One Bird 2 ways!

So, we are trying to save at the minute. Trying!! We are putting up a two storey extension so we need every spare penny we can possibly gather!
For me the biggest way we can cut back is on food. I waste HUGE amounts of money in Sainsbury's. I can't seem to run in for a loaf without spending £20+. I went through the bank statements before christmas and I had spent £680 between Sainsbury's, Lidl and Tesco in 4 weeks. That was only what had been spent on switch, im sure there was bits and pieces bought with cash not to mention take aways!! I realised this needed to change ASAP!
So I started putting a bit of effort into Meal Planning and shopping.  Starting putting more thought into how I could stretch meals further. So far its going well and I am definitely spending less on food!
Usually I would make a roast dinner and pull off some meat for a sandwich the next day. These days I have been aiming to get at least 2 meals out of our sunday roasts.
Here is what I did with a whole chicken last week.....

I started off by cooking the whole bird in the slow cooker, I simply popped a lemon up his butt and put the lid on. This is the first time ive done this and I was very impressed, I will definitely do it again.

After a few hours I lifted the bird out. It actually fell to pieces which wasnt part of the plan but it was beautifully moist and smelt delicious.  The base of the slowcooker was full of the lovely juices from the bird which I was not going to waste. 

I wanted to make A ratatouille type veg dish to go along with the chicken and I wanted to have enough left over to make a pasta meal the following night. I chopped up a mountain of veg and threw it in the slow cooker with the stock from the chicken. 

I used, onion, garlic, carrot, parsnips, tomato, celery, peppers, mushrooms and corguette. 

To the veg I added a big squeeze of tomoto puree, some dried mixed herbs and black pepper. I put  the chicken pieces ontop of the veg and put the lid back on and left it until tea time.

The smell was gorgeous. 

When the hungry herds came home I simply served up the chicken and veg with some baby boilers. Very tasty meal with very little effort.

The following day was easy peasy! 

I Boiled up some pasta, mixed through the left over chicken and veg, popped in a casserole dish, grated some cheese over the top and put in the oven for about 40mins. 

Effortless dinner number two!!!

Yum Yum