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The latest tips from Amanda

Where to Shop?

6/25/2017

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People often ask me the best places to shop.  There really isn’t a right answer to the question.  However we all know at least one supermarket snob!  Such people always make me smile.  Savvy businessmen and women will never pay more for the same item unless there is a very good reason for it.  Some of the most expensive cars I have ever seen have been in an Aldi car park!

Many years ago when I used to work in food traceability I spent a lot of time with most well know supermarkets and went to a lot of the food retailers conferences. The general consensus was that over time most people would bulk buy once a month for essential household items and frozen food and a lot of this would be done online.
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The feel good shopping would be done once or multiple times a week when consumers buy fresh fruit and vegetables and treats for the weekend.

The added hidden cost of your weekly/monthly shop will be the cost of delivery and/or travelling to the supermarket of your choice.

I once knew someone who travelled over 10 miles away to go to their then local Waitrose.
When re-charging mileage you usually use 45p a mile as the cost of petrol and car wear and tear.  So if you are doing a 20 miles round trip to your favourite supermarket you need to factor in another £9 on to the cost of your shopping.

I have an Asda very close to where I live and I do buy my bulk household goods from there once a month.  I also pick up special offers and fruit and veg from there as it is convenient and their prices competitive.

However I also have an M&S Simply food at my local garage and there is a Waitrose close to my son’s school. I usually avoid both at the end of the month if my monthly food budget is close to oblivion. M&S and Waitrose do have some great ready made meals but invariably it is cheaper to cook in bulk and freeze your own.  However their ‘Dine In’ offers are often too good to miss especially when they include a bottle of wine.

​Waitrose also does some great speciality food that you struggle to find in other Supermarkets.  Their own brand household items are also very competitively priced. You can also get some great bargains when they are selling off their 'end of sell by date' produce.  I tend to look for things I can take home and freeze. 
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​It is also lovely when you receive money off vouchers they send out to get you back in their shops.
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I also bulk buy from my butcher as a busy working mum I don’t have time to go to the butchers once a week but I know the meat there is of an exceptionally high quality and will pay a bit extra for that quality. It freezes well and doesn’t shrink when cooked so pound for pound I still get more for my money.

So my tips are:
·         Try not to drive too far for your shopping without good reason
·         If buying online try and book deliveries well in advance and not at peak times to cut down the cost
·         Look to always get best value for money
·         Better quality food may cost more but pound for pound can be worth it

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Stringy Cheese Straws

6/18/2017

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I came back from a night away with the family forgetting the Olly Murs Concert was being held in my home town.  I realised that the nibbles I had been planning on buying to go with the cold glass of white wine I had been promising myself was not going to happen due to the grid locked roads close to my house.
Disappointed I scanned my virtually empty fridge looking for some inspiration.
I found a packet of puff pastry which was reaching it’s sell by date and lots of ready grated cheese which I always keep in stock of for my young son and his never ending demand for the bowls of pasta he insists on making himself.
  1. I rolled the pastry out and sprinkled some grated parmesan and some grated mozzarella cheese on top.
  2. Folded the pastry over and did the same again. 
  3. Continued this a couple more times, before brushing it with a beaten egg and sprinkling some salt and pepper on top before cutting the pastry into thin stripes (You can use any type of cheese for this and replace the beaten egg with some milk if you prefer).
  4. Baked it in a hot oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
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The still warm and slightly stringy (due to the mozzarella) cheese straws went down a storm with my family and tasted delicious with my ice cold glass of white wine.  Costing the same if not less than a large packet of crisps I will be doing the same again next weekend!!
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Making good when disaster strikes

6/4/2017

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Yes very few of us are Nigella’s or Mary Berry’s and we do have disasters, but often these can create some really nice and interesting concoctions. I am sure that is how Eaton Mess came about, but I decided to take it one step further with this particular example. 

