Cheat's Smoked Fish Pie: quick, easy, tasty and CHEAP

This has always been an emergency staple in my house if I need to produce a quick and presentable hot lunch - unexpected guests, kids have their friends over to play etc.

It's also great on those nights you get home from work exhausted and need to feed the family in half an hour.

Today, I'm gonna bring you the *cheat's version* - using all prepackaged ingredients.

1 tin smoked fish fillets
Either 1 tin tomatoes (if whole tomatoes, crush with fork) or 1 packet prepared white sauce, cheese sauce, or my personal favorite, parsley sauce.
1/2 cup frozen mixed veges (or beans, peas, or corn - whatever you have)*
2 hard-boiled eggs (if you like them) - chopped up**
1 t mild curry powder (or add more or less to taste)
A grind of pepper
1 pack instant mashed potatoes (Of course, you can use real potatoes if you prefer - I told you, I'm presenting the cheat's version tonight)
Grated cheese (optional)
Paprika (optional)
Breadcrumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 170C

White Sauce Method
Make up the white sauce (or cheese sauce or parsley sauce) following the directions on the packet. If the sauce has a stove-top option, use that for preference, although you can do this in the microwave too.

When the sauce is prepared, flake the fish into it (that is, tip out of tin, and break up into sauce :D), add the mixed veg, eggs (if used), curry powder and pepper. You shouldn't need salt (the smoked fish is fairly salty) but if you like it, you can add a little. Stir over a low heat on the stovetop (for preference) or stir well and give short burst in the microwave - about a minute - and then stir well again.

Tomato Method
Stir fish, mixed veg, eggs, curry powder and pepper together in a saucepan. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the liquid (this means "put in a container to use later") and add them, crushing them into mix. Add as much juice as necessary to make a nice, wet mixture - probably only about a tablespoon at this stage.

Warm through, stirring often. Add as much juice as required to keep mixture wet without being a soup.

Both Methods

Tip into an ovenproof dish. From preference I use a deep round casserole, 10 - 15cm in diameter, but then, tonight, I made it in a low square baking tray. Use whatever you have :)

Make up the Instant mashed potatoes following the directions on the packet. Spread over the top of the pie - you can be artistic and make nice peaks, or smooth it out flat, however you like it.

I like to make a topping using a mixture of grated cheese (approx 2/3 of a cup), breadcrumbs (1/4 cup) and paprika (1/2 tablespoon), shaken gently together in a bowl, jug or cooking bag, and sprinkled over the top. But, you can use each of these things on their own (ie top just with cheese, for example) or, just leave your potato plain if you prefer it that way.

Heat through and brown your lovely topping - 10 mins is usually sufficient. Keep an eye on the pie and when you see the top starting to bubble or crisp, you're good!

Serving Suggestions

• With crusty bread and a green salad
• For lunch, with hot buttered toast on the side
• This pie suits being made in individual ramekins - hugely popular with kids, they love getting their own "personal" pie
• Reheats wonderfully for lunch on day 2!
  

*TOP TIP: Use leftovers from the fridge. Tonight, I added the leftovers of an (undressed) cannellini (white) bean, corn and fresh tomato salad, and two cold boiled potatoes, chopped up
**I omit the eggs if I'm making the tomato version, and use them with the parsley sauce version, but this is not a hard and fast rule :)

Freebie for Kiwis: Free Cereal Sample!

Are you in New Zealand? Sanitarium are giving away a free sample-size (45g) of their new product, Fibre Life Cereal.

This is an example of a free offer that LastPenny-ers like us are always on the lookout for! Ok, so 45g of cereal wont go all that far against your weekly budget - but remember your grandmother's words: Every little helps.

Go over here to check it out.*

LastPenny receives no payment nor incentive to place this link on our blog, and receives no benefit from any person following the link. The full url, if you prefer to type it into your own browser, is: http://www.fibrelife.co.nz/Default.aspx

Marrow: the veg that time forgot

The vegetable marrow (a type of squash, for American readers :D) is a veg that used to be a popular choice at the table. This is because it's nutritious, easy to grow, a good size to feed the large family, and lends itself to a range of different cooking options.



