using up stale bread...

I bake a loaf every 2nd day, it used to be 1 a day but I found we had a never ending supply of bread that was going stale before we got round to using it (there is only so much breadcrumbs and croutons I can keep in my freezer!) .. anyway instead of a stale loaf needing to be used up I only have a few slices so thought I would treat my hubby with a bread & butter pud!

Spread the leftover bread with spread, cut into chunks.. 

Layer it in the dish sprinkle 2tbsp sugar and an handful of sultanas/mixed fruit between the layers, (I used 2 dishes as I have 4 slices of bread that needed using up) In a jug mix one egg (freshly laid this morning ..Thank you Dottie) with half a cup of Milk then cover the bread mix with it, I did have to add another splash of milk to these as the bed was really chunky.

Then sprinkle the tops with Brown sugar then leave to rest so the bread soaks up all the liquid, these will go in the oven later today..  One for pudding tonight and the other can go in the freezer for one day next week.... x

Take one pack of diced beef.....

I nipped in Tesco the other night to pick a few bits up and whilst browsing I noticed that they had big packs of Diced Beef on offer @ £2.94 a pack so I decided to get a pack, Rewind a few yrs and I would have not thought twice about using the whole pack on a stew or a curry .. Makes me shudder the amount of food & more importantly MONEY I have wasted over the years! ..

Anyhow today out came my pinny and my oven went on...

 I made some Cornish Pasties last week Recipe was out of my war time recipe book and they were lovely so I thought I would make some Peppered beef and mushroom ones this time as my Husband used to buy the Ginsters ones ( before our pennypinching days )

 So I cubed a few pieces of the beef up and added some beef stock and let it thicken ( whilst it did that I made the pastry ( Will post recipe further down the page)

 I then cut large rounds out of the pastry using a breakfast bowl, placed soem of the filling into the centre of the rounds, moistened the edges and pressed them together on top of the filling then pinched the edges in ( if that makes sense?! ) I did get 6 pasties but dropped the 6th one on the floor!1 was not impressed!

 So then I moved on to a curry, Again this recipe is out of my Eating for victory book .. I took another few pieces of meat and browned it with 1 small onion, added some mushrooms, 4tbsp Flour, 2tbsp curry powder, 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder, 1tsp salt and 170ml water or stock (I used water)

 I had alot of Veggies that needed using up in the fridge so I thought I would do a beef casserole in the slow cooker, I love casseroles, especially now the weather is rapidly changing .. Just added a few mixed herbs, a cup of water and a splash of red wine .. Mmmmm the smell is gorgeous!

 Which then left me with this little bit.. I could have just loaded the casserole up but the money saver in me just could not justify it as I knew I could make another meal out of it so I chopped another onion, browned the meat with the onion, added some beef stock and part boiled a few potatoes .. Popped it in a casserole dish and covered it with pastry I had left over from the pasties.

This is what a £2.94 pk of diced beef got me. (casserole will be cooked over night tonight )

The pasties will make 2 dinners for me and my hubby and one for his Lunch
The casserole will make 2 dinners for the 3 of us
The curry will do 1 dinner for the 3 of us
and the Meat and potato pie will give us 1 dinner plus a small portion for my hubbies lunch


Because I try and cook everything myself and family eat  I have managed to totally get Christmas sorted this year a whole 3 months early!! and am well on my way to sorting out paying our bills early so that I can relax and enjoy the magic of Christmas instead of worrying about the bills that will be arriving after the Christmas period.



Pastry recipe:

8oz Plain Flour
1/2tsp Salt
4oz fat (I use half lard / half stork)
 cold water to mix

Sift flour & salt into a bowl
cube the fat and add to the flour
rub fat into flour using your fingertips (lifting the mixture up and letting it go)
rub until it looks like fine breadcrumbs
add just sufficient water to bind it together, mix with a knife
dust the worktop with flour handle pastry as little as possible
then roll out until you get the thickness you want (I make mine really thin as the pastry goes further)

I am now off to start the mass clean up in the kitchen after my cooking session :0) xx

Running all late...

