Peri-Peri Beanie Burger

This was my attempt at recreating a Nando's beanie burger for my daughter. Apparently, it didn't taste as good as the Nando's one, but she still enjoyed it.

The recipe is packed full of protein from different sources, so this is a good recipe to fill up growing children and hungry adults alike!

Serves 4-6

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
• ½ cup each of frozen peas and sweetcorn
• 2 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tin chickpeas
• ½ tin black eyed beans, or other pulses
• 4 tbsp chopped or coarsely ground pumpkin seeds (or cashew nuts)
• 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mature/sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1-2 tsp fresh or frozen chopped mixed herbs
• Peri-peri sauce to serve

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli on a moderate heat for a few minutes, until softened, but not brown. Add the spices and throw in the peas and sweetcorn. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile blitz the bread in food processor to make the breadcrumbs. Remove and keep to one side.

Add the chickpeas and beans to the food processor and blend roughly.

Add all of the other ingredients (including the onion and pea mixture) and pulse to blend, so that the mixture still has a chunky texture.

Form into 6 large burgers, using your hands or a burger press.

Chill for half an hour to firm up.

Shallow fry for 4-5 minutes each size, or brush generously with oil and bake or barbecue.
Brush with with peri-peri sauce and serve in a bread roll with salad and potato wedges or fries.

Suitable for freezing before or after cooking.

Vegan version: Omit the egg and cheese. Add just enough breadcrumbs to form a firm mixture.

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Off to University - an Essential Kitchen List for Vegetarian Students

I started this blog 7 years ago when my older daughter was 11 years old and had just started high school. She's now 18 and off to university. Where have the years gone?

Anyway, as she's going to be self-catering in her halls of residence, I've been helping her buy some essential kitchen equipment (Home Bargains and IKEA are your frugal friends!) and have drafted a basic food shopping list. As I don't know if she'll find anyone to food-share with, I'll be buying many of these items to fill her cupboard in the shared kitchen, so that I know she'll be eating OK for at least the first couple of weeks.

I thought I might as well share the list, in case it helps anyone else. As you can see, most of the items are cheap and cheerful, but nutritionally sound, providing plenty of carbs and protein for hard-working (and partying) students!

From my experience at uni, many years ago, it might also be worth name-labelling any food left in communal areas (such as the fridge and freezer) with a sticker or Sharpie pen, unless you want all and sundry to eat it!

Obviously vegan students can made the necessary changes to their list, but this would mainly be the fridge and freezer items.

You can also find lots of simple recipes and tips for veggie students here.

Not food-related, but if you're off to uni, do make sure you get your meningitis ACWY vaccination before you go.

Equipment	Cupboard	Freezer	Fridge
Medium frying pan Medium sauce pan Non-stick baking tray Small pyrex dish Plastic spatula/fish slice, serving spoon, potato masher Small cheese grater Potato peeler Garlic crusher Can opener Sharp knife Knife, fork, spoon, teaspoon x2 Dinner plate, side plate, bowl x2 Large glass, small glass x2 Scissors Biscuit jar/tin Plastic lidded containers to store food Kettle (for own room)	Refried beans Baked beans Chickpeas Tinned new potatoes Tinned beans Dried lentils Tomato puree Tin of soup Tinned tomatoes/passata Pasta Rice Pizza base mix Squash Cereal Jam/peanut butter/Marmite etc. Biscuits Cereal bars Vegetable/olive oil Herbs and spices Tea bags/coffee/hot chocolate Long life milk individual (for own room)	Wraps Bread Veggie bacon Bean burgers Veggie sausages Frozen mixed veg	Cheese Milk Butter Fruit juice Yogurt Eggs Garlic Fresh fruit Fresh veg

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Pinto Bean & Chickpea Falafels - Suma Blogger's Network

After recently making refried beans, I wanted to create another recipe which used dried pinto beans, for my latest Suma Bloggers post; pinto beans are great as a cheap, vegetarian source of protein because they don't require pre-soaking.

Although I've always used canned, cooked chick peas for falafels, it turns out that traditional recipes use soaked, raw chickpeas. I didn't have the time or inclination to soak my pulses for 12 hours, so I decided to boil them along with the pinto beans, without pre-soaking. This actually worked really well and I was pleased with the end result, which not only tasted good freshly cooked, but also worked well cold in wraps for my packed lunches.

