Fuel Saving Opportunity

To be concise, Morrisons are offering 1p per litre off fuel for every £10 gift card you buy.

On the face of it this doesn't sound too great but there's several ways to play this one.

So...if you're planning on spending, say £50, at Next, buy a £50 gift card from Morrisons and receive a 5p off per litre voucher.

Or...if you're doing Christmas shopping at Toys R Us, Boots or Debenhams (or maybe even a bike from Halfords) buy the gift cards now and reduce your fuel bill now. It's also a great way of ensuring you don't go over budget.

** This isn't a sponsored post. Morrisons haven't approached me at all to write this post. I just think its a fab way to stay on budget & save on fuel.

Meal Planning Monday - 03/09

After the hectic summer hols, I'm getting back on track & resuming life.

So after frantic reading of several cookbooks this morning, this is the plan...



Monday: The Hairy Dieters Lamb Hotpot

Tuesday: Gino De Campo's Three Bean Chilli & Rice

Wednesday: Slow Roasted Sun Dried Tomato Beef & Pesto Roasties

Thursday: The Hairy Dieters Paprika Chicken

Friday: Annabel Karmel's Chicken Burgers

Saturday: Hey, Hey, Takeaway!!

Sunday: Spaghetti Bolognaise from the freezer



I am determined to stick to this plan (for the first time ever!!) so determined in fact that tomorrow's chilli has already been cooked.

There's more meal plans over on At Home With Mrs M if you are looking for more meal inspiration.

Vegetable Chilli Pasta Bake

You know me, I love batch cooking as it's cheap and more importantly saves me cooking everyday!

Always to be found in my tiny freezer is at least 4 portions of Vetable Chilli.  There's at least 11 ways to eat this as listed in the post "Batch Cooking: 10 ways with Vegetable Chilli"

This week, we're having it re-incarnated in the form of Pasta Bake.

As I tend to adopt the do it and leave it approach to cooking, the chilli needs a fair bit of liquid adding to it to allow the pasta to absorb and soften.

So, how to do...

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 batch of defrosted Vegetable Chilli
2 handfuls of pasta per person (I use bows or shells as they absorb the best)
500g of passatta
250ml of vegetable stock
Grated Cheese to cover

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C

2. Mix in the passatta to the defrosted chilli

3. Add the pasta and stir well.  If the mix seems too dry, add the vegetable stock until it is quite a liquid mixture.

4. Cook for 20 minutes and check.  If it is drying out too much, add a little more stock.

5.  Grate the cheese over the top and cook for a further 20 minutes

6.  Serve with a lovely garlic bread and italian salad.


It seems a bit hit and miss with the stock but this is due to the original consistency of your chilli.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Claire

Magazine Pile to Cash

I've made a discovery this week and it's a cash generating one!!

Magazines sell really well on eBay!!

It started when I couldn't find a relatively new magazine, Scrap 365, in any shops in my area. I turned to eBay and managed to buy 3 out of the 8 issues I wanted to read.

When I like a magazine. I tend to but back issues and this was the key to my cash generating idea!

Last year, I subscribed to Writers Forum Magazine. Its a really useful magazine but I just don't have the time at the moment to read each issue. Many issues are still unopened in the delivery wrapping. I also found a lot of the back issues were sold out with the publisher making my stash worth more!!

So rather than take up room & clutter the house, I'm selling them to make a quick £50!

If you want to buy, the full listings are on eBay, but I'm happier to sell through the blog, so just leave me a comment or email me at infinitesafetyltd@gmail.com and I'll be in touch with payment arrangements.


ISSUES OF WRITERS FORUM FOR SALE:

All issues £3.60 each plus £1.60 p&p

#130 September 2012 - unread, in wrapper

#129 August 2012 - unread, in wrapper

#128 July 2012 - unread in wrapper

#125 April 2012 - unread, in wrapper

#124 March 2012 - read once

#122 January 2012 - read a few times

#117 August 2011 - unread, not in wrapper

#115 June 2011 - read once

#112 March 2011 - read once

#111 February 2011 - read once

#110 January 2011 - read once

#109 December 2010 - read once

Bargain V Brand Review: Shampoo

Blogs are full of reviews of brand products, particularly luxury brand products. It's reassuring to know that if I do part with a large chunk of my weekly budget that the product will deliver its promises, but it is unlikely I will spend where there are completely acceptable, often just as good, alternatives.

