From One Mum!

Dal palak, basmati rice, naan, bhaji & far far cars 😀🚗. The kids loved the cars! You make them the same way as a prawn cracker! The dal was cooked this morning when it was coolest, rice was micro so not much heat given off, & the naans & bhajis were cooked in the air fryer so didnt take long 🙂 The kids had rocket lollies for pud, Lily had been asking me to get some all last week! 🚀 1/4 bag ish red lentils 24p Frozen mini bhajis £1 Herbs, spices & garlic 25p ish 2 onions 12p Small bag spinach too good to go 44p (split price between amount of items) 3 pouches micro basmati rice £1.05 Naan breads £1.69 1/4 bag far far cars 37p £5.16 fed 5 for £1.03 each 🙂.

Creamy chicken bacon & mushroom pie recipe, made from an Olio ready meal! With carrots, an onion for me, cabbage (given to me by the man I work for, along with the lettuce’s 😀) & mash 😀 & gravy made with the water from boiling the carrots & onion!  It cost hardly anything too which is a massive bonus! 💸💸 Creamy chicken & mushrooms ready meal free from Olio Puff pastry free from Olio Cabbage free from work 1/4 bag carrots 11p Onion 6p 1/3 bag maris pipers 34p Gravy granules 16p 67p fed 5 for 13p each 😀.

Tonight's tea I needed to use up some bits i had that were leftover from other meals or just languishing in the fridge/freezer. So creamy spiced sausage pasta it was.  I used: 1pk of reduced chipolatas- 95p 1 red pepper that wasn't as firm as it should be Half a bunch of starting to wilt spring onions Half a bag of spinach 1 large Portobello mushroom - maybe £1 for all the veg. 1x Chicken stock cube (50p x10) - 5p 1-2tbsp sour cream (75p a pot) - 10-20p Hard cheese to taste (use what you have, I had about 15g of parmesan left of a small 100g block and finely grated it in) - £2  for the 100g so maybe 30p 500g pasta from a £1 1kg bag- 50p 1.5tsp fajitas spice from a big pot 2p? Garlic granules from big pot 2p? 1/4tube Tom puree 6p Cheesy garlic bread slices reduced 50p for 8 37p Total £3.42 (I went for 15p for the cream as between the two). This served 4 for dinner/tea tonight and I have 2 portions left for lunch tomorrow. So 3.42/6 = 57p PP (and I cleared out the fridge😂)  

Recipe - Bacon, avo & garlic & herb soft cheese bagels, with skin on fries & salady bits, with homemade pickled red cabbage 🥯🥓. Lily didnt have the bagel but she had bacon & was very happy! 💕  Bacon 95p 1 & a half avocados 90p 1/2 tub garlic & herb soft cheese 36p Bagels 85p Bag frozen skin on fries £1.05 Salady bits & pickled red cabbage 30p ish £4.41 fed 5 for 88p each 🙂.

Hi all, ive just made these little snack bags for the kids they worked out 14p each made 40 I bought 3 for a £1 sweets and mixed them with  cheap versions shreddies and cheerios. Will try to make them for 10p each next time, as its the first time ive made them in ages I used to make them all the time as most snack backs are 5 for a £1, handy if you have a few bits already in the cupboards xx. This is genius for when I go to uni and work! I don't eat lunch as such so this truly will be so much more interesting to eat😍

Recipe - Jacket potatoes with leftover bolognese, salady bits (a MUST!), coleslaw, cottage cheese & dips! No Lily tonight, shes gone for a sleepover at Nannas 💕. Leftover bolognese free as costed previously 4 potatoes 61p 1/6 block cheese 36p Salady bits (some from my garden) 30p ish 1/2 tub coleslaw 37p Cottage cheese 75p £2.39 fed 4 for 59p each 🙂.

