Simple Food

Sticking to our Not Spending in September Challenge when we ran out of bread in the freezer this morning I decided to have a quick baking session and make some homemade bread.  And with the oven on it's always making enough of something to really fill it to capacity.



Our  central heating isn't working at the moment and the earliest date a plumber can get to us to fix it a couple of weeks away the house so the house is pretty cold, but believe it or not I found the warmest spot to leave the bread to rise, even though it's not working properly, is still on top of the central heating boiler, so there is sat for the first rise, covered in clingfilm and then draped with a tea towel.

After the second kneading I shaped the loaves and decided a few buns would be nice to go with lunch, once they had risen sufficiently to be cooked they were all brushed with milk and then sprinkled with an assortment of seeds and oats.



Fresh out of the oven and looking very tasty.

As I am doing the Dukan Diet at the moment, I made myself a loaf of 'Dukan friendly' bread, made with oatbran, wheatbran and eggs instead of flour. 

 It's a very dense bread but brilliant with soup.

And that's what was on the menu for lunch.......vegetable soup for me .....

... and Beef and Vegetable soup for Lovely Hubby.  He likes his 'with bits' and I like mine whizzed up, so we each had our favourite.

Nice simple food and the house warmed up nicely with the oven being on for a while.

Sue xx

The Last of the Toms and Batch Cooking

 

 

Here they are in order of size, the very last homegrown tomatoes of Summer.  I've had a poor tomato year this year, as have many folk.  The weather, combined with me trying to get used to a draughty greenhouse has scuppered my plans on filling the cupboards with jars and jars of tomatoey goodness.  The few we have managed to get have been added to various dishes as and when we've cooked them to enjoy them at their best.

 

 



 

I had a bit of a batch cooking session on Sunday while Lovely Hubby was 'playing' with the computer.  I had some packs of mince in the freezer that had been there for well over a year so I decided to turn them into something for tea and a few future meals.

 

 

 

I always think it's as easy to cook in bulk as it is to make each and every meal when you need it.  The Mince and veggie Quorn Mince was cooked with onions, tomatoes and all the odds and end of veggies that were lurking in the fridge and freezer, with lots of tomato puree and some garlic puree for good measure, Worcestershire sauce and sprinkles of this and that the kitchen was soon smelling very good.

 

Needless to say the portions destined for tea were eaten at lunchtime instead, just popped into the oven for the tops to brown before we tucked in.

 

 

 

The rest were left to go cold, one portion with a potato topping and a sprinkle of cheese for LH to tuck into while I am on holiday with my Mum in a couple of weeks and the others left with just mince, so we can decide on a topping when we thaw them out.

 

It's always satisfying to get a few homemade 'ready meals' tucked into the freezer ready for those nights when inspiration is thin on the ground or there simply is no time to cook from scratch.

 

Sue xx



Not Spending in September

The not spending in September is going pretty well, last week I spent £32 out of my housekeeping budget, so that's the £18 saved straight over into the £2012 in 2012 fund, which is also doing pretty well. (Added in - I just remembered I also spent £2.69  on a coffee at the motorway services at the start of last week, so that's a bit less to the fund!!)

 

I had a voucher for Sainsburys so decided to top up the fresh stuff from there.  The cheapo mince is for the dogs, two packs mixed with the other cheapo ingredients for homemade dogfood keeps them in food for 6 days at a cost of just 23p per meal, a bargain and I know they are getting good food.  On alternate days they both love cheapo tins of tuna mixed with either a slice of bread or their usual dog mixer.

 

The freezer is starting to look bare, but I think we should be able to see this month out and maybe even into October before we run out of meal ideas.

 

I love the feel of not shopping so much and of course it gives me more chance to actually have a sit down and read through some Blogs........ when my computer will let me!!

 

Everything seems to be working at the moment, thanks to Lovely Hubby spending virtually all of yesterday fixing things, it's a good job it was raining or he would have been sulking, he's halfway through painting his man shed..... that lovely shade of green that we both love so much, and rain unfortunately had stopped play yesterday just before the computers went on the blink.

 

Sue xx

Menu Planning

 

I find the best way of saving money and running down the cupboards and freezers in a logical way is to menu plan.  Thirty minutes on a Monday morning gives me time to check out what I have lurking in all the cupboards and freezers and write down a basic menu plan.

 

It saves time on the other days as I don't have to stop what I am doing and start rummaging for what I fancy eating or making for that nights tea.  I can also defrost the main component of the meal during the day rather than worrying it might not thaw out in time or having to zap it in the microwave. 

