gah what to make for dinner tonight? the menu has been pretty beef heavy the past few days. i've got a recipe i want to try out that is beef based but i'm going to give it a shot with chicken instead. i found this recipe in a local food magazine.
beef(or chicken in this case) beer masala with onion bhaji dumplings.serves 4

• lean beef cubes 450g
•  1 onion chopped
•  2 tablespoons curry paste
• cauliflower 150g, cut up small
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
•  beer 300ml
•  2 cloves crushed garlic
• spinach 75g

dumplings

• 1 onion sliced
•  self raising flour 175g
• butter/margarine 75g

1 in a large casserole dish place the beef cubes, onion, garlic, curry paste, cauliflower, spinach and ketchup
2 pour over the beer and mix well. cover and place in a preheated oven at 170degreeC for 2 hours, stirring half way through.
3 make the dumplings. cook the onion slices in a bit of oil for 10min until softened and golden brown. allow to cool a few minutes
4 in a bowl place the self raising flour and rub the butter in. you get a mix looking like bread crumbs. add the cooked onions. add 3 or 4 tablespoons of water and mix well. should make a smooth dough. form into balls(the easiest way to do this is just to keep dividing the dough in half until you get balls the size of quarters.  lump of dough, divide in half. 2 lumps of dough divide both in half, 4 lumps divide each in half and so on.)
put the dumplings in for the last 20min of the cooking time, leave uncovered for the remaining cooking time.
---------------------------------------------
so that's the recipe in the magazine. i tweaked it up a bit. i cut up 3 chicken breasts. i didn't use spinach since we don't have any in the house. i added 2 small potatoes and some broccoli that needed using up.  i also added some water(150ml or so) to the casserole since the ingredients were bulked up, i didn't want it to end up dry.
i cooked the dish up and fed it to my husband for his dinner. he said it was ok. he liked it but didn't love it. he said he wouldn't be sad if i lost the recipe. he liked the dumplings but felt they lacked flavor. if i do those dumplings again i would totally add a few things: a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of mild curry powder and some coriander flake would be a good start.
if you use beef the article says: braising cubes, chuck, blade or stewing cubes are all good. it's supposed to be good for cheap cuts that need a long cooking time. the beer works to soften the meat up while it slow cooks.

tesco

• plain chocolate X2 .27
•  sour cream .78
•  frozen chips(french fries) £1.12
•  potato chips £1.16

 £3.60
----------------------------------
i splashed out on some potato chips. i thought for lunch i would do a cheese sub, potato chips make a cheese sub taste that much more awesome.
cheese subs are super easy. bake a partbaked baguette. chop up what you want to go inside- let, tom, onion, grated cheese.

spread out the length of the bread. i sprinkle a little smokey salt and black pepper over the cheese. i don't use mayo, but like a light spreading of butter on my bread. put the roll over the filling.

pinch firmly, i put my hands on either end and spread the fingers out so most of the roll is pinched closed and roll the sub over. most of the filling should be safely inside the roll. pick up whatever got left behind and stuff it in on top.

i have made more than my fair share of subs and this is one of the quickest, easiest ways to fill one. if you press the filling down with the back of your knife and then cut, it compacts things a little and the filling is less likely to spill out while you eat.

made a load of stuff today: chili, corn bread, banana bread(with chocolate chips). the chili is for nachos, so i had to do sides for the nachos: ranch sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.
----------------------------
banana bread
1 1/2cups flour
1 teaspoon each of baking soda/salt
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas- mashed
3/4cup brown sugar packed
1/3cup each veg oil/milk
1/2cup chopped nuts

1] heat oven to 350degreeF(185degreeC)
stir together floor, baking soda and salt in small bowl, set aside
2] stir together eggs, banana, brown sugar, oil, and milk in medium bowl until well blended.
add dry ingredients and nuts to banana mixture. stir to combine
3] pour into greased and floured(or paper lined) loaf pan. bake until wooden pick comes out clean- about 1hr
---------------
tip: use wooden spoon to mix things, no electric mixer needed
---------------------------------------------------

corn bread
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1/3cup veg oil
heat oven to 200degree C
combine dry, add wet, bake 20min or until golden brown.(i've got an electric fan oven, things cook faster)

yes, yes, updates i know. the past few days have been ridiculous. today i am making chili and cornbread.

tesco

• .75% milk .65
•  fromage frais .80
•  loaf of bread .68

£2.13
----------------------------

didn't really cook much today but i sure as hell ate a lot. the past two days i've been so freaken hungry.

saturday shopping. for a week in where we didn't need to buy anything, we sure spent a lot of  money
aldi

• diapersX3 £5.49
• pull ups X2 £3.59
• shave gel .99
•  granulated sugar .75
•  plain flour .33
•  after shave £1.29
•  mackerel fillets .59
•  ravioli .35
•  apples .59
•  plums .59
•  chocolate chips X2 .59
•  tomato puree .33

total spend £30.64
---------------------------------------------
sainsbury's

• diet coke 6pack X4 £2.85
•  ella pouch X2 .59
•  fruit puree X2 .95
•  fruit puree .93
• onion powder £1.05
•  IPA(beer) £1.34
•  curry sauce £1.89
•  butt wipes X2 £2.58
•  rusks X2 .85
•  oaties X2 .85
•  mini rusk X2 .79
• basic corn chips .50
• kid cheese crackers X2 £1.14
• frozen pizza X5 £1.29

 total spend £33.95(£5.70 off the diet coke purchase)
----------------------------------
tesco

• toilet paper(16 for the price of 12) £4.98
• loaf of bread .68

total spend £5.66
---------------------------------------
that's £70.25, oooof. why did i spend to much money? diapers and baby supplies. we're headed to the inlaws in a few days and i wanted to stock up. my son will be spending close to 2 weeks there, he should have plenty of diapers and wipes now. most of our sainsbury's purchase was things for him. they are running a 1/3 off all baby things. whenever that deal comes on i stock up on snack treats for him.

husband wanted burgers for tonight's dinner. fine by me. he pulled out some ground beef from the freezer. when the meat was thawed i jazzed it up with some onion powder, garlic powder, barbecue seasoning, dried chili flakes. i formed the meat into patties and stuck them in the fridge. husband came home and cooked them up. he declared them tasty.

