Eating from the storecupboard: lamb burger hash

 

In my continuing effort to feed myself from the storecupboard/fridge/freezer, today's meal was using up the lamb burgers I got free from the community waste shop ages ago and some cooked potatoes.  A hash seemed a good idea!  The above quantities made 2 main meals.

I broke up one of the burgers into rough pieces and put them in my wok.  I use my wok for just about everything, not just stir fries!  No oil needed as they produced their own fat!

Once they were nicely browned/carmelised I added the chopped potatoes.  I fried them until they were browned too.

I tossed in some steamed broccoli and the hash was done.  It was really good.  I'd never buy burgers but they were free to me.  And as they were M&S ones they were a good quality.  I'm not keen on a burger in a roll so this was a good way to use them up.

I believe a hash usually has a potato and onion base but I used my last onion to make a soup.  I eat a lot of these style of meals as it's all done in one pot, or wok in this case! 😋

Eating from the storecupboard: chicken curry

 

Today I made a very simple chicken curry using the yellow sticker chicken my DIL got me.  I chopped the 2 small breasts into chunks and sprinkled some garlic granules, mixed herbs and a pinch of salt over them.  This amount of chicken will feed me for 3 meals.

I sautéed them in a little oil for a few minutes until just cooked then removed them from the pan.

I mixed 3 tsp of garam masala, 1 tsp each coriander, cumin and turmeric plus 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes.

I fried the spices (carefully to avoid burning) in 1 tsp oil in the same pan.

I added my last portion of tomato and veg sauce from the freezer and about a cup of water.  I simmered it for about 10 mins.

I added back a third of the cooked chicken and simmered until piping hot.  It wasn't too spicy so I only added a little of the coconut cream my DIL also got me.

I served it with one of the naans/flatbread I made at the weekend.  It was really good and so quick to make!  I've now got an opened carton of coconut cream to use up in the next few days! 

Eating from the storecupboard: baked bean chilli

 

I had half a tin of Heinz baked beans in the fridge.  They had been there 2 days as I had the other half with my cheesy baked potatoes.  I pulled a portion of tomato and veg sauce from the freezer.  It has tomatoes, onions, 3 types of peppers and grated carrot so is packed with veggies.

I put a teaspoon of oil plus 2 teaspoons of my fajita spice mix in a hot pan and gently fried off the spices for 1 min (or until they smell amazing!)

I added the tomato sauce and let it all sizzle for 1 min then added some water to loosen it.

I let it simmer for 10 mins while I cooked some rice.

Then I added the baked beans and stirred it all together until piping hot.

I served it with plain boiled rice.  It was honestly the best bean chilli I've ever made!!  You could add more chilli flakes to the spice mixture if you like it hotter 🌶 but I find my fajita spice mix is spicy enough for me.  That's the beauty of mixing it yourself 😋

And there's a second portion in the fridge for tomorrow!

Eating from the storecupboard: flatbreads

 

Since Luna hasn't been well with the respiratory infection I've been avoiding giving her a frozen yoghurt treat (dairy isn't good for mucus!) so I had a lot of yoghurt that was a bit touch and go.  Tasted ok so I used it to make flatbreads with 300g yoghurt, 350g plain flour plus a bit extra and 2 tsp of baking powder.  You could just use SR flour without the baking powder.

I just mixed it and kneaded it lightly for about 2 mins.  I divided it into 6 balls and patted it out into a naan bread shape. I don't have a rolling pin atm!

I put a teeny bit of oil into a hot wok and cooked it for a few minutes on each side.

After cooling on the rack I froze them.  I can use them as a pizza base or serve with a curry or chilli.

After making them I watched a YouTube video by Chetna (of Bake Off fame) make naans in a similar way but she used much less yoghurt and added water until she got the right consistency of dough.  Def much more frugal than equal quantities but I just needed to use up all my yoghurt asap.

CLICK HERE for her easy naan recipe 😋

Carrot cake loaf and leftover gin!

 

In today's video I make a yummy carrot cake and share how I made vanilla extract from leftover gin!

Carrot cake ingredients:

• 2 large eggs (room temp)
• 155g (3/4 cup) sugar
• 110g (1/2 cup) oil
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 190g (1 cup + 5tbsp) plain flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 230g (2 cups) grated carrots 
• 60g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts (optional)

Method:

1.  Mix eggs and sugar for 1 min until slightly frothy
2.  Add oil and vanilla.  Mix gently.
3.  Add dry ingredients in 2 halves.
4.  Add carrots (and walnuts) and stir well.
5.  Bake in a lined loaf tin for 50 mins at 175C.

Cool before slicing.

This is my version of THIS RECIPE I found on Pinterest years ago.  I usually have all these ingredients to hand so it's a good recipe to mix up quickly when you need an easy cake. 

Here's the Craft Gin Club that I talked about CLICK HERE. It was fun at first getting a box of goodies every other month but it got to the stage where I had too many bottles and I actually wasn't drinking much hence the 'leftover gin' to make the vanilla extract!!  That's how I came to have my colourful rainbow gin bottles!

Here's my list of storecupboard/fridge/freezer contents. 

And here are some extra items I got after I filmed.  I give my DIL some cash every now and again to buy any bargains she finds in the supermarkets in the town centre.  She's an expert now at going near closing time and scooping up some yellow stickers.   She messages me with photos of 'stuff' to see if I want them. Everything above was reduced!  So I have more chicken, some potatoes, baked beans, coconut cream (curry is def on the menu now!) and my favourite pickle Branston Piccalilli that I can literally eat by the spoonful!!!  BTW piccalilli in baked beans is amazing!

