Birthday Baking

It is my beloved nephew’s 9^th birthday tomorrow and my sister has asked me to make his birthday cake, Yikes!  It started just as that but I am also making sausage rolls and stuffed baked potatoes as well, so I’ve booked the day off tomorrow to ensure all is freshly baked and arrives for his family birthday tea after school at 4pm.

I have to say I am feeling the pressure of baking the cake, I love baking and my sponge cakes (thanks to Mary Berry recipes) always seem to come out light and scrummy, but I am by no means a cake decorator and my sister has been quite specific in what she wants, simply icing his name and age.  Please don’t laugh too hard at my first practise attempt – I’m scared (lol). 

He has asked for a vanilla sponge with chocolate cream filling and icing.  The cake and sausage rolls will be baked tomorrow.

Tonight I have made the stuffed potatoes which has become somewhat my signature dish and is requested whenever we have Jacob joins soirees, very simple to make and oh so delish.  Not so much a recipe, more of a compiling.

• Bake your potatoes in the normal way
• Once cooled, scoop out the potato leaving a rim of a couple of millmetres so it creates a sturdy case.
• Mash the potato with butter , season and stir in grated cheese and spring onions.

• Fill back into the potato case, sprinkle some cheese on and when I get to my sisters tomorrow I will pop them in the oven to bake again for about 20 minutes so they are warmed through and the cheese on top is golden brown. Ummm  

Mother's Day on a Budget

To those of you that are Mums, Happy Mother’s Day J

Like most children I adore my mum and just because I am on this frugal journey doesn’t mean I value her any less; I still want to spoil her, particularly on a special day.

I am one of 5 children (the youngest) and her only child who regrettably hasn’t been able to provide her with grandchildren.  So as my sisters are mums themselves they spend the day being spoiled by their children and as such I always get the joy of spending the day with mummy bear J

So I did what I always do and asked her what she would like for lunch, I love cooking and am grateful my friends and family love my cooking (or are kind enough to say they do).  So on today’s menu is: Cottage Pie (as she said she enjoyed it so much at my birthday soiree) and she has asked for my infamous afternoon tea scones as pudding (homemade scones brimming with strawberry jam, freshly whipped double cream and fresh strawberries).  I am also going to make a batch of my homemade sausage rolls as nibbles prior to the main. 

I went to Tesco’s on Friday and bought all the ingredients I needed to put on this spread (see below) and the total cost came to £13.37

Mince Beef (on special 2 packs for) £6

Desiree Potatoes                               £1.95 (now I’m a bit of a potato facist, I prefer homegrown but I don’t have any, however to make the perfect mash it has to be desiree potatoes )

Carrots                                               £0.33 (I had carrots in the fridge this was just the extra I needed)

Butter                                                 £1.19 (value range)

Strawberries                                       £1.00 (punnet on special offer)

600ml Double Cream                         £1.90

Sausage Meat                                    £1.00

The additional ingredients I already had in stock, onions, herbs (fresh from the garden), seasoning, stock cubes, flour, milk, caster sugar. I still have lots of bottles of wine (mainly gifts) from my birthday so she will be in fine spirits J

Now the above has made two big cottage pies, one for the four of us today (me, hubby, mummy and daddy bear) and another which will provide 2 meals for me and hubby.  Again there will be enough scones left to see us through the next couple of days.

So for one special meal and two additional teas £13.37 aint too bad, particularly as I spotted the meal deal in Tescos for £10, which whilst you think is good value, really wasn’t enough food to provide one decent meal just for 2 people and dare I say it doesn’t compete with the hearty meal for effectively 8 people that I will be creating.  J  Off to make my flaky pastry for the sausage rolls – Have a lovely day !!

Time for Detox

Well the birthday celebrations are now officially over.  I have been spoiled by generous family and friends and have over indulged on too much food and wine.  I look forward to the remainder of lent being alcohol free.

I had a banging headache today so didn’t enjoy my soiree with en famille as much as I had hoped; however they all seemed to enjoy themselves and were very complementary about my food and cake; it was a frugal spread in cost but not in quality and amount, practically everything was homemade, whilst a lot of hard work was very rewarding.

Looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow, walk with hubby and dog and spend sometime in the garden preparing the veg beds; then the dreaded ironing J

Notes from my Kitchen

I had the day off work today, in fact I have a long birthday weekend ahead of me free from “work” (of the paid kind).  Today was a busy day and I definitely wont need rocking tonight, there is something really lovely about that physical tired as opposed to my usual mental/emotional exhaustion.

Today I cleaned the house from top to bottom, it gleams J - I also cooked up a storm in preparation of my Saturday soiree en famille.  I made 4 shepherds pies, one with plain mash and  3 with mash with spring onions and cheese (yummm) (the 5kg of potatoes I made took some mashing, the old bicep got a good workout); I made a fish pie and knocked up a batch of chocolate cupcakes.

This just leaves me to make sausage rolls and my birthday cake – lemon and white chocolate.  Both of these I will make early Saturday morning.  So minus sending darling hubby out Saturday morning to buy some crusty bread; defrosting and warming through the mini cheese and onion scones I made the other day and quickly making some cheese straws for the dips, the food for my hopefully hungry guests is done J

Oh No.... the Big 4-0

So this blogger reaches the big 4-0 on Friday – seriously how did that happen? Surely it was only yesterday I was 19 creating mischief and mayhem and having a ball. 

Hubby’s 40^th last year was a frugal persons nightmare, weekend away with close friends (I paid for it all) a week’s holiday to Rome; a weekend in Lille, plus gifts – the whole thing came in over £5000.  Well that was then and this is now and as I am paying the piper…..  how do you have a frugal 40^th?

Well I could just hide under the duvet and forget its existence – my personal choice.  However hubby wants to mark the occasion and as I’ve convinced him that going to Paris is not on the cards until debts are cleared and savings made; I’ve eventually brokered a frugal (ish) deal.

Birthday day is a boozy lunch at Pizza Express with just me and my darling hubby; we have a particularly nice one in an old converted bank with modern art and jazzy music.  The meal itself will come courtesy of my Tesco Reward Vouchers; the booze and taxi will come out of the small pot of money I have managed to squirrel away – I have put £50 aside for this – I would (now) never normally spend this however it is a special day and has been my compromise to my darling hubby who believes you’re a long time dead.

Saturday is a party afternoon with my family – all hosted by us at our home – this has been the biggest quandary for me.  I have and often did throw lavish parties at my home – huge buffet table groaning under the weight of smoked salmon and finest terrines and cheese boards that would cost a small third world countries debt, along with a bar stocked as though I was in the nightclub business.  Again different days. 

So the menu will be:

Nibbles:  Homemade sausage rolls (pastry is made from store cupboard ingredients, pork sausage meat £3.49, onion and sage from the garden, this will make a batch of 30 sausage rolls which really are the best (Delia’s recipe); I will also be making homemade mini cheese and onion scones – again all these ingredients I have in store and again I can make about 30.  In addition I will buy some value range dips and chop up some carrots and make some cheese twists. Hopefully whilst drinks and hellos are ongoing, hunger will be put in abeyance until the…..

The main event - shepherd’s pie, ones with plain mash and ones with champ mash (mash with spring onions and cheese – my dad’s particular favourite) and fish pie (sister pescatarian) along with crusty bread.  Portions will be hearty.

Birthday Cake – Homemade lemon and white chocolate cake – along with some chocolate cupcakes for the kids – I can make all this for less than £3

Booze – Well my favourite cocktail is going to be plentiful – Poinsettia – gran marnier, prosecco (I have substituted this for a cheaper cava which was on offer, (as it’s a cocktail providing its alcoholic, dryish and sparkling it really doesn’t matter) and cranberry juice.  We have lots of beer which was left over from Christmas, that with an array of soft drinks – I hope everyone will be suitably content.

The last Xmas Eve buffet/ soiree I threw in 2010, the cost came in close to £400 my 40^th Birthday celebrations, (whilst will take more work as much is homemade) has come in for (on-line shopping list done) £86.  I think to throw a party for 14 including birthday cake and booze for £6 per head isn’t too bad – I know my frugal betters would be able to do better and I hope in years to come I also can – but for me this is a huge step forward. 

I am however nervous and a tad insecure - I really hope my guests, who have been used to my extravagance will enjoy my frugal soiree …….