Cooking for one

Farway

Nelski wrote: »

Thanks Farway
Whats your views on Actifry as a single? I have been umming and ahhhrng about getting one since before christmas. My concern is the size of it ...they seem so big! what do you cook in it most?

I had the Actifry for years, it is big but I have space on the worktops, along with other "stuff" I have 3 worktops, one is long where[STRIKE] clutter [/STRIKE] vital equipment sits, including the Actifry and coffee thingy that is never used but gurgles and has steamer pipe & all sorts, only got it to use up points I had accumulated on a shopping site, waste of space but space I have

Back to Actifry, I use it for chips and bangers, I could grill the bangers but I have a gas grill and have had occasions when a banger bangs and the hot fat catches fire and I have flames bursting forth and kitchen full of smoke:eek:, safer to use Actifry or oven these days

I would not replace it if it broke though

PasturesNew

Well, so much for thinking ahead. I'd ear-marked the ½ tin of beans for tomorrow, to accompany any pie ...but I just grabbed them and used them as I toasted a pitta bread and shoved beans/cheese on top (only 1 more pitta to go now!).

I guess that isn't the fault of trying to forward plan .... but because I didn't forward plan yesterday else the beans will have already been spoken for so they'd not have been available to be thought about for tomorrow. Oh well, I've usually/often got a tin of beans on the go, so opening a fresh one tomorrow won't destroy me.

I'd love something sweet.... I refuse to quickly whip up and bake 3-4 biscuits though .... and I've no chocolate, no sweeties... nothing much, except tins of rice pudding and some instant custard and 3 packs of angel delight and 3 packs of jelly and some tinned pears and I could make a jam pudding or a golden syrup one .... but .... it comes down to those three little words: Can't Be 4rsed

PasturesNew

Farway wrote: »

.... I have a gas grill and have had occasions when a banger bangs and the hot fat catches fire and I have flames bursting forth and kitchen full of smoke

There's a whole bunch of my kitchen fears .... hate the thought of cooking anything in any way that involves oil.... I'm slowly trying to work myself up to the stage where I can buy some sausages and cook them in my mini oven ...mini because there's no way I dare use my built in full-sized oven.

Earlier today I used the grill part of my small oven to brown a pizza .... and I was hopping left and right in fear of it going wrong and catching fire. Fire's my major anxiety spot .... with everything/anything that plugs in, uses power, has electricity or gas, uses a flame, has moving parts, has power sources buried in walls ... and more.

I figure that if anything went wrong, at least, post-event, a mini oven can be lobbed outside and forgotten - you can't do that with a built in full sized one

katkin

If I had an actifry or the like I'd be as big as a house I'm probably the size of a smalł bungalow / cottage as it is!

However, the duck shaped coffee machine is worth its workspace in how much it saves us not buying coffee shop coffees, hubby especially who is a massive coffee fan. We love the variety of coffee pods and both have one at work.

Recycling the pods are a problems though as in they can't go into any recycle bin. Apparently you can send them back to the company at your own cost..

Now I can't remember why I've posted here

Oh, yep. Sausage pies, plaits or the like. Anyone tried using tattie scone mix instead of pastry. You can use dried potato but fresh mash is nicer but mixing the mash with flour, lots of seasoning makes it lovely. Best bit is instead of reheating leftovers in the oven, you can fry single portions. Very non-weight loss friendly.

Makes a smashing bacon and egg pie, or egg n sausage meat.

Now I've had a ramble, I'll wander off again

PasturesNew

katkin wrote: »

.... tattie scone mix instead of pastry....

That's where I started thinking, before I ended up deciding to get pastry out of the freezer.

The thing is, it's "not pastry" ... it's lovely, but you know it's potato. So it's a different beast

I can't fry anything ..... no hob in use (petrified/it's gas/hate flames, scared).

mcculloch29

For anyone who is a fan of Roses lime marmalade and has a Heron Foods handy, they often have it in stock for something silly like 69p a jar.