CHEESECAKE!
who doesn't love cheesecake? it's seriously awesome. that being said i have never actually made a cheesecake before. shocking i know but i come from a long line of cheesecake making masters. why make one when i can eat my mom's. well my mom isn't around any more. don't worry, she's not dead. she's living on a boat anchored off some far flung island. if i want yummy cheesecake it's up to me to make it. i found a kid's cookbook a few weeks ago. inside was a pretty straightforward cheesecake recipe. today i decided to try it out. of course i made some modifications. following directions, exactly is just not my style. i'll put down the directions from the book and then what i did, that way you can have 2 cheesecake recipes for 1 entry.
cheesecake
need a 8inch springform pan(but not really, other suggestions at the end)

• 175g(6oz) digestive biscuits, that's the english version of a gram cracker
• 85g(3oz) butter
• 3 eggs
• 340g(12oz) cream cheese: at room temp
• 85g(3oz) sugar
•  150ml(1/4pint) double cream (heavy cream)
•  juice of 1 lemon
•  1 tablespoon cornflour

oven temp 150degreeC(300degreeF)
crunch up the biscuits to fine crumbs. food processor? shove in a bag and beat with a rolling pin? whatever does the job
melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat. when melted add the biscuit crumbs, stir together. pour into the bottom of your cooking pan and press firmly down.
bake the base for 20min

separate the eggs into 2 different bowls. in a medium sized bowl i put the eggwhite. in my largest bowl i put the yokes.
beat the egg whites to stiff peak stage. i used my electric handmixer.
in the large bowl with the yokes add the cream cheese. beat the two together. beat in the sugar, cream, lemon juice and corn flour. mix really well.
add the egg whites to the cheese mix. i did a small scoop  of whites to loosen up the cheese mix. then i added half of the remaining egg whites, stirred just enough to they were mixed in and then finally added the last half of the whites, again stirring just enough that everything was evenly mixed.
pour the mix onto the biscuit base and bake in your oven  for an hour. a knife inserted in should come out clean. turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the oven.(this supposedly stops it from cracking.)
ok that's the book recipe.
what i did:
instead of using cream i used fromage frais
fromage frais has like no fat, so that reduced the calorie count of my treat instantly. instead of lemon i used 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavor.
when i baked the cake i put a small dish of water on the bottom shelf. this helps keep things nice and moist. i didn't let the cake cool in the oven, cracks don't bother me. i made it to be tasty, not pretty.
ok, so you don't have a spring form pan. no big deal. i used one of those loose bottom pans. what do you do if don't have either of those? oh no, no cheesecake treats for you. or how about you double the amount of butter and biscuit crumbs and then press them out into a 9X13inch baking sheet. make the same amount of cheesecake mixture and pour over the crust. the cooking time should be shorter. when done cut into bars.

making cheesecake today. i have a recipe from a kid's cookbook. i'm going to make some alterations. will let you know how it turns out.

so was going to make an orange custard cake with cream cheese frosting. while getting my ingredients assembled i failed to find the custard powder. someone used it all and never told me. great. no custard powder, no cake.  the baked treat choice was put to a vote and tomorrow i will make cheesecake instead.
husband's dinner was meat and ricotta manicotti and stuffed focaccia. i am loving the focaccia. i had a slice with my veggie soup.
working on potty training my almost 3year old. i think i have managed to convince him dried apricots qualify as a special treat reward for using the potty. we do a combination of rewards. usually it's stars on the chart, get 10 stars get a new car. or you can trade your star for a instant snack treat. most of the time he goes for stars, today it's all treats. i don't have much in the kitchen for early morning special potty treats. thankfully he accepted the apricots and keeps peeing and asking for more.

focaccia bread
dough

• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

pre-heat oven to 430degreesF/ 220degreeC(i turned the oven on while i was rolling out the dough)

stuffing: whatever you feel like really. anything you eat on a pizza would be good
i cooked some fresh garlic, onions and peppers in a bit of olive oil. once soft i let them cool. i cut up some black olives and sundried tomatoes, added that to the onion/peppers. i had some ricotta in the fridge so that went in too.
in a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar and 1/8cup of warm water(from your 1/2cup, just pour a little out into the yeast to activate it.) set aside for 10min. yeast should be frothy and bubbling up/growing in size. if after 10min your yeast looks exactly like it did when you started, throw it away and try again, the yeast is dead and your bread will not turn out right. usually it's just because the water was too hot.
in a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder. add in the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. mix together well. i used a kitchen fork, works just fine for mixing.
knead for 8-10min. the book says: on a floured surface. well i live in a small apartment, floured surfaces are hard to come by. i just kneaded the dough right in the bowl, no added flour. after kneading i lifted the dough up and brush some oil around the bowl and put the dough back in. i then covered it with a piece of oiled plastic wrap. put the covered dough in a warm place for 45min or until doubled in size.
45min the dough is puffed up, give it a good punch. take it out of the bowl, put it on a lightly floured surface(i use one of those flexi cutting matts, with some flour sprinkled on it.) and give it a quick knead. divide the dough into two equally sized balls.
roll out one of the balls till you have a 10inch disk. place that on a well oiled baking sheet. on top of the disk put down your stuffing. leave a border around the edge so you can seal your bread. i spread the ricotta and then just dumped the other stuff right on top. i sprinkled over some dried oregano and basil.
roll out your other dough ball to similar size, 10inches maybe a little larger if you have a thick filling that needs covering. lightly wet the border of the bottom disk with some water. cover with the top disk and press around the border. this should seal in your stuffing.
brush the top with olive oil. i sprinkled on some more dried basil and oregano and a bit of sea salt. that's optional though. bake in the oven 30min or until the top is golden brown.
you can see the with pictures entry here
go here for manicotti instructions, scroll down

