ooh catch up time! Days 8 & 9 of the $60 challenge...

Oops!  Ok, so I haven't blogged since Monday, and it's now Thursday... um... well Big M has been in Sydney since Sunday lunchtime, and running around after the three kidlets have left my spare time rather scarce... so any spare moments have been spent napping :) So today I give you the recipe for Tuna Mornay, and also the recipe for my Zucchini Fritters... yummo!  Here we go!

Day 7 - Tuna Mornay (Day 8 too as we had leftovers)
1 x 425g tin Tuna in brine - $4.89
250g short pasta - $1.60
1 brown onion, finely diced - $0.80
400ml milk - $0.80
2 handfuls grated cheese - $1.50
Total cost: $8.79
Negligible items:
2 Tbs butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper

1.  Set oven to 180 C.  Boil water & prepare to cook pasta as per instructions.  Drain tin of tuna, reserve liquid to use in white sauce (if you can only find tuna in springwater or oil, don't reserve this, use extra milk in sauce instead).
2.  In saucepan, melt butter, add onion and garlic, saute until onion softens (do this over a medium heat, too high and the onion will brown).  Add flour and stir to make into a roux, stir over heat for a minute to allow flour to cook out.  Pour in reserved liquid from tuna and whisk, add milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth.  Note, 400ml is an estimate, your sauce needs to be the consistency of a nice thick custard, too little milk & it will be too thick, too much milk & you'll have a runny mornay.
3. Once sauce starts to bubble, continue stirring, and let it bubble for one minute, this ensures you don't get that raw floury taste.  Turn off heat.  Add in tuna, salt & pepper (to taste).  If you used the brine in your white sauce, you won't need much salt (if any at all).
4.  Combine with drained pasta.  Pour into baking dish, top with grated cheese & breadcrumbs.  Put in oven until brown & bubbling.  Remove, cool for 5 mins, and serve!

I usually add in a handful of frozen corn kernels and some diced tomatoes at the same time as the tuna (end of Step 3), but I didn't have any spare in the fridge or freezer this week.  Hence it's not as colourful as usual.  Also it's nice to serve this with some crispy lettuce leaves & sliced avocado if you have some handy.

Day 9 - Party Pies, potato mash & zucchini fritters
Yum!  I love party pies, a good meat pie, but how hard is it to find a good one?  One without those grissly bits, one without random pieces that make you gag... gross!  I was recommended the Woolworths brand party pies, and I have to say, they lived up to their reputation.  I'm very happy with the quality.  They're in the fridge section, next to the cakes & custard tarts (oh yum, custard tarts!)... so I baked the party pies as per the instructions, made potato mash as per my liking (and the kids), and made my yummy zucchini fritters, recipe which is about to come your way!
1 pack Woolworths Bakehouse Party Pies - $4.49
5 (4 for mash, 1 grated for fritters) potatoes - $2.00
1 zucchini, grated - $1.50
1 brown onion, grated - $0.80
1 egg - $0.50
Total cost:  $9.29
Negligible items:
Salt & pepper
Oil
1 Tbs flour
Splash of milk (for mash)
1 tsp butter (for mash)

Zucchini Fritters
1.  Grate 1 potato, 1 zucchini, 1 brown onion.  Squeeze all the excess liquid out possible.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper & egg.
2.  Heat oil in fry pan (about 1-2Tbs).  Add blobs of the zucchini mix to pan, flatten out a little.  Turn when golden, remove when both sides are golden brown & drain on paper towel.

3.  Serve!

These are also really yummy with poached eggs & slices of ham as a meal... also served with a garlic aoili!  I just had mine with ketchup (seeing as I have ketchup with pies anyway).

Ok, no time to babble on at the end of this post today, I have to run out to collect the kids from school.  Day 10 is a Sour Cream Quiche!!!  Watch this space tomorrow for the pics!