Slow Cooking

I'm not sure if I've said before (probably have!) but I'm a big fan of slow cooking.  ;o)  Even if I'm at home all day I still like using my slow cooker as it gives me the chance to work knowing that dinner is sorting itself out.  I have been sorting through recipes recently (I have a penchant fro ripping them out of magazines and printing them off the Internet or scribbling them on envelopes!) and have come across a fair amount of slow cooker ones to try out.  ;o)  I think cheese stuffed onions might be my next experiment.  ;o)  At the weekend we had slow cooker macaroni cheese for the first time this autumn.  It's not really macaroni cheese since it doesn't involve cheese sauce but it's yummy and stands alone as it is.  ;o)  It's a recipe I do a fair amount over the winter months and I try to have the ingredients in over Christmas as it's a lovely sit in front of an open fire lazy evening type of meal!  I think I found the recipe on one of the many Yahoo groups I used to belong to but I can't remember where so I can't credit whoever posted it unfortunately but here's the really easy recipe....

Slow Cooker Macaroni Cheese

2 cups macaroni
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups grated cheese
2 cups boiling water

Layer the ingredients in the slow cooker in the order they are written.  Cook for 3 hours.  Stir well.

It doesn't look ultra appetising but bear with it!  You need to give it a really good stir when it's cooked.  The more you stir it the better it will get!  It sometimes comes out a little stodgy and I think the answer is just extra liquid.  I've used milk instead of water and that makes it creamier.  Give it a whirl, it's great comforting winter fare!  We ate ours in front of our first open fire of the year which makes it taste even better of course!  ;o)

One size fits all

I made pizza for dinner this evening.  ;o)  We three have different wants when it comes to the perfect pizza so a bit of creativity is required on my part!  My daughter doesn't like too much tomato topping so her third of the pizza has a very thin layer of said tomatoey goodness, my husband likes anchovies so I added some of those to his generously tomatoed section, and I am on a bit of a health kick (45lbs lost so far) so I have yummy goats cheese on my bit.  ;o)  Everyone's a winner!  For anyone who's interested, I use scone dough for my pizza base instead of the more traditional bread dough.  It's quick and easy and makes for a nice deepish, soft and yummy pizza.  I make my own tomato topping by reducing tinned tomatoes (although this time I used home grown from our garden) with herbs, onions, mushrooms and sometimes carrot or anything else lurking about in the fridge!  Whizz it all up and hey presto, pizza topping!

Food spending today - £2.76 (£1.73 for 4 pints organic whole milk and £1.03 for vanilla rice milk)

Funny fish and kitchen goings on

River cobbler......who's heard of that?  I certainly hadn't when I spied it in the fish section in the Devil's Supermarket a while ago.  I wanted smoked haddock but the shelves were bereft of it so with a bit of daring do I plumped for giving smoked river cobbler a whirl instead.  When I got home I was really cross because I then spotted that it was from Vietnam!  I have nothing against Vietnam but I do have a thing about the air miles that food travels and had I realised earlier I wouldn't have bought it.  So, I lobbed it in the freezer in disgust and there it languished until this week.  I used in a rice dish with some veg and topped it with hard boiled eggs, none of us were keen on it's "fishiness", if you know what I mean, and I wasn't struck on the texture much either.  I wouldn't buy it again but I was interested to know what it was so after a bit of a Google I discovered that Pangasius Hypophthalmus, as it said on the packaging, is iridescent shark catfish.  You live and learn!  ;o)

As I type I have some little chocolate buns cooling on a rack and I shall be going to ice them when I finish rambling here.  I'm thinking of making some icing that features maple syrup since I have some in the fridge to use up.  ;o)  Elsewhere, I have made lentil & bacon soup this morning, using up the four bacon rashers I had lurking in the fridge and red lentils.  I'm holding out as long as possible before I cave in and put the heating on so a nice warming soup for lunch will be good!!  I've also cooked up the pile of home grown tomatoes I had and bunged them through the sieve.  The resulting passata will probably morph into pizza topping with the addition of onion, mushroom, carrot and a few herbs. Might be pizza for dinner today then!  ;o)  I've also chopped up the kale (which patently isn't kale but I can't work out what it is!) to blanch and stick in the freezer.

I neglected to mention a few things yesterday in my yawningly long food list....I have eggs ~ I always have eggs since we have chickens ;o) ~ and cereal and bread.

