Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner

for June

– Sausage Meatballs, Fennel, Strawberry Jelly, Watercress & Scones Recipes –

Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner – Sausage Meatballs, Fennel, Strawberry Jelly, Watercress & Scones Recipes

Core ingredients for JUNE:

Sausages, Carrots, Fennel, Watercress, Spring Onions and Strawberries

June Menu:

Cream of Watercress Soup

Cheese and Spring Onion Scones

Sausage Meatball and Fennel Bake

Little Fresh Strawberry Jellies

Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner – Sausage Meatballs, Fennel, Strawberry Jelly, Watercress & Scones Recipes

Welcome to June’s Thrifty and Organic Meal Planner. Last month was all about the approaching warm weather and beautiful seasonal organic ingredients such as asparagus, broad beans, gooseberries and Jersey Royal potatoes, as well as prime local beef and fresh garden peas, you can read my meal planner menu here:, and although the weather in May was pretty dire, the menu was “robust” enough to stand its ground. This month is all about the next seasonal ingredients to hit the shelves, strawberries, carrots, fennel, spring onions, watercress as well as the humble sausage! I have tried to create a special seasonal menu with comforting dishes, in case the weather turns nasty once more, as well as a few treats, such as strawberry jellies and “afternoon tea” cheese scones. The sausage meatball and fennel bake is extremely thrifty and by making mini meatballs from the sausages, it ensures that they go further on a tight budget.

Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner – Sausage Meatballs, Fennel, Strawberry Jelly, Watercress & Scones Recipes

Regular Lavender and Lovage readers will know that I always try to keep the costs down as much as possible when I create these organic menus; I always providea cost breakdown for each recipe and meal, and the cost will NEVER go above the maximum limit of £15 per meal, for a family of four, and in MOST cases, I manage to create meals for under £5 a meal, which just goes to prove that organic ingredients do not have to be expensive.

Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner – Sausage Meatballs, Fennel, Strawberry Jelly, Watercress & Scones Recipes

I was lucky enough to be invited to a fabulous Organic event recently, where I met the inspirational Monica Galetti, who is the collaborating with Organic UK to try to encourage more people to cook the organic way. She demonstrated some wonderful recipes, with included Lemon Chicken with Fennel,Chicken Goats Cheese and Sweetcorn Bake and Gnocci with Fennel and Horseradish, which we were all able to taste, and it was amazing to see how easy all of these recipes were to make, and that organic food is NOT expensive to use, as I am trying to showcase every month.

Monica Galetti – Organic Summer Recipes

There was also some organic shopping on display, a weekly shop enough for a family of four and costing only £53!

Monica Galetti – Weekly Shopping for a family of four = £53

But back to MY thrifty and organic menu for June. Before I share my new recipes with you, here is the shopping list for June and thebreakdown of the shopping costs for this month’s Thrifty and Organic Meal Planner:

JUNEShopping List:

400g pork sausages = £2:00

2 bulbs fennel = £2:00

450g carrots = 0:80

4 onions = £1:00

2 cloves garlic = 0:40

Cream of Watercress Soup

Print recipe

Serves	4
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	35 minutes
Allergy	Milk
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack, Soup, Starter
Misc	Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Easter, Formal Party, Valentines day
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A classic soup that is filling and full of vitamins; this soup is lovely when served with cheese scones as a change to the usual bread, and can be taken on a summer picnic in a flask – perfect for those wet British summers!

Ingredients

25g salted butter
2 shallots, peeled and finely diced
250g peeled and finely diced potatoes
600ml vegetable stock
Fresh watercress, total weight between 150g and 180g, roughly chopped
50ml single cream
Salt and white pepper

Note

Directions

Step 1	Put the butter into a large saucepan and melt over a medium heat, then add the shallots and cook gently for they are soft but not brown.
Step 2	Add the vegetable stock and diced potatoes, put a lid on the saucepan and continue to cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Step 3	Add the chopped watercress and cook for a few minutes with the potato mixture, before liquidising the soup with a hand-held immersion blender or in a food processor blender.
Step 4	Add the cream and re-heat for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure the soup does not boil. Season to taste with the salt and pepper and serve in warmed bowls immediately.

Cheese and Spring Onion Scones

Print recipe

Serves	6 to 8 scones
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	30 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Easter, Halloween
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Delicious freshly baked cheese and spring onion scones are not only wonderful for the tea-time table, but make great alternative sandwiches for the lunch box, or to accompany soups and stews.

