Thursday, 25 July 2013
Garden soup
As mentioned in my previous post, I have been quite busy in
my garden over the past few months planting and maintaining veg. The first things that I planted this
year were spinach, watercress and rocket seeds.
I sowed them straight into a prepared bed in May
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Hello again!
As you can see I have been absent for quite a while
again. It’s been very busy here in the
Craftycook household with me adjusting to being at home with the kids. Just when I was getting into a routine the
summer holidays sneaked up on me and I had to adjust the routine again!
We are still planning our menus and doing our shopping
lists
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Menu plan 4/5/2013 to 10/5/2013
As you can see I've been absent for a while. There has been a bit of a
change in circumstances here in the Craftcook household. Since Easter I have been unemployed and have
become a stay at home mum. Previously I had always been of the opinion that I
HAD to work even when I became a parent, but I have to say that over the past
few weeks I’ve begun to wonder why I had ever felt that way! I thoroughly enjoy being at home with the
kids. It also means I can spend more
time preparing dinner if I choose to, though if I am honest I prefer spending time
with the kids.
We’ve also had another change in our household. The week that I finished work, my husband received news that he was to be promoted at work. He is now working in his new job. The upshot of this is that we haven’t had to change our grocery budget of €100 a week.
Due to all this change I’ve been a bit haphazard when it comes to preparing a weekly menu plan, but that’s about to change. Yesterday I once again started making a note of our menu for the week and creating a shopping list. Our menu plan for the week is:
We’ve also had another change in our household. The week that I finished work, my husband received news that he was to be promoted at work. He is now working in his new job. The upshot of this is that we haven’t had to change our grocery budget of €100 a week.
Due to all this change I’ve been a bit haphazard when it comes to preparing a weekly menu plan, but that’s about to change. Yesterday I once again started making a note of our menu for the week and creating a shopping list. Our menu plan for the week is:
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Menu plan from 10th to 15th February 2013
I've not been very well for the past week, so haven't been eating much never mind cooking! We didn't have much of a menu plan to work from, so my husband just whipped up something from whatever was in the house for himself and the kids each evening. Thankfully I am feeling a lot better today and am looking forward to getting back behind the cooker!
So, my menu plan for the rest of this week is as follows
So, my menu plan for the rest of this week is as follows
Saturday, 5 January 2013
Menu plan 4th January 2013 to 11th January 2013
So here it is - a post containing details of my first menu plan for 2013! My menu plan for Saturday the 4th January until Friday the 11th January is as follows
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Sunday, 23 December 2012
Stuffing ready to go!
Last year on Christmas Eve I spent my evening stressing out wrapping presents and getting the stuffing made and ready to go in the oven the next day. I didn't enjoy my Christmas Eve and went to bed tired and stressed out instead of relaxed and anticipating the kids opening their presents the next day. I promised myself that this year would be different. So, here I sit on Christmas Eve eve (see what I did there!) with a Bulmers (or Magners if you aren't from Ireland) in hand congratulating myself on how much better prepared I am this year. Well done me!
Just before sitting down this evening I finished making my stuffing and it's in the fridge ready to go in the oven on Christmas day. For the last few years I have made the same stuffing for each year - chestnut and cranberry roll - which was published in the December 2007 Goodfood magazine. If you haven't decided what stuffing to make this year, do yourself a favour and make this. Take it from me, it looks impressive, but it is fairly simple and straight forward to make.
Just before sitting down this evening I finished making my stuffing and it's in the fridge ready to go in the oven on Christmas day. For the last few years I have made the same stuffing for each year - chestnut and cranberry roll - which was published in the December 2007 Goodfood magazine. If you haven't decided what stuffing to make this year, do yourself a favour and make this. Take it from me, it looks impressive, but it is fairly simple and straight forward to make. Monday, 17 December 2012
Menu plan 16th December 2012 - 21st December 2012
As I get older I frequently find myself wondering where the time has gone. It's not different today when I look at my last post - where has the time gone? I am sure that, like me, all of you are up to your eyes in Christmas preparations. I decided to take a break from the wrapping and writing cards to type up my menu plan for this week.
So, my menu plan from the 16th December to the 21st December 2012 is as follows
So, my menu plan from the 16th December to the 21st December 2012 is as follows
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Salmon and lemon rice pastry parcel
For dinner this evening we had Salmon and lemon rice pastry parcel from the September 2012 issue of the GoodFood magazine. We will be having leftovers for dinner tomorrow night, so this recipe will feed the 4 of us for 2 nights. The recipe states that it serves 6, and so we are able to get two nights dinners out of this quite easily.
Alterations
My husband and children don't like eggs, so I omitted these from the recipe when I made it. Though I did brush the pastry with whisked egg, as per the recipe, as I figured they couldn't object to something they didn't realise they were eating!! I also left out the capers as no one in my family really likes them.