Luna is still feeling a bit under the weather.  I'm guessing her taste buds/sense of smell is off as she's eating a lot of really manky stuff when she's outside 🤮  So she's in a huff with me as I'm putting her harness and lead on to go outside in the garden!  We've already had one bout of D&V so I'm not keen to repeat it!  She'll just need to lump it!! 😂

Poor Luna

 

Poor Luna really hasn't been very well.  A vet visit confirmed she has an upper respiratory infection which basically means she's producing a lot of green snot 🤮 As I'd used up my free appts under my current pet plan, I had to pay the £48 consultation fee plus £113 for antibiotics and the bronchial mucolytic treatment.  My new plan starts on 11th November so the timing is just unlucky.  She's slowly improving so fingers crossed the meds work.

It does mean that I'm now just over budget (around £30) for the month with 10 days still to go.  I'm hoping to go no spend until the 1st of November now!  Good job I was under budget last month!

In today's video I talk about the project where I'll be donating my first lot of ad revenue.  As a retired teacher who taught in a challenging area I'll always try to support children and families who might be having a tough time.  Here's the link if you're interested in what they do https://babesinthewood.org/

This is how they describe themselves:

"Babes in the Wood is a not for profit social enterprise which exists to reduce the environmental impact of landfill waste & to reduce the effects of poverty on children from birth to 15 years. We are also working towards the development of our volunteer workforce by offering a comprehensive training package. We are committed to our partnerships with local agencies, by offering free goods to the families that need it most. We operate from 2 locations, one in Bishopbriggs & one in Stirling."

Whisky tea loaf recipe and baking tools

 

Recipe from today's video

• 350g mixed dried fruit
• 30g soft brown sugar
• 150ml hot black tea
• glug of whisky
• 2 large eggs
• 50ml milk (or water)
• 1 grated apple
• 225g SR flour (or 225g plain flour + 2 and 1/4 tsp baking powder)
• 1 tsp mixed spice

Method

Soak fruit/sugar/tea/whisky overnight.

Add egg and milk mixture then apple.

Stir in flour and spices.

Bake in a lined 2lb loaf tin for about 60 to 90 mins at 170C or 150C fan.  Check after 50 mins and cover with foil to prevent burning.  Check middle of loaf is cooked through.  Cool and slice as required 😋

This is my go to 'fruit cake' recipe.  I'll use it for my Christmas cake this year but add different types of dried fruit and maybe some nuts as well.  I'll also add more spice and maybe some treacle to deepen the flavour and colour. 

Here are the baking tools mentioned in the video. Silicon bread sling HERE.  Bread scoring tool HERE. Other bread stencils HERE.

It was interesting reviewing the baking tools.  I wouldn't have done it if I genuinely didn't already like Sourdough by the Sea!  I hadn't used the tools previously so what you see is my genuine first reaction 😊

Thanks again Tammy for telling them about me and my channel 😊

Photos from house tour part 2

 

I was talking in today's video about using what you already have to decorate your home.  The beauty of downsizing means I can cherry pick the good stuff I brought with me and save lots of money by shopping from home.  

Here's my terracotta tiled bathroom in all it's glory!!  Shower curtain is this one HERE.

In my bedroom, the picture in the middle came from my gran's house.  I'm using it as the inspiration to re decorate my bedroom.  It's a well known print from the 1940s/50s by an artist called Edwin Byatt. The painting is called Anemones.  In real life the pink/purple colours are very pretty and strong.

The label on the back has the price in pencil (top left) of £3 and 14 shillings! I think my uncle bought this for my Gran in the 1960s.  He bought her a lot of really nice ornaments, vases and knick-knacks!

The other 2 pictures are by Tambo Design in Falkirk.  CLICK HERE for more details on what they do.  We once bought a brand new showhouse with all the furniture and artwork included.  That's why I have a lot of nice art pieces.

I'm going to use these old sheet music pages to re create THIS wallpaper from Woodchip & Magnolia.  My version is free, theirs is £110 a roll but it's beautiful!  They have a lot of really lovely designs 😍

It's starting to come together nicely and costing nothing so far!

Pink blanket from Amazon HERE

Fajita spice mix recipe

 

In today's video I mentioned that I make my own fajita spice mix.  Here's my recipe but you can adjust the amounts to suit your own taste.

• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 1/2 tsp mixed herbs (or any dried herb)
• 1/2 tsp salt (less if preferred)

I mix up a big batch and keep it in a jar. It can be used as a dry rub or mixed with lemon or lime juice into a paste.  Good with chicken, beef, peppers and onions! 😋

Here's my pull out spice rack.  If I pull it out too far the whole thing tips out!! 😂

I sometimes buy the larger packets of spices in the World foods section of the supermarket as it works out cheaper and just top up the wee jars.  It depends on how often you use a spice to work out if it's worth buying a larger amount.  It doesn't save money if you end up throwing it out as it's lost flavour cos you've had it for years! 

And here's the lasagne fresh out the oven ready for eating!

Welcome!

 

Hi and welcome to Ali Lives Well on Less!  Luna and I are happy to see you 😊 We'll be talking about all things frugal and money saving plus how to live well on a small amount of money and be happy.

You can find my YouTube channel by clicking HERE!

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