Lauren Loves Low Cost Living!

I feel a cold coming on....:-(

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:41:13 GMT

Hi,

A big thankyou again to everyone who said hello yesterday, lovely to hear from you!

So its 10.30am here in the UK and I am feeling terrible. Got fever, then the shivers and im full of cold. Didnt feel so good last night, and had a really restless sleep so I kind of guessed it was coming. So lots of fluids and rest for me today!

On the good side, being thrifty and hating waste, means that I have some homemade chicken stock in the freezer which Im going to heat through and add some grated potato, carrot and onion and herbs and have a really wholesome, full of goodness soup. Just what you need on a cold day, when you are feeling ill!

Not sure how everyone in the US is coping with the credit crunch but over here in the UK everything is in meltdown. 3 close friends all lost there jobs this week, and so many shops and small buisnesses are closing down. Scary times. On a plus side, our major supermarket Tesco, which I think is like your Wal Mart, is slashing its prices by up to 50%!!! so hopefully Il feel better this weekend to go and stock up before christmas!

My fiance is working 7 days a week to try and make ends meet, and he runs a building buisness with his brother. My sister in law (to be) and myself are trying to organise a christmas party for the 2 of them, and us, here at my house. They work so hard I think they deserve a good night! So im on the lookout for cheap party ideas and ways to decorate on a budget. I be making my famous sausage rolls, but any other cheap party food ideas will be really welcome! I would prefer to make all the food myself rather than by it all frozen and ready made :-)

So, I hope you are all well! take care x

Lauren x

Chicken/Turkey left over pie

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:41:08 GMT

Hi again,

Just made my left over chicken and leek pie, and it is a complete success. I didnt follow a recipe, just looked in my fridge and used some store cupboard ingredients. Thought Id share the recipe with you!

Leftover Chicken/Turkey Pie; serves 2 generously!

Left over meat from 2 chickens

One Leek sliced

One Medium Onion finely slices but reserve one whole slice

Some chopped ham, I used 4 slices, but whatever you have.

Salt and pepper

425ml milk

Bay Leaf

Black Peppercorns

Flour

Butter

Cup of chicken stock

Beaten egg

Pastry, either ready rolled or homemade, shortcrust or puff.

Method; First, make a sauce. Add the milk, slice of onion, bay leaf, peppercorns (I used about 8) and simmer for 5 mins then strain and set aside.

Next, add the remaining chopped onion, and leek and gently fry in a pan with melted butter until soft. Then add the chopped ham and chicken meat and stir through. Set aside.

Next make a roux by melting a few tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of flour and mix gently until it makes a golden paste. Then add the milk and keep stirring! Cook until thick, but not too thick! Then pour over the chicken and leek mixture. Now taste for seasoning, I added a cup of homemade chicken stock to make it really rich. Then pour into a pie dish.

I happened to have a pack of ready rolled shortcrust in the freezer so I have used that just as a pastry top and brushed with egg and cook in a medium oven for about 30 or until golden.

Ive got some veg that needs using up today and some potatoes, so will serve with mashed potatoes and veg, maybe some gravy.

Lovely winter warmer!

Lauren xxx

Introducing myself!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:27:37 GMT

Hello!

Just a little note just to say hello to everyone and to introduce myself!

My name is Lauren, I live in the UK, Im 23. I live with my Fiance and since July I have been a housewife due to illness.

I have always been really interested in saving money, making cheap recipes last a long time and being savvy with the shopping! I was brought up that way, and a lot of my friends find it hard to understand my way of thinking. I find it is frustrating sometimes, to see my friends buying take aways and going out for meals all on the credit cards, just because they dont know the basics of cookery. But they laugh at me making meals that last 2 days or making double the amount of meals to freeze! I dread to think what they would say if they knew that just before writing this entry, I put a saucepan on the hob with cinnamon and cloves to simmer as recommended by this site for a gorgeous air freshner!

I think the advice on this site is brilliant, I have learnt a lot, and I hope we can go on to share for a long time!

What I aim to do is to write a little everyday, just about what I cooked that day and with what budget, what little tips Ive picked up but also how we are coping with the credit crisis.

My Fiance is self employed so we are finding it really hard to make ends meet. Before I became ill in July with pneumonia, I had a good job, we were living comfortably and life was good. Then I got ill, ended up in hospital and have ended up with a damaged heart, which means I cannot walk far and basically am at home all day. Im awaiting treatment, the UK National Health Service is soooooo slow. But when I become a little better, hopefully early next year, Im going to set up my own cake decorating buisness.

But In the meantime, I hope ti get chatting to some of you and hopefully we can learn a lot of great tips :-)

Today Im making a chicken and Leek pie, I roasted 2 chickens on Tuesday so we had chicken curry yesterday, and pie today. I made 2 litres of chicken stock with the carcasses yesterday which I have half frozen and half put in the fridge, so tomorrow I will make a chicken soup with homemade bread. We have eaten so much chicken this week, there is a risk we may grow feathers!!

So thats me! Hope you enjoy reading my new blog!

Oh and hopefully everyone is having fun preparing for Christmas!

Lauren xxx