stretching food

Well today i've been making another batch of what i call mince mix, yes it doesn't sound appetizing but it is really nice.


After much reading on how to bulk out minced meat / vegie mince i read about using red lentils and how they provide added protein and lentils also count towards your a five a day. Great stuff.


So here's my mince mix recipe


500g of minced meat
2 medium sized onions (sliced and chopped)
5 small carrots chopped into small cubes or grated
2 tins of tomatoes
250 grams of red lentils
4 pints of tap water


Fry onions till softened, add the mince and cook till browned.
Then add the carrots, give it a stir, then add the red lentils. 

Stir then add the two tins of tomatoes, put water into the tins to get the last of tomatoes out and bung them 
in the pan.
Add seasoning , i normally use black pepper and garlic powder.

Bring to boil and let it simmer till fully cooked.
Remember to keep checking on it as you may need to add more water as the lentils soak up quite a lot of 

liquid.


Once cooked let it cool down and then separate into tubs ready the next few meals.

As its cooked it last a few months in the freezer. Just defrost on the day you want it and away you go.


I normally make between 4 and 6 meals from this, which is enough for 2 adults and two children.


The mince can then be used to make chilli (just add kidney beans), lasagne, spaghetti bolognese. 
Basically anything tomato based.


Enjoy :)

make do and mend

Today has been one of those days where you just want to relax and spend some quality time either on your own or with your children. This i did with youngest whilst my eldest went to his friends house.
In between playing on Scooby Doo and watching a film, my little one said "Mam, what are you making?" I replied a blanket and my little man said can i help? So we sat together whilst the Zookeeper was on, showing him how to knit. I'm only a beginner but i find it relaxing .
In the near future i'm keen to teach my children the basics such as sewing on a button, well you never know when your going to need it. Through to how to make full meals in the hope that when they older and left home they won't struggle like i did (and still do).


A couple of days ago i was given a dressmakers dummy off a site called freegle. Its great all i need to do make or buy a stand for it and I'm off! My aim is to attempt to make some clothes for myself and take up some skirts . Both of which I've never done before so should be fun. I'm so chuffed.
Have a look on your local freecycle or freegle site you never know what people are given away for free! 

Please ignore the marks on the carpet, tradesman ruined it years ago and no mater how much i clean / wash it the stains won't come off.

I'm a big believer of recycling and regularly give away items for free. We've just refitted the kitchen and had some new worktop leftover so straight on freegle it went. It was snapped up within minutes, luckily my boys are used to me and love trawling through charity shops for clothes, books and toys. I turn it into a mini adventure where i say right you've got £2 to spend and that its, you'll be amazed and what you can find for  such a small amount of money.

Fruit yay!!!

Well i finally got outside, just enough time to clear the front garden before the rain came again.
Its was really just being able to potter about and not think about work.


I decided to check on the raspberries and lo and behold i found some little fruit slowly forming.

Next to the raspberries i have a gooseberry plant in a pot and a conifer which i got given off Freecycle.

  On the same row as the raspberries i have the following:

Potatoes and strawberries

Rhubarb and strawberries

                                                                          Rhubarb



As soon as you step through my gate you literally walk into a lovely green area.

My mini patio rose which my amazing two children bought me for Mothers Day

In the pot as the rose there is a climbing fushia

Beside the gate there is swiss chard, oriental lily,

 hanging baskets with various plants in and 

a container with ivy in.

The plants on the hanging baskets are from a box of wild flower seeds i got from Poundland.

As you can see everything is pretty crammed in there.

Mostly everything i grow is in pots, as i really don't have any space for anything else.
You can easily turn a concrete laden street in a piece of heaven :)
Hope you like the pictures!

rain rain rain!!!

Well its that kind if weather again, i feet haven't been dry for three days arghhh

I could stay in but thought no i'll attend some workshops and see what i can do to assist my children.

So i trudged in the pouring rain to a workshop on Makaton, its like sign language but much more basic.thinking why i am here, i could (should) be sat at home doing paperwork. Apparently there's a program  Cbeebies which actively teaches makaton and the character is called Mr Tumble.

Abit of history i have an eight year old child who is currently being assessed for autism and is on the autistic spectrum. One of his problems is verbally communicating with people. He's a chatter box once he gets started, but starting him off is a nightmare.

