but I find that I hardly ever stick to them. Sometimes I just don't feel like eating anything I've planned on, and other times I have a brainwave and try something different with the ingredients I already have.
Plus I've noticed since the weather has been heating up, all we ever really feel like is 'cold' food, like salad, tortilla wraps, pita breads or rice paper rolls.

Tonight, however, we are having pizza. We haven't had a takeaway dinner nearly two months (!) and it's cheap pizza night tonight, $5 each.

I have really been enjoying making Indian curries in the slowcooker, however. I don't know if I mentioned, my dad bought me a whole heap of spices when they were visiting. So I have been getting into making different mixes.

So, even though meal plans don't seem to be working for me, I am hoping to cook an indian curry to have with cous cous two nights this week, and a potato and leek soup.

This is the recipe I use for minestroni soup, cooked in a slow cooker. There are a few things you can serve with it, a dollop of pesto is good, fresh buttered bread, toasted pitas sprinkled with olive oil and cumin, shaved parmesan or garlic bread are all favourites. It's good on it's own too

1 cup barley
1 x 800g tin chopped tomatoes, or several chopped fresh tomatoes.
1 onion, diced.
4 cloves garlic, crushed.
4-6 cups vegetables, chopped into even sizes.
(I use pumpkin, brocolli, potato, sweet potato, carrot, green beans, capsicum, zucchini etc).
1/2 tsp cumin
salt & pepper
fresh or dried oregano, marjoram & rosemary.
& enough vegetable stock to fill the slow cooker 3/4 full (or you can use stock powder & boiling water)

I combine all these in the slow cooker (which is 3.5L) and cook on low for 8 hours.

But to tell you the truth, we are getting along quite fine without it. Of course we WILL get it fixed eventually, but there are so many other things going on at the moment that it is not really high priority.

To be honest, FOOD is not really high priority at the moment. Last week I ate minestroni soup four nights in a row. Yep. And I will probably make a big batch of it again this week. It's easy, healthy, cheap, and I like it (delicious with a piece of a fresh baguette and some shaved parmesan). I made DF bolognaise sauce in the slowcooker which turned out well, and he has been having bbq's lots of nights.

This is all a bit of an about-turn for me, I love cooking and I like to cook different things each night too. But I think it's a combination of the weather (hot) and my energy levels (low) as well as all the things I seem to have to get done at the moment, which make cooking involved meals every night a little draining.

That's not to say that I will ever resort to pre-packaged meals or takeaway each night, or frozen dinners etc etc like a lot of people do who 'can't find the time to cook'. Even with limited cooking appliances in the kitchen, we still eat fresh organic vegetables and I cook from scratch - believe it or not the lack of a stove or oven actually makes things (mostly) easier because it greatly limits what you can do.

And you know actually, we have not had takeaway for over a month...! Everytime I think 'Gee, it would be nice to not have to cook dinner tonight' I think about the cost of the meal, the fact that I have to drive to go and get it, what they might put in it, the way I feel after eating it, the fact that I possibly might eat the whole container of basil tofu noodles instead of saving half for later...
And then I just steam some veges and rice. Boring, but cheap. Tastes pretty nice with a bit of soy sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds though.

Slow cookers, I have to say here, are amazing. And ever since my parents bought us the smaller one for our engagement, I am enjoying it a lot more. (The first one I bought was waaaay too big, ended up overcooking the food all the time.)

Menu Plan for the week:
Saturday: BBQ (for DF's bday party)
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Fresh rice paper wraps
Tuesday: Minestroni Soup
Wednesday: BBQ/Minestroni soup
Thursday: Grilled Veges & Tofu/Lambchop
Friday: Lentil Soup

I am going grocery shopping this afternoon with some friends. I made a list yesterday and just realised as I made myself a coffee at work this morning, that I forgot it! ARGH!

How annoying.

So, to help me remember, I'm going to type up my meal plan for the next week:

Wednesday: Grilled Haloumi & Vegetable Skewers
Thursday: Miso Soup with Tofu & Vegetables
Friday: Burgers
Saturday: ? (Takeaway or a BBQ)
Sunday: Pasta
Monday: Carrot, Sweet Potato & Pea Risotto
Tuesday: Romani Gnocchi (Semolina) with salad
Wednesday: Indian Balti Curry

Most of the items I need I already have in the pantry, which is good. I am preparing to be attacked for being 'healthy' this afternoon. (what a laugh! I hardly think we're healthy, I would say we are more 'moderation' eaters)

You see, while one friend is sort of used to my 'unusual' (read: miso, tahini, lentils etc) grocery purchases (she still routinely comments on the weird things I buy and exclaims to the cashier how healthy I am - WHAT?!), I have not yet been grocery shopping with the other friend. I already know that most of the things she buys are prepackaged and 'normal', so I won't be surprised at her purchases, but as I said, I think, no, I KNOW, that she will comment on mine. Not that I care, but I am just preparing for it

I do wonder though, if someone can judge me and make comments on MY purchases, howcome it is deemed rude to say to someone else "Wow, you are so unhealthy."

