Slow Cook a Whole Chicken

Part of my money-saving mindset is, not only getting the most from every penny spent, but also getting the most from everything that I've bought.  One of the ways I do this is by cooking a whole large chicken in my slow cooker.  And it's seriously quick and simple to do.  The meat falls off the bone when it's finished and is juicy and tender.  Two added bonuses: no meat goes to waste and less energy is used than if you were to roast the chicken in the oven. Ca-ching!

Remember the reduced large chicken I bought a couple weeks ago? It went in the freezer the day I bought it and came out to thaw the day before it went in the slow cooker.

First I place 3 small upturned dipping bowls in a large 6.5L slow cooker. This will prop the chicken off the bottom of the slow cooker to allow the chicken juices to sit below the chicken during the cooking. If you don't have small bowls, simply ball up some aluminum foil and use this instead.  Another option is to put carrots and onions on the bottom to slow cook with the chicken (check out some other websites), I just haven't tried this yet.

Next, place your chicken on top of the bowls or foil breast-side down/back-side up.  This allows the juices from the dark meat in the back to baste the drier white meat in the breasts.

If you wash your chicken before roasting it, please don't.  From what I read and understand on other websites, this can spread bacteria and salmonella around your sink and kitchen, and it's simply not necessary to do so.  So package to slow cooker (or oven).  Then I sprinkle some salt and pepper on top of the bird.

Put the lid on.  You don't need to add any water to the bottom of the slow cooker either. Oh, and make sure to turn it on! (Not that I've ever forgotten... ahem!)

Allow the chicken to cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for about 5 hours.  I prefer to cook it on low for 8 hours; the one time I tried to cook it on high for 5 hours, the meat wasn't quite as tender and juicy as when I cooked it on low for a longer time.

This is the finshed product.  Perhaps the one downside of cooking a chicken - or any meat - in the slow cooker is that it doesn't brown like it does in the oven. You aren't going to get that perfectly goldened bird.  I simply serve the meat directly onto plates for dinner.  If you do want to brown the skin of the chicken, you can place it on a baking tray and brown it under the broiler for a few minutes. I'm just not that bothered.

Now that you have that wonderful meat, serve it as you would with veg and side dishes.  We like ours with barbecue sauce.  With our family of 4, there is always leftover chicken.  We usually end up using it for chicken wraps for the next evening's meal, but as others suggested on the Finding the Pennies Facebook page  leftover chicken can be used in chicken and vegetable pie, chicken salad and chicken soup. I'm sure there are many, many more uses.

Ok, I'm not finished.  At the bottom of the slow cooker you're left with glorious, golden chicken stock.  Once the slow cooker has cooled (after dinner for us) I strain the juices through a sieve and put it in the fridge. As the liquid cools in the fridge, the fat left in the juices, rises and solidifies on top.  I skim this off and throw it away.  I almost feel guilty throwing away perfectly good chicken fat, but I simply don't know what I can do with it!  I'll have to ask my friend. If she has ideas for me, I'll be sure to pass them along.  I take the jelly-like chicken stock, tip it into a freezer bag, label it and stick it in the freezer for the next time I'm making soup.  I wish I had taken a picture of this step, but I forgot. Sorry :o(

I hope this has inspired you to try to slow cook a chicken. It's definitely worth doing and is something I do at least once a month.  Enjoy!

Save with Zeek

*This post contains affiliate links, but in no way am I receiving any kind of payment for what I'm about to share with you.
Wouldn't it be great to save money on your everyday shopping?!?! I am so excited to share with you something that I only found out about a few weeks ago: Zeek.  Zeek is a website that buys and sells gift cards at a discounted price.  Gift cards are available for popular shops such as Argos, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Tesco, Mark & Spencer and John Lewis.




Gift cards are discounted at least 2%.  Now, 2% doesn't sound like a lot, but let me explain.  Let's say you spend £200 at your favourite supermarket per month. Now, let's say you buy a couple of gift cards at a 2-3% discount a month instead of just paying cash or using your credit card at the shop.  Now you're going to save £4-£6 on your monthly grocery shop.  "But Lauren, that's really not a big deal."  Well, there are 12 months in a year, right?  So if you save £4-£6 a month, you'd save £48-£72 per year for very little effort.  Now, that sounds pretty good, right?!

