EASY COOKING FOR MUMS & UNI STUDENTS

It's a busy time of year and most households are looking for easy, healthy dishes to feed body and soul.

The weather is definitely cooling and thoughts of hot soup and fruit crumbles are definitely in the air.  

These recipes from the Archive - some posted as far back as the first year of the blog - will be a joy for the blog's numerous new visitors.  Be assured, they are delicious, not difficult and,even now, still reasonably wallet-friendly.

Even better, some offer infinite variations so that diners won't get bored when the recipes are on repeat.

Some recipes are for small households but easily multiplied.  Other recipes are aimed at families but easily divided.

Enjoy!

Easy-peasy Rich Tomato Soup, multiple variations

Singleton's Tomato Soup Almost Instant: never reach for tinned again

Chinese Ramen Soup Bowl, almost instant meal, deliciously satisfying

White Bean Soup, Creamy: Rich & soothing, Triple Duty, Dairy-free, frugal

Caponata: Mediterranean Dip for kids' palates with a hint of Sweet & Sour; Stovetop, Easy 





'Runny' Hard-boiled eggs in White Sauce: childhood favourite; lower-fat; frugal; easily digested 

Famlily Delight Beautiful Baked Beans, low sugar; made from scratch & much better than tinned; slow cooker

Un-fried Rice:'cleaner' version of Fried Rice without the usual fat.  Soft, easily digested base for Oriental dishes 

7-minute Protein Fried Noodles: triple duty; vegetarian & carnivore options

Cauliflower Cheese with a Surprise Twist:  not as frugal as some recipes but a real delight that - for little veggie-phobes - tastes surprisingly like pasta.

 

Prepare Ahead Apple Crumble: to die for; prepare fruit & crumble separately; re-assemble when needed. 

 

Please leave a Comment in the box below

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

UPDATED CREAMY TUNA CASSEROLE WITH CRUNCHY TOPPING: frugal, easy, dairy free opt, High fibre

SCRUMPTIOUS KIDULT' FOOD, Easy-peasy, wallet-friendly

updated sept 25; first posted 2015

Dairy-free Creamy Tuna Casserole

This is - basically - kids' food but is great for a singleton or an exhausted parent who needs something comforting, quick but not horribly unhealthy.  Very easy to put together, very tasty, iand still relatively wallet-friendly, it is a favourite of many families.

Tinned tuna is one of the tastiest and most popular budget proteins.  Used wisely, a tin of tuna at 80p a pop makes pleasing dishes that will feed 4, though an extra tin will give the casserole a punch.  

Kids love the taste and texture but try not to make a habit of it -- over-fishing is a problem and too much tinned food is not good for the health.  

This recipe uses nutty wholemeal pasta; which is absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly than white, preventing 'carb-doze'.  It also gets the digestive system moving, keeping the bowels regular and preventing the build-up of toxins that cause bad skin and lack of energy.  Luckily. when cooked, the texture of wholemeal pasta is similar to white and the kids won't notice. 

The dairy-free version pictured is below.  Be warned, the dairy-free option is not as flavourful as the conventional recipe but with additions of mustard and chilli flakes holds its own.

The pasta can be made in advance but should not be kept in the fridge more than 3 days, including the day the casserole was cooked. 

The finished dish freezes well.  Reheat gently (steamed or boiled in a bag) with a bit of milk, extra seasoning and a few more crisps.

A word on some of the ingredients:   
Condensed mushroom soup was originally used in this recipe because honestly, there was nothing else like it. But condensed soups are more expensive than garden variety tinned mushroom soups from say M&S or Waitrose which are quite decent in flavour and saves pennies. 

As for the crisp topping - if crisps offend you, use breadcrumbs or don't bother with a topping at all.

Cost: min £4.00'ish (9/25), more for dairy-free
Feeds: 4-6 with sides 

Ingred: (Dairy-free recipe below)

200-250 gm/7-8 oz dried wholemeal pasta
1-2 x 160g/5.6oz tin(s) tuna, mostly drained (1 tin will do but a second tin makes the dish go further)

generous mug of frozen peas

generous handful tinned or frozen corn (opt)
5-6 lightly fried mushrooms, chopped coarsely (opt but lifts flavour)
1 tin condensed mushroom soup (low-salt if possible) or 1.5 tins standard mushroom soup OR 400g/14.1oz light white sauce  

pepper & a little salt (kosher salt needs twice the amount of regular salt)
couple of pinches of dried thyme (opt)
40 gm bag of lightly salted and/or fat-reduced crisps (opt)

Method:

Luxury Layered Blueberry, Brandy & Chocolate Cheesecake Pie: indulgent, no bake-filling, make ahead, lower-fat, alcohol

Luxury Blend of layered Cheesecake and Sponge...

