OneGuyFromBarlick

The mutton and veggies X two for dinner and tea. Really enjoying it! Usual afters and no snacks at all during the day.

I had two small helpings of the mutton and veggie stew left so I had them for dinner and tea reinforced by a steak pudding at dinner and a scotch egg at teatime. Nuts, chocolate and an apple for afters.
I have a culinary adventure in mind for today......

Yesterday I cooked an offering from Brown's btcher's, 'Hunter's Chicken'. It was two chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and immersed in a barbecue flavour sauce with cheese topping. Enough for two servings so I cooked them under foil in the oven, made some onion and tomato sauce and (Please forgive this) served them on a bed of rice as this looked like the ideal accompaniment. Two good meals and a very nice change!

Sausages with Onion Gravy tonight.

Marilyn, be careful to put the onions underneath the sausages.
(Current Aussie joke)

Oh yes...indeed...though we are not having bread and walking about with it, and the onions have been cooked long and slow before going in the gravy. ( long slow cooking of onions prevents "problems" later. Get all those vapours out before you eat them I say!)
I have to admit it's not my favourite meal. Hubby loves it, but I could easily do without. I struggle to eat one thin sausage!

I love my sausages Maz, Stuart Brown makes some particularly good ones!
I cooked and mashed carrots and parsnips with whey butter yesterday and mixed in a steamed cauliflower and the onion and tomato sauce. I had a steak pudding with some for dinner and a Scotch egg with it for tea. Waste not want not.... I grilled Jack's sausages for the week and put plenty of water in the pan so I had some gravy to add to the mash. I never tire of good mashed veggies and don't overcook them.

Dare I confess, sausages are one of the things I missed when they started putting 450 and 451 preservatives in the commercial ones. I did a sausage making course and I've have a fantastic home made spice mix that I now use in my own. I made a batch the other day and I've made it into sausage rolls for yet another Christmas party. It makes a difference when you know what's in there.

That is everything Liz, if you can't trust the maker you can't fully enjoy the sausage! I cooked some of Brown's Cumberland Sausages yesterday and had one with the mashed veggies for both dinner and tea.
I used to pick up milk at Stainton Hall near West Marton and the farmer, Johnny Spensley was old school. One very cold morning he invited me in for a warm in the kitchen. While in there I noticed what looked like (sorry for this but it's an exact description) black dog turds hung in bunches over the Aga cooker. I asked Johnny what they were and he said they were his home made sausages. He took a couple down and fried them for me, telling me that they were 9 months old. I have never tasted a better sausage in my life.

No dinner yesterday as I had to fast for the scan. I ended up doing a 22 hour fast but it didn't cause a problem. I had one Cumberland Sausage and the last of the mashed veggies for tea with 20gm of dark chocolate, nuts and one apple for afters. I quite like the normal 14 hour fast I have every day, I never feel hungry and I suspect it's a good thing if your system tolerates it.

I've just had a happy hour cooking..... I fried some of Wendy's red onions in olive oil (they are very strong!) When they were just browning and nicely softened I added some chopped bacon and half cooked that. Then I added the spices and condiments and poured in a tin of chopped tomatoes and reduced the whole to a thick and very powerful sauce. I have put frozen carrots and chopped chillies into the slow cooker, added the tomato and onion and topped up with a tin of baked beans. It can cook slowly till this afternoon when I think it will be just about right for tea! I might get a cauliflower to lighten it up a bit.....

One Sausage and a tin of baked beans for dinner with a bit of the onion and tomato to give it a bite! I bought Cauliflower and sprouts and after cooking them topped the slow cooker up. I had the remains of the cauli and sprouts with a good helping of the slow cooker contents for tea..... very nice..... No cooking needed today!
I saw a cauliflower farmer on Countryfile and he was saying that it was the best year for caulis he could remember and they have never been as cheap. He was right, apart from price rises in brief spells of bad weather they have been good value all year. Yesterdays was a large perfect specimen, very fresh and only 59p.

We pay three times that price, on a good day...over four times that price on a bad one!

It's been a very good year for them here Maz. I suppose it's more difficult to grow them in a hot climate. We have ideal conditions of course. Such a good supply chain as well, they are field fresh when we get them.
Yesterday I just dipped into the slow cooker twice for dinner and tea. A very varied mixture and almost all veggies.

I had some Spuds that we're starting to sprout (quite a few actually) and I didn't want to throw them away. So I peeled them and boiled them in one pan, while frying onion, zucchini, spinach and Sweetcorn in another. Combined when cool with egg and flour and formed into fritters/hash browns which I then crumbed. They are in the freezer now as I fry them when they are deep chilled so they don't split or fall apart ( good trick that one). I've made about 20 fritters, so once cooked they can stack in the freezer as an easy meal accompaniment. One or two each, placed on an oven tray...( and if they last long enough to take in the van it means no work too). Mind you - a lot of fiddling about today just because I can't throw good food away!

I got slightly adventurous yesterday. I saw some 'chilli bombs' at the butcher's yesterday and bought a couple. Basically they are a Scotch Egg with chilli sauce in the case instead of a boiled egg. I had some veggie stew left in the slow cooker which has reduced to a thick, powerful sauce so I had one of the bombs with some of that for dinner. It was interesting but not striking so I had the same for tea and saved the stew that was left in the fridge to use as a sauce. Like Maz I don't like wasting anything!
In case you're wondering, I shan't be buying them again. A good idea but bit short of taste!

My creations were yummy. A lot of fiddling, but not wasted when doing a big batch. I do need to wipe my stove top over in the morning though...a few spatters!
Might do a Potato Bake next time I have sprouting spuds though. ( I only bought them last week and they have been stored as usual...in an airy container in a dark place.)

It's the time of year Maz, potatoes are programmed to sprout ready for the next generation.
I had a steak pudding day. Dinner and tea were steak pudding with mixed veggies and the last of the veggie stew.
Very tasty........

I strayed into carb territory slightly yesterday, I repeated the Hunter's Chicken and veggies with rice and had it for dinner and tea. Nuts, 85% chocolate with orange and a small apple for afters. I know that fingers could be pointed but this regime seems to suit me..... I am feeling superb considering the mileage.

I have lifted some previously batch cooked bolognese sauce out of the freezer and will have it with spaghetti, pesto and a sprinkling of Parmesan

Beef stew slowly simmering on the stove top today with veg from the lower carb end of things. Turnips 6g/100g, Swede 9g/100g along with onions, garlic, mushrooms and Savoy cabbage. There are a couple of carrots in there too but not enough to bump the carb content too much. It smells good already, not sure I'll be able to wait until teatime to eat it

The longer you leave it the better it will be Kev!
I had some of the chicken, veggies and rice left so I split it in two and had a cheese filled fish cake with it for dinner and tea, small helpings. Nuts, chocolate and a small Cox apple for afters.

I had a cooking spree. I grilled six sausages, fried up a pan-full of Onions, diced bacon and tomatoes. At the same time I cooked sprouts and broth bits. All the lot went into the slow cooker with some sliced Chorizo to add a bit of zing. I had a small bowl of this with two fried eggs for dinner and a straight bowl full for tea. Very tasty!

The sausage and veggie mixture plus a little bit of Basmati Rice for dinner and tea. (Sorry kids) A good tasty mixture.....

Cauliflower Cheese Soup. Very nice.
Son and girlfriend ( and dog ) arrive tomorrow to spend the weekend with us. That means 4 individual tastes and preferences have to be considered. I have been thinking about nothing else but dinner combinations for days! I think I have it nailed, we will see! Certainly we won't go hungry...