For example, lentils. Sure, not for all people, I accept that. But someone I know had never even eaten them, bought a packet, cooked them plain, took one bite and told me she could not believe I ate them regularly because they taste like shit.

Well, of course they going to taste a bit bland if you don't cook them properly.

So am I allowed to say to her then, that I can't believe she feeds her children artifically flavoured 'chicken' snacks out of a packet, I mean, do you know how to read? Have you LOOKED at what is in those? Or when she sends her child off to school with a JAM SANDWICH, a packet of teddy bear biscuits and a bottle of cordial for lunch, good manners require me to say nothing to her about the lack of nutritional benefits in that childs lunchbox. I'm a rude SOB if I tell her she may as well give the child a piece of cardboard and a pen lid for their lunch.

*sigh* I don't really know where all that came from. However, having gotten my rant out now, I will not attempt to educate my friend on what is so bad about a pre-made jar of pasta bake sauce

Last night I made Gado Gado salad for the first time. I don't really know if I did it properly (the sauce I mean - chopping vegetables into sticks isn't exactly rocket science...) but it sure tasted delicious! Anyone else ever had it/made it? What did you think?

Tonight I was going to make haloumi & vegetable skewers grilled on the barbecue, but I was flicking through a recipe book to get ideas for next weeks meals, and found a creamy pumpkin pinenut pasta dish that sounded so good, and I had all the ingredients so I decided to make that for dinner instead.

So, tomorrow we will have haloumi & vegetable skewars.

I've updated my favourite website links on my sidebar. I never bothered with them before but decided to put on there the sites I frequent other than Saving Advice.com - it's still in progress though. Enjoy! (but be warned, the content may offend some people)

I realised today that our engagement party is a week and a half away! ARGH!

And I haven't done a single thing! eep!

So I am just going to make some notes to get my head around it and figure out what I have to do.

- It is at a park, and we have told everyone to bring their own drinks and seats.
- DF will go there an hour early, with possibly my parents, to get a good spot.
- I will go to my work, to pick up the food (because we have no fridge space).
- The day before, I have to go into work to make some stuff.
- Some people are bringing food.
- My dad is buying half a dozen bottles of Champagne.


Food List:
- Mini vegetarian quiches
- Savoury Bread pull aparts
- Dips & Sliced Veges
- Cheese Platter & Crackers
- Iced Cupcakes
- Mini Custard Tarts
- Potato Chips/Corn Chips
- Sliced Fruit

Anything else? I can't think of anything!
I was thinking of maybe making some sandwhiches? It all needs to be fingerfood - does anyone have any suggestions?

I have to Buy:
- Plastic champagne glasses
- Some large plates to hold everything
- The dips/chips etc
- All the fresh food items I have to buy the day before at the markets.

... I used to visit my grandparents, who lived in a lovely country town in Victoria. (My dad and his family now live there). I would visit them every time I visited my dad, which was three times a year. And every time I visited, my grandmother would give me a jar of tiny, delicious, shortbread style biscuits that were made by a friend of hers who lived across the street. They were only about 2cm in diameter, and she would make them in double chocolate or ginger. They were so delicious, and I remember them even now, 10 years later. They are the type of short biscuit that is not too crumbly to pick up, but they melt in your mouth. Literally, melt. As I was 7-11 years old when I was getting these biscuits, obviously the chocolate ones were my favourite! But I loved the ginger ones too. They had chewy little pieces of glace ginger in them, and the short bread melted and then left a warm gingery feel.

My grandmothers friend passed away about 4 or 5 years ago. And my grandmother passed away over a year ago as well. My grandfather passed away in 2001.

In my post yesterday I mentioned I was making ginger snap biscuits.
Now, my impression of ginger snaps is the ones that are quite hard to bite into, they are the only ones I have ever had. You dip them in tea and they soften a bit, but ultimately they are a hard biscuit.

But the ones I made from a recipe last night turned out tasting EXACTLY like the biscuits I used to get from that lovely lady across the street from my grandmother. They were so alike that I had images in my head of the hot dry Victorian summers, crunchy leaves, and I could nearly smell that fresh bush smell, eucalyptus leaves, paperbark trees etc.

DF quite liked them too. I made the ginger ones last night, to the way the recipe told me, which was to chill the mix and slice it thinly to get a 'thin' biscuit. But the next time I make it I will do it how the little old lady used to make it. I might even make the chocolate ones too!

Spent 50c today on a can of coke, and DF spent nothing!

