Showing posts with label frugal cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal cooking. Show all posts

9.3.15

Let them eat bread….Day 3

One of the things I said after the last Challenge was I'd try to make bread a least once a week; but as time trundled on, that good intention slipped away to join all the others... So I felt a bit rusty when I made the first batch on Friday - though got stuck right into the dough pummelling… hadn't been the best week ever.

Of course as soon as I took the bread out of the oven and that tempting fresh-baked smell wafted around the kitchen, I had a groundhog 'been here before' moment: Why don't I do this more often? The kids love it - in fact it's how we get through the Challenge week, because my fussy, FUSSY eater would happily munch bread until it comes out of his ears, which is pretty much what I'm letting him do right now. He won't eat spuds, and can be tricky about pasta and rice, and vegetable have to be heavily disguised. So, bread often saves the day. It's not ideal, I know, but I've spent too many years stressing about it. Now I just go with the flow and try to get a bit of goodness into him. Thankfully he seems to like carrots...

The first few days have gone pretty well I think, but I've lulled everyone into a false sense of security by giving them plenty to eat - cheese and ham pizza, garlic pizza, soup, bread, pasta, a roast dinner, more bread - even stodge pudding!


A few extras I swiped: finished off a bag of peas, the end of a tin of golden syrup and some flat cider I've been holding onto for ages. I'll use up the split lentils left in the cupboard too. No point buying another bag.

Just have to keep things ticking along through the week now. A lot more making and baking for me...

SATURDAY
Breakfast   homemade bread/coco pops/porridge
Lunch         penne arrabiata/baked potato and cheese
Dinner        cheese and ham pizza, garlic pizza/chocolate mousse

SUNDAY
Breakfast   homemade bread/coco pops/boiled egg
lunch          carrot, lentil and cumin soup with cider bread/ peach muffins
Dinner        roast chicken, roast potatoes, carrots, peas and gravy/stodge pudding

MONDAY
Breakfast    peachy porridge/coco pops/homemade bread
Dinner         pesto pasta with grated carrot and cheese/peach muffins

TUESDAY
Breakfast     boiled egg and soldiers/coco pops/porridge
Dinner          mild chicken curry with rice/ oat cookies

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast     pancakes
Dinner          homemade gnocchi with pesto and grated cheese/carrot muffins

THURSDAY
Breakfast     peachy porridge/ bread/coco pops
Dinner          cheese frittata with spicy(ish) potato wedges/chocolate brownies

RED NOSE DAY!
Breakfast     possibly pancakes…or bread/porridge/coco pops
Dinner          margarita pizza, garlic bread pizza/baked potato/chocolate

The kids have school dinners and are under strict instructions to fill their boots. The first year we did the Challenge I had to make them packed lunches as well - not sure how I managed that on twelve quid. Though to be fair, they didn't eat quite as much as they do now.

I'll be having a lot of soup.


21.3.14

Charity Challenge Day 6 - Chocolate Brownies save the day...

The brownies arrived in the nick of time: there was a sprinkling of dissent in the ranks, and I think the eldest was on the verge of a possible muffin mutiny. It appears you actually can have too much of a good thing.

Don't think he'd ever get sick of brownies though.


I know the internet is awash with brownie recipes, but sure one more won't hurt.
I make these a lot, probably the thing I bake the most. Perfect for cheering up grumpy kids/husband.

150g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa)
150g butter
3 eggs
225g sugar
tsp vanilla extract
90g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Grease and line a 20cm square tin (or round if you want a brownie cake) Oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

Melt the chocolate and the butter together, and while that's going on, beat the eggs, sugar (brown or white) and vanilla in a large bowl. When the choc/butter has melted, let it cool for a bit before adding it to the sugary eggs - then tip in the flour and baking powder, and mix. 
Pour into your prepared tin, and pop into the oven for 15-20 mins. Cool before cutting.

As we only had 100g of chocolate, I reduced the quantities by a third, but probably could have done with a bit more flour as they're extremely gooey - not that anyone's complaining.

There has been an increase in moaning though as the week's gone on - not about what I'm giving them to eat; more about the lack of variety, and that they can't have what they want. This is no bad thing, because these moments, when the kids are thinking about not being able to have crisps or custard creams or whatever it might be; they're good times to remind them about children who never have any choices; children who are grateful for every meal and every mouthful. But not in a lecturey way, because I know they'd just switch off if I did that. It'll probably make more sense when they watch a bit of Sport Relief tonight and see where the money we've raised will be going.


