Shopping Week 4-6

I clutched my shopping list, barely able to contain my excitement at the meals ahead I do realise this comes across as rather sad...   I skipped round the supermarket, sans kids obviously, picking up bargains galore.   I was a teeny bit worried as I'd added some basic toiletries as well as the shopping and as you all know, I take cash with me these days, to stop me picking up that kg of smoked salmon or half price champagne.....mmmm...champagne......   I add up as I go along, rounding up.   Now this is where it gets good; my bargains and canny shopping meant that my bill for two whole weeks shopping came to....wait for it...£70.29.   Yes....that includes over £5 on toiletries so for food alone, £65.   Happy dance.....and the receipt to prove it.

As you can see from the meal list below, shopping on a budget does not mean skimping on meals or even on quality as some misguided wee soul suggested to me last week and will now rue the day....*evil, smug chuckle*...yes, I lose friends daily and expect to be clobbered soon...; the chicken was free range, the beef grade A, fresh herbs were purchased as well as good quality fruit and veg.  The remaining cash will be used for something nice from the deli or butchers or towards Friday night's soiree....entertaining is a separate budget usually although a lot of what I'll be serving is within the list below (stews, pizzas etc).

Dinners
Buttermilk chicken with smashed sweet potatoes and roasted veg.
Beef stew (enough for 15 servings) with pastry rounds
Farmhouse chicken & chorizo stew (Helen's recipe) with dumplings (10 servings)
Vegetarian lasagna x 2
Homemade pizza & hearthbread with mozarella and garlic
Artichoke Salad (still loving it!)
Macaroni cheese x 2
Salmon fishcakes with green veg
Vegetable and lentil soup with homemade rolls
Haggis, neeps and tatties
Vegetable curry and rice
Pasta with homemade tomato sauce with garlic butter swirls
Chicken and couscous
Omelettes & chips

I got some excellent beef for half price because the use by date was the next day; even if you are not going to cook it right away, it is worth buying to freeze.   As a result of this beef and the special offer already on, I made an enormous beef stew, taking a little of it for dinner that night (enough for five) and making a sour cream pastry crust to turn it into a pie.   Delicious.

I did the same with the chicken; I made the entire batch without chorizo as none was available, we had some for tea and froze the rest.   I shall defrost it for Friday night and add the chorizo, which I shall buy at the deli because I have plenty of budget and the West End deli rocks...to the dish before placing in the oven to reheat.   This is one of those dishes which is so much nicer the next day or after being frozen.

This is one of my best shops yet; I have lots left over, e.g. pasta sheets, flour, frozen meals and could easily provide 3 weeks worth of meals from it.

Lunches
Soup
Homemade bread/rolls/pancakes with chicken/cheese/jam/Nutella
French toast
Boiled eggs and soldiers
Pasta
Mini pizzas

Breakfasts
Cereal
Toast
Boiled eggs
Pikelets
Muffins
Pancakes
Cake bread

Desserts/snacks
Fruit
Chocolate, cherry and coconut bread
Biscuits
cookies

Beef stew baked in a pie

Farmhouse chicken stew minus the chorizo

Pikelet

Pizza....before baking

Hearthbreads...before baking

Roasted sweet potato and Maris Pipers

Recipes to follow.

Giveaway coming up soon; watch this space!!

And then there were two....

I made Florence a sister; Kelly called her Dolly.

Dolly having a nap after her 'operation'.

Dolly was well stuffed, unlike her wee sis Florence.

Rag Doll No. 2; pretty girl.

We had beef stew with potatoes and dumplings last night, all cooked in the one pot. Lucy helped with the dumplings.

Beef Stew, potatoes, carrots, onions and dumplings.

It was warming, tasty and just perfect for a cold winter's night.


There was nothing left!

We had shortbread drizzled with chocolate for dessert.


Shortbread...mmmmm.

The temperature reached -20 in some parts of Scotland last night. We were at -11 and despite the heating on, it is cold. Any window that may have a tiny breeze or any tile which may be a wee bit loose lets in a bit of biting wind and reduces the temperature greatly, leaving the central heating struggling to cope.

The cold water is hard to bear, the tiled floor in the kitchen is like ice. There are icicles hanging from the awning and pipes ready to burst. Therefore, I have no choice but to snuggle within the confines of the toasty living room, drinking hot tea, eating leftover shortbread and spicy almonds that I'd made for Anne last night. It is a terrible thing to admit, but underneath this fetching outfit I'm wearing not...really, really not is the pair of pjs I refused to take off when I got up.

I'm taking the day off.

Back to Food and the Pantosphere

When I went shopping last week, I had my list in hand and a good idea of what it would cost. Lamb, at this time of year, can be very expensive but there are usually bargains to be found. On this shopping trip however, sadly, not. I therefore did what any frugal, thrifty maw would do and changed my entire menu, quickly summing up that most of the ingredients already in my trolley could be used with beef or chicken instead.

The bill came to £54 and will feed us all for 9 days, possibly more, with leftovers.