My boss pulled a bucket of raw sugar in from the back storage shed because he needed some for his house. (we hardly use it for anything at work) Last time he did that he said I could take some home, and I did this time too. I think I probably took about 2.5kgs!

He also told me to help myself to some corn starch, as we hardly use it either, so I took about the same amount in that too.

I know you use corn starch as a thickener for pies and stuff, and to make custard, but what else can you make to eat with it?


--------------------------------------

We were at wits end with Jed today. He has been so fussed over not being around DF's dads dog he hasn't eaten ardly anything for two-three days. He won't eat unless you hand feed him, which we are NOT going to do! He is starting to get a bit skinny I'm worried about him. Today he whined all day at work with DF whenever DF went away from him.

But then, when we got home, we started to teach him the 'sit' command, and use dry food as the treat (so he would eat!). Then DF had a shower and I decided to just do some more 'sit' commands just to make him eat some more, and I put a handful of dry food in a plastic container and he started eating it if I patted him! So then I fed him some more handfuls, and then went and got his meat and he wolfed it down!

So glad THAT has been sorted.

He is also responding to being sprayed with a water sprayer when he whines. I think if we can keep that up we might manage to teach him not to whine. It will be a slow process, but as long as we begin to see results we will persevere!

My loose menu plan for the week:

Wednesday: Spinach Ricotta & Haloumi Rustic Pie with green salad.

Thursday: Baked Sweet Potato with Salad & Greens

Friday: Pasta Bake (a new recipe I found online - pumpkin, ricotta, spinach etc)

Saturday: Pizza (thanks to ceejay & AS's recipe!)

Sunday: Risotto


I won't plan next weeks yet as it's a bit far away I don't know what I will feel like making. But rest assured it won't be takeaway! I will make something from what I have.

I am doing well with the freezer cleanout. Yesterday we had bologanise (from the freezer) and I made a vege pasta sauce for myself. I made a double mix for myself so unfortunately I didn't actually generate space in my freezer seeing as I put the leftovers in there . But I also took out a chickpea & pumpkin curry for myself and a beef & redwine casserole for DF. I will have rice with mine and DF's I will make into a pot pie. We've also eaten the half loaf of sourdough and some tofu. BUT I made more dog food because of our poochy-guests, so it's pretty much chock-a-block for a while. *sigh*

In other news, we have a little more than an extra one months' minimum mortgage payment in our mortgage account, and are nearly under the 300k mark!

I am going to attempt to make a pizza base at home sometime this week. I know it's pretty normal to do and everyone should know how, but I usually make them at work - or get someone else to make them there for me And it will be a little difficult, seeing as normally they are made with a 25 kg bag of flour - hmm, not sure I want that much pizza. So making it to proportion will be the tricky part. Any good pizza base recipes?

Only 5 weeks and three days til we pick up the engagement ring. I don't understand why it had to take so long, it's very plain. But *sigh* what can you do?

DF's sister still has not had the baby! She was due on Saturday. Any moment now I expect to get a call.
My brothers partner is due in about 5 weeks now too. One of our friends is due TODAY as well, and another of my friends is due in 3 weeks. Another friend is due in 3 months. Ek. So many babies!

I have so much stuff in the freezer right now, I am finding it hard to get anything else in there!

So the month of July will be dedicated to clearing it out, and starting afresh, all organised and orderly. (bah). But no, I do have the intention of keeping the freezer organised after I've done a big cleanout.

At the moment I have available to use:
1/2 a bag of spinach portions
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets
700g beef mince
4 x 100g portions tofu
1/2 loaf dark rye
1/2 loaf multigrain
1 x single serve pumpkin soup
1 serving beef and red wine casserole
1 serving chickpea, tomato & cauli curry
2 servings bolognaise sauce
several portions of lemon quarters
5 sheets puff pastry
1/2 packet filo pastry

i also have bacon rashers, but i won't cook them, and DF has them for breakfast when friends are over. there's also a couple of blueberry and white choc scones, but i eat them sometimes for afternoon tea. the rest of the bulk is ice, ice bricks and dog food.

i have other stuff in the fridge and pantry so don't be afraid to make suggestions with other ingredients

any ideas would be appreciated!

I saved some money yesterday my using my brain. I NEARLY bought a gift pack from the body shop - saves me wrapping it nicely, but I decided at the last minute to just check out their individual pricing - and I realised I nearly paid $8 for wrapping paper!!! What the hell?

For $32.70 I would have gotten 1 body wash, 1 body lotion, a bar of soap and a wash mit. But for $29.70 I got two bars of soap, a body wash, a body lotion and one of those little fancy facewashers, the ones that are packed in a tiny little cylinder and you have to add water, they're called Magic Flannels. So I saved some money and got something extra.