Ingredients

180g self-raising flour
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dried English mustard powder
50g butter (or margarine)
100g Red Leicester cheese, grated (or cheese of your choice)
6 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 large free-range egg mixed with 4 tablespoons of milk

Note

Delicious freshly baked cheese and spring onion scones are not only wonderful for the tea-time table, but make great alternative sandwiches for the lunch box, or to accompany soups and stews.

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 7. Grease a large baking tray with a little butter or oil.
Step 2	Mix the flour, salt, pepper and mustard powder together in a large mixing bowl and add the butter; rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Step 3	Stir in the cheese and chopped spring onions and mix well.
Step 4	Add the egg and milk mixture, gradually, until you have a soft dough. (Reserve a little of the egg mixture for the glaze)
Step 5	Roll or pat the scone mixture out on a floured board and shape into a large round – then cut into 6 or 8 triangles. Carefully place the triangles onto the prepared baking tray and brush the egg glaze over them.
Step 6	Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the scones are well risen and golden brown.
Step 7	Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve warm or cold with butter.

Sausage Meatball and Fennel Bake

Print recipe

Serves	4 to 6
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 20 minutes
Allergy	Egg
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving
Region	Moroccan
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A wonderful family meal that makes a packet of sausages go further, by making them into meatballs. All that is needed to accompany this one tray-bake meal is some fresh salad leaves and some crusty bread.

Ingredients

2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed (green fronds kept for garnish) and cut into quarters or thick slices
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
6 to 8 large carrots, peeled and diced into rounds
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into small pieces
4 large onions, peeled and cut into quarters

Meatballs

1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
400g pork sausages
1 free-range egg, beaten

Note

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 7.
Step 2	Place all of the prepared vegetables into a large oven-proof roasting tin or gratin dish and add the olive oil; mix the vegetables around in the oil so they are all coated and add the fennel seeds, mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 3	Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in pre-heated oven whilst you make the meatballs.
Step 4	Take the skin off all the sausages and discard. Put the sausages into a mixing bowl and mash them all together.
Step 5	Add the breadcrumbs and mix well, with your hands is best, and then add the beaten egg and ground cumin. Mix well once again and shape mixture into small meatballs, about the size of a walnut.
Step 6	Heat a frying pan over a high heat and then add the meatballs and fry quickly to sear and brown the outside. As soon as the fat starts to run and the meatballs are browned, take them out and drain them.
Step 7	Take the vegetable bake out of the oven after 20 to 25 minutes and arrange the meatballs over, in and around the bake, cook for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked, tender and slightly charred.
Step 8	Serve immediately with salad, crusty bread and the reserved fennel fronds as a garnish.

Fresh Strawberry Jellies

Print recipe

Serves	6 small jellies
Prep time	4 hours, 30 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Dessert, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
Occasion	Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentines day
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Easy to make and so much better than packet jelly, these little strawberry jellies make a great ending to a summer meal, as well as being perfect for parties, especially when served with ice cream!

Ingredients

1 punnet strawberries (250g) hulled
125mls strawberry juice made with strawberry cordial (Elderflower and strawberry can be used too)
125mls warm water
1 tablespoon caster sugar
3 teaspoons gelatine powder

Note

Easy to make and so much better than packet jelly, these little strawberry jellies make a great ending to a summer meal, as well as being perfect for parties, especially when served with ice cream!

Directions

Step 1	Rinse 6 small jelly moulds with water.
Step 2	Place three-quarters of the strawberries and strawberry cordial juice in a blender and pulse until the strawberries are pureed. Push the puree through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.
Step 3	Put the water and caster sugar into a saucepan and then sprinkle over the gelatine. Stir over a low heat until the sugar and gelatine are completely dissolved. Add the strawberry puree and mix well.
Step 4	Take the remaining whole strawberries and slice thinly and then arrange them in the 6 small jelly moulds.
Step 5	Pour the strawberry jelly mixture into the jelly moulds, there should just be enough to fill them all; if any jelly is left, pour into another mould or ramekin.
Step 6	Place the jellies in the fridge and allow to set for 3 to 4 hours.
Step 7	Dip the jelly moulds in hot water and then invert them on to a plate to serve, with extra fresh strawberries and ice cream of desired.

Disclaimer:

Organic UK is paying me an agreed fee to create and develop these Thrifty and Organic Recipes, as well as providing me with all the ingredients. However, as I am a big supporter of organic produce, I am happy to share these sponsored organic recipes and posts on my blog, for the benefit of my readers.

Karen S Burns-Booth

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Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner - Sausage Meatballs, Fennel, Strawberry Jelly, Watercress & Scones Recipes (2024)