Weezl and friends Phase 2 -giving it a whirl for Shirl! Testing meal plan for a month

shanks77

artybear wrote: »

In regards to reducing the meal plan to less people-the food items that were odd numbers on the shopping list I went under and have run out now. For example if there were 3 packs of bacon on the asda list I bought one and have now run out. Personally I would advise Shirley to go for over the number (eg two packs of bacon) and have some for the month after.

(btw I have run out of bacon but a pack and a half would have been the right amount so its not that there wasnt enough food on the list IYSWIM?)

I kinda did the same thing Arty but my train of thought was "if i stopped this plan tomorrow would i still have bought this item? and if it was yes then i bought over (ie the bacon i bought 2) if it was no but i would still be able to use it then i bought 1. I didnt buy anything that i would not have used at some point eg i didnt buy the dried peas as neither ex or i are a fan.
Had the chicken tonight but forgot to make the stuffing:o so we just had the chicken and pots with carrots mashed together it was lovely and filling. Ex was commenting on how impressed he has been with the quality of the meals and would be more than happy to follow it for another month without any problem so hopefully Bob will feel the same. We have not felt deprived or hungry at all throughout the month and all the meals have been easy to make albeit some have been time consuming so as far as the Shanks household is concerned this month has been a complete sucess so well done Weezl:T:T

Ps wont be on plan tomorrow as i have an 11 hour shift then taking dog out to mums otherwise he would have a crappy week as i am on them all week. So prob wont get home til about 10ish will be as frugal as poss and will have a cold pasta salad with some grated carrot and onions some olives i already have in some sweet chilli sauce and see how that turns out. I quite often have a version of that throughout the month as it is simple and quick and i can have the pasta made up in advance. Will prob start doing that for when i go back onto nights.

aless02

Okey-doke, I finally braved the wide world of steamed puddings and made weezl's tomato, lentil & olive concoction yesterday!

Overall, it was a success inasmuch that it cooked properly and was a tasty supper in the end.

Verdicts:
DH - 9/10, tastes like pizza sauce, very delicious, a bit dry.
Me - 7/10, pastry far too thick in parts, pastry too dry and cloying in mouth, sauce very tasty but too dry.

Overall, I think the lentils might soak up a bit too much moisture...If I had a bigger pudding container, I would definitely add a bit of water at the beginning. Also, I would lessen the amount of pastry for the specific container I was using (which was NOT a pudding basin) as I think the pastry dryness would've been okay if had been a lot thinner (like in the onion tart) because then you don't notice it. I'm not a huge fan of the oil-based pastry as it just tastes a bit like paste in your mouth.

Here's the pudding just turned out from the container:


Opened up:


Just to give people an idea, here's the container I used:

artybear

Pictures yay!!

That looks lovely Alessxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

viv0147

Chunky Vegetable Sauce I have a jar what would you have with that please I fancy having it now (help I am starving Lol

HowlinWolf

you're all making me hungry, especially Lesley with the chicken pie.
I'm afraid we're not eating anything exciting at the moment. Shopping and cooking at a minimum as I don't want lots of food in the house before we go away. I am completely out of touch with the thread too and I suspect it will take me a while to catch up after I get back from italy. It's a shame we don't have a sort of potted highlights post every week hint hint.

shanks77

Hope everyone is doing well only 3 days to go folks then we follow the mad welsh woman onto another challenge:rotfl:Hope you are feeling better Weezl you have been a bit quiet these past few days.
Looking forward to the cottage pie tomorrow not sure what time i will get it as doing all these stupid shifts this week and next but sure it will be lovely.
Speak to you all later xx

Allegra

Only three days to go... Can you believe it ? Where's the time gone ???

Ww finally had the veggie burgers last night, although my "buying under on the things I was not too sure about", coupled with manic frenzy of scone-baking over the weekend meant that I was unable to test the recipe exactly, as I ran out of hot oaty cereal. I substituted ordinary oats instead, and added a handful of fresh coriander to the mix (to help combat any unwanted oatiness), and I thought they were gorgeous I didn't make the tomato relish either, as the tinned toms are all gone, too, but served with a selection of home-made chutneys (as they were there already, and had been since last summer) - green tomato chutney made a worthy companion, imo. !!!!!! wasn't too impressed, found it all too dry, wanted baked beans with it like DD had. Plus he is missing his sausage rolls (I make a batch on most Saturdays normally).

I made tomato scones yesterday, and they were nice, but not as nice as the cheese ones, we all agree. And I made the pumpkin pie, even though it' off plan, as all the ingredients were there, and as I've had the squash for nearly six weeks now - again, very nice, makes a nice change, says !!!!!!. I also made an off plan batch of flapjacks for DD and another batch of bread to use up an open packet of wholemeal flour that was languishing in the cupboard for weeks - I made the PM bread with half wholemeal half plain flour, again, very nice.

We are having pizza tonight, as we've had our last cottage pie on Saturday, and the breakfasts/lunches now are very much a case of using up what's left rather than following the plan to the letter, but despite all that, I - as the only one in the family that followed the plan more or less in full - am still not feeling fed up with it all, and am happy to continue testing and incorporating elements of the plan in my planning and cooking.

Lesley, I am doing pretty much as you are from Friday - storecupboard challenge to bring down the stocks, as things are getting a bit silly here - food has started to migrate to the top of the wardrobe now, as there is literally no space left anywhere else. I have planned - just with the stuff I have in - until the end of June (we are away for a week at the beggining), and have incorporated as many plan 2 and 3 recipes as I could (as they all use the same basic ingredients I already have in), and there is plenty of flexibility in the breakfast/lunch/snacks area to test out other stuff

Allegra

You are never going to believe this, but I have only just found out (after nearly two years on here !) how to see people's avatars. Cue feverish search through all the old pages to see what I've been missing all this time, when I should be writing, or cleaning, or gardening... Argh. What's more, I seem to have an avatar myself, and no recollection of how it got there. Huh.

Speaking of gardening, the butternut squash seeds I stuck in a couple of weeks back are peeping out at last ! Mucho cool, Shirl, innit now

SmlSave

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Weezle!!!!!! I finally got round to making your bread recipe and it worked! Me and yeast don't normally get on so I just had to post to tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*runs round in circle, falls down*.....and breathe

Savvy_sewing

Still reading occasionally, cannot keep up. My habits are slowly changing, but the household keeps changing so its difficult to keep up. coppied the tester menu, but havent managed to put it in place yet. Maybe next month. I may have to move home soon, so I think I will have to reduce my hording stocks and do more of a storecupboard challenge for the rest of May.