From One Mum!

Meaty 🥩 cheesy 🧀 chili 🌶 mac with penne pasta! 😋 RECIPE 👇 You'll Need : 1 box of penne pasta 1/2 pound ground beef 1 onion 🧅 1 handful mushrooms 🍄 1 can Rotel crushed tomatoes 🍅 1 block velveeta cheese 🧀 Salt Pepper Granulated garlic Onion powder Chili powder Direction : Place cast iron pan on medium heat and large pot of water with oil and water on high heat. Add ground beef to pan with listed seasonings and cook till almost done and drain grease. Add your pasta to the boiling water. Place meat back in pan with the chopped onions and mushrooms add desired seasonings and sauté your onions and mushrooms. Once sautéd add your crushed tomatoes and lower heat. Add half a block of velveeta cheese and let melt. Once melted add your pasta to the cast iron pan and mix well. Then serve!

Recipe - Fake away sweet and sour chicken balls… Cut thicken breast into cubes. Dusted them in the salt and pepper seasoning (Heron Foods, v cheap) mixed half and half with plain flour.  Batter mix, just add water and whisk with a fork. Super easy. Dip the chicken chunks in the batter and fry in hot oil. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve with boiled rice and whatever veg you have available. The sweet and sour sauce I saved from last weeks takeaway so was free. But you could use a sachet or just serve with soy sauce.  My son said it was better than the take away version! It’s certainly cheaper, by about £6! 🙂.  

Recipe - Lamb & mint pie, chive & sour cream mash, & mixed veggies 🥧😍 This was so delicious, & didnt cost much at all. I got the pastry free from Olio but usually make my own & it doesnt cost a lot at all as its just flour & butter. Shortcrust pastry free from Olio Leftover lamb from Easter free as costed previously Gravy granules 16p 1/3 bag frozen mixed veg 23p 1/4 bag frozen green beans 13p 1/3 bag potatoes on offer 30p 2 tbsp sour cream, 1/4 pack fresh chives & tbsp mint sauce 30p ish?!  £1.12 fed 5 for 22p each 😀.

Recipe - Dinner tonight-crispy chicken burgers with paprika wedges and coleslaw. Pud was apple pastry and custard. Found the brioche buns in my cupboard BB 26/8 but they looked and smelled fine. Used 2 chicken br**sts sliced through to make 4 thinner slices. Didn’t have breadcrumbs (or bread-still in freezer!) so did flour/egg/and crushed some tortilla crisps from an open packet-sprayed with oil and baked. Wedges just chopped, skin on, oil/salt/paprika and baked.  Brioche buns 99p Chicken x2 sliced 2.98 Potatoes 30p Flour/egg/crisps/oil/lettuce  50p £5.72 for 4 @£1.43 Apple pastry £1.09/custard 55p £1.64 for 4 @41p

Special halloween tea for my boy today. Just to show, you don't need to spend a lot to make people happy. Just effort and thought ❤️. Black mayo (£2 only used a touch). Themed pasta in aldi (used 1/3 so 30p worth). Pack of bake in the oven bread sticks from aldi £1.20 for the Pack and I used 1- so 20p). Homemade tomato sauce with braising steak, with added black food colouring to make it spoooooooky (from the depths of the freezer).

Recipe - Tonight’s dinner for the non meat eaters was cheesy broccoli pasta. I cooked 1/2 a pack of essentials pasta at 30p with some broccoli and peas. In another pan i added a little butter and 2 garlic cloves pressed. I tipped in half a pot of cream and half a block of cheap parmesan (Asda essentials one) and seasoned with salt and pepper. I added a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water and then drained the pasta and mixed the pasta in to the sauce and topped with a little more parmesan. I think it would also be lovely with chicken, bacon or both for meat eaters. This would be great for my duaghter.

Recipe - Crispy gochujang pork belly stir fry 😀 with all the veggies that needed using up! Nay loved the chicken 👀😂 watch the vid at the end 😂😂. Belly pork £2.59 Gochujang paste 32p 2 garlic cloves 4p ish 2tbsp honey 12p ish Smidge of minced ginger - pennies Soy sauces & sesame oil 30p ish Radishes & tops free from my garden 🌱 Handful of thinly sliced cabbage 12p ish Mushrooms free from Olio Courgette free from Olio Onion 6p 1.5 packs straight to wok noodles £1.50 £5.05 fed 5 for £1.01 each 🙂.