Cheesy topped fries recipe! Some with sweet chilli chicken, & some with shredded BBQ rib meat 😋 with salady bits, coleslaw, potato salad & dips. Sweet chilli chicken free from Olio Bbq ribs reduced £1 1/4 bag maris pipers 34p 1/4 bag frozen fries 17p 1/4 block cheese 44p 1/2 tub dips 94p Coleslaw & potato salad Mum got for the BBQ & there was some leftover 🙂 Salady bits (some from my garden) 30p ish £3.19 fed 5 for 63p each 🙂.

YUMMM we loved this tonight! 💕. Pork tenderloin & mushroom stew, with mash, & buttery bread recipe!  The stew had pork, mushrooms, green beans, onion, spinach & celery in it, so didnt do any veg on the side. Pork tenderloin free from Olio 2 stalks celery free from Olio 1/2 tub mushrooms 31p 2 onions 12p Veg stock cube 3p 3 blocks of frozen spinach 22p 1/4 bag maris pipers 34p Green beans reduced 20p 1/4 loaf of bread 16p Gravy granules 16p £1.54 fed 5 for 30p each 😀.

Bacon & egg pasta with salad 🥓🌱 (recipe on last photo). I boiled the eggs in with the pasta so only had one pan to wash… I did wash them first to make sure there was no feathers etc on the shells. Bacon 95p 4 eggs 59p Bag pasta 32p 1/3 tub mushrooms 29p Spring onions & salady bits free from my garden 🌱 1/2 an avo 30p 1/2 pack tomatoes 29p Good squeeze of mayo 11p ish £2.85 fed 5 for 57p each 🙂.

That's a fantastic haul! The Too Good To Go app is indeed a wonderful initiative that helps reduce food waste while providing users with great deals on surplus food. It's excellent to see a variety of businesses, from bakeries to restaurants, participating in such programs. It's not only environmentally friendly but also a smart way to save money on quality food. A win-win, indeed! Enjoy your surprises, and kudos for supporting sustainable practices! 🌍🛍️😊  

Recipe - Chicken nuggets/strips, criss cross fries, spaghetti hoops/sweetcorn, & portobellini mushrooms! 👏🏼👏🏼 Freezer tea! Had to change the menu slightly as I didnt do a food shop today, this is all from the freezer & cupboard 🙂. 1/2 bag frozen chicken nuggets 42p Southern fried chicken strips £1 Frozen criss cross fries £1 Portobellini mushrooms too good to go 44p (split price between amount of items) 2 tins spag hoops 28p Tin of sweetcorn 39p £3.53 fed 5 for 70p each 🙂.

Recipe - Using stuff up pasta two tins of chicken in white sauce a pack of ham that needed using cheese that needed using peas and sweetcorn garlic and salt and pepper u can add what u like feed four of us with plenty left over for fiancés dinner tomorrow and kids and tastes really 😊 good winner all round and so quick and easy to make. This is my kids kinds dinner I often mix pasta chicken in white sauce with sweet corn and chuck some crips on top for lunch if they want packed lunch as they not a fan of Sandwiches.  

Bolognese & Hulk tagliatelle 😀 with garlic bread & a cheese mountain recipe 🍝🧀. All the kiddies loved the green tagliatelle (Jamie Oliver brand, got from Heron). Mince £1.89 Spag bol pouch 65p Plum tomatoes 28p Onion 6p 1/3 punnet mushrooms free from Olio Squeeze of tomato puree 5p ish 2 carrots 5p ish 2/3 bag green tagliatelle 66p 2 garlic bread 64p 1/6 block cheese 36p  £4.64 fed 5 for 92p 🙂 there are some leftovers too which will be frozen, to use with another batch of leftover bol, for Weds meal 🙂.