My niece was staying with us on Friday through to Saturday and Kelly had a friend come over; with a few unexpected visitors thrown in for good measure, I decided to make the beef stew I had planned with added sausages and dumplings. I threw potatoes in for good measure, making it a one pot job. The kids can't get enough of stewed sausages, much preferring them to the tender chunks of beef; don't get me wrong, they totally chewed them down too but it was extra sausages requested, more than anything else.

The entire meal came to approx. £4 and fed 8 people with a little leftover for a solitary meal.

On Sunday, we had our annual trip the pantomime; 44 of us traipsed onto the train, excited kiddies in hand, to go to the Tron theatre in Glasgow's Trongate district to see the alternative panto 'Ya Beauty and the Beast'. For my American and Canadian friends, I believe this is more of a British tradition and it may be hard to imagine the appeal of grown men dressed up as panto dames, resplendent in the most wonderful, weird and wacky outfits you ever could see, but appeal it does and is a tradition I for one recommend wholeheartedly.

This is the third year we've went as a big crowd and it was hilarious, as usual. I'd arranged sweeties and juice for everyone, trying to hand them out to 43 hungry weans and their parents before the performance began; I failed but surreptitiously tossed them along the aisles until everyone had a bag of chocolate buttons, wine gums or other sweetific treat. The staff had arranged for our pre-booked ice cream to be delivered to our seats at the interval, meaning I could rest rather than run around.

The Tron does the best pantomime in Glasgow and we've been to them all; the wonderful postmodern panto performance, the excellent actors, the truly Glaswegian humour, the little bit of social statement and always a wee dig at the other pantos in nearby theatres and pantos in general make it laugh out loud funny from beginning to end. Since we inhabited the first four rows, we were picked on a few times; to Eric, one of the dads "is that a tie you're wearing, son, or is your tongue just hinging oot?"; to his wife "you all look lovely tonight...except you....don't worry hen, I hear that looks coming back intae fashion" made us feel we were part of the show. The actual theatre is small and cosy, the seats staggered, giving great views from wherever you happen to be and the staff are amazing, considering the amount of excited and wired to the moon kids they see on a daily basis and some of the parents too!

Bunty Beautox

To my Scottish friends, I couldn't recommend this more; go see it, before it's too late!
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Beef Stew
A few pounds of beef chunks
Seasoned flour
A tablespoon of oil and butter
Beef stock to cover
Chopped onion
Chopped carrot
A dash of red wine
Potatoes, peeled and quartered-amount to taste

Cover the beef in the seasoned flour. Shake of excess. Heat oil and butter in a pan and as soon as the butter starts to foam, add in some of the beef; do not crowd the pan. Once browned all over, remove to a warm plate and put in some more beef. Repeat until all the beef is browned. Throw in the onions, give a quick stir and remove to plate with the beef. Throw in the remaining flour and stir. Pour in a dash of red wine-stand back as it will let off a cloud of steam-and stir into the flour mix. Don't worry if it is a bit lumpy. Let it reduce a little and then add the beef stock a little at a time. You can add tinned tomatoes if you want but I tend not to if making dumplings and adding potatoes.

Add beef and onions to pan, making sure any liquid is poured in too. If more beef stock is required, add it...enough to cover the meat and a wee bit more for luck...or to stop it drying out! Add carrots, stir and bring to the boil. Put on a lid and simmer on a very low heat for 1 hour. Check that it IS simmering. After an hour, add potatoes and simmer for at least another 30 minutes, I prefer an hour. Make sure that you check that the beef is tender...it will be...and the potatoes are too; sometimes, they're not, depending on size of chunks because it is cooking in a simmer only.

Add seasoning if required.

If adding dumplings, put these in 15 minutes beforehand.

The briefest of posts...

...I'm having a party on Saturday (incase I forgot to mention it...) to celebrate my 40th birthday and the fun begins on Thursday, therefore I'm running around like the proverbial blue-bummed beastie, painting a wall here, cleaning a cupboard there, organising shopping lists, cooking, clearing and giving Brian lists. I'll see y'all tomorrow with my soup and stew recipes that I had this week so far. The French Onion soup and Indian Chicken Stew were divine.

Helen's Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Today's lunch:

Lahmacun bread brushed with a mix of butter and olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and topped with ingredients of choice:

• cherry tomatoes, fresh thyme, a sprinkling of Parmesan once out of oven
  
• roasted garlic, thyme and Parmesan
• goats cheese and thyme
• goats cheese, rosemary, cherry tomatoes and chutney
• salami and chorizo
• grated cheese
• roasted garlic and extra sea salt
  

Add any ingredients that take your fancy, making sure they can take 10 minutes in reasonably hot oven. These are also delicious for breakfast; you can add a tablespoon of sugar to the batter or not and/or topped with (after baking the buttered bread on it's own):

• Nutella and banana
• jam
• fruit coulis
• brown sugar mixed with cinnamon (bake this one in the oven)
• cream cheese and smoked salmon

The goats cheese and chutney was amazing!