The hot-smoked salmon fillets that I used had cracked black pepper on them. I used the same salmon the first time I made this recipe and it tasted lovely so I decided to stick with it.
Top tips - lemon basmati rice
The first time I made this recipe (about a month and half ago) I couldn't find the lemon basmati rice the recipe needs when I was doing my grocery shopping. I did however find Martha Stewart's recipe for making lemon basmati rice on her website, and as I had all the ingredients in I decided to make my own.
After making the lemon rice, I had a lot more rice than the pastry parcel recipe called for, so I once again took to the Internet to check to see if it was possible to freeze cooked rice. The short answer is - you can, but you need to cool it quickly. For more information on how to freeze and defrost rice click on the link.
This morning I lifted my puff pastry and rice from the freezer to allow them to defrost for use in the dinner later in the day. It is possible to re-heat the rice from frozen in the microwave, but I decided to not to do this so that I didn't have to wait for the rice to cool before I mixed it with the other ingredients. The rice tasted fine when defrosted and reheated.
After seeing how straight forward it was to freeze, defrost and re-heat the rice I think I might double up on portions of rice that I am boiling in the future in order to freeze half of it.
Alterations
My husband and children don't like eggs, so I omitted these from the recipe when I made it. Though I did brush the pastry with whisked egg, as per the recipe, as I figured they couldn't object to something they didn't realise they were eating!! I also left out the capers as no one in my family really likes them.
The hot-smoked salmon fillets that I used had cracked black pepper on them. I used the same salmon the first time I made this recipe and it tasted lovely so I decided to stick with it.
Top tips - lemon basmati rice
The first time I made this recipe (about a month and half ago) I couldn't find the lemon basmati rice the recipe needs when I was doing my grocery shopping. I did however find Martha Stewart's recipe for making lemon basmati rice on her website, and as I had all the ingredients in I decided to make my own.
After making the lemon rice, I had a lot more rice than the pastry parcel recipe called for, so I once again took to the Internet to check to see if it was possible to freeze cooked rice. The short answer is - you can, but you need to cool it quickly. For more information on how to freeze and defrost rice click on the link.
This morning I lifted my puff pastry and rice from the freezer to allow them to defrost for use in the dinner later in the day. It is possible to re-heat the rice from frozen in the microwave, but I decided to not to do this so that I didn't have to wait for the rice to cool before I mixed it with the other ingredients. The rice tasted fine when defrosted and reheated.
After seeing how straight forward it was to freeze, defrost and re-heat the rice I think I might double up on portions of rice that I am boiling in the future in order to freeze half of it.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Menu plan 17/11/2012 to 23/11/2012
Once again I've managed to not find the time to post my menu plan for the last few weeks. I figured while I had the computer on, checking the ingredients I need for my shopping list, I would make a quick update.
Anyway, my menu plan for the 17th November to the 23rd November is as follows:-
Saturday dinner - Mince and onions (from the freezer), potatoes and baked beans
Sunday dinner - Salmon and lemon rice pastry parcel
Monday dinner - leftover salmon and lemon rice pastry parcel
Tuesday dinner - Chilli
Wednesday dinner - Chicken with creamy bacon penne
Thursday dinner - Fish, chips, peas and sweetcorn
Friday dinner - Roast ham, potatoes and veg
For lunches this week we will have sandwiches, leftover chilli and salads.
At the moment I am trying to run down my freezer again before Christmas as I'll probably have a lot of leftovers to freeze (my husband insists on getting a big turkey and freezing what we don't eat as we only ever have turkey once a year). This week, all the meat I will be using is from the freezer, except for the salmon for tomorrow's dinner which is in the fridge. This will allow me to gain a lot of space in the freezer, as well as saving a bit of money as I will not have to buy any meat.
My husband has classes on Tuesday evenings, so I will make the chilli ahead on Monday evening so that he can take some to work to eat before he heads to class. Having the chilli ready ahead of time will also help save some time in the evening when I get home which will be handy as I will be trying to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible as well as trying to entertain the kids.
When I make chilli there is usually leftovers, but rather than put them in the freezer, like I would normally do, I will use any leftovers for lunches. There is nothing quite like a nice warm filling lunch at this time of year. Unfortunately I am still trying to lose weight so I'll be having salads!
Anyway, my menu plan for the 17th November to the 23rd November is as follows:-
Saturday dinner - Mince and onions (from the freezer), potatoes and baked beans
Sunday dinner - Salmon and lemon rice pastry parcel
Monday dinner - leftover salmon and lemon rice pastry parcel
Tuesday dinner - Chilli
Wednesday dinner - Chicken with creamy bacon penne
Thursday dinner - Fish, chips, peas and sweetcorn
Friday dinner - Roast ham, potatoes and veg
For lunches this week we will have sandwiches, leftover chilli and salads.
