken, garlic and basil.

Once all is warm, gobble it up! I like to top mine with cheddar.


This was one of the few benefits to the flu. I seem to forget about this tasty option when all is well and guess what, it's cheap!

I know there are a gazillion crêpes recipes out there but this is my favorite to date. Living in the land of chocolate spread, how could we not enjoy these delights every so often.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tea salt
1/2 tea almond or vanilla extract

Directions:
I'm sure I could make this much more technical but I just dump everything into a bowl and whisk.

Turn stove to med-high and add a bit of butter or oil to skillet


Once warm pour enough batter that you make a thin pancake that is the width of the skillet. I usually lift my pan off the burner and spread batter by tilting the pan.

When the bottom starts to brown or curl, flip the crêpe and lightly cook on the other side. I like mine soft. Repeat with the rest of the batter.


Crêpes filling ideas:
Chocolate spread
Chocolate spread with fruit (on this occasion we used rasberries)
Sugar and lemon
Jam
Honey
the possibilities are endless...

Thanks to my little Wednesday market down the road, I've been going avocado crazy. Sometimes they have five small avocado for £1 or three large ones for the same steal of a deal. I was hoping to make this dish last week but after baking my £1 avocados in the window (over the radiator- whoops!) I had to wait. This is a delectable dish, but it does need a carb along side.

Ingredients:
Serves 2

1 large avocado
4 Tbs favorite hummus
3 medium sized tomatoes
2 small onions
handful pitted black olives, I cut mine in half

Dressing:
2 Tbs oil
3 tea vinegar (I'd prefer balsamic or apple cider- but it doesn't really matter)
2 tea lemon juice
1 tea dried basil (if you have fresh basil... use it!)
1/2 tea garlic powder

Directions:
Chop onion and tomatoes and put under oven broiler until tips of veggies are singed

Mix dressing

Cut large avocado in half, get rid of the pit, and scoop each half out and onto a plate

Spoon hummus onto each avocado and top with olives and roasted veggies. Pour as much dressing as desired over the dish. Salt and pepper as needed. Dig in!

This is just a fun way to snap things up a bit. Cheap is a huge fan of hummus so we usually have some on hand. It looks impressive and tastes divine smeared onto the end of a baguette. Enjoy!

While living overseas, Cheap and I find ourselves longing for maple syrup. At least in the States you have an assortment of inexpensive, flavored maple syrup or the real stuff (which we prefer). Here the real stuff is doubly expensive Canadian Maple Syrup and there's no way we're forking over $10 for a small bottle. This is a tasty alternative from the more traditional and can really be a fab twist for special occasions.

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/2 tea vanilla or almond extract (I prefer almond but both work well)

Directions:
(Watch-out, they're incredibly intricate instructions)
Dump everything into a microwave safe bowl/mini-pitcher and nuke it (around 30 seconds depending on the size of your microwave oven) Use it as you would traditional maple.

Cheap and I really like the bright, natural flavors of this. Surprise your family and friends and look like a gourmet. Enjoy!

In a bind? Need a side dish without much prep?

Ingredients:
As many baking potatoes as will do the trick
As many chopped onions as you like (I like LOTS)
Melted butter or oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven 400F

Slice the baking potatoes lengthwise into thirds

Combine with onion

Drizzle butter or oil so that each tater and onion is lightly coated (salt to taste)

Whack it in the oven for 45 min or until golden.

Voilà!

Another option: Stick potatoes in a plastic bag and take a meat mallet to them so they get properly smashed into bits. Dump into pan and then continue with the recipe. Sweet Pea thought this method was hilarious.


Very cheap, very easy.

The Quesadilla is always a great standby. Everyone inevitably has one of those "before the market" type evenings, where you try to mix and match all the bits of food you have left. I can usually scrounge up tortillas in the freezer and some leftover cheese. From that point you can make "garbage quesadillas" filling the bad-boy with crazy leftovers or you can do something like this... (this might take a little more planning because I'm sure not all of you have chorizo in your freezer-I'm just a dried sausage freak)

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
4 large (burrito size) tortillas
2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 6in sausage of dried chorizo (give or take as much as you like)
2 cloves minced garlic or 1 tea garlic powder
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups frozen 3 pepper medley (I find this way cheaper than buying individual peppers. Trader Joe's for US, Tesco for UK)
1 cup frozen corn
salt to taste

Directions:

In a skillet add 1 Tbs oil and sauté chorizo, garlic, onion, pepper medley over hot/med-hot.