making some ricotta/veggie puffs in a bit. they will probably end up in the freezer. the husband wants left over lasagna for dinner. now do i make garlic bread or do i whip up another stuffed focaccia? tough decisions. stuffed focaccia might win.
picked up a cookbook aimed at kids today. there are a couple things in there i want to try. i think the first one will be a custard orange cake. i just need some cream cheese.
shopping for today
vegstand bag of mushrooms .50
tesco

• plain chocolate 2 .27
• oven chips £1.12
• ricotta cheese .98

£2.64+.50  £3.14 spend today
----------------------------------
puff pastry veggie ricotta puffs.
first i cooked up some veggie. i used a bunch of stuff i had in the fridge

• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 1/2 eggplant chopped
• 1/2 zucchini chopped
• 1/4 green pepper chopped
• 5 small white button mushrooms sliced

i tossed the veggies is my frying pan with a bit of olive oil and cooked them up. i sprinkled on some dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder

when the veggies were soft i turned the heat off and let them cool for an hour or so
i took the half a block of pastry i had left over from yesterday's cooking adventure and rolled it out to the size of my flexi cutting matt and then cut it into 6 sections

i put some ricotta cheese in the middle of each section and spread it around a bit- a rounded tablespoon worth. i sprinkled on some sundried tomato pieces and then about 1 1/2 to 2
tablespoons worth of the cooked veggies

to seal the puffs up i brushed some water around the border and just folded the edges in towards the center

when the puffs were all closed up i flipped them over so the seems were on the bottom(this helps keep them sealed)

i put my puffs in the freezer because i didn't want to eat them tonight. but if you're going to cook them right away i'd say, put them in a pre heated oven at 220degreesC
i would brush them with a little oil so they crisp up and brown nicely.
how long do you cook them? as long as it takes. keep in mind that the side with the seems is going to need a bit longer because the dough overlaps and is thicker
--------------------------------------------
i ended up making slacker garlic bread for my husband's dinner. i had a bit with my veggie soup. good stuff. for my son i made him a mix of beef lasagna, veggies i cooked for the puffs and some of the veggie soup. i blended it all together and the kid ate it up with a side of buttered toast

today has been absolutely exhausting. toddler gave me the run around all day long. still managed to do some cooking. did my puff pastry tart and a batch of chicken fingers for the freezer.
tesco

• tiramisu £1.98
• chicken fillets(reduced) £2.79
• .75% milk .65
• pears .76
• gelatin leaves £1.22

total spend £7.40. i didn't really need tiramisu but i want the tray it comes in for my new veg peeling scrap tray. being that it's tasty is just an extra bonus.

so puff pastry tart thing. i pulled a block of frozen puff pastry out of the freezer. i let it thaw and cut it in half. i put one half on a lightly floured surface and put the other half in the fridge for use tomorrow.

i rolled out the hunk of pastry to roughly 9x13inches and put it on my baking tray. i poked it with a fork all over and put it in a preheated oven at 220degreesC for 10min.

while the pastry was cooking i chopped up some red onion, courgette(zucchini), eggplant(aubergine), green pepper, and half the goat cheese roll i got yesterday for cheap. i put the veggies in a bowl and mixed them together with a splash of olive oil, some cracked black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a bit of thyme.

i took the tray out and the pastry had shrunk a bit- little surprising. i've never used this brand before. not a big deal though. i spread the veggie over the pastry and then placed the goat cheese slices around.

i put the tray back in oven and cooked at 220degreeC for 15min or so. i turned down the heat to about 180degreeC and cooked for another 10min. i then turned the oven off and left the tray in there. i checked on it from time to time while it was cooking to make sure it wasn't burning, no trouble.

chicken tender, fingers, nuggets
i make my own. they taste waaaaay better than pre made stuff you can buy in the store. basically you need some fresh chicken breast, pieces, mini fillets. i use basic corn flakes (basic is the english word for generic, cheapest of the cheap. i get a huge box for 49p, that's like $1.) crunch the corn flakes up to fine crumbs. i use my huge stainless steal ladle. mix some milk and a beaten egg together. lastly i get some flour and mix in some random seasoning. ok. dip the chicken in the milk mixture.

dip into the flour mixture and then dip into the milk mixture again. finally put in the crushed cornflakes, cover well and press down firmly so the cornflakes really stick. i use my fist. get all the chicken done like that and pop in your freezer. done.

take out as needed. i usually let the tenders thaw for a few hours and then shallow fry. i finish cooking them off  with about 5-8min in the oven. they make really great, good god i have no idea what to feed my husband dinners.

will get pictures up eventually. doing a puff pastry tart thing shortly. looks like my folks just popped up on skype so i'm going to chat with them while they sit on a boat in the middle of the ocean. what a world.

