Is it bad I didn’t notice....

 

Who said that? What? Hmmm?

Pork in cider and cream..... oohhhhhhhh

 

So today I have made lazy chicken pot pie!
All I have to do is cook some green veg & simple meal! Right I only stood yesterday chopping carrot, celery, onion & garlic- sweating them gently for 20- 30 minutes before adding chicken pieces, seasoning, fresh thyme from the garden & then making gravy from scratch but I did use veg bouillon as a bit of a cheat. Then cooking the one pot wonder for another 20 mins- chilling overnight! Oh & then making some pastry & getting most of it over the floor. Yes I say to my husband who’s just arrived home after working away all week & staying in hotels, eating in restaurants 3 times a day....... an easy meal!

 

Weve just got spag boll tonight.
I dont have the imagination to do anything more fancy today

 

I’m trying to eat healthy, but the thought of spaghetti Bolognese with loads of cheese, um bit of garlic bread & a big salad has got my mouth watering.
I made a chicken & veg soup yesterday so will blend that down tomorrow & add some butter beans & the last of the turkey from Sunday to the mix. All I can think of is food at the moment, I’m even watching the food network channel!!!
Not good at diets!
Apart from see food!!!!!!

 

Ive had a really busy few days with WI related things - my fault for getting too carried away! So I ate out last night and today was a nightmare - all mealtimes got screwed up so after a huge slice of carrot cake at a social event this afternoon ( first food all day) I had a cheese sandwich at 7pm then went off to chair a committee meeting, Back home at 10pm for a very large gin and tonic, peanuts and chocolate! What a weird day!

Tomorrow is no better but I have taken out a casserole from the freezer for tea!

 

I ended up eating a bowl of cereal at midnight yesterday after a similar mixed-up day.
Today is our pasto and pesto night. Home made pesto, but not home made pasta this time.i can't wait!

 

Last nights pot pie, had one pot meal the day before & used the leftovers- pastry crust on the one pot meal! Well it cuts down on washing !
Soup in fridge I made, had it chunky now going to blitz it smooth! What’s left over from lunch I will add the remains of the turkey cooked on Sunday as roast to this concoction...- I will fry onions, garlic, curry herbs & spices, aubergine, green beans, mushrooms in coconut cream & add the turkey last thing, Tim of tomatoes squirt of tomato paste & ladle in some of the lunch time soup! A splash of milk & voila! Another so called easy meal... have frozen nan bread etc to make it easier!
Love left overs!!!

 

That sounds lovely @DesperateofDevon . Ive got some leftover roast chicken that needs finishing up and I might try that myself.

 

I have been reading this thread (thank you for sharing) but not posted. Joining the subject of food and Christmas together I did cheat and brought some mince pies yesterday (totally addicted) but also brought ingredients to make a Christmas cake next week (my Gran’s recipe)
Yesterday we had duck with red currant sauce and roasted rosemary spuds. Today back to a chilli con carne

 

I used a variation of @DesperateofDevon s idea - I used onion, no mushrooms, but I found a red pepper going wrinkly at the back of the fridge, so that went in, plus a few chopped green beans, some Thai green curry sauce, a tin of coconut milk and finally the last of the roast chicken. All eaten with rice. My goodness it was nice.

I boil up the chicken carcus too @Palerider . I used to use the stock to make risotto, but I dont have time to stand and stir it anymore, so it usually gets used as the basis of soup or in a stew.

I have a variation on easy pot pies. OH has to have a gluten free diet, I havent mastered the art of GF pastry (it all falls apart when I make it) and the stuff you can buy tastes like cardboard, so I make a savoury crumble with lots of herbs in the crumble mix. I have a cast iron frying pan, so I make the pie mixture in there (frying where necessary), add a lot of stock/gravy, sprinkle the crumble mix in a thin layer over the top so it soaks up the liquid and put the whole lot in the oven to cook the crumble.

I must admit though that there are days when I cannot cook and some days (like today) when OH has had a seizure and I dont know when or even if he will be eating today. I have a stack of ready meals for when that happens, so if OH gets up and announces that hes hungry I can just stick one in the microwave and get it down him before he falls asleep again.

 

So I might have something to help bind gluten free flour & make it behave like it’s contemporary
Xanthan Gum, It’s gluten free & helps bind/ thicken - I put bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent in cakes & in pastry I use an egg with half butter/trex

Have had huge successes with this!

Xx

 

Yes, Ive got Xanthan gum and Ive tried using egg instead of water to bind it, I still find the pastry breaks up.
There are always alternatives.

 

@canary - gosh you brought back some memories. When I was in my teens (a looooong while ago) I had to go on a gluten free diet. This was long before GF products were as readily available as they are now. Christmas was looming, I was feeling hard done by and the one thing I wanted more than anything else was a mince pie. Mum bought some GF flour (which was an astronomic price then). She made the first lot of mince pies and I dived in - the pastry was so hard my teeth squeaked when I bit into it. Back to the drawing board ....... the next batch arrived and when I picked one up from the plate, the pasty was so short the filling dropped through the bottom onto my lap! We gave up after that and thankfully it wasn't long before I was allowed to resume a reasonably normal diet.

 

Yes, @Toony Oony , Christmas is hard in a GF diet. Ive managed to work out a GF recipe for Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. I also make GF cranberry and chestnut stuffing for the turkey, but I buy in mince pies lol

 

Loving the new avatar @Palerider !

 

I think I am addicted to sweet potatoes! I have only recently started using them and absolutely love them!