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 1 cup dried pinto beans (from Suma)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for frying
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp. chickpea/gram flour (from Suma)
• 1 chilli, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Rapidly boil the pulses for 10 minutes. Then cover and simmer for a further hour.

When cooked, drain.

Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, until softened.

Add the spices and cook for a further minute.

Blend the chickpeas with the cooked onion and spices, plus the gram flour, until you have a fairly firm, dough-like mixture.

Roll into 20-24 small balls, using your hands.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

Heat a few more tbsp. oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat. Cook the falafels for around 5-8 minutes until golden brown (you can deep fry if you prefer).

Serve in wraps, with salad and hummus.


Top Tip: A word of warning - these vegan and gluten-free falafels are quite fragile as they don't contain egg or breadcrumbs to bind them, so you need to turn them carefully when cooking!

Integrity Statement
As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network. 

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Easy Homemade Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)

I've been meaning to try making my own refried beans for some time now and finally got round to doing so...just in time for National Vegetarian Week!

In case you don't know, the term refried is actually a mis-translation of refritos, which actually means well-fried, not fried twice.

My recipe is for a spicy version, similar in taste to the expensive, small tins you can buy in the UK. Providing you have most of the ingredients to hand, it works out at around £1 to make this recipe, equivalent to around 2-3 large cans. You could, of course, make a larger batch which would be even more economical.

Serves 8-10 as a starter, or side dish

• 2 cups of dried pinto beans (no need to pre-soak)
• 6 cups of boiling water
• 6 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 tbsp. pickled jalapeños
• 2 tsp chipotle paste (optional)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt

Place the beans and water in a large pan.

Boil rapidly for 10 minutes (uncovered), then reduce the heat and simmer for a further hour (with the lid on).

Drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid, then mash or blend the beans, adding back some of the reserved cooking liquid until you have the texture and consistency you prefer.

Finely chop or blend the onions and chillies.

Heat the oil on a medium heat and add the onion and chillies  Cook for a few minutes until softened.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Finally stir in the mashed beans and mix well to combine the ingredients.

Serve warm with tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole or use to stuff burritos.

Top tips: Eat half and freeze half of the mixture. Defrost and heat in the microwave, adding a little extra boiled water if needed.
For a mild, child-friendly version, omit the salt, chillies and chipotle paste from the main mixture. Serve the adult's portion with the above ingredients added to taste.

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Black Bean Chilli Burritos

Since I've been back working full time, I've had less time for both blogging and cooking, so I've been devising some really quick and easy family meals down to necessity. This recipe uses store cupboard ingredients and can be made in around 15 minutes.

Fills around 6-8 wraps

• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 100g/4oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tin sweetcorn, drained
• 1 tin black beans, drained
• 1 tbsp. chipotle paste
• 1 handful fresh coriander/cilantro roughly chopped

To serve:

• a pack of tortilla wraps
• 1 pack of Mexican-style microwave rice
• 100g grated cheese
• salad/salsa/avocado/jalapeños etc. to serve

Heat a drop of oil in a pan, on a medium heat.

Fry the onions for a few minutes, until soft. Then add the peppers, garlic and mushrooms and cook for a further 5-7 minutes, until the peppers are almost tender.

Stir in the remaining ingredients and warm through for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the rice and warm the wraps.

Fill each burrito with some rice, beany mixture and cheese.

Serve with the optional extras.

Vegan version: simply omit the cheese and check the wrap ingredients.

Top tips: Look for black beans in the World Foods section of your supermarket, as they're usually around half the price of the branded version.

Use the same mixture to top nachos.

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Saag Paneer Parathas

Unfortunately, work has been taking priority recently and blogging has had to take a back seat. I've been meaning to post for a while and finally managed to finish writing up this recipe...

Although I made it through January without a morsel of cheese passing my lips, I'm afraid to admit that cheese is well and truly back on the menu.

As street food is becoming more and more popular, I thought I'd blog another one of my favourite Indian snack recipes. The same filling could also be used to stuff chapattis, tortillas or even paninis if you prefer. I use a mini-blender to chop all of the spice paste ingredients, but you could chop then by hand if you don't have one.

