A very frugal but delicious dinner!

It has been in the press recently how difficult it is to make a substantial and delicious meal on a very limited budget.  It is true it can be difficult and a bit time consuming but it is very rewarding to stick at it.

I have had very little budget this year for food and with the help of my allotment and a little ingenuity I have made some very delicious meals for little cost.

True it takes time to check supermarkets for their bargains and reduced items but it is very gratifying to sit down to a plate of food that has not cost a lot and leaves you feeling satisfied and full.

Our dinner tonight is one of those meals.  I often buy packs of bacon pieces (available in most supermarkets) to cook with.  If you want the perfect slices of bacon you can buy 6 or 8 slices that cost approximately £2.99 but if you want to cut it up to cook with then you are better off buying the packs of pieces or bits priced between £0.81 - £1.09. 

You need to play 'Bacon roulette' because sometimes you will get mostly small uneven pieces but sometime you win and get nice slices that just may not be even in thickness.  One pack I bought was full of back slices still attached to the steaky slice. Result!  The pack I used recently for our pasta had some small pieces which I used but also three thick, large and not much fat on slices.  The cost of these was about 2/3 of the £0.81 I paid (£0.54) plus about £0.18 worth of carrots, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, three garlic cloves and chicken stock. 

To this I added the beans I had taken out of the pods from our allotment.  These were the last of the beans from the yellow and green dwarf French beans and some runner beans. These were virtually free as we grew them.

I fried an onion and garlic pieces then added the bacon and cooked till the onion was translucent and browning.  Added the beans, carrot pieces, chicken stock, tomato puree, pepper (didn't add salt because the bacon was smoked and already salty).

I put the lid on and let it simmer for about an hour and a half.  I tasted the stew to determine if it needed more seasoning but it was already perfect.  It is to tasty and easy to make and if adding some cost to the storecupboard ingredients comes out at approximately £1.25!  This will feed both myself and Mr R and will be served with potatoes we grew on the allotment.

Who wouldn't want to come home to this for a dinner?

The Lake District Dairy Co Quark - a blogger challenge

A recent challenge was put to bloggers to come up with a great recipe to finish off summer with The Lake District Dairy Co.

You needed to use their 0% fat Quark which is rich and creamy and without the fat.  It is also higher in fibre than the alternatives of fromage frais or Greek yoghurts.

I decided to use my Wild Haddock Fillets from DelishFish. This fish comes straight from Scotland and goes into my freezer to emerge at a later date just as fresh as the day it arrived.

I simply placed the fish in an ovenproof stoneware dish. You could even put it in frozen and add another 5 minutes to your cooking time.
 

For a topping I mixed a carton of Lake District Dairy Co Quark with two teaspoons of sundried tomato paste and a few drops of Tabasco Chipotle sauce. I mixed this up and added two packets of Walkers new Mighty Light crisps broken up

which after mixing I spread on top of the fish.

A further packet of crisps crumbled on top and ready for the oven.

About 20 minutes in a moderate oven and ready to eat.

I served my Lake District Dairy Co Quark and crisp topped fish with steamed courgettes and finely sliced cucumber in vinagrette.

I was sent some Lake District Dairy Co Quark to use in my recipe. I have not been paid to write this post.

Summer Flowers from Trudeau

Sometimes you need something a little cute in your life and these bottle stoppers fit the bill nicely.  They are from Trudeau and a little chuckle to your next bottle of wine.

 

They are designed to fit all bottle and they delay the oxidation of your wine should you not finish the whole bottle!

They come six flower shapes and colours and are practical and cute to look at.

They are typically priced at £3.60 each and are available from independent Cook Shops or from Top Gourmet.

Bring a bunch of flowers inside! They also make great stocking stuffers for Christmas!

These were sent to me for my opinion and I received no payment.

 

I Heart Cake - Silicone Cake Baking Mould

I was recently asked if I would like to take part in a baking challenge using the 'I Heart Cake' silicone cake baking mould from Find Me A Gift.

I do like to bake and I do like heart shaped things so I was unable to resist the challenge.  I received the 'I Heart Cake' baking mould and set about thinking of what I would use it for.

You can do sweet or savoury baking in it or even us it for jellies or ice cream (it is suitable for the freezer too).

You bake one big cake then cut it into 6 seperate heart shaped pieces.  You can slice them through the middle and ice in the middle and on top or even cover it completely with icing.

The mould is freezer and dishwasher safe and is made from a food safe, non-stick silicone.

For my cake challenge I wanted to use some of the blackberries from my allotment so have created a blackberry and coconut cake.

Ingredients:
180g softened butter
180g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
100g SR flour
2tsp baking powder
80g dessicated coconut
150g blackberries
Zest and juice of one lime

Preheat oven to 180oC or Gas mark 4
I used a silicone mould so didn't need to grease and flour but if using a conventional tin you should.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Sift together the flour and baking powder then add coconut to dry mixture.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix thoroughly.  Fold in the blackberries and lime zest and juice.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-45 minutes until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then turn out and continue to cool.

Cut into 6 pieces so that you have six heart shapes.  You can split in half and ice the middle if you want to.

