Today is Meat free Monday so we decided to make pea and mint risotto, as I had found a good recipes on the internet from the BBC Food site. We are still trying to keep in our £10 a week budget so I couldn’t afford to buy risotto rice even though it’s still cheap at £1 a bag. Instead I used the long grain rice at 40p, and honestly it was just as good.

I hadn’t cooked risotto until a little while ago, as I had always thought it was a bit of faff. Spooning in the stock every 10 minutes. This recipe is so simple (which is why I called it easy peasy risotto… I know!) I think as its so quick and easy I may experiment in the future with different flavours.

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Monday

Breakfast
Porridge or toast and jam

Lunch
Salmon and cucumber rolls, coffee cake and melon

Dinner
Pea and mint risotto

Snack
Banana

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RECIPE

Easy Peasy Risotto in the microwave

Serves 4

Ingredients

175g Rice (long grain or risotto if you have it)
500ml Hot Vegetable Stock (stock cube)
250g Frozen Pea
100g Cheese
Handful Mint Leaves, Roughly Chopped

Method

Measure the rice into a large microwaveable bowl, then pour in a third of the stock. Cover with cling film, then microwave on High for 10 minutes.

Stir the rice, then add another third of the stock, re-cover and microwave again for 3 minutes.

Stir the rice again, then add the frozen peas and the rest of the stock.

Re-cover and microwave for 7 minutes. Stir in the cheese and mint, then leave the Risotto to stand for 2 minutes before serving.