Fills 4-6 parathas

For the spice paste:

• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 1-2 green chillis, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp turmeric

For the filling:

• 250g/10oz fresh spinach (or frozen, defrosted)
• 200g/8oz paneer, cubed
• 150ml/⅔ cup passata
• 4-6 frozen, uncooked parathas (check ingredients, if vegan) 

Microwave or steam the spinach as per packet instructions. Cool and squeeze as much liquid out as possible. Chop roughly, if using fresh spinach. 

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil on a medium heat.
Fry the paneer for a few minutes, turning regularly, then remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Add the mustard seeds to the pan, along with a drop more oil. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the onion and spice paste.

Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is just starting to colour.

Add the cooked paneer and spinach and stir though.
Add the passata and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, until you have quite a dry, thick filling.

If you have a panini press or George Forman-type grill, heat it up. If not, cook the parathas one at a time in a large frying pan on a high heat.

Take one frozen paratha and heat it for 1-2 minutes on the press/grill/pan. Turn over and fill with a generous spoonful of filling. Fold in half, or roll like a burrito and cook for a further minute or two on each side, until golden brown.

Serve with onion salad and your favourite chutneys.

Vegan version: swap the paneer for a tin of chickpeas to make a chana saag filling.
Top tip:  double the amount of passata to make a saag paneer side dish.

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Super-Quick Microwave Chocolate Traybake

My microwave mug cake recipe has always been popular with my kids. Now they're teenagers, they can whip up a pudding themselves in record time and have adapted it to their own particular tastes. As they often want to entertain friends and there's a boyfriend on the scene, I thought I'd better come up with a recipe which can me made just as quickly, but can feed several hungry teenagers!

Serves 4+

• 50g/2oz peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 50g/2oz butter or dairy-free spread
• 1 egg or equivalent vegan egg replacer
• 2 tbsp date, agave or golden syrup
• 25g/1oz unsweetened cocoa powder
• 75g/3oz SR flour
• 50g/2oz soft, brown sugar or coconut sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Toppings: your choice of chopped (dairy-free) chocolate, vegetarian sweets, dried fruit/chopped nuts, chocolate-hazelnut spread, jam, nut butter or a combination of any of these.

Put the butter and nut butter into a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high for 20-30 seconds to melt.
Stir well and mix in the sugar, syrup and vanilla.
Beat in the egg or egg equivalent and finally stir in the flour and cocoa powder.

Grease and line the base of a microwave-safe dish (around 15cm round or square).
Spoon in the mixture and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon.
Spoon or sprinkle your topping/s over the surface of the mixture.

Cook for 3-4 minutes on high in the microwave, or until the edges are cooked and firm and the middle still looks just slightly undercooked. Check after 2½-3 minutes, to ensure it doesn't over cook.

Leave in the dish and allow to cool for 10-15 mins.
Cut into 4-9 pieces.
Remove from the dish and serve warm or cold with custard or ice cream, if so desired.

Suitable for freezing.

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The Hungry Student Vegetarian Cookbook: A review and giveaway

My children are growing up way too quickly; Miss O has finished her GCSEs and has started at 6th form college (she's studying for A Levels in English, History, Drama and Art History, if you're interested!) and Miss K has just started her GCSEs in year 10.
If all goes well with their studies, it won't be long until they leave for university. Like most parents, I worry about how well they'll cope in the big, wide world, despite the fact that they have both helped me with shopping, cooking and household chores since they were little (sometimes reluctantly, sometimes willingly!).

With this in mind, I was glad to be able to review The Hungry Student Vegetarian Cookbook, as it seems like a great book to give to vegetarian teenagers or young adults who can cook more than beans on toast, but aren't quite ready for Ottolenghi. The book contains a wide range of cheap and simple to cook dishes, including breakfasts, lunches, main meals and desserts...plus a few cocktails too!

...The Hungry Student Vegetarian shares more than 200 quick and cheap meat-free recipes that are so tasty, even hardened carnivores will keep turning up for dinner. There are also indispensable tips on budgeting, lunchbox ideas, healthy eating and how to get creative with leftovers. All the recipes in this book are balanced for a healthy vegetarian diet, and they each have an affordability stamp to help with budgeting as well as detailed instructions to make them accessible to even the most novice cook. 

