Guilty Pleasures

After something of a hiatus here on Thrifty Mummy (I have been blogging just over on Activate Fundraising which is a bit more business-y) I thought I'd join in again with BritMums blog prompt - guilty pleasures.  So, deep breath, here goes:

1. Miss Marple
Oh, how I hang my head in shame but I LOVE a bit of Marple on the TV.  It is really sad and middle aged and my OH just rolls his eyes whenever it comes on and slopes off out of the room - but I can't resist it.  The intrigue, the who done it, the picture postcard English villages, the knitted cardies, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie being all fuddled and confused but really as sharp as tacks... it's just too much for me to resist.

2. Crisp Sandwiches
I don't actually indulge in these terribly often (honest!) but you can't beat two slices of thick white sliced bread (I'll stoop to 50/50 if I must), slathered in butter (not marg!!) and filled with Walkers Ready Salted crisps.  Yum!

3. Home Magazines
I subscribe to Ideal Home but still buy Real Homes, Good Homes AND House Beautiful!  I know, I know, I am supposed to be Thrifty Mummy but this really is my one great indulgence.  I CANNOT get enough of house magazines.  I drool over gardens and plan out my own vintage style kitchen while flicking through the lives and homes of others.  I even have a scrap book of my favourite bits from magazines past.  It's such a serious addiction, I am considering therapy.

Right, that's it, confession time over.  I need to go and have a lie down on the sofa with a copy of Ideal Home and a Marple DVD on the go...

NaBloMo?!? What?

Inspired by NaNoWrMo - or something like that (write a 50,000 novel in November) I thought I'd jump to the BritMums challenge and write a blog post every day for the month of November.  I shall apologise in advance for any short posts, late night posts or slightly waffly posts - but thought I'd start off the month with a cheeky wee recipe (I am after all, supposed to be all about the saving money and all that).


I was hoping to start with a pumpkin related recipe but - for anyone who read my Scary Pumpkin post yesterday, you'll know why I have failed to do that.  So, by stark contrast we have (drum roll, anticipation, excitement - OK, I've oversold this)...


Thai Style Turkey Patties! (courtesy of last month's Good Food magazine)


We love Thai food in our house and these were mild enough that the kids liked them too.  Oh, and they're healthy at a stunningly low 173 calories per portion (if you're trying to be healthy in the run up to Christmas).


Ingredients:
400g turkey breast or fillet roughly chopped
1 lemongrass stalk
2 garlic cloves
zest & juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
small bunch coriander, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 nests medium wheat noodles (I used soba noodles)
300g stir fry veg (whatever you like/your kids will eat!)
sweet chilli sauce, to serve (optional)


1. Heat the grill to medium.  Put the turkey in a food processor and pulse until minced.  Add the lemongrass, garlic and lime zest, and half the soy sauce, coriander and chilli, then pulse again until combined.  Tip the mix into a bowl and add some black pepper.  

2. Shape into 8 patties, then transfer to a non-stick baking tray and grill for 3 - 4 minutes each side, until cooked through.

3. Meanwhile, soak the noodles following pack instructions, then drain and add the vegetables (I stir fried them first but I think the recipe intended for them to be served raw), the remaining soy sauce and the lime juice.  Toss well, divide between plates and sprinkle with the remaining coriander and chilli.  Serve with the turkey patties and some sweet chilli sauce for dipping, if you like.

This serves 4 people and made a great quick and easy Friday night tea - like takeaway but without the MSG!

'Best Day Ever!!!'

The title of today's post is, for the eagle eyed among you, a quote from Tangled - quite possibly my daughter's favourite film AND coincidentally (and rather fortunately for this blog post) the film that was played most on the long drive to our holiday this year.  I say fortunately because this post is about the best day spent with my family which has to be the fantastic, fabulous, exhausting, entertaining, thrilling, funny and down right brilliant day spent at Legoland Windsor.


