Dreaming of a new life in Norfolk.

borkid

norfolkdream wrote: »

I do think its going to be a bit samey, chicken casserole, beef casserole, sausage casserole, spag bol, hunters chicken possibly (as a treat )

Try homemade pizza you can have lots of topping and they don't take too long to cook. When I used to work I'd arrive home about 5 and the pizza would be ready for 7 easily. 10 mins to knead 1 hr ( at most) to rise and then 20 mins to cook. Serve with salad or/ and jacket potato that way you only have one oven on and no hotplate. It would be even quicker if you prepped the dough in the morning then left it to rise in the fridge during the day. All you would need to do then would be roll it out and add the topping and cook. My DD has even managed to perfect a way of making her own frozen pizza.
Pies are also good you can make a lot of pastry and freeze in serving portions and then use the equivalent of a casserole to fill. For an unhealthy option serve with homemade chips or wedges ( cut potato to shape, par boil then toss in oil and bake in oven similar to roast potatoes). Again only the oven on and you can always add roast veggies to oven.
Then there are all the pasta dishes , bolognese is a good way to hide finely chopped celery, carrots and mushrooms.

And there are curries and chilli dishes as well.

It's difficult with children and food I remember at one stage I had one vegetarian and one who wouldn't eat anything green then 2 normal adults!

norfolkdream

Thanks borkid, my lot dont really do pies, but I might attempt the pizza. have done it before (DS likes hotdog pizza lol)

Have chicken chassuer in the SC today, will have rice with it later. The chicken breasts I got from the butchers are huge! So might be able to make two meals out of them afterall. (if not then at least a meal for one that I can have when the kids are at their dads.)

norfolkdream

norfolkdream wrote: »

Having seen that GG is close to payout on onepoll I decided to check mine, havent been on there for probably more than a year and I was at £37.50 :T
There were a few polls to do but got chucked off about half of them. I am now at £38.25 Must remember to keep checking it daily again.

Have done a few more this evening and now at £39.40 :j so close.

A friend came round this evening and we got round to talking about my dog, she told me that my house has a bad dog smell
Firstly she thought it was my dinner cooking and then realised it was the dog!! What does that say about my cooking.
I was quite embarrassed about it and now I am thinking what can I do to get rid of it. I forget she said it and then it comes back into my head because it has really got to me. I'm glad she told me to my face though but its one of those things I wont forget has been said and will be really paranoid when people visit now. My sister and her young kids will be visiting over the next few weeks and I am going to have to bleach everywhere I think
It really has got to me now.

borkid

Do you have carpets? If so you can use baking powder ie sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate ( can be bought from hardware stores don't use the food stuff it's too expensive) sprinkle it onto the carpets and leave then vac up. I used to leave overnight where I could but that was so it fitted in with my routine.Vinegar ( being really cheap I keep the vinegar left in pickled onions and use that for cleaning although most books say use distilled vinegar) also works for getting rid of smells. I have 4 cats and before my last move I did the whole house out with sodium bicarb.

Then wash all the curtains and loose furnishings if you can but an awful to dry them so maybe a spray of vinegar over them might work.

I assume the above will work for doggie smells as well as cattie ones.

greenbee

Agree with the above. Wash what you can, use bicarb to absorb smells, maybe think about not letting the dog into all the rooms (and keeping it off soft furnishings if it currently goes on them).

Wash dog bedding/replace if too stinky (it happens!)

And open the windows twice a day for half an hour to get plenty of air through the place.

Also consider whether the dog's diet needs changing...

norfolkdream

I think it is my rug as that is where he spends most of his time, although I have a dog cage which also has his bed in which I replace every few months (as I only buy cheap ones) I also had wet dog towels in the hallway which dont help and I forgot to move them. He is a nightmare to clean after walks so I leave them by the door. I have leather sofas so its not that and the rest is laminate flooring.
You just dont smell it when you live with a dog.
I was going to buy that vanish stuff but might try the bicarbonate. thanks

museumworker

Hi norfolk dream, and happy new diary. Am amazed by the size of your mortgage well done! I dream of snowdonia, but am too far away from that financially to even start thinking of the practicalities!

In terms of slow cooker, you can prep the night before, put in the fridge then take out in the morning. As my SC is a bit fierce and we're out of the house for a long time we also have a manual timer on the plug to delay its start time. That way nothing is overcooked!

We do an easy pork cassoleut - for 8 (I double up) is 1kg diced pork, 2 x tins of white beans, 4 tablespoons of tom puree (I substitute one for turkish red pepper paste to give a bit of heat), 4 garlic gloves crushed, 2 onions diced, 2 x cans of tomatoes, stir all together. 6 hrs on low, serve with mash and greens. Add some parsley at the end if you can be bothered.

norfolkdream

Thanks MW. It is still something to eventually aim for.
It seems most things I do in the SC have tins of tomato, garlic, and onions.
Want to try a different sauce but not too spicy as we are all wimps.

norfolkdream

Morning,
Reached £40 on onepoll, does anyone know how long it takes to pay into your bank?

Spag bol in the SC today, smells lovely already, will definitely have enough for another meal. The mince from the butchers is sooooo much better, will not get mince from supermarket again.

ajwolf

norfolkdream wrote: »

Reached £40 on onepoll, does anyone know how long it takes to pay into your bank?

Hi just delurking to say I requested a payout on 15th of last month and it was in my bank on 28th, so a lot quicker than the 28 days they say.


Good luck with the mortgage. I'll keep reading.