It gets better.  Zeek occasionally runs promotions for even more of a savings. For instance, if you click on this link, you'll receive £5 off your first discounted gift card.  "But Lauren, I don't really want to spend £100 on a gift card right now."  That's ok!  Take a look at the website.  Click on a shop's logo that you like to shop at. You'll find that there are gift cards available for as little as £20... oh wait... that may be £18 with a 10% discount.  With the extra £5 off, you'll pay £13 for a £20 gift card. We did exactly this when we ordered a Zizzi voucher a couple weeks ago.  See last week's blog where I share how we saved eating at Zizzi.
   

Once you've created a profile, you can also invite family and friends to use Zeek, too. If they purchase a gift card with their £5 discount, you'll also receive a £5 credit to use on your next gift card.

Sounds neat, doesn't it?  I've bought 3 gift cards from Zeek so far.  And so far, I'm impressed.  Our vouchers have arrived within 3 days by recorded delivery.  So, this may be the only drawback I've found so far.  Since the gift cards require a signature to be delivered, you need to be home or at least a neighbour has to be home to sign for the gift card.  However, if I've just paid money for a gift card, I wouldn't want it to be just slotted through the letter box.  

Not all of the gift cards are physical gift cards, actually. Some are an eGift Card and some are printable vouchers, so they could be used as soon as you've purchased them.  Make sure to read through the information about the gift card on the left-hand side of the company's page.  Note whether the gift card can be used in-store and/or online. 

There are other websites that sell gift cards at a discount, but I haven't tried them... yet.  I hope you'll check out Zeek soon, so you can save even more on your everyday purchases.

Eating Out: Zizzi

Yes, this gorgeous butternut squash, caramelised onion and goat's cheese pizza was all mine at Zizzi tonight :o)

Just like most people, I, too, enjoy eating out. The girls enjoy pizza restaurants the most (and McDonalds, of course), and we enjoy not having to cook and wash up!  I don't need to tell you that eating out is mega-expensive, no matter what you pay. The markup on the food and drink is HUGE, but it's still fun to go out every now and then... and if I've budgeted for it.  So, this evening we went out for our dinner to Zizzi.

A simple meal for a family of four can easily cost £40-£50 for two adult meals, two kids meals and drinks.  So we cut corners without compromising the "fun" of going out.  We may still be able to get away with only ordering one kid's meal, but that is becoming a thing of the past since our girls are getting older.  Of course, we all know that the easiest ways to cut corners eating out is by not ordering appetizers and desserts, saving £4-£6 each.  Simples.


A somewhat "harder" way of cutting corners is simply by asking for tap water instead of a beverage, saving you another £3-£4 per adult for soft drinks and £5-£7 per alcoholic beverage.  Tonight Jeff and I asked for tap water and were brought a really pretty jug of water with ice!  How fancy ;o)  We asked the waiter how large the kid's glass of milk (50p) and he suggested splitting the glass between two cups... perfect.  50p for the girls drink.

So, how did we make this more affordable?  With a 50% off main meals voucher code from the vouchercodes.co.uk app.  We purposely chose to eat at Zizzi over other pizza restaurants in the area because we could save 50% on our main meal bill... food only, which is another reason why we didn't order drinks.  This even includes the girls' meals.

I have two suggestions when it comes to using voucher codes at restaurants:
1) Always read the entire voucher, even the small print, before going to a restaurant. Make sure it's valid on the day and date that you go. Make sure it's valid at the restaurant you go to. Make sure it is valid on the food that you order.
2) Always mention the voucher code to the waiter before you order so that he/she can make sure that the food that you are ordering works with the voucher code, in case there are exclusions, like appetizers and desserts... which ours was.


