(this was originally a GF recipe, but they work with plain flour as well)
225g plain flour
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
100g butter
175g caster sugar (granulated works as well)
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract/flavouring
1 beaten egg
Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl. Rub in the butter. Squish it between your fingers in the flour, it's actually quite fun in my opinion. Add the sugar and mix. Add the vanilla and egg and mix into a dough. Here is where you can add chocolate, nuts, dried fruits, etc. if you want.
Bake at 190C/375F/gas mark 5 for 10-12 minutes. If baking from frozen, you may need to add an extra minute or two. Let them cool a bit on the tray before trying to get them off, or bake them on the tray with parchment paper/greaseproof paper. The paper makes it so much easier to transfer them off the pan!
The original recipe says to shape into a long roll about 5 cm diameter and wrap, then refrigerate overnight. I end up just rolling little balls of the dough and baking some, then freezing the rest of the cookie balls on a cookie sheet. Once they're frozen, toss them into a bag or container and then you can just pull out as many as you need (or want) and bake away without waiting. That is, *if* you can resist eating the frozen dough like I always end up doing...
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Monday, 8 October 2012
Beef Stew
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken or beef stock
1 cup celery, chopped
3 small potatoes (~300g), diced (I left the skins on)
2 large carrots (~240g), chopped
4-5 medium-large mushrooms, quartered (mine weighed in at 200g)
1 can (400g/14.5oz) plum or chopped tomatoes in juice (undrained)
1 medium onion, in wedges
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
9 oz/280 g cooked beef - I used leftover brisket from last night
Dump everything into the slow cooker and set it on high until all of the veggies are finished cooking. I don't know how long this one takes yet as it's still in the slow cooker at the moment.
If this is too "soupy" for you, mix up a tablespoon or two of cornstarch/cornflour in a few tablespoons cool water and add near the end. Or you can serve it over rice to help soak up some of the soupy goodness.
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken or beef stock
1 cup celery, chopped
3 small potatoes (~300g), diced (I left the skins on)
2 large carrots (~240g), chopped
4-5 medium-large mushrooms, quartered (mine weighed in at 200g)
1 can (400g/14.5oz) plum or chopped tomatoes in juice (undrained)
1 medium onion, in wedges
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
9 oz/280 g cooked beef - I used leftover brisket from last night
Dump everything into the slow cooker and set it on high until all of the veggies are finished cooking. I don't know how long this one takes yet as it's still in the slow cooker at the moment.
If this is too "soupy" for you, mix up a tablespoon or two of cornstarch/cornflour in a few tablespoons cool water and add near the end. Or you can serve it over rice to help soak up some of the soupy goodness.
Spicy Vegetable Soup
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth/stock
3 carrots, chopped
1 can (400g/14.5oz) chopped tomatoes (undrained)
1 shallot (or small onion), diced
1 cup celery, chopped
Cabbage (I used 2 leaves of savoy, use what you have)
1 can (400g/14.5oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Chilli powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste
Put all of the veggies into the slow cooker then add the broth. Cook it on high until the carrots are tender. It took 4 hours in my slow cooker. The longer you let it cook, the better it tastes, but the mushier the veggies can become.
*Note: I abhor celery. This goes way beyond hate. Even I cannot taste it in this recipe nor tell that it's even there after cooking.
If you'd like, add up to 3 tbsp rice at the beginning for a thicker soup. You can also add corn if you'd like. I like the spiciness in this, especially now that the nights are getting cooler.
I haven't tried it, but if you use canned carrots this would come together especially fast. You'd bring it to a boil then lower it to a simmer for about half an hour.
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth/stock
3 carrots, chopped
1 can (400g/14.5oz) chopped tomatoes (undrained)
1 shallot (or small onion), diced
1 cup celery, chopped
Cabbage (I used 2 leaves of savoy, use what you have)
1 can (400g/14.5oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Chilli powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste
Put all of the veggies into the slow cooker then add the broth. Cook it on high until the carrots are tender. It took 4 hours in my slow cooker. The longer you let it cook, the better it tastes, but the mushier the veggies can become.
*Note: I abhor celery. This goes way beyond hate. Even I cannot taste it in this recipe nor tell that it's even there after cooking.
If you'd like, add up to 3 tbsp rice at the beginning for a thicker soup. You can also add corn if you'd like. I like the spiciness in this, especially now that the nights are getting cooler.
I haven't tried it, but if you use canned carrots this would come together especially fast. You'd bring it to a boil then lower it to a simmer for about half an hour.
Long time away, lets get back to it!
It's been quite a while since I've taken the time to blog. I've missed it! I've changed the title of the blog to "Healthy Meals on a Budget" because I still have a budget (we are being a bit flexible on the £50/month at the moment) and because I'm trying to lose weight.
So, lets get back to the recipes and the money saving shall we?
Today's Menu (for 2 people):
Breakfast:
2 eggs - £0.17
2 sausages - £0.75
2 slices wholemeal toast - £0.04
100g mushrooms (approx) - £0.15
2 Activia yoghurts (125ml each) - £0.75
Juice - 1 cup orange and 1 cup apple - £0.22 and £0.15 respectively
Total: £2.23
Lunch
For Jethro:
2 slices wholemeal bread - £0.04
50 g beef roast from last night - £0.27
2 oz (~50g) extra mature cheddar - £0.29
1 banana - £0.12
1 Activia yoghurt - £0.38
For me:
1 serving (1.5 cups) homemade spicy vegetable soup - £0.16
1.5 cups cooked white rice - £0.03
Total: £1.29
Snack (for me):
1 slice wholemeal bread - £0.02
2 tbsp (30 g) crunchy peanut butter - £0.03
1 banana - £0.12
Total: £0.17
Dinner:
2 servings homemade beef stew - £0.64
2 cups (250ml each) milk - £0.22
Total: £0.86
Grand total for Monday 8 October 2012: £4.55
That's less than one of us could get a take away for at one meal!
