The great McMuffin swindle..........................

This years sage helps out with the McMuffin swindle.........its drying nicely, our years supply from one plant.

It's one of those days here - sideways (hail) and rain, windy and I just want FOOD, lots of it. I raked around the fridge this am for the last of the breakfast grub I have incase of such cold/wet/windy day emergencies when a bowl of cereal just doesn't cut it. Toast will just not do - my food has to be more substantial in weather like this!! There are a few things I miss about any kind of food chain/fast food money guzzling enterprise. Thankfully our nearest fast food joint that anyone would recognise internationally is over 120 miles away. Good distance as far as I'm concerned, alot of times we manage to save spending our money on junk food without much effort. We've really no choice and I prefer it that way!

I do have a guilty secret though - (not sure that I want to share it - but in the manner of why buy it when you can make it yourself - I'll hang my head in shame and share with you) here goes ................I do love McMuffin sandwiches with the egg, pork sausage and the plastic cheese - I know I shouldn't but I really do. Anyway, having recently read 'Frugal for dummies', one of the tips in there was to make 'breakfast' food for on the go and keep it handy to stave off any impulse spending. So I was inspired to try and make these McMuffin thingmy's for brekkie and keep them in the fridge/freezer for an easy brekkie treat occassionally on work days.  I had to scratch my head a bit for the ingredients:

Muffins I can get here - and buy them up when I see them reduced - simples!

Plastic cheese whist not great food, easy to buy in value pack in the local supermarket - cheap and cheerful - ticked that box!

Eggs - well we have alot of those - that bit was easy - thank you hens!!

Pork sausage pattie - now this was a bit harder............and required investigation.....

Pork pattie - pork and herb - pan fried

Good old MR GOOGLE to the rescue - you can get almost any information online and it would seem even the ingredients of a McMuffin online and the main recipe for the sausage part.  After a couple of attempts at ingredients (pork mince and sage thats it) and technique (making meatball shapes out of the mince/sage and squishing them wiht the palm of your hand til very flat works a treat) fry quickly in a hot pan and stack in a tupperware Voila - the ingredients for the McMuffins at a fraction of a cost.

Pork mince* £2-3 for 250g makes about 10-15 flat sausages (don't often see it reduced but if we do we buy it and stock up)

Muffins - full price 80p for 8 - reduced can be as little as 10p a pack

Eggs - free from home - sliced up boiled ones work a treat on these muffins

Pack of very plastic cheese - 49p for 10 slices

Herb sage - free from home enough dried now for the winter

*you can make them without the mince or with quorn mince for a veggie option

I assembled some of them to try the best way to keep them for brekkies when we're not home - greaseproof paper worked a treat - and helped keep them moist when heated up. Otherwise we keep the ingredients ready to go in the fridge or freezer and make them up as we want.

20p a sausage probably sounds a bit much but they are lovely and homemade

10p for a full price muffin - 1-5p for a reduced one
4.9p for a slice of cheese

The McMuffin assembly line..................................yum yum

OK so at worst its 35p for a lovely meaty meal in a muffin - can't remember how much they are in real life - but if I've done my sums properly then the shop bought ones which don't taste as good are a swindle!!!

Homemade McMuffins ready for the freezer

There you have the great McMuffin swindle - no packaging, no corporate nightmare, very cheap and frugal - deliciously home made - perfect!