Thanks

Thank you all for your comments to my last posting, you are all wonderful, lovely people.

I just want to wish you all a lovely and Happy New Year to each and every one who takes the time to stop off at my blog.

Love to you all xxx

Aah, bliss

Aah, peace and quiet, bliss. Had a lovely busy Christmas. House full for the last two and a half days. Eight for Christmas lunch and 12 for Boxing day lunch. House looked like a bomb had hit it when I got up this morning! We had a fun night though.Waved goodbye to the family this morning then Hubby and I had a blitz on the house. All I plan to do now is chill! I'm going to laze around all day, read my new cook books and snooze. We shall eat leftovers as I am doing no cooking today then it's to work tonight to do a night shift.

Welcome to my new follower Anita.

See you all tomorrow : )

Merry Christmas 2011

A Merry Christmas to each and every one of my followers and readers. Have a lovely day with your families whichever way you choose to celebrate Christmas.

I feel quite worn out and tired sat here blogging whilst listening to carols being sang on the TV and sipping a glass of wine. Got up after about four hours sleep after my night shift and started the food prep. Hubby had been cleaning the downstairs shower room and running last errands. Daughter No3 and Hubby helped a lot with food preparation. After hours in the kitchen daughter declared she had to sit down her legs were aching : ) Just glanced at the clock and it's officially Christmas day now. 12.02 Merry Christmas!

I've got my table ready for the big lunch. Daughters set the table.

Crockery ready to be used

My fridge full of food and not one morsel shall be wasted. I have prepared food stored in all corners of the garden, garage and house that is cool because my fridge is too full to take anymore.

So enjoy your festivities and I shall enjoy mine and be back as soon as I get a moment in these busy few days x

Thoughts of 2012

I've started to think about 2012 and the way I shop. I am getting increasingly frustrated at the silly price increases in the big supermarkets and their scheming ways at deceiving us. I'm getting to the stage I hate to give the big boys our hard earned cash so I'm making a new year resolution to rearly shop in the big supermarkets again in the new year. Now I never make new year resolutions because nobody ever sticks to them but this is one I feel so passionate about I know I will stick to it. I also want to help the local businesses and I think we should all do our bit to make sure they don't go under. I do use them but I know I can use them more.

My plan is to only buy our meat from the family butcher in the village a mile away. I do use this butcher but it is more expensive than the supermarket but the quality is great and all the meat is from local farmers. I shall buy  a few varieties of meat from the butcher each week and menu plan from there.  There's a deli/bakers in the village a mile away I can buy bits from. I am going to use a local farmers shop for all my veg. They are very cheap on potatoes ( I buy all my potatoes from them) but out of season veg can be expensive there but seasonal is really cheap. Got to start eating only seasonal veg which I'm not good at.  I will still buy my eggs from the egg farmer, they are so cheap there. I plan to use Aldi still. I find their prices rarely alter and they have great deals on their 6 fruit/veg deals each week.

Now the dilemma. Where do I buy my yeast, bread flour, Yorkshire t-bags etc when Aldi don't stock these? I could use The Co-op in the village a mile away but because it's a village store the prices are really inflated and I'm on a budget here. This is one I'm going to have to think harder about before I start this the first week of January. Any suggestions welcome.

Homemade Mc D

Firstly, welcome to my new followers, Anne and Debbie. Lovely to have you on board.

Fridges all cleaned and filled up today with my Tesco delivery. Keeping up with the ironing, don't want to end up with a massive pile to tackle after Christmas. I'm still not feeling christmassy. I'm feeling even less christmassy after my walk with the dog because the weather is so mild. Enjoying watching Christmas cookery programmes and documentaries about Christmas stuff.

Today we are having homemade beef burgers and daughter No3 has been wanting homemade onion rings with a meal for weeks now so I am making some today.

