Broccoli, cauliflower, potato and mushroom gratin

I love eating my vegetables, and this recipe is a lovely way to have them for dinner or as a side dish. 

Ingredients (2-3 portions)
1 tablespoon of butter
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic
2 potatoes (cut in dices)
1/2 cup of broccoli (chopped in large pieces)
1/2 of cauliflower (chopped in large pieces)
1 cup of milk

4 mushrooms (chopped in small pieces)

1 tablespoon of wheat flour
1 slice of cheddar cheese (chopped in small pieces)

Directions

Melt the butter and mix with the vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the chopped garlic.

After 4 or 5 minutes, add the diced potatoes and cook on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes (the bigger the dices, the longer you have to cook them). Stir gently, but frequently.

When the potatoes are lightly cooked, add the broccoli and cauliflower. If you are using fresh ones, cook for about 7 minutes. I prefer to use frozen broccoli and cauliflower because it is quite inexpensive and it doesn't lose much quality (I normally avoid processed foods, but there are some exceptions and this is one). If you are using frozen ones, just cook until they are warm. Add salt to taste.

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Move the mix into a deep baking tray. Without washing the pan, mix the milk with the wheat flour and pour it there. When it becomes a bit thick, turn off the flame and add the sliced mushrooms. Let them cook a bit with the remaining heat, stirring occasionally.

Add the milk and mushrooms mix to the baking tray and incorporate all ingredients together. Cover with the pieces of cheddar cheese.

Bring it to the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Enjoy your veggies! And by the way, if you want to make it actually vegetarian, skip the cheese, change the butter and oil mix for olive oil and substitute the milk for soy milk.

Apple and blue cheese snack

This recipe is extremely easy and quick. I like it as a midnight-snack for myself, but it works well if you have guests because it's not only tasty, it looks nice.

Ingredients

1 small apple (I like Gala apples)

1 teaspoon of soft cheese (you can substitute with plain yogurt or cream)

1 teaspoon of blue cheese

1 tablespoon of chopped mixed nuts

1 tablespoon of honey

Directions

Slice the apple and remove the seeds and the heart.

Mix the soft cheese and the blue cheese and spread it on the apple slices (you don't have to cover them perfectly). Then, sprinkle the chopped mixed nuts on top.

Finnish with a few drops of honey just before serving.

That's it. If you don't like blue cheese you can just use soft cheese, but then, go easy on the honey. You can also make this with cottage cheese or goats' cheese. One thing I love about this snack is that is an alternative to bread or crackers, and I also like that all the ingredients are very nutritious.

Easy Bolognese sauce

A great way to stretch a pack of ground beef is making Bolognese sauce, and this recipe works great, even for people with less than perfect knife skills and not a lot of time (I'm guessing you are not an Italian nonna with a free afternoon).

Ingredients (6 to 8 portions)

500 g. of ground beef

2 small cans of chopped tomatoes (about 500 gr.)

2 small carrots

1 bell pepper

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

1 cup of water

3 tablespoons of tomato paste

5 tablespoons of oil (if you have it, use olive oil)

5 mushrooms

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of rosemary

2 tablespoons of sugar

Directions

Peal and chop the onions in medium sized pieces. Put them in the blender with the peeled garlic cloves and the cup of water.

Heat the olive oil in a deep pot and empty the blender jar. Stir and cook for 4 minutes on high heat. Add the rosemary to the onions. Chop the carrots and the pepper in medium sized pieces and throw them in the blender with the water (you don't have to wash the onion left inside because it's all going to the same pot). Keep this close but don't put it on the pot just yet.

Add the ground beef to the pot and lower the flame to medium.

Stir and make sure that there are not big lumps of meat (break them with a spoon if you see any).

Add the blended carrots and the pepper to the pot. Stir.

Blend the chopped canned tomatoes and add them to the pot. Stir.

Add the tomato paste and the sugar. Stir. Let it cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Wash and slice the mushrooms and add them to the pot. Lower the flame a bit more and let it cook for 10 to minutes more. Add salt and  black pepper to your taste.

Why did I add sugar? Because sometimes canned tomatoes have an acidic aftertaste and this balances up the recipe (it's the same reason to add the carrots; in fact, if you don't feel like adding sugar to the recipe, just add an extra carrot).

You can serve this straight away (with optional -but highly recommended grated cheese on top) or store them in the fridge up to 4 days (or in freezer for up to 3 months). I always like to make a large batch and store a part, just for those days I'm in a hurry but I still want to enjoy a hot homemade meal.

Tip: Don't throw away jam jars, they are perfect containers for individual portions of sauce.

This recipe has an estimated cost of 1 to 1,5 euros per portion (including a generic brand portion of pasta and depending on how generous you are while serving). It can cost even lees if you substitute a part of the meat for more tomatoes and onions.

Carrot, onion and potato creamy soup

I just love this creamy soup. It's incredibly easy to make and tastes so good. I hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients

4 small carrots (or 3 medium sized)

1 medium sized onion

3 small potatoes

1 tablespoon of butter

2 cups of milk

1/2 liters of hot water

Grated cheese (optional)

Directions

Chop the onions and cook them with the butter in a deep pot. When they are translucent, chop the carrots and add them to the pot. Stir and cook for 5 minutes in medium heat.