I do have a couple of criticisms of the book; one is that most recipes feed four people, rather than one or two; I can't imagine that my girls are going to find three fellow veggies to share food and cooking with, although this would obviously make their living costs much cheaper. The other thing I noticed was that quite a wide array of herbs, spices and curry pastes are suggested in different recipes. I find curry pastes are pretty expensive and don't keep well compared to whole or ground spices, so I'd suggest investing in the basic spices - cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon and paprika - rather than buy curry pastes.

Having said that, I love the handy tips at the start of each section, they really are worth reading and set this book apart from other budget-friendly/student cookbooks.

I set 14 year old Miss K the challenge of cooking one of the recipes from the book by herself. She chose the Cheddar burgers with cucumber salsa. These burgers are mainly made from beans, cheese, carrot and onion, so with the salsa and a bread roll, they are budget-friendly and cover all the food groups. Miss K made them easily and with the use of a burger press, they held together well, were simple to cook and tasted really good.

The Hungry Student Vegetarian Cookbook: More Than 200 Quick and Simple Recipes, Published by Spruce, £7.99, www.octopusbooks.co.uk 

I have two copies of the book to give away. Just tell me your favourite cheap-and-cheerful/student dish in a comment below, using the Rafflecopter widget. UK ONLY. Closes midnight Sunday 27th September.

You can find my own student recipe ideas and tips here.

Integrity Statement
I received a complimentary copy of the book for the purpose of this review and two copies to give away. All views expressed are genuine.

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Rice & Peas with Jerk Mushrooms

I must admit I have never eaten real Jamaican rice 'n' peas, so I do apologise if this version isn't quite traditional. It does taste good though; it's cheap and easy to make and it's vegan!

Serves 3-4

For the rice

• 1 can gungo/pigeon peas or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of long grain rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh chilli, finely sliced/chopped
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cups of coconut milk (or use 1 can and make up to 2 cups/450ml)
• salt and black pepper
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan. Gently fry the onion until soft. Add the chilli and garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add the rice and stir.
Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the peas/beans) and mix together. Bring to a simmer then cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Add the beans and stir.
Cook with the lid on, for a further 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow to continue steaming whilst you cook the mushrooms...

For the jerk mushrooms

• 450g/1lb chestnut or white mushrooms, quartered
• 2-3 tsp jerk seasoning (add more/less to taste)
• 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2-4 tbsp water

Sauté the mushrooms in 1 tbsp vegetable oil for a few minutes, until starting to brown.
Reduce the heat and add the seasoning. Cook for a further minute.
Finally add the tomato ketchup and water and stir again (add a little extra water for a thinner sauce). Taste and add more jerk seasoning if needed.
Cook for another minute or so.

Serve the rice topped with the jerk mushrooms.

Vegetarian option: Swap the mushrooms for meat-free/Quorn chicken-style pieces, if you prefer.
Extra veg option: Add a cup of frozen vegetables (peas, sweetcorn, green beans etc.) to the rice when you add the peas/beans. 
Child-friendly option:  For younger children, or those who don't like spicy food, omit the fresh chilli, remove their portion of rice and peas and then spice up the remaining rice with a good sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Just add a pinch of jerk seasoning to the mushrooms at first, remove their portion and then add the remaining seasoning.

I'm adding this recipe to the Credit Crunch Munch, created by Helen and Camilla and hosted this month by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours.

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Veggie Sausage & Baked Bean Pasta

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Not only is this meal quick and easy to prepare, it's cheap and filling too, especially if you use store's own economy brands! (I used ASDA's veggie sausages £1.58, baked beans 25p, passata 29p, onion 10p, red peppers 75p, pasta 29p - total to feed 4 people £3.26)

Serves 4, takes 30 minutes to cook.

• 1-2 vegetarian/vegan sausages per person
• 1 tin of baked beans (or any other kind of tinned beans)
• 500ml passata
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• ½ tsp mixed dried herbs or oregano
• 2 red bell peppers cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp veggie Worcester sauce (optional)
• Black pepper to taste
• 250g dried pasta

Heat a drop of oil in a large pan.
Cook the onion, garlic and peppers for 5 minutes on a medium heat until softened.
Add the passata, Worcester sauce, herbs and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the sausages and pasta.
Drain the pasta, chop the sausages into chunks and mix both into the pasta sauce.

