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.