 With my meal plan... This week is a no spend week so everything on the plan is what I've already got in... all bread, rolls & pizza bases are home-made

Week 4


30th July - 5th August

Sunday
Roast Chicken, Home grown Potatoes & green beans  carrots, Garden peas, stuffing & yorkie

Monday
Chips, sausage and beans  (Quick meal as we was out all day)

Tuesday

Creamy red pesto pasta

Wednesday

Chicken curry & rice ( Using chicken from Sunday lunch)

Thursday

Jacket potato, Quiche (Not sure what quiche I'll make, will depend on what I have that needs using up in the fridge) Salad

Friday

Our "fakeaway" night ..this week it is going to be a selection of pizzas with garlic bread & home made fries.

Saturday

Lasagne

Sunday 

Beef casserole, with new potatoes.

Breakfasts will be Pancakes, Cereal or Jam/ marmalade on toast

Jam is strawberry or cherry ( home made using up the left over fruit that was startign to turn in the fridge) ... very yummy it is too!

Lunches will be anything left over from previous day, ham, cheese or tuna sandwiches, soup or pasta salad

Snacks, fruit, yogurts, home made mousse, banana cake or Home made cookies.

Meal plan

Week 3
23rd - 30th July

Monday
Peppered steak with Jacket potato & salad
 
Tuesday
mushroom stir fry

Wednesday
Gammon, Oven chips, pineapple & peas

Thursday
Fish, new potato's & green beans

Friday
Tandoori chicken

Saturday
Mushroom soup & warm bread

Sunday
Chicken, roast potatos, carrots, parsnips onion, mashed swede


Lunches will be Tuna salad, pasta salad, boiled egg on toast, Ham salad sandwich and any left overs from previous day

Snacks will be  HM biscuits, yoghurt or fruit

Going really well with meal planning,  we are all managing to stick to it everyday, My son is trying new foods cos he has no alternative which is fantastic! 
I'm also sticking to what is on my shopping list so no random purchases which is saving me money! ... Can't be bad

My motivating post....

 Since I've been back doing my meal plans this has really helped as I feel so organised with my food, I know a week in advanced what we will be eating and I just sort it without even thinking really, I buy the stuff I need for the week to last us and that is that .. DONE!

This got me thinking, I wonder if I could manage to do it with my everyday life


 So yesterday myself and Shane had a test run......
I wrote down a list of things I needed to get done that day

The list consisted of everything from digging up the spuds in the garden to doing a load of washing! ... and it really did work!

I managed to do everything I set out to do and more... and I sat down last night on my sofa and was able to just sit there and relax! there was no feeling guilty cos I had sat down when I could have been doing something that I had put off earlier on in the day


From now on I think the list is the way to go!

And for that extra bit of motivation some days I might even post my list on here.

Here is today's list :

Done so far.....

Done a white load of washing
Washed the dog blankets
Put the breadmaker on
Made 2 x cheesey loaves
Put the lamb in the slow cooker
Hoovered downstairs
Polished living room
Made the beds


Still to do :

Menu plan for next week
Shopping list for next week
Sew Jacks badges onto his Beaver jumper
Make a start on the ironing
Prepare veg for dinner
Make a salad
Go for a walk with the dog
Pick some pine cones to stash for christmas Crafts
Parcel up Ebay items
Feed the dog
Bath Jack
Do 30mins of reading/writing with Jack.




I would love to eventually get myself into a routine where things are done on certain days for example,
Ironing is done on a Tues
Washing is done on a Monday
Beds changed every friday
Cooker cleaned every 3rd Thursday
Wed will be my baking day etc etc etc


I will get there :) x

Todays Tesco bargains

On the way back from dropping Jack off at Beavers I had to nip into Tesco to get some salad leafs, whilst there I thought I would have a nose at the reduced section, was just in time too as the lady had just reduced the last of the bits for the night and no one was there so I had first dibs on everything! I couldn't believe my luck cos normally its like a rugby scrum to get with 2 foot of the reduced section


This is what I got :)

Ideal for our weekly Saturday morning fry up.

