Using up bits and bobs to make mincemeat

 

After recently making dumplings/doughballs and a steamed pudding, I still had about 25g of Atora suet (beef) left and I didn't want it to go to waste.  So I made a small batch of mincemeat based on this recipe HERE.  I just scaled it down by a tenth and added a bit of more of what I had.

I used up some of the frozen apples I got free from my mum's garden.  Plus some of the slightly candied lemon peel from making the lemon syrup.  And some orange juice I had frozen in ice cubes made with oranges I got in a Lidl box ages ago.  I didn't bother doing the whole sterilising jars etc as I'll be using it soon. It smells absolutely like Christmas!! 🎄

I quite often do small batches of preserves if I only have a small amount of something.  You don't always need to make 20 jars of it!!

And for some reason this week's sourdough loaf was rather holey!!  The next few slices had even bigger holes! But that's part of the fun adventure with sourdough 🍞

Car insurance and ad revenue

 

In today's Money Monday vlog I'm talking about my car insurance renewal.  Payment of £569.80 was due soon so I did a comparison quote on Compare the Market and found a 'like for like' policy for £300 cheaper!!!  My insurance company basically said they couldn't match that so I'm parting company with them 😁 

I'd already set aside £500 for it's renewal so I'm over the moon to be saving so much!  

I got my October payment for the ad revenue.  It was an incredible £772.22!!!  I've donated £571.56 of it to Babes in the Wood.  Last month I donated September's payment of £428.44 to them so that makes an amazing total of £1,000 for the 2 months.  The remaining £150.56 has been donated to Start Up Stirling which is my local food bank run by volunteers.

Babes in the Wood and Start Up Stirling are 2 small local charities/social enterprise, boots on the ground type of action.  No CEO salaries so I know all that money is going directly to children and families who need it.

Thank you everyone who watches the ads!! 💗

Lemon syrup and apple puree

 

I had 8 unwaxed lemons languishing in the fridge because my freezers are jam packed.  I had to do something with them soon or they'd go to waste.  So I made a simple lemon syrup.

I thinly peeled the zest and added them to a pan with 3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar.  I simmered them until it had reduced by half.  Once it had cooled I removed the zest.

I juiced the lemons and added the juice to the sugar syrup.

I now have some slightly candied peel to use in my next whisky fruit cake or Christmas pudding and a jar of delicious lemon syrup to use in my iced tea 🫖

I still had the apples from my last Lidl box so they were cored and peeled and poached in a splash of water.

Once they were cooked, I pureed them so I now have 4 x half cup portions of simple applesauce to use in baking.  They're already in the freezer.

Also chopped up and in the freezer are the 3 red peppers (29p each at Lidl) and the remaining 3 free bananas.

Today's Foodie Friday vlog shows my last shopping 'haul' of the year.  My plan is to not visit a supermarket again until January.  I can only do that if I make sure I use up all my purchases and don't waste anything! 

Cheese scones

 

Here's the recipe for cheese scones from my video.  It's loosely based on a BBC food recipe.

Ingredients

• 225g plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• pinch salt
• 55g cold butter
• 100-120g finely grated cheddar cheese
• 80 to 100ml buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients together.

Rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the cheese then add the buttermilk to form a soft dough.

Gently pat into a round about 2cm thick.

Cut into 6 or 8 triangles and brush tops with milk.

Bake at 180C or 170C fan for 15 mins until golden brown.

Best served warm with a slather of butter! 

The easiest banana bread ever!

 

This morning's YT video showed how I make butter.  I used some of that butter and some of my free Lidl bananas to make banana bread.  This is based on a Mary Berry recipe and it's the simplest recipe I've used.

I doubled the recipe to make 2 loaves but the recipe ingredients below are for one!

• 100g butter at room temp
• 175g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 mashed bananas
• 225g SR flour 
• 1tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp buttermilk

Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix/whisk/beat for 2 minutes until smooth.

Pour into a lined 2lb loaf tin and bake for 45 mins at 170C.  Test the middle with a skewer or similar to check it's baked all the way through.  If not, return to the oven covered with foil for another 10 to 15 mins until the middle is cooked.

