Saturday 19 May 2012

Eating from the freezer challenge/cash on the side

Good Morning  Lovely Readers and a warm welcome to Anne-Marie and Tangled Sweatpea,


Now last night was earmarked to enjoy the contents of my secret sister swap but you know what they say about best laid plans.....


Little Sister was rushed into hospital with chest pains on Wednesday and was still there yesterday. Is it something in the air I wonder? (regular readers of my blog will be aware that there have been a few heart scares recently including my own). Anyway, yesterday lunchtime I got a text from Sister requesting removal of her car from school car park and a wardrobe of clothes from her home to be brought in to hospital plus all of her gadgets -  Sister is an unashamed technophile - Ipad, Kindle ... you name it, she has it. It is 25 miles from our house to hers! I set off with Mr Thrifty at 2pm. Arrived at her school, collected car and headed for her home to collect items requested. Left there, shopped at A**a for remaining items and got to the hospital just before 6pm. A NHS employee then told me, at the entrance to the acute cardiac ward, that visiting wasn't until 6.30 and asked if I would like to wait in the relatives' room. At this point my head swivelled much like the scene in the Exorcist and I replied (in Exorcist voice) that 'No, I would not like to wait, I would like to see her now.' 




Well, it had been a long day! She took the bag into Sister who then took control and let me into the ward. I sat with her until 8.30 crocheting and listening to the saga. She has the ward in order and has managed to change her bed because another looked better and also an alarm because hers was damaged... you have to laugh! She had even managed to get Harold, in the next bed, to give her his jelly from tea time! She is now awaiting transfer to a larger hospital in Norwich for an angiogram and possible angioplasty. She is only 45! Unfortunately there is a glut of defunct heart genes coming down from my father's side of the family. Pumpkin and Pie are safe with Nana and I departed with a large bag of washing and further instructions for purchases to be made. Sister is busy writing 'How to organise the world from a hospital bed'.....


On a more pleasant note,  I have been trying to follow the wonderful Sft's challenges all month, but have only just got around to blogging about them. You can find the challenge here:  http://sftandthe101challenge.blogspot.co.uk/


Cash on the side - the idea was to make some extra cash this month, over and above normal income:


A lucky break occurred when Mr Thrifty received a tax rebate. So we comfirtably made our £50.
I also wrote to Mr More Reasons to Shop at..... having found a 'foreign body' in a Spanish tapas dish I had bought and received £25 in vouchers.




I am also intending to sell some stuff on eBay and to do a car boot sale, but am waiting for a) some time and b) some decent weather.


Eating from the Freezer:
We have been shopping simply all month - veggies and fruit, milk, bread etc and trying to empty the cupboards, fridge and freezer. 


For some bizarre reason I can't write below the menus, so I'll sign off here and leave you (if you so wish) to read what we are eating this month. Will I get to enjoy my Secret Sister package tonight I wonder... watch this space............


Have a lovely day

Love Mrs Thrifty
xxx


The menus have looked like this: ( a bit repetitive in places but at least it is fulfilling the challenge)

Weekly Meal Planner
Menus for  May 2012 (beginning Monday 30th April)

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner (tea)
Monday 30th April
Poached egg on toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Chilli (quorn) + rice
Tuesday
Porridge + yogurt
Cous cous salad
Spaghetti bolognaise  (quorn)
Wednesday
Porridge + yogurt
Vegetable soup + oat cakes
Veggie sausages/sausages
 + mash + peas
Thursday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Oat cakes + hummus
Wholemeal pasta + pesto
Chiabatta
Friday
Boiled eggs + toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Mozzarella burgers in wholemeal rolls + spelt salad

Saturday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Butternut squash soup + hot bread
Quorn provençale casserole + cous cous

Sunday
Bagels and honey
Spinach + feta tart with roasted vegetables
Cucumber sandwiches
Lemon meringue pie
Monday 7th May
Poached egg on toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Quorn shepherd’s pie
carrots
Tuesday
Granola + fruit
Vegetable soup + croutons
Vegetable moussaka
Green salad
Wednesday
Porridge + yogurt
Parsnip + parmesan soup + toast
Spinach tortellini + tomato sauce

