Jigsaw heart made out of a an old jigsaw

This looks very effective and is a good way of using jigsaws with missing pieces

Start by cutting out a heart out of cardboard, wide enough to support the jigsaw pieces. Glue the jigsaw pieces to the heart, hiding as much as the cardboard as possible. Carry on layering until you cannot see the cardboard. To add stability glue some jigsaw pieces onto the back of the heart too. Leave to dry, glue a piece of ribbon on the top and display

Yum Homemade garlic bread

Don't buy when you can make your own. This can also make use of stale bread, slice the bread, mix garlic puree, parsley and butter or margarine.  Melt and brush over each side of the slice bread, if you are freezing then do so now, if not then bake in the oven on 170 degrees C until golden

Try these fresh and new ideas for lunchboxes instead of a tired old sandwich

Sweet potato and chickpea balti recipe - goodtoknow

Sweet potato and chickpea balti recipe - goodtoknow

Toys to make

http://m.myfamilyclub.co.uk/article/52134

Homemade Garlic Sausage frittata

Nom nom nom Garlic Sausage and Feta cheese

Healthy meals the kids will love

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/healthy-food-kids-will-love

Living Social deal at Marinades, Cheltenham

Part of the deal, 2 x starters, 2 x mains,  2 glasses of wine for £26. This was the Jerk chicken with vegetables and potatoes

Baking ideas for the half term holidays

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/feature/family-and-kids

Fab way to upcycle film negatives

25% off with a valid NUS card

Meatfree Monday recipe @70p per portion

Save money by having at least one day a week Meatfree. Sweet Potato and Chickpea Balti Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, cut into thin wedges 3 tbsp Balti curry paste 500g Sweet Potato, diced 400g tin chopped tomatoes 400g tin chickpeas, drained 125 g frozen spinach Method 1. Heat oil, add onion and fry for 3-4 minutes 2. Stir in the curry paste, add potato, cook until softer 3. Add tinned tomatoes and 300ml hot water and the chickpeas 4. Bring to the boil, simmer 10-15 minutes. 5. Season 6. Microwave the frozen spinach, spoon on top of the Balti, serve with Naan and/or Rice My tip would be to maybe par-boil the potatoe before adding so that the cooking time is reduced.

Hearty cheap soups for the whole family

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-soup-recipes-kids

Meal plan week commencing 10th February

Monday - Chicken, Broccoli and Blue Cheese pasta
Tuesday - Baked potatoes with Cheese, Baked beans and Ham
Wednesday - Chicken pie with Mash, gravy carrots and green beans
Thursday - Fish burgers in a wholemeal roll with a slice of melted cheese, chips and baked beans
Friday -  Daughter has a cooked school lunch,  I will have whatever leftovers there are.
Saturday - The bloke and I are out for dinner using a Living Social voucher for a local Caribbean restaurant Marinades, the daughter will be at a mates
Sunday - Roast pork with carrots, broccoli, roast pots, mash and Yorkshire pud.
I am on a mission to run down the freezer and pantry contents so all I will have to buy for the weeks dinners are garlic bread, potatoes, baked beans and milk. The rest I already have and breakfasts consist of cereal and toast, lunches of sandwiches and fruit

Chicken, Broccoli and Blue cheese pasta

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/537741/chicken-broccoli-and-blue-cheese-pasta

Online £1 shop

http://www.hereforapound.com/

Be My Valendine M&S Dine In Meal offer

Be My Valendine    

Bad weather activities

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/259388/What-to-do-with-the-kids-if-the-weather-s-bad?utm_campaign=FAMILY-kidsbadweatheractivities-080214-0830&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=main

Ideas for Spring Half Term activities in London, free

http://www.timeout.com/london/kids/half-term-in-london

2014 Recipe Challenge

I decided in January that my food challenge for 2014 was to try a new recipe at least once a month, my two new recipes for January were the Moraccan Turkey Kofta kebabs pictured on an earlier post, this was for the Mumsnet Wholegrain Challenge I had been picked to participate in and also the Lamb Rogan Josh curry paste served with brown rice. the recipe for the Turkey Koftas is as follows : 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 1 bunch spring onions, chopped 2 tsp harissa paste 500g pack minced turkey breast 8 dried apricots, finely chopped 50g rocket 4 wholemeal pittas, toasted To serve: tzatziki I omitted the dried apricots as I cannot stand them but it still worked well Instructions 1.Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the spring onions and harissa paste for 1-2 minutes until golden. 2.Using a bowl, stir this into the raw turkey mince with the apricots. 3.Mould into 8 thick sausage shapes and thread onto 8 skewers. 4.Place under a grill for 15 minutes, turning occasionally until golden and cooked throughout. 5.Fill the pittas with rocket and top with the koftas. Serve with a dollop of tzatziki. or make into burgers and serve in a wholemeal roll. The recipe for the Jamie Oliver's Rogan Josh paste is here : Rogan Josh paste 2 cloves garlic 1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger 75 g jarred roasted peppers 1 tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 2 teaspoons garam masala 1 teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons groundnut oil 2 tablespoons tomato puree 1 fresh red chilli 1 small bunch fresh coriander 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 2 teaspoons coriander seeds 1 teaspoon black peppercorns Mix together and use as you would a jar or packet of curry powder, it can be frozen

£9.50 off rail travel with The Sun and Redspottedhanky

Starting Saturday 8th February £9.50; off rail travel via Redspotted hanky, likely to be a token collect. More details to follow tomorrow

Mumsnet Wholegrain challenge Lamb Rogan Josh

Lamb Rogan Josh, using left over lamb from the Sunday Roast.  I made my own curry paste for the first time, a recipe from Jamie Oliver and it was fab !! So much better than a jar or powder

Mumsnet Wholegrain challenge Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Egg

My daughters birthday breakfast, Smoked Chilli Salmon with Scrambled egg on wholemeal toast

From Mon 3rd Feb 7 dinners for under £1 per head

Mumsnet Wholegrain challenge Quinoa, Broccoli and Feta salad

The following day after the Turkey koftas I added extra ingredients, olives and blue cheese for lunch

Mumsnet Wholegrain challenge Moroccan Turkey Koftas

I was chosen as one of 100 members to eat at least one snack or meal as wholegrain for two weeks then feedback on the forum. This was Moroccan Turkey Koftas with wholemeal pittas, mint yoghurt and Quinoa, Broccoli and Feta salad

I love the Goodtoknow website, a mine of informationFab homemade food

10 money blogs for Mums

There are some good blogs amongst the list

Very simple to make, just start collecting cheap cookie cutters now in time for December, then link together with thin wire and spray red, leave to dry and don't forget to ventilate

January Foodie Penpal parcel

This was the first time I had participated in the Foodie Penpal scheme.  It was very exciting to receive a parcel not knowing its contents. There were two chocolate bars originally, Bulgarian but my daughter pinched one and there was also a packet of chilli rice cakes,
along with the pate, breadsticks, jar of chillies and the soup powder. I'm looking forward to trying the other items Iva so thank you