At the moment I am trying to run down my freezer again before Christmas as I'll probably have a lot of leftovers to freeze (my husband insists on getting a big turkey and freezing what we don't eat as we only ever have turkey once a year). This week, all the meat I will be using is from the freezer, except for the salmon for tomorrow's dinner which is in the fridge. This will allow me to gain a lot of space in the freezer, as well as saving a bit of money as I will not have to buy any meat.
My husband has classes on Tuesday evenings, so I will make the chilli ahead on Monday evening so that he can take some to work to eat before he heads to class. Having the chilli ready ahead of time will also help save some time in the evening when I get home which will be handy as I will be trying to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible as well as trying to entertain the kids.
When I make chilli there is usually leftovers, but rather than put them in the freezer, like I would normally do, I will use any leftovers for lunches. There is nothing quite like a nice warm filling lunch at this time of year. Unfortunately I am still trying to lose weight so I'll be having salads!
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Menu plan 20/10/2012 - 26/10/2012
I know, I know. The week is almost over and I am only now getting around to posting my menu plan. Apologies for being late, but you know what they say - better late than never and I have had quite a bit of the never lately!
Anyway, here is my menu plan for Saturday the 20th October to Friday the 26th October:-
Saturday dinner - Leftover beef and Guinness stew
Sunday dinner - Pork chops, baby potatoes and broccoli
Monday dinner - Chilli
Tuesday dinner - Leftover chilli
Wednesday dinner - Salmon, baby potatoes, green beans and broccoli
Thursday dinner - Sausages with creamy lentils
Friday dinner - Sticky pan roasted sausages
Lunches will be ham salad sandwiches, leftovers or soup.
Anyway, here is my menu plan for Saturday the 20th October to Friday the 26th October:-
Saturday dinner - Leftover beef and Guinness stew
Sunday dinner - Pork chops, baby potatoes and broccoli
Monday dinner - Chilli
Tuesday dinner - Leftover chilli
Wednesday dinner - Salmon, baby potatoes, green beans and broccoli
Thursday dinner - Sausages with creamy lentils
Friday dinner - Sticky pan roasted sausages
Lunches will be ham salad sandwiches, leftovers or soup.
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Menu planner for 13/10/2012 to 19/10/2012
Another week another menu plan!
Recently I decided to join Weight Watchers (again!) in order to lose the weight that I put on after having my second baby. Better late than never I suppose! Anyway, I have bought a couple of the WW magazines recently for some inspiration and have come across a couple of recipes that I want to try out. I figured that this week is as good a week as any to start! I'll be adding details of the recipe for each dish, so if you see something you like check back later in the week for more details and some feedback on the recipes.
My menu plan for Saturday 13th October to Friday 19th October is as follows:-
Saturday dinner - Pork fillet with roasted parsnips and carrots (Nov 2012) - 5 propoints per serve
Sunday dinner - Lemon roast chicken with barley (Oct 2012) - 11 propoints per serve
Monday dinner - Leftover roast chicken
Tuesday dinner - Spicy sausage casserole (Oct 2012) - 5 propoints per serve
Wednesday dinner - Leftover spicy sausage casserole
Thursday dinner - Beef and Guinness stew (Nov 2012) - 10 propoints per serve
Friday dinner - Chicken wraps
For lunches we will be having ham salad sandwiches, soup and leftovers where there are some.
The November 2012 WW magazine is currently available to buy in shops, so if you fancy having a look at some of the recipes for yourself you can pick up a copy. Otherwise you can wait until I post about them!
Recently I decided to join Weight Watchers (again!) in order to lose the weight that I put on after having my second baby. Better late than never I suppose! Anyway, I have bought a couple of the WW magazines recently for some inspiration and have come across a couple of recipes that I want to try out. I figured that this week is as good a week as any to start! I'll be adding details of the recipe for each dish, so if you see something you like check back later in the week for more details and some feedback on the recipes.
My menu plan for Saturday 13th October to Friday 19th October is as follows:-
Saturday dinner - Pork fillet with roasted parsnips and carrots (Nov 2012) - 5 propoints per serve
Sunday dinner - Lemon roast chicken with barley (Oct 2012) - 11 propoints per serve
Monday dinner - Leftover roast chicken
Tuesday dinner - Spicy sausage casserole (Oct 2012) - 5 propoints per serve
Wednesday dinner - Leftover spicy sausage casserole
Thursday dinner - Beef and Guinness stew (Nov 2012) - 10 propoints per serve
Friday dinner - Chicken wraps
For lunches we will be having ham salad sandwiches, soup and leftovers where there are some.
The November 2012 WW magazine is currently available to buy in shops, so if you fancy having a look at some of the recipes for yourself you can pick up a copy. Otherwise you can wait until I post about them!