hit sainsbury's. i really only needed milk

• basic peppers (600g) £1.27
• whole milk .86
• basic dark chocolate
• white bread .70

total spend £3.10
i didn't really need need peppers, i have 1 1/2 in my fridge but it's getting harder and harder to find a 4or more pack of peppers that are mostly green(our preferred color) it's just that time of year. most of the bags only have 3 peppers and they are yellow/orange.
husband decided to have thai curry with fish for his dinner. husband makes good curry but i am super sensitive to the smell of fish. i spent most of the day trying not to puke my guts out. he decided the kind of fish he used didn't work with the curry flavors and the whole batch ended up in the trash. fine with me. i couldn't get that stuff out of the house fast enough. a can of air freshener later and i feel like eating again. i just had some baked beans on toast with cheese. sound weird to americans but it's a staple meal in england. when you don't know what else to eat, beans on toast with cheese is always a winner.

picked up a few things at tesco. i really only needed eggs

• basic eggs(15) £1.46
• natural yogurt (1kilo) £1.50
• pasta sauce £1
• goat cheese reduced .75
• nestle crunch X2 .51

so that's £5.73. the goat cheese was half price because it's close to out of date. i stuck it in the freezer and will use it to make tarts next week.
epic cooking day. made mango sauce, red lentil soup, lemon bars and stuffed focaccia.
lemon bars
i used this recipe i found on allrecipes.com they turned out nice enough. next time i will cook my crust a little longer and use 1 cup of sugar in the lemon mix. it's a kind of involved recipe but actually pretty easy. the worst part was pushing the crust out to cover the pan.

stuffed focaccia bread recipe comes from the krishna cookbook i picked up the other day. i changed it a little bit so i'll just note down the recipe i made

focaccia bread
dough

• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

pre-heat oven to 430degreesF/ 220degreeC(i turned the oven on while i was rolling out the dough)

stuffing: whatever you feel like really. anything you eat on a pizza would be good
i cooked some fresh garlic, onions and peppers in a bit of olive oil. once soft i let them cool. i cut up some black olives and sundried tomatoes, added that to the onion/peppers. i had a little ricotta and mozzarella left over from when i made lasagna the other day so i used that too.

in a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar and 1/8cup of warm water(from your 1/2cup, just pour a little out into the yeast to activate it.) set aside for 10min. yeast should be frothy and bubbling up/growing in size. if after 10min your yeast looks exactly like it did when you started, throw it away and try again, the yeast is dead and your bread will not turn out right. usually it's just because the water was too hot.
in a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder. add in the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. mix together well. i used a kitchen fork, works just fine for mixing.
knead for 8-10min. the book says: on a floured surface. well i live in a small apartment, floured surfaces are hard to come by. i just kneaded the dough right in the bowl, no added flour. after kneading i lifted the dough up and brush some oil around the bowl and put the dough back in. i then covered it with a piece of oiled plastic wrap. put the covered dough in a warm place for 45min or until doubled in size.
45min the dough is puffed up, give it a good punch. take it out of the bowl, put it on a lightly floured surface(i use one of those flexi cutting matts, with some flour sprinkled on it.) and give it a quick knead. divide the dough into two equally sized balls.
roll out one of the balls till you have a 10inch disk. place that on a well oiled baking sheet. on top of the disk put down your stuffing. leave a border around the edge so you can seal your bread. i spread the ricotta and then just dumped the other stuff right on top. i sprinkled over some dried oregano and basil.

roll out your other dough ball to similar size, 10inches maybe a little larger if you have a thick filling that needs covering. lightly wet the border of the bottom disk with some water. cover with the top disk and press around the border. this should seal in your stuffing.

brush the top with olive oil. i sprinkled on some more dried basil and oregano and a bit of sea salt. that's optional though. bake in the oven 30min or until the top is golden brown.

take out of the oven, let cool a few minutes and then slice into wedges- eat up.

since it has cheese in it, the left overs i put on a plate, covered in plastic wrap and stuck in the fridge

saturday shopping is done, well mostly. i still have to get a few things in town.
aldi

• conserve(jam) X2 .89
• ketchup £1.19
• tomato/chicken soup .39
• veg oil .93
• ravioli(in a can) .35
• herbs(parsley) .45
• black olives .39
• cannelloni(dried shells) .59
• lasagna(dried sheets) .59
• avocado X2 .25
• apples .59
• plums .59
• seedless grapes .59
• vine tomatoes .99
• digestives(like gram crackers) .32
• part baked baguettes X2 .39

total spend at aldi £11.02
sainsbury's

• frozen pizza X2 £2.49
• diet coke 6pack  X2 £2.85
• vanilla flavoring .58
• IPA(1 bottle beer) £1.34
• basic chop tomato X2 .35
• rolled oats 1kg .99
• butter spread X2 £1.14
• female supplies X4 £2.99
• basic crackers .54
• basic garlic(2fresh bulbs) .39
• loose courgettes (2) .73
• sun dried tomatoes £1.25
• basic corn chips .50

total spend at sainsbury's £20.02
some of the stuff i bought was on sale like the female supplies 2 for £3, coke bogof, pizza bogof, so my savings from that stuff was £12.44
we also filled the car with gas, that's about a once a month thing for us since we only use it 1 day a week to go a couple of miles, £30.58 for gas. gas is £1.14 a ltr right now with an expected 2p tax increase for april 1.
i bought a couple of things i don't normally because i am trying out some new recipes. stuff like black olives and sundried tomatoes. i'm making stuffed focaccia tonight and the recipe calls for those things. they'll be good in other dishes.