ONION RINGS

120g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
good grinding black pepper
1 egg
200ml milk
2 large onions
Breadcrumbs

Mix flour, baking powder, salt & pepper in a bowl.
Mix egg & milk in another bowl.
Slice onion and separate slices into circles. save smaller centres of onion to reuse in another dish.
Toss onion rings in the seasoned flour.
Mix egg & milk mixture into remaining flour.
Dip each onion ring in the batter then in the breadcrumbs.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Drain on kitchen paper.

The bits of leftover onion will be chopped and half added to my coleslaw,

and half added to the burger mix.

All that needs to be done now is the cooking

Better than any Mc D rubbish.

Menu plan & a busy week

I may have everything sorted that I need to buy for Christmas but it does not mean I can sit back and relax now until Christmas day. If only. Today is like a Chinese laundry here. I've had two washer loads already finished and drying on the radiators and airer. Both daughters beds have been stripped and are currently in the washer. I have done a pile of ironing and  I have shampooed the living room carpet with the carpet cleaner to freshen it up for Christmas. I still have 3 double beds to change because all the beds will be used over Christmas so lots of washing being done here. Shame Christmas is not hot here. It would make all the Christmas preparations a lot easier if it were. The 3 double beds can wait until tomorrow or Thursday, need to get this lot dry first.

MENU PLAN 19/12/11

MONDAY - Egg, chips and baked beans

TUESDAY - Homemade mince and onion pie, mash, vegetables and gravy

WEDNESDAY - casseroled chicken legs & veg, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings

THURSDAY - Homemade beef burgers, chips and homemade coleslaw

FRIDAY - Tuna pasta and homemade garlic bread

SATURDAY - Takeaway

CHRISTMAS DAY - Prawn cocktail/ pate
                                    Roast turkey/mushroom wellington, roasted carrots & parsnips,
                                    roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, sage & onion stuffing, peas,      
                                    sprouts and gravy
                                    Christmas pudding & custard/ lemon baked cheesecake

BOXING DAY -         Leek & potato soup
                                    Roast pork loin joint, apple sauce, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes,
                                    roasted carrots & parsnips, cauliflower cheese, peas and gravy
                                    Chocolate orange roulade/ pavlova

Shall have a takeaway Christmas Eve as I shall be too busy to make anything. I won't be up until the afternoon that day because I will have worked a night shift Friday night. I have a lot of food to prepare and the Christmas table to set too. Hope your Christmas preparations are going smoothly.

Hello!

Hi there, I'm back. Sorry not been posting for ages. Yet again feeling under the weather. Yet again full of cold. I seem to catch one after the other at the moment.

Well, how are the Christmas preps going in your house? Here we are all ready for the big day. Presents all bought and wrapped. Cards all posted. Decorations all up. Some food prepped and in freezer and the shopping order is done and coming later in the week.

My dining room Christmas tree

It's not really feeling very Christmassy yet to me. Hopefully as the week goes on I might get more into the feel of Christmas once I'm rid of this cold.

The weather today was lovely. Cold and frosty but a lovely sunny day.

The water to my right was frozen over and the ground was solid. I was all wrapped up against the cold
and really enjoyed the walk.

LAST WEEKS MENU

Mon - Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and gravy
Tues - Pork loin steaks, apple sauce, boiled potatoes, veg and a creamy sauce

Wed - Fish pie, peas, carrots & broccoli

Yummy fish pie

Thurs - Sausage, mash, veg and gravy
Fri - Spaghetti bolognese &garlic bread
Sat - Chicken/tofu fajitas
Sun - Pork loin ( reduced )roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, vegetables and gravy

We had lots of dinners last week. It's that time of year when I tend to cook lots of them. I shall do next weeks plan tomorrow.

I shall sit now and watch the final of Strictly Dancing. I don't watch it on the Saturday as nobody else in the house likes to watch it so I always watch it the day after on my own. I know who won so that's spoilt my enjoyment a bit. Heard it on the bloody radio this morning. Hubby had warned me not to watch the TV news because they were talking about the winner on there so I avoided the TV only to have it blurted out on the radio!