So there i am being taught very basic Makaton and i had a little lightbulb moment, i think i've found a way for my son to ask for the toilet without having to verbally ask!
Such a simple little sign which will make a world of difference to him. As he is mainstream school i need to find ways of allowing him to live a normal life with being picked on by his peers.

So fingers crossed this one little thing could save him from being anxious at school.

If you would like to know more here are some links for you.
http://www.makaton.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/article/makaton


If your in a similar situation as me where you feel quite isolated or just every things new to you please do not hesitate to contact me and i'll try and help. I literally got to the point after 8 years of struggling with my son that i thought i'm cracking up, i need some support. So i was advised to go a local group and its started from there. Two months on and the support is fab that i've had and the releif of knowing that i'm not the only one is such a great feeling.

back to the real world

Well its a been a long time since my last post, life got in the way and to be honest i got sick of trying to live frugally. After 7 months of running  a business i couldn't take anymore and had to take a break.
Yes i know i should have been strong but some days you just want to run away and scream and shout..


But i've decided to go back to life i had where money isn't important and getting stressed about the littlest things is just too hard and depressing. So we disappeared for eight days to the capital where i mooched about the streets with my children to watch bands and explore the free museums available to us. Its just what we needed, especially me.


Coming back i've started seeing people again who have the same outlooks as myself and who also struggle financially with having a teenage child. But also those whose lives have dramatically changed and are facing the scary future.




So today we went and spent the day exploring, caught up with some friends and it was great just chilling and chatting about anything and everything.
But the Olympic torch came through our little town today and the children loved it, just to the town out together was great. The children were chuffed as they watched the runner going by, along with lots of freebies and toys being given away. Such a little thing can bring such light. So keep an eye out it may come by near you!




Olympic torch in Middlesbrough

Please ignore the few seconds of me handing over the my phone to my son.

Rain rain go away and come again another day!!!

Well i don't know about anyone else but i'm sick of the rain, don't get me wrong. I love listening to it fall against the windows, especially when i'm lying in bed. But recently i've been pining for the sun, think its gardening withdrawel.

Last week i had a kind of revelation, i realised i could ask for help and it felt good. One of my children  has symptoms of autism. He has never been disagnosed, but he is on the autistic spectrum. Las week i attended a infomation conference where i was welcomed with open arms. I never thoguht people could be so nice and lovely to a stranger. Anyway as i was going around at leaflets a lovely lady took me into another and introduced to a group of parents whoalso have children with ASD (autistic spectrum disorders). It felt like such a relief knowing they were other parents going through the same as me.
We were invited along to play event the same day and along to another one next week. My children really enjoyed themslves and were able to let off steam in a friendly environment.

So this a new turn, so take it from me don't suffer and think your own there is always someone who is in the same position as you.There is light at the end of the tunnel :)

Keep you fingers croseed for me i need some sun!

Ahh Fresh Bread!!!!!

Ahh fresh bread you can't beat it.

Fresh bread normally doesn't last very long in my house as we all adore it  :)

Just thought i would share the recipe i use, its very adaptable and scrummy.
I use it to make to loaves, buns, foccacia and pizza's.

Basic Bread Recipe
300g Strong White Bread Flour
300g Plain Flour
300ml of tap water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
7g dried fast action yeast ( or if using a bread machine about 1 1/2 tsp of fast action yeast)

If making by hand place the flour in first ,then the salt, sugar and yeast.

Mix together till fully combined. Then slowly add the water whilst stirring till it has formed into sticky but not wet consistency.

Now leave to rise dough till its doubled in size. Once it has done this, knock the dough back down again .

You can now shape into loaves, buns etc Place the shaped into a loaf tin, baking tray and leave to rise again. Once it has done this, preheat the oven to gas mark 5. Leave for 5 minutes for the oven heat up and place the bread dough in the oven.

Bake for about 45 minutes or till cooked.

If using a bread machine, I normally place the ingredients in and put it on a dough setting.

Once it has beeped, get the dough out and now you can shape it into loaves, buns etc.

Just follow the instructed given in the hand making recipe.

The great thing about this recipe is that its so adaptable and you can various different things to it such as herbs etc

For a pizza base you can use the same recipe as the bread loaf or what I do is use all plain flour.

If you want to make wholemeal bread, you need add I think about 50ml extra of water.

Enjoy!!!