Economy Gastronomy - new budget cookery programme; BBC

mama67

trying-very-trying wrote: »

Oh, we're back to the food part:T.
Where did you get the artichoke hearts? I've never seen them in the shops where I shop, but then I've never been looking for them.

I have done the Macaroni Cheese a few times now, always sub mushrooms for the srtichokes and throw in whatever leftover veg is lying around.

Even my Dh who doesn't normally like pasta bakes asked for this again.

kacie

I really enjoyed the programme, its given me a few tips and ideas, such as the shepherds pie which I never make as I don't like mince, so am tempted to try that.

jaytin

sunrise27 wrote: »

they were just one big runny mess , they didn't look right from the minute I made the mixture and then just ran all over the baking sheet

Maybe try as the other poster suggested with the biscuits? It seems that resting the mixture in the fridge for a bit makes it firm up and spread about less. Is it possible that people might be using larger eggs, which is adding a bit more liquid? The recipe calls for 2 eggs, but I usually buy large ones and depending on the supplier eggs can vary in size by quite a bit. Often if a mixture looks a little runny I might add a little more flour. I would love to try the brownie cookies but to be honest baking sweet things is just not my strong point!

Clutterfree

Hello all!

I am going toake the meatball recipe again this week as it went down a storm last time.
However, I don't want to faff about with fresh tomatoes to make the sauce this time and will use tinned chopped tomatoes instead so was after some advice on which quantities please.

The recipe states 1kg ripe tomatoes and 4 large shallots.

How many 400g tins do you think I should use instead?
I was thinking 2 or 3.
Also should I use all the tin or be better getting tinned plum toms and draining off some of the juice?
I am also going to substitute the shallots for onion as it is cheaper.
Would you use 1 or 2 onions in place of the 4 large shallots?

Finally, I still have a chorizo in the fridge from last time. It is in a lock and lock container, it will be 2 weeks old when I come to use it, do you think it will still be fine to use please?

Apologies for all the questions but I would appreciate some advice please.
Thank you.

ifonlyitwaseasier

Clutterfree wrote: »

Hello all!

I am going toake the meatball recipe again this week as it went down a storm last time.
However, I don't want to faff about with fresh tomatoes to make the sauce this time and will use tinned chopped tomatoes instead so was after some advice on which quantities please.

The recipe states 1kg ripe tomatoes and 4 large shallots.

How many 400g tins do you think I should use instead?
I was thinking 2 or 3. sounds about right and i'd add the juice, stick with chopped as there really isn't much diff in price nowadays
Also should I use all the tin or be better getting tinned plum toms and draining off some of the juice?
I am also going to substitute the shallots for onion as it is cheaper.
Would you use 1 or 2 onions in place of the 4 large shallots? i'd use one large onion or 2 medium-small

Finally, I still have a chorizo in the fridge from last time. It is in a lock and lock container, it will be 2 weeks old when I come to use it, do you think it will still be fine to use please? oh yes, it'll be fine, mine keeps in the fridge for weeks(months:eek:) depending on usage

Apologies for all the questions but I would appreciate some advice please.
Thank you.

hth and let us know how it turns out

ioiwe

Raspberry_Swirl

cured chorizo as apposed to the fresh cooking chorizo will keep well in the fridge for about 4-6 weeks (in my experience!). doesn't give out as much paprika-flavoured oil as the fresh stuff but is better value for money.

charliee_3

i havent read the rest of the thread so sorry in advance if i'm covering old ground.

I did enojy this series but i have 2 main bug-bears with it
1) The people they chose on the whole were spending MASSIVE amounts of money on food and their budgets were still quite high on the EG week.. my point being that is someone is spending a fortune on food and throwing out a quarter of it, reducing their budget by a quarter can be done just by letting them buy whatever food they were buying before, but less of it so they dont waste any.

2) The recipes looked lovely but they were all really time-consuming and laborious. i dont think they took into account the peoples lives and how much time they could reasonably spend on cooking to make it a worthwhile excercise.. its not worth spending all day cooking at the expense of family time and good home-cooked food doesnt need 3 hours of prep every day and doesnt need lots of ingredients and special equipment.

i hope they come back for another series though!

lucyhope

Well, I've had ANOTHER go at the Chocolate Brownie Biscuits, and another disaster!! First try, they were very runny and spread all over the baking tray, so this time I did as others have suggested and left the mix to stand for a while before cooking. First tray I used a dessertspoon as the recipe says and just like last time, all over the tray! I tried a teaspoonfull next, and, although they spread more than I would have liked, they do at least look something like the picture in the book. I don't think I'll bother with this recipe again somehow, the brownie recipe someone posted that was from Jackie years ago was much better.(and now a much requested treat)

zippychick

I made those brownies Lucy, but had the temp on my oven too high so burnt them Are they yummily nice then?

lucyhope

They are zippy but a lot of faffing around, I feel as if I've wasted time and ingredients making them. Jackie Brownies in future!:)