it's friday. tomorrow is our big trip to the grocery store in the car.  most of today i will be working on menu ideas and getting my list together. i really need to find a place i can source dried herbs in bulk. i use a ridiculous amount. i'll send a note to my bortherinlaw and see if he still has a costco membership. been buying random cookbooks recently. yesterday i got the higher taste. it's vegetarian and put out by the hare krishnas. i flipped through and there are some great looking dishes in there. i also picked up bite of seattle, it's from the 80's and features signature dishes from some of the more famous/popular restaurants in that city. lots of seafood dishes in there. not sure how much use it will be but it was only 20p. then lastly i picked up heavenly feasts and burnt offerings which was put out as a local church fund raiser- about 30 years ago. i like those kinds of books, gives you an idea of what locals make and eat. you can get some great old family recipes that way.
i've got lemons that need using up. next week lemon cheese cake is on the list, but i'm going to try and dig up something lemon and easy to make today.
tesco shopping

• .75% milk .65
• basic liquid hand soap X2 .38
• basic mouth wash .45

total spend at tesco £1.86

busy cooking day. i did a batch of:
all the veggies soup
granola bars

granola bars- experimental version 3,with pear sauce

• 2 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup of butter- melted
• 1/4 cup of golden syrup
• 1/4 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots chopped up
• 1/3 cup pear sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

in a sauce pot over low heat i melted the butter and stirred in the golden syrup and pear sauce
in a large bowl i mixed together the other ingredients. i just used a fork to stir everything around. i then added the pear and melted butter mixture to the large bowl. i mixed everything together- still with a fork. i dumped it out into a 9x13inch tray which i had lined with baking paper. with a spatula i firmly pressed the mix out until it was very thinly spread across the tray, it didn't quite cover the whole area but pretty close. i put the thing in the oven at 325 degrees for about 20min. i wasn't really paying attention to how long it cooked. i did the dishes. when the top was starting to get brown i turned the oven off. i took the tray out and cut the bars. i then let the bars completely cool in the tray. once again- very tasty results. granola bars are proving a huge hit around here.
i also made a batch of meat sauce based lasagna for the husband's dinner with garlic bread on the side of course

i think it's safe to say my $75 a week food budget is blown apart this week. curse you cheap meat.
tesco stop today

• 1ltr whole milk .85
• coco powder £1.48
• bananas £1.34
• dark choc .27

total spent £3.94
----------------------------------------
iceland shopping from the other day(CHEAP MEAT!)

• frying steak £2
• chicken (850g) £2.50 X2
• cheese pizza X2 £3

total spent £13.00
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monday i hit tesco twice.

• can of chili £1.37
• muller jelly X2 £1
• white bread  .70
• walker crisps £1.16
• frozen chicken £2.99

so that's £8.22total
muller jelly is the english version of jello. it's made with fruit juice and no added sugar. my son gets it as an after dinner treat. i needed a can of chili to make nachos. i could have made chili but i spent monday relaxing and didn't think about what my husband was going to have for dinner until 6pm when i came up with- nachos.
i think that brings the blog up to spead. tonight's dinner for me is left over ratatouile with a warm baguette. the husband is having kung po chicken from a dinner kit, you add chicken and veggies to whatever is in the box. think fancy chicken helper.
i'm also making another flourless chocolate cake but i'm holding off until later so i don't eat the whole thing before my husband gets home.

beef stew and chicken casserole. i made these last night. they are just super quick thrown together things.

beef stew
this is for my toddler. i'm going to blend it up with my stick blender before i serve it to him so it's no big deal if the meat is tough. i would not serve this to my husband. i make his beef stew differently.
2 small potatoes chopped
1 small carrot chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 inch hunk of swede chopped
slab of cheap frying steak, i think the piece i used was about 4-6oz.
squirt of tomato puree
little bit of a beef stock cube
enough water to cover everything
i put everything in a oven safe bowl, stirred it around, covered it with foil and put it in the oven at 350 for 1 1/2hrs.
i got 5 good sized kid sized servings. most i put in the freezer
---------------------
chicken casserole
2 huge chicken breast cubed up
1 large carrot chopped
1 large onion chopped
couple of broccoli spears cut up. i used about 1/2 a head of  broc
2inch hunk of butternut squash cubed
2 medium sized potatoes cut up
some button mushrooms cut up
2inch hunk of zucchini chopped
1 can of condensed soup. i used chicken, sometimes i use cream of mushroom
1/2 can of water
i just toss everything in my casserole dish and stir it around. i covered with foil and put in the oven at 350 for 1 1/2hrs. i was in a bit of a rush so i forgot to add seasoning/herbs/spices to the mix. usually i add some garlic powder, chili powder, cracked black pepper and thyme to it.
my  husband will eat this for dinner later in the week and take it to work for lunch. i usually serve it over rice but it would also be good with buttered egg noodles. i'll also give it to my son to eat. makes 4 good sized servings.

i made this yesterday
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-II/Detail.aspx
a couple of my internet associates are gluten free. one of them was talking about having flour-less chocolate cake for breakfast. i was highly skeptical. what is in such a thing and wouldn't it just an uninviting lump of slop in a bowl? so he hooked me up with some recipes and i picked this one to try first. it's super simple and i happen to have all the ingredients already. my motherinlaw and i are both serious chocolate addicts. i made the cake and within hours it was gone. very tasty stuff.
i swirled some peanut butter through the mix before i baked it. very good. next time i'm going to try cream cheese.

phew. it's 9pm and i'm cooking. the motherinlaw went home so we will be back to our normal routine tomorrow. went to the movies this afternoon and saw shutter island. on the way home i was going to stop at pizza hut for a couple of pizzas. i know my motheinlaw enjoys a good pizza. unfortunately the movie ran long and didn't have time to get some and get home before she had to leave. stopped at iceland instead because they have the best price on our favorite frozen pizzas. while walking around the store i noticed a lot of meat was reduced for quick sale. i am a sucker for cheap meat. picked up some frying steak and 2 packs of giant chicken breast that were all marked 1/2 off. made pizza and sent my motherinlaw off on her train with a few slices.
husband got home early for once. he had his pizza. decided to get a chicken casserole and a beef stew in the oven to take the load of my cooking plans for tomorrow. recipes and further updates tomorrow. it's family time.