After a week on a farm in Devon, we decided to take a detour on the long trip 500 miles north - but didn't tell the kids what we had planned.  On the last morning of our holidays, the sun shone, the temperature was already hitting 20 degrees as we left the hotel at 9am and it was all looking perfect.  Then we got lost in Eton (which doesn't have a direct driving route through it to Windsor even though it looks as though it does on the map!!!).  The kids still had no idea where we were going although we were getting rather hot under the collar especially as my sister 'Auntie Carole' was already at Legoland and phoning with updates on how busy the car park was getting.  To keep the kids off the scent, we told them we were going to Windsor Castle.  Massive huffs and harrumphs from the back seat - sneaky grins shared between us in the front :-)


As we got nearer, Cheeky spotted a road sign and, voice shaking with excitement, whispered 'Are we going to Legoland?'  Shrieks of joy from the back when we confirmed that indeed we were.  And what a day!  Roller Coasters, Viking Rides, Pirate Training Camps, Fire Engines, Hot Air Balloons and, of course, the ubiquitous Lego itself!  Not to mention, the miniature land which they used to show on Blue Peter when I was a kid.  We hired a Q-Bot to avoid standing for too long in queues which was our only expense (£15 each, incidentally, so not cheap).  However, Thrifty Mummy isn't my name for nothing - our tickets had been purchased via Tesco Clubcard vouchers which saved us a small fortune.

Top recommendations have to be the Water Park (if you get a hot day that is); the Driving School (where they get a 'driving licence' afterwards) and Pirate Falls (bring a change of clothes!).  Three months later and we're all still raving about Legoland and planning our next trip back there - I think the photos say it all...

In the Viking Maze (pre-soaking)

Scary Driver

Careful Driver

Mini Scotland

Kids Rollercoaster - still scared me!

Splash!  (We are actually in a boat under all that water)

Soaked

Check out other Best Days at Brit Mums...

My Pet Peeve...

This week's Brit Mums Blogging Prompt got me thinking - for all of 5 seconds!  Because my pet peeve is such an obvious one...

Homework!

Not so much for Toots - she's just started P1 so it's all reading books (Biff and Chip anyone?) and key words and lovely learning to read stuff.  No, it's Cheeky Boy's homework that really gets me- and he's only in P4 (all of 8 years old!).

Ever since P2, we've been bombarded with homework.  And this year is the worst yet!  Spelling or writing on a Monday (he'd rather stick pins in himself than write a story - especially after a day at school) .  Reading on a Wednesday and Friday.  Maths on a Thursday.  And the occasional piece of project work thrown in for good measure too.  Correct me if I'm wrong but if they need to do this amount of work at home, what on earth are they doing at school?!

Now that they're in P4, they're also expected to write tdown what their homework tasks are and when it's due in their school diaries (CB's makes it home about twice a week if I'm lucky even though it should come home daily!) and the teacher doesn't check that they've done it.  Because they're supposed to be responsible enough to do it themselves.  Right.  Last week, I made the mistake of asking the teacher why they hadn't had homework (as it was so unusual I was starting to suspect something was up).  And I was right.  He'd missed not 1 but 4 pieces of homework - all due the following day!!!

And, perhaps it's just my son (but I don't think so) but he's neither mature enough or focused enough to take himself merrily off to do his homework as soon as he gets in from school - unless it's maths (but sadly, it very rarely is).  More often than not it's spelling - which requires input from me; project work - which requires digging around the recycling for craft materials, researching the internet or generally helping to hunt down either raw materials or information.  And frequently, we fall out over it.  I haven't seen him all day - it would be nice to spend some fun time with him.

There seems to be no recognition that a) they should be doing the work in school b) most parents work so don't have the luxury of long afternoons to get homework done and c) kids have other things going on besides school - like playing, going to the park, going for walks, sports, visiting their relatives - that kind of thing.  All part of life's rich experience and all that - or is that just me?!

I'm 40. I've got O'Grades, Highers, a Degree and a Postgrad (this isn't me boasting just illustrating a point). Point being?

I'VE DONE MY FLIPPIN' HOMEWORK!!!!

Thrifty Ways to Get My Groove Back