They're still available in supermarkets in season; and even more readily available at your local fruit & veg or sometimes at the chinese grocery.

To grow your own, plant zucchini (summer squash, I believe? comments to enlighten me are welcome!) plants and fertilise well (our own choice is horse or chicken manure! gleaned from a local riding school or horse paddock, for free preferably!)

The fruit will grow readily to large marrows, usually yielding almost more than you can eat.

PLain, steamed marrow is one of the least exciting foods you can eat, I have to say, and sometimes the flesh can have a slightly bitter flavour. In the upcoming weeks, LastPenny will bring you a host of marrow recipes, but for today I will leave you with a simple tip.

To prevent marrow bitterness and tenderise the flesh:
Cut the marrow in half lengthwise and core. Leave the skin on, but perforate gently in places with a fork.

Sprinkle the flesh-side of each half liberally with table salt. Wrap each half separately in tin foil, and leave in cool place (pantry is better than fridge, but if climate is hot refridgerate - food safety first) for an hour.

Rinse the salt away and leave marrow on paper towels to dry.

MMMMM - tasty, sweet marrow, ready for roasting, stuffing, or your choice of preparation.

Lunch Box - packed lunch for grown ups!

Buying your lunch is a huge money-drain, especially if you do it 5 days a week. But the whole idea of a "packed lunch" takes us back to our school days - peanut butter sandwiches and soggy salad rolls!

But it doesn't have to be like that. Check out our lunchbox tips for snazzy, tasty lunches that wont break the bank!

Gourmet Lunch Salad

Your favorite salad greens*, torn or whole according to your preference.
Diced ripe tomato
If avocado is in season, and cheap, add a quarter!
Cook pumpkin in the microwave and cube, Add to your salad.
If you like cheese, add your favorite sharp-tasting cheese, or feta, crumbled or grated
Think about adding steamed baby asparagus spears, corn kernels, or any other favorite vegetable in season
Take balsamic dressing in a separate bottle and add at lunchtime - tasty!

Turkish wrap

Spread a wrap or pita bread with hummus. Add a thin layer of cooked chicken, salami or ham, top with cottage cheese, salad greens and grated carrot. Roll up, wrap in cling wrap, and it will be fresh and tasty for lunch.

Sweet Treat

Buy your favorite in-season fruit - strawberries, cherries, pears, apples, oranges, bananas. Slice into a container and top with a punnet of mixed-berry yoghurt. For something a little more filling, top with a lightly toasted muesli.

This is a great one for school lunch boxes too.

Vege Dip

This is a top selection for many diet lunches. Take one punnet low-fat cottage cheese and a selection of sliced veges for dipping.
Carrots are always a favorite, but try broccoli, cauliflower and celery too!

For added flavour, try these cottage cheese variations:

• Herbed: finely chop your favorite fresh herb (we love mint, dill and chives) and stir through
• Hawaiian: stir through a half tin of crushed pineapple (choose the kind in natural juice!)
• Chilli: Stir through a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce

Let us know your own cottage cheese favorite!


TOP TIP: Buy whole lettuce rather than bagged salad greeens - you'll save more than HALF. Even better, grow your own!

Italian Vegetable Soup

2 cups sliced celery
1 large can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 green peppers, diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large zucchini, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp.crushed oregano
2 to 3 pounds mild Italian sausage
2 cans or 1 quart crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
small pasta (optional) (I use risoni)

Break up the sausage and brown in a fry pan. Add the celery and cook for 10 minutes. Drain off the grease. Put all the ingredients into a large pot and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

*Perfect* in the crockpot - simmer on low heat during the day while you are at work to be served for dinner - if you're crockpotting and the celery is young, there is no need to cook it in the fry-pan first.

This makes a big amount - perfect to feed the family for a few meals, or, to freeze for later.