Recipe - Pizza toast was a big hit today! I had some pizza sauce I made a few weeks a go in the fridge so thought I'd slap it on some lightly toasted bread with some cheese, cost about 20p a slice at a guess. Mums brownie to go with it too as I over baked for an order 🤩 completely crap lunch but he was fed and very happy 😂. How’s it a crap lunch? Lol! I’ve got the carbs, the veggies (tomatoes), the protein in the cheese and the emotional support of the brownie! Seems amazing!  

Recipe - Okay I know it might not look amazing but here me out.. This is from my childhood and I think it’s pretty awesome especially if you feel poorly great to shift a cold it’s so cheap to make the key ingredient here is the black pepper it needs plenty!! I’ll list all ingredients below they’re from Aldi..  Celery x3 sticks out of the pack 29p a bag X3 carrots from the 29p bag X3 red potatoes (you can use any) X1 yellow onion from the 3 multi pack 49p pack Left over chicken from a roast probably a quarter used. And the juice!! X1 Chicken jelly stock cube (you can use any) Black pepper!!  I literally sweat off the celery and onion then add carrots and potatoes then add the chicken juice from the roast please remember to take off the layer of fat you don’t need that. I mix all that round on a high heat then add the water and stick and finally loads of pepper you want it with a kick. Serve with warm bread and butter for the soupy liquid, this will feed 4 of us easily for 2 days!! So ma

Recipe - Allium soup (Jack Monroe recipe) for the adults (James hated it 😂 should have given him tomato… I LOVED it & that means I get the leftovers tomorrow & Thurs!). * 10 WW points (soup is only 2 points on its own) *. Tomato soup for the kids 🥫 Both with various cheeses on toast! 🧀 2 red onions 12p 4 white onions 24p Handful of shallots reduced 22p 2 leeks 70p 4 garlic cloves 8p 3 chicken stock cubes 9p 1/2 small glass of wine 54p 2 tins tomato soup 60p 1/3 loaf bread 26p 1/4 log goats cheese 43p 1/6 block cheese 28p £3.56 fed 5 for 71p each 🙂.  

I've been fancying pizza and love a good dominoes but like everyone else times are hard so I got this for a fraction of the cost and it'll feed 4. 65p each for the dips £3. 59 for the pizza and £2.19 for the fries all from aldi. Ordinarily I'd make my own pitta bread or nan bread pizza but we fancied a filled crust. Approx £1.77 per meal for a treat isn't too bad. Add a little salad and you are good to go. Love the aldi pizza for the price and the stuffed crust is a pretty good domino's comparison x. Tesco do a great deal for £6 too. There's only 2 adults and a toddler here so perfect for a treat. 3 dips, pizza and a side.

Recipe - Todays dinner for the meat eaters was beef stew bulked out with dumplings and Yorkshire puddings. I used one pack of stewing steak at £3.50 and then a pack of frozen casserole vegetables and half a pack of potatoes. I made my gravy with granules and a beef stock pot.  Total cost would be around £7 with the dumplings and Yorkshire’s buy that has done 8 large portions and could easily be stretched more. I also still have some left. I served mine with broccoli. That looks absolutely gorgeous and it’s also my favourite dish apart from the Yorkshire pudding 😋.  

 Recipe - Corned beef hash 😋 - Asda just essentials white potatoes £1.09 2.5kg bag (I used 5 potatoes) - Asda carrots 1kg bag 48p (I used 2 carrots) - Asda brown onions 1kg bag 65p (I used 1 onion) - Asda just essentials gravy 32p - Asda chicken stock cubes 60p for 12 (i used 2) - 10 slices of corned beef couldn’t tell you price was from my mum and dads freezer 😂 - Asda just essentials soft spread 83p (I used 1 table spoon full)  I peeled & chopped the carrots and potatoes, boiled (in same pan) them with 2 chicken stock cubes In water. I diced an onion 🧅 once carrots and potatoes were cooked i mashed them popped a table spoon of soft spread in. Mixed the diced onion and corned beef in , popped it into a casserole dish into the oven for 20 minutes to brown off and make top part crispy 😋 served with gravy. Did 2 generous adult portions, my 2 year old enjoyed it that much she had 3 bowls 🙊 and a generous portion tubbed up for my dad.