I often used sausagemeat in recipes when I was very hard up (we lived abroad and had our allowances cut without warning by Thatcher just after having another baby and buying a car).
One recipe involved sausagemeat and apples as a plate pie, Scotch eggs of course, something involved carrots, there are probably others lost in the mists of time.. .

caronc

katkin wrote: »

Oh, yep. Sausage pies, plaits or the like. Anyone tried using tattie scone mix instead of pastry. You can use dried potato but fresh mash is nicer but mixing the mash with flour, lots of seasoning makes it lovely. Best bit is instead of reheating leftovers in the oven, you can fry single portions. Very non-weight loss friendly.

Makes a smashing bacon and egg pie, or egg n sausage meat.

Now I've had a ramble, I'll wander off again

Used to make loads of tattie scones when the two [STRIKE]gannets[/STRIKE]boys were at home always a crowd pleaser if they had mates round. Used to find a bag of frozen mash worked a treat. Never used it as pastry for pies but suppose it is just a version of potato pastry so see why it would work. What does work well is rolling then thinly and stuffing like a samosa, then brushing with oil or butter and baking.

Nelski

karcher wrote: »

Went to look in the fridge and ponder tonights meal...wasn't inspired but spotted the beers so am having one :cool:

Not too early is it

I've been up since the early hours, did a long walk to the SM, a big (for me) SM shop and spent 1 and a half hours at the gym before a 30 minute walk home, all before lunchtime and errrr, well it is Saturday night isn't it

What a silly question.....glass of wine in my hand atm :beer::beer:

Farway wrote: »

I had the Actifry for years, it is big but I have space on the worktops, along with other "stuff" I have 3 worktops, one is long where[STRIKE] clutter [/STRIKE] vital equipment sits, including the Actifry and coffee thingy that is never used but gurgles and has steamer pipe & all sorts, only got it to use up points I had accumulated on a shopping site, waste of space but space I have

Back to Actifry, I use it for chips and bangers, I could grill the bangers but I have a gas grill and have had occasions when a banger bangs and the hot fat catches fire and I have flames bursting forth and kitchen full of smoke:eek:, safer to use Actifry or oven these days

I would not replace it if it broke though

Thanks for that Farway that was useful. I do love some chips but dont think I love them enough to take up kitchen space

Heres a thing......I cooked for one........I made a lemon drizzle cake currently cooling.

So Saturday dinner is sausage mash and beans, lemon drizzle cake and a few scoops of pinot grigio to enjoy with ant and dec :D

katkin

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's where I started thinking, before I ended up deciding to get pastry out of the freezer.

The thing is, it's "not pastry" ... it's lovely, but you know it's potato. So it's a different beast

I can't fry anything ..... no hob in use (petrified/it's gas/hate flames, scared).

Agree it's a different beast but gorgeous and you can brush over the leftovers with oil or butter and heat in the oven for extra crustyness.

I've given up tatties for lent, it's days in and I'm weak and craving the tuber madly...:o Is it wrong to spend so much time thinking up potato things :rotfl:

Puff pastry is divine so I'll be happy to accept an invite for that sausage pie just fine PN

Caronc my 2 boys were the same, tattie scones and pancakes (Scottish ones of course!) were a big hit. I still use my grandmothers girddle which has worn shapes of both on it.

Wish you'd not mentioned the samosa thing, I'll become obsessed with trying that out next! I'm such a glutton

Freezer hm lasagne here tonight, of course I added extra cheese and a mozerella that needed using up, fiddle flicks the calories.. And I've put 2 pounds on this week as it is with all that extra fruit and veg eating . Got a lovely big salad for sides, but I'm starting to believe this extra is just encouraging my stomach to want bigger and more!



PN im frightened of deep frying anything. My mother put the fear of god into me about the dangers of deep frying pans. I've never had one.

PasturesNew

mcculloch29 wrote: »

I often used sausagemeat in recipes when I was very hard up ....

I'm coming from the other direction: it's an expensive treat, sausagemeat was half price but still pricey ... but I thought I'd treat myself and enjoy it.