Freebies ... and Dahl Ingredients (Recipe Edited)

 

I was thinking about the freebies that I have acquired up to now during this year of eating cheaply but well, and decided to start listing them at the back of my diary so that at the end of the year I will be able to see how I benefited from them.

Obviously most of them up to now have come from cashing in my Nectar points and using my M&S vouchers, but some have been the Booths card holder offers that give you a free product or a sample of a 'new to you' product.

But I also still pick up the sachets and various items that you get given when you eat out, and Alan does like to go out for a bacon butty at Booths at least once a week and for a coffee somewhere else on another day,.  While I rarely eat out now, I would never turn down the offer of having a nice coffee bought for me, so I usually accompany him.

This week after a tough couple of days away and a nightmare of a drive back from Berkshire late on Tuesday night he wanted to go out for breakfast on Wednesday.  This time I did join him in having some food, and I had a toasted teacake while he munched on a very full bacon bun.

Usually when he has this at Booths they automatically give him two brown sauce sachets and I bring them home, as he's not that keen.  As you can see from my little 'freebie pot' in the first photo the brown sauces were building up nicely, so I told him to start asking for tomato ketchup instead when they went to put the sachets on his tray.  They had already given me two little pots of Flora for my teacake when we placed the order, so when the teacake arrived with three more my eyes lit up and I didn't send them back.

As you can see from this photo I also bring home any unused napkins that we have, and have recently started picking up any I see on the other tables on our way out.  Waste not want not, I usually use them for things like catching potato peelings or wiping up doggy dribbles off the floor ... Suky is a very messy drinker, and this means that my paper towels last so much longer than they used to.

I just hate the though of unused items being thrown away, as they are when they are left on tables.

When we got home my Booths quarterly voucher was lying on the doormat, the highest one I have ever had.  Twenty whole pounds to spend before the end of the month on anything I need or want.  There was also a little list of the freebies that are available this month and next.

It all adds up to me not having to spend money on a couple of things, although Alan will benefit from the teabags as I don't drink tea.  It's only fair to share some freebies with the man who buys me coffees.  😄

I was asked via email for the recipe I used for the large pan of dahl I made the other day, and this photo shows the ingredients that I used this time.  Dahl is very forgiving and you can play around with amounts and alter the ingredients to suit the flavours that you like.

This time I simply used one and half onions, two tomatoes, three cloves of garlic, a couple of heaped teaspoons of cumin along with red lentils.  I topped the pan up with enough water to cover everything, and once it was hot I dropped in a couple of spinach pellets from the freezer (not shown in the photo) and gave it all a good stir.  I added more water later to stop the lentils from drying out.  Once it was cooked I seasoned with salt and black pepper until it tasted just right for me.

Now I have to get one of the tubs out of the freezer to thaw in time for my tea, as just writing about it has made me want to have some more.  It's very handy to have a ready made stash.  😀

Sue xx