Another tasty recipe

I still haven't bought any more food since my shopping trip last week, apart from a bottle of milk (as expected).

For tonight, I will be serving white borsch and chicken.
For soup you need:
 a packet of white borsch- get it from any Polish shop - I just keep some indoors handy, 1 dry mushroom cup (if you have one, but don't worry, if you don't), 2 small cubed potatoes, a few pieces of bacon or any meat (whatever you have, it can be a piece of sausage, a chicken wing or anything that has to be used up). Sprinkle the content of the packet into a pot filled with cold water. (I usually do it via a colander, as to avoid lumps building). Stir it properly, add potatoes, bacon bits, mushroom and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. 1 packet serves 4.

For the main dish: Defrost the rest of the chicken, cut it into smaller chunks, marinate in any sauce you have at home. Simmer it on a low gas. Add any vegetable you have left in the fridge. As I had 1 carrot, I cut it into pieces and added it to the saucepan. I also had a few celery stems, so I picked two, cut them into small pieces (after washing) and added them as well. Simmer the chicken for half an hour. Serve hot with rice. (To keep expenses down, use plain rice. Boil it in water with a pinch of salt).
As a salad I suggest any fruit you have that needs eating. In my house, it will be kiwi- bought reduced, but still edible. Enjoy!

Home Made Vegetable soup and...

For tonight, I have a leftover of home made vegetable soup. It can't be that bad, if my daughter even praised it! (and she doesn't like veg much...)

For the main dish: I made hamburgers. You need:  two packs of pork mince meat at £1.00 for 300g. (I defrosted the meat overnight). 1 medium size onion, salt and pepper to taste, 1 egg. Dice the onion, fry it slightly, then add it to the meat. Add 1 egg and salt and pepper. Mix everything thoroughly. Form circles and place them on the pan with a drop of  hot oil. Once browned on one side, turn them over. Keep frying until the meat is not raw (you may add a drop of water, so they won't burn). Keep the gas on its lowest setting.

These cutlets (hamburgers) go very well with mashed potatoes and sauer kraut.

Monday, I miss one hour

I don't like changing time. It's not too bad, when we gain an hour, but to lose it...it's a nightmare.

By the way, morning did not work out according to my plans, so I had to incorporate an emergency meal plan:

Soup: leftover from yesterday - enough for 1 person.

New vegetable soup: put frozen veg ( two big chunks) into the water, add a couple of small, diced potatoes, a spoonful or two of bulgar and sprinkle everything with vegeta - Polish  dry seasoning. It really adds taste to any soup. You can get it from any Polish shop. If you buy a 500g packet, it should last you for quite a while. Bring the soup to boil, simmer until potatoes are soft.

Main dish: meat leftover from yesterday. In case there is not enough for four people ( I count 100g of meat per person), you can offer a herring as an entree. Boiled, mashed potatoes ( you can mash them with a drop of milk and or a half a spoon of butter). For salad, I recommend 3-4 leaves of lettuce Iwashed and cut) with sliced cucumber and 2 diced small tomatoes. Add a spoonful of olive oil and a spoonful of white wine vinegar. Mix well.

Hint: I have meat left from yesterday, as I usually try to buy meat in packs of three- there are special offers like : get 3 for £10 etc. Make sure, that you check the meat weight on the pack. Recently, I managed to get packs of 700g each instead of 600g. This is how I have meat left...If you buy any reduced meat, check weight in respect of reduced price. Quite often, reduction works out more expensive than buying a special offer. Calculate and compare!

Home made soup

I didn't have much time for cooking today, so I made tomato soup and a chicken dish.

For tomato soup you need: 1 tin of peeled tomatoes, a chicken wing or a piece of bacon for flavouring, salt and pepper to taste. I mashed the tomatoes though the sieve (don't throw away bigger parts that get stuck in the sieve). Place the tomatoe mash with a piece of meat into a saucepan. Add water (at least a litre), boil and simmer until the meat is soft. I served soup with rice left over from yesterday. Make sure the soup is hot before serving if you serve with cold rice.

For the main dish I prepared chicken. I bought 1 kg of frozen chicken for £4, half of the pack I froze. The remaining part I defrosted overnight, fried in oil with 4 sliced mushrooms. (I got them this week- at a reduced price). Once chicken was cooked, I added tomatoes left over on the sieve. Mix it all together. I boiled noodles (spaghetti) and serve it with chicken. As a salad I prepared two apples (cut into quarters, with seeds removed).

For dessert I offered swiss roll, bought this week as well with cream on top. Cream was sitting in the fridge for the last two weeks (I usually get a long life cream).

Left overs: a handful of noodles. I placed them in a small dish, covered with cling film and put them in the fridge. Don't ever cover anything hot. The food has to cool down before it can be placed in the fridge.

Hint: when buying meat, look at the price per kilo. If it is not stated, calculate how much it would cost for 1000g (1 kg) and compare with other meat.

Hint 2: Any meat used for soup should be removed from the bone and placed in a small pot in the fridge (if not eaten).

My weekly shopping

I marked three items on the bill, which you may not have heard about or have never tried them: rollmops - these are heerings in vinegar with onions and a slice of cucumber. The price is £1.08 (they went down)- you get 2 heerings in one pot. They are great as an entree, before your main dish. For 4 poeple, cut them in half and serve each person half of the herring. You can offer a quarter of bread/toast to go with them. We all love them. If you are not sure whether you would loike them or not, cut a small piece. To start with they may feel too strong, but once you get used to a different taste, you will love them. Rollmops are usually better priced at Lidl's-bigger pot (4-5 herrings) for less money.

Another item I marked is "kabanos". These are thin Polish sausages, very tasty. I pay £2.00 for 200g, which may sound expensive (£10.00 p/kg), but they work very well as a snack for children (and grown ups). If you eat a pack of crisps, you are hungry within 10 minutes. Kabanos (I serve half a sausage each) will keep everybody full for much longer. Besides, they give you energy. Worth trying.

Kabanos work wonders after the swimming, when kids are tired, hungry and quarrelsome.

Herring salad:

One herring cut into small pieces. One onion (fresh) cubed. Sprinkle onion onto the herring. Serve as additional dish.

Weekly shopping of £60 for 4 (2 adults plus 2 children)

I did my weekly shopping today. I spent £60 and I am confident I will have enough food for the whole week, except for milk. I will have to buy some either at the end of the week (Sunday) or on Monday.

(I will post the shopping list soon).

Menu for tomorrow:

Breakfast: cereal with full fat milk (there is no point in buying semi- or skimmed milk - it's cheaper to drink water!). Children sometimes ask for a small sandwich (toast or bread with butter and a slice of cooked ham/chicken roll)

Lunch: children get sandwiches (either white or brown bread with butter and ham), half an apple each; two small cookies each, drink (water and some juice in another bottle). Grown ups - sandwiches and cup of tea.

Dinner: Strictly not throwing any food away, which means, before I go to bed, I check for leftovers in the fridge to be used up the following day.
Always: any home made soup plus the main dish. Tomorrow we'll be finishing a vegetable soup plus I will make some tomato soup.

Main dish: meat left over from today with freshly cooked potatoes and apple pieces for salad. For dessert: either a cake (e.g.swiss roll) or one chocolate digestive bar. My children are not brought up on junk food. I don't buy crisps - they don't supply any energy and are expensive for a tiny amount.