the big cook-off!

Like I said this really is a blog for the ramblings of a boring housewife!

A couple of weeks ago we acquired a chest freezer via freecycle

So my personal challenge was to fill it! but not with 'mums gone to Iceland' type of stuff, but with good, wholesome, healthy, tummy homecooked meals - well OK homecooked meals anyway!
Last Monday I did the big tesco online food order, on Thursday the big delivery came, and on Friday my alram clock rang out at 5am and the cooking began!

Apart from the school runs, and a pee break or 2 I didnt stop cooking until 7pm!

At that point I lost the will to live, so stopped for the night for fish and chips. The table laden with meals cooling down, and the fridge full of ingredients for more meals.

Saturday morning no alarm, but up at 9 and cooking again until 3pm.

And there on my table were 29 different meals, all pointed to the weight watchers plan. a lot of chopping, peeling, washing up and clearing up.
But now I can be Mrs. Smug at every meal time (except Sundays when we will have a good ol' fashioned roast) when my family will eat well without a miserable Mrs.B having slaved in the kitchen.

Tonight it came into its own. Brownie night for me, Rainbows for middle child - normally a hectic mad evening of corner cutting meals, but not tonight oh no! tonight we had;

cottage pie

serves 5

7.5 POINTS PER SERVING

1250G POTATOES, PEELED AND CHOPPED ROUGHLY

2 LEEKS, TRIMMED AND SLICED

625G EXTRA LEAN MINCE BEEF

1 ONION, CHOPPED FINELY

220G CARROTS, PEELED AND DICED

150G MUSHROOMS, CHOPPED

375ML BEEF STOCK

2 TBSP TOMATO PUREE

1 TSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

60G VFL CHEESE

5 TBSP MILK

• PREHEAT OVEN GM6
• SIMMER POTATOES FOR 15 MINUTES. ADD LEEKS FOR LAST 2 MINUTES. DRAIN WELL AND MASH WITH CHEESE AND MILK
• BROWN BEEF AND ONIONS FOR 5 MINS
• MIX IN CARROTS AND MUSHROOMS, THEN STOCK, PUREE AND WORC SAUCE. BRING TO BOIL, SIMMER FOR 15 MINUTES. POUR INTO A LARGE DISH
• SPOON POTATO MIX ON TOP, BAKE FOR 20 MINS.

complete with dry fried leeks and button mushrooms. Yum Yum - well 3 out of 5 of us thought so, middle and smallest children turned their noses up - but hey theres no pleasing the under 8's when it comes to mealtimes is there?

come back tomorrow and see what fab food we are having for Tuesday (swimming night) tea (hint: it came from a cow and was cooked for a long time!)