Paella (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 200g of Campofrio chorizo sausage (£1.56)
• 175g of cooked mussels (96p)
• 1 large green pepper (87p)
• 1 large red onion (20p)
• 200g of tomatoes (44p)
• 500g of easy cook white rice (64p)
• 200g of squid rings (£1.18)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, olive oil, 6 cloves of garlic, paprika, 2 chicken stock cubes, turmeric and 200g of frozen peas

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at ASDA where it came to £5.85 - that’s £1.46 per head!

Instructions

• My preference is to prepare everything first so you can concentrate on the cooking part of the recipe. So you’ll need to roughly chop the onions, garlic, tomatoes, chorizo and pepper – rough is more authentic! Also make up 2 pints of chicken stock. Get the oven pre heated to 180C.
• Get a medium sized paella pan on to a medium heat (you could get away with a flame resistant oven dish if you don’t have a paella pan) and add some olive oil. Fry off the chorizo first for 2 minutes, then add the onions and pepper and gently fry for a further 3 minutes. Then add the garlic, 2 teaspoons of paprika, 1 teaspoon of turmeric and 350g of rice – cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Once all the ingredients have a bit of colour on them, add the mussels, squid and tomatoes – season well and add the chicken stock. Bring up to the simmer and cook for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick.
• After 5 minutes, add the peas to the pan, loosely cover with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes (give it a stir a couple of times and add more liquid if need be – I would check after 15 minutes). Let it rest for 5 minutes when out of the oven.
• Happy eating!

Taken from our Frugal Recipe blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

Pizza Express
Get any pizza for £6.20 when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Sunday to Thursday until 25th April.
Not valid on takeaways, or at Pizza Express Jazz Clubs, the O2, mobile event restaurants or Earls Court exhibition centre.
If you choose a Francesco Mazzei pizza, a £1.25 supplement will be added.

Ha ha bar & grill
Get £10 off a £20+ spend when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Sunday to Friday until 25th April.
Valid when two people spend at least £20 on food. Not valid with set menus.
Not valid at the O2 during events.

Zizzi
Buy one main course and get another for £1 when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Sunday to Thursday until 29th April.
Not valid on dishes from the ‘Mains’ section, or from the set lunch or takeaway menus.

ASK
Buy one main course and get another for £1 when you register here and print the voucher.Every Sunday to Thursday until 6th May.

STRADA
Get two main courses for £12 when you register here and print the voucher.Every Sunday to Thursday until 29th April.
Not valid at restaurants in Royal Festival Hall, Center Parcs or Riverside (More London). Only valid on ten selected dishes.

Prezzo
Get a starter, a main and a drink for £10 when you register here and print the voucher (via VoucherCodes.co.uk) Sunday to Thursday until 18th April.
Only valid on set menu and drinks described on the voucher.

Taken from our Frugal Food blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

Zizzi

 Buy one main course and get another for £1 when you register here and print the voucher. Every Sunday to Thursday until 29th April. Not valid on dishes from the ‘Mains’ section, or from the set lunch or takeaway menus.

ASK

Buy one main course and get another for £1 when you register here and print the voucher. Every Sunday to Thursday until 6th May.

Prezzo

Get a starter, a main and a drink for £10 when you register here and print the voucher (via VoucherCodes) Sunday to Thursday until 18th April. Only valid on set menu and drinks described on the voucher.

Pizza Hut

 2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher. All day, every day until 15th April.Valid in UK stores only. Not valid on takeaways, buffet, set menus or any other special offers.

Taken from our Frugal Food blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

The best supermarket deals this week:

some good deals at NETTO. You can currently pick up 500ml pots of Ben & Jerry’s Mango Berry Swirl sorbet for just £1. You’ll have to be quick though, as this offer ends 28th March.

Also at Netto, six cans of Fanta, Lilt, Dr Pepper or Sprite will cost you £1.49 (reduced from £2.85).

Over at LIDL, you can get 1kg of red grapes for just £1.49.

And at ALDI, all Super 6 fruit and veg deals are currently 59p. This includes five-packs of lemons, 500g bags of white seedless grapes, and whole pineapples.

Morrisons is now selling eight unsmoked rashers of back bacon for 99p (down from £1.98) and 12 white rolls for 30p.

Other good Morrisons deals include Pizza Express Margherita pizzas, reduced from £4.99 to just £2 each. And you can still get 36 Jaffa Cakes for £1.29, down from the usual price of £2.59.

At Tesco there’s a 2 for 1 deal on Aero chocolate mousse, meaning you get eight pots for £1.19. And whole legs of lamb are half price, down to around £3.98 per kg.

There’s also 50% off a wide range of Dr. Oetker Ristorante pizzas, with most reduced from £2.59 to £1.29.

And finally, there’s a better-than-half-price deal on several types of Easter eggs: Many larger eggs are reduced from £5.49 to £2.50.

