Hello Dear Reader,
After a day cooking for over twenty people, it was good to just cook for us. My son is working in South East Cornwall for six weeks and will be with us so I can happily feed him all I like. He’s a carpenter, his work is manual and heavy so the huge chocolate cake is for him! It’s full of wheat flour so I won’t be eating it. The chocolate chip muffins, beef and vegetable pies and Lasagne are gluten free so I will be joining in with eating them. The pies are going into the freezer so I have two ready meals when I need them.
My gluten free pasty is improving, it’s lighter now. I can’t buy gluten free Lasagne sheets anywhere so I’ve made them myself. 3 eggs and 225g of GF bread flour and two tablespoons of oil, whizzed together in the food processor and rolled into sheets. I made the two pies out of a lonely bag of braising steak, a tin of spuds and half a bag of frozen stew mix. I even added some of the meat sauce from the Lasagne. I used the minced beef from Aldi to make two lasagnes. Today was all about using up what we had.
No ‘feed a family for £40’. I’ve included our meal plans and shopping list. I already have quite a few of the ingredients. I always make sure I include the food I already have in the house in my meal plans. That way, nothing gets wasted.
Sunday : I already had the flour for the cheese sauce and pasta, we ate the last of the fruit today.
Monday: I already had the GF muffin mix, Arborio rice, onions, oil and vinegar.
Tuesday: I already have the fish in the freezer, potatoes in a sack by the kitchen door and rice.
Wednesday: I have sliced peppers in the freezer, onions, rice and stock cubes in the pantry.
Thursday: I have broccoli in the freezer, flour for pastry
Friday: I have the fish in the freezer (half the bag on Tuesday and the rest tonight), I save the crusts from my GF bread and whizz them into breadcrumbs in the food processor - they are in a marg tub in the freezer. I have spuds in the sack by the kitchen door.
Saturday : Turkey mince - in the freezer. GF stuffing mix in the pantry.
Today, whilst the oven was on, I cooked the chicken thighs and they have cooled and I have picked the meat off the bone, diced it and it’s in a marked tub in the freezer - I will use that in the paella. I made two Lasagnes one was eaten today and one will be frozen for when I want the night off cooking.
Some of you wanted the recipe for Scone Based Pizza, here it is:
Cheese and Bacon Scone Based Pizza –
Ingredients
For the scone base
· 250g plain flour
· 1 tsp salt
· 2 tsp baking powder
· 50g butter, chopped and 50g of grated cheese - I also added a few chopped sun dried tomatoes.
· 2 eggs
· 3 tbsp milk
For the topping
· 100g mature cheddar, grated
· 1 jar of value pasta sauce.
· Add what you like - I added sliced pepper, sliced ham, sliced onion but you can add anything - try tinned sardines.
Method
1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl, then rub in the butter until it disappears. Mix the eggs and milk together, then stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Shape into a round on a lightly floured surface, lift onto a non-stick baking tray, then press out to a circle about 24cm across to make the pizza base.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then stir-fry the pepper and bacon until the pepper is soft. Take off the heat, then stir in the spring onion.
3. Spread the sauce over the pizza base, then evenly tip over the onion and bacon mixture. Scatter over the tomatoes, followed by the cheese. Bake for 15 mins until golden. Serve with a salad or coleslaw.
Tonight, I’m working on a quilt that’s very nearly finished.
IAll in all, a wonderful weekend. Nothing spent and plenty of money saved.
Over to you Dear Reader, how is the end of the financial month for you? Have you saved? Have you spent? Did you plan to spend and were you financially prepared for it? What can you promise to do to save more next month?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxx
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