 

 It also means that if I do have to nip to the shops I can have a shopping list of any necessary items needed to add to a recipe or meal for the week ahead.  I always have a list on the side of the fridge and the minute I notice I need something I write it down (not that I always remember to take the blasted thing with me....I am only human!!).  If you don't write what you need down when you think of it, you can guarantee you'll walk round the shops to try and jog your memory and buy all those tempting 'must have' bargains that you don't really need instead.

 

This week however, I am trying very hard not to buy anything and so our meals are coming exclusively from the cupboards and freezers.  I purposely planned all the meals to make use of everything we have already in stock.

 

*** *** ***

 

Menu Plan for this Week.

 

Monday

 

Steak Burgers/Veggie Fingers with Buttered Cabbage and Pine Nuts, served with Onion Marmalade

 

Tuesday

 

Garlic Kiev/Spicy Lentil Wedge with Brown Rice and Sweetcorn and Mixed Leaves

 

Wednesday

 

'Linda Mc' Cheese, Leek and Red Onion Plaits with Cheese and Tomato Orzo Pasta and Mixed Leaves

 

Thursday

 

Meat/Veggie Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

 

Friday

 

Quorn Chicken Style Pieces in Tikka Masala Sauce served with Brown Rice and Naan Breads

 

Saturday

 

Meat/Veggie Shepherds Pie served with Sweetcorn, Carrots and Gravy

 

Sunday

 

Salmon, Rice and Vegetable Parcels

 

*** *** ***

 

This should all leave a nice sized gap in the freezer as most things are from there, the veggies we have grown ourselves, both last year and this and blanched and open frozen as I talked about the other day.

 

All these meals are Harcombe friendly for me with the exception of the Salmon and Rice which is mixing, but I'm not being terribly strict at the moment while we are running stocks down. 

 

 

One plus side of running down the freezer is that you find packets of things you had forgotten all about, so last night Lovely Hubby had a tasty little starter before his tea of Prawns.  He likes them just as they are with a little dollop of mayo on the side, and I'm not telling him yet but there are two more bags lurking in the depths of the big chest freezer!

 

 

Do you menu plan on a regular basis, and what forgotten treasures have you found lurking in the depths of the freezer?

 

Sue xx

Not Spending in September

Last month I was going to challenge myself not to spend ..... it fizzled out through lack of keeping track and circumstances.  I decided to begin again for September and this time I've been keeping tabs on myself properly.

 

 

The Challenge is purely to spend as little as possible from my housekeeping budget for the month and to put all the money I have managed to save towards my other Challenge ....  £2012 in 2012.  Both Pages are at the top of the Blog under the Blog title if you want to follow my progress.

 

 

My Housekeeping Allowance is £50 a week, this is used for food for the two of us and dogs, (I buy them supermarket cheapo mince and tins of tuna, we are trying to wean both of them off  'dogfoods' as such, as Rosy doesn't like them much and always leaves some which Suky then eats ... and she is supposed to be on a diet!!).

 

 



 

So I have £200 for the month of September and my weeks are running Saturday to Saturday as this is when the month started.

 

 

 

I have lots of food in stock as you can see from these photos, tins, jars, packets and lots of dried foods in jars.

 

 

 

There is also lots in the freezers, both of them.  And dried herbs and seasonings to compliment the ones that are still growing happily away.

 

 

  We also still have crops growing in the Veggie Patch, including Spinach, Kale, Courgettes and Cabbages, so there is absolutely no chance of us going hungry.

 

I am trying not to go to the supermarket too much even though that particular Challenge has now ended, (all Jokers were played by 5th September) I still love my High Street shops way to much to just abandon them.  But in an effort to keep costs as low as possible I will be using up all my vouchers and Nect*r points to help pay for my shopping while I am doing this Challenge.

 

The food in the picture at the top was last weeks additional necessities, I spent £22.25 and a voucher at Mr Sainsb**ys.  The small bottles of water are a rare buy for me, we have them in to use for when we are travelling and once emptied they are filled from our big cheap bottles or with diluted squash.  The biscuits were for travelling too, to save us money at the services, (own drinks, own nibbles equals pennies staying in pockets), I could have made some but I ran out of time last week, so they were a compromise.

 

I am going to run this for as long as possible, but the main push is through the month of September, I would actually like to run all supplies right down, I wonder how long it will actually take me.

 

 

 

 

After all not spending at all is the best way to save. So for the foreseeable future I am shopping from my cupboards and freezers and putting the money saved into the Bank of Sue.

 

 

Sue xx