Alternatives: For an even quicker meal, use a jar of ready made tomato pasta sauce instead of the onion, garlic and passata. 
Swap the baked beans for any other tinned beans, to reduce the sugar content.
Use any vegetables you need to use up (mushrooms, sweetcorn, courgette etc), rather than the peppers, to make this dish even more economical.

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Nachos with Vegetable Salsa

Now this might not sound like much of a recipe, but it's a good way of making a quick snack or light meal out of left-over vegetables and store cupboard ingredients. For a healthier version, use the refried beans and salsa mixture to fill tortilla wraps.

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a starter/snack

• 1 bag of lightly salted or unsalted tortilla chips
• 1 can of mild refried beans
• 1 carton/jar of mild tomato salsa (around 1 cup)
• 1 small onion , finely diced
• 1-2 bell peppers, finely diced
• A few mushrooms, finely diced
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• 100g mozzarella or cheddar cheese, grated (or vegan melting cheese)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 3
Tip the bag of tortilla chips onto a baking tray.

Using a spoon, dollop the refried beans over the chips - spread out a little if you can without breaking too many of the chips! 

Fry the onion in a drop of olive oil until softened, then add the chilli powder, bell peppers and mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes.

Add around 1 cup of salsa to the pan and stir in.
Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Taste and add more chilli powder if needed.

Pour the salsa mixture over the tortilla chips and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling.

Serve with salad.

Alternatives: If you don't have any refried beans, use a drained tin of baked beans instead and add these to the salsa mixture.

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Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

Apologies if you've ever eaten bona fide sloppy Joes...I haven't, so this recipe is a bit of a stab in the dark! I've seen them eaten on various American TV shows, so after a bit of online research I've come up with a vegetarian/vegan version.

This is an economical and low-fat recipe, which you could cook in a slow cooker or even whilst camping.

Serves 4-6

• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 large bell pepper, finely diced
• 2 cups veggie/vegan mince e.g. Quorn or vegan alternative (vegetarian ground beef-style crumbles)
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• Finely chopped pickled or fresh jalapeños/chilli sauce/cayenne to taste (optional)
• 1 portion home made bbq sauce, or ½ cup shop-bought mild/sweet bbq sauce.
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 cup boiling water or hot vegetable stock
• Bread rolls/burger buns/pitta breads to serve

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan.

Add the onion, garlic, chilli and pepper and cook gently for 3-5 minutes until softened.

Turn up the heat slightly, stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further minute or so.

Add the veggie mince and mix well.

Pour in the bbq sauce and water/stock.

Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Remove the lid and allow to cook until the sauce has thickened up and most of the water/stock has evaporated.

Serve in warmed bread rolls with oven-baked sweet potato chips (fries) and corn on the cob.

Not suitable for freezing.

Alternatives: Halve the amount of veggie mince and add an extra 1-2 cupfuls of finely diced seasonal vegetables, such as courgette/zucchini, squash, mushrooms, sweetcorn or peppers (and/or some cooked lentils).

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Vegetarian camping food for kids

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I've been asked a few times for food specifically suitable for kids' camping trips. While I'm a big believer in feeding my children the same as we eat, I realise there is a time and place for giving the kids what they will eat...especially when time, money and tired, hungry children are involved. 

The following meal ideas rely quite heavily on convenience foods, but they are still pretty healthy and filling. A good pinch of mixed herbs, some mild chilli powder, curry powder and/or some garlic paste could be added to most of these dishes to make them more tasty. These recipes might also go down well with students and festival-goers as they are cheap and quick and easy to prepare.

