Grocery Mission Aborted

I REALLY need to go grocery shopping and I REALLY don’t want to. I still haven’t done a proper food shop since my Frugal Frittata post and I thought I’d cleaned out my cupboards pretty well then. After having a look at the few items in my pantry and freezer I decided that I could make one more dinner from what i had left and it turned out better than a planned meal – win.

Usually I like to make my recipes from scratch. I like to know what’s going into my body is good and nutritious and if i make my own food I know that for sure. However, I’d bought some Taste of India Moong Dahl because I was impressed by the ingredient list (or lack thereof). It has no added chemicals, preservatives or sugar – just real food (see picture below).

Cheat’s Moong Dahl Recipe

(serves 2)

Ingredients

1 tub Taste of India Moong Dahl
1/2C frozen peas
1 1/2C frozen shrimp
1 courgette, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped roughly

Method

1. Sautee onion and courgette over a medium heat until softened and transparent
2. Add frozen shrimp
3. Once shrimp is heated through, add Moong Dahl
4. When mixture is hot add frozen peas

I don’t think you can get a much faster, quicker and tastier dinner recipe than that! I served mine with unsweetened yogurt and mango chutney. If you like your food with a bit of kick you might want to add some chilli to the onion and courgette mix at step one.

Frugal Frittata

For dinner tonight I wanted to make something light, healthy and use up the withering vegetables in my fridge and cupboard. At the start of the week I realised I had somehow managed to accumulate 3 cartons of eggs so, a frittata it was.
Inspired by the Healthy Food Guide recipe for Potato and Spinach Tortilla I put together the following dish.

Frugal Frittata Recipe

(serves 2)

Ingredients

• ~2c vegetable, chopped into cubes (I used kumara, pumpkin and potato but I’m sure you could also use parsnip, carrot, courgette or broccoli)
• 4 eggs
•  1 TBSP cottage cheese
• 2c baby spinach leaves
• 1/4t nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Roast or fry vegetables until tender in a splash of olive oil until tender
2. Whisk remain ingredients together and stir through cooked vegetables
3. Bake until golden, puffed up and firm to the touch (about 20 minutes in my oven)

I served this easy meal with some crisp cos leaves, some cottage cheese and a teaspoon of chutney. Not the most attractive looking dish but it tasted good.