If I slice it thinly I will get 2 meals out of this

Ideal for one of our "Fake-away" Fridays when I'm doing Donor Kebab .. so that will be one evening meal and just enough left for hubby's sandwiches the next day

Normally I would make my own but with these being so cheap I thought they would be great to freeze for Christmas ... So that is one thing off my Christmas food list :D

This is what I had originally went into Tesco for so really chuffed I managed to get it for less than half price!

£15.06 worth worth of food for £7.09 not bad when you think there is 4 main meals and 1 lunch there without counting the sausages wrapped in bacon.

Meal plan...

Week 2
15th - 22nd July

Sunday
Roast Chicken with Stuffing balls, Cabbage, Carrots, Sliced green beans, Roast potatos & gravy
Chicken was reduced to half price at Aldi (Leftovers will be portioned off and froze)

Monday
Macaroni cheese served with Salad

Tuesday
Pork Chops, New potato's & Garden peas
Using Reduced pork chops from out of the freezer

Wednesday
Spag bol using a reduced pk of mince from out the freezer

Thursday
Mushroom omelette served with salad

Friday
"fake-away" night This week is going to be home made Pizza ( topping will be anything that needs using up in the fridge) with garlic bread

Saturday
Jacket potato, Baked beans with HM quiche

Sunday
Roast leg of lamb (Reduced from Tesco) Served with mashed potato, Roast veggies and gravy

Breakfasts will be: Cornflakes, porridge, pancakes & toast

Lunches will be Tuna mayo, chicken and ham sandwiches or any left overs from day before

Snacks, Home made Honey biscuits, Banana cake, fruit, or Yogurts


Week 1 went really well, I managed to stick to it and only buy what I needed for the week, I already have most this weeks food in so it will just be a case of grabbing fresh fruit, veg and milk.

More bargains & freebies.....

Just a quickie to show off a few of my treasures that I have come across this week ......

Whilst browsing on Ebay the other day I noticed a pine shelving unit that had a "Buy it now" on it for £10 now me being a pine lover I found this too much of a temptation, in the listing it did say it was a little rough and would need rewaxing ... ( The seller wasn't kidding either!!) It was filthy & had splashes of paint all over it, along with "Steven is the best" written on the bottom corner in felt tip! ...  when I went to collect I was shocked by the condition but it was the right size for the wall I wanted it to go on and I knew that there was potential and £10 isnt a great deal of money to lose if it did go horribly  wrong and it finished off being used in the shed to hold hubbys odd and ends... So yesterday out came my sander and here it is...

 Really pleased with it and sooooooo glad I took the chance and feeling very smug cos I shot my hubby right up the bum ... Whilst I was sanding he was making space for it in the shed ready as he was so sure that is where it was going to end up... :)
 


After tea I always switch on on the computer and have a little look on freecycle, and couldn't believe my luck when I saw this!

I have been after a rocking chair for years but whenever I see them they are either too expensive or I'm too late! The lady couldn't get shot of it quick enough!. it is a little rough due to age but nothing abit of TLC won't put right, I'm so chuffed with it.


I also spotted this in a local charity shop yesterday ... its a beautiful vintage Crochet table cloth couldn't believe the label when I read it  ....£1! .. think it is going to look lovely draped over the back of my chintzy sofa (Well it will when I eventually get a chintzy sofa! )

And last but not least On Monday I spotted this bookshelf on the local selling page on facebook, the lady only wanted £5 for it as it had been chipped at the front, It was the usual vile orange pine .....after 10mins in mine and my sanders company here it is.

   £5 well spent I think..........

Today's charity shop finds...

