Lazy tired day

Flowers I picked in the fields when walking the dog. So pretty and they smell lovely.

Just lazing as I have had only 3 hours sleep after a night shift. Why do parcels always get delivered when I'm in bed? Too lethargic to blog x

Menu plan Monday 10/06/2013

MONDAY - Hairy Bikers Easy crispy chicken, roasted veg pasta and salad

TUESDAY - Spaghetti bolognese and homemade garlic bread

WEDNESDAY - Roast chicken, yorkshire puddings, mashed potato, steamed veg & gravy

THURSDAY - Omelette, salad, homemade coleslaw and jacket potatoes

FRIDAY - Fish chowder and savoury scones or crusty bread to accompany

SATURDAY - Beefburgers, garlic & herb wedges and coleslaw. All homemade

SUNDAY - Freezer use up day. Bits and pieces from freezer to clear it out

So today's meal is one of the gangs favourites, a recipe from The Hairy Dieters cook book. It's basically chicken breast dusted in flour then dipped in low fat yogurt then coated in a mix of dried bread crumbs (used my own bread to make these), parmesan and lots of dried oregano. This chicken is oven baked and is always  lovely and succulent.  The pasta dish is also a low fat recipe from a weight watchers cook book I have. Roasted vegetables are stirred through cooked pasta with a little parmesan cheese and low fat fromage fraise. We had this with a large salad. I made myself a couple of quorn fillets marinated in  soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ketchup and chilli powder which were baked in the oven. Very nice they were too.

Decided on this meal today because I had 1/3 of a pot of yogurt and 1/3 of a pot of fromagie frais that had been in the fridge over a week that needed using up. I do find these products do last for a long time in the fridge. Pleased I got these used up before they went off.

Chocolate butterfly buns

I have read on a couple of occasions about baking using the method of weighing eggs then weighing the same amount of sugar, margarine and flour. This weekend I decided to give it ago. I did not want to make a large quantity of mixture in case it did not work out so I started by breaking two eggs into a bowl which I set on scales. The two eggs weighed 102g. I added to this 102g sugar and 102g margarine. I wanted to make chocolate buns so needed to substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder. I added a heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder into the bowl and topped it up to 102g with SR flour. For good measure I added 1/2 tsp baking powder. I whisked this all together then popped the mixture into 9 muffin cases and baked. 

They came out really well and were lovely and moist. After cooling I whisked some double cream and a little vanilla extract until soft peaks then piped into my butterflied buns. Finished off with a grating of dark chocolate.

Will definitely try this method again. Think I will double the eggs next time and try a cake. Not a good idea baking when I'm trying to watch my weight. I want to taste food I bake to see if they taste right  and if not decide where to change a recipe so I just HAD to try one for quality control. Only thing is, I think I've eaten 3 altogether, oops!

Veggi cooking day

Welcome to my new follower Babs. Nice to have you on board.

With it being National Vegetarian Week I wanted to try something new for my lunch. I knew straight away what I wanted to make. I found my River Cottage Veg cook book and rummaged through the pages for a recipe I had earmarked to make, Chilli, cheese and rosemary polenta with tomato sauce.

The recipe only needed a few ingredients which I already had in. Olive oil, chilli, garlic, rosemary, polenta and cheese.

 Once everything was cooked I had to let the polenta cool so it would set. I did this on a baking tray lined with cling film. When cool enough I placed the tray in the fridge until I was ready to eat at lunch time.
 

I sliced the polenta into fingers and fried in a little oil until the outsides were crispy. When I cook some tomorrow I'm going to try them baked in the oven on a tray as I found the crispy edge stuck to the frying pan. They were really tasty with a simple tomato sauce that was recommended to accompany them.

I then decided to make a loaf I had seen on a blog I follow. I copied the recipe out but forgot to make a note of who's blog I found it on. I have been searching through some blogs to try and find it but have had no success yet. When I come across it I shall edit this post and add a link to the blog with the recipe if you want to try it.

Edited - Found it!  Here's the link for the cheese and lentil loaf

So this is what I made. A cheese and lentil loaf which looks a disaster in my photo. I made the mixture a bit too sloppy so when I came to take the loaf out of the loaf tin it collapsed! I scooped it all back into the tin and baked on a low heat until it had set completely.