​When the Meringue goes horribly wrong 
Yes this does happen quite regularly and often because I have been a skinflint and used cheap baking paper or the wrong baking tray and the meringue refuses to lift off without breaking into pieces - but that is for another blog….

The first of my many disasters happened when my older two children were still quite small and we decided to have some fun together.

So I took them to the shop and bought vanilla ice cream out of the freezer (now days I tend to make my own it tastes better and is cheaper) and let it melt enough to add the broken meringues and some crushed fruit.  I stirred well then put the mixture back in the freezer. 
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The kids loved the fact that the boring vanilla ice cream had become a frozen Eaton Mess and they had helped make it.

​I still do this today and by taking the ice cream out of the freezer a good 5 minutes before serving, it makes a soft, sticky and totally delicious frozen Eaton Mess.  It is great for dinner parties especially as it can be made weeks in advance meaning less stress!!

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If you would prefer to use chocolate instead of the fruit break up a chocolate bar and add it to the meringue and ice cream.  Before serving melt some more chocolate and pour it on top.  My youngest son calls this George’s chocy mess!!

Tip:
To make it easier, use shop bought meringues and fruit coulis!
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When the kids eat you out of house and home

5/28/2017

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You made an extra big meal the previous evening and had hoped to use the left over vegetables as an accompaniment for the next days meal but those greedy teenagers just kept going back for more to fill the bottomless pit which is their stomach and there is very little left!

I always keep some couscous in the cupboard for just this occasion.  I tend to by the Ainsley Harriott couscous as it is often on special offer and I like his flavours.
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Top Tips:
For extra taste you can always add some curry or chill powder. I often add a few raisins or other dried fruit to give it a bit of a zing!
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You can use rice instead of couscous or use noodles with some sweet chilli sauce which is great either hot or cold.
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I add boiling water to the couscous as directed on the packet. Chop the few left over vegetables into small pieces, heat them through in the microwave. Add them to the couscous with some cooked meat or fish and a new meal is created.
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Easy canapés when you need them

5/7/2017

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OK so you get invited to a friends for dinner and ask if you can bring anything (quietly expecting they are going to say yourself and a bottle of wine)! Alas, they ask if you'd mind bringing some canapés... and you go into panic mode!
So there are usually two options:
(a) you spend a couple of hours in the kitchen fiddling about with some highly complicated recipe with lots of ingredients.
(b) you cheat and buy spend a fortune at waitress and buy their pre-made canapés. 

Well here I am providing option (c), a really good way to make some  easy, tasty and inexpensive canapés! 
This is what you will need:
  • Some mini pastry cases or blinis you can find in Asda & Waitrose. 
  • Cream Cheese (Philadelphia is my favourite buy any  of the cheaper own brands will do the trick)
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Pesto (homemade always tastes best if you have time to make it)
 
Method:
  • Put the cream cheese in the pastry cases or spread on the blinis. 
  • Cut the tomatoes on half and spread some pesto on the inside flesh of the tomato
  • Place on top of the cream cheese
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​​​Voila and don't they look professional!

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Different varieties include:
  • ​Pate with an olive
  • ​Brie and grape
  • ​Custard with a strawberry or some other fruit
  • ​Chocolate Mouse with an orange segment
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Sometimes you just have to be  a bit thrifty!

4/23/2017

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Ok so I am not embarrassed to admit that the first place I go when I get to a supermarket is the end of best before shelf – I love it.

The other day I just couldn’t decide what to make for tea the fridge was empty apart from a half-eaten meat pie from the butchers which I was planning on giving my husband.
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I had just about blown my food budget for the week and was struggling.  So I popped into my local supermarket and headed straight to the end of best before shelf.  There I picked up and load of root vegetables for less than a pound.
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There was enough there for at least two people and voila that was tea sorted. The husband had some veg to go with his pie and I had enough for a plate of veg which would easily fill me up. As a bonus, I felt good for being healthy after over indulging during the Easter break- result!!!
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Stir fry? coleslaw? who cares?