Today am going to be making some meals for Jed. I found out the other day that my friend T also makes dog food for her dogs. Here I was thinking I was the only weird hippy that believed dogs shouldn't be fed out of cans. Who woulda thought???

For anyone that's wondering, this is what I do:

Ingredients:
(as a general rule - dogs should have 40% meat, 30% vegetables and 30% starch)

800g meat (I use whatever is least fatty on special, ie. rump steak, chuck steak, bbq steaks etc - usually around $13 a kilo)
600g finely chopped vegetables (carrots, beans etc)
600g cooked pasta or rice

I sometimes put 1 clove of garlic in the food, but it must be cooked and must be fresh garlic. Garlic helps repel fleas - but spoiled or raw garlic is bad for dogs.

Usually I cook the rice and saute the vegetables and garlic. Once the vegetables are soft, I add the chopped meat and turn off the heat.

If your dog prefers cooked meat you may want to cook it all the way through, but most dogs I have looked after prefer it on the rare side (but completely uncooked meat gives dogs the runs if you give it to them in large quantities without a lot of fibre).

Once the rice or pasta is cooked, add it to the pot with the vegetables and meat and stir through.

Then I put the mix in small containers (usually two serves in one container - but that is for small dogs).

Don't keep the cooked mix in the fridge, unthawed, for more than three days.

I do feed dogs dry food, we buy an organic one made from lamb and rice enriched with vitamins from a guy at the sunday markets.

I have heard you can use oatmeal too, in place of rice or pasta, but I have never tried this - though my parents sometimes feed their dogs porridge in the morning in winter time - same as everyone else in their house! It's cute to see the whole family eating breakfast together, even the dogs, lol.

I have had one person on here, and many in 'real' life, say that making dog food would be too hard and time consuming, but it really is not. Also, I know what my dog is eating, and that it is not some unidentifiable stodge from a can! I feel much better knowing that.

This is a loose meal plan for the week, starting from tonight. I say 'loose' meal plan, because sometimes, as a lot of you probably experience as well, you just don't feel like eating/cooking what you planned to.

Wednesday: Beef Ragou Pie for DF/ Miso soup for me

Thursday: Feta and Oven Roasted tomato tart.

Friday: Pumpkin stuffed ravioli with a tomato sauce.

Saturday: BBQ at a friends house

Sunday: Rice Pilaf (with lamb for DF)

Monday: Bolognaise for DF/ Vege Pasta for me

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Meal for DF/Mexican Tomato Beans for me with rice.



I found out something the other day: DF doesn't like seafood. He likes fish and bug tails, but nothing else! Seafood is the only meat I will occasionally eat (like, once a month or less), and DF grew up with his dad being very into fishing and seafood. I love prawns and crab meat, and we were watching master chef the other day and I mentioned I might make some kind of grilled prawn dish and DF was like 'YUCK!'. So then I found a recipe in a book for a crab linguine that looked delicious, and he said the same thing. It came as quite a shock to me, I've known him for 9 years!

Anyway. I guess you learn something new every day eh?

Spent $32.50 on fresh fruit and veges today at the farmers market.

Menu for the week:

Spicy Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup
Grilled Veges & Tofu/Lamb for DF
Roast Tomato & Garlic Soup
Slow Cooked Rendang Curry
Potato & Leek Soup
Miso Soup, Udon Noodles & Steamed Veges
Thai Pumpkin Soup

Found an interesting soup recipe, broccoli and cauliflower soup with pinenuts and basil. I think I will try that one the week after. Also going to try a vegetable & bean soup, and a cauliflower, chickpea and pumpkin curry with rice.

I have a late shift tomorrow, which means I work from 10.15am til 5.45pm (ok, not really late, but late for ME!). Problem is, it's a shift working out the front of the shop. I am the only one there in the afternoons so I tend to get a bit bored, and well, when you're surrounded by food and you're bored... lets just say it's not that great a combination!

I plan to get up reasonably early (around 7am), have a coffee, blog, do some chores, and eat a late breakfast of porridge, around 930am. That should see me through with a snack, until dinner time. I have taken some meals out of the freezer, lentil dahl for myself and a beef and red wine slow cooked meal for DF.

Last night we had grilled veges (eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, asparagus, pumpkin and haloumi) YUM. I made a dressing to pour over the veges, with chilli lemon and coriander, which just made everything delicious.

DF liked the potato and leek soup I made.

Tonight I think we will have a stirfry with flat rice noodles. I will make extra for DF's lunch. He told me he is trying to not take 2-minute noodles for lunch anymore! Finally, it is getting through to him. Just because the whole meal costs him $1.65 does not mean it's good for him in any way, financially or physically. I am NOT one of those people that say 'it's cheap, it's good' when it comes to food. There is NO WAY I would sacrifice health for a little savings at the checkout. DF sometimes doesn't think this way, but slowly it's getting through to him.