• Hot dog stew: Heat sliced or mini vegetarian hot dogs in a pan, along with a tin of baked beans, a drained tin of ready-cooked small potatoes and drained tin of sweet corn. 
• Veggie sausages, hot dogs or burgers in buns: Cook on the barbecue and serve with ketchup, salad, vegetable sticks, or corn on the cob.
• Pasta in sauce/pesto: Cook some fresh pasta, until al dente. Drain, and add in a tub of your preferred ready-made sauce or vegetarian pesto. Heat through until piping hot. 
• Quick and easy mild chilli with tortilla chips: Mix a tin of beans in mild chilli sauce with a tin of ratatouille. Heat until the vegetables have softened. Serve with a sprinkling of grated cheese and tortilla chips to scoop.
• Soup and bread: Heat a carton/tin of ready-made soup and serve with some fresh, crusty bread.
• Omelette or frittatta: Heat a drop of oil in a frying pan and some chopped veggie sausage or veggie bacon (and some finely chopped vegetables such as bell peppers, mushrooms etc. if your kids like these). When cooked, add 1-2 beaten eggs (per child) and cook until set. Serve with baked beans and crusty bread.
• Vegetarian corned-beef hash: Boil some peeled, diced potato and sweet potato in a pan (you could add other root vegetables too). Drain. Heat a drop of oil in a pan and fry some finely diced onion and some chopped up veggie burgers (the brown, meaty-looking ones) until cooked. Add the cooked potatoes and heat through.
• Veggie kebabs: Cut veggie sausages or burgers into chunks. Thread onto skewers alternated with chunks of whatever veg your children like (bell peppers, courgette, mushrooms etc.) Brush with oil and barbecue. Serve in pitta breads or wraps.
• Dips and dippers: Buy a selection of ready made dips and pitta bread, naan bread or bread sticks (or a combination of breads). Cut (or buy prepared) carrot, cucumber and bell pepper crudités. 
• Sweetcorn fritters: Make up a pancake/batter mix a little thicker than for pancakes. Add a drained tin of sweetcorn and mix into the batter. Fry in batches.

Find more camp-site meal ideas on my vegetarian and vegan camping recipes post.

If you have any other suggestions to add to the list, please add them in a comment below.

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Two meals in one - Lentil & Vegetable Spaghetti Bolognese plus Vegetarian Chilli

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Whether you're on a diet or a budget, these two vegetarian meals are ideal. Make the spag bol on the first day and reheat the leftovers with the added extras the next day to make a tasty veggie chilli. 

As the vegetables are chopped or grated, you can hide them in the sauce too...great if you have fussy children!

Both meals are low fat and vegan, unless you add cheese to serve.

Each meal serves 2 adults and 2 children.

For the spaghetti bolognese

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large bell peppers, diced
• 1 medium courgette/zucchini, diced or grated
• 1 carrot or ½ sweet potato, diced or grated
• 6-8 mushrooms, diced, sliced or grated
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• ½ cup dried red lentils
• 2 tbsp tomato puree or sundried tomato paste
• 500ml passata or 2x tins of chopped tomatoes 
• A glug of red wine (optional)
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp sugar
• black pepper, to taste
• dried spaghetti

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook for a few minutes on a low heat.

Add the rest of the vegetables, and garlic and stir well. Cook for a few more minutes until softened.

Add all of the remaining ingredients (except for the spaghetti!)

Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Turn the heat down and simmer, with the lid on the pan for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked (stir occasionally to stop the mixture burning at the bottom of the pan).

Meanwhile cook and drain the spaghetti.

Top the spaghetti with just over half of the mixture, and serve with a sprinkle of vegetarian/vegan Parmesan-style cheese (optional).

Alternatives: Use 2 cups of veggie mince if preferred instead of the lentils, or a combination of veggie mince and lentils.

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For the chilli

The next day, reheat the remaining mixture on a low heat, adding the following ingredients and a dash of water or stock if needed:

• 1 tin drained pulses (kidney beans, mixed beans, baked beans etc)
• 50g tinned or frozen sweetcorn
• 2 tsp mild chilli powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• a good pinch of cinnamon
• ½ chilli, chopped finely (optional)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• a little chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Serve with rice or wraps.

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Cheap and cheerful vegetarian/vegan meals for students

It's back to school this week after a lovely summer holiday... 

My mind has been on university rather than school for some reason, even though my children are still a good few years away from going to college; maybe because I've been reminiscing with old friends and Mr O about the time, many years ago, that we got our 'A' level exam results and started to prepare to go off out into the big wide world. 

