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Roll on Friday!

Friday can not come around soon enough for me.  I have been mega busy lately. Work has been and still is crazy.  No time to blog, read or comment - I apologise!  (plus we are no longer allowed online at work during lunch - what a cheek!) Of course it will all change on Friday when I have 6 glorious weeks off - yippee!  So after I have spent the first 10 days at the caravan, I will then be back home for 4 days and then 4 days back at the caravan, right up until the end of the holidays.  I am so excited because I really need the break! I haven't even had time to write my 'to do' list, let alone tick anything off it! But it will include lots of cliff top walking, BBQs and picnics (cross your fingers for some sunny days!) plus watching Big Brother and also catching up with hours and hours of TV i've recorded yet haven't had a minute to watch. One programme I'm looking forward to is BBC2's Chinese Food Made Easy.  I love Chinese Food and want to learn to make it myself so it will be cheaper and healthier.

Saturday morning and I have the whole weekend off!  I am planning on getting my housework done this morning and then finishing the book I'm reading at the moment....

The Mistresses Daughter by A. M. Homes.

Tomorrow I am going to tackle my huge ironing pile and then do some baking for the week.  I have been thinking a lot lately about the rising cost of my grocery bill.  With four adults to feed I spend quite a bit. Although I do cook most of our meals from scratch which is cheaper and more healthy than buying ready made food, I am interested to see how much more I can do.  Last week I made pizzas for the first time and my family have been begging me to make more.  It was so much cheaper than buying them.  I am going to experiment with freezing some to see how they are when cooked from frozen.  I am also thinking about making my own yogurt and flavouring it with fruit.  This should cost a lot less than buying  yogurts and they will be better for us, shop bought yogurts are full of sugar & additives. I have a recipe to try for banana cookies which uses up over ripe bananas.  I already make a banana cake every week so this will be a nice change. Good for the four lunch boxes I pack up every day.  I have lots of other ideas. I have recently dicovered these blogs which have given my lots of ideas on how to save money at the supermarket checkout, along with the inspiration to try out some new ideas.  There also seems to be loads of programmes and magazine articles around at the moment on this subject so it seems many people are feeling the pinch.

Tagliatelle Carbonara

One of the things on my 'to do list' is to cook some different meals for the family and try some new recipes. 

 

Last night I made this, a recipe I have made before but not for a long time. It is a very simple, fast and economical meal. 

 

 

Quick Tagliatelle Carbonara - Serves 4 - 5

 

Ingredients

Tagliatelle - I used one packet of fresh tag but you can use dried or even make your own.

100g grated white cheddar

250g pack rindless streaky bacon, cut into  chuncks

4 eggs

4 tblsps low fat double cream

garlic, 1 glove, chopped very finely

salt and black pepper

 

Instructions

 

Cook pasta in salted boiling water

meanwhile,

fry the bacon for five minutes until browned and then add garlic, fry for another few minutes and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the cheese, cream and eggs and mix together. Season with salt and black pepper to taste

Drain pasta and return to pan, add the bacon, mix and then add the cheese mixture, mix well over a very low heat for a couple of minutes.

Serve (optional - sprinkle on a little parmesan or black pepper)

 

It's very tasty - we had salad and a bit of garlic bread with it. Goes very well with a nice glass of wine! I must make it more often.  My son also ate the leftover portion for his lunch today.

 

 

Chocolate Fondue

It is really windy today.  I went out for a walk and was nearly blown into the middle of the road! Good job I have plenty of weight to hold me down -lol!  Speaking of which, I weighed in today and am down another pound.  I am happy to settle of a pound or two a week now.  I have been drinking lots of water and walking everywhere. Feeling much better for it too.  I've had to cut out drinking copious amounts of tea in the late evenings though as I couldn't sleep due to caffeine overload! I will have to buy some Tetley Decaf or try some herbal teas instead!

My family are starting to whinge about lack of baked goodies - so I suppose now they have had a month healthy eating I will have to make something today.  I've found a recipe for chocolate coconut squares that I'd like to try and I will have to make the recipe below for myself to help me resist the bad stuff!

Nigella - Hokey Pokey

So much for me posting more often, I started off well but this week as been the usual whirl wind of activities!  I am soooo glad it is Saturday, even though I have a busy day ahead of me.  Lots of housework to catch up on, a trip to the supermarket, ironing my 19 year olds clothes so he can pack for his holiday to Benidorm (eek) a bit of ebaying (hopefully) and if I'm all done I can settle down tonight and watch X Factor. Maybe with a glass of wine, if I'm lucky.

I made the Hokey Pokey (cinder toffee, honeycomb) from  Nigella Express.  I thought I followed the instructions accurately but I must have done something wrong because it didn't set properly and had to been thrown away.  Shame because it was fun to make and really simple.  I think it must have been too little/much golden syrup - it is difficult to measure that stuff.  Has anyone else made this?

Well I can't sit here all morning (pity!) so I better get cracking on those jobs.

Spicy Sauce

I am addicted to this sauce lately.  I decided to eat a bit more healthily and I must admit I am feeling all the better for it.  Instead of flopping on the sofa for half the evening, tonight I have cleaned all the upstairs and bathroom , done some ironing, cooked a family tea and dessert and parcelled up some stuff I've sold on ebay ready to take to the post office after work tomorrow. LOOK I AM EVEN BLOGGING!

