Have a meal waiting for you for Buddies Frugal Friday

Do you find that the times in getting home for you or your beloved are erratic? Do you arrive home late at times, too tired to cook? Do you have a Slow Cooker/ Crock Pot? If not, you may need one! The following is a quick to prepare Slow Cooker/Crock Pot curry, the quantities of ingredients are easy to work out as you know the amount you like to eat.

First of all, in the morning, raid the bottom of your fridge and wash and quickly cut up any vegetables you can find there. For the meal you can see, I prepared green peppers, parsnips, and thinly sliced potatoes. Then you toss the whole lot into the slow cooker with the contents of a cheap tin of chopped tomatoes, I would have usually added carrots but we had run out.

Second, finely cut an onion and fry this in a little Olive Oil with some garlic and add to this whatever ultra cheap cut of meat you wish. I used shin as this has a great flavour but needs a loooong time to cook to make it tender. Add this meat to the frying pan and quickly fry until the outsides are sealed and browned, it won’t take long, and then toss the whole lot into the slow cooker.

Third, add to the slow cooker the recommended amount of a jar of curry paste, strength to choice (mild in my case).

Fourth, turn the slow cooker on and forget it until you come home in the evening. If you think that this may dry out (I did) then pour in a vegetable stock cube dissolved in 1/3rd of a pint of boiling water.

The meal described, which tasted fantastic, must have cost about 80p, about $1.20c each, plus the rice that will be prepared just before serving which will be whenever it is needed. Three cheers for Slow Cookers/Crock Pots!