Taking Away the Takeaway

Recently we decided to banish the takeaway, I think we have had one since we got here in March, and that was when we were both exhausted from all the decorating, even while eating it we were considering the time it took us to go and get it (45 mins), the cost (over £15) and the main deciding factor...... the additives, not knowing exactly what was in the food and finally ...... the taste.

And anyway ordering a takeaway doesn't really fit in with our Living Simply mind set now, it smacks much too much of consumerism and paying someone else to do what we are perfectly capable of doing, and doing better, ourselves.

So now when we fancy a takeway, in this case a pizza, we do it ourselves.  I do like to make my own pizza bases, but usually when the urge for a takeway strikes it's because you are tired and don't fancy cooking and unless I have thought ahead and frozen some homemade bases I have no objection to turning to one of these in a crisis.  A Sainsburys Basic Range 12" Pizza. All the main supermarkets have their own basic ones, some do a couple of sizes too, if they are reduced in price I get individual ones, these would also be really good for children.

I usually have a stack of them tucked in the darker recesses of the freezer, in their own wrapping and then all together in a carrier bag for added protection, mostly bought when they are reduced in price, but at just £1.10 each they are still a cheap option.  As they are, they are adequate but it's what you can do to them that makes it a good and healthier and more satisfying meal.

The pictures follow the stages of last nights offering.  Take the basic pizza, you can even do all this straight from the freezer,  I added a layer of sliced onion, red and white in this case because that was what was in the fridge in the form of leftovers from another meal.  Then I topped that with slices of tomato, a Beefsteak tomato this time, so lovely large slices and then a few more onions.

Then I sliced it into portions, I find it easier to do while it is cold and it means that I can, if necessary add some meat or fish to Lovely Hubby's portions, but this time he just had it 'veggie' like me. 

Then a generous sprinkling of cheese, slightly more than usual here as I was using up all the leftovers in the fridge ready for starting Phase 1 of the Harcombe Diet today.

Twenty minutes in the oven we had this, with all the added extras it made it really filling, so there are still two slices in the fridge this morning.

So thinking about the cost, the basic pizza itself actually cost me 50p as it was reduced in price, the bits of onion about 20p and the leftover cheeses about 50p, and no fuel needed for petrol to go and pick it up, so a home prepared 'takeaway' for £1.20 that was more than enough to feed two people and make two tired hardworking weekend workers very happy...... and prepared and on our plates within 30 minutes. 

A win, win situation.......now what to do with those two slices.......we're on Phase 1 of the Harcombe Diet again this week to give us a health boost and start shifting some weight so they are completely out of bounds, I hope our landlord is hungry when he finishes his days work on the garage. maybe I can persuade him to eat them for me!!

What 'cheats' do you use to make a quick family meal or replace a takeway when the urge strikes?

Sue xx