Recipe - Mini toad in the hole, carrots, cabbage, roasties & gravy/ Mini toad in the hole 🐸, carrots (& onion for me 😂), cabbage, roasties & gravy!  This went down so well with the kids, they loved the mini toads 😉 I loved it too as its better portion control for me! I didnt love the gravy though, Asda subbed our normal one for reduced salt, cak 😂 Wont be having that again! The batter mix made 24 mini toads, & 2 medium sizes Yorkshires 🐸 8 frozen sausages 48p Eggs milk & flour for batter mix 50p ish 1/4 bag carrots 7p 1/2 cabbage 29p Onion 6p 1/4 bag maris pipers 34p Gravy granules 16p £1.90 fed 5 for 38p each 🙂  There were leftover mini toads, & veg/potatoes too, so made James an extra meal for his pack up too 😀.  

I guess most of us have seen ourselves in all these situations at some stage of our lives..sometimes the trollies full & other times its half empty..But what ever the situation we find a way through.❤. There were times  I’ve had £5 to just feed myself and I’ve also had £200 to go out to eat. I’ve had a house full of food and I didn’t have any. I’ve been in stores cashing out with no worries and I’ve also had to add it up and put things back on the shelf. I’ve paid my bills in full and I’ve had to pay them late too. I’ve given money and I too have had to ask for it. We all have highs and lows in life. Some certainly more than others, but we are all just trying to make it. No one is better than anyone else and my heart is sad for those people who think that they are. No matter how big your house is, how new your car is, or how much money sits in your bank account - we all bleed red and will eventually fade from this earth. Death has no discrimination and neither should your life. Be

I got an oil heater radiator from Amazon. Middle of the road for £50. Had it on for 2 hours on the thermostat and according to my meter cost less than 20p. My living room is so warm. Highly recommend it. I don't have central heating - I refuse to have it just a wood burner and one of these heaters in each room. I only turn them on in the room I'm using, then occasionally in other rooms to keep thd damp off. I never have ours on high, a low temperature keeps the room warm. Put your airer in there overnight, the heat lingers. It’s amazing how it dries things. Also leave clothes for the next morning, school clothes etc. in the room, it takes the chill off them. I also lean shoes against the side of the heater. Multi purpose ⭐️ .

Recipe - Slow cooked beef dinner 😋😋😋. This was lovely & even Ashton (roast dinner hater!) loved it 😀. Beef in red wine gravy, broccoli, carrots, cabbage (onion for me), roasties, honey roasted parsnips & Yorkshire puds! No pud tonight as we went out this morn & had coffee & cupcakes 😍. This aft we dug up our old potatoes, look a bit worse for wear, but still tasty underneath their mucky coats 😀, & picked the rest of our red/orange toms… will probably make a few tubs of pasta sauce for the freezer. Nay helped me to dig the tatties up,& she found lots of friendly worms 🪱. Beef £3.56 (had a £10 voucher from Lidl, it was £13.56 before voucher) 1/3 bottle red wine £1.09 2 garlic cloves 6p 4 onions 24p Red pepper 16p Broccoli 68p 1/4 bag carrots 11p 1/3 cabbage 21p 1/4 bag maris pipers 34p Parsnips free from Olio Leftover Yorkshire puds free as costed previously Gravy granules 16p  £6.61 fed 5 for £1.32 each 🙂 still have half the beef left too & lots of gr

Recipe - Change of plan for tea! Got the potatoes out for jackets & they were sprouting, manky & smelled fishy 🤢 I only got them last Sat so they should have been more than ok for today 😤 never mind… Throw it all in omelette/frittata (I think a frittata is usually baked? & omelette is fried… but this was fried & not baked 🤣 so its a hybrid!) It had in - sweet chilli chicken, spinach & Portobello mushrooms, with cheese on the top, served with salad, cottage cheese & coleslaw 🙂. 8 eggs 62p Sweet chilli chicken free from Olio Portobello mushrooms free from Olio Handful of grated cheese 29p 2 balls frozen spinach 15p ish Salady bits 😀 40p ish Cottage cheese 69p 1/2 tub coleslaw 89p. £3.04 fed 4 for 76p 🙂 none for Addy as hes had a tooth removed this aft, his choice & he was very brave, much braver than me! (Hes had an abcess for 2 wks & although hes had antibiotics it hadnt made much difference 😞 so now apart from a swollen mouth & a wonky smile f