When sauté is beginning to brown, add corn. (I find that if you add corn with peppers/onion the corn dries out) Once peppers, onion, corn, etc.. are browned put the sauté to the side.

Put 1 tortilla on the hot skillet and add 1/2 cup cheese. Fill half side of the tortilla with the the sauté and fold tortilla over (like you would a taco).

Pan fry until cheese melts inside. Repeat with the other 3 tortillas.

The chorizo adds a nice surprise to these quesadillas and a little goes a long way with all the flavor chorizo has packed in side. We like to smother this dish with sour cream and salsa. The picture is pre-smother, obviously.

I seem to always have too many potatoes on hand. I simply can't understand why my grocery store, back in the States, offers a 5lb bag of potatoes for only 10¢ less than a 10lbs bag. So of course I always go with the 10lbs bag and inevitably end up with 4(ish) quite dehydrated and sprouted potatoes. With our shoe-string budget, I will not let that happen here. With my 1kg baking potatoes for £1, I will use them all (and before they turn green). This recipe is inspired by a picture I saw in a bookstore window. I thought it looked interesting and so it would be a good use for my excess of taters. Cheap liked it, and so did I.

The Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes, cut into cubes
1 jar/can black whole black olives
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
1 Med onion, sliced
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/4c oil
2 cloves garlic minced or 1 tea garlic powder
4 sprigs rosemary, or whatever dried herb you have on hand that you enjoy.
Salt to taste

The Directions:
Heat oven to 450(220) Bring a pot of water to a boil and flash boil potatoes for 5 minutes.

Mix oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and herb and pour into roasting pan

Dump potatoes into roasting pan along with onion, cherry tomatoes, and black olives. Mix with oil/lemon mixture.

Put in oven for 40minutes, turning once.

When veggies are browned and crispy, take out and enjoy!

We actually found the pairing of black olives and potatoes simply delightful. I never would have thought of it on my own. Sweet Pea liked the olives but Cheap and I ate the whole thing.

I just can't understand why quiche receives the misnomer of "women's food". Why is quiche the antitheses of masculinity in today's culture? Think about what's in it besides egg... lots of cheese, meat, more cheese, heavy milk. If we're talking stereotypes, isn't "women's food" supposed to be dainty and low-calorie? Quiche is one of the hardier breakfasts that one can eat, and I have yet to find a man who doesn't enjoy the tasty dish when it is served to him.

The Ingredients:
5 slices or more of crispy bacon, crumbled into bits (I truly believe you can never have enough bacon)
1 diced med onion
2 cups shredded cheddar (I used sharp/mature)
1 Tbs flour
3 eggs
1 1/2cups milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tea salt

1 pie crust- I used Light Pie Crust

The Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (180C) and par-bake pie crust for 10 minutes. After crust is done, increase oven temperature to 400F (200C).

While crust is in the oven, beat eggs and add milk. Mix together.

Toss cheddar with the 1Tbs flour. (The flour helps thicken the quiche but won't get as clumpy since it's dispersed throughout the cheese). Reserve about 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the quiche.

Add most of the cheese/flour mixture, and all the bacon, onion, and salt to the milk/egg mixture.

Pour mixture onto par-baked crust and top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake in 400F (200C) oven for 30-35min, or until golden on top.

After baked, let the quiche rest for 10 minutes.

We love this and I switch up the meat depending on what I have on hand. Pictured above, I used English Richmond pork sausage since I had some cooked up. It was good but slightly mild for my taste. I like bacon better but both worked. Cheap liked it, Sweet Pea preferred a slice of plain whole-wheat bread. Go figure.

I thinks leeks are yummo. However, back in the States I never buy leeks because my cheap grocery store doesn't carry them. Well here in England, they're a dime a dozen. Well, sort of. I bought one leek for 24p at my local farmers market. One great aspect of leeks is that they pair well with one of my favorite meats, bacon.

The Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup Arborio rice (can be bought at Trader Joe's)
4 strips of cooked crispy bacon
1 large leek, diced
2 Tbs butter (I used oil)
Salt to taste

optional:
1/3 cup parm

The Directions:
For reasons out of my control, I ended up with "Paella Rice" in my cupboard. It looks similar to Arborio rice, and my goal is resourcefulness, so I used it. Not my first choice, but it had to be done. I later made this recipe with traditional Arborio rice and it turned out fab.

