Leftover roast chicken and veg soup #thrifty

This is a hearty, filling and very cheap recipe. Like most of my recipes you can use veg combinations you have already, this recipe is best when you use root vegetables.

I tend to make it when I have roasted a chicken - I use the meat from the legs and pick the bones as clean as i can. If a whole chicken is too expensive ( i got ours in the reduced aisle) then it works well using chicken drumsticks. As it says use left over veg - but if you don't have any you can make it all from scratch.

Caramelising the veg gives this soup a lovely deep flavor 

I would only make this soup if you are using the oven anyway or you fancy chicken and veg so double up

Spoon usage 1-2 (depending on how much you have to prep)
Cost £1 - £2.50
Serves 4 - small servings

Ingredients
2 chicken legs or 4 drumsticks/thigh combo (or equivalent  from a whole roasted chicken)
1 large carrot
**1 large parsnip - This is optional as it can over power the soup
1 leek or onion
2 medium sized potatoes
1 pint chicken stock
handful of peas
salt & pepper

Other veg  or ingredients you could use
sweet potato
butternut squash
cabbage
butter beans
lentils

I have written the main recipe up as if you are making it from scratch - I will give the short recipe if you have got leftovers to use

prep
peel the potato's, parsnip and carrot
peel and chop the onion - leave it in nice big pieces - if using the leek chop into approx 1" long chunks
roughly chop the carrots and parsnips - make the carrots slightly smaller as they take longer to roast
Make 1 pint of chicken stock either use a stock cube or  use homemade stick if you have it

**Frozen stewing veg will work well in this if you cant chop easily.

Turn the oven on to 180 or gas mark 5

have a little rest while the oven heats

1. Put the veg  (except the potatoes) into a roasting tin and place the chicken onto top. add a little water, this helps to make a stock. roast for 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked and the veg is nicely caramelised

2. Leave to cool then pick the chicken off the bones.

3. peel and dice the potatoes, add 1 pint of chicken stock, cook until soft.

4. once the potatoes are cooked - remove half  of the potatoes from the pan (don't throw away the cooking stock) add half the cooked carrots and onion into the pan and liquidise until you have a smooth thick sauce. If it looks too thick add some more water.

5. dice the rest of the carrots, and then add chicken, potatoes, peas to the pan. stir and taste - season if required. It shouldn't need more salt as the stock cube tends to be salty.

Roasted Butternut Squash Byriani #thriftyfood

Firstly apologies for such a delay on posting any new recipes - life kind of got in the way.

This is a lovely recipe and very easy, you can use what ever ingredients you have lurking in your fridge or cupboard. My husbands comment last night was - This is a triumph

Spoon usage 1
Serves 2 hungry adults or could do 4 smaller portions with a few added extras
cost - £3.50 - you can reduce cost if you omit the quorn

Ingredients
Ive chosen
1 butternut squash
handful of peas
spinach (frozen - ive discovered the frozen stuff is a bargain)
1/4 of a courgette
1 small carrot
150 grams quorn pieces (but chicken, tofu will work just as well)
Rice - 1 cup
1/2 can Coconut milk (you could also use coconut cream - or natural yogurt if you don't like coconut)
1 table spoon Tikka paste or curry paste of your choice (if you dont have any then use a jar or combine spices of choice - usually chili, ginger, cumin seeds, ground coriander, tomato puree, salt and a little oil to bind)

** you could use frozen veg easily in this recipe it is really up to you but the combination i used worked very well)

***If you have raisins they would work well too in this, or almonds

This is such an easy recipe and takes very little energy to make

Prep
Prick the butternut squash
dice the carrots 
take the peas and frozen spinach out

1. Turn on the oven to 180 or gas mark 5 - put the butternut squash in the bottom of the oven on a tray bake for 1 hour (I try to make sure i cook other things too so i dont waste the heat)

2.Part cook the rice - I halved the usual cooking time (just follow what it says on the packet in my case it was 6 minutes) I added the diced carrots and cooked together as they need to be part cooked or they will stay raw when you bake the byriani later

3. when the rice has had its time ( you want it white but still grainy when you bite into it) drain and run under the cold tap to rinse and stop the cooking process - put in a large bowl

4. dice the courgette and add to the rice bowl, add the peas, spinach and any other veg you fancy - try and make the chopped veg a similar size. add the curry paste I used a generous table spoon. add the coconut milk and quorn (or chicken or tofu) mix together, you want to coat everything but dont want a runny sauce, set aside

rest
Set aside mixture until needed

Remove the butternut squash from the oven, let it cool slightly then cut in half length ways.

 I usually hate prepping squash as peeling it and getting the seeds out is too much, this method is marvellous. simply scoop out the seeds. and scoop enough of the flesh out to form a well - add this to the bowl of ingredients.

spoon it all into the squash - I piled it quite high (I had some left over so I popped it in a small dish and cooked it on its own)

I added toasted  dessicated coconut and coconut shavings - this us optional I just had it so used it

Bake in a moderate oven (180 or gas mark 5) for 30 - 40 minutes.

serve with yogurt, or as it is either way its very nommy