Cooking for one (Mark Three)

PasturesNew

CFO Xmas.

I've started to have my eye on Xmas, as I'm clearly going to be at this house for Xmas ... didn't know, as I am selling it, if it'd be before or after - but as the market's slowed and nobody's offered, I'm definitely here this Xmas.

Last year I bought my first ever jar of cranberry sauce - not overkeen on that - so I've got a whole jar minus one teaspoon left. Last year I bought a Xmas stuffing (cranberries, orange, whatnot) ... still got half that as I only used half.

I'll get a turkey breast, I'll buy pre-made frozen mid-sized Yorkshires. I'll buy the spuds, parsnips, brussels and swede on Xmas Eve/week, fresh. I need to double check last year's Xmas dinner photo to remind myself what I had.

I additionally made a nut roast last year, won't do that again as it's a lot of faff/time as I did it from scratch with a gazillion ingredients.


Choc trifle, box of biscuits, Walkers crisps, favourite choccies and a hollow chocolate Santa.

Drinks: Bottle of Schloer for the day, MIGHT buy the ingredients to knock up some snowballs (Advocaat, lemonade, lime cordial).

I've still got a Xmas cracker... I think I bought a pack of six for 2016, so I should still have four in the box.

That's 99% of Xmas planned then

caronc

Yikes PN sounds as though you Christmas sorted:), I'll start planning for it after the engagement do. I'm having the usual houseful:D


Good morning everyone,

It was a wild night last night, thankfully the wind has died back this morning but it's still tipping it down.
My Dad is coming for lunch tomorrow and I'm making HM mushroom soup, I'm going to make this morning and that's lunch covered today too!:) For tonight I've taken a HM cottage pie out of the freezer. It has loads of root veg in it but I'll cook some broccoli for something green on the side.:)
My cold lingers on so I'm quite happy to have another day of not doing very much.

Stoke

Here's something cool I tried last night, and it worked really well. Obviously everyone is different so you might not like it, but, take some 5% beef mince and start mushing it all up in a plastic bowl.

Grab yourself a little tube of puree ginger from Iceland, this stuff:
https://groceries.iceland.co.uk/just-add-ginger-spice-pur-c3-a9e-75g/p/66451

tsp of celery salt,
liberal amount of black pepper,
perhaps some chopped onions to mix in the mince ?

fresh lettuce and chopped tomato on a healthy bun....

it's a hell of a burger, I can vouch as I had one last night. Extra points if you also add an egg on it

You can tell I'm from the North.

flubberyzing

Arrangements for Christmas still up in the air for me. Last year I hosted mum, sister and sister's other half.
This year it'll probably just be me and mum, so that makes things a little easier.

I have a food list saved on my computer of everything I bought, food-wise. And after xmas is over, I evaluate what we ate/didn't eat, and quantities. Then I use that evaluation to plan for the next Christmas. It works quite well as a system.

Xmas deccos go up on the last weekend in November. People tell me that's too early, but I enjoy my xmas decs, and want to get the most out of them. I make a nice afternoon out of it. I have some Christmas carols playing, and a glass of wine on the go, and it's just a lovely time. That first evening of watching telly, just by the lights from the tree, is one of the loveliest evenings of the year, IMHO.
Then they usually come down again around the 3rd/4th Jan.

Meals today: 2 slices of toast with butter and marmite for brekkie. Very rarely "do" toast, as I almost never buy whole loaves of bread, but have about a quarter of a loaf left from last week, still going strong, so thought I'd do it.
Coffee and 2 biccies just now.
Lunch - I've got a frozen ham sandwich defrosting on the side, which I'll do with a wedge of cheese and a yoghurt.
Sister for tea later, so making enchiladas. I remembered, just as I got into bed last night, I had some chopped onion in the freezer, so I got up again and fished that out, to add in. Always feels good to get something out of the freezer that's been in there a while!

Stoke - That burger sounds great!

PasturesNew

Stoke wrote: »

Here's something cool I tried last night, and it worked really well. Obviously everyone is different so you might not like it, but, take some 5% beef mince and start mushing it all up in a plastic bowl.

Grab yourself a little tube of puree ginger from Iceland, this stuff:
https://groceries.iceland.co.uk/just-add-ginger-spice-pur-c3-a9e-75g/p/66451

tsp of celery salt,
liberal amount of black pepper,
perhaps some chopped onions to mix in the mince ?

fresh lettuce and chopped tomato on a healthy bun....

it's a hell of a burger, I can vouch as I had one last night. Extra points if you also add an egg on it

You can tell I'm from the North.

I'd eat that.

That's the sort of thing I knock up .... trouble I've had in the past though, with tubes of anything, is getting round to using the rest of it... so I tend to stick with powders. Powders added will be "what's on the rack, that'll do"

-taff

PasturesNew wrote: »

Increasingly, these days, people come out with "fancy names" for stuff most of us have often cooked.... only we didn't give it a fancy name

Nasi goreng is an indonesian meal, an ex of mine used to love it, but he was brought up all over the place in the army...

Farway

The cold never turned into much, must be my healthy lifestyle just shrugging ailments off;) Still a bit sniffy but not bunged up

Nasi Goreng, not something i've made, but have eaten, bit like Taffs' ex, but in my case normally after a run ashore in Singapore. I think the use up what there is would fit the circumstances, probably the LOs of many a meal:eek:
I've never had it in UK

Mushroom soup, I like that, sometimes make it but I stir in a few scoops of fake Philly at the end, makes it lush & creamy

Christmas, nothing planned yet but have been averting my gaze in L's as I scamper by the mince pies. They'd never make it until the day, or even December, far safer on the shelves

Stoke, now I fancy a HM burger, but I'll leave out the ginger, same tube trouble as PN. I've had half used tom puree in the fridge forever

L's mooching this morning provide YS XXL salmon fillets, £6.29 for 8 prepacked fillets. One for tonight's dinner, with HM Actifry chips and salad.
It's not really salad weather but it needs using, and it's easy

Lunch was another corned beef with fresh beetroot sandwich

I've got half a YS Hawaiian pizza LO from yesterday's dinner. It was OK, I'd buy again if YS but not otherwise

Wednesday2000

I've had some toast with vegan cream cheese, coffee, crisps and an apple.

I had a crumpet as well as my husband couldn't eat all four!:D

I'm roasting some red pepper and cherry tomatoes now for a soup.

I have curry for dinner again as I had leftovers.

PasturesNew

Today I was an unexpected lady who lunches.... and now I'm scoffing chocolates

moneyistooshorttomention

Time for another reprise of "spaghetti bolognaise (quorn)" with some added trimmings.

Oh well - off out dancing again tomorrow and I know the friend that gives me a lift to/from usually likes to stick around with "anyone that fancies it" for refreshments of some description. So - when she does - I buy myself some lunch - so meal out tomorrow in all probability and I'll a "lady that lunches" again. Always up for that:)

After all - it's pretty standard Slimming World advice to have a "day off" every so often to give the metabolism a bit of a "kickstart" to keep up the weight loss:). That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it..