Last updated 09:14, Friday, 22 August 2008

The Credit Crunch is sending the cost of living rocketing and more of us are cutting back on treating ourselves.

Make your own pizza

But while fewer of us are eating out, it seems we are making up for that by buying takeaways.

Domino’s pizzas and McDonald’s have both reported bumper trading profits.

The burger chain recently announced the creation of 4,000 new McJobs in the UK after takings rose by 10 per cent in the first half of this year.

But here’s a tip to help you save even more cash – make your own pizzas and burgers.

They only take a few minutes of preparation and are a great way for kids to spend a rainy summer holiday afternoon.

Pizza bases are available ready-made or in packs that need water adding before resting, proving and adding a topping, or you could make your own base with flour, yeast, water and salt.

The ready-made bases tend to be most expensive and least enjoyable. Leathery, in fact. If you have the time, the flour yeast and water option gives the best results. But the packet bases where you add water are a good alternative to starting from scratch and don’t take so long.

The great thing about making your own pizzas is that you can have absolutely any topping you like: simple cheese and tomato; ham and pineapple; chilli and tuna; peanut butter and Werther’s toffees...

You can even fold the edges over strips of cheese to make a stuffed crust pizza.

Burgers are even easier and quicker to make, and are much cheaper homemade.

If you make more than you need, you can freeze extra pizzas or burgers to save time next time you fancy a takeaway.

Here’s a couple of quick recipes to try.

Children’s mini-burgers with peppers and pitta pockets (can be made bigger for adults). Makes about eight.

Ingredients

500g/1lb minced beef, pork, lamb or turkey, depending on taste.

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

4 salad onions, finely chopped

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

Lettuce leaves

Cherry tomatoes

Tomato ketchup

1 pack of pitta breads (or buns)

Method

1 Light the barbecue or preheat the grill to high.

2 Put the mince in a bowl and stir in the chopped peppers, salad onions and Worcestershire sauce. Season and mix well to combine.

3 Divide the mixture into eight and shape into small burgers.

4 Cook for 10-15 minutes on the barbie, turning once, or under the grill for 5-7 minutes on each side until the burgers are cooked through and there is no pink meat.

5 Warm the pittas (or buns) on the barbecue or under the grill, then make a slit along one side and open up to form a pocket. Stuff with lettuce and chopped cherry tomatoes, then add a burger. Serve with tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, pickles – whatever you like.

Easy peasy pizzas

Method

1 Make up and roll out dough for base. Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7.

2 Spread tomato sauce and sprinkle with herbs and/or spices of choice. You can use sun-dried tomatoes, a well-drained tin of tomatoes or cook up your own thick tomato sauce to spread on top, or even use a pesto sauce.

3 Top with sliced mozzarella (grated edam or gouda is also good), peppers, anchovies, olives, ham, mushrooms, or anything to hand.

4 Cook for 15 minutes, or until cheese is golden and just bubbling.