Delicious Stew

Using another of my beloved packet mixes and my wonderful slow cooker, I made a delicious stew today. A leek, some frozen broccoli, half of the largest onion I have ever bought, two Quorn fillets and some random pieces of Quorn, all thrown into the cooker with a packet of chicken casserole mix (once again meat-free, although I had to check carefully) and cooked for seven hours. It was amazing to come into my room and have a hot, tasty meal ready for me - especially since for some reason I am feeling very wobbly this week. I haven't fainted at all but I keep becoming light headed. Coincidentally I've got a health check up next week so if I haven't wobbled all the way over by that point I'll bring it up.

Vegetarian Chilli con Carne

Since the success of the vegetable stew, made with a chicken casserole spice mix, I have been buying packet mixes far more often. They're useful because the recipe is printed on the back and very easy to follow with few, uncomplicated ingredients, and despite the fact that they usually include meat, the actual packet mix is normally vegetarian. During my weekly shop I discovered that the Schwartz mixes were 2 for £1, so I had a sift through to find the ones marked vegetarian and came home with a chilli con carne mix and a shepherd's pie mix.

A recipe AND an ingredient all in one!

Slow-Cooker Curry Experiment

The end result was bright orange and delicious

Because of my mission to empty and defrost the freezer, I haven't been cooking and freezing anything lately. Meals have been whatever I can get together quickly; risotto a couple of nights, sausages and salad in burger buns on others, until I have reached the point where my freezer now contains three almost-finished Quorn packets of various types, some broccoli, some bread and the last two pieces of spinach quiche. The trouble is that with term in full swing once more and my new schedule involving very early mornings but not much earlier nights, I'm not managing to cook dinner before I fall asleep. Last night I found myself eating a Graze box as my evening meal, after a lunch of salad leaves between mayonnaise-smeared bread, and I decided it was time to get sorted.