SUPER-SIMPLE SUPPER: PORK ESCALOPES WITH PINEAPPLE: quick & easy

Delicious, quick supper after work or school... 

This savoury-sweet substantial dinner will warm heart & soul
as we struggle toward Spring.  

Pork is becoming a more popular meat not just because it's increasingly well-priced.  It is also - when properly cooked - almost as healthy as chicken, and beautifully tender. 

And, being a 'light/pink' meat, it's a good compromise between poultry (which can get boring) and more expensive, less easily digested beef.   

Pork is also one of the few foods that boost Vitamin D. 

67's recipe teams pork shoulder steaks* with fresh pineapple, and serves it with easy-cook rice & vegetables. 

With a little prep the night before, the meal can be done and dusted in 20 minutes.

Cost: per person, £1.50

Feeds: 1-2, recipe multiplies easily

Equipment: air fryer, med pot; small frying pan

Ingreds:

1 pork shoulder steak, bashed with a rolling pin to half its width 

Marinade: 2 tbsp dry sherry or wine or white grape juice; 1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce, 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder 

scant tablespoon light veg oil: peanut or sunflower

1/4 tsp grated peeled garlic plus

1/4 tsp grated peeled ginger (fresh is great but jars are popular)

drop of sesame oil

thinly sliced whites of 1-2 green onions (sorry, not in photo!) (opt)

1 slice fresh pineapple, hard core removed, fresh or defrosted frozen (or 1 slice tinned)

juice from pineapple

water or stock

1/4 tsp white wine vinegar, Shaoxing Rice vinegar or plain white vinegar

 Pork shoulder steaks & pineapple from the 67 freezer

1/2 cup quick-cook white rice (or 1 generous cup defrosted previously cooked rice, white or brown)

generous handful of two quick-cook veg like mange tout, green beans, frozen peas OR cauliflower, tenderstem broccoli

Garnish: finely sliced green onion (opt)

Method:

BEST BAKED BEANS ON A BUDGET AND LOW-SUGAR, TOO! Triple Duty: vegan, vegetarian, carnivores

Totally worth the (small) effort... 

Home-made baked beans are a revelation; they just need a bit of planning

67 knows that you can get a singleton tin of own-brand baked beans for all of 30p.  Depending on the supermarket, they'll be decent and made even better with a shot of mustard, ketchup and a slick of hot sauce.

But honestly, making your own from scratch provides a much better product...and at even less than 30p per serving.  There will almost certainly be leftovers and they freeze well in individual portions.

Kids love home-made baked beans even though - unlike tinned -  levels of sugar are almost Nil.

Given the straightened times we are in, 67 makes no apologies for repeating this post from 2016.

Cooking with dried beans and pulses is simple.  Yes, there is soaking overnight.  Yes, there is boiling and draining.  Twice. 

But the results - tender beans with just a touch of resistance - are worth every minute. The beans absorb the juices they're cooked in and are so tasty and satisfying, you'll cook them again and again.  

Boston Baked Beans - sweet & salty with an undercurrent of heat - are a classic American dish.  67's version makes it more tomato-y and moderates the heat.  The base recipe is Vegan but there's a great variation for carnivores and a less spicy kids' versions that can be sweetened without sugar.   

They're pretty versatile: add vegan cheese or ham/bacon for carnivores.  67's favourite?  Adding thickly sliced vegetarian frankfurters*.

The beans freeze well.

Cost: minimum £2 (cut costs by making your own sun-blush tomato bombs)
Feeds: a crowd; leftovers freeze well

Ingred:
   450 gm/16 oz dried haricot beans (the best you can afford)
   2 cloves garlic, grated 
   1 lge onion, thinly sliced
   1 small red chilli, deseeded & cut into fine strips, or 1/3 tsp chilli flakes 
   1 bay leaf
   2-3 tbsp molasses or black treacle or brown sugar

   2-3 tbsp tomato ketchup
   1 tsp dry mustard or 1.5  tsp Dijon or wholegrain mustard