Bye for now x

Wet and wild!

Wow, what a wet and wild day. It was wheely bin day here today and the amount of bins blown into the roads on my walk with the dog was amazing to see. Youngest daughter wanted to go into the near town to get a few Christmas presents after school but I asked her if we could delay it as I did not fancy facing the storms and getting soaked. Dog walking today has been a" wrap up well" kind of day and "strap your hood down tight" day. So it was well and truly a day to stay in and do homely things.

A bolognese was put in the pot for tea but when we found out Daughter No2's boyfriend was staying for tea we had to have burgers instead as he does not like tomato based food. So Saturdays meal was eaten today and today's menu meal will be eaten Saturday! Fussy eaters eh! Bolognese made and in the fridge for Saturdays meal.

This morning I had some of the bread the girls like toasted. This bread is a white warburtons loaf and all I can say about it was that it was god damn awful. I felt like I was chewing on cardboard and it tasted like cardboard. I got straight onto making a loaf because I could not face eating that crap again for lunch. I made a lovely light white with a quarter wholemeal. Daughter No2 asked if her and boyfriend could eat some and her boyfriend really liked it. He had not tasted homemade bread before and he really enjoyed it. Quite sad that the youth today have hardly ever tasted homemade bread yet if they were given the opportunity I'm sure they would like it better than the processed crap that's pushed on consumers in the supermarkets. Don't get me wrong, my kids love the crap bread and they love my homemade bread but if you asked what they want their sandwich in for school or collage it will always be the crap bread because they don't want to seem different.

My kids have been great at taking different stuff to school to eat and getting comments on it. Usually they get comments on how nice it is their mum makes cakes and loaves for their lunch box and their friends want to try their food. They have never been ridiculed for taking different food in. They get the odd comment from a jealous mate who might say sarcastically " ooh look she's got a bagel today" but in my opinion it sounds like the kid is jealous at not having such a varied packed lunch. One lad commented to daughter he thought it was great how she went to school with all her little containers of nice food. 

Off track there with talk of school lunches. The loaf I made was accompanied with some homemade hummus. So cheap to make and really tasty and nutritious.

The dark patch on my hummos is only some Harissa spice to give it a kick. I made my hummos as follows

1 400g tin chick peas, drained (reserve liquid)
2 gloves garlic, grated
2 tbls tahini
olive oil
salt to taste
Reserved liquid from chick peas
Lemon juice to taste

Basically just whizz everything up in your food processor. Add the reserved liquid from the chick peas to thin the mixture and add as much olive oil to make a smooth consistency to your taste. My hummus needed a lot more salt than I put in so I had to add more at the end. Just taste and add until you get the consistency and taste you like.

Relax and shop

Relax in a chair and sip a cup of tea whilst doing Christmas shopping. That's the way I like to Christmas shop. Don't think I've been in many shops this year. So much easier and relaxing to surf the net and shop that way. Bought all my Christmas presents for the last six years this way.  Whatever you want you can get it on the internet. Nothing is out of bounds so why get stressed and traipse around shop after shop? 

I've even done my food shop on line. Got the day and the time I want it delivered already booked and got my groceries ordered. It has come at a cost, £5.00, but that is the best £5.00 I will have spent over Christmas. I HATE Christmas food shopping. Trying to find a car parking space. Four deep to get a sprout. Aisles so congested you can't move and the queues at the till!  No, not for me. I like to keep as far away from a shop as I can come Christmas week.

It's like everyone's gone mad. The amount of food bought and the amount that will get binned is madness. I plan for everything I will need and hope to keep waste to a minimum. Anyway, anything that is left over in my house will be used or frozen for another meal another day.

Do you love the hustle and bustle of Christmas or are you like me wanting it as stress free as possible?

