cheese – #ThisGirlEats

RECIPE: Super Speedy Cheesy Pasta | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1.50 per person.
What are the benefits? This cheesy pasta dish is high in calcium, low in sugar and is vegetarian-friendly.

When I’m thinking about what to cook when I get home from work, especially on days like this when the nights are drawing in and it’s a bit miserable outside, there are three very specific things I take into consideration.

1) Time. I need something quick and simple that gives me time to chill out with a cuppa for 20 minutes when I get in from work and can still be ready for when we sit down to eat as my boyfriend gets home.
2) Money. It has to fit in with our tight weekly budget or, even better, rustled up with everyday ingredients from my kitchen cupboards.
3) Comfort. I like settling into my evening with food that soothes me, nurtures me and makes me feel better about my day.

That’s why I enjoy this recipe so much! It’s really quick, the ingredients are pretty bare-bones, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Gooey cheese sauce poured over a bowl of spaghetti, what more do you want? 🧀

Obviously cheese isn’t exactly a health food, but this dish does provide plenty of calcium, and fibre from the wholewheat pasta too. Using low fat cheese and milk alternatives helps make this a little better for you. But even if you don’t, this recipe is still comforting and cheap – just over a pound per person if you use low fat cheese, but even cheaper if you just use the normal stuff.

INGREDIENTS
140g Wholewheat Spaghetti
1 tbsp (heaped) Plain Flour
250g Grated Cheese (low fat if possible)
1 Cup of Milk
1 tsp Butter
1 tsp English Mustard

SEASONING
A good crack of black pepper and a pinch of salt certainly doesn’t go a miss in the cheese sauce, along with a touch of dried garlic and some dried parsley.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Fill a saucepan with water, season with salt and add the spaghetti to cook according to packet instructions (usually 10 – 12 minutes).

2. Make the sauce by adding the cheese and flour to a pan, stirring well until the cheese is covered. Place the pan on a low heat and add the milk, butter and mustard. Season and stir continuously for a few minutes until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens.

3. Drain the pasta, combine with the sauce and serve.

Tips & Tricks

You don’t have to use spaghetti for this – it works just fine with any other pasta shape!

Pasta and sauce alone is a little plain for my liking, so I threw some veggies in with mine (onion, tomato and sweetcorn) and it’s a great way to bulk up this meal. You could also try mushrooms or peppers, or perhaps some chicken and bacon.

If you like a little more spice in your sauce, try adding some paprika and chilli flakes for a great flavour.

RECIPE: Cheese and Mushroom Stack Burgers | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? These burgers are perfectly vegetarian-friendly, not to mention they are high in both protein and fibre.

If you’ve ever checked out my Instagram feed you’ll know I love a good burger. Almost every time we go out to eat and I take a sneaky insta snap, it’s pretty much always a fat burger on my plate. Perhaps I need to shake things up a bit… 🍔

I’ve taken my love for burgers here and steered it in a whole new direction to create a delicious alternative with a little more nutritional “oomph“. There’s still the lovely, gooey, melty cheese oozing out 🧀 but the mushrooms make up for all that – they count towards your ‘Five A Day’, they’re high in fibre and protein, and they’re an awful lot lower in fat than your traditional beef burger. So there!

Shopping at our local ASDA, I picked up the ingredients for this recipe for £1.38, which totals at just 69p per person. Compared to even the cheapest burgers (McDonald’s saver menu, here’s looking at you!) that’s a bargain! It’s also very quick and easy to make, with just a few ingredients available at many shops and supermarkets.

INGREDIENTS
4 Large Flat Mushrooms
4 Slices of Low Fat Cheddar Cheese
2 Burger Buns

SEASONING
Season the mushrooms with a good pinch of salt and pepper – and that’s it!

So, this is how I did it…

1. Season the mushrooms and grill each on one side for about 5 minutes – I’ve got a tabletop grill which is really handy, but an oven grill works perfectly fine.

2. Once the mushrooms have cooked on one side, flip them over and layer up in a stack with the cheese (one mushroom, one slice of cheese, second mushroom, second slice of cheese). Pop the stacks back under the grill for a further 5 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through and cheese has melted.

