Cooking from scratch...

Glad

I flatten my home made meatballs so they look like mini burgers, they are easier to cook and less likely to break up, then we have them on pasta with a home made tomato based sauce,

we always make home made garlic bread, mash garlic and herbs into butter, spread on any bread, wrap in foil in oven for 10 mins then open up foil for last few mins

culpepper

You can make a homemade grovesnor pie .
Packet of sausage meat.Boiled eggs and pastry.
Just line a loaf pan with pastry.cover bottom and sides with sausage meat and line up some shellled hardboiled eggs along the middle.cover with more sausage meat and top the pie with a pastry lid.
When its cooked let it go cold and slice it up.Each slice has a circle of egg in the middle.
Scotch eggs are easy too.Hard boiled eggs.Wrap each egg in sausage meat and then dip in egg then crumbs and deep fry.

Queenie

Taught my boys how to make HM Popcorn :j

Used to do this when my (now adult) older 3 were youngsters.

3Tbps oil
2oz popping corn (either buy it from the supermarket or health food shop)

Coating:
2Tbsp caster sugar
2Tbsp cocoa

Gently heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan which has a tight fitting lid. Add the corn, put the lid on top and give a little shake to coat the corn in the oil.
Within moments you will hear the corn begin to *POP*
*Keep the lid ON*
You can shake the pan to keep the kernels moving.
When the popping stops (and most definately NOT before!) remove the lid and toss in the sugar and cocoa powder, replace the lid and give a goodly shake to coat the popcorn with the dustings.
This quantity makes a good salad bowl full and is plenty to nibble on.

Serve and enjoy

I've tried with just a sprinkle of salt - ok but nothing magic; I've tried with just a sprinkle of sugar, ditto; *this* dusting is by far the best I have served when considering cost/health/time. I've looked up a number of popcorn recipes before but, as I've said, this one is a hit with the kids and dh alike (who are all "goody" addicts )

We've guestimated the cost to be approx 10p maximum.

tiff

I've made a lot of popcorn lately, my son had an end of term party at Beavers and had to take some food along, I gave him a tub of popcorn covered with a golden syrupy coating which went down well and was soooo cheap. Much better than the box of maltesers that I sent him with last time.

A good tip about making popcorn is to put the oil in first to heat up, add 2 or 3 kernels of corn and when they start popping its time to put in the rest. Take off the heat and cover the bottom of the pan with one layer of kernels, that will be enough to almost fill a large saucepan. Keep taking off the heat and give it a good shake so that you dont burn the bottom.

Queenie

I'll try the syrup