Time to raid the cupboards...

We're fast approaching the end of term and for me that means one thing...scraping the edges of my bank account. So it's at this time of year I always find myself trying to use up the various assortments food I have left over in my cupboards and whatever mystery items are lurking around the back of the freezer. Here's a round up of slightly odd but surprisingly tasty concoctions...

Sunday: Food to use up Turkey Sausages - result Turkey Sausage Chili

I bought these turkey sausages a couple of months ago in the reduced section of Tesco, they were only 80p so I couldn't resist buying them, but to be honest had absolutely no idea what to do with them so just chucked them in the freezer. Whilst rummaging through the freezer the other day I found the lonely sausages cowering behind a pack of frozen sweetcorn and thought it was time to get inventive. I came up with turkey sausage chili because its quick, easy and really cheap to make, you don't have to use turkey sausages either, any sausage will do! I started by grilling the pack of sausages for 10 minutes until brown. Whilst they are cooking I fried a red onion in a little oil for about 5 minutes. To the onion I added a handful of frozen peppers and a teaspoon each of chili powder and paprika. With a wooden spoon I mixed the spices in with the ingredients for a few moments until the room started to fill with the spicy aromas. Chuck in a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of drained red kidney beans. Remove the sausages from the grill and cut up into bite size pieces and add to the tomato mixture. Let the chili simmer away for about 10 minutes until it starts to thicken slightly then serve with rice. Easy as that!

Tuesday: Food to use up New Potatoes & Chicken Breasts - result Lemon Chicken Casserole

First of all, I know, the picture does not look alluring and artistic but tonight I was very cold and just wanted to eat my dinner in bed, but I can assure you this really did taste delicious (honest, I'm not lying!) I had a couple of new potatoes rolling around the back of my fridge and two chicken breasts in the freezer which needed using up, so I typed in the ingredients into BBC Good Food and this wonderful recipe popped up. I was inspired to make something which wasn't spicy for once and lemon chicken casserole sounded like a nice change. Start by slicing an onion into thin strips and crushing two cloves of garlic, add these to a pan with a little oil and cook for about 5 minutes. Add 175g of new potatoes cut into quarters, with a couple dashes of lemon juice. To this mixtures add a teaspoon each of cumin and cinnamon, then pour over 450ml of chicken stock (if you don't have chicken, vegetable stock will work). Bring the mixture to the boil and let it simmer away for about 10 minutes, whilst this is working its magic, chop up two chicken breasts into bite size pieces and drain a can of chickpeas. Once the mixture has thickened slightly add the chicken and chickpeas and pop a lid on top of the pan, let the casserole bubble away until the chicken has cooked (this should take around 10 minutes). And then your ready to serve, I added a few random frozen vegetables to mine just to use them up, anything like spinach or broccoli will go well. This recipes serves two, so you can pop the rest in the fridge and eat it when your feeling too hungover or lazy to cook!

Thursday: Food to use up Casserole Steak - result Healthy Stroganoff

I think I have to admit at this point that I have slight obsession with the reduced aisles of supermarkets, I just cannot resist a bargain. So once again I had casserole steak in my freezer which I had purchased at a beautiful price of £1.25 (I don't really even like beef that much, I'm starting to think this could be a problem) and the dilemma of what the hell to make with it. I also had a green pepper to use up, so decided to make the only thing I knew which had beef and peppers...stroganoff. I know it sounds very 70s but it is actually a really yummy dish, and this healthier version doesn't burden you with the extra calories either! Kick off the recipes (like most others) by frying a chopped red onion, with 2 crushed garlic cloves and a table spoon of paprika (if you like things spicy use hot paprika, if you're a bit a wuss use mild). Let this cook for about 5 minutes, then add the diced green pepper and a large handful of quartered mushrooms (if you buy loose mushrooms its much cheaper than buying packs) , cook this for about 5 minutes until the veg starts to become soft. To the mixture add 2 tables spoons of balsamic vinegar and a splash of beef stock, then add 250g of sliced beef and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often to make sure the beef is cooked evenly. Finally, take the mixture off the hob and stir in a couple table spoons of low fat natural yoghurt and sprinkle in a heap of black pepper. Viola, it's ready to eat!