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Toad in the Hole

In our house we tend to have family favourites when it comes to dinners.

If you were to ask Agent D what he wanted, 9 times out of 10 he'll opt for Macaroni cheese. Ask Agent M and he's gonna say Toad in the Hole (most of the time - He's on a hot dog kick at the moment).

Anyway, Having the same foods maybe 3 or 4 times a month lets me stock up and it can become seriously cost effective. I can buy from the reduced sections and freeze or bulk buy cause i know I'm going to use it up.

For example, Last night we had toad in the hole.


To make it is so simple.

  • In a roasting tray, pour enough oil to cover the base and add a 'splosh' extra. Pop it in a very warm oven to heat up.
  • Meanwhile, fry the sausages in a little pan. I don't bother with oil as they tend to give off a little of their own. Alternatively you could grill them.
  • In a large mixing bowl add one cup of flour, one cup of milk and one egg. Mix till its all combined and add a pinch of salt and pepper. The cup size doesn't need to be exact. I use the biggest measuring cup i have but i have used Agent M's Winnie the Pooh mug before. Point being it needs to be the same cup used for both measurements.
  • Take the tray out the oven once it starts to smoke and add the sausages. (Careful, they will spit at you). Pour over the Yorkshire pudding mix and quickly put in the oven.
  • Turn the temperature down to about 180C and bake for about 20-25 min.
I always check by looking through the window of the oven to see how its cooking. I remember being told once never to open the oven door to check on Yorkshires while they are cooking as it stops them rising properly. Not sure how true that is but its stuck with me for years lol.

So how cost effective is it?

Well, Made from scratch it all came in at £1.84 (approx)

1 cup of plain flour = about 15p
1 cup of milk  = about 30p
1 egg = 11p
Sausages (reduced 8pk was 70p) Used 5 sausages = 44p
Half 1kg pack of baby potatoes = 49p
Tin of sweetcorn = 35p

So per person, the meal only came to roughly 61p each.

By comparison to buy this Aunt Bessie's Toad in the hole will cost you £1.50 in a well known supermarket.
Yeah its quicker in that you pop it in the oven and your done but for 3 people its £4.50 alone without the potatoes or veg. Plus the fat and salt content would be anywhere near as high as the store bought and there isn't all the extra added preservatives and the like

Its hard to argue with cheaper, healthier alternatives really.

That's why this year where we can, we are going to try to eat more homemade, frugal alternatives and hopefully be able to enjoy our savings this summer :)

Do you have any frugal recipe ideas? Please feel free to share them in the comments below :)


Mami 2 Five
The Diary of a Frugal Family