Monday, 15 June 2020

Money saving project

Monday 15th June 2020
When life gives you Monday, dip it in glitter and sparkle all day


Well it was Yoga with Alfie this morning rather than Adriene, he woke up very playful, so there wasn't a lot of yoga moves being executed in the correct way lol, it's all good though, we've had a very short walk and played biting Beverley so he's happily asleep on the armchair in my office bless him and mom's snoozing in her armchair downstairs.  

Well this week's all about the freezer, I started yesterday by eating a cottage pie I'd cooked who knows when and put the spare in the freezer, and that's how I plan to work my menu this week, from things in the freezer and cupboards.  Gutted just went to take my WW protein wraps out the cupboard to use and they're green, even though they're dated September so I'm assuming the vacuum seal has been broken - deep sigh, no Quesadillas for me now lol. 

Money is going to become a big issue for so many of us this year, all this Covid crap is completely messing up the economy so I'm definitely going to be cutting down on how much I spend on food, I've always spent too much but now I'm ready for cheap and cheerful.  That cottage pie with frozen veg and a bit of bisto gravy was delicious.  I've got loads to use up which is a bonus for a bit, but I'm going to enjoy thinking up cheap dishes that can be added to my new healthy lifestyle.  I've learned a lot about myself and my life in lockdown and I'm making changing accordingly, also we'll all have to get used to changes we have no say in, so I'm preparing myself!

I've always been funny about eating frozen stuff that I've cooked but eating that cottage pie yesterday has made me realise it's all in my head, it was delicious.  Going forward when I cook a recipe I'll freezer the other portions, no ones a massive fan of batch cooking so if you have four mouths to feed, when you cook a recipe double up, then freeze the second half, batch cooking in the same time as cooking one meal! 

Now an easy way to save money is to eat veggie, lentils are so cheap, and there's a delicious lentil bake recipe on this blog if you haven't tried it before.  But I noticed my mate Nat had made one last week, so here's the recipe for you to have a dabble, I plan too, the recipe has a stick of celery in but I'll leave that out because I won't eat the rest of the celery and that's a waste of 50p! 

Cheesy lentil bake
Serves 4 
34SP total on green (9SP per portion), 38SP using full fat cheddar (10SP per portion)
20SP total (5SP per portion) on blue & purple, 24SP using full fat cheddar (6SP per portion)

1tbsp oil 4SP
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
150g red lentils (12SP on green, 0SP on blue & purple)
1 garlic clove, crushed
420ml vegetable stock 
100g cheese (cathedral city lighter mature 12SP) (16SP full fat cheddar)
2tbsp parsley
1 egg, beaten (2SP on green, 0SP on blue & purple)
salt and pepper to season
2 tomatoes sliced 
2 tbsp breadcrumbs  (40g is 4SP)

Preheat oven to 180C / Fan 160C / Gas 4

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the onion and fry for a few minutes until soft. 

Add the carrot, celery, lentils, garlic and stock and put a lid on the pan.  Bring it to the boil then simmer for about 20 minutes or until  all the stock is absorbed.  

Add 75g of the cheese, the parsley and the egg to the lentil mixture and stir thoroughly.  Season well.

Spoon into a shallow ovenproof dish and smooth the top.  Top with the tomatoes.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining cheese and sprinkle over the top.

bake until the topping is golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes, but keep checking so it doesn't burn.



I'd make that today if i had a carrot and an onion lol, oh and tomatoes lol, maybe tomorrow or Wednesday when I've had my shopping delivered.  I noticed I have a bag of frozen butternut squash in the freezer, maybe I'll think about doing something with that.  

But first for breakfast, then my Monday walk with V.

Mwah, luv ya, have a great day 

Love me x

  

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