I love the ready-cooked cocktail sausages and, as I’d bought a pack earlier in the week, I thought I’d try to eat them all without freezing any. You can freeze cocktail sausages, but I will try to get through the whole 400 gram pack.  I’ve been dipping into them as a fridge nibble for the past few days.

Today for lunch I had half a tin of baked beans to use up – and some bread to use up – so I decided to use some of the cocktail sausages with beans on toast!  A quick and easy lunch.

Ingredients:

• 6 ready-cooked cocktail sausages (any number you’ve got/fancy really)
• Half a 400-410 gram tin of baked beans
• Two pieces of toast

Method: 

1. Having toasted the bread, I cut each piece into six pieces and scattered them in the bottom of a lunch bowl.
2. Put the sausages into a microwave-safe dish and prick them, to make sure they don’t explode.
3. Pour the half a can of baked beans over the top. Cover the dish and microwave on full power for 2 minutes.  Stir and test that the beans are hot – if not, microwave for a further 1 minute.
4. Pour the sausages and beans over the toast.
5. Optional: add a splash of brown sauce

A cheap and filling lunch in under 5 minutes.  Beans count as one of the 5-a-day; as a source of protein baked beans are a staple in my cupboard, they’re so easy to cook and are always filling and tasty.

Menu Cost: 

Two pieces of toast is £0.04; the six ready-cooked cocktail sausages cost me £0.24; half a tin of beans cost £0.12.  Total cost of this filling lunch was £0.40.  I could’ve used fewer sausages, but I was in a bit of a piggy mood 🙂

The Food Cheats:

In this dish the cheats are that I’ve used ready-cooked cocktail sausages; I find them very versatile, the pack has a long shelf life and they’re easily frozen.  Using the microwave instead of a saucepan to heat up the beans and sausages is not only faster, but I find it much easier to wash up a microwave bowl than a saucepan!

For those people who usually buy tins of sausages and beans ready mixed, this method of having cocktail sausages in the fridge/freezer means you only have to buy baked beans in the future, one less item to stock and manage in the cupboard!

Cost of Living Crisis 2022 Price Update

This year people are increasingly looking for cheap meal ideas – and this one’s a winner.

All supermarkets sell own brand sausages and baked beans, at 40-45p/tin. Right now the Asda Just Essentials Beans with Sausages (400g) costs 42p. Half a tin is a good sized portion.

Two slices of toast (4-6p) topped with baked beans and sausages (21p) is a hot and filling meal for under 30p – and one that’s energy efficient too!