Chop the potatoes and add them to the pot. Add also the hot water. Cook until the potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.

Put everything in the blender, plus the two cups of milk, and blend until it's smooth.

Bring back to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tips: If you want it extra-tasty, instead of water, you can use vegetable broth. If you want it creamier, add a tablespoon of heavy cream. If you want it lighter, add more carrots and less potatoes. 

I like to serve this soup with a bit of grated cheese on top, and with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side. And more good news: the cost per portion (including the little sandwich) is approximately 1 euro.

20 Ingredients to always have in the kitchen

Here's a list of the ingredients I try to never run out of. They are inexpensive and provide the basics to many recipes (you can even make a few things just with them). I am convinced that one of the keys to save on grocery shopping is to be organized in your purchases, so you always know what do you have on hand when you want to cook something.

20. Cabbage: You can make rolls, coleslaw, kapusta, colcannon and many other things.

19. Sausages: They are a valid option whether it's for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

18. Plain yogurt: Use instead of mayo, add honey and cereal for a dessert, or cumin and lemon for a savory dip.

17. Apples: Just as a snack or as part of a salad or dessert, they have so many uses...

16. Lettuce: Please don't buy the one already packed and washed, unless you cook in a hurry (saving time is also saving).

15. Pasta: Try to have a type of long and a type of short pasta and restock as you use them.

14. Instant noodles: A 20 cents pack will improve a lot when you add a few things at home.

13. Radish: Healthy, colorful, tasty and you don't even have to cook them.

12. Ham: A wildcard to use and add protein quickly to salads, sandwiches and pasta.

11. Canned tomatoes: If you want a nice sauce, this is a must.

10. Tomatoes: Roasted or raw, alone or in a recipe; and especially, on a fresh toast with salt and olive oil.

9. Carrots: Chopped them and add them to rice, eat them as snack, make creamy soup out of them, etc.

8. Onions: Make quiche, add them to meatballs, sauces, sandwiches, stuffing, salads... I thing you can add them to practically all savory dishes.

7. Canned fish: Sardines for extra-affordable option, tuna or mackerel for normal priced and salmon to have a treat. Even the costliest ones are not so expensive.

6. Oat meal: Great way to start the day (although I love it for dinner), and also, to make awesome biscuits.

5. Sliced cheese: It's mere presence between two loafs of bread lets you have a decent sandwich, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

4. Potatoes: After moving to Ireland, I quickly jumped from eating them once a week to having potatoes between three and five times a week. I'd need a new post just to list the things you can do with them.

3. Eggs: Even if you eat them without any thing else, you still have a lot of tasty options.

2. Sliced bread: The only carb that hasn't been overthrown by potatoes in my list. Bread is the perfect vehicle for food.

1. Milk: For coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milkshakes, smoothies, and also cereal, sauces, even soups. I can't let my kitchen run out of this magic ingredient.

As you see, most of these ingredients are under 3 euros a pack (many under 2 or 1), and if you have them at home, there are plenty of combinations between them that will make nice meals (and in many cases, you don't even have to cook, or the prep time is less than 15 minutes).

Mushroom and Cheese Rice

Let's start this blog's "new season" with one of my favorite recipes to make at home. A mushroom and cheese faux risotto (made with normal white rice) that is very easy and fast to make from scratch. 

Ingredients (2 portions):

1 cup of white rice

3 tablespoons of milk

1 tablespoon of butter

2 slices of cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons of blue cheese

2 tablespoons of grated mozzarella

1 tablespoon of hard cheese (Parmesan-style)

1/4 of an onion (or 1/2 if it's small)

4 garlic cloves

1/2 apple

1 tablespoon chopped nuts

5 mushrooms

Directions

Melt the butter in a medium sized pan. Chop the onion in very small pieces (a.k.a. "brunoise") and put it in the pan at hi-med heat. When it's becoming soft and translucent, add the garlic (minced) and stir.

If you add them at the same time, the garlic will burn

Chop the apple in small dices and add it to the pan. After a couple of minutes, slice the mushrooms and add them too. Stir gently and frequently. At this point, you can start cooking the rice (or you can use yesterday's).

Put the cheeses in a microwave-safe bowl and melt them (use intervals of 10 seconds and stir, so they don't burn. When you see they're soft enough to mix, stop).

Add the melted cheeses (save a bit of the Parmesan-style to grate on top at the end) into the pan and mix. Then, add the milk and cook over very low flame for three or four minutes.

When the white rice is done, bring it to the pan and stir until it's completely mixed with the cheeses and mushroom combination.

Before serving, add the chopped mixed nuts and grate the rest of the Parmesan-style cheese on top.

Since this dish is very easy to pack and to eat (which works if you want to have during your lunch break), and the weather today was so nice; I decided to pack it and bring it to the park for a picnic!

Changing the subject

This lines are just to separate older articles of everything that comes after today.
I realized I want to write about the food and beverages I have frequently, and, being on a budget, they tend to be inexpensive ones, but that doesn't mean repetitive or bland.
It takes some creativity and sense of opportunity, but it's more than possible to eat very nicely without it costing you so much.
I hope you find some of my posts useful or entertaining.

Gaby