Budget Pizza
There are many Christmas gifts left to be bought and I have to save in on some areas to afford all the presents. Luckily I have made a deal with both my boyfriend and my best friends to rather spend money on a trip and have some fun together. I like the idea of investing in some nice experiences rather than new things. But there are other presents to buy… Here are a couple of ideas for tasty and affordable food that will help your budget survive though the holidays. No photos yet, but will be added later.
Chili & Banana Soup
This soup is just a starter as it’s not very filling. But it tastes really good and is easy and cheap to make. Serves four people as a starter.
oil
50 g spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
half a can of coconut milk
4 dl chicken stock
3 tbsp of fish sauce (nam pla) or soy sauce
1 big banana, finely sliced
1 red chili, sliced
a little salt, sugar and pepper
Heat some oil in a pan an put in the spring onions and garlic. Fry for a few seconds. Put in all the other ingredients except the banana and cook for 5 minutes. Put the soup in a blender with 3/4 of the banana and until it is like a purè. Pour the soup back in the pan with the rest of the banana and boil for 3 minutes. Voilà !
Italian Creme Fraiche Pizza
Pizza is really cheap and you can just use whatever leftovers you have in your fridge. Here’s my favorite one that uses creme fraiche in stead of tomato sauce. If you haven’t tried it before I can assure you that you’ll love it!
First you have to make the dough. This will of course take some time, but while you’re at it you can make some bread of the rest. Lately we have started to make more pizzas to put in the freezer for busy days. This dough will be enough for two pizzas but I often double the size.
8 dl flour
little more than half a pack of yeast (30 g)
1 tbsp oil
2-3 dl water
1/2 tbsp salt
Mix the dry, then put in the wet. Bash it around for a while. Leave four an hour. Now it’s ready to become pizza. Remember to make it really thin cause it’s supposed to be the Italian way.
Now to the topping. Here you can of course choose what you like the best, but try out this:
Ham
Pesto
Creme Fraiche
Olive Oil
Champignon, finely sliced
Cheese
Fresh tomatoes (or sundried tomatoes), finely sliced
Cover the pizza in a thin layer of Creme Fraiche, then cheese. The rest (ham, tomatoes…) goes on top. Put some dashes of pesto here and there and a little olive oil at the end. Put in a hot oven until it’s getting a little color and the cheese has melted.
I am eating cheap right now to afford all the Christmas gifts, but I am hoping to save up to this dress by Anthropologie cause I need something velvet.
I keep meaning to make a batch of pizza bases and freeze them. It’s such a cheap and cheerful thing to do. Thanks for the creme fraiche as base idea, I will definitely try it!
Comment by Julia — December 12, 2005 @ 2:44 am
It gives such a good feeling eating something really good even though I am really busy. Having pizza bases in the freezer gives dinner in a few minutes. :)
Comment by Agathe — December 12, 2005 @ 9:22 am
I’d never have the patient to wait for the yeast to “mature” (or whatever the term is). I’ve been doing quite a bit of Christmas baking though. And that dress is scrumptious!! Yum :)
Comment by missy-j — December 12, 2005 @ 2:01 pm
Hehe, baking takes some patience. I am starting my Christmas baking soon as well, even though I’m going away for Christmas… :)
Comment by Agathe — December 12, 2005 @ 4:54 pm
what a lovely holiday dress!
Comment by Joy — December 12, 2005 @ 10:18 pm
Purple, velvet, strapless… It has got everything I want in a dress right now. :)
Comment by Agathe — December 13, 2005 @ 9:06 am
Your food sounds so yummy! I wish I had an oven.
Comment by final fashion — December 13, 2005 @ 9:23 pm
I can’t imagine a life without an oven. I think I’m addicted to food, these days I eat constantly.
Comment by Agathe — December 14, 2005 @ 9:39 am