Dinner tonight recipe. A couple of weeks ago I made a chicken saag curry cost £8.40 and had about 1/3 left for the freezer. So tonight’s dinner was the leftovers, bulked out with rice, a tray of Indian snacks, and naan bread split between us 4. Chicken saag £2.80 Naan 59p Indian snack selection £2.50 200g rice 39p Yogurt/mango chutney est 50p Total £7.08 so £1.77 each  

Recipe - Marrow bake with marrow mashed potato tonight ♥️  500g turkey mince 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1 marrow cut into 4cm pieces 1 diced onion 2 cloves of diced Garlic 1tbsp Mixed herbs (I used oregano, thyme, all purpose seasoning and basil) 4 skinned and chopped up potatoes Optional - cheese and breadcrumbs for the topping.  Remove the inside of the marrow and put it with the potatoes in a pan of boiling water to make the mash. Boil for 20-30 mins (until a knife easily goes through the potato). Drain off and use a whisk to mash (marrow makes it quite watery so I suggest only using a little butter if you want, I didn’t add anything).  Fry the onion, garlic, mince and herbs. Once mince is fried mix with chopped tomatoes. Place the marrow rings on a baking tray and fill with the mince mixture. Wrap in foil and place in the oven on 180 degrees for 30 mins.  Remove the foil and add your toppings (cheese and breadcrumbs) place back into the oven for another 15 mins uncovered.  Serve with l

Recipe - It ain't Domino's but it looks better than domino's and tastes much better than domino's.  250 gms Self raising flour 1tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp oil Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan In a roomy bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the oil and 100 ml water. Flick around with a blunt knife until it forms a shaggy dough. Using fingers gathering together to form a ball. Add water if too dry..... Flour a board and knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Roll out to fit a pizza tin.(mine is 25 cm) Add toppings. I used Ketchup and Garlic puree first. Then Grated Mozarella or your choice of cheese. Then a cut up red pepper, cored and deseeded. There were some black olives in the fridge. I had some Chorizo left over so it went on. Grated a chunk of Parmesan on top Finished off with a couple of chopped spring onions I found in the salad drawer in fridge. Bake for 15minutes on a baking sheet or until the topping is bubbling.

Recipe - Wanted to share a simple meal idea. I think of it in 3 parts... A pasta of choice, meat or veg of choice and a soft cream cheese of choice. This evening I chose chicken and bacon, which I cooked in a separate pan, then drained the spaghetti leaving a small amount of water. Then added the meat to the spaghetti and a tub of chilli cream cheese, mixed together and served. You can change the quantity depending on how many you are feeding and also whatever choice of pasta, meat/veg and soft cheese flavour of your choice, so the choices are endless and it's simple to experiment with. This cost roughly £2.70 and fed 3. But you can make this much cheaper with different ingredients if needed 😊.

Recipe - Love a midweek roast. Managed to get a yellow sticker whole chicken from Morrisons for £3.11, slow cooked it, fed family of 4x with an extra roast portion made up to freeze for easy dinner another day, and the left overs will be used in a chicken curry tomorrow.  Stuffing 30p, Cabbage 69p, Carrots 39p and got a huge sack of potatoes previously from LIDL. 👌🏼  

Recipe - Nigel slaters Chicken and leek pie. Had roast chicken on Sunday, there's only 3 of us and my daughter doesn't like roast chicken??? so there's always loads left over from an ex large chicken. I know most people wouldn't have any leftovers but you could use any chicken. Bacon Leftover chicken  2 sheets of puff pastry  Dried herbs  Milk  Flour  Mustard Cook bacon and chicken in a pan for a few minutes, then added the some herbs and then the flour and milk. Daughter doesn't like leeks so I didn't add them, but it will bulk it out if you do. Added some mustard and popped it on one of the sheets of pastry and then popped the other one on top. Cooked it at 180f till you think it's brown enough. I've used a ruler and cut it in to 9 pieces but they are large so you could make them smaller. this will do 3 meals for us. You can use anything really chicken and mushrooms or chicken and brocoli, it's so easy to make if you use left overs.