WHY?
Well, I made the worst decision *EVER* yesterday: I decided to BAKE.
(And yes, I do realise that it's somewhat odd that I have a day off from work due to a public holiday, and I spend the day doing ... what I do every day at work anyway...)

I made chocolate chip cookies, spicy pumpkin & herb scones and tomato chutney. We ate the scones with chutney and a salad for lunch. Then we decided to watch a movie (Con Air - I realised I have never seen it before, I was getting it confused with another movie... and anything with Nicolas Cage in it is fine with me...) so I made some popcorn. Then it started getting chilly so I made a cup of tea. Then I needed a chocolate chip cookie to go with my tea...and then another one...

I redeemed myself with potato & leek soup for dinner, but alas, my health kick died the second I started flipping through my recipe books with my morning coffee...

HOWEVER!

I have decided that this is just a minor stumble on my (long and weary, and sometimes chocolate coated) road to a happier and healthier body.

I have discovered SOUP.

Ok, so technically I didn't discover it. But generally my soup consists of throwing everything in the pot and waiting til its cooked. I hardly ever cook a proper soup, from a recipe, except pumpkin soup. But, this week I made a delicious spicy lentil and sweet potato soup. (I don't think DF was overly fond of it, but that's hardly the point here, because *I* liked it). Then I got all enthusiastic about it and made the potato and leek soup I mentioned before. So I think soup is going to be my answer in the battle against winter hibernation-weight-gain. Soup and herbal tea.

If anyone has any good vegetarian soup recipes PLEASE share! Or even soup-esque curries, etc. Next week I am going to attempt to make a roast tomato and fresh basil soup, and also a coriander, coconut and pumpkin soup (I have made that one before - I discovered coconut powder which you mix with hot water to make coconut milk, and it has ZERO cholesterol!)

Anyway, so yes please share your recipes. Or even just the names, and I can google it.

I've decided to go on a bit of a health kick next week. Actually, starting tomorrow. I always go 'I'll start on monday, I'll start on the 1st of the month' etc etc. NO MORE!
Tomorrow is market day. I will be stocking up on fresh fruit and veges, and my aim is a week of super healthy eating, and atleast 40 minutes exercise per day.
This is my proposed eating plan (not really that different from normal, but minus snacks that I usually forget I eat )
Breakfast: (weekend) sourdough toast & scrambled egg (weekdays) Fruit & Yoghurt, Peppermint Tea
Mid Morning: Coffee/Tea
Lunch: Carrot/Cucumber/Celery Sticks with hommous.
Snack: Piece of fruit
Dinner: Steamed Veges, Soup, Stirfry, Salad etc.


I am not sure yet if DF will be doing it. He eats whatever I cook him, but if he wants something different I may make it for him, he works physically so I do not want him to get dizzy or anything. Wish me luck!

haha. yeah right.

No, actually... it is the title of a movie that I saw last night at the cinemas with a friend. I do not normally like paying full price for a movie ($16.50) but after watching it, I am happy that I did.

In the US you probably won't have it at the cinemas(but I could be wrong), it is an Australian film. Very well done with quirky characters, about a lower-middle-class family who's mother suffers a brain aneurism. She is not allowed to do heavy lifting, hold in sneezes or have sex. It's a great movie, if you ever get a chance to watch it, do so. It's a great look at ordinary life in a family, and all of the characters are really endearing. The family goes through such a tough year, made worse by the fact that the mother isn't feeling as close to her husband, and seems to also be going through a 'revelation' type phase of her life, almost like a mid-life crisis. So, as I said before, it's a heartwarming story, see it if you ever get the chance.

We also went out for dinner before the movie, to a nice little vegetarian restaurant. I have been there a few times, it was originally run by hare krishnas but they have taken a step back. Their merchandise is still there, and they still play their music, though. They also give out over 200 meals per week to the homeless.

Anyway. So dinner was $13.50, movie was $16.50, and I also bought a coffee.

Yesterday I also went to the growers market for fruit and vegetables, and spent $27.50.

This morning I went to another market with the intent of buying marigolds to plant near my lettuces, so the bugs don't eat them, but about half the stalls weren't there! The weather has been very windy and rainy lately, so I understand. But they missed out on my sale! I spent $4 on a coffee.

I am planning on going to the supermarket for a few odds and ends. I think I may even be able to stretch this pantry challenge to the week after next week! Why? Because we will probably have leftovers from the party, which I would like to incorporate into our meals next week to use them up.

Oh I nearly forgot:
My exercise challenge for the month was to do 12 sessions of 40 minutes or more of exercise.
Well!
Week 1: 2 sessions (40 minutes yoga each)
Week 2: 5 sessions (60 minutes yoga each)
Week 3: 6 sessions (5x60 minutes yoga, 1x40 minutes pilates each)
Week 4: ?

