A Cheap and Healthy Sunday Dinner

Occasionally I get a recipe that I adore. Courgette Carbonara is definitely one of them. Salmon with brown rice and baby veg is another. And these are meals I probably cook every other week. Not every week, as that gets a bit boring, but every other weeks means I'm sure I get a meal I really like, and also means I get the spend other evenings trying new things.

But I'm a bit choosy picky fussy particular about the quality of the food that I eat. I do not like junk food, but I cannot afford organic. Matt needs his carbs, but I am now gluten-free. So when I find something that's healthy, filling and cheap - it's by all means going to be a winner. Providing it tastes good, of course.

I first tried Nigella's Praised Chicken recipe back when Nigella Kitchen first aired in September and I got the book for my birthday back in September. It was okay. But it ticked all the right boxes so I had to stick with it.

This week, however, I cracked it. I'll be the first to admit that I had to leave out some of the ingredients because I just couldn't justify it. No wine is going into my food (I prefer to drink it) and it said I could use dried herbs - so I did - but they just didn't do it for me. I also do not own garlic oil and I am certainly not going to go out and buy it especially for this dish so I just didn't bother. And as you would expect when you don't follow a recipe correctly it turned out just okay.


So this time, I added some minced garlic (thanks to the amazing Garlic Twist that my mother bought me for Christmas) to the oil before adding the chicken. I also added a bay leaf and used some fresh herbs that I had recently bought, not used all of, and chucked them in the freezer. The fresh parsley to garnish was also a really good touch and something I will do again.

This result was much much better than my previous efforts. Matt really enjoyed it, as did I, and I had enough chicken and celery leftover to create a chicken salad thanks to a handful of salad leaves and a dollop of greek yoghurt! The chicken literally falls off the bones with this recipe and you seem to get so much more out of it than when you roast it - totally worth it for the sake of crispy skin!

A cheap, healthy Sunday dinner with enough leftovers to make a chicken salad, chicken soup or some chicken fried rice for the following day. Yum.

Updating a Rented Bathroom

Bathrooms are funny rooms in rented properties. They're always a bit rubbish - and it's pretty hard to imagine updating a bathroom without being able to rip it all out and put in a new one.

We have 2 bathrooms. One loo, and one actual bathroom with a bath in it. They're both alright but not amazing - so I've had to update them a little.

The bathroom with a bath in it is still currently being updated. Remember when I mentioned how it helps being nice to your landlord? There is no cabinet in that bathroom and it is driving me crazy! It also has a shower screen which I'm not getting on very well with (the shower is way too powerful so the shower screen doesn't actually keep water off the floor) so after a few more kind words, I'm getting them both sorted (yay!) although I am forking out for the cabinet myself - I thought it only fair as I have been asking for a lot lately.

But for now, the loo has been updated.

This is what it looked like before. Okay, but nothing really that nice.

It's so plain! White and plain and boring. I can't change the wall colour or the suite. But I can change the mirror and add a few much needed accessories. So behold, it's transformation!

A vase of artificial flowers means they can survive the lack of natural light, and also keep forever so I don't have to keep replacing them. The picture in the frame is the same paper I used in the bedroom frames on the shelf so as I had it leftover, it was free! And the mirror? Well, that mirror is my favourite. Half price in the sale at Argos, so it cost me £20! It adds a touch of glamour and hides some of those ghastly tiles behind the sink!

Overall, I don't think it's bad for a rented bathroom. Especially as I feel I've updated it a lot with not very much. I'm rather happy with the result.

Chocolate Florentines Recipe

Possibly one of the easiest things to make! Tastes delicious, and makes quite a lot. They also last a fair while, so a good treat to have in the fridge in case you have visitors! (like you really need an excuse)

You will need:
50g margarine
100g soft brown sugar
1 egg
55g desiccated coconut
100g chopped nuts
70g chopped glace cherries
70g sultanas
300g plain chocolate cake covering
(this is more ideal than chocolate, as it doesn’t set as hard – making it super easy to cut into squares)

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees C. Line a tray with foil (mine is a deep rectangular roasting tray, which is slightly larger than an A4 piece of paper – I don’t know the exact measurements) and break up your chocolate cake covering into pieces. Spread evenly around the tin and place in the oven for a few minutes until it melts. Of course, you can melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water – but this is so much easier and makes for less washing up.

