Today at Frugal Food we cooked Bacon and Lentil stew

I have never been to Frugal Food before a lovely group of volunteers showing you not only how to cook but how to cook on a budget of £5.00 and under.

Based in a lovely hall there was some toys for the kiddies and tea,squash and biscuits where we all sat and nattered before making a start.
this week we made Bacon and lentil stew,i have never eaten lentil's before so i wasn't too sure how this was going to taste like.

How to:

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 3 or 4 potatoes scrubbed and diced
• 1 onion,peeled and chopped
• 2 large carrots,peeled and chopped(we scrubbed as not only was in fairly clean but also most of the goodness is just beneath the first layer layer) 
• 70g diced bacon
• 100g red lentils,rinsed and drained
• 1 stock cube

Method:

1. heat a large pan(no oil or anything needed) and add bacon bits
2. when bacon has softened add chopped onion
3. when onion is soft add carrot and potato
4. keep stirring to prevent sticking
5. after a few minutes add 250 hot water
6. stir in lentils and crumble in the stock cube
7. bring pot to a gentle simmer
8. add up to 250ml more water
9. stir often until lentils and vegetables are soft
10. serve with hot crusty bread

left overs make a good soup just add some  water and liquidise to a smooth broth

Basically you have 4 meals for under £2.00

and i must say a very quick and yummy meal,alisha was not so keen but she still had a few mouthfuls and i loved it :D

Pirate day

Today at Ethan's school to celebrate a visit from pirate Dave all the children in year 2 were invited to go to school dressed as a pirate,so here is ethan :)

A quick hair style change

decided to see what would happen with lots of plaits-end result i love the middle section just a shame about the top and bottom however it looked great when in a pony tail as you didnt notice the top and on a little child it's better to do as less damage to the hair from heat damage so overall i'm happy :)

Tutu Thursday!

It's that time again and this week Alisha wore a bright neon pink tutu from H&M teamed with a pastel pink cardigan again from H&M  and a pair of pink legging from Asda :)
I wonder what Alisha's BFF Scarlett is wearing today? why not pop over to my friend Viccy's blog now to find out, and i will see you here again next Thursday :)

Salter Review

I recently had the opportunity to work with Salter  Housewares itself begun life in the late 1760 in the village of Bilston,England.at t this time Richards Salter a spring maker,begun making 'pocket steelyards',a scale similar to the fisherman's scale of today.

located in the UK,USA &Canada with distribution to over 100 countries world-wide,still enjoying the #1 brand for bathroom scales in the UK and now part of the highly successful HoMedics group the company is now set for continued growth and product extension.

 i recieved to test and review the Salter Vintage Scale,Heston Blumenthal Precision Professional Whisk and the Dashboard Goal Tracker Scale.

 Salter Vintage Scale(120 CMDR)

• £29.99
• Exclusive Salter design
• Bespoke Heritage packaging
• metric and imperial measures
• large,easy to read arched dial
• practical 1 litre stainless steel bowl
• heavyweight moulded body
• high gloss finish in traditional cream

Heston Blumenthal Precision Professional Whisk(for whisking in plenty of air)

• £11.99
• Professional whisk which has been carefully designed for excellant whisking and comfort
• Large 7.5cm diameter balloon for whisking  in plenty of air
• Ergonomic and non-slip handle
• Dishwasher-safe

 Dashboard Goal Tracker Scale

• £34.99
• Set your goal weight
• Tracks your progress
• 8 user memory
• Easy to read backlit dashboard display
• Step on for instant weight reading
• Max weight 23st x 0.2lb
• Product dimensions: 31.2 x 30.2 x 2.4
• Batteries 4 x AAA
• Guarantee: 15 years

My thoughts:

All products arrived undamaged in a box with lots of padding for extra protection,each product came with easy to follow instructions the first one we tested was the Dashboard Goal Tracker Scale.

I really liked how super slim it is i remember as a child my mum having a really bulky heavy one so it was lovely to see how far we have come along and how modern it looks as well as slim and lightweight. easy to use buttons and display screen i also loved the rubber anti slip bits on the bottom offering extra stability when in use,easy to set up we literally was using withing 5 minutes of removing from the box.

Next up the Heston Blumenthal Precision Professional Whisk and the Salter Vintage Scale.to put these to the test we decided to bake some fairy cakes.

I loved the colour of the Vintage scales i also liked how they reminded me of the big ones you used to see in the old style sweet shops with the jars of sweets in the window and you went in to buy your fave boiled sweet/bon bon and would excitedly wait as they would get measured out to match the amount you wanted to spend. i love the glossy finish,again easy to use and clean which is a must for any busy household.

Now as for the whisk i wont lie i was worried about how well it was going to work due to the large size and the small quanity of mixture i had to mix up,but it did a great job had a few sticky episodes of the mixture getting caught between the bars of the whisk itself but a quick flick and it came straight out ready to continue.

Overall i was very impressed by all 3 products by Salter.

And here are the fairy cakes yum yum :)

Disclosure: i was not paid to do this review only to keep the product as a thank you for the time put into my review,all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Chillipeeps

Chillipeeps Teat, the multi award winning Chillipeeps teat is a vari-flow teat that attaches to ready made cartons and Evian and  Volvic water bottles,perfect for when out and about with baby.

Vari-flow= obtains slow,medium and fast flow rates within the teat suitable for 3+ months.
can be sterilized in solution or a steam sterilizer it is also dishwasher safe.

BPA free,Conforms to BS EN 14350

MY THOUGHTS:

I liked how it comes in a small plastic case great for keeping the teat clean and carrying around while on the go,very easy to use once you read the instructions just pierce into milk carton and screw till secure then stop.test it is full shut by gently tipping it should fill the teat with milk without leaking out from any gaps. so easy from buying the milk my son was drinking within 2 minutes.very pleased and impressed with how easy it was to not only use but also clean since receiving the Chillipeep i have gone and brought two more as spares.
if you use carton milk for your baby when out then i highly recommend it. also great with water especially on hot summers day :)
 you can buy from Asda at £4.95

follow Chillipeeps on their website and on Facebook and Twitter

Cookies!!

Today Ethan and Alisha baked some scrummy white and milk chocolate chip cookies mmmmm

Family Fun

A day of fun with my youngest two munchkins starting off with a mummy meet at the Palm House in Weymouth Dorset-a lovely place with a play area,coffee shop,shop,out door area and a arts and crafts workshop. We met and made lots of yummy mummy friends/playmates who i look forward to meeting again.
From there we brought a bag of  food to feed to the Ducks who in my opinion were totally crazy!!
then we went for dinner me having a jacket potato with beans and Alisha have a kids cheeseburger and chips along with receiving a goody bag. before heading to the beach a bit windy but the sea looked gorgeous and the beach itself looked to be in pretty good shape considering the storms we have had recently. after a slow and enjoyable walk along the seafront it started to rain so we hit the amusements briefly before making our way home happy but exhausted,oh and did i mention we won a minion :D