So, I have done 13 sessions, and I have a whole week to go. I have exceeded my goal and have 7 days left to go!

Next week I plan to do atleast two sessions of pilates, as well as yoga. I know that I will be unable to do any on Saturday, and possibly Sunday, as we will have people over.
I know that yoga is meant to be relaxing, but the dvd that I have is actually really hard! (which I like!) DF snorts and says 'yeah, but I bet it doesn't get your heart rate up', and well, there are several sequences where I am out of breath, so ha!

I am doing well with the pantry challenge. I have decided to not make 'plans' for any meals for the rest of the week and just cook whatever I feel like for dinner when the time comes. Today I bought yoghurt, vege chips and frozen spinach. I didn't have to buy them, I was at the grocery store with a friend and thought 'oh, a new vege chip flavour!' (lime and chilli) and 'oh, that looks like a yummy gourmet yoghurt!' and 'oh i have a pizza base in the freezer, that spinach will do nicely...!'

anyway! I didn't do too much damage, $11.23 all up.

I may just buy the basic fresh fruit and veges at the farmers market on the weekend and stock up on VERY BASIC supplies, like milk, at the supermarket, and continue the challenge into next week.

I will have to start organising for our housewarming next week too. Eeek!

The food plans have been revolving in my head for the past couple of weeks. Here is what I have so far:

To be out when guests arrive:
- Chopped carrot & celery with homemade hommous dip.
- A couple of gourmet bought dips (cashew & basil, beetroot & pinenut).
- These nifty little parmesan dippers I am planning on making, made out of puff pastry and then sprinkled with parmesan and twirled, then oven baked.
- Some lavash bread sprinkled with olive oil and rosemary, then oven baked for a few minutes til crispy, for dipping.

- Some fruit. I was thinking maybe just a bowl of grapes, as I don't want anything that will go brown. (ew).

- A few packs of potato chips.

For a bit later on:

- A couple of bags of spiced potato wedges with chilli sauce.

- Mini guinness pies (DF's request)

- Mini quiches

- Mini cupcakes

- Mini spinach & fetta rolls.


I was thinking that would probably be enough. Then I might go with gamecocks suggestion and order some pizzas later on for who ever is still hanging around at about 7.30-8pm. I'll probably stock up on some soft drinks and ice teas for the non-drinkers. (I'm not planning on drinking myself except perhaps a glass or two of champers).

Does that sound like an alright plan?
So far I have had 13 RSVP's as yes, and 4 maybes, but the official rsvp date is on Friday. I am expecting a Yes from 8-10 more, and am not sure about another 10 or so. All of our friends are quite slack on rsvping, they assume we know they are coming. It's all good and well for laid back events where everything is BYO, but it annoys me to no end when you're actually planning the thing. GAH!

Well, I have done the shopping for the week, so I thought I would type out a list of everything I have on hand. Not only because I like doing lists (), but I wanted to see what everyone elses ideas were for meals. Lunches and breakfasts are sorted out. I am interested in trying out the sachets for the slow cooker - so that I can do it from scratch next time

Freezer:
1 x Serve vegetable pasta sauce
1 x serve mexican beans
2 x serves lentil dahl
bag of frozen peas
1 loaf sourdough rye bread
1 loaf multigrain bread
5 sheets puff pastry
200g beef chuck steak
3 vegetarian sausages
3 packs of 6x beef sausages
1 x vegetarian patty

Fridge:
skim milk /plain yoghurt
plain yoghurt with fruit
butter / parmesan cheese /tasty cheese
feta/ricotta/filo pastry
coconut milk/ sliced beetroot
kalamata olives /sundried tomatoes
chilli/bbq/tomato/soy sauce
tahini/assorted jams/mustard
whole egg mayonaise/8 free range eggs
rice vinegar/balsamic vinegar
pumpkin/bok choi/carrots/brocolli
cucumber/grape tomatoes
mixed lettuce leaves/fresh spinach
green beans/unhusked corn cob
sweet potato/potato/zucchini
lemon/onion/garlic/ginger
plums/bananas/pears

Pantry:
large variety spices/herbs
risoni pasta/spaghetti/penne
flat rice noodles/vermicelli
lentils/ taco shells
white rice/arborio rice/brown rice
sultanas/currants/apricots
pinenuts/walnuts/ tinned peaches
chickpeas/kidney beans/cannelini beans
tinned tomato/tomato passata
wholemeal SR/Plain flour/rice flour
oats/semolina/coconut/yeast
golden syrup/honey/ chocolate chips
castor/brown/raw sugar
tuna/olive oil/bi carb
muesli/beef & red wine casserole slow cooker sachet/beef rendang sachet/garlic & herb lamb shank slow cooker sachet

I have had a pretty productive day today. We got up late (around 8am). DF worked for a few hours and I went to the market and did our weeks worth of grocery shopping. I think I must have been in a 'spendy' mood because I bought a magazine, some hair dye and a pair of jeans as well! The magazine and hair dye comes out of my fun money, and the jeans come out of my stimulus money. I have $428.62 remaining

So, when I got home I cleaned the kitchen and did the breakfast dishes, started cleaning the bathroom & cleaned the toilet, and did my 60 minute yoga dvd.

