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Monday 13 October 2014

Yesterday, All my troubles were so far away.

We enjoyed glorious sunshine yesterday, washing done and line dried, ironed, aired and put away. Lovely. A spot of gardening, some ambling around with Ben, it was far too nice to hurry, a few jobs done around the house and a cheap, tasty dinner.



This was taken early afternoon, the sky was even bluer than on the photo. Then within a couple of hours this happened.


We did not get rain but the temperature dropped alarmingly and by 6.00 it was dark and the heating was on for a couple of hours.


Dinner was less than £1.50 for two, I had a cheaty moment and bought some chicken kiev from Lidl, half price offer and did a tray of roasted veg to go with them. I chopped up a carrot, a parsnip, a large sweet potato, half a smallish squash and 2 red onions, I also added a head of garlic separated into cloves but not peeled. I tossed these around in a splash of oil, some balsamic vinegar and a good pinch or salt and pepper. The garlic head was huge and would have pushed up the cost but was free. I went out one day last week to a "do" (also free) and bought a raffle ticket, I won a food hamper, fresh and tinned which will all be used.
I did take photos and loaded them onto the lap top which promptly hid them from me. Take my word that it was colourful and delicious. The Kievs were very tender but not so garlicky as I would have liked, I did expect this though and that was why I put so much into the veg mix. It was very filling and some veg was left over, it will become the base for soup with some stock and a few of my cherry toms and a tin of cheapo baked beans with the sauce washed off.

My new to me front door curtain is in place and looks good, I will repeat some of the photos that are awol and post later, It cost me £4.50 and is good Sanderson fabric, fully lined and still had the hooks in place.

My new crafty idea is about to commence so again I will take some repeat photos.

The rain that was forecast is here, but I care not. I have lots of things to do and only need to go out to walk Ben and we both have raincoats. I just wish he had wellies as well.

I had a very good enjoyable and productive day topped of with a delicious meal that cost very little ans cooked itself. Today I am going to cook some Lamb Chump Chops in the slow cooker, just as Frugal Queen and Karen of Chelmarsh Chunterings do. I bought a pack of 11 for just over £4 from Lidl, 3 of them will become Scotch Broth at some point, I normally use scrag end or breast for this but the celebrity chefs have promoted those cuts and pushed the price up, just as they did with Oxtail and pigs trotters.
 I do like winter food, a dish of something steaming hot with little dumplings swimming in a lake of rich gravy, heaven.
 Soup made with all the odds and ends of veg from the fridge bottom served with toast or a handful of rice or pasta added during the cooking time.
Chicken noodle soup, a stew more than a soup, made with chicken bones saved from roast dinners and hoarded like gold in the freezer.

All of these make my heart sing and put little strain on my purse.

That,s it, I am now in dire need of breakfast, oats cooked the Scottish way with water and a pinch of salt is my favourite, but as I need the calcium I will use skimmed milk.

TTFN                                                           Pam


















16 comments:

  1. Hi Pam I very oven do a tray of roast veg, it makes a nice change, I am also going to try some of the frozen lamb chops, I saw Frugal Queens & Karen's post, need to make more use of the slow cooker, as it has been pointed out by a few bloggers it cost around 10p to run.

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    1. My Lamb was lovely, it melted off the bones, I will be having it again soon. I have been roasting trays of veg for years, sometimes it is mostly peppers, celery and tomatoes. I like beetroot in there as well.

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  2. What a cheery start to a dreary Monday reading your blog post was. Well done on winning the raffle. I couldn't win a raffle if my ticket was the only one in the box!

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    1. There were 3 of us and I shared the hamper out, it was massive, I have been buying raffle tickets at fund raisers for many years and can count on one hand how many times I have won.

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  3. Hello pam . we too had a cheap dinner yesterday , the pork i blogged about from lidl was really nice with carrots from the garden , frozen veg and some of my 56 ib bag of potatoes it came to just under £3.00 for both of us , Its a great feeling when you win something isn't i i won a charity shop hamper two Ayers ago at Christmas it was lovely xxx

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    1. I do like Pork, coked anyway but the Lamb made a nice change. I do most of my shopping at Lidl, the nearest Aldi is more than twice as far away. I shop on Thursday and make sure that I run all my errands the same day.

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  4. Well done on winning that hamper. I am like the Saver of Suburbia and couldn't win anything even if mine was the only ticket!! Ah well, lucky in life in other ways, so I won't complain. My slow cooker was in use over the weekend too, making a big double meal for 2 of steak and kidney.

    Your frugal meals sound very tasty. I have a fussy husband, who doesn't do garlic and no veg unless it's potatoes, broccoli or peas . . . but I have learned to live with that over the years.

    Enjoy your crafting.

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    1. I have a fussy eater of a husband too , nothing savoury and and sweet in the same meal , tined peas , not frozen, but he will eat frozen mixed veg, old potatoes not new , he doesn't like the earthy taste , i could write a page lol , but we love them all the same xxx

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    2. The only fussy eater that I know is Francesca and she is getting better.
      There are very few things that I do not like, Turkey is the main one along with Sweetbreads, Brains and Okra.

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  5. Hi Pam. I posted this on one of your earlier posts and wasn't sure if you would have seen it so am posting again. I have followed your blog for quite a while. If you are still making dog beds for Many Tears I have some pieces of fleece that would back some beds that I would like to send you. I have tried to email you with no luck as it is insisting that I have a Yahoo account. Maybe you could email me on my katiejane50@hotmail.co.uk email address with a mail address I could send the parcel to?
    KatieJane

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    1. Thank you so much, consider it done.

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  6. That hamper sounds like a wonderful prize. The weather has been so changeable here too. Today it's rained nearly all day, really driving rain too. Tomorrow is set to sunny all day but cold. Like you, I love winter food, lots of stews and dumplings...yummy!

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    1. The rain cleared by mid morning and it has been dry but cool since. i have been busy sewing and hooking today.

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  7. Good news about the Hamper. Weather was the same here. We definitely need warm soup now the temperature has dropped.

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    1. I have soup on the go most of the winter, this week it is mostly the end of the peppers, celery and tomatoes.

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  8. Yes ... soup pan on the go ... I live on the stuff ! I'm baking today .. chickens are doing us proud .. lots of eggs .. so a cake will be a nice indulgace.
    Vicky x

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