Our Meal Plan This Week 24/02/2014 - £42

Once again apologies for the lack of meal plan last week, I am still feeling exhausted and rough but am getting over myself and trying to maintain normal service.

My daughters are having school dinners this week, much to their annoyance.  I have 2 meetings, 2 clinic appointments, two work shifts and several other things that need attending to so they will have to suffer through school dinners.  Hopefully next week will be less hectic and they can have their beloved packed lunches once again.  Hubby and I will have leftovers for our lunches.

Breakfasts will be porridge with added dried fruit or topped with fruit compote.  Weekend breakfasts will be homemade pancakes and crumpets.

Dinners

Pearl Barley and Mixed Vegetable Risotto

Roast Chicken, Yorkshire Puddings, Roast Vegetables and Steamed Greens

Chicken Soup with Homemade Bread Rolls

Chicken Stir Fry with Rice

Homemade Fish and Chips

Macaroni Cheese with Mixed Vegetables

Homemade Burgers with Salads

Shopping List

27 items: £42.13

Packets and Cereals

1x Mornflake Superfast Oats (2Kg)                                                £2.18

1x ASDA Wholefoods Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                 80p

1x ASDA Smartprice Long Grain Rice (1Kg)                                   40p

1x ASDA Smartprice Pasta Shapes (500g)                                     29p

1x Great Scot Vegetable Broth Mix (500g)                                      68p

1x Great Scot Pearl Barley (500g)                                                  64p

1x ASDA Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per pack - 42g)            65p

1x ASDA Wholefoods Brown Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                           £1.28

Frozen

1x ASDA Chosen by You Oriental Vegetables Stir Fry (500g)          £1.25

2x ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                                £1.50

1x ASDA Whitefish Fillets (500g)                                                   £2.00

Dairy and Eggs

4x ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)                        £4.00

1x ASDA Chosen by You English Mature White Cheddar (325g)      £2.00

Fruit and Vegetables

1x ASDA Smartprice Sultanas (500g)                                             84p

1x ASDA Salad Tomatoes (750g)                                                   £1.50

12 ASDA Bananas (Approx 170g)                                                  £1.39

2x ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg)                                                   £3.00

1x ASDA Butternut Squash (Approx 850g)                                     80.8p

1x ASDA Sweet Potatoes (Approx 460g)                                       58.9p

1x ASDA Whole Cucumber                                                            50p

1x ASDA British Iceberg Lettuce Loose                                          50p

1x ASDA Celery                                                                            80p

1x ASDA Carrots (1.2Kg)                                                               £1.00

2x ASDA Smartprice Pears (500g)                                                 £1.58

2x ASDA British Apples (650g)                                                      £2.00

Meat, Fish and Poultry

1x ASDA Butcher's Selection British Beef Mince (500g)                  £2.00

2kg ASDA Extra Special British Free Range Corn Fed Chicken        £7.96

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery website My Supermarket, and are correct as of 23rd February 2014.  Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

As usual I compared the cost of my shopping which was £42.13 when purchased from Asda on 22/02.  Had I shopped at Tesco my shopping would've cost £50.79 and my items would've cost £50.87 from Sainsburys, only an 8p difference between the two.

Don't forget to check out all the fab Meal Plans on the linky hosted by At Home With Mrs M.

Holiday Baking Session at Cambridge Cookery School

My younger two daughters attended the Cakes and Bakes course for 7 - 11 year olds at Cambridge Cookery School over half term.  Instead of cakes they learnt to make and bake two different bread doughs.

Liz and Tracey were their tutors, patient and calm throughout, explaining each recipe and process along with alternative ways to use and adapt the recipes.

There were 12 children on the 2 hour course and they worked in pairs.  My two daughters worked with other children as they were in no mood to work together.  The first recipe was a basic white bread dough which was made in to filled calzone and a Tear and Share loaf coated with seeds.  The second recipe was a sweet, saffron infused dough made into a plaited ring and decorated with coloured crushed sugar chunks.