Unfortunately I didn't quite get the results I needed to get into my first choice polytechnic university (ahem, slight social-life/study balance issue there!) but after some panic driven phone calls, I secured a place on a decent course at my fifth choice poly uni, managed to find a place in the local halls of residence and was looking forward to the start of my days as a student.

Being a pretty good cook even back in those days, I found I had some bargaining power in the communal kitchen, as I could cook. I wasn't vegetarian then, but was well on my way, so meat-free meals featured strongly, especially as they were cheap to make; I soon found that if I offered to cook, I could spend less money on food (by pooling our food budgets) and get the washing up done by someone else...not a bad trade off eh?

If you want to save money and impress others with your culinary skills, you can find a week's worth of meal ideas on my vegetarian budget/student meal planner, and even more student meals and tips below.  I can't really call some of them recipes but they are all quick and easy to make, use basic ingredients, and will save you money which you can spend on your social life instead (and books, of course!)

Top tips

• Combine food budgets with one or more friends/room mates.
• Look out for special offers on tinned, fresh and frozen fruit and veg.
• Look for reduced products which are near their sell by date.
• Base meals around cheap carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes), dried or tinned pulses (peas, beans and lentils) and seasonal fruit and veg.
• Forget about brand-names, even if your mum swears by them!
• Shop at budget supermarkets or buy own label/budget foods from larger supermarkets.
• Use up leftovers in another meal, don't throw them away (unless out of date). Most meals can be frozen for a month or kept in the fridge for a couple of days.
• Follow these guidelines if reheating cooked rice, unless you want a dose of food poisoning! 
• Use cheap herbs and spices  (e.g. mixed herbs, mild chilli powder, hot chilli sauce and garam masala) to pep up boring meals.
• Use packet/dried mixes for burgers and sausages and own-brand meat-free products (if you like them).
• Plan your main meals each week, as that will reduce the amount of food you buy and waste. Try Netmums and Money Saving Expert for more meal planning tips.
• Be creative!

Quick meals
These quick, cheap and easy meals will all serve 2 hungry students (or one person for two meals.) It might sound strange, but a lot of my camping food ideas would make great student meals too.

• Pizza  - make up a budget pizza base or plain scone mix. Flatten onto a greased baking tray. Top with tomato puree, mixed herbs, grated cheese and any toppings you have (choose from onion, pepper, mushrooms, tinned pineapple, olives, tinned sweetcorn etc.) Cook at 200C/Gas 6 for 10-15 mins.
• Pasta or rice with chickpeas in spicy tomato sauce  - Fry 1 small chopped onion in a drop of vegetable oil, add 1 crushed clove garlic, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tin budget chopped tomatoes, ½ tin budget chickpeas, a grated carrot/sliced mushrooms/chopped red pepper, 1 tsp chilli powder or garam masala. Simmer for 15 minutes, meanwhile cook the pasta or rice.
• Baked bean curry -  Fry 1 small chopped onion in a drop of vegetable oil, add 1 crushed clove garlic and 2 tsp curry powder/paste. Add a tin of economy baked beans and heat through. Serve with boiled rice.
• Pisto Manchego
• Lentil spag-bol - Follow recipe but swap the chickpeas for 50g dried red lentils and 100ml water (reduce the amount of water and add a glug of red wine if there's any going!) Swap the chilli powder for 1 tsp mixed herbs. Simmer for around 20 minutes.
• Make and cook veggie burgers/sausages from a packet mix, serve in budget pittas with budget coleslaw/salad, or serve with mashed potatoes, vegetables and veggie gravy.
• Root vegetable soup - Fry 1 chopped onion in a drop of oil, add 2 chopped carrots, 1 potato, 1 parsnip and a handful of dried red lentils. Cover with 500-750ml veg stock made with a veg stock cube and boiling water. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Mash or blend, if you don't like chunks in your soup. Serve with bread.
• Savoury pancakes - Use a budget pancake/batter mix to make pancakes. Fill with roasted veg and grated cheese, veggie chilli, or cheese and baked beans.
• Baked beans/tinned spaghetti/scrambled eggs/cheese on toast.
• Potato pancakes - Mix left over mashed potato with 1-2 eggs and 1-2 tbsp plain flour. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
• Lentil hash - Fry ½ an onion in a drop of oil, with a clove of garlic, 1-2 tsp mild chilli powder and a pinch of mixed herbs. Add a diced carrot/sweet potato, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 50g of dried red lentils and about 200ml water. Cook until soft (about 15 mins), adding more water if needed. Spoon lentil mixture over a pack of economy tortilla chips and top with a handful of grated cheese/vegan cheese. Pop under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbling. 
• Pasta bake - Cook 150g budget pasta for 8-10 minutes and drain. Meanwhile fry ½ chopped onion in a drop of oil, and add any other veg you have handy (eg: chopped carrot, parsnip, leek, cauliflower), a crushed clove of garlic and a good pinch of dried herbs. Add 100ml of veggie gravy (made with granules) and 100ml of cider to the pan and bring to the boil, while stirring. Simmer for 5-10 minutes (with pan lid on) until the veg are just cooked and the sauce has thickened. Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix and tip into an oven-proof dish. Top with some fresh breadcrumbs and grated cheese/vegan cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 190C/Gas 5.
• Veggie sausage and baked bean pasta
• Cheap veggie chilli - Fry 1 small chopped onion in a drop of vegetable oil, add 1 crushed clove garlic, 1 tsp mild chilli powder, 1 small chopped chilli, 2 tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tin budget chopped tomatoes, 25g dried red lentils, ½ tin budget kidney beans . Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve with baked/jacket spuds or boiled rice.
• Quesadillas - put a tortilla wrap into a frying pan. Add any left over veggie chilli or refried beans and some grated mozzarella/cheddar cheese/vegan cheese. Top with another wrap. Turn over and heat through.
• Hawaiian Quesadillas 
• Mexican rice burritos 
• Hot dogs - Buy budget bread rolls and veggie hot dogs. Fry 1 sliced onion in a little butter or oil, until soft. Cook hot dogs. Serve hot dogs in rolls with the fried onions and a squirt of mustard or ketchup. 
• Rice and peas

