May 2008 Grocery Challenge

shaz_mum_of__2

Right the cakes are

Lemon and poppy seed muffins

330g SR flour
150g sugar
1.5 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
250ml milk
75g margarine
125ml lemon juice (bottled stuff)
1 egg

mix dry ingredients in a bowl

Using a stick blender blend mik juice marge and egg until smooth then stir into dry ingredients

into 12 muffin cases bake gas 6 for 20mins or until golden

this was the first time i made these not really as lemony as i would have liked am going to do lemon icing on them ,however they are the best looking muffins i have ever made


The corned beef bake was leftover new potatoes diced and roasted in the oven, then some onion peppers leek were sweated in another pan once the potatoes were cooked the onion mixture, some cherry tomatoes and a can corned beef (diced )were added topped with some mozzarella and popped back in the oven till hot and the cheese melted

great with Barbecue sauce

Shazx

shaz_mum_of__2

THe rice was

chicken breast diced and fried with an onion a leek a courgette a couple mushrooms add a handful frozen peas some leftover cooked rice and the las bit of gammon joint i use for sandwiches oh and a handful frozen value prawns straight from freezer stir until hot through add a few shakes of soy sauce until the colour is right .....................you can add a beaten egg at this point and stir like mad until the egg is cooked


I served ours with a 5p can of curry sauce served 2 adults and a 7 yr old theres a bit left for lunch tomorrow too....................ummm leftover leftovers!!!


Shaz

Flylady_Flower

PS: Forgot to mention that also included £5 for 60 non-drowsy hay-fever tablets - Asda got a deal on their own brand ones at the moment instead of 30 for £3.61, get 2 for £5:j (only on till 12th May) - that's probably on another thread somewhere, but thought i would mention it here too.
Den x

MRSMCAWBER

Oooooohhh shaz_mum_of_2 yumyumyum...

the muffin recipe has just jumped ahead of the branflake cake recipe on my list of "must makes":D ..i have some lemon flavoured powders for baking so i might use that and replace some of the lemon juice with milk as i don't have bottled..ooh but i can use some fresh -and add the zest too :j

ifonlyitwaseasier

shaz, i'll be making them tomorrow!!

and i think i have everything except the cases, so i think i can justify the spend on them

pennypinchingmum

ahh 95.85 spent already out of 200. This is not good. O.K time for some serious meal planning here. We do have loadsa grub in so hopefully after tomoz i'll have a couple of NSD, fingers crossed!

belfastgirl23

In for another £13.41 from M&S - is it just me or does it get a lot harder to be MS when the weather heats up? I'm still trying to think of ways of being sensible - I have a feeling that sorting out salads ahead of time would be a good idea (ie making a big batch of pasta salad or lentil salad to do as part of meals for 2-3 days) but I'm just not succeeding in being that organised yet. I'm not around at all next week and trying to figure out what to leave DH to eat when I'm away although at least I won't be paying for my own food

Off to menu plan for the next hot spell....hope you guys are all doing well

MRSMCAWBER

Evening all

BelfastGirl.... I agree with you... I love summer ..salads and loads of fruit but it can soon mount up... unless you are ok with a fairly basic salad...i like loads on them....peppers, sweetcorn the works
Hopefully the 1st of the salad leaves will be ready outside in about a week -fingers crossed...
because i have gone back onto full scale "fruit n veg mode" i have worked out that today i have had 15 fresh portions of my 5 a day fruit n veg -

• 4 pieces fruit -juiced
• 1 portion of dried fruit on my soaked oats
• 2 portions of veg at lunch -in quinoa and bean salad with kraut salat
• 2 pieces of fruit for pud
• 2 pieces fruit mid afternoon
• and at least 4 portions for my salad with jacket n feta for dinner

and i haven't had my evening snack yet which will probably be a couple more pieces of fruit:D .. i know i could save a bit by having more raisins etc..but i just love fruit n veg.. and left to my own devices i would probably have more fruit ... thankfully its cheaper here at the moment -but it still makes a big difference to what im used to ... hopefully all the veggies im trying to grow will mean i can just use the extra cash i save on them to pay for the fruit

right enough rambling..have a good evening everyone

annie123

Oh dear not doing well at all this month.
In fact I have nearly spent. in the last 2 weeks. the same as my total April budget:eek:

Having trouble adjusting to cooking for warmer weather.
I have only really followed this forum for the winter months, so have lots of warming food recipes now but lacking greatly for the change in weather.

Find that I have gone back to ready meals, quiche, mini sausage rolls etc.

I did manage to make salmon fishcakes tonight:D very tasty, fell apart a bit but no one minded.

This is going to be an experimental month I feel:rolleyes:

are there any golden rules for cooking for the summer?

leonlala

Evening all,
<<<<<hugs>>>>> to Mrs M, Mad mittens, and Pinkcloudnine and any one who is in need now.
Thanks Jacks i too have ordered said book from local library. looking forward to that.
good luck Mrs Irwin can't be long now.
Jenny bee , since looking on old style for hints i know use ecover washing up liquid as shampoo, and then a capful of white vinegar in my last but one rinse. and it works!! my daughter loves the shine it gives her hair. (8yo)

Cheap - ice cream recipe from mtgnnr in the complete cooking collection.

"4 Eggs separated
4 ounces of icing sugar (sifted)
1 tsp of vanilla essence or 1 pod of real vanilla if you want to push the boat out
300 ml Double cream

1. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and add the icing sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each spoonful.

2. In another bowl whisk the yolks and the vanilla essence/vanilla seeds together then gently fold this into the egg white mixture.

3. If you are posh add the mixture into an icecream maker. If you are as poor as I am then pour it into a large tupaware container and pop it in the freezer, then keep stirring it every 10 to 15 mins to break up the ice crystals and make it smoother. You will know when its ready it will be like icecream and not milkshake."


I found in step 2. you have to put the cream in at this point with the yolks and essence. and whisk until thick but not over whipped.

this is really nice. Again a success with my kids who both said "can i have another one?" i too don't have an ice cream maker and it's not not much hassle.
lala