I still haven’t been shopping! We seem to have a glut of unused veg in the fridge so I put off the Aldi trip another day to use them up. This simple cheat’s vegetable gratin will do the job. It is healthy, delicious and, above all, cheap.
I also took the opportunity to use a couple of sachets of cheese sauce mix that came from Approved Food. I don’t usually use packet sauces, but they were so cheap. The parsley sauces I bought last time were pretty good, so I thought I would give them a try.
Cheat’s vegetable gratin
Method
I used two sticks of celery, a large courgette, a yellow pepper, a head of broccoli and a handful of mushrooms, but you could throw in any veg that needs using up. I sautéed all the vegetables for about five minutes, chopped quite small. If you prefer your veg less crunchy you could parboil it. I made the sauce and mixed it all together, put it in a casserole dish and topped with grated cheese. I then baked it for 20 minutes so that the cheese was golden and bubbly.
We had this with baked potatoes and spinach, so most of our five a day in one hit. It went down a treat and the cheese sauce mix was pretty good.
I will do a shop tonight though: I can’t put it off forever ! For more of my favourite frugal recipes, see this page.
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Linda Kay says
Jane, nice job. Cheese can bring out flavors in just about anything. I made some au gratin potatoes and ham yesterday.
Hemstitch says
That looks just my kind of food…love it! Tip for anyone off to France at any time: look for “Rouille” in the supermarkets. It’s a slightly spicy, creamy addition to fish dishes, in a small jar of about 100 ml. A spoonful adds good flavour to the sauce of any white fish, salmon, prawns, etc.