For me, the Challenge has meant a lot more planning, cooking and thinking ahead - it's been good to do,  but know I'm not organised enough to keep it going. I was thinking that yesterday morning when I made the kids pancakes for breakfast with the leftover batter from the night before: they loved them and it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling - but I'm not usually on the ball in the morning and don't need to add any extra chores. Hard enough getting them out the door by 7.30.
And remembering to brush my hair.

I used Hugh FW's drop scone/pancakes recipe, but watered down the milk to make it go further. We've done quite well making our milk supply last. I only have one milk drinker though, and he's been on water rations.

The old bits of bread mentioned last time were whizzed up to make breadcrumbs. I fried them with some butter, a splash of oil, a chopped clove of garlic, and a little rosemary from the garden (chopped so finely no child would spot it). I added a little grated cheese from the rations too, and then sprinkled the toasted breadcrumbs on our tomato pasta (popular in some parts of southern Italy as a cheap alternative to parmesan apparently).  I really liked the garlicky crunch with the pasta, and even got a thumbs up from the fusspot! But the youngest wasn't so keen - always bloomin' one, isn't there.

Anyway, they all ate it up.

I bribed them with brownies.


I'm doing the £12 Challenge for Sport Relief - if you're interested, my donation page is here.

17.3.14

Charity Challenge Day 2 - Meal Plan

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!


Day 2 of our Charity Challenge, and I thought this little fellow might distract the kids from the general lack of breakfast on the table this morning...

The egg cosy body and head are crocheted, and the rest is knitted - still more confident knitting the fiddly bits really, especially if I'm making it up as I go along.

Shame we had to share the egg…

Anyway, now you know what I spent the £12 budget on (shopping list is here) I thought I'd run through our 7 day meal plan.

You'll notice I've started and ended the week on a crowd pleaser - the other part of my cunning plan is to make some morale boosting chocolate brownies on Thursday, just when I reckon spirits will be flagging. I'll have to alter recipe quantities as I could only afford 100g of dark chocolate; but it's the good stuff - 74% cocoa.

I'll be doing some recipe fiddling with other things like the apple cake too - it all has to fit with what we've got. The apples are our own; we had a bumper crop last year and stored some in the garage. Mind you most of them are rotten, or look pretty manky…


Not great, but managed to make some reasonably decent stewed apple. A friend has kindly donated 4 eggs from her hens and a few leeks from her garden. I'll be using 4 rather soft looking potatoes I found at the bottom of the cupboard, plus 3 onions. I'll also be using up old bags of flour -some so old I wouldn't be surprised if they started moving, but I'm purposefully not looking at use-by-dates - rather not know…
I've mixed in some of the new plain flour I bought with my old strong flour, for bread-making, and so far so good. A little flat looking maybe, but the kids seem to like it.  I found half a bag of oat bran too, also of questionable age (from a failed attempt at the Dukan diet I think) and I've been adding that to the bread and muffin ingredients.

Breakfast is homemade bread, though I'm hoping there might be some pancakes left over for Thursday morning.

Sunday
Lunch  Pesto pasta with a sprinkle of cheese, then apple crumble.
Dinner Tomato and cheese pizza/garlic bread pizza and peach muffins.

Monday 
Dinner Vegetarian sausages with rosti potato and carrots. Apple cake for afters.

Tuesday
Dinner  Almost Spanish omelette and carrot muffins.

Wednesday
Dinner  Leek and carrot soup with cider bread, followed by pancakes. 

Thursday
Dinner   Not quite Puttanesca pasta and chocolate brownies.

Friday
Dinner Savoury rice and chocolate brownies.

Saturday
Lunch   Lentil soup and homemade bread followed by peach muffins.
Dinner  Tomato and cheese pizza/garlic bread pizza and whatever's left for pudding!


Such a beautiful day on Sunday, so we had our pizzas outside. It was getting a bit parky by teatime, but that didn't seem to matter, seeing as all the grub disappeared in five minutes flat. I used a whole tin of chopped tomatoes and all the passata plus an onion to make the tomato sauce, but only spread a little on the pizzas - the rest has been put away for Thursday's pasta.

I'm really conscious of rationing everything out, and using things like butter/milk sparingly. I've even grated all our cheese into a tub...just makes it look like it'll go further somehow!


I'm doing the £12 Challenge for Sport Relief - if you're interested, my page is here.