While the chocolate is melting, beat together the margarine and sugar, then add the egg and beat again.

By this time the chocolate should be melted. Spread it around the base of the tin with the back of a spoon to create a thin layer of chocolate. Pop the tray into the freezer for 5 minutes or so to let the chocolate set.

Meanwhile, add the nuts, cherries, coconut and sultanas to the sugar, marg and egg mixture and combine. Take the cold tin of chocolate out of the freezer and cover it with the topping. Spread it thinly over the top – mine really was thin – almost to the point where I thought I needed more mixture, but I didn’t. Phew!

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden on the top. You might need a little longer if your tray is smaller and the mixture thicker.

Once cooked, remove and set in either the fridge or freezer. Then tip out and cut into squares!

These are super cheap, quick and easy to make. And the best thing about them is that once you’ve bought the ingredients, you could easily make another 2-3 batches with everything you have in stock! (Clearly a great thing if you need to whip up something fast with no time to go to the shops! So buy extra packets of cake covering – at 62p for 300g it’s a third of the price of the really cheap value chocolate!)

Another thing I like about Florentines is that they’re naturally gluten-free so there is no substitution of flour. This, I think, is the best way to cook gluten free as there is no compromise. Half an hour (ish) to whip up a treat? Beauty.

Things I Want to Achieve in 2011

image via embroiderbee

So as my main resolution of sorts is to think positively all the time and not worry about things (but whilst also being sensible) I decided not to do ‘resolutions’, and to do ‘things I want to achieve’ instead.

Resolutions always tend to be broken. “I must to this, this, this, and this every day” is a little exhausting, so instead I’d like to have a list of things I would like to have accomplished by the end of the year.

I would like to…
Make a spring wreath
Perfect a few gluten-free baking recipes
Make a table cloth
Fix and extend my dreadlocks
Finish at least 3 cross-stitch patterns
Make a cross-stitch cushion (preferably one of these)
Have a really fancy homemade picnic on the beach
Make marmalade and strawberry jam
Sell one of my homemade things to at least one person
Make something out of my homemade home book
Finish off the craft nook
Make a pin cushion
Read all the books from Richard & Judy’s 2011 Book Club
Have lots of pictures of 2011 to look back on
Put up photos in photo frames in the hall
Make Cherry Menlove’s winter scarf
Create Christmas decoupage baubles
Start my Christmas crafts in October
Finally get my ears pierced again
Have my beautiful car back in my possession (instead of in my parent’s garage)

Ooooh I'm looking forward to this!

A New Year of Positive Thoughts

 

image via valentinadesign

This Christmas I bought Matthew a book - The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. He's always been fascinated by business and entrepreneurs and a lot of autobiographies that he read seemed to mention this practice.

The power of positive thinking appears to be hugely powerful and he was interested to learn more about it. And as he read through the book, we began chatting about how lucky we are at the moment. Sure, we've not got a lot of cash - but we've got a great home and we're not in debt. Good things happen to us when we want them to, and the one time things began to spiral out of control was when we both weren't feeling too positive and letting every negative thing get to us.

Since then, we've moved into a beauiful apartment. Our careers are really starting to take off and despite our very tight income, we've not been tempted by shopping more than we need to.

It's funny how I never imagined myself living a 'poor' life, and I haven't. Even with barely any disposable income. I guess it's just down to my sheer determination to not give the impression that I haven't got a lot, that I live a life that's not obviously financially challenged.

When I allow myself to daze off into dreams about the future, I see a beautiful home and a happy life. I shall not think of anything else. My dreams will one day become a reality because I believe they will be so.

I'm not a religious person, but I do know that two of my favourite friends are and they are happier than any other friends of mine. They both have great jobs, a wonderful marriage and they have just bought their first home. Now whether that's because they believed they would be looked after, or have just had a positive outlook on life, they have done what other people my age can only wish for.

For me and Matt, we have faith in the power of attraction, or "everything is meant to be" as I like to call it. I am happy - but I am also willing to work for my happiness instead of believing that someone else owes it to me.

My New Year Resolution this year is to believe in good things to come. 2011 shall be full of happy things.