Baguette Friday! Egg & cress today, with sour cream savouries, cheese crisps, & dips recipe 🙂. We loved our baguettes last week so thought we’d do the same this wk! Although the baguettes were looking very slender this week 😂. We had scones, jam & clotted cream for pud… I got the cream reduced today for 70p 😀. Baguette 95p 8 eggs 70p Good squeeze of mayo 8p ish Cress 30p 1/2 bag sour cream savouries 50p Cheese crisps 99p 1/2 pack dips 94p £4.46 fed 5 for 89p each 🙂 Scones £1.05 Clotted cream 70p Mini jam portions 79p for 2kg, so pennies for the amount used!  £1.75 fed 5 for 35p each 🙂.

Recipe - Caramelised onion & Cheddar quiche, fries, salad (mostly from the garden), & I had a blob of hummus with mine. The kids had sausage rolls instead of quiche as they arent keen!  Cheddar & caramelised onion quiche reduced £1.16 1/2 pack sausage rolls reduced 31p 1/2 bag fries 34p Blob of hummus 36p Salady bits - toms, lettuce, parsley & spring onions (all from my garden except the toms) 20p ish £2.36 fed 5 for 47p each 🙂.

Special fish pie! With minty mushy peas & brussels recipe 🙂. I love this fish pie, it always turns out amazing whatever fish or seafood I put in it… today we had smoked basa & scallops! Smoked basa reduced £1.68 1/3 bag frozen scallops £1 300ml milk 20p ish 🤷🏼‍♀️ Onion 6p 2 eggs 17p 1/2 tub double cream 49p 1/3 bag maris pipers 46p Brussels 60p Mushy peas 28p £4.94 fed 4 for 98p each 🙂  None for James as he doesnt like fish or seafood, & hes back on his chicken diet for his new MRI booked for Sat… so chicken soup & bread for him!

Super easy tea tonight....soup and bread with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Soup is a variation of "Nanas magic soup"  1 red onion 10p 2 red peppers £1 Coconut milk (from world food aisle) £1 Large sweet potato 60p 3x medium carrots from a bag 15p 1x mild red chilli that needed using 10p (not needed but hate waste and it adds to the flavour) 1 tin chopped toms 30p ish 2 veg stock cubes crumbled in or veg stockpot or  I used some bouillon powder I had in. Maybe 10p worth. Little sprinkle cheese 20p?   S&P 2p? Total 3.57 if I added that up right? 🤣🤣 Served 4 of us but at LEAST 8 portions of soup in the pot....say 45p each Then 38p each for a ready made nice roll....could be much cheaper with a slice of 2 of bread and butter. 82p pp. (PS forgot to take a photo until I'd eaten some. 🤣

Early tea tonight as im off for a tattoo later 🙂. Ham, chicken & cheese fresh baguettes, with crisps & dips recipe. I had avo in mine, & the kids had tomatoes & strawberries with theirs. Ashton will have his later as hes at karate 🙂. French stick 95p 1/4 pack ham 42p 1/4 block cheese 44p 1/2 pack dips 94p 1/2 bag nachos 48p 1/2 bag gazpacho crisps 44p Avo 49p Few toms 16p Few strawberries 59p £4.81 fed 5 for 98p each 🙂.

I’m needing a bit of help, I’m wanting to invest in an air fryer but have no idea what one is the best🤔. It’s just me and my son at home until my partner is home so I’m also not sure about the sizes and what’s a good size for 2/3 people? I don’t have a huge budget either so something not overly crazy priced. My oven takes double the amount of time to even cook chips (literally takes 40/45 minutes for frozen chips). Any help please🙏🏻 I’ve attached a photo of the spaghetti and meatballs I made for tea last night because hob meals and the easiest things to cook and was also incredibly cheap to make: IKEA meatballs £5.95 (I only used about 12 so probably about 90p) Asda spaghetti 23p Asda tinned tomatoes 32p Stock cubes Herbs Garlic So in all easily cost less than £1.50 for 2 good sized portions and leftovers🍝 

