Cooking for one (Mark Three)

elona

I managed to finish eating the last bit of lamb stew for a late lunch, have some cooked chicken in a container in the fridge and some chicken and veg soup/ stew in the pressure king pro for later.

I used up the casserole veg from the fridge, an onion and some carrots that were on their last legs so the fridge looks a lot tidier.

I used an MSE deal for a bronze turkey with trimmings to be delivered on the 22nd of December as the family are coming round for Christmas and some of them are staying over.

I had the bright idea of freezing some diced beef and also some fresh veg so that can wait till I need it maybe next week.There are eggs and bacon to be used up over the next few days and I defrosted a small loaf so should not need to go shopping for the next few days. There is even some long life milk in a cupboard so I feel quite smug.

PasturesNew

I would add... today I used my recently acquired £land deep dishes to make my fish pies (which is how come they turned out so hefty)... and they really are a great size for a single portion of something like a fish pie, or cottage/shepherds, quiches, bakes or similar. Just the right size for cooking in. But only one fits in the oven at a time as they're oval and have "handles" at the ends - although I've not actually tried to see IF two could fit somehow "just". They're not on their website though. These are deeper than the Jane Asher ones they had 2-3 years ago.

I took a couple of photos of these legendary pies... but I was seriously "losing the light" by the time they started to come together, so they don't look that great as it was all a bit murky in the kitchen, even with the ceiling spotlights on (all 3 of them).

caronc

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I can confirm that it's blowing an absolute hooley here at the moment too - one of those "Wonder if everything in the garden is going to stay put" levels of wind here now.

A little bit more "organisation" going into things. After Caron's comment the other day re being able to reheat rice without a microwave - I thought "I could usefully do portions of cooked rice and cooked dried beans deliberately and keep in freezer". Cue for I've got a pack of food prep containers through and awaiting another pack in a different size. I hadn't realised it's possible for me to buy food prep containers - as I thought they only came in plastic (as that's what all these food prep gurus are using on YouTube videos). Wrong - they are made in glass as well (though with those plastic clip-on lids - which I can't see a way round having at the moment:(). So it's glass ones I've bought.

I thought I could also do things like deliberately making extra portions of vegetarian cottage pie, etc, and stick them in the freezer too in those glass dishes. Another advantage to plastic - I can see what I've got in them.

Sounds as though we are sharing the same storm:eek:
Those glass freezer containers are grand- I've a load though in family sizes as I've had them for well over 10 years probably more like 15 and although a couple of the lids have split at the edges they are still going strong:). I must have look in the New Year for some smaller ones. With rice & beans if you don't want to tie up your boxes line them with greaseproof and then decant once frozen and wrap in foil. I do that with quite a lot of things and it does reduce the amount of boxes you use so you don't need so many.

Novice_investor101 wrote: »

Hope everyone is well?
My CFO has gone out of the window this week - Monday I was so late home from work I just ordered a Dominoes deal.... It was £18, but it lasted Monday tea, Tuesday work lunch & today's breakfast.
Pizza for breakfast isn't too bad! Still stupidly expensive for a pizza, tiny garlic bread & 7 chicken wings (& a bottle of pop).

Last night was a meal out - £14 all in & it was delicious. Went to a Vietnamese with friends & 4 of us decided to order 3 dishes & 1 rice/1 noodles & share them all. Worked out cheaper than the set menus.

Today, I'm on my half day - so it's time to clear the kitchen work tops, wash all the pots & decide on a proper tea. Might be sausage, mash, veg & gravy

At least you made use of it all and pizza for breakfast is always good. :)With the amount you've been working I'm not surprised you cba. I used to at times have spells of working hideous hours and the extra dosh does get eaten up a bit by the "hidden costs" of being tired and unorganised 'cos your tired. Good to hear you are taking a break from the extra hours for a bit.

Farway wrote: »

Talking of affordable, just been browsing my ethical / local meat, gulp, but as others have pointed out before, if it's affordable then why not?
In my case it's just me, no one will go cold or hungry when I spend my money, and just maybe someone like a farmer / butcher who cares about their animals & meat will get some benefit

It's your cash & choices Farway, I'm the same I'll save cash in other things but I like decent meat. I have found though that if you are savvy with deals and first time user discounts etc. that it works out the same if not a bit cheaper the higher end meat from the SM. Meat packs can be good if it's things you'll use but I prefer to pick your own. Worth checking what your local place might offer by way of bulk buys or bundles (some places let you have limited options in building your own packs):)
Asda can be worth a look as well as Wilco for containers, their enamel ware is good and well priced though less handy as you can't nuke it.


Glad you are feeling a bit better Wednesday, hopefully by the time you see the Dr next week it will be away:)


Your fish pie sounded lovely PN but yep they are a faff to make a good one.:) Hopefully you can banish any fishy whiffs before your viewer comes;)


Butter pie with pickles how yum candygirl - I used to work with a guy from Bolton who used to bring them back if he'd been home. So simple but so tasty:)


:wave:Elona - nice to see you posting



The weather has been absolutely dire and part of my garden fence has been swaying.....:eek: Hopefully it will hold <<fingers crossed>>

Spent the afternoon paying for stuff- wood, smokeless fuel, fire tools, ash bucket, placed the Christmas butcher's order and more or less finished my Christmas shopping.:) Might just have bought a couple of dresses and a jumper as well:o (Though in fairness I did return all bar the Seasalt dress from my last splurge). However apart from undies and some summer bits I should need to buy very little next year. 2018 has definitely been a spendy year in the wardrobe department but I suppose that is sort inevitable when your life changes as much as mine has;)- that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it:rotfl:) A spendy but relatively productive afternoon. I just need to confirm when the stove installers are coming next week and I'm good to go:D

I decided on the mince and tatties option and pot of mince & veg is simmering. I have mash in the freezer so an easy dinner. The mince should make enough for tonight plus another smaller portion for lunch tomorrow or the freezer. I've started freezing 450g of mince in 3 lots as I'm finding that works better for smaller amounts and I can cook more for bigger dishes. It definitely a food in a bowl kind of evening:)

Brambling

Evening :wave:

Lovely wet and windy day and looks to be the same tomorrow and most of the next week

As a southerner can I ask what a butter pie is?