I am trying really hard to stay out of the Charity shops but had to nip in today to get rid of a bag of books that has been lurking on my stairs ...... I have been meaning to donate them for the last few weeks  & today was the 2nd time I have tripped over them so they just had to go before I broke my neck! 

So with me being in the shop anyway it would have been rude of me not to have a look... Within minutes I have spotted this flower press... It was only the other day myself and hubby were talking about things I could do over the school hols with Jack, and I did mention pressing some wild flowers..

                                             and only priced at £1


Next I spotted these......

3 x loose bottom cake tins, small medium & large and Ideal for my Christmas cakes! and @ £1.50 for the 3 ... bargain!

I love Tupperware .. I remember the parties my mum used to host years and years ago, I love the stuff!  .... so when I spotted this for 50p ...

                                                                  I had to get it


Also spotted this Carnival ware glass Jug, I collect jugs, not normally  keen on glass jugs but this one caught my eye, I love the colour and at £1 I though it was a good buy

     Photo really does this no justice... Took it in bad light!

Then I saw these.... I try to collect  Enoch wood & sons 'woodland- pink' I first fell in love with it when I bought a coffee pot a few years back and since then I've picked little bits up as and when I have seen them at bootfairs/ charity shops, although I have never come across dinner plates nor a gravy boat so these were a welcomed surprise...

 For the lot it came to £2.50 ... really cannot work charity shops out, cheap tacky Primark style clothing they seem to charge over the odds for but beautiful vintage items like this they may as well give away for the measly amount they ask for them...


Not that I'm complaining... ;) x

Had time to think...

I've been  suffering with a cold for the last 4 days so not been anywhere nor done much so I've had time to think about the dreaded C word! ... normally I start planning Christmas in Sept just after the kids go back to school but whilst I've been vegging out on the sofa waiting for this blooming cold to pass I have worked out that if I  aim to get all presents bought by the end of Sept I can then use Oct to put money away for the food then Nov can be used to pay Dec & January bills upfront, which will then leave me to enjoy the run up to Christmas stress free and the whole of January to take advantage of the Jan sales to buy birthday/Christmas presents for next year.

so in in order for me to do the above I have got to be even more organised than I am now, I do feel there is room for improvement where my food shopping/meals are concerned so I am reverting back to meal planning! ... when I first jumped on the money saving wagon I found meal planning to be a god send as it kept me focused so here I am again,
Every week from now I intend to update my blog with my weekly meal plan.

For the next 3 weeks I plan on using the only food that I already have in shopping only for fresh veg/fruit and milk, All bread will be home-made 

Week 1  8th - 15th July

Sunday
Pork casserole made using half a pk of reduced pork strips, celery, sbbede, carrots, onions and peas in stock slow cooked for a few hrs and served with roast potatos

Monday
Pork & mushroom curry .. made using the other half of the pk of reduced pork strips,served with basmati rice

Tuesday
Chicken drumsticks marinated in  yoghurt and tandoori powder, served with Jacket potato & salad

Wednesday
Potato salad, with Gammon steak and salad

Thursday
 Mushroom soup, made using half a pk of Tesco value mushrooms, served with half a reduced part baked baguette I have lurking in the freezer


Friday
Our 'fakeaway' night .. this week it is going to be homemade donor meat with salad and pitta bread

Saturday
spag bol made using half a pack of reduced Beef mince I have in the freezer, the other half will be made into a lasagne for a meal next week.

Sunday
Roast Chicken, Roast potato, Carrots, cabbage, sliced beans, stuffing balls and gravy ....Chicken was reduced to half price from Aldi

Breakfasts will be Porridge, weetabix, toast & pancakes

Lunches will be, Ham, cheese or Tuna sandwiches, Tuna Salad or any leftovers from previous day

Snacks will be Home made Honey and oat biscuits, fruit cake, Yogurts or fruit.

Just like to wish....