Bit of a mish mash for tea! Sausages, beans & mash for me & James, the boys had roasties with theirs, & Lily had sausages, mushrooms & a slice of bread & butter!  Weve had some birthday talk tonight as Ashton will be 10 in Sept, so hes wanting to write his list already 🙈 Lily was then talking about her birthday in ‘Jerrywerry’ 😂😂 1/2 pack sausages reduced £1.22 3 potatoes 23p 1/4 bag frozen roasties 17p Handful of mushrooms 16p ish 2 tins baked beans 44p £2.22 fed 5 for 44p each 🙂

MFC - Mums fried chicken 😀 some air fried, some baked, as my air fryer isnt big enough! With homemade coleslaw & potato salad, & southern gravy 🙂. Definately not one of my cheaper meals but still much cheaper than the Colonel 😉.  Chicken wings £1.75 Boneless chicken thighs £3.49 1/2 bottle chicken fry mix 75p 3 eggs 23p 1/4 cabbage 27p Red onion 6p 1/2 bag baby pots 40p Herbs free from the garden 3 slices bacon 64p 1/4 pack dill 15p 1/2 pot sour cream 47p 1/4 jar mayo 21p 1/3 tub southern gravy granules 61p £9.02 fed 5 for £1.80 each 🙂.

Recipe - Creamy chicken & mushroom pie, mash & cabbage. I truly believe that mash, cabbage & gravy is a thing of wonder, & totally underrated 😂. Leftover chicken & onions free as costed previously Butter & flour for pastry 30p ish Mushrooms free from Olio Blob of sour cream 15p ish Handful of grated cheese 29p ish 1/3 bag maris pipers 46p 1/3 sweetheart cabbage 18p Gravy granules 16p £1.54 fed 5 for 30p each 😄

We had a lovely pork roast today! Lily loved the "crispy crapeling" 😂😂😂 she said ‘this is my favourite!’. Pork leg joint £6.24 1/4 bag carrots 10p 1/3 sweetheart cabbage 18p Onion 6p 1/4 bag maris pipers 34p Stuffing mix 35p Root veg mash reduced 23p Eggs milk & flour for batter mix 40p ish Gravy granules 16p £8.06 fed 4 for £2.01 each. No tea for Arlo tonight cos hes not feeling very well 😞 he said he might have some toast later. Theres lots of leftover pork & Yorkshires for another meal too 🙂. Pud was a coconut tart that we picked up from Bakewell last wknd, not cheap but VERY tasty! 

Recipe - Tea tonight...cowboy pie. 6x sausages I used yellow sticker Asda fresh ones but the cheaper frozen ones would work fine....They're about £1 for 20....so 30p for 6 Few slices or chunks of cooking bacon chopped up relatively small...50p is about half a pk Onion maybe 10p I used a yellow pepper as I had one that needed using. 30p Garlic (I used a tsp of frozen chopped garlic it's 11p per 10g....mine was maybe 6p as not a flat tsp) A couple squirt of bbq sauce 5p? A few seasonings (I added some smoked paprika and a dash of Worcestershire sauce)....10p? 2x tins beans 58p Asda sheet puff pastry 95p (could make your own or top with mash like a cottage pie...I would have used mash if manthing would eat mash and beans together but he won't. Haha). £2.99 pie total I served with a few wedges 4 med-large potatoes from a big sack.....20p? Tiny splash of oil...2p? S&P 1p? £3.22 served 4 very greedy working man and growing teen portions but would easily do 6 smaller portions.

Recipe - Roast chicken dinner 🤤🤤 with stuffing, roast potatoes & honey roast parsnips, mixed veg, red cabbage, broccoli & cauli, Camembert mash & Yorkshire puds!  Chicken £2.89 Parsnips 39p Leftover stuffing free as costed previously Leftover Camembert mash free as costed previously 1/3 bag maris pipers 39p 1/4 bag frozen mixed veg 17p 1/4 red cabbage 14p 1/2 bag frozen broc & cauli 45p Eggs flour & milk for batter 40p ish Gravy granules 16p £4.99 fed 5 for 99p each 😀 cant beat a roast for that price!  Bakewell pud was £5.50 today from Bakewell 🙂 … not the cheapest but it made it an easier tea for me! Will be serving with double cream later! Freezing the coconut tart for another wknd 🙂.