DF is restoring a table downstairs, so it will be shiny and newly coated for our housewarming party.

My list of things to do today:
- finish cleaning the bathroom
- tidy my desk
- tidy the rest of the office
- tidy the loungeroom & dining roomb tables
- bring in and fold clean washing, put away
- prepare dinner (freshly made ravioli )

So, I have decided to make next week "Eating out of the Pantry Week". I will still buy lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, but my aim is to clear as much out of the freezer, fridge and pantry as I possibly can. Why? Two reasons:
The first reason is, to save money. I'll save money by using up things and being creative, and by not buying things for meals I have planned, but rather making things out of what I have.
The second reason is, I am one of those rather odd people that like to empty their pantry and then restock it again, all fresh and new (with the same things). It's something I actually look forward to in a way. Weird? Yes.

Anyway. So one of the days I am going to eat some lentil dal I froze in single servings for myself, and will make DF a beef and red wine casserole in the slow cooker. I have most of the ingredients for this, just not the fresh vegetables. I am not sure what else I have in the freezer (I think I may have a pasta sauce I made from scratch as well), but I am looking forward to being inventive this week!

Does anyone else do this? What are some great recipes you've 'discovered' when being creative with cooking and cooking from what you've got?

Well, today is Mothers Day. I called my mum this morning to wish her a happy day. I am having coffee with a friend who lives close to me, who's mother passed away from breast cancer two years ago. Her partner is working away for 12 weeks, so she is all alone. I think I will take her a bunch of flowers.

We had a friend stay the night last night, and the risotto I made last night was delicious and cheap, compared with dining out, which is what we usually do when someone comes over.

This is my everyday pic of the week:



A photo taken a while ago at a restaurant. It is one of my favourite dishes (a miso soup with udon noodles, vegetables and lightly fried tofu).

I am going to attempt to make a similar dish tonight, but with soba noodles.

So, because my plan to record the dinners we eat every day died in the arse, my new plan (thanks to cassandra for this idea - though i know it's been done before - but she just reminded me ) is to post a menu plan each week. (My week starts on Saturday because that is the day I go to the market).

So this weeks menu is:

Saturday: Asparagus, Pumpkin, Onion & Pinenut Risotto.

Sunday: Miso Soba Noodle Soup with vegetables. (carrot, bok choi, zucchini & brocolli)

Monday: Rice Pilaf (peas, sultanas, capsicum & brocolli with lamb for DF)

Tuesday: Slow Cooked Tikka Masala Curry (sweet potato, potato, onion, tomato & pumpkin) with rice.

Wednesday: Pumpkin Soup with crispy garlic tortillas

Thursday: Chilli Garlic Soy Stirfry with noodles.

Friday: Either Dining Out or Homemade Pizza.

Today I spent $3.20 on a piece of carrot cake (which was technically a waste of money because I wasn't even hungry - I just 'felt' like it - grrr!), and $20.15 on fuel. The woman at the counter gave me a card that gets me 3c off per litre, if you buy the E10 variety, which I normally do. Yay!

Either this weekend or next weekend, DF and I are going to sit down and work on a list of things we want to buy for the house, and things that need to be done for the house.

I am not sure about DF, but I have a four day weekend next week because of Easter. It's good and bad: I lose out on approx $296 (gross) earnings - but I get two days off!!!

This is the first week of tracking expenses jointly; I am a little apprehensive, but I am going to do my best. Basically I only need to track what we spend in cash really - and just remember what we BUY when we use our credit cards. I think we should be alright.

Tonight I made roast lamb for DF with roast vegetables and steamed greens, and we will probably have leftovers for lunch.

Last night I made grilled garlic salmon with brown rice and a side of grilled veges (capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini & squash).
Tonight I think I will make (thanks to ceejays suggestion) grilled cheese sandwhiches with an assortment of fillings. (I am thinking cheese & pineapple, cheese & tomato & beetroot, cheese & avocado...)
Any other ideas for the next few days? DF still hasn't connected the oven and I am not going to bother him about it for a few days because he has a lot of work on and has been working 12 hour days.
I have: a kettle, a sandwhich press/grill, a rice cooker (which also steams) and a blender.
I was thinking I could grill some veges and an egg and toss it through the rice to make a sort of 'un-fried rice'?

After reading BrooklynGirls last post on the cost to make a salad at home, I was inspired (not only because a greek salad sounded delicious) to see how much it would cost for the same ingredients in Australia.

