Hoppin' John A La Helen

It was a horrible dreary damp day today, drizzly, misty and cold. We did manage a walk into town, read the papers in the library and then went for a pot of tea in our favourite cafe. It's only £2.50 for a large pot for 2 people plus a large pot qualifies for 2 stamps on our collector's card and when we have 6 stamps we get a free pot. After that we nipped into W H Smith to browse for a few minutes and then into Poundland for tippex for DH for work and finally back home again. 

Lunch was a toasted cheese sandwich made with 2 slices of bread that needed using up from the freezer, dessert was yet another rice pud. I did have fruit tea with it; does that count as one of my 5 a day? Breakfast was a banana and coconut yogurt so that was quite healthy. I had a pack of low fat crisps as a snack. 

Dinner tonight was Hoppin' John a la Helen. In other words I made it up as I went along around a basic recipe. 

Every item came from the freezer or cupboard - 12oz white easy cook rice, a can of tomatoes, a can of blackeye beans, a few frozen chickpeas, some of the yellow-stickered frozen peppers and red onions, 2 chopped frozen Quorn gammon-style steaks (they'd been in the freezer for over a year), a cube of frozen garlic, tomato puree, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, half a teaspoon of chillies from a jar, salt and pepper, approx 800ml boiling water. Just bung everything in the slow cooker, stir and cook on high for 3-4 hours until all is tender and the water has been absorbed (remember to plug the slow cooker in...I forgot for the first 1/2 hour). Add a little more water if it starts to get too dry before all is cooked.

Plenty for 4 dinners tonight with enough leftover for a couple of lunches tomorrow and made entirely from items I already had. Dessert? Another rice pud. Good job they were so yummy.

I had a lazy afternoon, nearly falling asleep on the sofa but managed to stay awake. I've had a few late nights, mainly because of DH's snoring. I have trouble dropping off anyway with everything going through my head, but unless DH lies on his left side he snores like a freight train. I'm sure it's partly due to his excess weight; when he lost some a few years ago his snoring almost stopped. I try to get him to eat more healthily, give him smaller portions etc, but given half a chance he'll pile his plate high and snack from dawn to dusk. If I feed him less he just helps himself to more. He's an adult and I can't force him to mend his ways. I can see me spending nights on a second sofa bed in the dining room when we move house. I do nudge him to turn over but can't be too brutal or the bruises will show...LOL!!! Hopefully I'll be so tired I'll just drop right off tonight. I've got a bit of a cold and sore throat so if I medicate myself as well I'm sure I'll sleep okay.


That's all for today. Hope you've had a good day. Love Helen xx