Menu Week 05/12/11

MONDAY - Chicken/ seafood chow mein

TUESDAY - Pork loin steaks, potatoes, vegetables and apple sauce

WEDNESDAY - Casseroled chicken legs and veg, dumplings and mashed potatoes

THURSDAY - Spaghetti bolognese and homemade garlic bread

FRIDAY - Out at Christmas work do's

SATURDAY - Homemade beef burgers, chips, homemade onion rings & homemade coleslaw

SUNDAY - Roast chicken, roast potatoes, roasted carrots, veg and Yorkshire pudding

Got the Tescos 3 for £10.00 on meat this week. I'm going to stretch the 700g packet of minced beef to make three beef burgers for Saturday and the bolognese for Thursday. To make the mince go further I will add some breadcrumbs to the burger mix and will add a few lentils and a bit of quorn mince  to the bolognese sauce.

Today I prepared my Christmas day main and I'm having the same on Boxing day. This year I am having these http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12804/melty-mushroom-wellingtons They were simple to make.

I open froze them then wrapped separately and popped them back in the freezer. All ready for Christmas.


With the scraps of puff pastry I wrapped four sausages from the freezer in the pastry and cooked them along with the final scrap of pastry which I topped with a bit of tuna I had in the fridge and some onion and cheese. Whilst the oven was on I took a flan case I had in the freezer and filled with some cheese, onion and a couple of wrinkly cherry tomatoes and added a beaten egg. This quiche will do daughter for lunch tomorrow.

Also made a batch of Hot cross buns and boiled a gammon then roasted it in the oven with a good drizzle of honey. This will be sliced later for sandwiches for the week. I also made the sponge for a chocolate and orange roulade for Christmas. Can only freeze the sponge but it helps having this ready to save time at Christmas. Was going to make my baked lemon cheesecake today to put in the freezer for Christmas but could not make it because I forgot the mascarpone cheese! So this will have to be made later in the week. So a good day in the kitchen today.

Awards

                                                      

                                                    

Not been on my blog since last Thursday and when I checked my messages this morning I was surprised to find I had been given this award by not one but two fellow bloggers! It's lovely to know people do actually like to read my days ramblings. The two lovely ladies who gave me the awards are Scarlet over at http://talesfrombeyondthenook.blogspot.com/ and a lady known as Mum over at http://mumssimplylivingblogat.blogspot.com/   Thanks again ladies.

The Liebster award is to highlight bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

The rules are, copy and paste the award to your blog.

Thank the giver and link back to them.

Reveal your top 5 bloggers and let them know by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Hope that your follower will spread the love to other blogs.

I would like to nominate just two today as it's getting very late and I want to go to bed. Firstly, a lovely lady I follow at http://nospenddays.blogspot.com/  and a second award is going to http://frugalwifeinfife.blogspot.com/ I really enjoy reading these ladies blogs.

Will continue with this when less tired.

Welcome to my two new followers too.

Bye for now.

Really pissed off!

I regularly check our on line banking and check everything off with my paperwork. WELL, today I noticed our energy bill had gone up from £128.00 per month to £150.00 per month. What's pissing me off is we have only been with EDF for 3, yes 3 months and they are hiking the payments up already! Well they can p*** **f. Going to get Hubby straight onto it when he gets home. He took out the energy contract in his name only so they will only deal with him. I am so angry as you most probably can tell. Off to calm down now by making our evening meal. Shall let you know if he has any luck with them later.

UPDATE
Well after 25 minutes on hold, listening to some crap music, someone finally answered my husbands call. The outcome of the call was from next month, payments will go back to £128.00! Why bloody change it in the first place I don't know. They've still got £22 quid of ours though, cheeky beggars. Going to be even more frugal with the gas and electric now because they have peed me off. I'm aiming for a further reduction once winter is over but to get them to reduce it we have to use less! I've started already and turned the heating down even further and tomorrow it can stay off all day because we are all out. I'm going to snuggle in bed and finish watching Cutting Edge, The ultimate guide to penny pinching.