Ham Hash Cakes - more things to do with leftovers

I am always on the look out for tasty and nutrious recipes using leftovers and I saw this one for Ham Hash cakes in a recent edition of my Mums Best magazine.

All it consists of is mash potato, sprouts (both of which can be leftovers) and ham (an ideal way to use cooked meats going out of date). You just dice the ham and mix all three ingredients together, shape into flat cakes and fry in olive oil until crisp, brown and piping hot.
Don't forget that although sprouts are in abundance at this time of year, you can replace them with any left over veg, carrots, cabbage etc will be just as tasty!

It is also a take on the Tuna Fish Cakes I make, from a Sainsburys recipe from their "feed your family for a fiver" selection of dishes which is just tuna, mash and spring onions.

One of my favourite dinners of the year is our Boxing Day meal of cold turkey, bread sauce, mash and pickles along with any sausages wrapped in bacon or sausagemeat and stuffing balls, that may be left over aswell. This year we turned all the leftover veg into a traditional bubble and squeak with a difference, by mashing roughly in a baking tray and topping with grated cheese before popping into a hot oven. It was really tasty and don't forget these kind of meals shouldn't be just for the festive season, as they save you money and cut down on waste at any time of year.

Making Use of Leftovers - Banana Cake

We have had a bit of leftover fruit this week, with the kids being off, so Little Man and I have been baking. I got this receipe from the internet an age ago, it is so simple to make (I don't even use scales, just guess work with weights) and very tasty! Ideal for using up bananas that have gone black. Great for pack lunches, picnics or with a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon, I really must go and put the kettle on!

4oz butter or margarine
6oz sugar
8oz self raising flour
2 eggs
2 large or 3 medium, very ripe bananas

Heat the oven to gas mark 4; 180C
Grease a 2lb loaf tin.
Mash the bananas with a sturdy fork.
Cream the butter and sugar together and mix in the eggs
Mix together the two yellow sludges you now have.
Mix in the flour.
Scrape into the loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes then lower teh temperature to gas mark 2; 150C and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Try to let it cool (turned out on a rack) before you devour it.

What will happen to Recessionista's?

Experts believe that we should be getting out of the Recession by the end of the year, which got me thinking, what will happen to Recessionista's? Will Recessionista's revert back to being Fashionista's? What will be the point of Blogs such as mine?

Well guys I won't be giving up! Even though the research for this Blog takes up massive amounts of my time, I find it far too much fun than to just give it up when we hit the good times again. Lets face it, there will always be Students, Single Parents on benefits or just one income, or someone out of work, who wants to save a few quid and will be grateful of being pointed in the right direction to get a bargain or discount. We all need clothes, food, heat and water but are learning how to have these essential things as cheaply as possible.

As for the rest of us, my hope for the future is that the thrifty lifestyle we have adopted over the last year will stand us in good stead for the future. I will certainly squirrel away the cash for luxury purchases that I wouldn't be able to do if all the lights were constantly on in my house, or I was too lazy to walk to the washing line and instead stuck everything in the dryer. I think a thrifty way of living which originally started out of neccessity, has now become a way of life for me and I can only see benefits for the future from this.

There is nothing wrong with the "voucher culture" society we have become, afer all, what is the point of discount codes and cashback websites giving us something for nothing if we don't take advantage of it?

A few years ago we were bragging about how much we paid for a pair of Chanel pumps but now Fashionista's are bragging about how much they saved by grabbing a pair on Ebay! Which goes to show how much fun bargain hunting, clothes swapping etc can be!

Becoming a savvy sales shopper, eliminating debt and food waste, taking care of our water consumption and switching our utility suppliers can all bring about massive savings over time - you'd be a fool not to take advantage of it!

Chicken Pie and home made chicken stock - using up leftovers

The cook on This Morning has just been making a chicken pie using chicken stock made from the carcass, so it prompted me to do a post about it, as that is exactly what we are having today! I just make my pie with any leftover chicken from the roast we had yesterday, and some softened leeks which i do in butter, a couple of slices of ham or some cooked streaky bacon if you have a couple of rashers left in the fridge etc, in fact anything you want to throw in! I thicken my chicken stock with cornflour and pour over the ingredients and top off with a pack of puff pastry (taken out of the pack and rolled, obviously). Real Comfort Food and a nice cheap dinner.

easy chicken stock

Using a large saucepan, I fill it with water, the carcass, an onion, some black peppercorns, you can add garlic if you like. Bring to the boil, skim, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Continue to simmer gently for 3-4 hours, skimming as necessary, then pass the stock through a fine sieve. Allow to cool for about half an hour, then refrigerate. Once the stock is cold it should look clear. If not using it the next day to make a pie you can divide it into small plastic containers or into an ice cube try and freeze it. It will keep in the fridge for about 4 days and in the freezer for 2-3 months.

More things to do with leftovers - Wine

Can't afford to go out tonight? Friends round for a glass of wine? Well when they have gone home, don't tip away what has been left in the glasses, instead freeze in ice cube trays (or any suitable container) and add to gravy, stocks, soups, stews and casseroles for extra flavour.

Making the most of your leftovers

What do you get when you cross a food-obsessed culture with a global recession? A serious spike in lunchbox and thermos flask sales, so here are some great ideas to get you thinking about using your leftovers.

I was reading a personal finance blog yesterday and offered the author some advice on what to do with her leftover vegetables. Soup at lunchtime is the perfect antidote to cold, blustery days. So on rainy Sundays, make a big pot and freeze it in portions.
So basically you just boil up all your leftover vegetables with an onion, garlic if you wish, a stock cube then simmer until veg is soft. Blitz in a liquidiser or food processor to your desired thickness, season to taste and hey presto! It is great served with crusty bread and you can take it to work in a flask, or get out of the freezer in the morning and warm through when you get home from work.

Cornish pasties - a meal in a parcel - were the original working lunch, and you can make them really easily. Put some of your chosen filling on a disc of puff pastry (again, there are endless variations you can play around with) and fold it over into a crescent shape. Seal it by squeezing between your fingers and thumbs and dabbing it with a little egg yolk. Then bake in the oven. A great alternative to boring sandwiches in both adults and kids lunchboxes. A large pack of puff pastry is approx 95p (this would make loads) and this is a great way to use the last bits of cheese up or any processed meats - just add some onion or tomato. To create a more traditional Cornish pasty, use leftover meat and veg from the Sunday roast. I keep a pack of puff pastry in the fridge at all times and cut off small chunks if making pasties or more if I need the topping for a pie. You can also make a large roast dinner pie with all your Sunday Roast leftovers and the addition of some thick gravy and some fried onions. Serve with mash and beans.

On average we waste a third of the food we buy. That amounts to around £600 per year for an average family. There are some really easy ways to lower your lunchtime food wastage. Freezing bread in the portions you need to make sandwiches, for example. And leftover salad can be ripped up and added to pasta salad or put into sandwiches or wraps the next day.
One of the biggest issues is that £1bn worth of homemade meals are being binned every year, so taking your leftovers to work or making another meal out of them, saves a great deal of money.
People tend to be unsure about how long they can keep leftovers for, but the standard advice is that they will be OK for two days in the fridge and then you should eat them, or freeze them.