Novice I understand where you're coming from on the overtime, the money is nice but not if you're too tired to enjoy it. The deposit for my house came from working 8am - 6.30pm six days a week for two years but all I did in the end was work and sleep. I work the occasional Saturday now this year I have worked 8 which isn't a hardship unless it goes on to after midnight which it can do .rather than money I take a day holiday as we don't get more than basic money, it's considered part of the job :cool:

Caronc sometimes a person has to shop :rotfl: I would blame the weather for the shopping splurge

Farway I buy better quality meat these days and eat less of it, our farmers market sales fantastic game especially vension as well as some good quality local meat but as you say it's not cheap but you are getting what you pay for

There were issues driving home tonight, luckily I checked before I left work, my usual route had a closed road due to a tree down, the alternative route had a three car accident on so I ended up going down an unknown country road in the rain :eek: I may have got tooted at, unfortunately I believe it was justified . I think I will have to do it in daylight one day so I can see what I'm doing. I hate driving in the dark and rain when I know where I'm going

Lunch was different to what was planned because my soup and I were 12 miles apart i didn't want to go out in the rain so had fruit and some crackers for lunch. Dinner was the soup which needed eating today, it was a thick soup so was filling enough for dinner before I went out.

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

...Hopefully you can banish any fishy whiffs

No whiffs! Fish bag opened, fish spread out, poached in milk for 3 minutes, then drained and into the dish ... used the slightly fishy milk to make the sauce, which took all of 3 minutes... sauce onto fish, layer of egg (minimum whiff) ... and lashings of mash.

So no whiffs to speak of.

It was a magnificent pie... not sloppy like the shop bought £1.20 frozen cheap nasty ones are. And, as I used ~300g of fish in two pies.... it was packed to the gills with fish fighting for space

I'll keep a little eye on those packs in future - but if I see one reduced to half price again I'll split the pack into four portions before freezing; froze the thing whole last time. The produce is not on the 4ldi website at all - as so many of their products aren't, which is annoying. One "believes" that everything's on the website as it's easy to list everything.... but 4ldi/L1dl don't.

I can't remember, offhand, how much it cost... my memory is suggesting £1.50 full price and 75p is what I paid with the sticker on it.. but I could be wrong. It was big chunks of cod, salmon and haddock (? brown-yellow fish anyway)

Novice_investor101

The weather here has been blowing a gale, too. About to walk to work in it now, thankfully it's not raining.

Heated up a tin of tomato soup which is now in the thermos food flask - I'm excited to see if it is still actually hot come lunch time in about 6 hours. Gonna stop via Sainsbobs to get a bread roll & that's the pack up sorted.

Put a portion of pasta bake to defrost in the fridge - that'll be tea with some salad, beetroot & garlic bread slices.

caronc

Good morning everyone
Brambling a butter pie is layers of potato, onion and butter well seasoned with salt & pepper cooked inside flaky pastry. Simple but incredibly tasty. They're from Lancashire. Well worth trying:D.
Glad you had no fishy whiffs PN, it does sound as though you snagged yourself a bargain there:)
Fingers crossed your soup stays hot Novice:)


To say it's tipping it down here is a definite undertstatement, I was thinking of popping into town for my last bit of Christmas shopping but I'm not going to bother today.;)


My stove is getting installed next Wednesday :j:j:j



LO mince for lunch on toast with a poached, gammon steak tonight with either roast veg or mash/cabbage/parsley sauce & broad beans if I cba making parsley sauce.:)

PasturesNew

Just scoffed that second huge fish pie... OMG it was the best ever.

I'll probably not make another again for 2-3 years though, that's how things go.... you can't eat everything all the time as there's too much choice and too many other things to eat....

moneyistooshorttomention

Just tried out a new recipe - as in minestrone soup from A Girl Called Jack's Bootstrap cookbook.

Verdict - nothing like minestrone - and it is very "baked bean-y" (well it would be - as she uses a can of baked beans, with juice drained off) in it.

Well that and some bread filled a gap. It's one that I've put a question mark by - which means "I could have it again - if that was all I had in and I wasn't serving it to anyone else". I go through my cookbooks with crosses, ticks and question marks as I try the recipes out.

I can see it would be a very cheap recipe per se - if it wasn't for me doing my "everything possible organic" - so that meant the canned tomatoes, canned baked beans and the spinach were all organic.

Can't complain about my food spends though I feel - as I've just been going through latest month's bank statement. Duly made a resolution I must pay by card, rather than cash at my local (real) health food store and I'll be better able to see how much I'm spending on food. But, at a guesstimate, it's around £30 per week - which isn't bad (considering I'm buying exactly what I intend to). So - I always compare with the fact that bankrupts are allowed £35 per person per week for food the last I knew (it may have gone up since). So, if I'm not spending more than a bankrupt is allowed, then I don't think I'm doing badly.

I figure I probably could eat for £20 per person per week - if I ate cheaply (rather than what I fancy) and wasnt buying organic. But - I don't...

caronc

Shame the soup didn't quite hit the spot Money - still as you say cheap & cheerful and from the store cupboard. Have you tried the SW tomato soup recipe that uses baked beans and a pickled onion? It's tasty as is the Tuscan bean one:)