Cooking for one (Mark Two)

caronc

Need2bthrifty wrote: »

Thanks Caronc, you are the first person I have heard mention it; I've been meaning to give it a go for years following on from a visit to NZ where they call it corned beef - no resemblance to the tinned stuff - and I think they can buy it prepped and ready to cook. I already have pickling spice in the cupboard so will give it a go in a couple of weeks time when I have gone through some of my freezer supplies

Yes very similiar to NZ or Irish "corned beef" though I think they use Silverside rather than brisket- I'm having the last of it for lunch:( but will make again:)

caronc

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

I made myself a crisp sandwich when I got in earlier.:o:o:o

I hope you used real butter:), I love a crisp "piece"

Hollyharvey

Afternoon everyone,

I hope you all enjoy your brisket .

I've put a beef bourguignon in the slow cooker for dinner tonight. It was going to be a standard beef casserole and then I realised I didn't have much veg (not a bad thing when CFO), but I did have some bacon in the freezer and some shallots. I'm pleased because it is a meal that I really like.

I had a Greek yoghurt with berries for breakfast so no cooking involved .

I didn't have anything that needed using up for lunch so had a couple of crumpets with butter.

So on the CFO front a nice easy day .

PasturesNew

I emptied the freezer of a cheese/onion pasty and some frozen chips. Had intended those to be served with beans but ..... I can haz know beenz!!

How on earth does that happen? I've always had/got beans ... always. But, it seems, not now. So I just ate the "slice" with chips and a splash of ketchup and some vinegar.

PasturesNew

I can't remember who also likes Sainsbobs low fat / low sugar beans, but they've gone down in price again. Now just £1 for a 4 pack!

They peaked at £1.25, last time I went/mentioned it they were £1.15.

By God it's pricey in there.... got my two packs and then shuffled round to see what they sell - and it's all higher priced, higher aspirational lifestyle products. Even the YS is expensive things, with just 30p knocked off.

Hollyharvey

PasturesNew wrote: »

I can't remember who also likes Sainsbobs low fat / low sugar beans, but they've gone down in price again. Now just £1 for a 4 pack!

They peaked at £1.25, last time I went/mentioned it they were £1.15.

By God it's pricey in there.... got my two packs and then shuffled round to see what they sell - and it's all higher priced, higher aspirational lifestyle products. Even the YS is expensive things, with just 30p knocked off.

It's me that has those beans. Thanks for letting me know because I very rarely go in Sainsburys now.

I found the same as you that their prices have gone through the roof. I find them more expensive than Waitrose now for a lot of things that I buy. For example, the brand of soda bread I like is £1.20 in Waitrose/Tesco and £1.30 in Sainsburys. Even when they have offers on, the same products when on offer in other supermarkets are cheaper.

I was talking to someone last week about this and he said the same. He has stopped going there as well.

PasturesNew

Hollyharvey wrote: »

It's me that has those beans. Thanks for letting me know because I very rarely go in Sainsburys now.

I found the same as you that their prices have gone through the roof. I find them more expensive than Waitrose now for a lot of things that I buy. For example, the brand of soda bread I like is £1.20 in Waitrose/Tesco and £1.30 in Sainsburys. Even when they have offers on, the same products when on offer in other supermarkets are cheaper.

I was talking to someone last week about this and he said the same. He has stopped going there as well.

I don't know about individual products, but it seems to me that what they've done is removed the cheaper products and introduced new ranges of posher items, with prettier packaging.... so you can't shuffle round and pick the cheap stuff any more ...

They've also still got a special price on bags of 5 doughnuts if you like to look at those. I always look, then walk on. Usually 65p/5 they've been a special red label price of 50p for a couple of weeks now.

I used to go in there for a particular pizza, but they stopped doing the flavour I liked. The low everything beans, imho, are better value/taste than others I've tried (4sda's are cheaper, 95p/4 last time I checked, but they're not as nice). So their low everything beans are one of my few "preferred brand items".

I used to get choc ices from them 1-2x in the summer, but 4ldi are nearer to me and cheaper for those (89p instead of £1.10).

Their cheapo 400gram sized quiches disappeared too - now it's pricier/dinky ones, or higgidy posh ones. All I want is a £1-£1.10 cheapo basic 4-portions quiche for those "that'll do" shopping moments.

poppystar

The joy of CFO is that no-one sees the end product.

I have been attempting sugar free muffins to reduce not just the sugar but the temptation to splurge on buying muffins when out. Think it was kittiethat inspired me with the sugar free scones:)

Well the first batch were a little more like sugar free fairy cakes and todays were more like sugar free rock cakes.:(

But it is just me. I know the ingredients were good. So I shall still happily tuck into them

The next batch might hopefully be the ones that actually resemble muffins:D

PasturesNew

poppystar wrote: »

...no-one sees the end product...

One of my sayings is "there are no extra points for presentation" which is why a lot gets eaten from the cooking dish with just a fork or a big spoon

It's good to have a go at things, but you can end up eating some nasty stuff until you perfect it. I c0cked up the flour in my brownies the other day, so had to eat some quite dense cake lumps!

PasturesNew

I just went with a cooked breakfast. Hash browns, newly bought beans, last 2 eggs.

When you're not juggling food you have to use up - you're deliberately creating a period of time without such stuff ... so right now I am unable to cook some things I could/would make as I'm out of some things.

I've no fresh bread; last half a loaf went into the freezer 3-4 days ago.
I've no spuds - used the last of those 2 days ago, so now having a break from spuds.
I've no milk - that ran out 3 days ago.
I've now no eggs either.

When I buy any/all of those will depend on the weather and what I fancy cooking and if I'm missing anything.

You can't have all the things all of the time or there'd be a lot of waste, and/or more repeat eating. I deliberately run out of many things, just to create a break from having to see it/think about using it up.

I've still got half a cabbage, 3 carrots and 1/3rd of a swede I bought 10 days ago, so rather than buying new food .... I need to work out what to cook those with instead.

Clear the decks a bit .... then buy new food.