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Menu planner 6/10/12 to 12/10/12
I guess you may have noticed that it's been quite a while since my last post. Although I've been putting together my menu plans each week I haven't had a chance to post any of them. Finally I've managed to find some time to write a post!
My menu plan for Saturday the 6th October to 12th October 2012 is as follows:-
Saturday dinner - Quick chicken chasseur
Sunday dinner - Pork loins with stir fry vegetables
Monday dinner - Sausages with creamy lentils
Tuesday dinner - Pizza
Wednesday dinner - Chicken and chorizo jambalaya
Thursday dinner - Mary's paprika pork in a pot, rice and green veg
Friday dinner - Salmon, baby potatoes and green veg
For lunches we will be having sandwiches, ham salad wraps or leftover chicken and chorizo jambalaya.
My menu plan for Saturday the 6th October to 12th October 2012 is as follows:-
Saturday dinner - Quick chicken chasseur
Sunday dinner - Pork loins with stir fry vegetables
Monday dinner - Sausages with creamy lentils
Tuesday dinner - Pizza
Wednesday dinner - Chicken and chorizo jambalaya
Thursday dinner - Mary's paprika pork in a pot, rice and green veg
Friday dinner - Salmon, baby potatoes and green veg
For lunches we will be having sandwiches, ham salad wraps or leftover chicken and chorizo jambalaya.
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Tut tut!
Well, August is almost over and this is my first post this month! Tut tut me! We were on holiday the first week of the month and I just never got a chance to post since we got back for one reason or another. Anyway, now that I have a new laptop (grrrrrr - the things we could have used the money for) and a bit of time to myself I thought I best put a post together so that I can at least have one post in August!
So, it looks like this will be my only meal plan for August. This week we will be eating;
Saturday lunch - chicken salad
Saturday dinner - Spring salmon with minty veg (yes - I know it's not Spring, but it ain't Summer either so I figured, why not!)
Sunday lunch - chicken salad wrap
Sunday dinner - roast beef dinner
Monday dinner - leftover roast beef dinner
Tuesday dinner - Chorizo, pepper and pasta
Wednesday dinner - Chicken and mushrooms in red wine sauce, potatoes and veg
Thursday dinner - Mussels, spaghetti and dill
Friday dinner - Wraps
Lunches will be sandwiches, soup and corn on the cob.
So, it looks like this will be my only meal plan for August. This week we will be eating;
Saturday lunch - chicken salad
Saturday dinner - Spring salmon with minty veg (yes - I know it's not Spring, but it ain't Summer either so I figured, why not!)
Sunday lunch - chicken salad wrap
Sunday dinner - roast beef dinner
Monday dinner - leftover roast beef dinner
Tuesday dinner - Chorizo, pepper and pasta
Wednesday dinner - Chicken and mushrooms in red wine sauce, potatoes and veg
Thursday dinner - Mussels, spaghetti and dill
Friday dinner - Wraps
Lunches will be sandwiches, soup and corn on the cob.
Monday, 23 July 2012
When a few adjustments to the weekly menu plan are needed...
...don't be afraid to make them!
No sooner had a I returned from the grocery shop on Saturday evening than my husband suggested that perhaps we could have a BBQ for dinner instead of whatever I had planned to make. I had nothing in for a BBQ! After initially saying no, I ended up agreeing to a BBQ - after all, it was our one half decent Saturday this 'Summer' so far and for all I knew it might well be out last!! This caused me a little menu plan dilemma.
Firstly I had to go and get the meat required for the BBQ. Unexpected additional grocery shopping, but as I've already said, it may just be the only Saturday we get to have a BBQ for a long time so I forgave myself for the extra spend. We ditched the idea of soup as we had to go out to the butchers again and needed something that would be a little faster to make. Queue sandwiches!
Secondly, I had already lifted the pork loins out of the freezer before I took off to get the grocery shopping so I had to decide what to do with them. The reason why we were to have pork loins two nights in a row was because I had five frozen together. I was going to cook two on the Saturday night for my husband and I, and three the next night to feed up as all. I knew they'd still be fine to cook on the Sunday, but was a bit worried about cooking them on the Monday night as they were lifted out of the freezer on the Saturday morning (I really should read up about freezing/defrosting meat and how long it is 'ok' for after it has been defrosted). As luck would have it my mum called to say that she and my dad would be visiting on Sunday, so I needed five pork loins for dinner after all!
After being invited to a birthday party on Sunday evening, we decided to have our main meal earlier in the day. I made the Bacon and sweetcorn chowder at the same time as preparing Sundays dinner. I initially intended for us to have this for lunch during the week, but we ended up having it for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow night we will have the soup again, then we will have the mixed bean chilli on Wednesday and Thursday night. The only night this week that we will eat the dinner I intended will be on Friday night.