I had too much mixture to fit all in the loaf tin so I did what the owner of the recipe does and put the remaining mixture into puff pastry to make lentil sausage rolls. They came out good.

Yesterday I had a portion of the lovely chilli I made Monday with couscous. I really enjoyed it so tonight I shall have a portion on some pasta seeing as I'm making the rest of the family bolognese on pasta. Going good so far is my vegetarian week. Any of you doing veggie food this week because of National Vegetarian Week?

Menu plan Monday 20/05/2013 & National Vegetarian Week

MONDAY - Fragrant pork & rice one pot and homemade bread

TUESDAY - Stuffed pork loin, mashed potato, steamed green beans, carrots and broccoli

WEDNESDAY - Bolognese sauce on pasta with homemade garlic bread

THURSDAY - Gammon & pineapple or egg, chips & peas

FRIDAY - Fish pie, carrots, peas and broccoli

SATURDAY - Lamb burgers, homemade coleslaw and chips

SUNDAY - freezer & fridge use up. Not sure what yet

Today is National Vegetarian Week and  being a pescetarian I eat mainly vegetarian meals but also eat fish. So this week I shall go all out veggie and have no fish this week. I am doing this by myself as I know the rest of the family will not be that bothered for having vegetarian meals all week. So tonight I shall be having the same as the rest of the family but mine will be made with vegetarian sausages. The recipe is on the link on Mondays menu. I'll post each might with what I end up eating.

Today I made a big pot of vegetarian chilli using Tescos own brand vegetarian mince and value kidney beans. I added 3 tins of Aldi tomatoes in the end because I thought it was a bit dry.

This has been cooking all day in the slow cooker and will be portioned up when cool for future meals. I costed the whole dish  and it worked out at £3.01 for a huge amount of chilli.

Tesco veg mince £1.50
3 x tins Aldi tomatoes  93p
1 x tin kidney beans  21p
big squirt tomato puree  5p
2 onions  20p
chillies 12p
Reckon I should get 5-6 portions of chilli so it's a nice cheap meal with some Tesco value rice (40p a kilo bag)

Menu plan Monday 13/05/2013

MONDAY - Lamb steaks, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, peas and yorkshire puddings

TUESDAY - Hairy dieters easy chicken, salad, homemade coleslaw & jacket potatoes

WEDNESDAY - Homemade pizza & chips

THURSDAY - Lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce on pasta, homemade garlic bread

FRIDAY - Casserolled beef & mushroom, Mashed potatoes, yorkshire puddings and veg

SATURDAY - Steaks and peppercorn sauce, chips, onion rings, roasted tomatoes and mushrooms

SUNDAY - Fragrant pork & rice one pot with homemade bread

 

I've had quite a busy weekend because I have a visitor staying. My visitor is called Archie and he's so cute. Here's Archie

 

Archie came Saturday morning and is staying until Wednesday evening whilst his owners have a short break abroad.

A few months a go I joined a company to be a dog carer. Basically after filling in an application form, then having a telephone interview they then visit me at home to interview me and check my home and garden are safe for visiting dogs. References are checked and then if everything's ok, I become a dog carer. I get paid for each day or part of a day the dog is with me.  I have no expenses to fork out as the owners provided all their food and treats, brings their bed, toys and lead. Insurance is provided by the company I work for. I just give my time to care for my visitors.

So Archie is our first visitor. He settled in well and my dog Sherlock has accepted a new friend into his home really well. I did feel sorry for Archie at first because Sherlock would not leave him alone but they have both settled down now and are like old friends. It's a great way to earn a little more money and my daughters get to have a second dog ( they are always pestering me to get a second dog) without me having the expense of having another dog. I hope future visitors are as easy as Archie has been. Think I've been spoilt with my first easy visitor.

Menu Plan 06/05/2013

MONDAY - Pork steaks, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, yorkshire puddings and vegetables

TUESDAY - Creamy beef and potato layer, Carrots and peas

WEDNESDAY - Thai green curry with chicken & Thai green curry with tofu, rice

THURSDAY - Bolognese and pasta with homemade garlic bread

FRIDAY - Roast chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables

SATURDAY - Chicken/Tofu fajitas

SUNDAY - Homemade flan, salad, homemade coleslaw and jacket potatoes