My hubby and all the other fantastic daddies out there a very Happy Fathers day

Hope you all have a lovely day and get spoilt lots by your babies :) x

Elderflower Cordial

Its that time of year again where the elderflower trees are in full bloom and the smell on a warm day is delightful,.

I do love Elderflower cordial although I have never made my own before, I have always been happy with the odd bottle I purchased from Sainsburys.
 
There are tons of bushes along a local canal path where we walk the dog every night so it would have been rude of me to just walk by and ignore the flowers which were screaming at me to collect them, which I did last Sunday and I'm so glad I did has the shop bought stuff is not a patch on the home made stuff!

Here is the recipe I followed.

30 Elderflower heads
3 pints boiling water
900g Caster sugar
50g citric acid
2 unwaxed oranges (sliced)
2 unwaxed lemons (sliced)

1, Gently rinse the elderflowers to remove any dirt/bugs

2, Pour boiling water over the sugar in a very large mixing bowl, stir well and leave to cool  (I used a large food grade bucket with lid)

3, Add Citric acid, the Orange & Lemon slices, and then the flowers

4, Leave in  a cool place for 24hrs, stirring occasionally

5, Strain through some muslin & transfer to sterilised bottles.

                                             The above recipe made me  two x 1litre bottles.

I am tinkering with the idea of doing Elderflower Gin for Christmas... Will let you know if I decide to or not :) x

Just...

Checking in to say hello... Cannot believe it has been sooooo long since I last posted....Time really does fly!

Not alot has been happening in our house... Apart from Chicken pox for the 2nd time this year, the odd virus and scarlet fever! and that is all since I last blogged.. God knows what the rest of the year has in store for us.
Anyway... 

I  Had a lovely Easter made even better by Jack  winning first prize in the bonnet competition with this beauty! ...

The day prior to the Easter bonnet parade I suddenly remember about the comp and I so knew Jack would have been so upset had he been the only one who's parents had totally forgot and he had no bonnet to enter ! ......So I put my thinking cap on and came up with the creme egg idea!  Cannot believe I came up with such a fantastic idea and to be honest I really do not know how I managed to pull it off! as on the instructions on the Plaster of paris bandage said that it will need 24hrs drying time before painting... The hat had 5hrs if that! Jack of course was over the moon with his creme egg bonnet - even more so when he WON! .. The pressure is on for next year now cos its soooo going to have to be bigger and better!


Oooooh and we have some new additions ...

Yes our very own Honey making bee's ... Hubby collected them on Monday.. All 30.000 of them.
Really looking forward to updating the blog with our progress ... Hopefully will soon have a cupboard full of our very own honey.

Latest buys and revamps.........x

I absolutely adore all the shabby Chic look, I have been meaning to have a go at revamping some old bits of furniture for a while but never spotted any pine furniture that was within my price range (That was until I spotted this beauty for sale on one of the sale sites on Facebook)

For £20 I thought it was a bargain... so off I trotted to collect and nip into homebase on the way for some Farrow & Ball paint and a sander.

Within a few hours it went from that to...

This

Then there was this... I paid £6 for it from the red cross charity shop...

Which turned into this..

Then there was this... an absolute bargain @ £30 I nearly tied my legs in knots rushing out to go pick it up from Dover,,,,

Which after hours & hours of sanding and painting turned into this....Must admit I'm chuffed with the results

                                                   
Whilst in my local homeware store the other day I spotted some Dolly pegs! well I just had to get myself a pack of those...So when I got home out came my paintbrushes and they went from being plain and boring into these....

Sooooo blooming well cute!! cannot wait for the weather to warm up so I can use them :D x

Mushroom soup....

Is what I made for tea tonight,
Its been sooooo cold all day I really needed a nice warm bowl of something to warm me up abit
I did plan to make it yesterday but never had time (Not enough hours in the day at the mo!)
Anyway ...finally got around to making it today & thought I would share the recipe.

