Saturday

So first things first. The shopping arrives on Saturday morning so I lay it all out to show the family how much we managed to get for our £35. The huge sack of potatoes look like they’ll last us until Christmas.

I have already emptied a shelf in the fridge and half a cupboard, so I start putting the food away, with strict instructions to the family that they can’t eat anything from anywhere else. And to check with me first to make sure they don’t use up ingredients I’ll be needing.

So breakfast of toast and jam goes ok, with little grumbling but we have only just begun.

As the day goes on we all just want to pick as we know we can’t. I’m sure its all in the mind. We spend the Saturday preparing 2 of the chickens by cutting them up and putting them into freezer bags in the fridge. I also start making the soups and the chicken stock for meals later in the week. For a treat as I know we can’t buy snacks for our lunch boxes, I make a batch of biscuits.

We seem to be drinking lots more tea so the biscuits won’t last long at this rate.

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Breakfast
Toast, butter and jam

Lunch
Cheese salad sandwich

Dinner
Chicken cacciatore and mash

Snack
Homemade biscuits

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RECIPE

Chicken noodle soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
2 chicken carcasses
Pinch of salt and pepper
Enough water to cover the chicken
A few strands of dried spaghetti broken into two inch pieces

Method

Take the outer skin off the onion and chop the vegetables in to chunks, you don’t need to peel just slice them.

Put everything in a deep sided pan and heat until boiling, then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and pulls off the bones.

Take the chicken out of the pan and let it cool down a bit so you can pull off the chicken meat from the bones.

You can also hold back some of this chicken flavored water as stock for other dishes, it can be frozen for a few months.

Scoop off the chicken fat then whizz up the stock with the chunky vegetables with a blender in the pan.

Add the spaghetti and simmer again until the spaghetti is soft. About 10 minutes

If you are eating this straight away add half the chicken meat saving the rest for another meal. If not leave in the fridge until ready.

Season to taste.

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Pea and mint soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 stalks of celery diced
1 medium carrot diced
1 medium onion diced
Half a packet of frozen peas
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Pinch of salt and pepper
500ml vegetable stock
Tablespoon of cooking oil

Method

Heat the oil and add the vegetables cooking on a medium heat until just starting to caramelize and turn golden.

Add the heated stock and the peas and simmer until soft. For about 10 minutes.

When the peas are cooked add the mint and whizz with a hand blender until smooth.

Season to taste.

 

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Chicken Cacciatore and mash

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
4 chicken drumsticks and 4 wings skin on
1 clove of garlic
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Fresh parsley to garnish
Glass of red wine (optional)

Enough potatoes for 4 people with a bit more for another day

Method

Take the outer skin off the onion and chop the vegetables finely, and slice the garlic

Heat the oil in the high sided frying pan and add the chicken, turning until golden. About 10 minutes.

Add the vegetables and garlic and keep cooking on a medium heat until they go a bit soft, then add the salt, pepper and rosemary.

Cook for 5 minutes then add the wine if using and the chopped tomatoes.

Put on a lid and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Add a bit of water if it gets too dry.

While this is cooking boil the peeled potatoes in salted water until soft and then drain and mash with a little butter.

Serve the cacciatore with a little chopped parsley and olives if you have them.