Bacon, Blue Cheese and Spring Onion Stuffed Jackets

Baked Potatoes are great. Filling, cheap and you can put almost anything on them (great for clearing out the fridge).

A recent thrifty thing of mine has been buying the big pack of bacon off cuts/ bits from the butchers (supermarket ones aren't so great) it's only £2 a pack and it lasts forever!
But if you're veggie or don't eat bacon, this recipe is also very tasty without!

So you will need:

3 spring onions
2 handfuls of bacon, (snip it with scissors into bite size pieces)
1/2 a pack of blue cheese (approx g)
2 big baking potatoes, or 3 medium ones ( I used 3 medium ones)
heaped teaspoon of cream cheese

prick the skins on the potatoes and cook them in the microwave for about 10 mins or until they're soft all the way through. Slice through lengthways and scoop out the insides into a bowl. Arrange the skins onto a baking tray (pre-heat the oven to 180°c)

Cook the bacon strips in the frying pan until crispy and add to the spooned out potato.
Mix the crumbled blue cheese in with potato and snip in the spring onions. Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Spoon it back into the potato skins and cook for ten minutes or until they're starting to brown on top.

Serve with a big handful of peppery salad leaves or dark green leafy veg

Enjoy!

Ginger and spring onion sauce

I love chinese inspired food, here's another takeaway favourite!

You will need:

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into matchsticks.
3 spring onions, cut into similar sized strips
one clove of garlic, in thin slices.

Put all this into a heat proof bowl.

Add to this:
3tblsp chicken stock.
2tblsp soy sauce.
2 tsp brown sugar.
1/2  tsp smooth peanut butter.

Heat up 4 tblspn vegetable oil in a pan until it is very hot but not quite smoking, then tip it into the bowl with the other ingredients. It will fizzle for a few seconds, then once it stops you can use it with stir fried meat or veg and fried rice/ noodles.

Tonight we had it with beef, sugar snap peas carrots and fried rice.

Enjoy :-)

Its a roast poatato, its a chip, it's a Crispy Gnocchi!

This is possibly a Nigella idea or another TV cook/chef (I watch so many!!) I adopted a while ago. Very true to the blog, fast tasty and great value!

Gnocchi!?

Gnocchi are little italian potato dumplings, which are very nice cooked quickly in a pan (the way you would fresh pasta) and tossed in some tasty pesto. 
But for when you're not feeling quiet so virtuous and craving something crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, there is another way...

Heat a good slosh of olive oil in a frying pan and add a big handful of gnocchi per person. Keep stirring around with the pan hot and add what ever seasoning/flavouring you like. I personally like garlic powder and dried rosemary. Stir until they have all turned a nice golden colour and then eat them whilst they're still hot!

We had some last night with steak and salad. Lovely!

A great store cupboard standby, I used half a vacuum pack I got from the supermarket for less than 70p.
Enjoy!