I was expecting my daughters to bake a cake but both were happy with the bread making and baking practise.  This course would suit those who don't bake at home very often or those who want to get to grips with baking breads.  The course cost £45 for 2 hours of tuition and tasty treats to take home.

Five Family Suppers at Cambridge Cookery School

I've attended many cookery masterclasses over the years I have been blogging and on occasion my children have been able to attend along with me.  All 3 love to cook at home and my mother decided to pay for them to attend a cookery course each as a Christmas present.

My eldest attended the Five Family Suppers class at Cambridge Cookery School this past week during the Half Term Holiday, she thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt some new skills as well.

There were 12 attendees and they worked in groups of 2 or 3 throughout the course which lasted 4.5 hours.  Liz and Jackie, the course tutors were very patient and knowledgeable, talking through each recipe and offering tips, tricks and ideas how each could be adapted using different ingredients.

The students made a basic white bread dough which was then transformed into pizzas and naan breads.  Tomato sauce was made and pizza toppings prepared.  The pizzas were then cooked and eaten for lunch midway through the session, they were served with a delicious Apple, Carrot, and Raisin Salad.

After lunch all the vegetables were prepared for the recipes that were to be cooked during the rest of the session.  The remaining dishes cooked were: Fish Goujons with Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce, Smokey Bean Casserole, Burgers and Carrot and Lentil Soup accompanied by a Spinach and Radish Salad with Balsamic Dressing and a Cucumber, Mint and Yoghurt Salad, lettuce and tomato.  There was also Seasonal Fruit Crumble and Banana Icecream with Chocolate Sauce for pudding.

Both my 13yo and I would recommend this course, both for those starting out cooking and wanting to learn basic recipes, and already confident cooks.  The course cost £67 for 4.5hrs of tuition and delicious food to devour both midway through at the end of the session.

No Meal Plan This Week

We do have a Meal Plan but I will not be blogging it due to a lack of energy, time and me still feeling really rough.  

I do have quite a few other Half Term and School Holiday Meal Plans should you want some inspiration, here is a selection:

School  Holiday Week Meal Plan

Another School Holiday Meal Plan

Easter Holidays Meal Plan

Half Term Meal Plan

Feeding Kids Frugally During The Holidays

I'm sure normal service will resume next week.  I hope you have a fab half term and the weather isn't too stormy where you are.

Easy Apple and Pear Frangipane Tarts

I was sent some delicious apples and pears by Sainsbury's to cook with and wanted a recipe that showed off the flavour of the fruit but was also quick to make.

I baked these tarts for afternoon tea, they disappeared in minutes!  Great for a quick dessert as well as an afternoon tea treat, these tarts can be whipped up in no time.

Easy Apple and Pear Frangipane Tarts

500g Puff Pastry
60g softened butter
60g caster sugar
60g ground almonds
1 free range egg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 eating apples, peeled and sliced
3 ripe pears, peeled and sliced

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan.

Cut the pastry into small rectangles and score a border about 1cm in from the edge.  Mix together the butter, sugar, ground almonds, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Spread this mixture inside the scored border on each pastry rectangle.  Arrange the apple and pear slices over the top.  Put the tarts on to baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper.

Bake the prepared tarts in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.

I was given vouchers by Sainsbury's for ingredients costs incurred.

Our Family Meal Plan this week 10-02-2014 - £42

It is a fairly busy week for us this week.  I have my usual work shifts along with a couple of meetings and a couple of other appointments to fit in as well.  My 3 daughters, much to their annoyance, will be having school dinners this week.  My husband and I will be having leftovers for our lunches or soup from the freezer.  On the weekend we are going to friends for lunch on Saturday and I'll be taking along the pudding, Sunday we'll have twice baked potatoes.

Breakfasts will be porridge with dried fruit or toast with homemade jam and a piece of fruit for afters.