Ingredients:

400g Mushrooms
1 Onion
1tbsp Butter/Margarine
pinch dried basil (Optional)
450ml Vegetable stock
450ml Milk
1tbsp Plain flour
Salt & Pepper

 Chop mushrooms and onion thinly

 Melt butter in a heavy based saucepan & add onion, fry for 1-2 mins stirring frequently

Add chopped mushrooms, stir and put lid on to allow them to sweat for 5mins stirring occasionally

Whilst the mushrooms are sweating mix a Veg stock cube with 450ml boiling water

 Stir the flour into the mushrooms and cook for 1min
 

Add the stock, stir and then add the Milk add salt, pepper & Basil, bring to the boil                                

Leave to simmer for 10 mins

 Allow the soup to cool slightly then pour into blender and blitz till smooth.

                                                           
Serve with a warm roll... x

Its been a while.. x

Hellloooo ..

Cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted on here...How time flies!
Not alot has been happening in our Household.. We had a terrible festive period due to us all coming down with the flu 3 days before Xmas day!! Sooo glad I didn't go mad with buying food as it would have been wasted as we just weren't eating Jack has been of school all last week due to Chicken pox!! So not really managed to get a great deal done I was hoping to sort all the loft out (New year and good clean out and all that...) but NO.. Never mind at least his on the mend and should be going back to school next week
Hubby has decided to get in to the world of Bee keeping ... Which means.. Honey on tap!.. Oooh I'm soooo excited! hopefully he should be able to make a few pennies out of it too!
I'm still trying hard to save money as and when I can although with prices rising etc it is very difficult BUT in a funny kind of way I am enjoying it! I love bargain hunting in the reduced aisle of the supermarket every night because I cannot afford full price.. I nipped into Tesco yesterday afternoon and picked up a few bargains  and today was the challenge to see how many meals I could get out of the yellow labelled goodies......Thought I would share a few pictures...

So this along with a few fridge items that needed to be used up was what I had to work with.

Thought I would start on the Tomato's first, chopped in half, added some pepper, garlic & a drizzle of Olive oil, then these were ready to roast.

30min later... Mmmmm the smell was divine!

All blitzed up and made into a pasta sauce ready to be potted up and froze

Then I turned my attention to the chopped pork, Hubby loves stew so thought I would treat him :)

Meat, veg & stock all added now time to switch it on.

                               Celeriac gratin, made with 1 celeriac  a300ml tub of cream &150ml milk

                                            Very naughty but Ooooh sooo nice ;)

            Next was cooked pork I had in the fridge from Wednesday's tea, ideal Mid-week curry

                                 Waiting to go in the oven to be slow cooked and thickened up

                 Next I used half the pack of Beef, some mushroom and beef stock and made the filling for a pie.

                            All ready for its yummy shortcrust blanket to be made and put on.

                                                           Celeriac & Celery soup

I also made a Beef Casserole and a pork, mushroom and cider pie... sorry about no pictures.. Totally forgot!

                                                                             

Taaaaaaaaaaa Darrrrrrrr

Pretty damn chuffed with myself as I managed to make 

1 pork & Mushroom pie

1 Beef and mushroom pie

1pork & Veg stew (2 dinners)

a Celeriac gratin (2 dinners)

1 Pork & Mushroom curry

1 Celeriac & celery soup (1 dinner & 1 lunch)

1 beef casserole

1 tub of tomato pasta sauce

And

 a portion of Mashed swede to go with tomorrows dinner...all for under £4

Still got some Mushrooms left in the fridge so tomorrow I shall be doing a Mushroom soup

So after that mammoth cooking session the meals have all been added to my already fully stocked freezer 

From Tuesday Next week I have set myself a target of £10 to live on for the week this will be used for buying fresh fruit, veg, bread and milk, so I will be relying on my freezer to feed us for the next couple of weeks.

Its soooo cold tonight we have decided to camp out in the living room, it saves putting the heating on to warm the top of the house up.. so going to get my Jim jams on and snuggle up with my darling hubby...  :0) x