New here and really need to sort myself out(please move if in wrong place)

maman

gemmajenkins0208 wrote: »

I have dabbled in cooking meals for the family before, my speciality is curries, bologneses and pasta dishes. Unofrtunately the sauce is in a jar!

When i am off for 3 weeks next month I'm going to try and make as many fresh meals as often as i can, and try and make my own sauces!

I actually found a fish pie recipe the other day that looked easy enough so i will be giving that one a crack too

I'd suggest putting some hard boiled eggs in with the fish pie too as that'll add to the protein very cheaply.


Doing sauces from scratch for Bolognese is really, really easy. The basics are a tin of chopped tomatoes, an onion, some garlic and a few herbs. Read the label on a jar and see what they put in but ignore all the additives!


Cooking from scratch would be so much healthier for you all and especially for your brother's GF as she needs to lose weight. It does take a bit more time but that does seem to be something your family has.


P.S. You do need to work your way through the freezer though ad use stuff up in there before switching to cooking from scratch.

gemmajenkins0208

Thank you for the tips suki

Oh yes maman i remember now!! The chopped tomatoes, onion and garlic was what i used to make a pasta sauce in school once! And then you add whatever to turn it into bolognese sauce/curry sauce/pasta sauce etc. am i right?

I must write that down in my little recipe book I've started. Only got fairy cakes, flapjack and shortbread in there right now

Also we are working our way through the freezer/fridge/cupboards maman Just used up a packet of pizza baguettes and half a bag of chips for tea and a strawberry cheesecake and some of the ice cream for pudding

Still haven't used that damn sticky toffee pudding yet though! :mad: :rotfl:

cheel

Lol re the sticky toffee pud, I've two Christmas puds to eat up! There's only me and my son, when on earth are we going to want Christmas pud!! ��

Tiddlywinks

Gemma, have a look at this site:

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

It has really useful info on portion sizes, what to keep in your store cupboard and how to store food safely. It also has tips on making the most of food and leftovers.

You should definitely try to get a rota going and get everyone of you involved in the cooking.

Cooking one meal for six is so much cheaper than each couple doing their own thing. Big meals are so easy to do when you use rice, pasta or couscous for instance. Or soups and stews.

Getting a slow cooker would help you get the most out of cheap cuts of meat.

Honestly, chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas and 'chips with everything' is really unhealthy to have every day; and expensive too.

Amazon does some good deals on bulk sizes of rice, pulses and other dried goods. If Plymouth has any Asian supermarkets then they would be great for sacks of rice, onions etc.

The fact that your BF, brother's GF and dad are at home all day means that they have the time to prep stuff in advance of the cooking. They can also slow cook dried beans, pulses etc too.

Tiddlywinks

cheel wrote: »

Lol re the sticky toffee pud, I've two Christmas puds to eat up! There's only me and my son, when on earth are we going to want Christmas pud!! ��

When? I could eat it everyday .

You can use it in ice cream, strudel, bread and butter pudding... there's loads of recipes for leftovers online.

I panic buy in the post Christmas sale and then ration them out over the year.

Yum, yum, yum.

gemmajenkins0208

I was just about to say I love Xmas pud too!

The 2 we had in our house last Christmas didn't make it longer than Boxing day, and I wasn't even here on Christmas day! :rotfl:

Thank you again for the tips though

purpleivy

If your boyfriend needs help with his reading, then if you can read, then you can help him. There's a book/scheme called Yes We Can Read.
http://www.gatehousebooks.co.uk/yes-we-can-read/

YOU can teach your bf. But only if he is williing to learn of course.

gemmajenkins0208

I honestly didn't know about that purpleivy, thank you!

I will begin to help him today, if he is willing

gemmajenkins0208

Tried the BB cream I bought a couple months back again today, after trying it when I got home with it and it not looking good at all on my skin.

Now it looks absolutely amazing! I think it's down to the fact that I'm making a conscious effort to stick to my daily hygiene tasks(keeping my face clean etc.).

Now I have a good idea why makeup can look soo bad on some girls...

gemmajenkins0208

Also my brothers gf cut my brothers hair with these clippers we've had for a few years, and I cut my dad and bf's hair.

I think that's very MSE!