I made an icing with about 80g of cream cheese (I used lactofree but any cream cheese will do)  I added icing sugar till I got the consistency I was after.

I popped a couple of blackberries into the icing to turn it a slight purple.

Below is my finished slice to send with Mr R for work tomorrow.  Hope he loves my heart!

 

And finally I would love to win the challenge! Thanks Find Me A Gift for the opportunity.

Warburtons Make Lunchtime Fun

Warburtons have asked me to help point out their 'Liven Up Your Lunch' Facebook campaign to have a fun and 'Krazy' lunchtime.  They have a series of videos on Facebook featuring some super size chickens causing havoc in their Krazy Kitchen whilst two families battle it out to win a challenge. 

My granddaughter, MissLizzie had great giggles wearing the chicken mask whilst I prepared her sandwich.

 

As you can see you can use a whole range of ingredients to make a great sandwich or wrap.

MissLizzie just wanted hers plain chicken, cheese and mayo.

To turn this into a fun lunch time I thought we could have a pic nic in the garden but we woke up to heavy rain.

Solution - put the pic nic blanket on the bed, add a few towels and cushions and have an inside pic nic (a pretend one)!
 

We even invited Jonty the dog to come to our pic nic! As long as he wore a hat and had his own dog food he was welcome.
 

 

MissLizzie giggled as she ate her Warburtons thin sandwich squares with the sailor hat on.

 

Because having fun at lunchtime isn't limited to home I thought Mr R should join in the fun too. He works in a serious environment and the thought of him wearing a sailor hat as he eats his lunch is worthy of a giggle !!

Warburtons would love you to have a look at their Facebook page and view their latest and last video installment in their Krazy Kitchens series, it previews today 23rd August 2013. 

 

This post was sponsored by Warburtons and I was sent a hamper of ingredients and props to use. The opinions are my own even though I have been paid to write this post.

Mighty Lights from Walkers - Crisps with 30% less fat

Nanny can I have some crisps? Normally I would have to think about that question due to the fat content of conventional crisps but now that Walkers have brought out Mighty Lights with 30% less fat the answer is more likely to be 'Yes'.

Mighty Lights are new from Walkers and just in time for back to school and those dreaded packed lunches!  It isn't easy to come up with new and innovative ideas for the lunch box and still keep it healthy. Now you know you can pop some crisps in that are a bit healthier than the competition.

There are no artificial colours or preservatives, no MSG and 30% less fat.  They are also a source of fibre and are suitable for vegetarians (yes, even the Roast Chicken flavour!).

There are three flavours of these non-greasy, ridged crisp, Cheese & Onion - throws some people that it is in a blue packet as I am sure it used to be green (my favourite), Lightly Salted and Roast Chicken. 

My 5 year old granddaughter is staying with me this week and we taste tested them together.  I have a duty to her parents to give her healthy things to eat whilst she is visiting and always pleased to find something I can honestly tell her parents is better than the average. I noticed that our fingers weren't greasy from eating them and MissLizzie just loved the taste and crunch.  Kids love the taste and you don't have to feel guilty saying yes when they want some.

 

Can I have another packet please Nanny? So time to think about the sandwiches you will be making in a few weeks, the fruit you will be putting into the lunch boxes and being able to give them a little something they will want to eat (you won't get them sharing their Mighty Bites!) and head down to the new addition to the crisp isle.

 

 

And they are not just for school lunch boxes, mums and dads who take their lunch or a snack to work will find them just as nice. No guilt feelings when you open a packet of these at your desk.

 

They are new and just in time for back to school and are available in shops nationwide and are retailing at about £1.99 for a six pack.

This is a sponsored post from Walkers and they sent me a six pack of each flavour to review.

 

It's official! London's favourite meal is a Roast Dinner!!

Tesco recently surveyed 2000 UK parents and a roast dinner came out as the number one family meal in London and the South East.

I couldn't agree more. Britons are passionate about their food but many are frightened to experiment at home, leaving that for eating out.

Although we sit glued to the TV watching Nigella, Greg & John, Nigel and many others we still go for a traditional roast chicken, roast potatoes and gravy!

Tesco have launched their new campaign 'Love Every Mouthful', about making and eating fantastic food and celebrating and sharing food with friends and family, and asked me to try out an alternate recipe for a weekday roast chicken. They sent me all the ingredients to make a Glazed Roast Chicken and serve with Charlotte potatoes and tenderstem broccoli.
 

It was really easy to first make a sticky glaze out of clear honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice wine.

Simply brush half the glaze on the chicken and pop it into the over for 50 minutes. Pour over the rest of the sticky glaze and cook for another 30 minutes

and at this time pop the potatoes into the oven with olive oil and lemon slices. Alough the recipe said to pop the potatoes into the oven I would personally par boil them next time. They did take longer than the 30 minutes to cook and could have been softer.
 

I served the meal with the tenderstem broccoli and courgettes which came from my allotment this afternoon!
 

Mr R was very happy to come home on a Monday night to roast chicken!
 

 

For the recipe and over 7,000 others click here!

Thank you Tesco for all the ingredients to make this delicious meal.