I guess you could say that things haven't exactly gone as planned!
The other thing about spending extra money on meat for a BBQ - I went slightly over my €50 budget for the week. I'll write a bit more about this later this week as I intend to have a review of my July challenge to work out exactly how I did...
No sooner had a I returned from the grocery shop on Saturday evening than my husband suggested that perhaps we could have a BBQ for dinner instead of whatever I had planned to make. I had nothing in for a BBQ! After initially saying no, I ended up agreeing to a BBQ - after all, it was our one half decent Saturday this 'Summer' so far and for all I knew it might well be out last!! This caused me a little menu plan dilemma.
Firstly I had to go and get the meat required for the BBQ. Unexpected additional grocery shopping, but as I've already said, it may just be the only Saturday we get to have a BBQ for a long time so I forgave myself for the extra spend. We ditched the idea of soup as we had to go out to the butchers again and needed something that would be a little faster to make. Queue sandwiches!
Secondly, I had already lifted the pork loins out of the freezer before I took off to get the grocery shopping so I had to decide what to do with them. The reason why we were to have pork loins two nights in a row was because I had five frozen together. I was going to cook two on the Saturday night for my husband and I, and three the next night to feed up as all. I knew they'd still be fine to cook on the Sunday, but was a bit worried about cooking them on the Monday night as they were lifted out of the freezer on the Saturday morning (I really should read up about freezing/defrosting meat and how long it is 'ok' for after it has been defrosted). As luck would have it my mum called to say that she and my dad would be visiting on Sunday, so I needed five pork loins for dinner after all!
After being invited to a birthday party on Sunday evening, we decided to have our main meal earlier in the day. I made the Bacon and sweetcorn chowder at the same time as preparing Sundays dinner. I initially intended for us to have this for lunch during the week, but we ended up having it for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow night we will have the soup again, then we will have the mixed bean chilli on Wednesday and Thursday night. The only night this week that we will eat the dinner I intended will be on Friday night.
I guess you could say that things haven't exactly gone as planned!
The other thing about spending extra money on meat for a BBQ - I went slightly over my €50 budget for the week. I'll write a bit more about this later this week as I intend to have a review of my July challenge to work out exactly how I did...
Friday, 20 July 2012
Menu planner from 21/7/2012 to 27/7/2012
On to week 4 and the final week of my July challenge, though I think I might keep it going for one a 5th week. Once again I am working off a list of items that are in my freezer, fridge and cupboard to try and use what I have in already as far as possible in order to keep the cost of my groceries down.
So, my menu planner for 21st July to the 27th July is as follows;
Saturday lunch - Bacon and sweetcorn chowder
Saturday dinner - Braised chops with borlotti beans and wine and Boulangère potatoes
Sunday lunch - Leftover bacon and sweetcorn chowder
Sunday dinner - Braised pork chops with cider vinegar and prunes with leftover Boulangère potatoes
Monday dinner - Mixed bean chilli (my own recipe)
Tuesday dinner - Leftover mixed bean chilli
Wednesday dinner - Fish fingers, waffles, peas and sweetcorn
Thursday dinner - Smoky beef stew served with tortillas
Friday dinner - Pizza (for me and daughter), chicken breast and gravy with potatoes (for husband)and other freezer dinner for baby (using up odds and ends from the freezer here!)
For lunches during the week we will have ham sandwiches, tuna salad and any leftovers from dinner.
Last week I spent below my €50 budget once again by spending only €43.80 on my groceries for the week. I am hoping that this week I manage to stick to my €50 budget once again. If I do, that will mean that I will have managed to stay below €200 for the four full weeks in July, leaving €200 to go to our savings account.
So, my menu planner for 21st July to the 27th July is as follows;
Saturday lunch - Bacon and sweetcorn chowder
Saturday dinner - Braised chops with borlotti beans and wine and Boulangère potatoes
Sunday lunch - Leftover bacon and sweetcorn chowder
Sunday dinner - Braised pork chops with cider vinegar and prunes with leftover Boulangère potatoes
Monday dinner - Mixed bean chilli (my own recipe)
Tuesday dinner - Leftover mixed bean chilli
Wednesday dinner - Fish fingers, waffles, peas and sweetcorn
Thursday dinner - Smoky beef stew served with tortillas
Friday dinner - Pizza (for me and daughter), chicken breast and gravy with potatoes (for husband)and other freezer dinner for baby (using up odds and ends from the freezer here!)
For lunches during the week we will have ham sandwiches, tuna salad and any leftovers from dinner.
