£1 Warmer

I discovered this 'storecupboard' stew on the BBC website - and I reckon, that because most of us have the ingredients in the store cupboard, it works out to about £1 (depending on the cost of the minced beef you use)

Good over baked potatoes, or with rice - but go easy on the chilli, or even leave it out for kids.

Baked Bean Casserole

Ingredients
a little oil
110g/4oz minced beef
pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 beef stock cube
splash of hot water
¼ sweet potato, peeled and diced
¼ tin of baked beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with water
splash of soy sauce
1 tsp tomato ketchup
splash of Worcestershire sauce

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the minced beef and cook until browned.
2. Add the chilli flakes, parsley and garlic and heat for a further 1-2 minutes.
3. Crumble in the stock cube and add a splash of water.
4. Stir in the sweet potato, beans and seasoning and heat gently for 10-15 minutes, adding extra water if necessary.
5. Stir in the cornflour and then add the soy sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and heat for a further few minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and transfer to serving plate to serve.

It's not fancy, just basic, warming sustenance - easy to make and economical. We're having it tonight......

Stepping outside your comfort zone, and learning a new skill

I've not posted anything in a good few days - we are over a week into the school holidays and most days have been challenging!

Last week Elias got a nasty cold and was too unwell to even go out, it seemed to progress to a (thankfully) short lived ear infection over the weekend too. So poor Joy and I have been mostly stuck at home. But I in particular have not been twiddling my thumbs.

Since the bathroom suite was replaced almost a year ago we have had bare floor boards in our upstairs bathroom and toilet - it's surprising how you can get used to something like that! But it was far from ideal and we have been trying to rectify this fir many months. Sadly our flooring guy seems to have dropped off the planet someplace, and as we hope to leave this rented house soon, I felt that something really should be done. And as Robin has been away so much - it was going to be me to do it.

After a brainwave, I remembered that we had a carpet offcut from replacing carpet elsewhere - and thought I'd try my hand at laying carpet. Realising of course that it was not going to be very easy in such a small space with radiators, washbasin and toilets to fit around.

In the first ten minutes I almost called it quits - I was all legs and carpet and I felt like I was grappling with some odd creature with a mind of it's own. But after a good hour I was utterly thrilled to step out of the bathroom and marvel at what I'd accomplished. The change was remarkable - the room looked clean, fresh, stylish... and finished. Basking in my triumph was short lived as I realised that I needed to attempt the toilet next.

After buying more carpet the next day, I again set to trying to lay this carpet. This time it was after something like 5 minutes when I was so exasperated by the lack of space, and sanitary issues that I almost gave up. But, I didn't, and after a lot of huffing and puffing, and delicate maneuvering, then reaching into awkward spaces... Voila! I had laid my second piece of carpet.

Yesterday and today I again moved well outside my comfort zone in meeting with estate agents and our landlord, and then prospective replacement tenants - a very unsettling experience for me. But I did it, I guess I'm having a week of being stretched a bit.

Important Note: Don't get any ideas about me laying carpet for y'all - and especially not in such small spaces, I've got sore knees and fingers - and make no claim to be a professional!

Photos

Robin has put photos of my birthday blender and chair on his Flicr account - take a look (you will be jealous though methinks!)

kingsize disaster!

Oh yesterday was a good day, it was long, but a good day. I took the kids to Ikea with Abi and my Mum. The sun was shining, the roads were clear and the kids were well behaved. Oh, and we didn't spent all that much either.

But Elias is somewhat under the weather, so he was coughing hard by the time we got back. Plus being good for that long really takes it out of you, so tea time was a subdued affair. Robin too had been hard at work all day.

So by kids bedtime we were all worn out.

After an evening clearing up, having food and getting the house straight again we were ready for our bed. As we pottered through our nightly bedtime routine there was much yawning and plodding. I was brushing my teeth when it happened.

A big crash.

With my toothbrush poking out my mouth I rushed through to see what had happened.

Poor Robin had just been getting into bed when it had fallen apart! In a rather bemused and slow sort of way we had to dismantle it all and rest it up against the wall in order to sleep on the floor.

Our lovlely bed, only a few months old, is now going to be returned, and sadly, they no longer stock it. Oh the tears are flowing as I write this! And had I just known yesterday I could have been bed shopping whilst in Ikea! (oh well, could be visiting again very soon....)