Top offers at Sainsbury’s include Freedom Food-endorsed whole chickens, reduced from £4.54 to £3.02. The 50% off Dr. Oekter pizza deal is happening here, too.

And there are still several good deals on Easter eggs, with a range of eggs reduced from £2 to 95p.

Finally, ASDA deals include two better-than-half-price offers: 1l bottles of Ribena Really Light (with no added sugar) have been reduced from £2.68 to £1. And – although boxes of Go Ahead bars are usually £2.14 each – you can currently pick up two for just £2.

Taken from our Frugal Food blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

Ingredients

• 250g of raw peeled king prawns (£3)
• 1 lemon (30p)
• 6 shallots (88p)
• 500g of arborio rice (94p)
• 900g value frozen peas (87p)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, olive oil and 2 fish stock cube (for just under 2 pints of stock)

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco’s where it came to £5.99 - that’s £1.50 per head!

Instructions

• First up, cook the peas in salted boiling water and then drain.
• Put a few glugs of olive oil in a saucepan and get up to a medium heat – when the oil is hot, add some finely diced shallot and cook through until translucent. Now add 300 grams of rice, season well and keep stirring. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Now gradually add (a ladle at a time) some hot stock to the pan (stirring all the time). Keep doing this until all the liquid has been absorbed into the rice. You’ll get a sore arm but keep stirring! It’s worth it.
• Once all the liquid has been absorbed, add the prawns, peas (250 grams) and the juice of one lemon.
• Simmer for a further minute until the prawns are cooked through and it’s done. Easy.

Taken from Frugal Recipes blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

Giraffe
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Monday to Friday – and Sunday from 7pm – until 30th March.
Not valid at Giraffe Southbank, or at restaurants in airports. Not valid on ‘lunch for less’ or ‘giraffe time’ menus, or with ‘Bar Buddies’ promotion. Not valid on steak or full rack of ribs.

Café Rouge
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher (via the Telegraph website). Every Sunday to Thursday until 1st April.
Only valid on dishes from the a la carte menu.
Not valid at restaurants in Center Parcs or airports.

Note: that by registering, you agree to receive the Telegraph’s promotions email.

STRADA
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Sunday to Thursday until 1st April.
Not valid at Center Parcs, Royal Festival Hall and Riverside (More London).

Burger King
Two money-off deals when you register here and print the voucher.
All day, every day until 31st March.

The deals are:

- 2 for 1 offer on Tendercrisp or Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Angus burgers;

- Free fries and drink when you buy an adult burger (not valid on Hamburger, Cheeseburger, King deals or Breakfast menu).

Deals not valid at some motorway restaurants.

Pizza Express
Two main courses – plus wine – for £12 when you register here and print the voucher. Every Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.
Not valid on takeaways. Not valid at Pizza Express Jazz Clubs, Pizza Express Mobile Event Unit, Earls Court or the O2. Only valid on relevant set menu

ASK
Two main courses for £10 when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Sunday to Thursday until 1st April.
Not valid on dishes from the Mains section, any specials (except the Spaghetti Amatriciana) or Antipasti Selezione/Classico dishes.

Caffé Uno
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher. Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.

iL BERTORELLI
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher. Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.

Zizzi
Two main courses for £12 when you register here and print the voucher.
Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.
Not valid on dishes from the ‘Mains’ section or takeaways

Ha ha
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher. Sunday to Friday until 28th March.
Only valid on main meals from the favourites, pasta and risotto sections of the menu. Not valid at Ha ha O2 during events.

Prezzo
Buy one main course and get another for £1 when you register here and print the voucher. Every Sunday to Friday until 28th March.
Not valid on takeaways.

Taken from our weekly Frugal Food blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

This week’s frugal recipe – Honey roasted gammon and apples with champ

Ingredients

• 750g unsmoked gammon joint (£3.72)
• 4 basic loose apples (44p)
• 1 bunch of spring onions (64p)
• 2.5kg bag of basic potatoes (99p)

The cupboard staples:

Butter, milk, salt, black pepper, sugar and honey

Total cost:

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Sainsbury’s where it came to £5.79 - that’s £1.45 per head!

Instructions

• Place the gammon in a large pan of cold water and bring up to the simmer (add a bay leaf, peppercorns and an onion if you have lurking anywhere – it doesn’t matter too much if not). You’ll need to simmer for 1 hour and then remove and drain. You can keep the cooking liquor for a stock or soup.
• Now preheat the oven to 220C. Whist the oven is heating up, you can make the glaze for the gammon and prepare the apples; just mix together 4 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of honey – easy! For the apples quarter, take out the core and toss in a little olive oil, then season with a little sugar and black pepper.
• Next up, make some scores on the fat of the gammon and season with black pepper only. Then place in a roasting tin and spread the honey mixture all over the surface of the gammon along with the quartered apples in the roasting tin. Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes. Rest for 15 minutes once cooked.
• Whilst the gammon is cooking you can make the champ. Boil 1kg of potatoes and then drain and mash along with some finely sliced spring onions (the whole bunch), 2 tablespoons of butter, a dash of milk and salt and pepper.
• Once the gammon has rested slice in nice thick slices, spoon over the roasted apples and a big dollop of champ on the side – Happy eating!

