Another year older!

Hi everyone,

A quick post to share my lovely goodies with you...

I asked for knitting supplies for my birthday :)

I'm excited to start some new projects!

Back soon

Mandy x

A little bit of baking...

Hi everyone,

Daisy and I did a little baking the other day...

Shortbread 

Fruit cakes

And fairy cakes with pink icing. Look how good she's getting at icing!

All of these recipes came from my childhood cook book

Daisy also loves to help me get the tea ready and sometimes we make a pudding too. Yesterday I cleaned out a couple of kitchen cupboards and I found a few bits that needed using up, so we made a sort of trifle. 

The flan sponge was bought for a strawberry flan originally (but never happened) but was close to its date. I put this on a dinner plate. At this point you need to make the jelly (see below ;)

Then I drained the peaches.

Next we made a little arrangement with the peaches. Yes there are gaps, but this was a use-up kind of pudding so we didn't mind. 

Here's a jelly I made earlier! I made the jelly first so it started to cool. 

We poured the jelly over the flan slowly and evenly being careful that it didn't spill over. Then we put it in the fridge until teatime.

It ended up like this...a trifle sponge with fruit. We ate it with whipped double cream and Daisy had soya ice cream. I couldn't decorate with the cream because of Daisy's lactose intolerance. 

Does anyone else invent puddings according to what's about, lurking, just waiting to be used? This one was quite nice!

Mandy x

Are you loyal to one supermarket?

Hi everyone

Well to answer my question...I was...but not anymore! I have been loyal to one but got so fed up with dreadful online shopping experiences and last week was the final straw! The fresh produce was the worst I have ever had and I would never of picked that stuff up instore. The uncut loaves were burnt and inside was disgusting...we couldn't eat it.

This week I tried Sainsburys and was pleasantly surprised. I mostly bought meat, bread, fruit, veg, salad and dairy items. Nearly everything was fresh and what a difference! 

I'm happy so next week I will stick with sainsburys but I will also be willing to try others. I want to save money on the food shop but I also want quality fresh foods. 

Yesterday I had a day off cooking and lovely hubby treated us to a beautiful roast...

I think he overloaded my plate (I didn't eat that much!) Such a treat to be cooked for. 

This morning, the post-Christmas declutter continues and I'm sorting out my kitchen. No photos of that but look at this...

A double yolker! Only the second I have found in my lifetime! Simple things please me :)

Finally, the slow cooker is on...sausage casserole and lovely fresh farmhouse loaf to mop up the gravy. I'm going to use my slow cooker as much as possible. Please share any recipes you have in the comments...I don't have a lot for slow cooking and fancy something other than casserole! 

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Potato Bake

Hi everyone, I hope you're well.

Here's an easy recipe I'd like to share...

Potato Bake

Grease an oven dish.

Slice one onion and some potatoes (do enough to feed your family... I did half a bag)

Layer the potatoes and onions ending in a potato layer.

Dot with butter and sprinkle with nutmeg. Pour over a small carton of cream (or milk if you're really thrifty) so you can see the cream but not to the top. Loosely cover with foil and bake for 1hr 30mins @  180oC or 1hr @ 200oC (I cooked a gammon for sandwiches at the same time so just turned the temperature down to suit the gammon) 20mins before the end, remove the foil to make the top layer crispy.  

As you can see, you may need to soak the oven dish!

We ate this with cold beef left over from our Sunday roast and peas. 

Mandy x

This should have published yesterday! Hopefully the problem is sorted now x

A New Year...

Happy New Year everyone! 

I'm not making any promises to myself this year, just recommendations! 

I want to be more thrifty than last year, addressing a number of money saving issues I have...food wastage, electricity consumption and grocery bills are my main concerns. I will be using my slow cooker a lot more for a start and removing as much packet/processed food from my shopping list as possible. Basic home cooking with very few ingredients is fine by me! Also baking is very important this year...not only does Daisy love baking, but it saves money and I know exactly what we're eating. 

Another focus for this year is hobbies. We do a lot of fun creative activities and messy play, but I rarely make time for my own hobbies. Over Christmas I have learnt how to do basic crochet stitches with the help of this book...

It's fiddly but I'm learning!

I've also been knitting...

This was my practice piece and now I have started a pattern to make Daisy's dolly a pram blanket...

I think it may take me a while!

I'm not putting any pressure on myself with blogging, but I will share my thrifty ways and creations with you as they happen. 

Thank you to all of you who read and left comments in 2014...I hope you'll join me in 2015!

Mandy x