Frugal fare

As there is so much guilt attached to throwing away food, there is great satisfaction in using up the odds and ends that lurk behind the recent shopping. The challenge is to make something tasty, inviting, rather than "unusual", "interesting" or even hmmm... yuck?!
There are two flexible and economical recipes which often spring to my rescue, one of them the ever variable american muffin.
After Christmas, there was a dish of cucumber and mustard dressing/salad, left from Nigel Slater's salmon nearly encroute (which was yummy) and with some chopping and twiddling of the basic recipe, produced some interesting savoury tasty muffins that were great for lunch (with soup, salad, cheese) but it must be said, not brilliant with an apple and herbal tea for breakfast.
This week I decided to use some of those part-used jars that clutter the bottom shelf in the fridge - some homemade mincemeat, a failed marmalade experiment, some lemon cheese and half a tub of scrummy brandy butter. There was also some milk that would not last to its end date. So muffins it was - chocolate mincemeat with brandy butter and orange + lemon, both sprinkled with sunflower seeds for that added feel good factor!Although the chocolate mincemeat ones had a hole in the middle when cooked (where the butter had melted in to the mixture), both were good for breakfast. Very good.
Basic recipe (please ask if you need one, as the blog will not give me enough room to write it!)
For orange + lemon, add 3/4 tablespoons marmalade to mix, then half fill cases, add 1 teaspoon lemon cheese to each, then top with rest of mix.
For Chocolate mincemeat, reduce flour by 1 oz and replace with cocoa, add 3/4 tablespoons mincemeat to mix (also some spice if liked), again half fill cases and put 1 teaspoon brandy butter in each, then top with rest of mix. They are very forgiving, so feel free to experiment. (I do wish there was room for the recipe, as I know they vary.) they look boring in a photo, so here is a more cheerful one instead!