Last night, we had chicken stew with dumplings, the quickest, easiest dinner which looks like you've been slaving over a hot stove for hours. We were so happy at dinner last night, sat round the table chatting away, eating up every last bit, pressing the baby potatoes and dumplings into the last of the gravy, finished off with steaming mugs of tea. After the Scotch broth for lunch, the comfort food had certainly done it's job.

Helen's Quick and Easy Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Place into a pan the following:
A half bag of baby potatoes (around 3-5 per person)
One onion, chopped large
A few shallots, whole or halved
A carrot, chopped large
2 garlic cloves
Some sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
Half a tin plum tomatoes or a few fresh tomatoes
Any other root veg you have in the house, chopped large

Add to this a pint or enough to cover of light chicken gravy, home made or granules mixed with chicken stock. If using fresh tomatoes, add a good squeeze of tomato puree to the gravy. Add a little dash of white wine if you happen to have some open. The teabag-looking item was a bouquet garni packet I had left so I popped it in for that little bit of extra aromatic flavouring.

Bring to the boil and drop in chunks of chicken breast or thigh meat; chicken breasts into four, thighs into two. Stir, put on the lid, boil once more and then simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Prepare dumplings by placing into a bowl the following:
100g/4oz self raising flour
2oz mature cheddar cheese
1oz Parmesan (if you don't want to use this, add another ounce of cheddar instead).
Quarter teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp mustard powder
Handful of either thyme or chopped parsley
Sprinkle salt and pepper

Mix and add a beaten egg and enough water to make a sticky dough. Don't mix too much, you want it lumpy. Form into little dumplings and pour over a little oil, rubbing gently to coat each ball. Place in fridge until five minutes before needed.

Put oven on to 200 degrees Celsius/gas mark 5.

Pour stew into an oven proof dish and top with dumplings. Bake in hot oven for around 15 minutes or until dumplings golden brown or a little darker on top, depending on taste.

The dumplings will expand and stick together which is just perfect; half are soaking up the gravy, the half sticking above the top are golden and crispy. Apply three greedy, hungry wee weans, one hungry big man and try to get to the table before they polish it off, leaving you a loan potato and a carrot.
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I've had several phone calls, emails and texts asking me how I am; it's lovely that my friends take the time to do that but I find myself saying "I'm fine" even though I still feel poorly. Is it a mum thing, a Scottish thing or a woman thing that after 7 days of illness, I feel frustrated with my inability to get better quickly and I feel like such a fraud. Come on, flu, go already!

I want to walk up a hill, go shopping and take the kids swimming desperately. It's their holiday week; not that they've complained, I don't think they can quite believe their luck what with the jammies on for as long as they want, mum on tap, vid games, computer and dvds galore. It's been a nice week, considering.

Tomorrow, we plan to hit the cinema to see 'Up'; I'm hoping my coughing has subsided by then as I really want to see it and can't if all I'll end up doing is disturbing everyone around me. Tomorrow is another day, I could leap out of bed, restored and well! Karmic thoughts, people, karmic thoughts.

Gobby Wordless Wednesday

For those of you wondering what gobby means, it's a description of someone with a big mouth yes, me, go on, say it...you were thinking it... (or gob) who can't refrain from talking, even if they happen to be participating in...oh, I don't know...a wordless day? I accept that title. I have snippets of information, messages to give, certain bits of information to relay so I have no choice but to make this Wordless Wednesday, only partial.

Anyone any idea why I can't see my list of followers? I also can't see anyone elses so therefore can't join any new blogs. Tis a tad frustratin'.

Vintage Kitty, we miss you. Please come back to blogland. Vintage had a wonderful blog full of vintage stuff oddly enough, witty quips and delightful repartee. Unfortunately, she got stalked by an evil troll and decided it just wasn't worth it. How sad do you have to be to actually come online, read a lovely blog and start spewing evilness. Blogland is a sadder place without Ms. Kitty and I hope she shall return one day.

A few of my delightful friends across the globe received their little Scottish goodies the other day there was a saga but it's too boring to go into. There were 8 sent out altogether so I'm hopeful that the rest of 'em have made their way safely since two have so far reached American shores, so let me know if you are one of the recipients!

The lovely Anna from the beautiful blog 'little reminders of love' had engaged me in a conversation about the Queen sometime ago. I told her I'd been to Buckingham Palace and had met her; we engaged in a chat along the lines of:
"No way"...
"WAY!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
You can tell we have a high combined intelligence, can't you? So, this Gobby Worldess Wednesday sets out to show my day at the palace.

Arrival at the Palace

We had a picnic to begin with, served with champagne


My twin sis; a journalist gave us the hats I think; we were in the newspaper




Performers kept us entertained

The Queens Concerts: Party at the Palace

Tom Jones

A couple of swells

The Corrs


Rod Stewart

Annie Lennox; Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton etc.were also performing; so many singers and bands were there


Even Baby Spice...

The staff, watching quietly from the gardens below

The Royal family on stage

Ozzy got a rousing welcome


All the performers come on together

The palace from the back gardens at night


The Fireworks at the end were incredible