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