Budget evening meal with what's in the fridge.

Now I'm no chef. But I know what I hate. And I hate waste.

I do most of the food shopping in our house and I try to be as thrifty as possible for our 'normal' meals so that we can enjoy our money for days out or eating out from time to time. Saying that, just because meals can be inexpensive, does not mean they can't be delicious and quick to prepare. I'll try to give you some tips I've picked up to speed up the process too & minimise washing up.

I normally go to the fridge, cupboard & freezer to see what we've got & what needs using up first. Then decide what I'm going to do with it. Our fridge is telling me stir fry today!

Lots of veg to use up: celery, carrots, parsnips, spring onions, mushrooms, 1 & a half peppers, but you can put pretty much anything in a stir fry so don't be afraid.

1) Get your pan on & start chopping your hardest veg as this takes longest to cook. Remove any spoil but try to leave the skin on most stuff, saves time too. Cut similar sizes to cook equally. Start them in the pan.

2) I had 2 chicken breasts in the freezer so just defrost them a bit in the microwave. I don't defrost it totally as it takes time. It's easier to cut when slightly frozen so then cut into small strips or pieces. People get too scared about chicken. It will cook fine from slightly frozen & stays moist. Add to pan.

3) Cut your peppers & other softer veg now then throw them in the pan. With spring onions & any long veg, celery, etc., I slice them length-ways, then chop them in half or thirds & line them up before chopping smaller as it saves so much time.

4) Get some dry noodles packets. I had 1 & a half packets (1/2 left from Raph's tea). Put them in a bowl (I used the empty mushroom container to save washing up, then that can go straight into the recycling!) Cover with hot or boiling water. With cheap (about 13p I think) chicken noodles from a supermarket you get a free sachet of flavouring. It is just a stock cube really so I put one in & the other in the drawer for using with something else.

5) When they're soft, drain some of the liquid, throw them & the spring onion in. You can put in some ketchup, soy or sweet chilli sauce too for extra flavouring. Keep turning & cooking until the liquid is mostly gone & serve with soy sauce & chop sticks.

Enjoy!