Archive for 2011
Preparing for the New Year
With the New Year fast approaching many of us are reflecting on the last year’s events and preparing for the new year ahead of us. For many of the people who contact Payplan, they may be looking for free debt advice or some assistance with their financial issues.
At this time of year we see many new clients contacting us as they resolve to start a fresh.
By contacting Payplan early on with your debt problems you can get everything in order before things spiral out of control. Many who come to us say ‘I wish I’d called you sooner’ in doing this they would have avoided further hassle from creditors, legal action or unnecessary distress.
This New Year, what are your resolutions?
What Can I cook With Leftovers? from Penny’s Recipes
As you plan your Christmas food, you order the turkey, goose or beef, ham and a pork pie. Plan a nut roast for the vegetarians, cheese and crackers, ice cream, puddings, plenty of fruit and chocolate. The list gets longer and the cupboards start to fill.
You are busy ensuring you have enough for your guests – the invited ones and the unexpected ones Sometimes it is difficult to gauge just how much you will need when you have guests, when you are not used to catering for many people. And the last thing you want to do is run out of food.
However when you get to the other side of Christmas you may realise you still have a lot of food in the fridge. Letting food go to waste is heartbreaking, not to mention hard on the wallet. When faced with leftover meat and vegetables, that may be looking past its best, it can be hard to visualise what to do with it – so here are a few suggestions from Penny’s Recipes that you can have ready. That way you don’t have to face avoid endless turkey sandwiches and turkey curry – or worse throwing food away.
Meat Balls
These can be made with any leftover meat. You can add in any leftover mashed potatoes or green vegetables too. Add a few herbs for extra flavour – or even a little chilli powder.
300g (approx) leftover meat, shredded
½ onion finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Place meat, onions, cheese, egg and salt an pepper in a bowl
Stir together and form into small balls
Add a little milk if too dry
Roll in the breadcrumbs
Place on a tray in the fridge for 30 minutes
Fry in some oil until crispy and brown
Serve with vegetables or with pasta in a tomato sauce
Savoury Nut Mince
Leftover nut roast can be crumbles and mixed with vegetables for a delicious savoury, nut mince. It can even be the basis of a vegetarian shepherds pie.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1-2 slices nut roast
3-4 portions of cooked vegetables
200ml stock or tin of chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Sauté some onions in the vegetable oil
Add some cooked leftover vegetables
Add a little stock or a tin of chopped tomatoes
Crumble the nut roast in and stir
Heat through thoroughly
Serve with mashed potatoes and extra gravy
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Alternatively place in a baking dish or casserole, cover with mash
Sprinkle with grated cheese
Bake on the oven at 18- degrees C for about 30 minutes
Chicken / Turkey and Vegetable Soup
Soup is a fabulous, simple and warming way to use up your leftovers. All you need is some left over meat and vegetables, and some stock. Add a flourish of herbs and spices and you have a warming winter lunch
300g (approx) Turkey or Chicken, shredded
Mixed cooked vegetables
1 litre stock
1 teaspoon dried herbs
Squirt of tomato purée
Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan
Stir and pour over the stock
Add the herbs and tomato purée
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
Adjust seasoning and serve.
What Can I cook With Leftovers? from Penny’s Recipes
As you plan your Christmas food, you order the turkey, goose or beef, ham and a pork pie. Plan a nut roast for the vegetarians, cheese and crackers, ice cream, puddings, plenty of fruit and chocolate. The list gets longer and the cupboards start to fill.
You are busy ensuring you have enough for your guests – the invited ones and the unexpected ones Sometimes it is difficult to gauge just how much you will need when you have guests, when you are not used to catering for many people. And the last thing you want to do is run out of food.
However when you get to the other side of Christmas you may realise you still have a lot of food in the fridge. Letting food go to waste is heartbreaking, not to mention hard on the wallet. When faced with leftover meat and vegetables, that may be looking past its best, it can be hard to visualise what to do with it – so here are a few suggestions from Penny’s Recipes that you can have ready. That way you don’t have to face avoid endless turkey sandwiches and turkey curry – or worse throwing food away.
Chicken / Turkey Risotto
This is a delicious way to use up some meat and you can chuck in some leftover vegetables as well . It is best made with risotto (arborio) rice so if you think this could be useful, add it to your shopping list before Christmas. Then use what you have to make up a lovely meal. Feel free to vary the ingredients to adapt to what you have left over.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 pepper (green or red), de-seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
300g / 10oz arborio rice
About 300g /10 oz cooked chicken/turkey/beef/goose chopped into small pieces
100g / 3 oz frozen peas/ cooked vegetables/mushrooms
750ml / 1 1/4 pints stock (vegetable or chicken)
75g / 2 1/2 ozs hard Italian cheese (or similar), grated
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large, heavy frying pan or saucepan
Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes
Add the pepper, garlic and cook for a further 4 minutes, stirring frequently
Add the rice, stir and cook for a minute or two
Pour in about one quarter of the stock
Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer gently until most of the stock is absorbed
Add the meat
Add about one third of the remaining stock, stir, bring to boil and simmer gently
Once most of the liquid is absorbed, add most of the remaining stock
Add the peas or other vegetables and stir
Bring back to simmering
Taste the rice – when done it will be soft with a little bite
Add more stock if further cooking is required,
When cooked, stir in the grated Parmesan cheese
Season with salt and pepper
Plan to Save Money
1. Decide on your budget
2. Make a menu plan for the festive season
3. Plan some tasty budget meals that people love as well as more festive fayre
4. Make a shopping list
5. Cost out your shopping using your local supermarket website – if it blows your budget, plan again
6. Check out the comparative cost of vegetables and eggs at your local market or greengrocer
7. Try baking your own cakes, mince pies and biscuits – have a fun baking day with friends
8. Ask each guest to bring some specific food or drink – a dessert, or a starter – they will probably want to bring something and glad to know it is something you need.
9. Don’t assume large packets are always relatively cheaper than two small packets, check
10. Don’t always buy the biggest – consider buying a Turkey breast rather than a whole turkey
11. Ensure you have containers and freezer bags to put leftovers in for the fridge or freezer
12. Have some standby dry ingredients, such as pasta and rice, to make a last minute meal for the unexpected
Christmas Wishes
From all of us at Payplan we want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
For those of you that are looking for free debt advice you can fill in our online form and someone will call you back or you can call during our opening hours of 9am to 3pm on the following dates:
Friday 23rd December to Saturday 24th December
Monday 26th December to Saturday 31st December
Monday 2nd January 2012
Normal hours will resume on Tuesday 3rd January.
For those of you that are already in a plan with us, you can access your account via PayplanPlus and email your case officer with any queries which will be answered when they are back on Tuesday 3rd January.