Last week I spent below my €50 budget once again by spending only €43.80 on my groceries for the week. I am hoping that this week I manage to stick to my €50 budget once again. If I do, that will mean that I will have managed to stay below €200 for the four full weeks in July, leaving €200 to go to our savings account.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle
On Sunday evening I made the roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle from the September 2009 issue of Olive magazine. It was really straightforward to make and tasted delicious (I think I need to find another adjective or two to describe recipes that turn out to be extremely tasty!!).
I found the recipe after doing a search for 'basil' and 'chicken' as I had both ingredients in the house. The basil was purchased for summer chicken and basil stew that I made for dinner on Thursday night last week. I had some leftover and didn't want to throw it out. Obviously as I had made the summer chicken and basil stew the week before, I was keen to find something that would taste quite different from the stew as we'd had it two nights in a row and I didn't want to bore my family. So, after looking through the search results I picked the roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle and I have to say - I'm glad I did!
All the family enjoyed this meal and my son devoured it. As the alcohol in the wine evaporates when cooking, it was fine to serve this to him as well as to the rest of the family. He really enjoyed picking up the bits of tagliatelle and feeding them to himself!
Alterations
When I said I had chicken in - I had chicken breasts in. The recipe calls for chicken thighs. So, once again I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. As well as not having to buy chicken thighs for the meal, using the chicken breasts allowed me to reduce the roasting time as they didn't take as long to roast as the chicken thighs would have.
As I was only making this recipe for 2 adults and 2 kids, I only used 2 chicken breasts to keep the costs down a bit. I stuck to the recipe with regards to the rest of the ingredients though as I fancied a lot of flavour and a bit more juices to tip into my tagliatelle than I would have had if I had halved all the other ingredients.
Cost
The chicken breasts cost €2, the basil was 50 cent, the lemons were 50 cent, the tagliatelle was around 80 cent and I have allowed 30 cent for the garlic and olive oil. The wine I had in the house was bought on my last trip to my mothers house in Asda. It was on offer 3 bottles for £10. As the recipe only uses one glass I estimate that the wine cost around 80 cent. This makes the total cost of the recipe €4.90.
I found the recipe after doing a search for 'basil' and 'chicken' as I had both ingredients in the house. The basil was purchased for summer chicken and basil stew that I made for dinner on Thursday night last week. I had some leftover and didn't want to throw it out. Obviously as I had made the summer chicken and basil stew the week before, I was keen to find something that would taste quite different from the stew as we'd had it two nights in a row and I didn't want to bore my family. So, after looking through the search results I picked the roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle and I have to say - I'm glad I did!
All the family enjoyed this meal and my son devoured it. As the alcohol in the wine evaporates when cooking, it was fine to serve this to him as well as to the rest of the family. He really enjoyed picking up the bits of tagliatelle and feeding them to himself!
Alterations
When I said I had chicken in - I had chicken breasts in. The recipe calls for chicken thighs. So, once again I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. As well as not having to buy chicken thighs for the meal, using the chicken breasts allowed me to reduce the roasting time as they didn't take as long to roast as the chicken thighs would have.
As I was only making this recipe for 2 adults and 2 kids, I only used 2 chicken breasts to keep the costs down a bit. I stuck to the recipe with regards to the rest of the ingredients though as I fancied a lot of flavour and a bit more juices to tip into my tagliatelle than I would have had if I had halved all the other ingredients.
Cost
The chicken breasts cost €2, the basil was 50 cent, the lemons were 50 cent, the tagliatelle was around 80 cent and I have allowed 30 cent for the garlic and olive oil. The wine I had in the house was bought on my last trip to my mothers house in Asda. It was on offer 3 bottles for £10. As the recipe only uses one glass I estimate that the wine cost around 80 cent. This makes the total cost of the recipe €4.90.
 |
| Took this photo with my phone so it doesn't look great - sorry! |
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Tomato, lentil and lime soup - yummy!!
For lunch today we had tomato, lentil and lime soup. The recipe is from the April 2012 issue of Olive magazine. I found the recipe on the Good Food website by searching for lime soup. There were a few lime left in my fruit bowl (they are starting to look a bit sad so I wanted to use them up) so I decided to see if there was a recipe that would allow me to use one of them for lunch.
One thing that I liked about this recipe (other than the fact that the soup was delicious) is that it uses both the zest and the juice of the lime, so there is no waste. The recipe is easy to follow and quick to make. I had a little bit more soup than what was needed to serve two people, so I have a portion left over for lunch tomorrow (there may well be a fight over who gets to take it to work!) as well as being able to feed two adults and a child lunch.
I didn't give it to my son as I used a stock cube to make the vegetable stock. To make the soup suitable for giving to a baby you need either make your own vegetable stock from scratch, omitting salt or use a low salt variety of stock cube (for example, Boots sell low salt stock cubes suitable for weaning in the baby food section of their shops).