Once these are cool I'll slice and freeze most of them.  Doubling the recipe worked well and filled the oven 😋

Simple mango chutney

 

I got 2 mangoes in a Lidl box last week.  I've been checking their ripeness all week.  They seemed soft and ripe so I tasted one this morning.  While it was ripe it wasn't that sweet so it was perfect for making mango chutney!🥭

This is a very simple bare bones recipe.  Of course you can add your own favourite spices to it but today I didn't have any chillies or garlic or cardamom seeds.

I used:

2 mangoes chopped

1/4 cup sugar (I used brown)

1/4 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/4 tsp ground coriander

pinch salt

Add to a large pan and bring to the boil.

Simmer for 5 to 10 mins until the mango is soft enough to mash.

Simmer for another 5 mins or so until you can pull the spoon through the mixture and no liquid fills the gap.

I've just put it into wee containers to freeze, the size you'd normally get with a take away.  I'm freezing it so I don't eat it!!  I guess you could put it into a sterilised jar etc if you want to preserve it longer.  But I'd look for an actual preserving recipe instead.  

I just want to pull out a portion to have with curry or pakora! 😋

Stretching meat

 

This week I bought a lot of meat which will last me into December if I stretch it with veggies and dumplings.  I had 2 x 700g packs of lean diced beef so after dusting it with a little flour,  I fried it off in batches in a little oil.  The caramelisation on the meat adds to the flavour!

It all went in the Crockpot with diced carrot, turnip (swede) and onions with 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce and stock.  It bubbled away for 6 hours.

I made some suet dumplings (recipe at the end) and popped them in for the last half hour.  The smell in the kitchen was amazing!

I had a portion with some sweet potato mash from the freezer.

I used 2/3 of a 750g pack (ie 500g) of steak mince to make a meatloaf.  The meat was stretched with 1 grated carrot, 1 diced onion, 2 cooked bacon rashers finely chopped, 1/2 cup of oats, 1 beaten egg and a lot of Worcestershire sauce to taste!  Mix really well and bake in a lined 2lb loaf tin at 180C for about 40 mins.

The rest of the mince was cooked with some grated carrot, onions, red lentils and some stock.  I had extra doughballs so they were popped in the freezer tubs too!

I made some pastry and popped it on top of these 2 wee individual pie dishes.  

Everything is now in the freezer!

Suet dumplings

200g SR flour (or plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder)
100g suet (beef or vegetable)
1 tsp mixed herbs  (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together with very cold water until it forms a dough.  Roll into 12 balls the size of a golf ball.  Cook on top of stew with a lid on for 20 to 30 mins.

All of the above made 20 portions of meat dishes.

Money Monday: October Spending

 

Once my direct debits have been taken of my pension of £772, I have £405 of disposable income for each month.  Here's what my spending in October looks like. Probiotics are for Luna, not me!

Thanks to Luna's unexpected vet bill I was over budget by £53.02.  BUT last month I under spent and added £50 to my savings.  So I took that back and my over spend was £3.02.  That's not too bad 😊

Eating from the storecupboard: Sunday lunch

 

I'm still eating from the storecupboard/fridge/freezer and using up 'stuff' that's in there.  Today I made a Sunday lunch with a chopped up baked potato fried in the wok, some cooked chicken, cauliflower and cheese sauce from the freezer and the last of the gravy granules from the storecupboard.  Ok the gravy was lamb based but gravy is gravy!!  The cauliflower was the end of a bag of frozen cauliflower and broccoli so there were a few wee bits of the green stuff in there too.  I can't even remember when I made the cheese sauce, I didn't date it.  Pity I didn't have any Yorkshire puddings or it would have been the perfect meal.

I have to say it was absolutely delicious and made in 10 mins!! 😋

Turnberry Soup

Here's the recipe for the soup I made today.

Ingredients:

25g butter

25g flour

300ml milk (I used Marvel)

approx 500ml vegetable stock

about 400g of grated root veggies 

Add butter and onion to pan and gently sauté.

Add flour and stir, then add milk and whisk.

Heat until thickened to look like a white sauce. 

Add vegetable stock slowly and stir.

Add grated veggies.

Simmer for 10 mins and stir regularly to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan.

It really is that quick and easy!