ok, i made the monkey bread. i used breakfast rolls. you get them at aldi. so far it's the only place i have found in england that carries them. what they are: uncooked bread rolls in a cardboard tube which you then peel open. if you have never used them before take note- they pop when you break the seam. no matter how many tubes of these things i open it still startles me. so you open the tube. i then cut each roll in half and then each half into 3. i toss them in the sugar mix and then place in the biggest oven safe bowl you have. trust me- these things rise up when you cook them. my recipe is a little different than the one i posted up
monkey bread

• 2 tubes of biscuits or bread rolls
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup butter type product (butter, margarine)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

put the brown sugar and butter in a small sauce pot and set on low heat to melt. stir together
mix the white sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. cut the rolls up as explained earlier and put in the sugar mixture. stir around so they are nice and coated. put coated pieces of dough in the bottom of your oven safe dish/bowl/whaterever- just make sure it's big, or use two smaller ones. i sprinkle in walnut pieces between each dough layer. once all the dough pieces are in the oven dish, pour the melted butter/sugar mixture over top and place in the oven to cook. take out when done. turn out onto a plate to cool. be very very careful when turning the cake out. the butter sugar mix is super hot.

there is usually extra sugar and cinnamon mix left over. i save that for my next baking project. it's also wicked good sprinkled on toasted bread with some butter spread on it.
also today i made a batch of ratatouile and some pear sauce. pear sauce is just like the other fruit sauces. peel and cut up the fruit, stick in a sauce pan with a little water and simmer until the fruit is soft. puree with a stick blender. it's a great way to 'save' fruit that has gone a bit mushy or bruised. instead of tossing it out, turn it into sauce.
ratatouile
for dinner i decided that i would do manicotti again since my motherinlaw has never had it.
manicotti

it's english mother's day today. my motherinlaw has been visiting for the past few days. i don't cook much when we have visitors since she usually brings a whole freezer's worth of food with her. just been eating cookies and veg soup. terrible i know but i'm a grown up and you can eat cookies for breakfast when you're a big kid. i will be making monkey bread later.

grocery shopping today
aldi

• diapers £5.49
• potatoes 5k .49
• chewing gum .79
• multigrain hoops .95
• carrots .59
• apples .49
• part baked baguettes X3 .39
• sugar .75
• rolls X2 .89
• soup .39

total spend £12.89

sainsbury's

• diet coke 6pk X4 £2.85
• apple juice(4pk) £2.91
• orange juice(4pk) £2.91
• beans X3 .44
• pizza crust mix .59
• lightbulbs £3.69
• basic honey .68
• cheese spread £1
• rocotta .99
• cheddar cheese X2 £3.88
• chocolate cookies X2 £1
• basic corn chips .50
• basic snack crackers .54
• white cabbage .39

total spend £24.96
a lot of the stuff was multi buy offers and i saved £11.72 on those
so that's £39.85
we are stocked up on a lot of stuff and i won't have to buy much next week. i will try and get through the next week only buying milk, bread and bananas.

today i went to tesco and picked up a few things

• red onion .99
• white onions .98
• bananas £1.34
• basic flour .43
• .75% milk 2ltr .65
• full fat milk 1ltr .85
• buttery spread X2 £1.29
• bread crumbs .68
• foil .45
• aero chocolate X4 £2

total spend £9.29
the buttery spread was bogof. the onions were buy 2 for £1.60
i didn't really need any of this stuff for today, it just saves me the hassle of lugging it home tomorrow or later next week. it's all stuff we use and need often.
i had the rest of the mac and cheese i made last night for lunch. veg soup for dinner tonight.

no shopping today. i never left the house. actually i never even got out of my jammies. i had a day off. ahhh happy day. my motherinlaw is in town for a few days. that means free time for me. wheeee. i did make a killer batch of baked mac and cheese with fresh broccoli. i could have eaten the whole batch but i shared. super good.

cheese sticks or cheese straws

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• 3/4 cup soften margarine
• 2 cups grated italian cheese (stink cheese, the super cheap stuff you feel kind of bad putting on top of your spaghetti)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. rub in the margarine. your mix should look kind of like bread crumbs. add the water a little bit at a time while you mix. you know- add a little, mix. add some more mix some more. i was able to mix everything with a fork. it's really super easy and makes a nice lump of dough. i divided the dough into two lumps and rolled them out on a lightly floured surface. i then cut the dough into strips

and laid them  out on a baking sheet i lined with parchment paper. i also used a cookie sheet, unlined to see which cooked better.(baking sheet with parchment liner won)

 i baked in a preheated oven at 205degrees C, so that's like 400something in F. cook like 5-8min, they want to be golden brown but not burnt.

this recipe makes a ton of sticks. good for if you have a party or something. if it's just going to be you and a little kid eating them it might be a good idea to make half a batch. let totally cool and then store in an airtight container. they should be good for 5 days or so before going stale.
they aren't super cheesy tasting. i'm going to make a batch of garlic mayo for dipping.

garlic mayo
chop 1 or 2 clove of garlic and mix into 3/4 cup of mayo. i also add a little dried parsley. let sit in the fridge for a few hours for the flavor to develop.

