A little camping break

 I am so pleased that we managed to get away this year, and with my sisters too. It was a really nice break which involved lots of laughter, walking and eating together.

We went to the Peak District and stayed on a dairy farm in Pomeroy. There was a little shop onsite, a petting zoo with goats and from the part of the field we were pitched in we got to see the dairy cows go out every morning and back in again in the evening. The children were fascinated by this as the cows just wandered through to the correct field.

We had a real mixed bag of weather whilst we were there but still managed some exploring. 

This pub was found wandering along the High Peak trail straight out of the campsite.

This was at a park in Buxton, Pup was most confused by this statue HAHA. Think he thought it was real, he stood staring for a while.

This is walking along the river in Bakewell.

View from the top of the hill at Cavedale in Castleton. I love the rainbow across the water.

It was so nice to go as a group as it meant; company for me, company for teengirl as her cousins of a similar age were there, and the younger cousins had each other too. This meant so few tantrums/silks from all invovled. It was a very relaxing week. I stuck within the budget I had set for the week, and even came home with big change!

Teengirl and I had planned to see if we could stay on for a couple of extra nights as we were enjoying it so much. However, we went out on the Friday for lunch with my sister and her family and when we got back the tent had broken. Several sections of three of the long poles had shattered. It was a very windy week and the poor tent just couldn't stand up anymore.

So instead of a few extra days we ended up driving home that evening and having two less days than we had planned. I was a little disappointed then I realised that actually given the current situation around with Covid-19 we were very lucky to have managed to get away at all. So turned that round and have concentrated on how much fun we have had instead.

Now to start saving for next year as we all want to go again. I also need to find out where I can get my tent poles repaired...

Batch Cooking

 

I try to find recipes that I like in order to batch cook and freeze. This saves me so much time and money, especially when I am in work full-time. I go back in full-time next week so I am trying to get prepared ready for the onslaught that September brings to teaching. It has also provided me with an opportunity to use up odds and ends in the fridge. I still have plenty to use up but I am determined not to waste the food we have. Some is being used for snacking- for example Teengirl has just came down and asked for the corn on the cob we needed to use, she has sat quite happily munching on that. I had a left over bit of chicken from last night's tea as my lunch with some of the wilting salad. 

My freezer is now stocked with 21 ready meals. I will use these either as quick after work dinners, or lunches. I shall be adding to these as the week progresses. So far I have made;

Lentil curry- there are 9 portions of this leftover in the freezer.

Lentil bolognese- I have 8 pots of this in the freezer.

Veggie chilli- I have 4 portions of this in the freezer.

I also found some mushrooms languishing at the back of the fridge so I made creamy mushroom turnovers- I have eaten 2 of these and have a further 2 in the freezer for a quick lunch at some point.

I love that I have so much prepped already. I have planned out my menu for the week, and will prepare next week's menu over the weekend. 

This was created with the food I needed to use in mind, so the fish fingers and chicken wraps are served with salads to use up the lettuces etc in the fridge.

The pesto will use up the bargain packet of fresh basil I got in the supermarket at the end of the day- recued to 5p! I bought 3, 2 went in the freezer for later in the term as I recently discovered how quick and easy it is to make your own pesto. I had been buying the free-from jars for around £1.50 a pot. I can make it for pennies!

What are your favourite batch cook meals? Bonus points if they are meat-free/ use store cupboard foods. We aren't veggie (see the plan above!) but I am reducing our meat consumption in an effort to save on food costs. Post your favourite meals below.

Camping

Stephanie, Smudge and I are off camping for a week on Sunday. Dylan and his girlfriend are staying home to look after the house and the rabbit. This is a week away on a budget. I have saved for the last couple of months for this, as it has been planned for a while. My sisters and their families are coming with us. We have a stay in the Peak District booked, I can't wait. I planned out the meals and things we will be eating today, based on what is easy to cook on a camping cooker and what we have int he cupboards already.

 This is what I have come up with:

The main items on this list are in my cupboard and just needed packing. The BBQ food will be taken from my freezer and pack in the cool box with ice packs to keep it fresh as will take us 4 hours or so to get there. We then will need to unpack the car, put up the tent etc etc before we eat. BBQs on the first night are always fun, especially when you meet others there as they are fun social meals allowing us time to catch up as we share.