3. Remove from the heat and serve in a soft burger roll with any extra toppings you fancy.

Tips & Tricks

Stilton isn’t my cup of tea so I stuck with plain ol’ cheddar for my mushroom stacks, but blue cheese would go really well with this if you like that kind of thing.

Grilling always helps drain excess fat from whatever you’re cooking, but you can cook the mushrooms in a frying pan instead and it works just as well.

Try using aubergine 🍆 or beef tomatoes 🍅 to experiment with different veggie stacks!

RECIPE: Cheesy Vegetable Pasta Bake | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 4
How much does it cost? This cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? This recipe includes at least two of your five a day, is an excellent source of fibre and is totally vegetarian friendly.

Okay, so if you’re seriously watching what you eat, a big dish of pasta loaded with cheese might not be your first choice. I get that. But with #ThisGirlEats, it’s all about making conscious decisions to choose healthier options without completely boycotting the things I love – like oodles of pasta and cheese!

There are plenty of reasons that you shouldn’t write this dish off right away. It’s made with a fresh, light tomato sauce instead of a heavy cream, and replaces meat with loads of vegetables instead. Top that off by wholewheat pasta and low fat cheese and this recipe is already a more nutritious choice.

It’s a hearty, filling recipe, but cheap to make. It’s versatile, too, made up of mostly store cupboard ingredients and all the vegetables I’ve used can be swapped for something else if you prefer.

INGREDIENTS
140g Wholewheat Pasta
1 Carton of Passata
2 Medium Onions, Diced
1 Bell Pepper, Diced
5 Mushrooms, Diced
5 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
3 Tbsp of Sweetcorn (Fresh or Frozen)
1/2 Cup of Grated Low Fat Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup of Grated Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese

SEASONING
We want this to be as packed with flavour as possible, so make sure everything about this dish is seasoned well. Salt the water for the pasta, for a start. Follow that by adding some dried garlic whilst frying off the vegetables and, once the passata is in the pan, throw in some salt, pepper, garlic flakes, dried basil, dried oregano and a pinch of chilli flakes if you fancy a kick. And, finally, before you pop your pasta bake into the oven, sprinkle a generous touch of dried oregano on top.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Stick the pasta in a pot of boiling water and cook according to packet instructions – let’s say 10-15 minutes, ish.

2. Fry the onion and peppers for a minute or two on a pretty high heat before adding the mushroom, cherry tomatoes and sweetcorn, along with some garlic and tomato purée, for a total of 5 minutes or so. You want the vegetables to soften, but still have some texture. No-one wants a bowl of mush!

3. Pour the passata into the pan, throw in your seasoning and cook through for another 5 minutes or so on a medium heat.

4. Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Layer the combo in an ovenproof dish and top each layer with cheese – one layer of pasta, top with cheese, one layer of pasta, top with cheese, etc. Finish with hefty sprinkle of oregano.

5. Cook in oven on around 200°C for another 5 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle over the dried oregano (and a tiny dash of parmesan if you wish, but note that this probably isn’t suitable for vegetarians) on top to finish it off.

RECIPE: Sweet Potato Skins with Bacon & Cheese | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 1
How much does it cost? This cost me less than 75p per person.
What are the benefits? It counts towards one of your five a day, is high in fibre and high in antioxidants.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that stuffed potato skins are one of the greatest things to come out of America.

Whether they’re served as a wicked restaurant appetiser or a “Mum’s-gone-to-Iceland” picky tea, potato skins are always a winner 👌

The idea behind this one is to elevate these little pockets of heaven to a more nutritious place where your body can reap the benefits as much as your tastebuds. My sweet potato twist with low fat cheese is still totally satisfying, I guarantee you, but it also helps count towards your five a day too.

Honestly, these are SO tasty and well worth a try. Cheese and bacon is a pretty tried-and-tested flavour combo – believe me, it works! – but the bacon can easily be swapped for onion, chives or black beans for a veggie alternative. Also, give it a try with some chilli flakes or fresh jalapeños for a feisty kick.