Taken from Frugal Recipes

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team.

This week’s top restaurant deals:

Pizza Express
Two main courses – plus wine – for £12 when you register here and print the voucher. Every Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.
Not valid on takeaways. Not valid at Pizza Express Jazz Clubs, Pizza Express Mobile Event Unit, Earls Court or the O2. Only valid on relevant set menu

ASK
Two main courses for £10 when you register here and print the voucher.
Every Sunday to Thursday until 1st April.
Not valid on dishes from the Mains section, any specials (except the Spaghetti Amatriciana) or Antipasti Selezione/Classico dishes.

Prezzo
Buy one main course and get another for £1 when you register here and print the voucher. Every Sunday to Friday until 28th March.
Not valid on takeaways

Ha ha
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher.
Sunday to Friday until 28th March. Only valid on main meals from the favourites, pasta and risotto sections of the menu.
Not valid at Ha ha O2 during events.

BERTORELLI
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher. Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.

Caffé Uno
2 for 1 on main courses when you register here and print the voucher. Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.

Zizzi
Two main courses for £12 when you register here and print the voucher. Sunday to Thursday until 31st March.
Not valid on dishes from the ‘Mains’ section or takeaways.

Taken from our Frugal Food blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team.

Free coffee!

At your local Giraffe every Wednesday morning before 10.30am get a free take-away cappuccino, latte, or Americano. With this deal, you get a ‘classic cup’ size, so that’s 9oz of free coffee worth £1.25.

The only place you can’t get your free cup of coffee is at airport locations.

Drink the office coffee

According to uSwitchforBusiness, over half of us still get the perks of free coffee (and tea) at work, so make the most of your boss’s generosity before cost cutting kicks in.  

Go ’short’ at Starbucks

Their ‘secret size’ –  as it’s not advertised on the boards and the cups are kept behind the counter. An 8oz version of any of their usual coffees but costs 20p less per cup.

Be a loyal customer

Head down to Pret where you can get a loyalty card and get a free coffee. Just pick up a loyalty card from any of its outlets and then register your details online. Once you’re registered, you can use your card to get a free coffee on your next visit. 

Or what about getting a Krispy Kreme loyalty card which means you only need to buy five coffees to get your free cup.

Take your own mug

Some coffee shops, including Starbucks, give you a discount if you use your own mug.

Coffee for under £1

Make the most of promotional breakfast deals such as the £1.99 bacon roll and coffee deal at Greggs to pay less than £1 for your morning coffee.

Slightly more expensive is the M&S breakfast deal from £2.75, where you get a free coffee when buying a bacon roll or croissant at any of its Café Revive outlets.  

And cut the price of your take-away coffee buying it at McDonalds which sells a 12 oz filter coffee for £1.19.

For more coffee money saving tips, please read the full article Cut your coffee costs

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team.

Ingredients

• 250g of Tesco unsalted English butter (98p) – we’re using 150g
• 6 farm pride free range eggs (£1.42) – we’re using 3 egg yolks and 3 whole eggs
• 200g of Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate (£2.50) – we’re using 170g
• 150ml of Tesco double cream (56p)

The cupboard staples…

Caster sugar (90g), plain flour (25g), vanilla extract (1/2 a teaspoon) and icing sugar (3 teaspoons).

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco where it came to £5.46 - that’s £1.36 per head!

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C first. You need it to be at the exact temperature when cooking. Now brush 4 ramekins or pudding basins (think individual summer puddings size) well with butter and set to one side.
• Next up, put the butter, chopped chocolate, and sugar in a bowl over a simmering pan of water and melt gently – make sure the ingredients are nicely combined.
• Once melted, remove from the heat (let the mixture cool a little) and whisk in the egg yolks and whole eggs. Keep mixing and give them a good beating – you want a light mixture. Then fold in the flour (fold the flour so you keep air in the mixture).
• Now pour the mixture into your ramekins and chill in a fridge for 20 minutes. You’ll get better results if cooking the mixture from a chilled state. While the mixture is chilling you can make the crème Chantilly.
• Whisk the cream until stiff, then add ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract (not essence, or the seeds from a fresh vanilla pod are even better) and 3 teaspoons of icing sugar. Give it another whisk and keep chilled until ready to serve.
• Once chilled, put in the oven for 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 2 minutes. Once they’ve rested you can turn out (fingers crossed) on to plates and serve with a spoonful of the crème Chantilly.
• Happy eating!

Taken from our weekly Frugal Recipe blog

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team