The Rewards of Digging

Eating down the freezer sounds so dreary, but it certainly isn't like that here at Frugal Follies!  My freezer has quite a few delights to reward me when I start to dig through its contents.

Whenever I shop in Lidl I have a look through their "reduced for quick sale" items.   Usually they reduce things by 30% which is well worth having, but sometimes items are marked "Waste Not" and they are definitely worth a consideration.

No matter how good a "bargain" food is, there is no point in buying things you don't need.  However, if they can be frozen I often buy them and think about them next time I am wondering what to cook.  This pork fillet was reduced from £2.81 (already a good price) to 90p back in early December.  Today it became Pork and Apricot Casserole.

Pork and apricot casserole

 1 large onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1tbsp cooking oil

300g very lean diced pork

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground ginger

Half tsp chilli powder

450ml meat stock or water

250g dried apricots

1 tbsp chicken gravy granules

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

salt and black pepper

Gently fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the pork and spices, continue to cook sealing the meat on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker and add tomatoes, apricots and stock.  

Cover with a lid or pour into a slow cooker and simmer gently for  3 hours on low until the pork is tender. Add the gravy granules and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes, adding more stock if required.

I had it with mashed potato and swede and carrot, both from the freezer.