did a little shopping last night and some this morning
tesco

• orange juice 2ltrx2 £1.44, buy 2 for £2.50
• muller jelly £1.50
• muller yogurt £1.50 buy 2 for £2.50
• aero X2 .50
• frozen chicken breast £2.99
• oven chips £1

total spend £9.99

vegstand £2.50 got two huge heads of fresh broccoli, 4 pink grapefruit, and a bag of pears

sainsbury's .47 for a fresh mozzarella ball
so that's £12.96

i got the aero chocolates because my motherinlaw is visiting for a few days. she loves milk chocolate and the aeros were half price. oven chips were on sale. it's only a small bag but plenty to last until our saturday shop when i can get a bigger bag for cheap. frozen chicken breasts were also half off. 4 breasts in the bag. any time i can spend £1 or less per breast i am happy. they are good ones too nothing added but water. some frozen breasts have all kinds of bulking crap added to them in addition to a load of salt.
making calzones for dinner tonight. i'm going to try making cheese straws too for another snack item. i dug up a recipe on allrecipes.com and will be modifying it to my needs.

went to sainsbury's today

• diet coke, 6pack X2 £2.85, bogof
• basic yogurt .45
• choc cookies X2 £1 bogof
• loaf of bread .72

total spent £5.02
------------------
not the most exciting cooking day. husband is  having leftover meat manicotti. i have veg soup and the kid will most likely have a combination of leek soup with turkey.
i did do an apple and plum sauce: peel and chop 1 apple. peel 1 plum and chop. leave skin on 1 plum and chop. put in a sauce pot with a little water and simmer until soft. blend together with a stick blender. you can peel both plums or leave the skin on all the fruit, whatever makes you happy. i like to peel because the skin can be a little tough and i hate when a bit gets stuck in your teeth.

i also did another batch of the granola bars. they have been a huge hit.

granola bars- experimental version 2, golden syrup and more cinnamon

• 2 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup of butter- melted
• 1/4 cup of golden syrup
• 1/4 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots chopped up
• 1 small apple
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

i peeled and cut up the apple. put it in a sauce pot with a little water and let it simmer until it was soft. i then used my potato masher to squash it up. i put in the vanilla, golden syrup and butter then stirred it all together. since the apple sauce was still warm the butter quickly melted

in a large bowl i mixed together the other ingredients. i just used a fork to stir everything around. i then added the apple and melted butter mixture to the large bowl. i mixed everything together- still with a fork. i dumped it out into a 9x13inch tray which i had lined with baking paper. with a spatula i firmly pressed the mix out until it was very thinly spread across the tray, it didn't quite cover the whole area but pretty close. i put the thing in the oven at 325 degrees for about 20min. i wasn't really paying attention to how long it cooked. i did the dishes. when the top was starting to get brown i turned the oven off. i took the tray out and cut the bars. i then let the bars completely cool in the tray. i gave one to my son to try and he declared them- delicious.

lemon cake

the cake part

• 175g(6oz) soft margarine
• 175g(6oz) self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 175g(6oz) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoon milk
•  1/4 cup of plain yogurt

topping

• grate the rind and juice of a lemon
• 110g(4oz) caster sugar

preheat the oven to 180degree C or 350degree F or gas mark 4
cream the eggs and sugar together with an electric hand mixer. add the milk and yogurt. add the flour and baking powder. now you can either bake it in a lined loaf tin or on a 9x13inch baking tray. if you cook it in the loaf tin it should take about 50 min. the cake is done when it has risen and springs back when you push the top. if you use the baking tray, i cook it until it's golden brown on top and then i poke it with a tooth pick. the pick should come out clean. it's about 20/25min in a baking tray.

mix the topping ingredients together and pour over top of the warm cake. i like to poke the top all over with a fork so the syrup sinks in. i then spoon it over a little at at time so the entire cake is thoroughly covered.

so grating a lemon. what a pain in the butt. i hate cleaning those stupid micro graters. i used my veg peeler and peeled the lemon like it was an apple. any of the white bit i scraped off with my knife.

i then finely sliced the peel

and then chopped it.

it takes a little skill and practice. you have to be super careful not to cut yourself but i'd rather do it that way then deal with a stupid grater.

hi everyone stopping by for the first time today.
all the veg soup is cooking. i also decided to do a quick leek and potato soup for my son.

leek and potato soup

• 1 medium sized leek or 2 small ones chopped up and rinsed well
• 3 small potatoes or 1 big one, whatever you have around, chopped
• chopped garlic

i put the chopped garlic, leeks and potato in a medium sized pot with a little olive oil. i stirred them around and let them sauté for a few minutes.

i added some onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley and veg bouillon powder to the pot. i stirred everything around and added enough water to cover the veggies.

i turned the heat down to low and let the pot simmer until the potatoes were tender. i turned off the burner. after the soup had cooled a bit i pureed it with my stick blender. super quick and easy

went to tesco today for a few things
.75% milk(2ltr) .65
pasta sauce x2 £1
banana 1.5kilo £1.34
total spend £3.99

i didn't really need pasta sauce but it's on sale for £1 a jar. usually it's £1.27, so that's a little bit of savings on something i use all the time. i try and get cheap bananas at  the veg stand but the lady hasn't had any out for a few days. £1.34 is pretty decent for the weight.
today i'm making all the veg in the house soup and a lemon cake
All the veggies in the house soup

no more cooking for me today. the husband has decided he wants to cook a bunch of stuff. he's going to do a thai green curry with chicken and a cottage pie. we're going to try and eat as much out of our freezer this week as possible. having the freezer too full aggravates the icing up issue we have. so he's pulled out chicken and ground beef for his cooking fun. i was going to make soup today but meh. i can do it tomorrow.
i fed the boy a mixture of ratatouille and bolognese sauce with 1/2 a piece of toast crumbled in and a light sprinkle of moz cheese. he devoured it. he also got a small apple and 1 of the granola bars. he seems to be full now. i made myself some english comfort food- baked beans on french fries with grated cheddar cheese on top. total carb load

