A frugal day

Only a short post. The internet connection is terrible where I am tonight and keeps disconnecting so I hope I get to do a short blog before I'm cut off.

Used up lots of odds and ends in the fridge today. I had a small dish off vegetables leftover from our fajitas a few days ago which I threw into the spagetti bolognese in the slowcooker. This was our tea tonight. I had a portion of creamy mascarpone sauce which was in the freezer from a meal we had last week. I had a small amount of coleslaw & salad leftover from tea last night and a half packet of crabsticks  which have been in the fridge since the end of last week.

 
These were all used up to make a nice tasty sandwich for my lunch. The dogs vegetables were low and I haven't time to go and buy a sack of pony carrots for him today so I boiled some old looking bits of veg to tied him over till I get a sack of carrots tomorrow.

Went to my voluntary job today and daughter No2 met me at the shop when I'd finished so she could get a lift home. She came out of the shop with a nice top and a pretty skirt which only cost us a few pounds. We then went to a shop to get her a dress she had seen in the White Rose Shopping Centre yesterday (did not have her size in the shop in Leeds). We found her size  and I was going to pay for it when daughter said," No mum, I'll pay for it and use my student  card to get  a discount. You pay me back later." So daughter saved me £3.00  which is not a great deal but it's better in my pocket than the shops profit.

Bye until tomorrow

Menu Week 11/04/11

MONDAY - Omelet, Jacket potato, salad and bread rolls. Semolina pudding with jam

TUESDAY - Spaghetti bolognese and home made garlic bread

WEDNESDAY - Roast chicken, home made coleslaw, Jacket spuds & salad

THURSDAY - Home made salmon fishcakes, wedges, peas or beans

FRIDAY - Chicken in sauce over vegetable rice

SATURDAY - Home made pizza, wedges and home made coleslaw

SUNDAY - BBQ  salad & breads


To use up the items in my challenge over the week I am going to make -

Chestnut puree - USED, made the chocolate & chestnut Torte

Couscous - Making couscous patties to have with salad for lunches

Semolina - having semolina milk pudding with homemade jam for after tea tonight

Ground rice - using some in a shortbread recipe I found

Yellow split peas - making this http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2011/01/basic-yellow-split-pea-dal-recipe.html  which I can freeze and have for lunch.


Shall now go to Aldi and buy what I can there whilst daughter No2 goes for an interview in the shop next door. Then home, dog walking then out again to the White Rose Shopping Centre to get the girls some essential items of clothing and footwear for school.   Not looking forward to visiting the shopping centre because it is the school holidays and it will be VERY busy because of this. So my plan is to be as quick as possible in the place, the girls may have other plans though! They could spend all day walking round these centres.

Poor Sherlock

Yesterday I slept until 4.30pm after my night shift oblivious to the goings on with my dog Sherlock. My hubby and daughter No3 had taken him for a walk by the lake with it being a lovely day. Sherlock went to the edge of the water attracted to some smell and ended up with a fishing hook lodged in his mouth. Hubby tried for some time to get it out but it was a hook with a couple of hooks on the end so could not release it. Poor Sherlock was getting very distressed and was in a lot of pain. A man walking his dogs stopped to see if he could help and ended up offering to drive hubby, daughter and Sherlock to a vet.

The vet shaved his legs to give him a sedative in one leg and an injection in the other leg to bring him round.  Hook removed and then an injection to stop any infection. Hubby had to ring his parents to come and collect them and to bring a cheque book because the vet would not take cards for payment! Poor Sherlock was wobbly on his legs for a lot of the day and kept letting us know he was in discomfort with the odd whimper now and again.

Sherlock's shaven legs

So today Sherlock is back to his normal self with just shaven legs to show for his ordeal. It turned out to be a rather expensive walk with the dog....£100! 

Wedding Party Plans

Well the party I mentioned in a previous post is for daughter No1 and her partner. They sprung on us four weeks ago that they are to marry but it will be in Las Vegas! Just the two of them and the two grandchildren are going. We would have loved to have gone but sadly can't afford to so I decided to have a party for the family to celebrate them getting married. We shall be having this party in 4 weeks, the day after they return from America.

 
I shall be making all the food and we shall be having it at our house so I am planning on how to decorate the house too. I'm keeping it simple with a colour scheme of white. We have been searching for deals on alcohol and buying where there are good offers. On each visit to the supermarket I buy soft drinks that are on offer and I'm accumulating a nice collection of different drinks now. I am waiting for the supermarkets to have their offers on hams and salmon which they usually do for Easter. I want to buy a large gammon to roast and a half salmon to poach.

I have 3 desserts already made and in the freezer. They are a baked lemon cheesecake (I made this last Christmas and it's lovely). The chocolate & chestnut torte I made yesterday and today I made a mixed berry mousse cake. They all turned out great and just need finishing off with last minute decorations on the day. The torte I made yesterday was made with things I already had in the cupboard, all I had to buy was the double cream. The berry mousse cake was made with berries in the freezer and again I only needed to buy cream. So wedding party plans are going quite smoothly at the moment.

The girls finished school and college today so we shall have a busy time ahead. I want to take them to buy new shoes and some clothes. They seem to have outgrown everything. We need to have a blitz on their bedrooms and  there will be some entertainment required at some point. So a day trip somewhere or a visit to the cinema may be called for. We shall see.

Challenge, recipe 1 made

Well I completed the chestnut puree challenge. I made the torte today and it came out really well.

It made a very large dessert which is in the fridge to set for five hours then I shall wrap it well and freeze for my party.

Used some of the couscous from my challenge for tea tonight instead of rice that I had originally planned to use. Shall have a google to see what else can be made with it.

Off now to watch Superscrimpers: waste not want not on channel 4.

Challenge, recipe 1 found

Found my first recipe to use up the can of chestnut puree http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/155632/chocolate-and-chestnut-truffle-torte. I am hosting a party in just over four weeks (more about that another day) so I am going to make this dessert and freeze it. The recipe states it can be frozen for 2 months. So onto the other four items now.

Dog walking beckons and have to go to my voluntary job shortly so shall return later if any bargains found at my shop.

Found these two baskets at the shop today. They were a bargain at 50p each.

They are in great condition and I shall put them away in the loft to us at Christmas for hampers I make.

Menu Week 04/04/11

MONDAY - Fish fingers, wedges, peas or beans

TUESDAY - Tuna & mascarpone sauce on pasta with homemade garlic bread

WEDNESDAY - Pork in a sauce over rice

THURSDAY - Creamy Pesto Chicken, potatoes, roasted tomatoes and peas

FRIDAY - At parents for tea

SATURDAY - Chicken/Tofu Fajitas

SUNDAY - Toad in the hole, Roast potatoes, vegetables and onion gravy

                                           Happy Mother's Day to all you mums out there.

Not posted for a few days. Been very busy with having the grandchildren staying this weekend. It is the first time we have had both stay and it has been lovely but hard work. My daughter No1  is sleep deprived and was shattered as the 8 month old baby is terrible at sleeping. So I suffered a sleepless night, along with everyone else in the house except hubby who retreated to the downstairs computer room at the far end of the house. He's not daft is he? Daughter No1 rang today saying she slept solidly for 14 hours and felt a lot better for it. The things we go through for our kids.

So I have not had a relaxing Mother's Day, quite the opposite but an enjoyable one. Daughter No3 has been very helpful all day asking all the time if there is any thing she can do for me. Daughter No2 has done my hair for me (she's training to be a hairdresser) because she knows I hate doing my own hair and I find it really relaxing when she does it for me. I find it so relaxing I always start to nod off. Hope you all had an enjoyable day too. Until tomorrow, Bye.