4/15/2017

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During the summer months if I have time at the weekends, I will chop up a cabbage, a few carrots and an onion (this might be whilst I am preparing Sunday lunch and busy chopping up vegetables in general).  I then pop them in a plastic bag and shake them well.
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I then use this to make some coleslaw during the week which is great with a jacket potato, or can be used to  make a stir fry with a few noodles or some rice.
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This creates two meals from one and is cheap and easy to make.
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Remember the Basil

4/15/2017

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At this time of year I always keep a Basil plant in my kitchen. Depending on where you are buying it from you can usually get a plant for about a £1.00 and every time you pick some leaves they just keep growing back, this is much cheaper than buying cut basil.
Chop some tomatoes, add some basil, a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On toast this makes a great light lunch or snack. It can also be used in homemade burgers or in a salad. I always use it in my ‘keep it simple pasta sauce’, wherever there is a tomato there is always some basil not far behind in my household!​
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Pesto
Pesto is also a great use for basil, the pine nuts and parmesan cheese can be a little expensive but it tastes far better than the bought pesto and served with pasta it doesn't amount to much for a whole meal! There is nothing quite like pasta with fresh pesto, yummy!
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Cheats Lasagne

4/8/2017

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I had this at work in the Students Canteen and thought what a great cheat’s lasagne this would make. ​This is great served with garlic bread and/or salad! 

Great Italian flavours without all the fuss of creating lasagne. 
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Method:
  • Boil some premade ravioli (meat/ veg/ cheese, whichever you prefer) until soft
  • Put some full cream milk, cornflour (approximately a level desert spoon of cornflour for half a pint of milk) and cheese in a saucepan and stir on a low heat until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened *I used some leftover cheese from Christmas to make my sauce, if you have read my blog on Christmas leftovers you will know I never throw cheese away and freeze it for an occasion such as this.
  • Put the ravioli in an oven proof dish and throw in some cherry tomatoes and basil if you have any.
  • Pour over the cheese sauce.
    Place in the oven for around 20 minutes at 180 degrees until golden brown.
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For the Healthier Option
Use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk.
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Quicker and Easier
The quicker and easier way of making this would be to buy the cheese sauce and add some extra cheese.
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Welsh Rarebit with a Swiss twist

4/3/2017

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Switzerland is far from the cheapest place to eat! They have such a strong economy and with the exchange rate from pound to Swiss Franc very much in their favour everything seems doubly expensive. However the Swiss do know how to make the most of their food, living up in the mountains food isn’t easily transportable and in the winter months, homes can get cut off for weeks at a time.

Whilst over there I had some Macaroni cheese with stewed apple (a first for me) and noticed the gentlemen opposite had Swiss Welsh Rarebit with a poach egg on top.
  I had been tempted by that dish on the menu and it did look really nice, but thought it might have been nice to have the apple with the Welsh Rarebit rather than the Macaroni cheese.  So on arriving home I thought I’d give it a try.
Method:
  • Toast some thick sliced bread - you will need two rounds per person (more if they have a big appetite).
  • Put some sliced cheese in the middle with some sliced apple.
  • Place in an oven proof dish.
  • Put some full cream milk, cornflour (approximately a level dessert spoon of cornflour for half a pint of milk) and cheese in a saucepan and stir on a low heat until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened. I used some leftover cheese from Christmas to make my sauce. If you have read my blog on Christmas leftovers you will know I never throw cheese away and freeze it for an occasion such as this.​​                                                                         
  • Add some Worcestershire Sauce and mustard to taste. 
  • You can also add some stout or Guinness but this will make the sauce runnier.
  • Add another layer of apple over the toasted bread.
  • Pour on the sauce.
  • Pop in the oven on 180 degrees until golden brown.
  • Garnish as required.
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Now lots of people say ‘oh I can’t cook’ but with this recipe if you can make a toasted cheese sandwich you can cook this!
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