What I bought:
1 Red Oak Lettuce $2.45
250gm Cherry Tomatoes $2.25
1 bunch Parsley $1.95
1 Avocado $2.49
1 Continental Cucumber $1.69
1 Red Onion $0.46
100g greek fetta $2.91
100g kalamata olives $1.90
700g kent pumpkin $2.06
Total: $18.16

I used all of the ingredients except 5 cherry tomatoes and about 1/3 of the parsley.
The pumpkin I roasted in chunks and drizzled with olive oil.

I was able to make dinner for DF and I, and lunch for tomorrow as well (a slice each of the roasted pumpkin, and salad).

So technically this cost us $4.54 per meal. I think that's pretty alright. I wouldn't find a greek salad around here for under $10. I think it's definately cheaper to eat at home, and healthier.

Random updates:
- my sister 'ran away' from home (meaning, she walked to our place and stayed over) last night. all is fine now apparently. i think it has more to do with her being a teenager than my parents this time lol.
- Went to the bank and we are now set up with internet banking and Life Insurance (accident, trauma, illness AND death cover!) Currently at $61.35 a month, but we are going to make an appointment later on to see if we can get it reduced a bit. It's standard cover, and because neither of us work in a high risk job we might be able to get it tailored to our occupations and save a bit extra.
- Went and got the ultra sound on my leg but I won't know the results til I go to the doctors. Hopefully I will make an appointment this week or next.
- I have been going well on some of my Feb goals and not so well on others. Atleast SOME are going well..
- I have realised I MUST stop using the internet on my phone because it is costing me a lot of money! I got a $12 charge for last month. *sigh* sometimes you just HAVE to look something up on google though, you know?
- A friend of a friend is bugging me to join a bike class at her gym. Not only do I HATE gyms, I have my own exercise bike. When I made an excuse about money, she said 'classes are only $4'. I was like umm... yeah... well... (I am not eager to show the extent of my cheapness...)
- DF made dinner on Sunday night! He made himself a roast lamb and roast veges, steamed side veges and heated up a tofu/bean/tomato mix for me. He also did half of the dishes. ALSO he did the dishes for me last night too because I burnt my hand at work. Not badly, but badly enough for me to whinge about it!
- Speaking of dishes, we have come up with a plan: DF will do the dishes once a week, and cook once a week. Then it means I will only nag him once a week. I don't mind cooking dinner, and I have no idea how to use a lawn mower/whippersnipper/edger so I'd say that's fairly even. We share the laundry evenly and I don't mind the rest of the housework.
- Grocery expenses have been high this month which is a bit of a bummer, though I'm not really sure why. I will have to work on reducing the costs of our meals.

Well, that's all my updates for now. To end on this post, I will leave you with a picture of a tattoo that I got over a year ago:

Well, today was a rather spendy day. I had breaky with some friends and then I went into town to buy some work shirts. I ended up buying the stuff I was talking about earlier for DF's sisters 'pregnancy pamper' pack. Nearly finished it, so when I do I will post a picture.
I did some gardening too, and yesterday DF and I packed a fair bit.

Just wanted to share two beautiful songs that I love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvOOegxKIoI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtUI5MC9tVM&NR=1

Todays Expenses:
Breakfast: $10
Coffee: $4.10
Coffee: $3.75
Snack: $3.70
Shirt: $9.95
Work Shirts: $23.85 (for 3)
Bio Oil: $14.95
Slippers: $7
Moisturising Cream: $1.99
Foot Soakers: $7.90

I have just updated my Dinners Page to include the last couple of days. It is quite interesting actually, I have never really looked at our dinners this way before. I have already determined that we eat WAY too many carbs!!!

Well, I found out I am not cleaning until after lunch, so I went into the shops early (I was actually there before they opened - I got there at 8.20 thinking they opened at 8.30 when really everything opens at 9! Bah!)

I found a good, black, button up, wool, above-knee coat in Target for $89.95. It fits around the shoulders and I did all the stuff like bending down, sitting down, etc. I even took a jumper in to try on underneath. It's better made than the other one I was looking at buying, and it fits much better around the shoulders.





I also bought a skirt, it's so cute. It has pleats on both sides of the leg at the front and sort of a fishtail pleat-style at the back centre: (not a very good photo but oh well)



All up I spent $52 after my $70 of vouchers were deducted. I also bought a coffee while I was waiting for $3.75, so that was my total spending for the day.





I was thinking of going to the supermarket tonight for dinner supplies and then do a proper shop tomorrow, but I think I might be able to stretch it til tomorrow and use some more stuff up in the pantry. I am thinking of making: roast potato, salad and a mexican bean mix. DF had a lamb chop yesterday so I think a meatless dinner will be fine for him tonight