It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

mardatha

HippyC, just buy one. Or ask for one for your C. Is worth it in the end as they're fantastic.

lambanana

What is this "recipe" of which you speak? I just brown mince first then fry up chopped onions, garlic and whatever other veg may be lying around (last night was courgettes, peppers and mushrooms) then put the mince back in with that and add a tin or two or three (depending on how much mince) of chopped tomatoes, some tomato puree, a bit of red wine if I have leftovers (which isn't often!!), maybe a stock cube, some herbs, salt and pepper and hope for the best!! His lordship is always pleased with it and then from that mince I'll take a portion and add chilli powder and kidney beans to make a chilli, layer some into lasagne and have the third portion as spag bol (assuming it's a lot of mince, last night was a massive 770g pack of lovely, lean mince, hardly any fat or liquid came off when I browned it...lovely!)

This morning when I walked into work from the bus my fingertips felt a bit chilly and I got all excited with the prospect of wooly mittens and thick, hearty stews in the SC. I love winter! I don't love being cold particularly (hence wooly mittens and stews!) but I do actually like the dark nights and that chill in the air. I just hope this winter is relatively snow-free, not for me (I'm happy to walk to the supermarket and don't worry about being trapped because I can't get the car out) but for my mother who has no central heating but just a rubbish gas fire, only partial double glazing, poor insulation she can't afford to improve and currently no job where she can at least go for a few hours a day to get warm like she did last winter.

sammy_kaye18

Hi All

Rading all these baby posts makes me feel very lucky but I have had my fair share of bad times etc.

15 years old - :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: - DONT ask. Miscarried at 2 months.

19 - had gorgeous baby Benjamin - depite his father taking off at the beginning (depression/fear after last relationship broke up and he lost contact with other son)

25 - pregnant with twins in July - who are now named Jennifer and Jamie - miscarried at 8 weeks (mid August).

25 - baby holly was born safe and well on July 14th .

I turned 26 3 days later. I caught pregnant with Holly 2 weeks after I miscarried J + J and never even knew it until Christmas Eve when I did a test!

Funny enough I am just off for my 6 week check (holly is actually 9 weeks on Wednesday though) and I want to ask about egg donation. Im done with having children (yes I know Im still fairly young) but I have my two and my mutt so Im content with my lot. Boyfriend keeps trying to put me off though and pointing out there would be a part of me walking round the world and I'd never know them though and what if they were mistreated etc. My argument was though that babies who are conceived from donated eggs are normally going to loving couples who cant conceive naturally and giving them the gift of being a parent.

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back on topic

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Im doing fairly well so far of keeping my £2 in my purse although I think milk and bread will be needed soon so hoping I can stretch meals a little more but hoping Thursday rolls around quickly!!

Although its stupid Im looking forward to Thursday because its pay day but I cant spend any of it as I'm off to have a tooth yanked out of my head! so it will have to wait until Friday for a food shop. Although hoping to go to the bank to move money to a different bank account altogether as I had my nationwide new chip and pin saving card today so I could do an on-line tesco shop.

Boyfriend has also decided to get serious about his weight lifting and exercising so he has said no sweets/crisps/treats/general junk to be brought with this shop - saves me a fair bit - but that Ben can have his lunch box bits and pieces

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any money boyfriend is the first one to !!!!! when theirs no nibbly stuff about.

lambanana

I think egg donation is a lovely idea Sammy. I don't know how you go about it (my eggs seem to be OK for our treatment as far as we can tell right now) but I'm sure there will be information on-line and I know that you could make someone very happy if you could donate. The only thing to consider is that donating eggs is more invasive than donating sperm and would include some drug stimulation and sedation but if you're ok with that then like I say, it's a lovely idea.

kezlou

penelopedee wrote: »

I thought that when I read it. Might have to get mince instead of steak! In our house its a good week when there is as much mince as veg in the meal :rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Mine think its xmas when there's meat kicking about hahahaha

determined new ms congrats on being debt free!!!!!!!!

(((hugs))) annie56 about your the death of your friend, were going through the same thing here. Its hit us all pretty hard.what a k-head your ex is. cheeky get asking you to change it mutual separation. :rotfl::rotfl:at the goodhousewife book!

annie g - i'm finding it difficult, money is tighter, things are becoming for expensive and need to find for so many things, but nothing is coming up.

pink_numbers you'll be fine, it does get easier over time. Just hang on there xxx

Mr S's salmon basics are soooo yummy. Only trouble is its always sold out!

Well just got the letter for secondary schools today_pale_, i feel sick thinking about it. Got to go to town now to buy trousers (for me)and cuff links for OH for the funeral on Wednesday. Then i'm going to come back and have apple crumble hmmm yummy.

What a lovely idea sammy x

flowertotmum

Hello ladies..i'm hoping that some of you can help me...i have loads of toms and apples and want to make chutney..does anyone know of a recipe that doesn't involve any spices or very little spices...have ginger(powder)..sultanas and some cider vinegar and plenty of bottles...i need to get it done before it goes over..please help me...
Having read the posts i just want to say to all of you you are doing a great job and being on here is really nice and thankfully no one has yet judged me for being on a benefit...hope you don't..i have had a bashing from others on another forum...its really nice to be here
thank you

JulieGeorgiana

Hippeechiq wrote: »

That's pretty much what I do too!