I decided to have a jacket potato for my tea instead of eating what everyone else was having.  So I baked a potato in the oven and added some vine ripened tomatos to roast.  I served the potato without butter and just added some philadelphia light and a dash of my lovely sweet chili sauce.  It was divine.  I even skipped dessert.  Now that is scarey.

Happy Birthday John and Jim!

I love Fridays!  I love them a lot more when it is the working week.  I love that Friday feeling.  It sounds daft i know but it was the one thing I missed when I wasn't working.  The excitment of having the weekend off and doing whatever I fancy. Fridays are my favourite day! (well I like Saturdays and Sundays too!)  I've been busy as usual this week and haven't even been online in the evenings so I have jumped straight on here straight after work for an hour.  I was having severe withdrawal symptoms.  I need to catch up on emails etc.

We have birthdays in our house this weekend.  Today it is my lovely OH John's birthday.  We are having a chinese takeaway, some wine and a dvd. That is as exciting as it gets I'm afraid, he's working early Saturday morning.  Then tomorrow it is my son James' 19th birthday.  Bloody hell I have a 19 year-old! Really? I feel ancient.

Like most 19 year olds he will be away doing his own thing tomorrow (football, pub etc) so on Sunday when we all get together we will be celebrating and having a joint birthday cake. It's typical that I have to bake a cake on the wekend of the nicest weather this year!

My friend as been raving on about this Raclette.  She bought one in France on holiday and says it's delicious.  I am thinking of getting one too.  Does anyone have one? Any recommendations on what to cook on them? 

She does chicken, steak etc on the top and little dishes of chopped mushrooms, onion, sweetcorn, cheese etc. Everyone takes one of the little pans from underneath and puts in their own combination of food, throws on a little cheese and grills it. Then it just slides out onto your plate. Serve with salad. I know my lot will love doing this.  They love pizza so I though about doing pizza type toppings or I wonder if you could do little omelettes?

Well have a wonderful weekend and hopefully I will get back on here before Monday morning.

Cabbages & Carrots

I am luckily in the summer veg department.  Both my dad and J's dad are keen gardeners who have allotments.  Fresh organic veg is plentiful and given free of charge to me all summer long.  I love it.  The tomatoes are to die for, they taste like nothing you can buy from the shops.  Beautiful deep shades of red with velvety skins, i eat them like i would an apple.  J's dad also gives me all the slightly squashed and odd shaped ones which I turn into soup and freeze for autumn.  In autumn winter I have soup just about very day for lunch.  It feels me up and doesn't give me the afternoon slump that I get with sandwiches etc.

Today, inspired by Gill who is cooking up lots of nice meals throughout the summer, I decided to make Shepherd's Pie.  I usually use beef and make Cottage Pie but I tried lamb today.

Shepherd's Pie

(i apologize in advance for the vague measurements!)

Put some potatoes on to boil. Brown 1 lb Lamb Mince in olive oil and add a chopped onion, 2 gloves of garlic, season and cook cook for 5 mins.  Add a large dollop of tomato puree, some Worcestershire sauce, rosemary  and a couple of gulgs of red wine and cook until the wine is reduced.  Add 1/2 pint of chicken stock and cook for 10 - 12 minutes. Pour into a large (or 6 small) oven proof dish.  Mash the potatoes with 2 egg yolks and some grated cheese, top the meat mixture and cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes.  Eat.

I made quiches earlier this week and seem to have lost my nack of making shortcrust pastry.  The pastry simply would not co-operate and ended up being way too crumbly.  So I am on a mission to improve my pastry making.  Any tips?

Roast Chicken in Balsamic Dressing

I decided to make this for supper tonight, I have made it time and time again, but not recently.  I highly recommend this recipe.  It's simple and delicious.  Great for entertaining too, you can easily increase/decrease the portions.  I serve it with baked potatoes and green beans.

(sorry, no picture, I couldn't get one that looked right - I think food is so difficult to photograph)

Chicken in Balsamic Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (I use thigh and drumstick portions)
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth (I use oxo)

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and arrange the chicken pieces on a large greased baking dish. Roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 hour. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Place the baking dish on a burner over medium-low heat. Whisk the chicken broth into the pan drippings, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the baking sheet with a wooden spoon and mixing them into the broth and pan drippings. Drizzle the pan drippings over the chicken. Serve.

New recipe....

I am stretching out my last day of freedom before returning to work.  I cleaned and did laundry this morning and cooked a family roast.  Now the rest of the day is mine.  I am going to work on my Amy Butler bag.  Don't you just love crafts!

I want to buy some of those Japanese craft books but I am all in confusion about where to start.  I looked on Ebay but they haven't really got many at the moment.  I looked on the YESASIA site but I am having trouble searching for the right books.  Any suggestions?  When I work this out I am going to post a tutorial!  Or is it just me? Perhaps everyone else bought them easily?

I made this healthy White Bean & Cherry Tomato Salad from Simply Recipes blog - lovely! But how come it looks yukky in my picture and yummy in the one on the site? (note to self; must improve photography)

See what I mean?  No prizes for guessing which is my pic and which one is from Simply Recipes.