Put butter (I used oil) in a pot and add leek. (I wasn't sure how to even cut a leek so if you need help:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm6XGDwjJQA).

Sauté for about 4 minutes and add rice.

Once rice is coated and is slightly toasted add the stock and white wine (I was out of white wine, and omitted it this time. I did miss it however).

Cover the rice and let it simmer with occasional stirs.

After about 20-25min, or when the rice is tender and creamy, take it off the heat and add crumbled bacon and salt to taste.

I topped mine with some mature cheddar, and breaded chicken. It was yummo and Cheap liked it.

For some reason whenever I devour this (it's true) I imagine myself somewhere in Italy along the Mediterranean Sea, with my bronzed skin, sitting across a cafe table from my hubby. Then I wake up and take note that I am not in Italy, nor do I have skin that will ever remotely look bronzed. Oh well. This recipe was inspired by £1 basket of tomatoes from Gloucester Green Market, and Sainsbury's value brand Fresh Mozzarella for 47p. When I make this back in the States, I buy tomatoes and fresh mozzarella from Aldi (When available). This is a perfect Summer, or wishing-for-Summer salad.

The Ingredients:
(Serves 2 if this is your meal)
1 Fresh Mozzarella Ball
2 large tomatoes (or multiple small ones)
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have on hand)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (or whatever oil you have)
1 Tsp dried basil, or handful fresh basil

Goes perfectly with a baguette half (I use Sainsbury value part-baked baguettes for 37p, or Americans can buy them at Aldi as well)

What you will soon find out about me, I am a recipe interpreter. I believe recipes can and should be modified as to what you have in your pantry. Obviously not everything can be changed, but it's fun and cheap to fudge a little.

Directions:
Slice both the Mozzarella and tomatoes into thin slices. Stack alternatively the tomato and the mozzarella. In a small bowl mix oil (I used rapeseed/canola oil) and vinegar (used malt or would have used apple cider vinegar in the USA). For personal preference, I added a pinch of garlic powder and and lemon juice for a bit more zip. I sprinkled the salad with basil, salt, and then the dressing- and presto, an impressively easy dish that is just divine. I also added a wee bit of rosemary simply because it's growing in our rented backyard.

Kid rating:
My 18mo little girl, who will be called "Sweet Pea", loved this. But her tastes are weird. She likes curry, but not mac&cheese.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Halloumi. This fabulous cheese is originally from Cyprus and my brother would be happy to know that it was initially made during the Medieval Byzantine period. Jamie Oliver (via TV) introduced me to this fabulous cheese, and those of you in the States with the Food Network probably think I'm way behind the times. Anyway, this cheese has a high melting temperature so it can be fried. Yummy! I think this is my new favorite food. It's salty like feta but has less tang to it. The Halloumi was the most expensive part of the dish but Cheap and I feasted on this tasty meal for under £5 total for the two of us- still not too shabby. And I'll make this promise, I will be cooking more with my new darling cheese.

Ingredients:
Serves 4
1 cup couscous
2 cup boiling chicken stock
1 lrg zucchini cut into diagonal slices
2 hand-fulls of cherry tomatoes
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 lbs (or around 500g) halloumi cut into slices

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbs vinegar
2 minced garlic cloves or 1/2 tea garlic powder
salt to taste

Directions:
Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add couscous. Cover and set to the side (off the burner)

Pour a round of oil into hot skillet and add onion to caramelize. Once onion is limp and translucent (10 minutes-ish) add zucchini, and tomatoes (cut-side-down). Let the veggies cook until roasted for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan to prepare stove for halloumi.

Add a wee bit more oil and add strips of halloumi to the pan.

While halloumi is cooking, mix dressing together.

When the halloumi is looking toasty on both sides(after about 5 minutes), place the veggies over the cooked couscous. Put the slices of halloumi on top of the veggies and pour dressing over the entire dish.

I'm telling you that this dish is fab. It will make you a halloumi fan(and couscous fan if you're not already). Both Cheap and Sweet Pea loved it. Actually, Sweet Pea loved making a cous cous mess all over herself. Enjoy!