You can find more quick and cheap meal ideas (including veggie curry/chilli, garlic mushrooms, spicy rice, veggie sausage stew, frittata, pesto spaghetti, and noodles with stir-fried vegetables), and a list of basic cooking equipment you might need here. 

Find a basic student shopping list here.

..oh, and just in case you're interested, yes I did get my degree (in both science and socialising!) Pin It

Chocolate Cornflake Crunchies (Vegan)

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As it's nearly Easter and the kids are at home for the holidays, we thought we'd make some simple, cheap (and vegan) Chocolate Cornflake Crunchies*.

As we're not vegan, we topped them with mini milk-chocolate eggs, but you could obviously leave them off or use a dairy-free alternative, if you're vegan.

I generally double this recipe to make 16 cakes.

• 50g/2oz margarine
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 50g/2oz demerara sugar (I use soft brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp/½ oz unsweetened cocoa powder (I double this to make them more chocolaty)
• 50g/2 oz cornflakes

Put margarine, syrup, sugar and cocoa into a saucepan. Heat gently until the margarine has melted (I bring the mixture to the boil to make the mixture more syrupy). 
Add the cornflakes and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until coated with the chocolate syrup. Place spoonfuls of the mixture in to paper cases and leave for an hour or two until cold and set.

*Recipe taken from The Children's Cookery Book by Zita Alden and Yvonne Bourbon (out of print). Pin It

Cheesy Chilli Chips

Now I know this recipe isn't fancy or sophisticated, but it tastes pretty darn good as an occasional meal or snack, especially when the kids have just come back from swimming! You can make it using oven chips (omit the oil) or home baked potato wedges...it's up to you!

• 2-4 potatoes, washed but not peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ - 1tsp mild chilli powder or jerk seasoning
• 50g/2oz grated mozzarella or Cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp jalapeno chillies, optional 

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6

Cut the potatoes into wedges, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chilli powder/jerk seasoning.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally.

Sprinkle with the grated cheese, and return to the oven for a further minute or two to melt the cheese.

Serve with on their own, in a butty or with a veggie sausage and baked beans.

Alternatives: Use a variety of peeled root veg (parsnips, carrots and sweet potato). Veganise by topping with vegan cheese, or omitting the cheese.

Top with chopped jalapeno chillies if you like them extra spicy!

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