These sweet, crispy skins are packed with salty bacon and strong cheddar cheese to bring out the fantastic flavours of the USA 🇺🇸

INGREDIENTS
1 Sweet Potato
1 Slice of Unsmoked Bacon
Handful of Low Fat Grated Cheese (approx 30g)
2 tbsp BBQ Sauce
1 tbsp American Mustard

SEASONING
Before the potato goes into the oven, rub a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper over the skin. When your combining the flesh with bacon and cheese, make sure to add a squeeze of BBQ sauce and American mustard to the mix, as well as some more salt and pepper to season. These are simple flavours, but they all work really well together.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Sweet potatoes can be a bit gritty, so wash and prick them properly. Then rub a teeny drop of oil, salt and pepper on the skins, wrap very loosely in foil and pop into the oven at 220°C. I had an absolute BEAST of a potato so it took ages in my rickety old oven, but usually they take between 45 – 60 minutes to cook.

2. For the last 20 minutes of cooking, add a slice of bacon to the tray and oven cook this as well, flipping over halfway until it goes all crispy 🥓

3. Remove the potato and bacon from the oven. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to a bowl, then scoop the potato flesh from the skins and chuck it in there too. While you’re combining this all together, stick the skins back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

4. Mix together the bacon, sweet potato, almost all of the cheese (leave a little!) as well as a squeeze of BBQ sauce, American mustard and salt and pepper for seasoning. Remove the skins from the oven and scoop the mixture back into them.

5. Switch on the grill, sprinkle what’s left of the cheese on top of the skins and stick them under the grill for a few minutes, until the cheese bubbles and the skins are crispy 🍠

RECIPE: The Cheese Lover’s Quesadilla | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 1
How much does it cost? This cost me less than 50p per person
What are the benefits? The wholemeal tortillas are high in fibre, the fillings are low in sugar, and it’s a great takeaway alternative

Mexican food is the best, isn’t it?!

I’m a lover of enchiladas and, damn, in my eyes a world without guacamole isn’t worth living. My cooking hasn’t stretched too far into the cuisine yet (mostly because I can’t resist over-stuffing burritos to the point that they physically won’t wrap and it basically ends up as rice, chicken and salsa slopped on a tortilla plate…)

I did recently try making my own version of quesadillas which, as it turns out, is super easy! You can fill them with whatever you like which makes them hugely versatile and you can spend as much, or as little, as you want.

The whole thing honestly takes about five minutes (ten at a stretch!) which is perfect for when you can’t really be arsed to cook.

I’ve chosen fillings that I always tend to have at home but, of course, you can absolutely swap these for pretty much anything you like, so it’s convenient as well as being tasty, quick and easy. What more could you want?!

INGREDIENTS
2 Wholemeal Tortilla Wraps
25g Grated Cheese (low fat if you can)
2 Mushrooms, Sliced
1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped

SEASONING
This really depends on what you put into the quesadilla. With mine, which was made with cheese, onion and mushroom, a touch of mixed herbs gave a nice extra touch, but feel free to play around with your options.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Heat up a large frying pan and placing one tortilla straight on there, no oil or cooking spray needed.

2. Sprinkle the grated cheese and the rest of your fillings across the entire surface of the tortilla, being careful not to overdo it with a mountain of toppings. If you’re a feeder like me then just watch out for that!

3. Once the cheese begins to melt, it’s probably about time to whack the second tortilla on top.

4. Then it’s just a simple (ha ha HA!) case of flipping the tortilla over with a spatula so it cooks on both sides. Yes, some of the filling will probably fall out. Yes, there’s a good chance it will get a little messy. But hey, practise makes perfect and it’s a great excuse to just keep making yummy quesadillas!

5. Give them a couple of minutes on each side, making sure the bottom of each tortilla doesn’t burn, and then slide it out of the pan with a spatula, slice into quarters and dig in!

Tips & Tricks

You don’t even really need two tortillas for this – use one, sprinkle the toppings over only half, and then fold it over. Ta-da! 👏

Obviously, a quesadilla would be bloomin’ marvellous dipped into some traditional dips to go alongside it. If you can make up some salsa, guacamole or sour cream (or buy some from the shops, who’d know the difference?) I promise you won’t regret it! 🥑

I know I’ve already said this, but this recipe truly is so versatile – so use your imagination! But make sure whatever you put into the quesadilla cooks thoroughly. Safety first, kids. ⚠