Dinners

Roast Chicken with Roast Vegetables and Yorkshire Puddings

Chicken and Vegetable Pasties, using leftover chicken and roast vegetables

Chicken and Vegetable Soup, using homemade chicken stock

Mixed Vegetable and Pearl Barley Risotto

Homemade Pizzas

Lightly Spiced Slow Cooker Beef Casserole, two nights

Shopping List

24 items: £42.52

Packets and Cereals

1x   Mornflake Superfast Oats (2Kg)                                                 £2.18

1x   ASDA Wholefoods Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                 80p

1x   Jus Rol Shortcrust Pastry Block (500g)                                      £1.10

1x   Great Scot Pearl Barley (500g)                                                   64p

1x   Great Scot Broth Mix (500g)                                                      75p

1x   ASDA Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per pack - 42g)            65p

1x   ASDA Wholefoods Brown Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                           £1.28

Frozen

2x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                                 £1.50

2x   ASDA Chosen by You Diced Casserole Beef (454g)                   £6.00

Tins, Jars and Cooking

2x   ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g)                             62p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Red Kidney Beans in Water (400g)                  23p

Dairy and Eggs

4x   ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)                        £4.00

Fruit and Vegetables

1x   ASDA Smartprice Sultanas (500g)                                             84p

12   ASDA Bananas (Approx 170g)                                                  £1.39

2x   ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg)                                                   £3.00

1x   ASDA Butternut Squash (Approx 850g)                                      80.8p

2     ASDA Sweet Potatoes (Approx 460g)                                        £1.18

1x   ASDA Celery                                                                            80p

1x   ASDA Garlic Loose                                                                   25p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g)                                              £1.56

1x   ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg)                                       98p

1x   ASDA Carrots (1.2Kg)                                                               £1.00

2x   ASDA British Apples (650g)                                                      £2.00

Meat, Fish and Poultry

18   ASDA Extra Special British Free Range Corn Fed Whole Chicken by Weight (100g)    £8.96

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery website My Supermarket and are correct as of 9^th February 2014.  Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

As usual I compared the cost of our shopping which cost £42.52 from Asda.  The cost of my shopping elsewhere would've been £42.66 from Morrisons, £47.07 from Sainsbury's or $50.59 from Tesco. 

Don't forget to check out all the other meal plans in the Meal Planning Monday linky over on At Home With Mrs M.

Leftover Roast Lamb Soup

I was asked by Sainsbury's to share a recipe that uses up leftovers from a roast dinner.  Soups are a fab way to get another meal from a roast dinner, especially if you make your own stock as we did.

We enjoyed a roast leg of lamb and I made stock from the bones, used the leftover meat, and some leftover vegetables in a delicious and filling soup.

I put the following into a slow cooker set to low:

3 sliced carrots

2 sliced celery sticks

1 large onion, diced

1 leek, sliced

100g pearl barley

1.5 Litres lamb stock, add a little extra if necessary

I cooked this on low for 2 - 3 hours until the pearl barley was just tender.  Add in leftover roast lamb, we had about 350g of meat, and cook for a further hour on low.  Serve in bowls, sprinkled with some fresh herbs.  We devoured ours for a hearty lunch, accompanied by a bread roll. 

I was given vouchers by Sainsbury's for ingredients costs incurred.

Apple and Sultana Bread Swirls - Less Than One Pound Challenge February

I baked these as an after school snack for my 3 daughters and a couple of their friends.  It is a fairly straight forward and low faff recipe, just one rise before rolling and shaping.  

I added up the cost of the ingredients I used and it came to under £1, perfect for my Less Than One Pound Challenge.  However, instead of the recipe costing less than £1 per portion, the entire ingredients of the recipe came to 92p so each Apple and Sultana Bread Swirl costs just over 11p.  You would pay upwards of £1 should you buy a similar baked treat from a supermarket and even more if purchased from a cafe.  Why not whip up a batch for an afternoon tea treat?!

Apple and Sultana Bread Swirls

125ml warm milk 6p

7g dried yeast, 1 sachet 10p

25g caster sugar 2p

1 free range egg 16p

300g plain flour 9p

25g butter 10p

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon 3p

25g caster sugar 2p

1 large apple peeled, cored and diced 25p

50g sultanas 9p

Combine the milk, yeast, egg and sugar in a bowl or jug then whisk to thoroughly combine everything. Put the flour and butter in a bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer and rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add the liquid ingredients then mix until combined. Knead the dough for 3 - 5 minutes then cover and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan.  Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 - 3 minutes to knock it back.  Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a 30 x 40cm rectangle. 

