Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

Good evening everyone,

Glad you got the beeping sorted out sorted out PN
I was a big fan of Jack Monroe's early stuff but I think her market is waning a bit which must hit the bank balance so I think there is a bit more of a commercial eye these days, certainly the website has had a makeover! That said I don't blame her, tbh I'd do the same and certainly I've shared web page/ recipes etc. with a pal who is on a very tight budget and he really likes them.

It turned into a manky day weather wise so I binned any thought of going out and had a snooze instead:cool:.
I decided I didn't fancy Mexican chicken, it can lurk in the freezer for a bit longer. It's only a small portion LO from fajitas and probably best suited for a quick lunch in a wrap one day when I want something hot. For a main meal it would need a good bit of adding to which I cba doing. Still fancied chicken though so wings, sweet potato, mushrooms and corn cobette will be bunged in the oven.

Brambling

Fun day at work today trying to liaise with various IT teams between the USA, India and Uk :wall: the time differences especially between the US and India are a challenge :eek: My manager texted me at 7pm to see see if I had seen an email from the US, he knows I don't log on at home :cool: I was doing dinner and didn't see it until 8pm, he doesn't usually do this so I thought I had better check :cool: wasted an hour because the guy in Texas won't take it from me that the issue is with them to resolve :mad: it got bounced back to India so it won't get resolved any time soon. Too many politics between our IT teams with whom does what, it could have been worst I wasn't trapped on a conference call this time acting as referee :wall: :wall:

I ensured my manager was cc'd in, it doesn't hurt for him to know I was working, you never know when I'll need to take the cat to the vet or go to the dentist . I may need chocolate to get through tomorrow, I think I'll have to share it with the boss if I do, we both reached the tearing hair out stage today . Why is it the 'simple' things turn out so complicated :rotfl: doesn't help that I'm not sleeping so I'm tired and grumpy TFIF tomorrow

Lunch was HM soup with some oat cakes and dinner was meatballs on a ratatouille type base with green beans and broccoli I needed to use up some feta so I sprinkled some over the top whilst it was in the oven

moneyistooshorttomention

Brambling - well it's something that you're managing to eat reasonably whilst maintaining a hectic career - rather than just doing a job:T

Admits I've often thought that if I were in the position of having a career and not a job (or retired - as I am now) that I'd be investigating them. Not that likely for me to belatedly get a career now - after having spotted a decently-paid part-time job the other day that I was wondering about, and then spotted the "killer sentence" chucked-in of "Welsh speaker preferred (or essential)" that crops up still at the moment in a noticeable number of job adverts in this part of the country........

From memory - HelloFresh is the name of a good delivery service.

There's articles up there on google re comparisons between delivery services and I'm guessing you'll have some near you? Admits I'd probably be trying some in your position.

I started the day myself with some "trying on of clothes" again to see how close I am to getting my figure back - after a comment from a couple of people earlier this week about having lost weight. I'm now about 4.5" away I estimate around the waist from being able to wear a smart black skirt I've got. It's a button-up type style - of the two sides meant to overlap comfortably. I could have moved the buttons over and worn it a couple of months back - but would have been at risk of "exposure" the second I started walking. Now there's a reasonable overlap of both sides. Shows how old the skirt is - it's size 14 from Marks & Sparks (and the label says 28" waist - after saying it's size 14). Gettting there......getting there. Think that skirt must be from my 30's??

Now working on wearing a belt I know I bought in my early 20's - that has gone from the two ends being inches apart to I can do it up on the first hole if I breathe in hard first. So on a countdown as to when "normal eating resumes".....

EDIT; I meant investigating food delivery services - duh!

PasturesNew

Big YS haul alert....

Popped into 4ldi, first thing... and picked up a few unexpected YS items.

I'd kind of got it in my mind that I'd make a veg stew in the SC as I've some long-lurking frozen "bits and bobs" in the freezer that need to be gone. In particular, some brisket stock/gravy and some tomato juice (from using a tin of tomatoes, but not the juice). I also had some broccoli stalks I'd kept/frozen. All needed to be gone! Oh - and those carrots I froze the other day.

In 4ldi I got, with a half price sticker on:
- a LARGE bag of wonky small potatoes 75p (RRP £1.50)
- a 1Kg pack of 5% fat beef mince £2.79 (RRP £5.59)
- a smallish pack of Fish Pie Mix £1.50 (RRP £2.99)
- a 2-pack of haddock fish cakes 63p (RRP £1.25)
- a 4-pack of oven bottom muffins 26p (RRP 51p)

I also got a pack of their sausage rolls at full price (99p for 6) because I've been hankering after a sausage roll for over a week

So - total food overload.... that mince needs to be portioned/rebagged and frozen, fish mix needs to be frozen...