I will work on getting recipes up during the next few days and linking them to where they need to go. Thank you for your patience.
Have a wonderful day!
So, lets get back to the recipes and the money saving shall we?
Today's Menu (for 2 people):
Breakfast:
2 eggs - £0.17
2 sausages - £0.75
2 slices wholemeal toast - £0.04
100g mushrooms (approx) - £0.15
2 Activia yoghurts (125ml each) - £0.75
Juice - 1 cup orange and 1 cup apple - £0.22 and £0.15 respectively
Total: £2.23
Lunch
For Jethro:
2 slices wholemeal bread - £0.04
50 g beef roast from last night - £0.27
2 oz (~50g) extra mature cheddar - £0.29
1 banana - £0.12
1 Activia yoghurt - £0.38
For me:
1 serving (1.5 cups) homemade spicy vegetable soup - £0.16
1.5 cups cooked white rice - £0.03
Total: £1.29
Snack (for me):
1 slice wholemeal bread - £0.02
2 tbsp (30 g) crunchy peanut butter - £0.03
1 banana - £0.12
Total: £0.17
Dinner:
2 servings homemade beef stew - £0.64
2 cups (250ml each) milk - £0.22
Total: £0.86
Grand total for Monday 8 October 2012: £4.55
That's less than one of us could get a take away for at one meal!
I will work on getting recipes up during the next few days and linking them to where they need to go. Thank you for your patience.
Have a wonderful day!
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Thai green chicken curry and consequences of overspending
I have Thai green chicken curry in the slow cooker at the moment, and it is smelling wonderful! This morning I placed two frozen chicken thighs, a couple handfuls of frozen green beans, a few handfuls of frozen broccoli, some frozen sweet peppers and onion and a good amount of fresh mushrooms into the slow cooker. I mixed up some of the dehydrated coconut flakes with water to make coconut milk and added Thai green curry paste. Once that was stirred up well I poured it over the rest and turned the slow cooker on low. About two hours later I turned it on high. Now, 4 1/2 hours after I started, dinner is finished. All I need to do for tonight now is cook a batch of rice.
We also received a text message from the bank this morning saying our balance was below a certain amount. We haven't really paid that much attention to what we've been spending on groceries during the moving process, and due to that we have overspent this month. I need to try and not buy anything for the rest of this month and most of next month to make up for this overspending. I do want to stock up on dried beans and get a bit more flour, as well as getting at least one boneless pork shoulder from Morrisons (£1.50/kg this week!).
I am hoping to start making use of our freezer (that's actually a decent size here!) to prepare meals for the slow cooker so that all I will need to do is dump the bag into the cooker and turn it on. Very useful for if and when I get sick or when I am exhausted and cannot cook.
We also received a text message from the bank this morning saying our balance was below a certain amount. We haven't really paid that much attention to what we've been spending on groceries during the moving process, and due to that we have overspent this month. I need to try and not buy anything for the rest of this month and most of next month to make up for this overspending. I do want to stock up on dried beans and get a bit more flour, as well as getting at least one boneless pork shoulder from Morrisons (£1.50/kg this week!).
I am hoping to start making use of our freezer (that's actually a decent size here!) to prepare meals for the slow cooker so that all I will need to do is dump the bag into the cooker and turn it on. Very useful for if and when I get sick or when I am exhausted and cannot cook.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Back in action!
Hello everyone! We now have internet at our new place, so I'll be trying to update the blog occasionally amidst all of the remaining unpacking and decorating that needs doing.
For tonight, we are having crockpot lemon garlic chicken (4 frozen chicken thighs, juice of 2 lemons, teaspoon - or one clove - minced garlic, cooked on low for 4 hours), rice, a salad (homegrown!) and green beans.
I've promised Jethro that we can have Thai green chicken curry tomorrow night, and I am bound and determined to make it in the crockpot. I have some dried coconut flakes (add water, turns it into coconut milk) that I'll be using instead of the expensive canned stuff. We found sweet bell peppers on sale last week at Aldi for 69p per 3 peppers, so we bought three packs. I wish we would have bought double that now that we have a decent sized freezer. I'll do my best to remember to write down what and how much of everything goes into the curry tomorrow so that I can share the recipe with everyone.
Have a wonderful day!
Emily
For tonight, we are having crockpot lemon garlic chicken (4 frozen chicken thighs, juice of 2 lemons, teaspoon - or one clove - minced garlic, cooked on low for 4 hours), rice, a salad (homegrown!) and green beans.
I've promised Jethro that we can have Thai green chicken curry tomorrow night, and I am bound and determined to make it in the crockpot. I have some dried coconut flakes (add water, turns it into coconut milk) that I'll be using instead of the expensive canned stuff. We found sweet bell peppers on sale last week at Aldi for 69p per 3 peppers, so we bought three packs. I wish we would have bought double that now that we have a decent sized freezer. I'll do my best to remember to write down what and how much of everything goes into the curry tomorrow so that I can share the recipe with everyone.
Have a wonderful day!
Emily
Monday, 20 August 2012
Important update! 20th August until ?
I am currently in the process of moving, so I unfortunately will not have internet for a short while. Sorry for the interruption this will cause in my blog posts.
Emily
Emily
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