Soften the butter and spread over the rolled out dough, sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon followed by the apple and sultanas.  Starting with the longest side, roll the dough up firmly to form a log. Cut crossways into 8 - 10 slices.

Arrange the slices, cut-side up, side by side and just touching on the lined baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.  

Less Than One Pound Challenge

To take part, simply blog about any recipe, made from scratch and enough to feed at least 2 adults, where each portion costs less than £1. Should you live abroad, you can still enter, just check the exchange rate to ensure your meal costs the equivalent of £1 British currency or less per portion.

There are a few rules:

Please link back to this post

Use the logo within your post

Tweet using #LessThanOnePoundChallenge

Closing date – 28th of the month

By entering you are agreeing to let me use an image from your entry on this site, and to pin to Pinterest.

Please be respectful of other people’s copyright

You may also want to link up your recipes to Credit Crunch Munch, the fab frugal food linky created by Helen and Camilla.

Our Meal Plan for Week Of 03/02/2014 - £50

Thank goodness it is finally February, I believe that January was the longest and gloomiest month we've had for a long time.  Our Meal Plan for this week is a low faff one as I'm still feeling rough and not up to cooking or eating much.  My children and hubby have been really good at helping out.  My children enjoy cooking and want to help as much as possibly usually anyway, hubby is the one who usually requires persuasion to help with cooking and much prefers sorting out the washing up.

Breakfasts will be toasted homemade wholemeal bread with homemade jam and fruit for afters or porridge with fruit compote, we'll have homemade pancakes and crumpets on the weekend.

Packed lunches will be leftover Seven Vegetable Stew then Root Vegetable and Red Lentil Dhal for my husband and our eldest accompanied by a homemade wholemeal bread roll and a piece of fruit and baked treat for afters.  Packed lunches for the younger two will be Wholemeal Savoury Swirls, which they have made themselves, accompanied by crudites and a piece of fruit and baked treat for afters.

Lunches on the weekend will be Slow Cooker Spicy Root Vegetable Soup with homemade wholemeal bread rolls.

Dinners

Spicy Seven Vegetable Stew - without Chorizo for Meatfree Monday

Homemade Fish and Chips

Mini Toads in the Hole with mixed vegetables and mashh

Homemade Egg Fried Rice and Vegetable Chow Mein

Slow Cooker Meatballs served with pasta and mixed vegetables

Vegetable Stew with Rice

Homemade Hamburgers and Spiced Wedges

Shopping List

34 items cost £50.54 from Asda on 02/02/2014

Packets and Cereals

1x   Mornflake Superfast Oats (2Kg)                                                     £2.18

1x   ASDA Chosen by You Fusilli Twists (500g)                                    50p

1x   ASDA Wholefoods Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                     80p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Plain White Flour (1.5Kg)                                    45p

2x   ASDA Smartprice Long Grain Rice (1Kg)                                        80p

1x   Great Scot Red Split Lentils (500g)                                                £1.28

1x   ASDA Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per pack - 42g)                65p

2x   ASDA Wholefoods Brown Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                               £2.56

Frozen

1x   ASDA Chosen by You Oriental Vegetables Stir Fry (500g)              £1.25

2x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                                     75p

1x   ASDA Whitefish Fillets (500g)                                                        £2.00

1x   ASDA Whole Leaf Spinach (1Kg)                                                   £1.39

Tins, Jars and Cooking

1x   ASDA Chopped Tomatoes with Garlic in Tomato Juice (390g)  50p

2x   ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g)                                 62p

2x   ASDA Chick Peas in Water (400g)                                                  £1.20

1x   ASDA Chopped Tomatoes with Chilli and Peppers (390g)     50p

Dairy and Eggs

5x   ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)                            £5.00

1x   ASDA Mixed Weight Free Range Eggs (6)                                     97p

Meat, Fish and Poultry
2x   ASDA Butcher's Selection British Beef Mince (500g)                       £4.00

