Thursday, 04-11-21

 Good morning!
Yesterday, I was thinking ahead to December, as one does at this time of year, and wondering  about how I can keep on track for most of the month, even though there's such a lot of festive stuff around.

What I've done (my 'strategy', if you like) is to start searching for delicious looking, Christmas vibe recipes and printing them off with the aim of having at least one festive feeling meal or item each day in December - Advent meal planning, if you like.
I have three SW Christmas recipe books (two are pretty ancient and I will have to 'value' them anew rather than relying on what it ways on the page), I have old magazines and there's loads on the internet, some of which look fairly or very nice (some don't!!!)

There's things like gingerbread baked oats/porridge, mince pie ditto,  Christmas mince pie bread pudding (this looks rather good)\ , Christmas salad, smoked salmon mousse and this one that I really like the look of, smoked salmon, cottage cheese and rocket rolls.  More sweet than savoury at the moment but I have only internetted so far

I NEED to be kept interested and excited in order to stay on track and am hoping this will work well through December.
What do you think?

Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast - nothing special but tasty, all the same.

Lunch - a bits and bobs soup with some grated cheese.
It had half a can of tomatoes, half a can of cannellini bans, half and onion, one roasted red pepper in brine, a little pot of turkey in gravy, some chicken stock powder and some seasonings.  So warming and so filling.
I had one plum afterwards and the rest later in the afternoon.

Dinner - and I have to say this was the nicest Count on Us meal I have had so far.  Chicken and mushroom pie.  I'll get that again, for sure, once I need to refill the freezer which won't be this side of Christmas, that's for sure.
At the last moment, I decided to roast the sprouts after giving them a couple of minutes in the microwave.  They were lovely.
I was very full so, for once, didn't have any yogurt for dessert.

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt
SW:  half a syn for the yogurt

L:  I'm not sure - at the time of writing, Val might be coming here for a meal or we might be eating out at Cressing Temple.
The latter is more problematic but if it's the former, this is what I plan:
cheese and onion chutney toastie, side salad; fruit
I have all the ingredients to hand so it's idea for a maybe meal.
SW:  up to two healthy extra As for cheese, one healthy extra B for bread, one syn for the chutney and one syn if I have mayo on the salad

D:  beef stroganoff, veg; yogurt
I've made this before and it is really nice  The recipe is here.  https://www.supergoldenbakes.com/beef-stroganoff/
I have a big steak in the freezer so I will use half to make this and have the other half tomorrow evening
SW:  half a tbsp cornflour is half a syn, I'll probably use yogurt instead of quark but, perhaps, will spend three syns on up to two tbsp lighter crème fraiche.

E:  maybe a good walk around Cressing Temple, maybe an inside something after Val has gone, it just depends.

Summary:
up to two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
up to five syns

From the freezer: 
sliced bread
steak
veg