It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

Aril

I read this book last week
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rich-Mrs-Robinson-Winifred-Beechey/dp/0192117831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311938309&sr=8-1
It's written about the lady's rural childhood just after the first world war when her Father's just returned and is very evocative of life and how people coped in previous eras. It's quite a chirpy read.
Aril

Mrs_Chip

Thanks for the recipe Clare, sounds fab, and so easy! will make it this weekend, I have just got an Aldi FR chook out of the freezer, plus two legs I took off the last one I had (breasts went into The Takeaway Secret Chicken Curry). I'll take the legs off this one and use all four for chinese chook. Then I have to find something to do with the breasts.. and make some stock from the carcass.

It's all a bit overwhelming, this lifestyle change thing. So much to let go of (mentally) so much to worry about, I should be looking forward to it all but my head is not with me yet.

Having said that, I have achieved a lifetime's ambition -to own a set of chef's whites! Mr C thinks I look very professional, personally I'm not so sure, I look a bit like the Little chef on hormones!:eek:

ChocClare

If you want a chicken breast recipe which is good enough for a dinner party, then this is delicious:

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and add a finely-sliced leek; cook till softened, then remove from the heat and add 3 tblsp brown breadcrumbs; 1 tblsp pine kernels; 1 egg yolk; 1 tblsp chopped parsley and 4oz grated cheese. Mix together well and season with pepper and salt. Now grate over the zest and juice of half a lemon. Stir well.

Make a slit in each of four chicken breasts and stuff with the mixture above. Place in an oven dish, dot with butter and bake in the centre of a preheated oven, Gas 6/200C for 30-40 mins depending on your oven, until the top is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through.

This would make too much stuffing for your two chicken breasts, but the baked stuffing is actually delicious on its own.

If that's a bit rich/expensive for your tastes, then you can do a make-at-home ready meal with your two chicken breasts:

Take 1 pack of Tesco Value Mozzarella (40p). Cut into slices. Cut your chicken breasts almost in half and put the mozzarella in the middle. Now put another slice on top of the "closed" chicken breast and wrap the whole lot in a rasher of bacon (one for each breast, obviously). Put in an oven dish and cook at Gas 5/180C for 25-30 mins depending on your oven - you don't want the chicken to be dry. This is scrummy too, and costs a lot more ready packed at Tesco's! You can also replace the mozzarella with slices of cheddar if you prefer.

jamanda

Aril wrote: »

I read this book last week
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rich-Mrs-Robinson-Winifred-Beechey/dp/0192117831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311938309&sr=8-1
It's written about the lady's rural childhood just after the first world war when her Father's just returned and is very evocative of life and how people coped in previous eras. It's quite a chirpy read.
Aril

Thanks, I've ordered this.

jamanda

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

It's all a bit overwhelming, this lifestyle change thing. So much to let go of (mentally) so much to worry about, I should be looking forward to it all but my head is not with me yet.

Make it a game! It is quite fun trying to beat the system and everybody who wants to take your money off you. Instead of being depressing, it can be inspirational and fun if you have the right mindset. And very, very satisfying.

HariboJunkie

ChocClare wrote: »

If you want a chicken breast recipe which is good enough for a dinner party, then this is delicious:

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and add a finely-sliced leek; cook till softened, then remove from the heat and add 3 tblsp brown breadcrumbs; 1 tblsp pine kernels; 1 egg yolk; 1 tblsp chopped parsley and 4oz grated cheese. Mix together well and season with pepper and salt. Now grate over the zest and juice of half a lemon. Stir well.

Make a slit in each of four chicken breasts and stuff with the mixture above. Place in an oven dish, dot with butter and bake in the centre of a preheated oven, Gas 6/200C for 30-40 mins depending on your oven, until the top is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through.

This would make too much stuffing for your two chicken breasts, but the baked stuffing is actually delicious on its own.

If that's a bit rich/expensive for your tastes, then you can do a make-at-home ready meal with your two chicken breasts:

Take 1 pack of Tesco Value Mozzarella (40p). Cut into slices. Cut your chicken breasts almost in half and put the mozzarella in the middle. Now put another slice on top of the "closed" chicken breast and wrap the whole lot in a rasher of bacon (one for each breast, obviously). Put in an oven dish and cook at Gas 5/180C for 25-30 mins depending on your oven - you don't want the chicken to be dry. This is scrummy too, and costs a lot more ready packed at Tesco's! You can also replace the mozzarella with slices of cheddar if you prefer.

I'm a big fan of stuffed chicken breasts and love finding new fillings.
Our favourite fillings are;

pesto and mozzarella
spinach and feta
garlic breadcrumbs
roast veg (great for using up leftovers)
haggis
black pudding

All the above can be wrapped in bacon and I really recommend flattening the chicken breasts first to make them easier to stuff.
I only use FR chicken and the breasts are extorionate so I just buy whole chicken, joint them and freeze the bits until I have enough to use.

Thanks for the chnese chicken recipe again ChocClare. I'll be trying that soon.

Just catching up on the thread and will post more later.

westlothianlass

Hi all,
Sitting here waiting to see if the rain really has stopped so that i can hang some washing out.

I've been online trying to decide if i really need a dehydrator as oppossed to just want one:D, but jury is out at the moment.

The veg in the garden is picking up nicely but my cooking, preserving brain hasn't caught up so i need to try and focus on preparing some stuff a.s.a.p. rather than sitting back just reading recipes.

I am impressed that you got useful bargains Softstuff, as was commenting last night to DH that all the "bargains" in the supermarket where for things we didn't need/want, which was very frustrating.

Road tax for my DH's old land rover is due today, we thought about selling it last year but decided against it as it was the only way we managed through the bad weather and very deep snow to get to work. I suppose needing such a vehicle is just one of the downs of living in a rural location but if honest it's cancelled out by all the positives ( suppose i just need to remember that when paying out lots of money for tax/mot etc).

Hope whoever has the shiny ball is enjoying it and that all of you are enjoying the bits of summer we get every now and again. x

grandma247

Frozen veg from the supermarket can be dehydrated, without the need for any blanching. You can just spread them on the trays and dry. I do this with any mixed veg packs I see cheap. I add them to the slowcooker without rehydrating and they are just as good when they come out as when they were frozen. I like to think they are a hedge against being able to get out to shop or there being a shortage because of the weather. You can get a lot of veg in a large coffee jar.
The only veg I find a little disappointing when dried is runner beans as they tend to be a little on the chewy side but it is not a major problem.

Mrs_Chip

Ah Clare, I have the ingredients for both those recipes in, apart from the parsley (got a big bunch of fresh coriander, and some basil so could use that), so will have a crack at one or the other, depending on Mr Chip's preference...

I find the Aldi chickens to be very good, they are currently £4.99 for a 1.5kg bird. The breasts I took of the last once were huge, and delicious. They would have cost nearly £5 themselves in Mr S or Mr T's.

Jamanda - I am trying to make everything exciting challenge, and some days I do succeed, but I am also feeling overwhelmed by it all - we are achieving our ambitions, but not quite in the circs we would have chosen, so sometimes it is a bit difficult to remain positive. But I suspect we needed this particular kick to get us off our complacent backsides, so I am hoping I can banish negative thoughts back into the dark place they came from.

Putting on my whites and parading around the living room helps!:rotfl:

westlothianlass

Thanks Grandma247, Your tips are really helpful as i am debating whether i can justify the cost but can see from your post that there are many more ideas out there that i hadn't even thought off, so thanks again :)x