Yesterday I made a bolognaise and then turned the rest into a chilli for today. There are 5 of us, me and my 4 children so that's 10 meals plus an extra 2 that have been frozen for £4.10 that isn't factoring in the pasta, rice, cheese and crisp served with the main but the pasta and rice were free, cheese is something we always have in as are the herbs and spices which were added: Mince 1.79 2 onions 10p 2 carrots 6p 1 courgette free 3 tin tom 92p 100g lentils 50p 1 pepper 40 Kidney beans 33p  

Recipe - Tomato & mascarpone pasta, with cheese straws, & homemade hot dog roll garlic bread 😀. Lily said ‘Ooh this pasta is like shells! The hot dog roll garlic bread was from a lady on one of these groups! Shout up if you see this, I like to tag to say thanks for the idea! 😀. 1/3 bag pasta 11p 1/2 jar pasta sauce 37p 4 cheese straws 20p ish Hotdog roll 8p 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsps butter & a shake of dried parsley 20p ish 96p fed 3 for 32p each 🙂.

Recipe - Holey toad, cauli, broccoli, carrots, onion (for me 😀), Camembert mash 🤤🤤🤤, & gravy made from the juices of a previous roast! Delish! Dinner whilst watching Mirror-belle tonight, James & the boys are at footy & wont he back til a bit later ⚽️. 1/2 pack frozen sausages 50p Eggs milk & flour for batter 40p ish 1/3 bag maris pipers 38p 1/2 round of Camembert 44p 1/2 bag frozen broccoli & cauli 40p Onion 6p 1/4 bag carrots 11p Gravy granules 16p £2.45 fed 5 for 49p each 🙂.

West country meatballs 👀 for me, Scotch pies for the kids & James, carrots & onion, mash & Yorkshire puddys 😀 . Tea is a bit later today as been to a funeral this afternoon 🌙🌙🌙. Leftover West country meatballs 👀 free as costed previously. Scotch pies £1.50 1/4 bag carrots 11p Onion 6p 1/3 bag maris pipers 38p Leftover Yorkshire puds free as costed previously Gravy granules 16p  £2.21 fed 5 for 44p each 🙂.

Recipe - Bolognese bucatini, with doughballs! 🍝. The bolognese was leftover, only filled half a butter sized tub, reheated & mixed with a mascarpone & tomato sauce, & served with this lovely bucatini, & reduced M&S doughballs 😀 everyone loved it! 😀 Always save your leftovers! 😀 Leftover bolognese free as costed previously Tomato & mascarpone pasta sauce 70p Bucatini 33p Doughballs reduced £1.68 Cheese 29p £3 fed 5 for 60p each 🙂.

Recipe - So today's meal was beef stew and dumplings. With a little mash as I had some potatoes that needed using....wouldn't usually do mash and dumpling and there's usually some potato in the stew but my daughter wanted mash so I left it out of the stew and made mash instead. Anyway. This was basically to use up some emergency food I had in the freezer. So..... 1xbag (300g) lean frozen diced beef steak from Iceland....£3 1xbag frozen root vegetable casserole mix 1kg 99p 2x oxo 15p Sprinkle dried thyme 10p? Squeeze tomato puree 6p? Worcestershire sauce 5p? 150g flour 5p 70g suet 48p S&P 1p Total £4.89 Potatoes 75p Butter 5p Milk 5p Total 85p The stew and dumplings easily will serve 6 with dumplings and mash. (I served 4 2x teens and 2x adults and easily enough for another 2 portions) This works out at approx 81/82p a portion. The mash served 4 so 21/22p per portion.  This was a super filling meal and worked out at around £1 a portion. It wasn't the best beef stew I