   1/2 tsp dried ginger or 2-3 med slices of fresh ginger 
   1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
   1/3 tsp salt
   350 gm sun-blush tomatoes (sun-dried will be too salty) (note: making your own is cheaper than buying)
    
Carnivore version:
    350 gm/12 oz shredded cooked ham hock (Frugal Food: Ham Hock) plus the ham bone OR (for those without cholesterol issues) raw unsmoked back bacon
   
Kids' version:
   No chilli or ginger and only half the mustard

   unsweetened tomato juice (opt)

   generous handful cooked sliced sausages or vegetarian frankfurters* 

Method:

QUICK & EASY CALAMARI/WHITE FISH SALAD: easy, healthy, portable indulgence

Beautiful low-carb salad packed with nutritious ingredients...a real Dieters' Delight!

Chock full of protein, vitamins & minerals...and so attractive on the table!

'The dressing makes this salad extra special.' Taster

67's Calamari Rice Salad has become a popular choice for the blog's followers, partly because it's no-cook.   

But also this second take on calamari salad is for carb-phobes.  It has leaves as its base, lots of raw and lightly cooked veg, plenty of calamari rings and an exotic (but exquisite) dressing that elevates the salad to another level.

Not a fan of calamari?  Replace with large bite-sized chunks of pre-cooked firm white fish, marinaded for a few hours in Oriental Dressing (below)

Cost: around £7, depending on fish, veggie drawer and/or leftovers

Feeds: 2-3

Ingredients:

140gm/5oz cooked calamari rings (67 used chargrilled) or pre-cooked firm white fish in generous bite-sized chunks

80g/2.8oz salad leaves (67 used a package of Italian Style Salad)

3-4 golf-ball sized tomatoes, or equiv, sliced

2-3 in/6-7cm unpeeled cucumber, halved vertically & thinly sliced into half-moons

small handful lightly cooked cauliflower

small handful lightly cooked green beens

2-3 thinly sliced button or chestnut mushrooms

salt & pepper

Optional additions: thinly sliced radish, cooked peas; garnish of lemon or line wedges 

Dressing below

Method:

SARDINE CHEESE TOASTIES: easy-peasy indulgent singleton midnight snack suitable for a crowd

Will a favourite high school snack for teenage pyjama parties gain favour in the UK?  

Toasted cheese & sardines: unusual but popular combo in North America

Americans, eh? Not only do they eat bacon and sausages with syrup, their teenagers adore sardines and cheese on toast!

Actually though the combo sounds unusual to Brits it is surprisingly tasty.  Back in the day, high school pyjama parties in North America nearly always brought them out as a midnight snack.

And though the combo may be an acquired taste for adults, they could easily learn to like them, too...especially in these straitened times...and even if sardines are no longer a 'frugal' food. 

Sardines, after all, are one of the most nutritous, tastiest foods ounce for ounce compared to other proteins. 

A 90gm/3oz tin of standard sardines costs around a pound, providing 23 gms of protein, loads of heart-friendly omega-3 and good levels of calcium and iron.

Environmentally, they're a winner: low-salt, near the bottom of the ocean food chain and sustainably fished.  

Do shop around, though, some of of the cheaper brands are not very tasty.  (The blogger prefers M&S.)

As for the cheese, Americans use a jarred cheese called Cheese Whiz.  They're addicted to it.  But though it contained cheese, it also has preservatives and colouring.  

67 hasn't tasted it for years but it was once highly rated online by hundreds globally who paid an astonishing £16 for a 425gm/15oz jar (imported from Canada)*.  

There are similar options on you-know-who's website but if I were you, I'd sick to a meted mature cheddar sweetened the mustard.  Twelve and unders may prefer something milder and sweeter, perhaps melted cheese strings??

Cost: under £1.50'ish 

Makes: 1 large slice, 5 fingers (multiplies easily)

Ingredients:

1 reasonably thick slice bread from the centre of a large loaf, pref high fibre or/and sourdough (but standard white or brown loaves also work well)

1 tin sardines, pref plain but in tomato sauce will do (you won't need the whole tin)

Generous portion of grated cheese OR sliced cheese 

Wholegrain honey-mustard (or slightly sweetened standard wholegrain)

Method: