Easy Vegetarian Xmas Dinner - Stuffed Quorn Wellington

(picture courtesy of www.quorn.com)

I've probably left it a bit late to post my version of a vegetarian Christmas meal as you'll all have everything planned and bought and possibly already cooked. But here we go anway.

My DD2 decided to be a vege from age 8 and with a son who would only eat sausage, beans and chips for years Quorn products were a God-send when trying to feed my 5 children. I can't recall the first time I made Quorn Wellington (or Quorn Roast in Puff Pastry as we less-posh folks call it) but it's a firm favourite even with the non-veges alongside the regular Xmas meal. I'm making 2 this year even though DD2 won't be here for dinner on the day, although she and her boyfriend will be round for Boxing Day dinner.

I bought my quorn roasts for £2 each from Morrisons but they're usually around £3.50 - £4.

So this is how I prepare it. You can do it in stages, part cooking one day and finishing off the next.

I roast it from frozen for about 30 minutes according to the packet instructions then take it out of the oven and allow it to cool for long enough to handle and remove the wrapper paper (if you leave it too long to cool the wrapper sticks and is hard to get off).

I leave it until its very cool or completely cold before slicing in half lengthways. I then sandwich the 2 halves back together with vegetarian sausage stuffing made with any dried vege sausage mix ( I got mine for 4 packs for £1 from Approved Foods) combined with a sage and onion (or to your taste) stuffing mix (both made to packet directions before mixing together). You probably won't use all this stuffing and I bake the remainder seperately in a loaf tin.

The tricky bit is to then roll out puff pastry (bought or home made...I cheat and buy mine from Farm Foods at 79p or currently 3 packs for £2) large enough to enclose the roast, or buy a ready-rolled pastry sheet. You just wrap the roast up in the pastry making sure the edges and ends are sealed well and put back in the oven to cook for another 30 minutes so the pastry is baked, the roast finishes cooking and the stuffing is also done. Remove from oven, leave to rest for about 10 minutes, cut into slices and enjoy.

(picture courtesy of mumsnet)

If you google there are various versions of this idea on the net although I made this one up myself before I discovered others were making it too.

There are so many vegetarian products available now that weren't heard of 20 years ago when DD2 first went vege. To go with the roast or for her breakfast there are quorn bacon-style rashers and also Morrison's vege Glamorgan sausages and Quorn sausages. Another favourite meal with all the family is quorn chicken-style chunks cooked in a creamy mustard and white wine sauce; I'll post the recipe for that another time, but its super-simple.

I've had my bacon joints soaking all night, rinsed and added fresh water about an hour ago and now I'm off to put them in the slow cookers on low until this evening. I'm hoping they'll turn out as well as all the info on the net says they should.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas Eve and hope all your preparations go according to plan. If I don't get on here again until after the big day I wish fun, love and laughter to you all.

It's a Wet and Windy One!

Sitting here tonight I'm listening to the wind gusting outside and wondering if I'll be able to sleep. I get very nervous when the weather is raging, wondering if I'll wake up to any damage...not that me staying awake would make any difference. A lot of the country has wet and windy weather and here on the south-east coast we're taking a right battering, only a couple of weeks after flooding from a very high tide. We're far enough away from the seafront to not suffer from the tides, but the River Dour runs only a couple of hundred yards away at the top of the street, and we have had to block up out front door in the past when there's been really torrential rain. The wind is supposed to get up to 75-80 mph gusts tonight, but to have calmed by the early hours. I'm just happy my DD3 and her boyfriend got a very early ferry to France on Friday morning managing to get away in the relative calm between one bad weather front and the next. Of course, we've heard from them a couple of times gloating about the lovely weather they're having down there in the Loire valley.

My Xmas preparations are under way. All shopping now done, and the smoked gammon joints defrosted ready to be soaked overnight. Tomorrow I'm going to cook them in my slow cookers. This is the first time I've ever cooked them in the slowcooker as I usually boil then in my pressure cooker, but I've looked online and you can just put them in on low and they cook in their own juices. I shall put them on about 8 in the morning and give the larger one 10-12 hours and the smaller 6-8 hrs.

I'll get the chickens out of the freezer tomorrow afternoon and everything else tomorrow night so I can prepare it early Xmas morning to be cooked for lunch at about 2pm.

That's the plan. Let's hope all goes smoothly.

Here's wishing everyone a good, peaceful night and waking up to a better, calmer day tomorrow.

Christmas Food Budget

Sorry for the lack of posts. With DH now off for the holidays and with all the Xmas prep I've been rather preoccupied. This will be quite short too. Just a round-up of how much my Christmas and Boxing Day food and Drink will have cost.

I'm serving 7 adults on Christmas morning, 6 with crusty rolls, boiled bacon and pickles, plus 1 vegetarian who will have vege sausages and quorn bacon-style rashers instead.

Xmas lunch is for 5 adults consisting of British chicken with sage and onion sausage stuffing, quorn roast with vege sausage stuffing wrapped in puff pastry, sausages wrapped in bacon, sprouts baked with chorizo, green beans, roast potatoes and parsnips, yorkshire puds and gravy.

Desserts are Vienetta (DH's favourite) or chocolate log served with cream or cornish icecream (or both)

Boxing Day lunch for 7 adults is leftover chicken, boiled bacon, quorn roast, stuffing etc with oven chips and baked beans.

Desserts on Boxing Day are Xmas day leftovers or apple and blackberry loaf cake and custard.

Drinks are J2O fruit drinks, Pepsi, Schloer or fruit squash. No alcohol bought by me but if people want it they can buy their own.

So for 3 meals for between 5-7 adults (19 servings altogether) including drinks and desserts, I have spent around £75. As there was a free range turkey in the butcher's shop window yesterday that cost over £90 I'm really pleased that I've managed all this for less than the cost of that one bird, especially as I've had to buy extras for the vegetarian.

In addition, I have also worked out menus until New Years Eve based on the premise that I will have some leftovers which I can stretch until they squeak (as the saying goes). If not, then I will cook from my store cupboard.

We will be well fed on foods we rarely have at any other time of the year and I haven't broken the bank buying them.

Now I just have to cook it all!







 

Knitted Phone Cosy

My mobile phone contract had expired and I was on a rolling month by month agreement. After 2 years the phone I had was looking the worse for wear so I decided it was time to look at a new contract including a more up to date phone.

As we have Virgin Media for our home phone, Cable TV and broadband internet I can also get good deals on their mobile phones. I've been with Virgin Mobile for about 5 years. Their coverage was quite poor at the start but has much improved and I very rarely have a problem now, although Canterbury can be a bit of a blackspot for reception but then it is for other networks as well.

Anyway, this is my usual long-winded way of saying that I have a new mobile phone. It's an all-singing all-dancing touch screen model and my new contract also gives me 500mb of internet which I didn't have before. I'm also getting an extra 100 phone minutes and unlimited texts to any network, free insurance for the life of the contract, plus my lovely new phone all for £13 a month. This is £4 more than my previous contract but with that one all I got was 100 minutes and 100 texts and no internet.

 My Lovely New Phone.

Besides I just saved us money on our Virgin Media bills. I'd received a letter saying their prices would rise by £5.75 a month from Feb 2014. As our current contract had also expired and again we were on a month by month one I phoned and threatend to go elsewhere if they didn't do something about it. The outcome was they gave me a 10% discount. This negates the planned rise in costs and in fact we'll be paying about £1 a month less than we are now, plus I'm getting a small refund on the remains of this month's bill as the discount comes into immediate effect.

Quite pleased with my negotiating skills.

As my new mobile contract is for 24 months I want to try and protect my phone during that time from the scratches etc. that the old one had, so I spent about an hour today while waiting in for a parcel to knit and decorate a phone cosy. It's based on this design http://bittersweetblog.com/2007/05/07/putting-the-art-back-in-pop-tarts/ but I added some shaped buttons I had from card making instead of the bugle beads. If you want to make one the equivalent needle size is UK size 9 and worsted weight yarn is double knit. It came out a little bit short so when I have time I'll make another but it will do for now.

 I'd like to have a go at a stitched one too so will be looking through my magazines for a suitable pattern when I have time.

I am also making another Doctor Who scarf. The term 'glutton for punishment' comes to mind as I was thoroughly sick of knitting the other one by the time I'd finished it. But, when I showed DH the finished one for DS1 he said he wanted one. Now, as we've set each other a £5 challenge for Xmas pressies to see how much we can buy each other for just a fiver, and as I have wool leftover from DS's scarf I thought I'd indulge him. I'm making it narrower and shorter as he's only 5ft 4 and I think he'd prefer a short one to just tuck inside his coat anyway...and I really don't think I want to knit another 15ft one. I've already spent my £5 on him (3p over but we're allowed 10% leeway) but this wool is technically free so I don't feel like I'm cheating for making use of it to add to his pressies.

Lastly, just a little promotion. I'll only do adverts for my own makes and for my DH so at the top, right hand side of the page is a link for BooBok Educational. This is a company my husband has recently set up with a friend; they produce online and cdrom educational materials. They have a cd out which contains a variety of fun childrens' activities such as stories, colouring pages to print off, puzzles etc. It's available on Ebay or by contacting me and would make a great stocking filler at a reasonable price. There, that's my sales pitch done.

Have a good evening everyone.

How to Make 5 Meals from 1 Pack of Bacon

This is the pack of bacon.

It contains 500g (approx 1 lb) and cost 81p from Morrison's. It is bits already chopped,  not rashers.I rarely buy proper bacon rashers as they are too expensive to serve for a meal for up to 5 people. Instead I buy these packs and make them go a long way.

The first of the 5 meals was a sausage casserole. I used a pack of 12 Morrison's chipolatas reduced to 69p, 125 g of the bacon plus an onion and a jar or paprika sauce that I had in my stock from Approved Foods. This was served with rice (also AF)and fed 3 people.

Meal number 2 was leftover sausage casserole mixed with cooked pasta, topped with grated cheese and baked for 15 minutes in the oven.

Meal 3 was a cheese, onion and bacon flan.

I used a lump of pastry from the freezer that had been made from an AF catering pack. I lined a big long brownie tin with it and baked at gas 4 for 10 mins so it wouldn't be soggy when I put in the filling. I fried another 125g of the bacon and a small onion, sprinkled this over the partly cooked pastry case, sprinkled grated cheddar on top and then made a savoury egg custard with 4 free range eggs (Aldi - 95 p for 6) and a carton of soy cream (AF 4 for £1) plus a little milk. This was baked in the oven at the same time I baked DH's birthday cake on Monday. The flan was served yesterday with slow cooker baked potatoes and salad. There was enough left over for DD3 and her boyfriend to take some to work for their lunch and for DS1 to have for his dinner tonight while DH and I had meal number 4.

Meal 4 was liver and bacon.

The pig's liver was 450g for 59p (reduced in Asda), 2 small chopped onions, an oxo cube, a tbsp of tomato puree and 125g of the bacon all done on low in the slowcooker. Served with mashed potatoes, green beans and peas.

Meal 5 will be macaroni cheese with onion and bacon on Friday. I'll be using the last 125g of the bacon pack and a tub of Philadelphia soft cheese I was given mixed with grated cheddar.

So, that's how we enjoyed the flavour of bacon for 5 meals (6 if you count DD1's dinner tonight and DD3 and her boyfriend's lunches) without breaking the bank.

Other news is that while waiting in for a delivery this morning I wrapped all my Xmas pressies except the Doctor Who scarf that I just finished this evening (I'll post more pictures another time) and a book that I had to reorder as the original supplier didn't have enough stock. After a late start I'm so happy my preparations are well under way and I have very little left to buy and do. I'm hoping next year to be better prepared and make more homemade gifts well in advance (maybe even starting in January).

Tomorrow's my volunteering day and a visit with my advisor at the Job Centre.

Christmas Bought And Paid For.

I've finished...buying my Christmas presents that is.

I bought the final one this morning, vouchers from the tattooist round the corner for DD3's boyfriend. I ended up paying out more than intended because they only did them in £20 values, but I shall make this a dual pressie for Xmas and his birthday on 24th January.

I still have a few items that have been ordered but not arrived yet, so if they get here by next week I will have a grand card-writing and pressie-wrapping session. I've cheated and bought most of my cards this year, but only one packet at 99p as I had a pack I didn't use from last year. All my wrapping paper is from 2 years ago when a shop in town was selling rolls at 5 for £1 and I stocked up. As we now buy less pressies than we used to it's lasting a long time.

Monday is DH's birthday and his pressie has also been bought and wrapped; I just have to make him a card. He will have a special birthday dinner on the day with a cake and raspberry trifle (his favourite) and then next weekend we'll have a meal out before he goes off to Wales for a few days before Xmas to stay with his cousin and visit his mum who's in a nursing home in Bridgend. He's going by train as, being English Heritage members, we got an extra discount on an already discounted fare with a special code and so its only costing £45 return, which is less than it would cost from Dover to Bridgend return by car. He wouldn't want to drive there and back alone, anyway, and as he's only going for three nights I don't fancy going all that way with him.

MIL's 93rd birthday is on Xmas Eve so while he's down there DH will arrange for flowers to be delivered to her on the day. The daughter-in-law of another cousin owns a florists so he's hoping to buy her something special and maybe even get a small discount.

I have a very few food odds and ends still to buy; chipolatas, cream, fresh veg etc. But they won't cost much. I have put some items on the credit card because they were cheaper to purchase online, but I've already paid this month's balance in full (which I do every month) and the last things will be on next month's bill and that will also be paid in full.

Our car road tax is due at the end of December and our central heating boiler will have its annual service at the beginning of January, but I have money saved for both of those. So, even though this year has been tough, and because of circumstances I hadn't prepared as well as usual for Xmas, my general, everyday frugal habits means everything will be paid for and we will start the New Year without any debt except our mortgage (and next year we're hoping to overpay by loads more than this year), with our main savings account pretty much untouched, and with the £272 from our sealed pot savings available for us to have at least one outing or lunch treat a month throughout 2014.

I hope everyone else is getting there with their Christmas preparations and managing to avoid the temptation to overspend. In fact, I feel I started this year's preparations really late so I'm sure most of you are doing even better at this than I am. I'm hoping to improve next year and make more items well in advance. So, how's everyone else doing? Did you plan in advance and is all going well? Or is your Xmas this year as haphazard as mine?

A Can't Be Bothered Day.

Firstly, welcome to Trudie my new follower.

Well, I've had one of those 'can't be bothered' days. Can't be bothered to get out of bed...except I did. Can't be bothered to get off the sofa and go out...but I did. Can't be bothered to make dinner...but I did. Can't be bothered to vaccum or do the laundry...but I did. Can't be bothered to sew. Can't be bothered to knit.

Considering the mood I was in I did quite a lot of things I didn't feel like doing.  I stripped down the bed (once I'd crawled out of it) and washed the bedding and a few other bits and hung them up. I vaccumed throughout the downstairs. I made a lamb stew and left it cooking in the slow cooker while I then made a trip into town to get a few more Xmas presents. I did vegetate on the sofa this afternoon, wallowing in my fed up mood and eating far too much rubbish, and I didn't even do any knitting or sewing. I made dumplings this evening and cooked them on top of the stew in the slow cooker. I ate too much stew and now feel uncomfortably full. A bit of a mixed day but at least I didn't waste it completely by doing nothing at all.

I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow because so far I've felt fed up for most of this week. I enjoyed my Slimming club's Christmas lunch yesterday, but by the time I got home I'd spent enough time around people and was ready to hibernate again. It's a good job I have to go out sometimes because I'm sure I'd become a complete recluse otherwise.

Anyway, enough feeling sorry for myself; here's the info on the stew. The lamb was a pack of frozen chump chops from FarmFoods that I left out to defrost over night. They cost about £4 for 9 chops, I think. I cut all the fat off, deboned them and cut them into chunks. I didn't bother pre-frying before putting the chunks into the slow cooker. Most of the veg was 2 packs of diced swede and carrots bought reduced in Morrisons at 18p each. I added a large diced potato from my sack (10p), and a large onion (10p) plus a couple of stock cubes and some dried rosemary and thyme and black pepper (10p). The dumplings were made from a huge 3kg catering pack of suet mix I got ages ago from Approved Foods. I can't recall the exact price but it wasn't expensive. I used 12 oz of mix so about 25p. Total cost for approx 6 large servings was £4.91 or approx 82p per serving.

To cook the dumplings on top of the slow cooker you need to turn it to high about 30 minutes before putting them in so that the stew is bubbling, arrange them on top with a little room between them and get the lid back on as quickly as possible so you don't lose too much heat. They take about 30 minutes to cook and you can test whether they're done by sticking a skewer in and if it comes out clean with no sticky mixture on it they're done.

Just serve and enjoy.