Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

lulabelle1

I'm exhausted just reading your list..... Cups of tea on the carousel would have been nice!

newgirly

I managed a few things on the list today, but managed to prioritise making marmalade over cleaning the house , why do I do that ? Now I have to clean tomorrow

Other than cooking I have been eating a lot today , not sure why but just one of those days on the up side I have given up alcohol for a bit again, about a week so far.

Judging by the time I have spent cooking today , I am not sure how I will have time to make as much stuff from scratch when I start working, I think I might have to meal plan and use the slow cooker a lot and maybe pre cook pulses etc. to make cooking in the evening quicker rather than have loads of ready cooked meals. I'm not sure what will work best really.

I would like to make bread all the time , but in reality it's a right pain to slice and fit In the toaster in the mornings , I did get an electric knife for Xmas but it annihilated it :rotfl: does anyone have any tips for making homemade bread much easier to use ?

Oops nearly forgot this is a mfw diary, made a £7 op today.

ajmoney

How long will you have each day to cook/prepare your meals?

newgirly

Hi AJ, I will have time to cook everyday , I should be home by 5 ish I think, it's more I don't want to spend my free time on days when I'm not working batch cooking, I'd rather see friends /take the dog out/ waste time on mse
So i need ideas for more exciting cook from fresh type meals that don't take too long, I was thinking of just meal planning on a weekly basis , doing one online shop for essentials : bin bags /cat food /chopped tomatoes etc. and then shopping fresh once a week on a set day. At the moment I don't have a proper system, just shop as and when.

The plan for the day is take ds2 to buy a basketball with his birthday money, plus get some school pencils etc. from the £1 shop. Then give the house a good clean.

The twins are both out this evening, one to a party, and one being taken to see the open air cinema outside somerset house ... Alright for some!

ajmoney

I know I rave about it but the good food website is amazing. Most of the meals I make take a maximum of 30 minutes once I am used to them and you could use the time before you get busy to work out which ones are good for you. You could always start with roasts etc on a Sunday and use for another meal or 2 through the week. I don't batch cook mainly because it takes too much planning for me. 3 or 4 months ago we used to rotate about 4 meals and ended up eating out or having take away all the time. The change now is amazing as apart from when Mr AJM was away for ease, I haven't recooked us a meal yet. We haven't had take away for a couple of months as I can make a meal quicker than it takes to go out order and pick up a takeaway. We don't even like eating out anymore as the food isn't as good as home cooked food. Some of Nigella's recipes are quick and easy and I'm sure others can suggest some other books to try. I hope you find something that will work for you.

newgirly

That sounds great , the problem with batch cooking is it gets repetitive after a while and its always the Same type of meals. I will have a look tonight at the good food site, I am sure I have made something from there before. I need some fresh inspiration

Off to pick the twins up , back later to catch up on some diaries.

ajmoney

newgirly wrote: »

That sounds great , the problem with batch cooking is it gets repetitive after a while and its always the Same type of meals. I will have a look tonight at the good food site, I am sure I have made something from there before. I need some fresh inspiration

Mr AJM isn't keen on slow cooker meals for the same reason, he says it doesn't matter what you put in it still tastes the same. I need to find some new recipes to try and change his mind.

muddywhitechicken

Here is one my favourite slow cooker recipes:

African–style braised chicken in peanut sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
½ cup chicken stock
½ cup tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
3 lbs skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 12 thighs)
½ cup peanut butter
2 tbsp sherry or freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp curry powder
½ to 1 long red or green chilli pepper, minced
1 red pepper, finely chopped

1. In a skillet, heat oil over a medium heat for 30 seconds. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in stock, tomato sauce and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
2. Arrange chicken over bottom of slow cooker stoneware and cover with vegetable mixture. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.
3. In a bowl, combine peanut butter, sherry or lemon juice, curry powder and chilli pepper. Add a little cooking liquid and stir to blend. Add to the slow cooker along with red pepper. Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes, until pepper is tender and flavours meld. Discard bay leaf. Serve with rice.

Serves 6

SeriouslySeekingtoSave

muddywhitechicken wrote: »

1 bay leaf

Where do you get a bay leaf?

muddywhitechicken

SeriouslySeekingtoSave wrote: »

Where do you get a bay leaf?

I use dried bay leaves from the supermarket. We have a bay tree (well more like a twig) in the garden but dried leaves have more flavour.