it would seem my toddler is going through a growth spurt or something. the past few days he's been constantly begging for food. normally he just has breakfast, lunch and dinner. i used to set snacks out for him so he could have something if he wanted them but i ended up throwing them away after they got dumped on the carpet and stomped on. lately he's been begging for cheese sticks and crackers or sandwiches. i thought i would track down a granola bar recipe and make something like that for him. i found a recipe on allrecipes.com that had a load of good reviews. i wrote down the basic ingredients and then set about editing it to better suit my needs. below is my experimental granola bar recipe

granola bars

• 2 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup of butter- melted
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots chopped up
• 1 small apple
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

i peeled and cut up the apple. put it in a sauce pot with a little water and let it simmer until it was soft. i then used my potato masher to squash it up. i put in the vanilla, honey and butter then stirred it all together. since the apple sauce was still warm the butter quickly melted

in a large bowl i mixed together the other ingredients. i just used a fork to stir everything around. i then added the apple and melted butter mixture to the large bowl. i mixed everything together- still with a fork. i dumped it out into a 9x13inch tray which i had lined with baking paper. with a spatula i firmly pressed the mix out until it was very thinly spread across the tray, it didn't quite cover the whole area but pretty close. i put the thing in the oven at 325 degrees for about 20min. i wasn't really paying attention to how long it cooked. i did the dishes. when the top was starting to get brown i turned the oven off. i took the tray out and cut the bars. i then let the bars completely cool in the tray. i gave one to my son to try and he declared them- delicious.

note the americans: since americans are used to way more sugar in their food these will seems rather bland and tasteless. try adding 1/3 cup of brown sugar and a little salt. i made these for my son and stuff for him i try to cut out all added refined sugar and salt.

busy cooking day. made everything is orange soup for my son along with some mango puree. right now i have batch of vegetarian manicotti and a batch of meat ones.

everything is orange soup

• 1/2 a small sweet potato chopped up
• 3 inch hunk of butternut squash chopped up
• 1 carrot chopped up
• 1inch hunk of swede(rutabaga) chopped up

toss the chopped veggies in a pot with about a tablespoon of olive oil. sauté around for a few minutes. i added some onion powder, garlic powder and about 1 teaspoon of veg bullion and stirred everything together. i then added enough water to just cover the veg.

i brought everything to a boil, reduced the heat and let the pot simmer until the veg was tender- about 30min. i let everything cool a bit and then blended it up with my stick blender.

i put 1 ladle full(6oz) into a container with a hunk of cooked turkey i did yesterday and blended it up again so the turkey was nice and chopped up. i then did 1/2 a piece of toast and crumbled that into the container, mixed everything together and my son devoured it.

mango sauce we covered the other day- peel and chop up with mango, put in a pot with a little water, cook until soft and blend with the stick blender. i put 3 tablespoons in a bowl with 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt and mixed them together.

manicotti
some kind of filling, ricotta cheese and dried pasta tubes, super easy.
for the veg ones i took some of the leftover ratatouille and blended it up with my stick blender. i then added some ricotta cheese to it and mixed the two together. for the meat i took some homemade bolognese sauce we had in the freezer and let it thaw out i then mixed some of it with a little bit of ricotta cheese. you can also just do plain ricotta or ricotta and spinach is popular too. ok so how do you get your filling into the tubes? i used a plastic freezer bag. put the mix in, push it to one side of the bottom, get the air out and twist the top closed. when you pick it up it should form like a cone shape in your hand. snip off the corner and insert the open end in the tube. give a little squeeze from the top and it goes right in the tube. sounds kind of hard but it's really easy.
ok then get your baking dish, put down a layer of sauce. lay down the stuffed manicotti. cover with another layer of sauce and some shredded moz cheese or parm. cover and bake in the oven at 350 for 35min. uncover and bake another 10min or so.
serve with garlic bread
slacker garlic bread

cut a part baked baguette in half- the long way. spread each side with butter. put some garlic paste on the knife and spread down the length of the baguette, sprinkle on some dried parsley. i also sprinkle on some garlic powder because i don't think garlic paste is strong enough. bake in the oven until golden brown.

shopping total and remaining money to next saturday

ok saturday is shopping day. it's when the husband drives us to the big grocery store on the other side of town and we stock up on things we can't find at the corner shop.( the corner shop being a smaller outlet of the same grocery store.)
so sainsbury's shopping for march 6

• basic mayo .38
• oj 1 litre x3 .86- buy 3 for £2, savings=.58
• toilet duck £2.03
• basic snack cracker .49
• cheese spread £1.17
• dark chocolate x2 .27
• courgettes loose £1.37(1.84per kilo, got 4 small courgettes)
• diet coke 6 pack £2.85x2 bogo
• white bread .72

total spent at sainsbury today £11.55

aldi

• 50pack of diapers £5.49
• irish soup .59
• mackerel fillets .59
• red seedless grapes (500g) .99
• celery .59
• 6pack of apples .59
• sweet potatoes (4 in the bag) .85
• little gem lettuce .79
• part baked baguettes( 2 in a pack) 3x .39
• chamois £1.49
• car wash kit £1.99
• 1 vanilla pod .69
• rubber gloves(3 pack) £1.29
• cannelloni shells .59

total spent at aldi today £17.89
so that was the big shopping done for the week. after we got home i took my son for a walk around town to see if there were any bargains going on. i picked up a bag of corn chips at tesco for .25 because the husband forgot to get them earlier. i stopped by the veg stand and found a bag of 5 huge lemons for .50, those will eventually be turned into cake.
£30.19 is the total spend for today. that leaves £19.81 in the food budget until next saturday. £50 being roughly $75.