Cooking for one

mcculloch29

A massive batch cook session doesn't appeal, unless it's something like a basic tomato and onion sauce that can be used for a wider variety of meals -spag. bol, lasagna, chilli..
Nothing tomato related tonight. Something I used to make for all the family though, scaled down. Jocasta Innes' Onion, Bacon and Potato Hotpot.
A faff for one using fresh potatoes, so this version used sliced up tinned potatoes, snipped up Heron gammon and finely diced onion rather than sliced, with a cooking sauce poured over (but only because I've eaten the last of my cheese and didn't fancy plain white sauce).

Even with the extravagance of the jar of sauce this was still a very cheap meal. The oven has dinged, so time to eat it..

Original recipe here

PasturesNew

mcculloch29 wrote: »

A faff for one using fresh potatoes, so this version used sliced up tinned potatoes

I use all 3 varieties: tinned, instant, real/fresh. I'll buy fresh often, but when I get to the end of them I'm fed up with it ... so I'll have a couple of weeks "off" and use instant. Tinned are for the slow cooker mostly, or quick spud salads.

I will ALWAYS have instant and tinned in the cupboards, leaving me free to "choose" when/if to buy 2.5Kg of real spuds.

pollyanna_26

Popping in to have a look at your thread after chatting to you on mine . Goodness this has grown , I will have a lot to catch up on but will subscribe . Just glancing at the previous post there's a well known name . Hope all is well McC . I also need to catch up with the Fencers , but need to catch up on my own as I think my posting stopped in November and has only resumed today . I will be back.
polly

caronc

mcculloch29 wrote: »

A massive batch cook session doesn't appeal, unless it's something like a basic tomato and onion sauce that can be used for a wider variety of meals -spag. bol, lasagna, chilli..
Nothing tomato related tonight. Something I used to make for all the family though, scaled down. Jocasta Innes' Onion, Bacon and Potato Hotpot.
A faff for one using fresh potatoes, so this version used sliced up tinned potatoes, snipped up Heron gammon and finely diced onion rather than sliced, with a cooking sauce poured over (but only because I've eaten the last of my cheese and didn't fancy plain white sauce).

Even with the extravagance of the jar of sauce this was still a very cheap meal. The oven has dinged, so time to eat it..

Original recipe here

Now that sounds like something that would work in my bean pot and I have tinned spuds as well. I love them roasted in cumin and garlic I must look that book out of my collection and see what else I could make.....

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I use all 3 varieties: tinned, instant, real/fresh. I'll buy fresh often, but when I get to the end of them I'm fed up with it ... so I'll have a couple of weeks "off" and use instant. Tinned are for the slow cooker mostly, or quick spud salads.

I will ALWAYS have instant and tinned in the cupboards, leaving me free to "choose" when/if to buy 2.5Kg of real spuds.

Couldn't be without fresh spuds in the house - though tinned are good and there is a packet of instant in the cupboard as a fall back too:)

caronc

pollyanna_26 wrote: »

Popping in to have a look at your thread after chatting to you on mine . Goodness this has grown , I will have a lot to catch up on but will subscribe . Just glancing at the previous post there's a well known name . Hope all is well McC . I also need to catch up with the Fencers , but need to catch up on my own as I think my posting stopped in November and has only resumed today . I will be back.
polly

Hi - yes like topsy it just grew and grew LOL suffice to say the conversations are wide ranging (counting fish to knicker gate :rotfl:) but some really, really good suggestions/ideas which have helped me so much and so good to know it's not just me that struggles at times with this:D

pollyanna_26

Certainly has grown like Topsy . I have subscribed and have just gone back to page 1 where the posts I thought I'd made are . Will be catching up bit by bit As I have missed many pages I don't know if anyone has mentioned this after I originally mentioned her . Elaine aka Memory Girl to the oldstylers has resumed her blog over on Mortgage Free in Three just google if interested I think Mooloo from another thread and myself willed her back .
Lovely to meet another bibliophile . I confess after mentioning Shirley Goode I tracked down the Bazaar book which was the only one missing from my collection .
The thing I love about the oldstyle threads is the way they wander from topic to topic .
polly

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

Couldn't be without fresh spuds in the house - though tinned are good and there is a packet of instant in the cupboard as a fall back too:)

I buy based mostly on price, so I tend to get 2.5Kg bags of cheap spuds (£1.20 or so) ... then, as they're cheap, they probably don't like to hang around too long... so I get spud overload. The green bags are certainly proving to work really well though, it's nice when something finally does! So maybe, going forward, a bag will last longer before sprouting.

2.5Kg is 10 good sized hefty portions, so I'd find myself having to eat them just about every day for 2 weeks before.

NewShadow

Whoknowskt89 wrote: »

I can't upload photos but think a 4 ft tank with fish between 1'' and 3" with plants and wood hiding things and a 2.5ft tank with baby fish a few mm big and plants and wood hiding things...

I think - but have been known to be wrong - the suggestion was to photograph the tank to count the fish (so they can't move).

James frequents the discussion board but only talks through the medium of pictures. Makes it hard to have a conversation...

PN - I know what you mean about feeling piggy, but sometimes I just boil some dumplings in gravy. Really having issues with comfort food right now.

Can't cope with being off work for a week - it's driving me crazy(ier) just me and the cats! Plus I'm relatively broke so trying not to go out. Already sorted all the stuff under both the beds, cleaned the kitchen properly, now debating the wardrobes...

mcculloch29

pollyanna_26 wrote: »

Popping in to have a look at your thread after chatting to you on mine . Goodness this has grown , I will have a lot to catch up on but will subscribe . Just glancing at the previous post there's a well known name . Hope all is well McC . I also need to catch up with the Fencers , but need to catch up on my own as I think my posting stopped in November and has only resumed today . I will be back.
polly

Welcome back, I took a break as well, but it's good to be back in the groove. .
This thread is good for me, as it gives me ideas, and being allowed to go off topic isn't frowned on here.
Reporting on my pleasures on the 5 OS Pleasures thread is good for me, as it helps me reflect - and some there, along with the Fencers, have very hard battles.

The hot-pot was gorgeous. It took me all my willpower to leave a portion for the fridge/freezer. It's every bit as nice using a jar of sauce, and the top layer crisped and browned as well as ever it did. Nothing stuck to the casserole dish either - no soaking or scraping to clean it.