Cooking for one (Mark Three)

moneyistooshorttomention

Thanks Caron.

I'll confirm that those slipper boots were a downright good investment:D. In fact I wonder whether you've seen those sheepskin type things that have electric heating thing in them and you can put both feet in and switch the electric on and it's sorta the equivalent of an electric blanket.

In your position (ie with those foot problems) I wouldnt hesitate - I'd just think "Necessity - I'm having it".

My only consideration would be that if I decided on buying one of those two-feet in electric things for my feet as to whether I might find a semi-permanent "obstacle" in my way when I went to put my feet in it - ie next door's cat paying you a visit and feeling ever so grateful at thought of "Nice kind neighbour has bought me my own little heated catbed":rotfl:

EDIT; You don't want to know what my latest pair of slippers cost me - (sheepskin ones) at a cost of around £55 as I recall. You definitely don't want to know about the ones I was eyeing up for "Next time I need any" - seem to recall they were Ugg ones?. They're around £85 a pair as I recall. You got it - I've decided to stop economising on clothes ever again basically.

caronc

I've never fancied the heated footsie things- I'd no doubt trip on/over them:eek:. But I do think the pair I'm eyeing up will be bought - not Uggs had the boots before before and they were great but didn't last very long (or I killed them) but a similiar (slightly cheaper) price range but with a sturdy sole so fine for odd ventures outdoors;).

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I only popped out for a loaf of 4ldi 36p bread. Empty shelf.

Grabbed a four pack of beans - they've gone up in price from 89p to 98p! That's a 10% price increase.

Then down to £land... perchance they're still open.. oh yes ... and home with a new bag of favourite choccies Already opened them.

That's quite a hefty increase - just checked and the Tesco ones I get haven't gone up (£1 for 4) I think some of the prices between some of the SMs are becoming much of a much for many things!

Brambling

I agree with Money Caronc you should buy them, there's nothing worst than cold feet I get cramp these days if my feet get too cold. Will your boys be looking for a Xmas present for you?

Work was busy following a system issue over night so 5pm couldn't come quick enough some weeks just draggggg

Due to no LO pie for lunch and no salad I had to buy lunch today, which only happens 2 or 3 times a year, but a trip to W*itrose turned out successful with a chicken, 2 rump steaks and pork mince YS all less than half price as well as leeks, Savoy cabbage and green beans :T

Therefore lunch was a slice of nice ham from the deli counter and a roll. Dinner was roast chicken, new potatoes and veg, the chicken was a bung bag in oven type I did miss the smell of cooking chicken and crispy skin but it was lovely and moist however it does mean chicken will appear a lot my meal plans for the next few days as well as soup for lunches next week. If it gets too much I'll take a leg down to my sister :rotfl: I do find a basic roast dinner can suit a cba mood as there was very little prep work involved

caronc

I kind of fancy having the slippers before Christmas though I think an electric blanket may be my "ask" from the kids.
I do love a roast chicken - so many options. If you don't mind not having crispy skin slow cooking a whole one is great. Just slice some onions, pop in the chicken breast side down, season as you like and cook on high for around 4 hours.

Brambling

caronc wrote: »

I do love a roast chicken - so many options. If you don't mind not having crispy skin slow cooking a whole one is great. Just slice some onions, pop in the chicken breast side down, season as you like and cook on high for around 4 hours.

I always forget to slow cook a chicken, not sure why as I do it for beef :cool: that will be the next one I think as long as you get your timings right a chicken dinner is quick and easy I'm not sure why people have problems with them

caronc

Completely agree - "Roast chicken dinner" was one of the first full meals I taught my kids to cook:D:cool:

PasturesNew

Chicken dinners are easy to make. I've commented in the past that a table of salad is a lot more work than a roast dinner.

BUT ... don't forget that people these days have angst-ridden lives as they set out to learn how to cook it ... and get swept away with the gazillion 'celebrity' chefs and their styles.

You can simply lob it on top of a bunch of raw spuds if you wish... it'll cook. Or just wrap in foil, shove into a large baking dish and shove in the oven ... it'll cook.

As for "perfect roast potatoes" - there's no such thing. Everybody likes them differently, every potato behaves differently, so just lob what spuds you've got into a dish with some form of fat/oil and in they go .... they'll cook.

Yorkshire "recipes" make out it's a big deal.... again, if you make the batter and put some oil in a dish to pre-heat for 5-10 minutes .... lob it in, it'll cook

Stuffing? I'm not going near the chicken's bum and will worry about whether the inside of the chicken's become hot enough if there's no cavity ... so that goes in a separate dish .... covered or not, it'll cook.

Beyond the above, it's just chefs trying to flog their latest book in the main.

Brambling

PasturesNew wrote: »

BUT ... don't forget that people these days have angst-ridden lives as they set out to learn how to cook it ... and get swept away with the gazillion 'celebrity' chefs and their styles.

I'm don't mind being a bit Chefy at weekends or when I have company but most nights after work I want something easy or I cba. Tonight I got home at 5.30pm by 5.45pm chicken was in oven, veg was prepped, shopping put away, cat fed and kettled boiled for cuppa nothing fancy chicken served with boiled new potatoes and green beans, steamed cabbage, gravy made from granules but very tasty and stress free cooking .

And some nights when I'm stressed following a recipe especially baking can allow me to unwind and put the world to rights

caronc

When I was still working I used to frequently make rissotto on a Friday night as a way to unwind- 20 mins of mindless stirring etc. glass of red in one hand, spoon in other, bit of music in the background- it was a great way to pack the stress away:D