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More Christmas Gallivants
On Friday evening we went to see some very close friends that we have known for at least 20 years now. I was looking forward to it as K is a very good cook and we have had many a lovely foodie conversation over the years. We met a new couple which is always lovely,...
A Christmas Kiss
On one of my many Christmas gallivants this December, a group of us went to a new bistro in Heathfield, Galin. It does lovely food in a modern European style. I can’t drink alcohol at all, it gives me a horrible migraine, so I was very pleased to see this drinks menu...
Christmas en famille
Had a wonderful day yesterday. We had a total of 13 people in our small house. I cooked a traditional turkey lunch. Of all the possible options, we like to have a turkey, and as far as I can remember, have always had. Started the turkey the previous evening as I have...
12 portions of minced beef pasta bake, 34p each
Batch cook beef mince and make 12 portions of pasta bake. What vegetables will you add?
Gift Tags for Christmas, Birthday, New baby and more – from 0p
I was thinking about gift tags and felt sure I could do some on my pc. I looked at my dtp (desk top processor) which is an old version now and there weren’t any there, so I Googled ‘gift tags’ and found these on Pinterest. There are plenty of ideas there, including...
Eating during the festive week at £1.30’ish per person per day
This is a suggested week with approximate costs, and a few alternative ideas. I have plundered Thrifty Lesley archives for some of the cheaper recipes to bracket the more expensive provisions for Christmas Day itself. Suggested amounts are for 2 people, as usual. I have tried to put in as many festive flavours as I could, using seasonal spices, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sage and mince pies
Muscovado and Red Fruit Cheesecake, 50p a serving with the fruit, 33p without
A no-bake cheesecake, topped with a fruit compote, or what you will. Very moreish, so I only make it in small portions!
Christmas Pie at the WI, not a 50p one!
Went to my WI Garden Group Christmas Supper Party last night. It was a lovely relaxed evening. There were about 25 or so of us (the garden group is very popular!) and we had it in a hall that was just about the right size. We hired a speaker to talk to us who...
Lemon Dahl from 18p to 24p depending on if you use value or basmati rice
Any of the dahls could be used as a side dish with something else. They all freeze brilliantly and reheat well in the microwave, so great for work if you have a microwave there. This one is fragrant with lemon
Coconut Dahl, from 17p to 23p a portion depending on if you use value or basmati rice
Here is another dahl recipe, a coconutty one this time. I like to use brown basmati rice with most things, if you wanted to use value rice, it would reduce the cost to just 17p a portion. This is a very quick meal, from packet to table in 20 minutes, and most of that time is the lentils simmering, so you could get on with something else
Toasted Nan & Dahl, 38p a portion
I have had this a few times, I have a clipping in my little brown book from where I cut it out from somewhere. It is extremely tasty and amazingly quick, you need to prepare the nan in advance, otherwise it just takes a few minutes.
Pasta, soft cheese and tomato purée, 25p a portion
Had this for dinner this evening. Just pasta with soft cheese and tomato purée stirred through. Took 10 mins to make. It was thick and extremely tasty.