Thursday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Stir fry tofu, vegetables + noodles
Fish cakes, oven wedges, salsa + beans
Friday
Scrambled eggs + toast
Minestrone soup
Oat cakes + hummus
Spinach + feta parcels, oven baked diced potatoes, peas.
Saturday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Spanish omelette
salad
Chicken/quorn escalopes
Bubble + squeak
Apple crumble + custard
Sunday
Granola
OUT
Lemon meringue pie
Monday 14th May
Poached egg on toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Beans on toast
Tuesday
Porridge + yogurt
Hummus + rice cakes
fruit
Quorn chilli + rice/pitta
Wednesday
Porridge + yogurt
Vegetable soup + oat cakes
Veggie sausages
 + mash + peas
Thursday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Oat cakes + hummus
Wholemeal pasta + pesto
Green salad
Friday
Boiled eggs + toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Mozzarella burgers + spelt salad
Saturday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Butternut squash soup + hot bread
Quorn provençale casserole + cous cous
Sunday
Mushrooms on toast
OUT
Quorn/chicken korma + nan bread
Apple crumble + soya cream
Monday 21st May
Poached egg on toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Falafel, pitta + green salad
(yogurt dressing)
Tuesday
Porridge + yogurt
Cous cous salad
Quorn bolognaise 
Wednesday
Porridge + yogurt
Vegetable soup + oat cakes
Veggie sausages/sausages
 + mash + peas
Thursday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Oat cakes + hummus
Wholemeal pasta + pesto
Chiabatta
Friday
Boiled eggs + toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Mozzarella burgers + spelt/ burgers in wholemeal rolls

Saturday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Veggie soup + hot bread
Quorn provencale casserole + cous cous

Sunday
Fruit smoothie
Quorn/chicken korma + nan bread
Lemon meringue pie
 Crumpets
Monday 28th  May
Poached egg on toast
Vegetable soup + croutons
Chilli + rice
Tuesday
Porridge + yogurt
Cous cous salad
Quorn  bolognaise 
Wednesday
Porridge + yogurt
Vegetable soup + oat cakes
Veggie sausages/sausages
 + mash + peas
Thursday
Porridge + yogurt + blueberries
Oat cakes + hummus
Wholemeal pasta + pesto
Chiabatta

11 comments:

  1. Hope your Sister is back on her feet soon, she may run the entire staff off if not!! Ha, that really is funny that she has them all jumping. Your menu is so FANCY!!! Just country cookin around our place using lots of leftovers, Ha

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  2. Thank you for the hello! I hope your sister is soon on the mend!
    Victoria xx

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  3. Menu doesn't look too bad to me. Glad to hear both you and your sister are as okay as you can be in the circumstances. Any more news on your 'heart problem'?

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  4. Hope your Sister is out of hospital soon.Also just wanted to say Thank you so much for my lovely parcel.You have made my day.week,month.I love everything in it and you have me spot on.
    once again thank you
    nto
    xxx

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  5. I am joining in on the best wishes for you sister! She sounds like a dynamic and lovely person.

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  6. Best wishes to your sister, you both HAVE to take extra special care of yourselves.

    Your menu is fantastic I wish I could plan that far ahead, I should I really should!!

    Sue xx

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  7. Only 45 ! doesn't sound like she is being held back by any of it. Give her a Pinky & she could "take over the World" ! LOL Your menu looks so good, will send my hubby right over he loves Lemon Meringue pie ! Emailed you about your trip; should maybe send you off one with my phone number too maybe?

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  8. Thank you so much for all those comments. Sister is now in the large, new Norfolk and Norwich hospital awaiting angiogram and is continuing to put the world to rights from her hospital bed. No news yet from GP regarding my 'mix-up' - am to call GP this week if I haven't heard. xxx

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  9. I wish I could meet you and your sister. You sound like a great pair. I wish you both the best.

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  10. I hope your sister is going to be OK. we will definitely eat out of a freezer this week,we are pretty broke right now:)

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  11. Just catching up with blog posts.

    Firstly I hope your sister is ok soon. She sounds a bit like mine, personality wise. LOL!

    Great news about the challenges. What a result getting those vouchers.

    And eating from the freezer is going well for you too. I love your meal planner. Must give me the recipe for quorn prov.

    Take care

    Sft x

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Thank you for commenting - I do enjoy reading them xx