Making Jam

I have just completed my first batch of homemade jam and I am so pleased with myself!

I made strawberry jam as I found large punnets at my local greengrocer for just 89p each, 2 punnets was enough to make 4 large jars. 

I used old jam jars that I had cleaned in the dishwasher and sterilised in the oven. So the cost works out as 82p per jar, which is very economical compared to what I normally pay at the farmers market.

I used the recipe that was printed on back of the sugar bag, it was very easy to follow and even though I didn’t have any of the jam making equipment (thermometer, special pan etc.) it seems to have set ok.

Vegetable packed Spaghetti Bolognese recipe

 

Sometimes it can be difficult to get children (and some fussy adults!) to eat their greens.  This recipe is a family favourite, not only is it tasty, but it hides many normally untouchable vegetables too.

Makes 4 adult portions

1 Large red onion – diced

1 Carrot – diced

1 Courgette – diced

1 Stick of Celery – diced

Handful of chopped mushrooms

400g Beef mince

A dash of Worcester sauce

Pinch of dried herbs

Salt and ground black pepper

1 400g Tin of Chopped Tomatoes

1 200g pouch of Passata (If you can’t get hold of this, just use another tin of chopped tomatoes)

200ml Hot Beef Stock

Olive Oil

-         Fry in a little oil, the onion, carrot and celery over a low heat until soft.

-         Add courgette and mushrooms and stir well.

-         Add mince and brown meat all over.

-         Add Worcester sauce, tomatoes, passata (if using), herbs and stock and bring to a simmer.

-         Taste and season as required.

-         Cover and simmer gently for at least an hour, (I find a longer cooking time really intensifies the flavour)

-         Serve with Whole wheat Spaghetti

-         Leftovers can be frozen. 

My 1 year old daughter loves this for her tea, I just whiz it in the food processor for a few minutes for her.

It’s been a while…

I must apologise for neglecting my blog for the last year,  my beautiful daughter has taken up so much of my time.  However, now that she is more independent and the grand old age of 1 (!), I have more time to myself to blog and also to be able to get back into cooking proper meals again on a regular basis.

I will make a promise that I, the lazy housewife will:

- Create regular meal plans

- Post my frugal  family friendly recipes

- Blog at least once a week

I must go and work on my meal plan now…

I am now a lazy mum!

Sorry if I have not been so active with my blog recently, but we had a new addition to the family in July – my gorgeous baby daughter was born!  Weighing in at a healthy 7lbs 9ozs.  I will be adding my new family favourites recipes soon.

Preparing for baby!

I realise I have neglected somewhat my blog in recent months.  That is because I have been rather busy preparing for our first child!  Baby is due at the end of June, but it is only just dawned on us that we have so much stuff to get for their arrival – how can such a little person need so many things?!  I will be doing meal plans again soon and will be uploading my moneysaving recipes in due course.  I will also be posting all my baby updates, as and when they happen.

Peking pork recipe

Here is the first of many, very easy recipes.As you can see from my meal plans, we are eating lots of pork steaks at the moment. This is because it works out quite economical (Sainsburys have a tray of 6/7 pork steaks for £5 at the moment) and also, once you remove the excess fat it is quite lean and healthy. Pork is an incredibly versatile meat that lends itself to all different types of cuisine. Here is my recipe for, what I call, Peking pork:

1 Tbsp – Clear runny honey, 1 Tbsp – Soy Sauce, 1 tsp – Ground nut Oil, 1 tsp – Ground ginger, Pork steaks.

• First of all, trim the pork of excess fat, but leave a little to keep the meat moist.

• Mix the honey, soy sauce, groundnut oil and ground ginger in a small bowl with a fork until the honey and oil are mixed together.

• Brush mixture over the pork steaks, then grill or oven cook until cooked through (about 10/15 minutes under a medium grill or 180 in a fan oven). Keep basting the pork with the mix and turn steaks half way through cooking.

This can be served with rice or noodles.

This glaze also works over pork kebabs – (cut the steaks into cubes along with peppers, red onion & mushrooms, then put onto metal skewers and grill/BBQ). I like these in tortilla wraps with salad for an easy and healthy dinner.

Enjoy!

 

Meal plans W/C 1st September 2008

Here is my meal plan for the following week, I am still using up things from the freezer and cupboards:

1st september:

Lunch – sausage sandwiches, Dinner – Peking pork with Rice and peas

2nd September:

Lunch – Pork & veg noodles, Dinner – spicy pollack fillets with healthy chips and veg

3rd September:

Lunch – Pork stir fry, Dinner – BBQ bacon steaks with New potatoes

4th September:

Lunch – Pasta, Dinner – Stuffed chicken thighs with mixed salad

5th September:

Lunch – Ham salad rolls, Diner – Marinated Salmon with spicy wedges

Meal plans W/C – 25/08/2008

Here are my meals plans for the next week.  I have a full, to bursting freezer and cupboards at the moment, so I have devised my meal plans around what I have filling the shelves in my kitchen:

Tuesday: Lunch – Bacon, Tomato & Mascapone pasta.  Dinner – Steak, Chips and salad.

Wednesday: Lunch – Tuna, sweetcorn & Mayo baguette.  Dinner – Turkey wraps with salad.

Thursday: Lunch – Stir-fry vegetables with noodles.  Dinner – Chicken Curry and boiled Rice.

Friday: Lunch – Pasta and bolognese sauce.  Dinner – Roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and vegtables.

I will be adding my recipes for my homemade cheats chicken curry, tasty turkey wraps and easy bolognese sauce very soon!

Meal plans until 16th August 2008

Thought I would get the ball rolling with my meal plans,

Here are my meal plans until saturday:

Thursday: Marinated belly pork with savoury rice

Friday: Herb Crusted rack of lamb with potatoes and vegetables

Saturday: Slow cooked Pork in rolls

Welcome

I am a lazy housewife who has found various cheats and easy to follow recipes that make me look like a domestic goddess, when in fact I spend my days doing very little!  I wish to impart this knowledge to other wives/husbands who are struggling to keep their house up together and let them know that they too can be lazy and fool everyone into thinking you are the perfect housewife/husband.

Here is a little about me: I am 29 years old and live in Bristol, England.  I have been happily married to my lovely husband for 3 years, we have a daughter aged 1 and a dog called Molly.  My main interests are cooking, reading, various Internet forums and of course spending time with my dear husband.  I hope to include in this blog my own recipe’s, meal plans and also a little about what I am up to at any given moment.  I would also like to share things I have found useful, be it books, websites, tips or TV programmes.

A lot of my recipes are inspired by my favourite TV chefs like Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Simon Rimmer and James Martin.  I also like to create my own recipes with budget ingredients that all the family will enjoy.  Hopefully someone out there might find some inspiration from my ideas for quick, easy, cheap, but ultimately tasty meals.  Enjoy!

PS. This is my first blog, so bear with me as this is all new to me and I am not at all technically minded!