Excuse the dog's nose- food is around so he's not far away! HAHA

I shopped through the cupboards for the meals on the plan. Then headed to the fridge:

This bits are fruit and veg that we can use for either snacks, or to enhance our meals. Not enough for the week, but once we are settled we will head to local shops/farms to buy the bits we need as we go. we won't have a fridge whilst we camp so we will buy fresh bit as needed.

This is how I keep costs down when we go away.What things do you do to keep the costs down?

Leftovers

 Do you find it hard to eat, or even have inspiration to eat when it is hot? I do. I really struggle to eat in this weather. I love the sunshine but I don't want to eat in it. I have a daughter who is the same, I end up having to find fast simple meals that will entice her to eat as much as me!

The other day I cooked a roast chicken and we had some left in the fridge that needed eating so I made today's dinner using it.

I also found this box in the cupboard.I'm not sure where it came from, I don't even remember buying it. It was quite easy to make, you dissolve the powder into a little water, coat your chicken in it and fry until cooked. Nice and easy, just what was needed today.

I coated my chicken and then popped it in the air fryer for ten minutes. I just needed the coating to crisp as the chicken was already cooked. Whilst this happened, I chopped a quick, simple salad and added some tortilla crisps which were open in the cupboard.

Plain, simple and tasty. Just what was needed on this hot day.

There was still a little of the chicken left. I decided to make a treat for the dog with it. A simple pate, if you were making this for humans you could use butter, maybe garlic and little lemon juice to liven it up a little. As it was for Smudge I kept it plain as he has a sensitive tummy and he will stink us out! Haha

Chicken and a little water and into the blender until smooth.

I should have used a little less water maybe as it was a little runny. It will be fine though as I will be spreading it onto his licky mat and freezing it as a cooling treat another day.

There is no chicken left now so I will need to decide on something else quick and simple for tomorrow's dinner. I'm thinking maybe some pesto pasta.

Dining Room Update

Ok so I have lived in this house for 5 years and have never been able to decide what to do with the dining room. It always looks dark, cluttered and uninviting. 

Then a fortnight ago I came across this awesome wallpaper, I absolutely loved it.

I found it on Ebay, thought perfect I'll put the paper in the recess next to the chimney breast, paint the chimney breast and the other 3 walls. It'll look fab. I ordered two rolls, and had £5 off voucher for ebay so cost £18. Perfect. I thought I have some white paint in the shed so I'll get started whilst I wait for delivery.

Pulled the wallpaper that was on the chimney breast off ready to paint and was left with this:

1 very untidy, needs a replaster chimney breast. Definitely not a quick paint with white emulsion job. I don't have the skills or the money to fix this, especially as this is a rented home and I plan on moving in a couple of years as I aim to buy my own home. (long term plan, details coming soon!)

This means a change of plan- I'll just wallpaper across all of the area you can see in the picture above.

I forgot to take before pictures of this room, that's how much I disliked it! In the alcove on the left of this picture is where I had my freezer (kitchen is too tiny to fit a fridge/freezer in it. The alcove on the right is where I put my dining table and 6 chairs. The opposite corner to where the freezer is, so behind me and to the left where I stood to take this picture is where I had the fridge/ freezer, then the opposite corner to the table, so on my right and behind me when I took this picture is the bookcase and my desk. There never seemed to be enough room and it was not a comfortable space to use. So the whole room ended up a dumping ground.

Whilst I was painting I came up with a cunning plan to fix this. 

All the walls that were not papered were painted white to allow for the room to appear brighter, the wallpaper has potential to make it look dark so I wanted to balance this out.

This si the finished room:

I absolutely love it. I have spent all my time in here/ the garden since I finished it. I smile everytime I walk in. I love how I have laid the space out and it feels less cluttered. I haven't taken any of our stuff out, it's just better organised.

It's not the easiest room to photograph, but hopefully that gives you an idea of how much better it looks.

I did have to buy a third roll of wallpaper, as I was one drop short after having to paper the chimney breast as well as the alcoves.

Total costs:

Wallpaper- 3 rolls= £30

Gloss for woodwork- tin £8- I used half so £4

White emulsion- I used half a of a huge tub which cost £12 so £6

Wallpaper paste £1.

I have used all of our own furniture and didn't buy anything new. I have the light fitting from a previous room decorating.

Total cost for project: £41.00

I'm very happy with that as it has given us a fantastic looking room that we are all now using properly.