At the moment I can go 4 weeks without repeating a meal, although my current menu plan is for 5 weeks. I have enough recipes to do more, but they're old recipes that I don't fancy since discovering all my new ones IYKWIM

I would love to only cook Chicken, Beef or Pork once a week, but it's difficult as I don't really have enough Vegetarian recipes and we don't really like fish/lamb or soup.

I never repeat the same meat/vegetables/pasta/rice or similar flavoured type of meal two days in a row.

We eat bacon, minced pork, chops, sausages, chicken breast - diced for various recipes - chicken thighs, beef mince and vegetarian meals.

Wouldn't know how to cook a whole chicken if it jumped up and pecked me in the backside. Ex-hubby wouldn't eat whole chicken, and new OH and the children (adults) don't like the dark meat on a chicken, so I'm not really sure we would benefit even if I knew how.

Also, the only beef we eat is mince. I cannot find a decent Cottage Pie or Spag Bol recipe (I've been looking for years, tried loads, but they're always disgusting _pale_ - and I always buy lean mince so I really don't know why ) so that limits us to Chilli

I adore beef! But I can't afford joints (of any type of meat actually) or steak and whereas I love stews and casseroles I haven't had one for years, as without a slow cooker, it kind of negates a cheap cut of meat if I have to have the oven or ring on for 1½-2hrs or more to cook it

What do others do who don't have a slow cooker?

I don't feel crazy anymore!!!!

We are allowed leftovers the next day (never a third day), but it's about cooking variety! My family were not big fish fans!

But they eat what I give them!

Vegetarian is mainly pasta with cheese sauce, or cheese and tomato sauce!! Pizza too! Pesto pasta.... yummy!

Okay spag bol... add sugar to take the bitterness out of the tomatoes! Much better that way!

Shephards pie... don't add gravy... just 500g mince, cup of peas, cup of baby carrots, cup of sweetcorn... lots of paprika and seasoning, stock pot and a dash of water!

Add worcestershire sauce too if you like!

Serve with gravy!

Yummy

pink_numbers

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Shephards pie... don't add gravy... just 500g mince, cup of peas, cup of baby carrots, cup of sweetcorn... lots of paprika and seasoning, stock pot and a dash of water!

I forgot to thank you earlier when you told me about your shephards pie, I don't know why but the thought of adding peas to it had never crossed my mind before!! thank you

JulieGeorgiana

pink_numbers wrote: »

I forgot to thank you earlier when you told me about your shephards pie, I don't know why but the thought of adding peas to it had never crossed my mind before!! thank you

In germany petit pois and baby carrots are a must with loads of meals... when I was with my Ex he made me feel so low I never cooked...!

When I made this on the rare occasions... I always used tinned produce... and this meal tastes wonderful with them!!

So you are welcome!

maltesers_2

Hippeechiq wrote: »

That's pretty much what I do too!


Also, the only beef we eat is mince. I cannot find a decent Cottage Pie or Spag Bol recipe (I've been looking for years, tried loads, but they're always disgusting _pale_ - and I always buy lean mince so I really don't know why ) so that limits us to Chilli

It is probably not so much the recipe as the mince matters most. I used to make shepherds pie weekly or fortnightly for years with no problems but as they introduced lower fat types of mince it became rather hit and miss whether it was nice or not. If possible get mince from a real butchers they don't have a choice of 'low fat' or 'x %' fat just good decent mince. If that is not possible go for a slightly cheaper or value mince this seems to give me better results for shepherds pie but any mince wil do for the bolognese recipe which follows.

The way I was taught to make shepherds pie was to brown the mince without adding extra fat or oil (and always a good amount of fat, not water, would come out.

Add chopped onion, and carrot if used, and stir fry until onions soften.

Add about 1 tbsp flour and stir into mince mix until the fat is absorbed.

I then add water to cover, oxo cube, splash of worcestershire sauce, tbsp mushroom ketchup (if I have any) and approx 1 tsp mixed herbs. Bring to the boil. At this stage the mince will be quite runny.

Simmer slowly until the mince mix is nice and thick taste and season and put into dish to cool. Top with mashed potatoes or sliced par boiled potatoes as required and when ready cook in oven till brown on top,


Meat and tomato sauce for pasta. spag bol or lasagne

serves 6

2 TBS olive oil - I usually need more

1 clove garlic
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stick (when I don't have fresh I use frozen bits - but it is necessary)
3 sprigs parsley (if available frozen wil do)

All finely chopped - I put in my small whizzy

300g lean miced beef (or lamb)
4 Tbsp red wine
400g passata
s&P

I also add mxd med herbs or oregano

Heat oil and fry chopped veg stirring frequently.
Add meat and fry until well browned
Stir in red wine and simmer 2 mins
Por in passata, stir and season
Cover and simmer for about 1 hour but the longer the better.

I believe an authentic bolognese sauce would also include chopped chicken livers and have milk added slowly each time you stir it

HTH