Cooking on a budget

The recession has put a downer of everyone's financial situation and heightened their money worries but reducing the cost of the weekly shop doesn't mean surviving on cheap cans of beans and tomato soup for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of ways to use your money wisely, prepare unusual meals and eat properly.Sometimes a price challenge can be a great opportunity to produce something new and flavourful; you just need to alter techniques and be a little clever with using leftovers. For example cheaper cuts of meat aren't ideal for producing mouthwatering steaks but they are perfect for stews that cook for hours on the hob or in the oven. Try using the slow cooker you've got hiding away in the back of the cupboard to cook hearty meals in that are cheap but substantial. Sometimes I pop a few inexpensive root vegetables like carrots, onions and swede in the cooker, along with some meat and seasoning before I leave for work. I just add some water to cover and when I return from my nine to five the stew has been cooking for a good 8 hours and the meat is tender, luscious and moreish. It is such an easy way of making something delicious out of the cheapest of ingredients!

Why not try making the best of left overs too? A Sunday roast chicken is great eaten warm with sizzling roast potatoes and home-made gravy but the next day the remaining pieces can be made into sandwiches, added to pasta or placed in a white sauce base and used as a filling for mashed-potato-topped pie. The chicken bones can be made into soup or stock with the addition of hot water, a sprig of herbs and a few vegetables of your choice. Make it into an Oriental affair and create a Chinese chicken corn soup with some tinned sweetcorn, cracked egg and soy sauce!

See? Cooking on a budget doesn't have to be boring! Follow my lead and we'll cook up a storm with our positive pennies.