1x ASDA Extra Special Pork Sausages (454g)                                       £2.98

Fruit and Vegetables

2.5kg   ASDA Bananas                                                                          £1.73

1     ASDA Swede (Approx 760g)                                                         76p

2x   ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg)                                                       £3.00

2x   ASDA Butternut Squash (Approx 850g)                                          £1.62

2x   ASDA Celery                                                                                £1.60

1x   ASDA Trimmed Leeks (500g)                                                         £1.00

1x   ASDA Garlic Loose                                                                       25p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g)                                                  £1.56

1x   ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg)                                           98p

1x   ASDA Sweet Potatoes (1Kg)                                                         £1.31

2x   ASDA Carrots (1.2Kg)                                                                   £2.00

2x   ASDA Smartprice Pears (500g)                                                      £1.58

3x   ASDA British Apples (650g)                                                          £3.00

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery websites, and are correct as of 2 February 2014.  Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

As usual I compared the cost of our shopping, which cost £50.54 from Adsa, using My Supermarket.  Had I shopped elsewhere our groceries would've cost £55.81 from Tesco, £59.77 from Morrisons, £59.93 from Sainsburys.

Don't forget to check out all the other Meal Plans in the linky over on At Home With Mrs M.

Vegetable and Chilli Bean Tortilla Stack - Extra veg

The Extra Veg blogging challenge was launched last month, thanks so much to all those who took part. With extra portions of vegetables not only do you get extra vitamins and nutrients it also fill you up so you are less tempted to eat not so healthy foods.

I’m hosting alternate months with lovely Helen from Fuss Free Flavours, here's my recipe for this month:

Vegetable and Chilli Bean Tortilla Stack

This is a quick lunch or supper that is perfect for using up leftovers or vegetables that need cooking before your shopping is done.  Great for busy weeknights or feeding a crowd on weekends.

400g leftover cooked vegetables, I used sweet potato and butternut squash

6 cubes frozen spinach, cooked and drained

2 tins chilli beans

6 tortillas, home made or store bought

50g - 100g grated cheese

Lightly grease a large oven dish and put a tortilla in the bottom.  Spread with a layer of vegetables and spinach then place a tortilla on top.  Spread the tortilla with a layer of chilli beans then place another tortilla on top.  Repeat until all the vegetables and chilli beans have been used.  Sprinkle grated cheese over the top then bake in an oven preheated to 160C/160C Fan for 15 - 20  minutes.

Serve with extra vegetables or a green salad and a dollop of soured cream.

Extra Veg

To take part, simply blog about any recipe or idea where you eat an extra portion of vegetables.

There are a few rules:

Please link to the current host (ME!) and to Helen.

Tweet using #ExtraVeg

Closing date – 28th of the month

By entering you are agreeing to let us use an image from your entry on this site, and to pin to Pinterest.

Please be respectful of other people’s copyright

But feel free to:

Send to as many other events as you like

Tell me about your ideas for extra veg on the linky below!

We’ll be looking for guest hosts later in the year, so please mail me if you are interested. helen at fussfreeflavours dot com

Less Than One Pound Challenge - January Round Up

I launched the Less Than One Pound Challenge last month to encourage us all eat well for less than £1 per portion.  January is a grim month here in the UK, the weather has been dreadful with Atlantic storm fronts bringing seemingly endless rain and gales, and most people are paid early in December and not paid again until the last day or week of January.  

I'm so glad payday and February have arrived!  There were some delicious entries into the challenge last month, thanks so much to all those who supported this new blogging and recipe challenge.

Delicious Vege Burgers from Crazy Kitchen

Student's Fish Pie from Chez Maximka

Peppered Mackerel and Potato Bake from Pebble Soup

Slow Cooker Guernsey Bean Jar by Tales From The Kitchen Shed 

Broccoli, Courgette and Stilton Soup from Caroline Makes

I look forward to seeing all the delicious recipes created for this challenge in February.  I shall blog Less Than One Pound Challenge recipe this weekend and include a linky at the bottom of the post this time!