We don't do Valentine Day at ours. Well we certainly don't spend money on things we don't need or cards that will have to be recycled or heart shaped chocs that make us fatter!
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| Beach romance |
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for love and a bit of romance, but for us it doesn't mean buying stuff.
We do like little acts of kindness and silliness though and these with extra lashings of hugs make Valentine Day special for us.
I did make us a special "fakeaway" dinner based on a British Indian restaurant style recipe for tikka masala curry. Accompanied by all the trimmings it felt like a real treat.
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| Cheats Fakeaway Tikka Masala Curry |
Tasted really lovely too and best of all cost a fraction of what it would to have bought takeaway never mind sit in. All in I reckon it came in about £4.15 for the 2 of us and I still froze leftover rice and nan.
There's another 8 decent portions of the curry base sauce in the freezer. This basic curry gravy is the basis of nearly every type of curry you can get in an Indian takeaway and restaurant. It's a dream to have in stock as it means you can whip up whatever curry you fancy in 10-15 mins.
If you fancy having a go, it's worth having a look at this website:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php
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| Seamus & Joe wait for breakfast in bed |
Seamus (the ginger one ) and Joe (the felix number) had mewed promises about taking it easy with pots of tea and boiled eggs in bed. Alas by noon it became apparent nothing was appearing. It then clicked. They were waiting for us to deliver their breakfasts in bed... on a silver platter of course. Bless their furry little cotton paws!
Menu Planning
Menu planning and sticking to it saves a fortune. Drafting a shopping list around that puts you back in control at the shops. Leave nothing to impulse and plan your treats - you'll be able to afford much more and the choices will be yours not the stores manipulating you with bargains and deals of things you really wouldn't have bought in the first place.
There's lots of great websites out there about menu planning. My favourite place is the MoneySavingExpert's "Old Style" forum.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=33
My weeks plan:
- Kedgeree
- Sausage, egg, mushrooms and beans
- Left over cooked chicken greek salad
- Italian beef stew (Spezzatino di manzo)
- Turkey tikka masala
- Homemade pizza
- Roast pork and the usual traditional trimmings
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| My kedgeree made with brown rice, peas & sweetcorn. |
Till later...thanks for reading, Kate x
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