Recipe - I made a big batch of lentil dahl the other day, using a 1kg of split yellow lentils (55p for 500g in Asda), an onion, some fresh garlic and ginger, couple of carrots, curry powder and garam masala, and coconut milk. Put 3 tubs away in the freezer for later reheating by microwave (to go with rice or on a jacket potato 😋). Was just at a loss for what to make my nearly 9 month old for dinner so I mixed some with an egg and some plain flour and fried with a little oil to make these little lentil bites.  They’re not spicy but warming and flavourful. Very cheap, would be nice to dip into mango chutney or mmint sauce stirred into plain yoghurt.  

blooming DELICIOUS meal recipe! So here is my creation! Made like this because I forgot or thought I had the ingredients 😂🙈. I Had written lasagne down, but realised I didnt have any red sauce & couldnt be bothered to make my own… so thought id use a jar of tikka sauce… THEN when I came to make it today, realised I didnt have any lasagne sheets, so used gnocchi 😂. I dont even know what to call it apart from blooming DELICIOUS!!  The kids have asked for it again, so to me that is 100% a winner! 🎉🎉 The only thing for me is; because I changed it so much, its no longer WW friendly 🙈 so ive gone into my weeklies but its fine! Ill save it for treat night if I do make it again 🙂. 1/2 bag frozen mince £1.32 Cheese sauce sachet (think Mum gave me this… 🤔) Gnocchi £1.25 1/6 block cheese 60p Tikka sauce free as given by Mum 1/2 jar raita 62p Salady bits 30p ish £4.09 fed 5 for 81p each 🙂.

Recipe - I was given 2kg of wonky strawberries in my latest community pantry visit. There was no way our family would get through all that so I froze them immediately to allow time to decide what to do. Yesterday was jam making day! It’s so easy and means that I’ve now got 4 jars of jam from 1kg of strawberries 🍓. You can buy 1kg of jam sugar for £1 from most supermarkets, I got mine from B&M. Put 2 flasks in the freezer. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a preserving pan with the lemon juice. Place on a low heat and cook very gently. If sugar remains on the sides of the pan, dip a pastry brush in hot water and brush the sugar. When you no longer feel that there are any sugar grains left, increase the heat to start bubbling the jam and bring it to a boil. Add a tablespoon of butter, if desired, to the finished jam and stir in to melt.

Recipe - Stuffing stuffed chicken, mushroom gravy, carrots, runner beans & cabbage, onion on mine too, roasties & Yorkshire puds 🙂 . Just to add - the chicken was from Asdas ‘new’ range, just essentials… it was very tasty & not much shrinkage 🙂. Chicken fillets £3.21 Mushrooms free from Mum Stuffing 35p 1/4 bag carrots 10p Onion 6p Runner beans reduced 30p 1/4 cabbage 14p 1/2 bag frozen roasties 42p Leftover Yorkshire puds free as costed previously Homemade chicken stock - I class as free as its made from the chicken carcass Gravy granules 16p £4.74 fed 5 for 94p each 🙂.

First time trying a full chicken in my air fryer. It was 2.05kg and only just fit haha 🤣🤣 Bit of oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper, 30 mins on roast, flip over, another 30 mins. Roasties in second drawer for 25 mins, veggies on the hob and gravy made using the chicken juices. Still prefer the slow cooker, easier to strip the meat, but according to my son, just turned 6, it's the best chicken ever haha 😂 And I need to tell the school to cook it the same way haha 🤣🤣 Photo of his empty plate, which very rarely happens with him haha 🤣🤣 xx.  