Alterations
I made a few small alterations to the recipe. I couldn't find my cumin seeds so I decided to use a little ground cumin instead of spending ages looking for the seeds. I didn't have a large carrot, but had four small ones which I used instead. Also, while the soup was simmering, the volume of the liquid decreased quite a bit, so I added some boiled water from the kettle to the pot.
Cost
The onion for the soup cost 20 cent, the carrots were about 30 cent, the can of chopped tomatoes were 45 cent (from Lidl), the lime was 25 cent and I have allowed another 50 cent for the stock cube, ground cumin and puy lentils. That makes the total cost of the soup €1.70 for three adult portions and a child's portion. I think this would easily feed a family of four if the children are quite young. If they are a bit older you might want to double to ingredients and have any leftovers you might have for lunch the next day.
If I had successfully grown my own carrots and onions this year (as I did last year) then the cost of the soup would have been €1.20 which is extremely cheap for lunch for the family.
One thing that I liked about this recipe (other than the fact that the soup was delicious) is that it uses both the zest and the juice of the lime, so there is no waste. The recipe is easy to follow and quick to make. I had a little bit more soup than what was needed to serve two people, so I have a portion left over for lunch tomorrow (there may well be a fight over who gets to take it to work!) as well as being able to feed two adults and a child lunch.
I didn't give it to my son as I used a stock cube to make the vegetable stock. To make the soup suitable for giving to a baby you need either make your own vegetable stock from scratch, omitting salt or use a low salt variety of stock cube (for example, Boots sell low salt stock cubes suitable for weaning in the baby food section of their shops).
Alterations
I made a few small alterations to the recipe. I couldn't find my cumin seeds so I decided to use a little ground cumin instead of spending ages looking for the seeds. I didn't have a large carrot, but had four small ones which I used instead. Also, while the soup was simmering, the volume of the liquid decreased quite a bit, so I added some boiled water from the kettle to the pot.
Cost
The onion for the soup cost 20 cent, the carrots were about 30 cent, the can of chopped tomatoes were 45 cent (from Lidl), the lime was 25 cent and I have allowed another 50 cent for the stock cube, ground cumin and puy lentils. That makes the total cost of the soup €1.70 for three adult portions and a child's portion. I think this would easily feed a family of four if the children are quite young. If they are a bit older you might want to double to ingredients and have any leftovers you might have for lunch the next day.
If I had successfully grown my own carrots and onions this year (as I did last year) then the cost of the soup would have been €1.20 which is extremely cheap for lunch for the family.
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Menu plan for 14/7/2012 to 20/7/2012
We're onto week 3 of my July challenge and so far things are going good. Last week I managed to spend only €35.70 of my €50 budget for the week. To say I am happy would be a bit of an understatement. Although, in fairness I had one less day to feed the family last week and while this wouldn't have caused me to save the €14.30 that I didn't spend of my budget it certainly helped a bit. Hopefully I'll be able to do as well with my budget this week as I did last week.
This morning my husband cleaned out our fridge while giving me a bit of a lie in (I know - lucky me!) so it was possible to see at a glance what we had in our fridge. Together we had another review of the contents of the freezer and made a list of what was in there just to update the list of what we had in already. So, using the list of what we have in already I put together a menu plan for the week. It is as follows:
Saturday dinner - Steak and sticky red wine shallots with potatoes
Sunday lunch - Tomato, lentil and lime soup (I have all the ingredients in for this)
Sunday dinner - Roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle (I have all the ingredients in for this)
Monday dinner - Wraps
Tuesday dinner - Pizza
Wednesday dinner - Chorizo pilaf (I have all the ingredients in for this)
Thursday dinner - Leftover chorizo pilaf
Friday dinner - Fish fingers, chips, peas and sweetcorn
For lunches we will be having ham sandwiches, leftover tomato, lentil and lime soup and leftover roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle.
As you can see, I have selected three items for my menu for the week were I will not have to buy anything for the recipe as I already have all the ingredients in. For the rest of the options I have selected I have most of the items in already apart from Tuesday evenings pizza. I will be buying whatever frozen pizza is on offer for my daughters dinner on Tuesday evening as a special treat for her as my husband and I are off to a concert on Tuesday evening while she and her brother stay at home with a minder. Picking recipes where I have most of the ingredients, if not all of them, in the house already has enabled me to keep my shopping list quite small for this week again.
Tip
To help select recipes using ingredients I already have in, I used the search function on the Good Food website to do this quickly. I typed in a selection of the ingredients I have in already, for example 'chicken' and 'basil', and then went through the search results. I then looked at the ingredients list for those that caught my eye, dismissing those that involved the purchasing of lots of items I don't have in the house at the moment.