So, this week, I bring you The Bargain Vs Brand Reviews!! (ta-da-da-da-da-da-DAH!!!!)

And here's the first.

I can pretty much only use Head and Shoulders shampoo. I've dark hair and dry skin. Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Shampoo also does the job but at a time when I'm keen to pay off the mortgage, I can't justify the price.

I only buy Shampoo when it's on offer. At £6 for a large bottle I wait until I can get a free conditioner or until its down to £4.

That was until I tried Hair and Scalp by Medipure from B&M Bargains. Just 99p for a 400ml bottle.

So, what's the verdict?

It works, I like it and I will buy it again!

I'm cheating a little as I have almost a full bottle of Head and Shoulders Conditioner which I am using up.

I just use shampoo alone maybe twice a week and Hair and Scalp can be a little harsh but it's nothing that a decent blow dry cant hide.

So on day 1 of the Bargain V Brand Reviews, the winner is....

BARGAIN!!!

Meal Planning Monday - The Night After The Storm

That's an actual storm, not a metaphore for a stressful time or anything.  The dog was whining before the thunder cracked, then the lightening started, then the torrential rain.  Then the dog started barking at 3.52 AM!!!

So after a disturbed nights sleep and a pile of work after a week off, the slow cooker is out and things are being slung in it.  I may well come up with a fabulous creation during my sleep deprived state, although it's quite unlikely!!

So, there's no lunches planned this week, it will be whatever is easy but here's the dinners (or tea as it is oop here in t'wet north)

Monday: Slow cooker shepherds pie

Tuesday: Chicken dinner

Wednesday:  Chicken Fajitas with left over chicken

Thursday:  Italian Beef Casserole (in the slow cooker for the first time)

Friday: Chippy tea!  (not had one for ages!)

Saturday: More takeaway

Sunday: Steak and Chips

Not much going on really, I'll try and post the recipes for the Slow Cooked Shepherds Pie and Italian Beef Casserole once I've got through my mountain of work!

If you need more inspiration, and lets face it, I clearly need inspiration!!  Hop over to Mrs M's Blog and read the other meal plans on there.  There's some really tasty ones this week!

Vegetable Chilli - Batch Cooking Recipe

This post is part of the #FaveFamilyRecipes Competition with BritMums and Tilda Rice. Every pack sold will provide a meal to an expectant mum in need in support of the World Food Programme’s Mothers Helping Mothers initiative in Bangladesh

This is one of my Batch Cooking staples. It's the basis for all dishes on my Ten Ways With Vegetable Chilli post.

So how do I make it?

It started as a low calorie Gino De Campo Recipe from his I Diet book but I found it wasn't quite chilli enough and wasnt quite filling enough for the children so I've adapted it quite a bit.
Ingredients:
Small Aubergine - diced
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1 onion - diced
2 medium courgettes - diced
200g mushrooms - diced
2 carrots - diced
1 yellow pepper - finely chopped
1 orange pepper - finely chopped
2 medium potatoes - chopped to the size of small roast potatoes
200g green beans
1 tbsp garlic paste (or a clove)
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
500g passatta
1 400g tin red kidney beans
1 400g tin cannelloni beans
250ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp Mild chilli powder (or to your own taste)

Method:
1.  Put the diced aubergine in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt.  Leave for about 30 minutes while you chop up everything else.  After 30 minutes rinse well in cold water and drain.
2. Heat the oil, add the garlic and saute the onion until it goes soft.
3. Add the aubergine, courgettes, mushrooms, carrotts, yellow pepper and orange pepper and saute for about 4 minutes.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and passatta and coat everything well.
5. Rinse all the beans before adding to the pan and give a really good stir.
6.  Add the vegetable stock and the Chilli powder to taste.
7.  Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.
8. Add the green beans and cook for a further 15 minutes

And there you have it, your basic chilli to do with what you wish from serving on a jacket potato to filling a samosa.  This is probably the most versatile recipe in my Batch Cooking collection.
Please let me know if you find any other ways of using this basic recipe to create a meal.