Serving Suggestions:

• With fresh crusty bread
• Make buttered toast "soldiers" for kids to dip in
• I prefer to serve this as a main meal, but you could serve a small bowl as a starter if you preferred, as a prelude to a light, salad-y meal.
  

How to: Cream the butter and the sugar

A lot of baking requires "creaming butter and sugar" together. So, what does this *mean*? And *how* is it done?

"Creaming" the butter and the sugar means mixing or blending the two ingredients together until they take on a light, creamy texture. The purpose is to incorporate lots of air bubbles into the mixture, which ensures that your baked cake will be light and fluffy, and will rise nicely.

Food Processor Method:
Many recipes indicate that this process ought to be done with a food processor, and indeed it can be. Chop your butter into 1 inch cubes, add your sugar, and blend or pulse on low speed, using short bursts, until the two ingredients form the creamy paste we are after.

To cream by hand:
Never let anyone tell you you *need* a food processor to do this (or any other baking task, come to that.). Some people like to use a pastry cutter or a knife for this process, but here at LastPenny we prefer to use a heavy tablespoon (the oldfashioned serving kind) in a heavy old crockery bowl.

Place the sugar in your bowl, and cut the butter into slices - about 2 inches square, and each slice a quarter inch thick makes for the easiest to mix, I find, but you can use any dimension.

If using margarine, simply scoop out required amount and place in bowl.

You *can* do this with hard butter straight from the fridge, but it is much much easier and faster to do it with softened butter.

The *best* way to soften butter is to allow it to come naturally to room temperature. But it's rare we have the time to wait for that! Instead, you can place the amount of butter you want in a glass jug or bowl, and stand the container in a pan of warm water for 5 minutes. You can leave it longer if the butter is not yet soft enough, but keep an eye on it - you don't want it to start melting. Alternately, you can soften it in the microwave by giving it ten second bursts, checking after each.

Important: don't melt the butter at this stage.

Then, rub or cut the butter into the sugar. I like to "squash" the butter between my heavy spoon and heavy bowl, thus rubbing it into the sugar this way. After a few minutes, the mixing should get easier and you'll get the nice fluffy texture we're talking about!

TOP TIP: You can substitute margarine for butter, and use your choice of sugar - plain white, brown, raw, etc - and achieve the same or a similar result.

Argentine Steak - Tasty, economical casserole!

Argentine Steak is a tasty casserole, popular with the whole family, extremely economical, and as an added bonus, perfect in the slow cooker.

If you're prepared to buy a slightly more expensive cut of meat, it is also able to made very quickly as a fast supper!

Argentine Steak

1 rasher bacon
1 t worcestershire sauce
1 T brown sugar
1/4 c tomato sauce
1 oz grated cheese (1/2 cup)
1/2 t curry powder
1/2 c water
1 large carrot
1/2 t ground ginger
2 t vinegar (I use white for preference)
1 T flour
300 - 400 grams (1 lb) beef steak - gravy beef is beautiful in the slow cooker, use chuck or blade steak for 1 hr in the oven, or if you buy rump steak you can cook this in 40 mins. The most economical method is gravy beef in the slow cooker!

Combine all ingredients in an ovenproof dish or directly in the slow-cooker. Yes: it really is this easy. Measure everything in any order and pour into pan. Stir gently to combine.

Preheat oven/turn on slow cooker. For gravy beef, cook all day in slowcooker; or cook 2 hours in 150C oven.

For blade steak, cook 55 mins at 170C.
For chuck steak, cook 1 hr 10 at 170C.
DO NOT use a fan forced oven for these cuts of meat - turn the fan off.

For rump steak, use a fan oven if you have one, and cook 45 mins at 180C. Stir a couple of times during cooking.

Serving suggestions:

• Tasty over mashed potatoes with steamed greens on the side
• Serve as a baked potato topping with coleslaw on the side
• The leftovers reheat wonderfully for a microwave lunch