Recipe - Rainbow sausage (according to the kids, really it was M&S pork bacon & cheese sausage swirl), or Cumberland sausage, buttered & minted green beans & runner beans, broccoli & crispy potato slices We all loved this 👌🏻 winner winner sosig dinner!  It was supposed to be with colcannon mash but the cabbage was absolutely manky inside, & I only bought it on Fri!  Pork bacon & cheese sausage swirl reduced £3.33 Cumberland sausages reduced £1 2 packs crispy potato slices free from Olio Broccoli free from Olio Green beans free from Mum Runner beans reduced 30p Gravy granules 16p £4.79 fed 5 for 95p each 🙂.

My fiance is amazing at making stews and set the bar high but I've never been able to get the hang of doing it myself. He's been working really long hours lately and with the cold weather lately I wanted to offer him a nice stew and warm oven baked bread as he's been craving it so I found a cheat version. Came across these cans and thought give them a go and was surprised at how lovely they were. Loads of meat really tender, big bits of potato and veg. He was really pleased. Came to £2 each (tin each)  which is cheaper than me making it from scratch with stewing beef and the cost of gas to cook the fresh veg.

Recipe - Woke early this morning so spent a quiet hour or so in the kitchen to use up some unused veg and windfall apples for the week ahead when we return to work and school - a large pan of curried veg (carrots/onion/celery) and red lentil soup-some for this week and portions for the freezer; coleslaw to go with tonight’s dinner; and I had a sheet of pastry and some windfall apples so some apple pastries. Prices a bit estimated: Soup: 3 carrots, 3 sticks celery, 1 onion say 40p each; red lentils 150g 36p; 1l veg stock made from cube £1.56 for a batch - easily 4 large portions. Pastries: pastry sheet 95p; apples free; handful of sultanas, sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon from cupboard, egg for egg wash 14p so £1.09 for 4. Coleslaw - 1/2 red cabbage 30p, 1 carrot 10p, 1/2 onion 15p, dressing about 40p to make 95p for a large bowl.  

Not the prettiest meals but I wanted to share some of my kid approved meals from the last few weeks! I’ve limited myself to £30-35 a week on the food/toiletries and cleaning supplies for my family. We’ve done: Slow cooker gammon, mash and vegetables Chicken pot pie, potatoes and vegetables Air fryer chips, sausages and vegetables Slow cooker chicken in gravy, rice and broccoli Air fryer chips, fish cake and vegetables Chilli con carne and rice (my kids love extra soured cream and cheese on theirs!) Pork and leek sausages, mash and vegetables  Also not pictured: made my own tomato sauce and did tomato spaghetti, tuna pasta bake, lasagne and also have done some jacket potatoes with various toppings. I’ve found it has saves me money making more things from scratch and buying veggies by weight instead of pre-packed etc.

£211 made on FB marketplace in the last fortnight, just selling our old/unused/unwanted stuff! Thought I would share some selling tips that may help others - Price realistically! Check out what other people are selling your item for, and not just marketplace, check eBay too. And look to see if the items are selling, or just sitting at that price. Price to sell! If it's sitting in your attic doing nothing, selling it cheap and doing someone else a turn is an all round bonus. Write a clear description! Make sure to include size on clothes/shoes, measurements for furniture etc., saves pointless back and forth messages.  Write an honest description! Show pics and/or explain any damage. Think about when you're selling... e.g. kids costumes before World Book Day or Halloween, season appropriate clothes, outdoor toys in good weather etc.  If you feel uncomfortable about people haggling, price your item so you don't mind if someone knocks you down a bit. If you are able, include &q

Recipe - Hotdog enchiladas 😀 with sweet potato fries, stuffed mushrooms & a lovely dressed salad I wasnt expecting much from this ill be honest, but it was great 😀 definately one to make again! I got my hotdogs from Olio, but to buy they are much cheaper than chicken fillets! Very adaptable too as you can use whatever veg you like! Recipe at the end from Canned Food UK I did add spices as thought it wouldnt be very Mexican if I didnt… & forgot to put the kidney beans in… doh 🤦🏼. Pack hotdogs free from Olio Onion 6p Pepper 48p Portobello mushroom free from Olio Tin plum tomatoes 28p 1/4 block cheese 47p 10 wraps £1.06 Salady bits including dressing 50p ish Dips £1 ish, we didnt use all of them Stuffed mushrooms free from Olio Sweet potato fries free from Olio. £3.85 fed 5 for 77p each.