Challenge Time

Periodically I have a bit of a personal challenge to use stuff up instead of shopping regardless and I'm embarking on a bit of one this week.  Finances aren't brilliant and besides I want to work through some of the stuff I have in the freezer and pantry so I can make some room for yummy goodies as we head towards....well, the C word!  My usual premise is that for as long as possible the only things I buy are milk and fruit & veg and then this gradually extends to what I consider basics such as butter, cheese, flour etc.  So, for your delight or boredom here is the contents of my fridge, freezers and pantry:

Freezer
banana ½
black forest gateau
breadcrumbs x 2
brown soup x2
cheese & tomato flatbread
chick pea pasta
chicken carcas for stock
chicken drum sticks
chicken stock x 4
chicken thighs x 2
chopped parsley
felafal
filo pastry x 2
fruit loaf ½
garlic bread slices
h/m baked beans
h/m beetroot soup
h/m braised red cabbage
h/m broccoli soup
h/m butternut squash soup x 2
h/m hummous x 2
h/m parsnip soup
h/m pastry
h/m savory mince
h/m squash soup
h/m tomato sauce
hummous
lamb mince
lamb shoulder steaks
leeks
naan bread x 4
oven chips
pain au chocolate x 2
pate x 2
peas
pork loin
prawns
puff pastry x 2
Quorn cocktail sausages
Quorn fillets
raspberries
redcurrants x 8
runner beans
rye bread
shortcrust pastry
sloes
soya beans
spinach
squash puree
sweetcorn
trout x 6
white wine (small pots of leftover) x 2
whole chicken

Fridge

apple sauce
Apericubes
bacon
bbq sauce
blueberry conserve
brown sauce
butter x 2
condensed milk
Elmlea double cream x 2
extra mature cheddar
feta cheese
garlic & herb soft cheese
goats cheese
h/m pineapple chutney
h/m rhubarb chutney
Halloumi
hummous
lemon curd
maple syrup
maraschino cherries
margarine
marmalade
mayonnaise
milk
mustard
pickled beetroot
pickled cucumber slices
pickled gherkins
pickled onions
raspberry salad dressing
salad cream
sauerkraut
seafood sauce
soy sauce
tartare sauce
tomato juice
tomato ketchup

Pantry

Basics & baking

carob powder
chocolate chips, white & milk
cocoa
cooking chocolate
crystallised ginger
demerara sugar
dessiccated coconut
dried apples
dried apricots
figs
glace cherries
gluten free bread flour
golden syrup
gram flour
granulated sugar
icing sugar
Marmite
marzipan
millet flakes
oatbran
oatmeal
oats
peanut butter
polenta
prunes
self raising flour
skimmed milk powder
spelt flour
sugar cubes
sultanas
teabags
treacle
wholemeal semolina
 
Drinks

brandy
cherry liqueur
grenadine
h/m wine x 3
mead
pear cider
port
red wine x 3
sherry
sloe gin
white wine x 2

Grains & pulses

alfalfa
beluga lentils
brown lentils
brown rice
cous cous
dried black beans
dried cannellini beans
dried chick peas
fenugreek
green split peas
jasmine rice
millet
pearl barley
pudding rice
red lentils
yellow split peas

Herbs & spices

allspice
bay leaves
Chinese five spice
cinnamon
cloves
cumin
curry powder
ginger
mint
mixed herbs
mixed spice
nutmeg
onion granules
pizza herbs
sage
smoked sea salt
turmeric
vanilla pods
vanilla extract

Miscellaneous

anchovies in oil
blancmange x 1
breadsticks
cider vinegar
coconut milk
condensed milk x 2
crackers – Ryvita, oatcakes, teriyaki rice cakes, Tuc
creamed coconut
custard powder
few odd bags of crisps
flan case
jar of assorted sweets
lasagne sheets
malt extract
malt vinegar
mango slices
Marmite rice cakes
miso
nori
paella mix
pasta
pineapple slices
popcorn x 3
poutine mix
ranch dressing mix
sage & onion stuffing
salad seasoning
seri haya
sour cream & chive mashed potato mix
stock cubes
taco mix
tahini
three bean salad
tuna x 2
vegetable bouillion powder
white wine vinegar x 2

Nuts & seeds

brazil nuts
chestnut puree
hazelnuts in shells
macadonia nuts
mixed nuts
pine nuts
sunflower seeds
walnuts
whole chestnuts

Preserves

cocktail onions
h/m orange mincemeat
h/m piccalilli
h/m redcurrant jelly
h/m rhubarb chutney x 4
h/m rhubarb relish
mango chutney
mint sauce
pickled cucumber slices
plum chutney
stem ginger

Fruit & Vegetables

apples
bananas
broccoli
cabbage
carrots
celery
corn on the cob
leeks
lemon
lettuce
mushrooms
onions
potatoes
red Russian kale
tomatoes

Just a few extras to add....
All the meat is organic.
I've worked to move away from ready made stuff over the last couple of years but there is still some stuff I'd rather not have but in my waste not want not mind set I can't just lob them!  I have several packet mixes, which I don't go near usually, but I received them from various swaps on Swap-Bot when I was in swapping mode. 
I have an organic veg box most weeks and supplement it if needed with organic stuff from the supermarket if I have to.  I try to eat what's in season fruit and veg wise as far as possible.
 
Ok, if you're still awake at this point, this evening's meal for the troops was cheese & bacon pasta.  ;o)  Money spent on food shopping today was £2.06 on milk.