Slightly wonky layers but tastes good!

Most people adore chocolate cheesecake or a delicate chocolate sponge.  Put the two together and you have a luxurious layered 'pie' with the 'Wow!' factor that delights.

Please note: 67 has yet not tested a dairy-free version of the cheesecake but other recipes in the blog have performed well with dairy-free substitutes.  The Blogger will shortly be testing supermarket plant creams   

The cheesecake is by no-means low calorie.  Or frugal.  But the 23cm/9inch cheesecake pie provides at least 12-15 portions.  

Several simple steps are involved in the making and does take organisation.  Parts of it are ideally made ahead to save time and angst on the day.  

The recipe halves nicely.  

The recipe was inspired by Morrisons' staff canteens, which created easily-assembled recipes for canteen cooks -- but they weren't lucky enough to get anything like this!  

Serves: up to 15

Cost: £10.00'ish (recipe halves nicely) 9/2025 

Ingredients: 

1.  Sponge

1 x 1-bowl Easy Chocolate Sponge, baked in a 23.5cm/9.5 inch springform pan, base lined with greaseproof paper, cooled in tin

2.  Berries

1 x 180g/6.3oz punnet blackberries

4 tbsp whisky or brandy 

3.  Cheesecake

300gm/10.5oz cream cheese, non-supermarket or from a kosher deli,  at room temperature

1 pint/600ml double cream 

1.5 x 100g/3.5 oz (i.e. 150g/5.2oz) regular or dairy-free 70% cocoa dark baking chocolate (67 uses M&S)

2-3 tbsp icing sugar

4.  Topping:

150'ish ml whipping cream

1 tbsp icing sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract (opt)

remainder of blackberries 

3-5 chocolate coated digestive biscuits, bashed with a rolling pin or whizzed in a food processor, until gravelly (opt) OR

70% chocolate, chilled and grated or peeled (opt)

Method:

Kids' Delight One - bowl Versatile Chocolate Sponge: cake or cupcakes; dairy free option

dit

A gorgeously light and tender cake so easy, children can make it.

(updated 9/2025; first posted 2015 

Easy-Peasy Chocolate Cake 

This cake is not only delicious and easy, it's still - despite the years since posted - relatively wallet friendly.  It is also very versatile.  Choose between an eat-one-layer-now, freeze-one-layer for later for small households, a double layer cake, cupcakes or cake + cupcakers, all with a choice of with various kid-loving toppings.

All that's needed to make it is a bowl, a wooden spoon and something to bake it in.  If you haven't got a cake tin, try a very clean preferably ceramic casserole dish.

Once served, leftovers will probably be in short supply but it's better eaten on on the day anyway. Stale or defrosted cake is perfect for trifle.

The  recipe comes from the late Michael Barry, the head of London's first commercial radio station. 

Cost: £2.50'ish; cream, fruit, jam extra (9/25) more for plant option
Feeds: 4-8

Ingred:  
   6 oz/175 gm self raising flour (plain flour, add 2 tsp baking powder)
   4 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder (NOT drinking chocolate)
   1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
   1 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
   4 oz/125 gm caster sugar
   5 fl oz/150 ml sunflower oil
   5 fl oz/150 ml dairy or plant milk
   1 tsp vanilla
        or orange or peppermint essence (opt)
   2 large or 3 small eggs

FILLING:    
    Double dairy or plant Cream
    Fresh fruit or low-sugar jam

Method:

Preheat Oven: 160c /325F

Grease and flour choice of:

1 x round springform tin, 23.5cm/9.5 inch 

(bottom layer must be is flush with sides)

2 x sandwich cake tins, 18cm/7inch

square 23cm/9 inch

rectangle 23x33cm/9x13inch

12 hole cupcake or muffin tinLine chosen tin with greaseproof paper/fill cupcake tin with paper liners

One-bowl wonder yields light, tender crumbed 23.5cm single layer (undecorated)