I got the SC out and tossed freezer items into it (broccoli, carrots, beef stock, tomato juice) and then I cut up half a dozen of the wonky veg spuds I'd just bought and two of the onions I already had.

So that's on. Not an exciting stew, but it'll empty the freezer of the lurkers at least. Once it's bedded down a bit and I can see how much space it's taking up in the SC I might tip a can of green beans into the SC as they've been lurking in the cupboard far too long too.

Stew/dumplings at some point today then and two sausage rolls mid morning I bet.

Beans shortage: well, not a beans shortage, but 4ldi beans are 30p/can, sold alongside their 4-packs, which were 98p last time I looked. Twice this week I've gone in and the slot where the 4-packs belong has been entirely empty..... not paying 30p/can as I still have three cans in the cupboard.

caronc

Good morning everyone,

Not surprised you are looking foward to the weekend Brambling - hope you've got the G&T chilling:)
I had a routine check with the nurse today, first thing she asked was why I hadn't booked a flu jab appointment. Em well I phoned to do so and was told I wasn't eligible...... Oh you definitely are she said, so I've been jabbed. I was going to set up to get in done in privately but there is nowhere in my town that offers it. I was waiting until my son was next due up to book one in another town so he could take me as I can't get there by myself.
Lunch will be some sort of salady wrap and tonight I think it will be breaded pollock and oven chips unless PN wants to share her veg stew and dumplings:).

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

... unless PN wants to share her veg stew and dumplings:).

Certainly would.... already daunted by the sheer volume of food in that pot (3.5 litres) ... knowing I'll have to eat it all .... and some of it will inevitably end up in the freezer (where it started) ..... and all at a stage when I don't even know what it'll taste like yet!

Just checked how big that bag of spuds is... 4Kg. Blimey. I'll have to cook/box up a lot of mash to break the back of that bag .... it's tough at the moment, having the house up for sale, as some stinky food can take 2 hours to be entirely banished... if it's friends/family visiting and there's a bit of an onion pong or something bubbling in the SC it's fine; if it's somebody potentially parting with thousands to move into their dream home ... then it's not such a welcome pong.

Steam, smell, clutter, washing up to be done/dried/put away ... are all things I have to triple-think about before starting these days. Sometimes, like today, I'm happy to think "Ah, just bugg4h it, the phone won't be ringing" ... but you never know!

Farway

Bit of a YS haul here as well, in L's this morning. vintage cheddar burgers, burgers are not something I would normally buy but they were so tempting, then dashed back for the YS Brioche burger buns, again something I never buy

And the tinned corned beef has reappeared, bought two tins "just in case"
Plus caulis on offer this week 59p, picked nice CFO sized one, couple of cauli cheese meals in that

Lunch was YS of course, a burger in a bun.
There are 4 burgers in the pack so I'll freeze two of them later

Bit dull and murky out, had planned on baked spud, cheesy beans & salad, but could become CBA and another burger:o

If I go for the bean option I'm going to try the W/rose essential ones I bought, supposed to be tasty if slightly dearer, £1.10 4 pack

PS, another one in the veg stew & dumpling queue PN

PasturesNew

OMG ... veg stew to die for (well, veg stew but used brisket beef stock I'd frozen).... OMG .....

Added 3 nicely formed dumplings close to the end ..... and OMG.

First served a bowl of stew and 2 dumps.
Then dashed back to get more stew and the 3rd dump.

Turned the SC off now .... I'll box up what's left.

OMG that was tasty ......

Farway

PasturesNew wrote: »

OMG ... veg stew to die for (well, veg stew but used brisket beef stock I'd frozen).... OMG .....

Added 3 nicely formed dumplings close to the end ..... and OMG.

First served a bowl of stew and 2 dumps.
Then dashed back to get more stew and the 3rd dump.

Turned the SC off now .... I'll box up what's left.

OMG that was tasty ......

Now you're teasing me & Caron:D
Nice when something turns out far better than anticipated, and some LO when no doubt it will have matured into pure joy in bowl

Meanwhile, further Eastwards I've decided on the baked spud option, spud now in and baking, beans tin opener ready, cheese on grating standby, home cooked beetroot removed from fridge

Just needs the salad bits sorting and that's today's CFO done & dusted

May have a choc bar later:o

Wednesday2000

I went for a walk today and when I got back I felt like death! My husband said that I looked terrible, gee thanks, lol.

I had a bowl of shreddies and milk and some crisps and took my medicine and went back to bed for 3 hours.

I just had kebab strips with ketchup in a couple of wraps. I was starving and I feel a lot better, hopefully that was the end of the cold/flu thing.:T

I am going to start taking Echinaforce Forte Cold and Flu tablets everyday so hopefully I won't get ill again this winter. I think that was quite enough having the cold straight after the stomach bug I had last week!

If I'm hungry later I might make soup.:)