This morning my husband cleaned out our fridge while giving me a bit of a lie in (I know - lucky me!) so it was possible to see at a glance what we had in our fridge. Together we had another review of the contents of the freezer and made a list of what was in there just to update the list of what we had in already. So, using the list of what we have in already I put together a menu plan for the week. It is as follows:
Saturday dinner - Steak and sticky red wine shallots with potatoes
Sunday lunch - Tomato, lentil and lime soup (I have all the ingredients in for this)
Sunday dinner - Roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle (I have all the ingredients in for this)
Monday dinner - Wraps
Tuesday dinner - Pizza
Wednesday dinner - Chorizo pilaf (I have all the ingredients in for this)
Thursday dinner - Leftover chorizo pilaf
Friday dinner - Fish fingers, chips, peas and sweetcorn
For lunches we will be having ham sandwiches, leftover tomato, lentil and lime soup and leftover roast lemon chicken with tagliatelle.
As you can see, I have selected three items for my menu for the week were I will not have to buy anything for the recipe as I already have all the ingredients in. For the rest of the options I have selected I have most of the items in already apart from Tuesday evenings pizza. I will be buying whatever frozen pizza is on offer for my daughters dinner on Tuesday evening as a special treat for her as my husband and I are off to a concert on Tuesday evening while she and her brother stay at home with a minder. Picking recipes where I have most of the ingredients, if not all of them, in the house already has enabled me to keep my shopping list quite small for this week again.
Tip
To help select recipes using ingredients I already have in, I used the search function on the Good Food website to do this quickly. I typed in a selection of the ingredients I have in already, for example 'chicken' and 'basil', and then went through the search results. I then looked at the ingredients list for those that caught my eye, dismissing those that involved the purchasing of lots of items I don't have in the house at the moment.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Sweet and sour pork stir fry
On Tuesday night we had some sweet and sour pork stir fry leftovers that I had frozen last week. The recipe is for two, but I doubled up the ingredients so that I would have enough left to freeze for a dinner at a future date when I was scarce on time. I served my sweet and sour pork with rice both times. The recipe was easy to make and extremely quick to prepare and cook.
Although the recipe has ingredients that are high in salt/sugar - the tomato ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce - which I wouldn't normally give to my baby, I decided to give some to my son the first night I made it. He loved it! Since then I have had him at the Dr with a rash that turns out to be a food allergy and have had to cut all fruit from his diet, re-introducing one fruit at a time, so I was unable to give it to him on Tuesday night due to the pineapple in it.
Alterations
The biggest alteration that I made to the recipe has already been mentioned - I doubled up the ingredients to make enough for the freezer. With regards to the pork strips, I used pork loins instead. I had several in my freezer, so I cut two up into small strips and used these instead of going and buying pork strips. This saved me money on my grocery shopping. I didn't bother with the garnish of shredded spring onions and added all the spring onions that I used to the pan instead. I added a little water to the pan to make extra sauce.
Cost
The pork loins cost me €2. I bought the pineapple on offer for €1 and had it in the cupboard. I used two peppers which were on offer for 79 cent each, making them €1.58. I used a bunch of spring onions which cost another 79 cent. I have allowed 50 cent for the tomato ketchup, soy sauce, oil, sugar, white wine vinegar and cornflour, all of which were in my cupboard already. This means that the total cost of the stir fry was € 5.87 (excluding the rice).
This did two nights dinners for 2 adults and 1 child (the baby only ate it once) and we had an extra portion leftover for lunch one day as well. So the actual cost for me per meal was probably more around the €3 mark including the rice.
Although the recipe has ingredients that are high in salt/sugar - the tomato ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce - which I wouldn't normally give to my baby, I decided to give some to my son the first night I made it. He loved it! Since then I have had him at the Dr with a rash that turns out to be a food allergy and have had to cut all fruit from his diet, re-introducing one fruit at a time, so I was unable to give it to him on Tuesday night due to the pineapple in it.
Alterations
The biggest alteration that I made to the recipe has already been mentioned - I doubled up the ingredients to make enough for the freezer. With regards to the pork strips, I used pork loins instead. I had several in my freezer, so I cut two up into small strips and used these instead of going and buying pork strips. This saved me money on my grocery shopping. I didn't bother with the garnish of shredded spring onions and added all the spring onions that I used to the pan instead. I added a little water to the pan to make extra sauce.
Cost
The pork loins cost me €2. I bought the pineapple on offer for €1 and had it in the cupboard. I used two peppers which were on offer for 79 cent each, making them €1.58. I used a bunch of spring onions which cost another 79 cent. I have allowed 50 cent for the tomato ketchup, soy sauce, oil, sugar, white wine vinegar and cornflour, all of which were in my cupboard already. This means that the total cost of the stir fry was € 5.87 (excluding the rice).
This did two nights dinners for 2 adults and 1 child (the baby only ate it once) and we had an extra portion leftover for lunch one day as well. So the actual cost for me per meal was probably more around the €3 mark including the rice.
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