AND there's one more way we saved money this evening... "seriously, Lauren?!"... yep.  We bought a gift card for Zizzi from a website that sells gift vouchers at a reduced price called Zeek. There are actually quite a few of these kind of websites out there and I will definitely post on this later this week. Promise.  So, we bought a £20 gift card for Zizzi from Zeek for £13.  Our £37.95 bill with the 50% off came to £17.70.  I know this doesn't quite add up. Well, the we were given a £4 credit on our bill because our girls didn't receive the starter that was supposed to come with their meals.  We were asked whether they still wanted their starter when their pizzas arrived or credit on our bill; we chose the credit, since the girls were already interested in their pizzas. We used our £20 gift card that we paid £13 for and still have a balance of £2.30 towards our next visit.  Our supper out for a family of four essentially cost £10.70 plus tip.

"Come on, Lauren, I know you like to save money, but you wouldn't be stingy with the tip, would you?" No, absolutely not.  As long as we have had great service, which we did for the most part, the waiter earns his/her tip... oh, and I base this on the amount on the bill before any discounts.

I may as throw in one more tip while I'm at it.  ALWAYS check your bill over before you pay. Make sure everything you consumed is on the bill and is the correct price.  Make sure that you haven't been charged for something you haven't consumed.  And speak up. If something isn't correct, like the £4 discount that was promised when our girls' starters weren't served, make sure the bill is corrected before you pay.

Although you are following a budget, doesn't mean you can't go out to a restaurant every now and then.  With a little planning and a savvy spending, you can go out for pizza and eat it, too.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I have a confession: I'm a bit of a kitchen snob.  Surprising?? Uh, not really.  I've always enjoyed cooking, baking and watching cooking shows.  And just like my kids pretend to be their favourite cartoon characters, I somewhat pretend I'm a fancy-shmancy cook using fancy-shmancy ingredients, like amazing Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract. I've been treating myself to the real shebang for a few years now, but then about a year or so ago, I saw how to make homemade vanilla extract on Pinterest. (Love Pinterest!)

At Sainsbury's, a 118ml bottle of Nielsen-Massey sells for £6.  This seems a little expensive... but totally worth it.  However, in my "how can I do better?" mentality, I thought this would be the time to give making my own homemade vanilla extract a go.  

If you take a look at the ingredients, you find that you're paying for water, ethanol (which is alcohol), sugar... sugar, really?!?! and vanilla bean extract.  Hold on, I thought that's what we were making in the first place, so does this mean that it's diluted?  I don't know, so I'm hoping my homemade vanilla extract will be superior to even the fancy-shmancy Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract made from only two ingredients: vanilla pods and vodka.

I bought a 70cl bottle of vodka from Aldi for £9.99, 4 vanilla beans from Sainsbury's for £6 (I needed 5, but already had one at home) and a bottle to store the extract in from IKEA for a £1. This adds up to £16.99; HOWEVER, I only used 12oz/ 350ml of the vodka (1/2 of the bottle), so really, the vodka I used cost £5, so £12 for the recipe.  Now, if I pay £6 for 118ml, I save about £6 by making my own. I'll try to do better next time by finding vanilla pods for a better price, perhaps online, but I don't want to compromise on the quality.  Plus, I won't have to purchase another bottle to make it in (I can even make it in the original vodka bottle next time).

This is the "recipe" I used from Cooking Light.

I sliced open 5 vanilla pods, then put them in the storage bottle. There's something very satisfying about carefully slicing open a vanilla pod. I then added 350ml of vodka, closed the lid and put it on my shelf to carefully brew/steep for the next 4 months.

I'm very excited to see the results in 4 months! I'll let you know how it turned out.

My Rules for Wise Grocery Shopping

Like clockwork, I visited my local Sainsbury's for my Friday morning shop.  I am always trying to improve the way I shop so I can make wise decisions, and I'd love to share with you the "rules" I follow so far when I do my shopping: 

Rule #1: I always have a list in hand. I use a free app called "MyShopi", that allows me to add items to the list by department (fruits, vegetables, dairy, bakery, etc.) and then check them off as I go around the store. I'll probably write an entire post about why making a list is important, so I won't go into that now.  If an item isn't on my list, it causes me to think twice about putting the item in my trolley. Oh, and you don't have to use an app, but do please at least write it on a piece of paper.

Rule #2: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE reduced items.  I always have a look at all of the reduced sections in the store.  At Sainsbury's - and likely most supermarkets - they are located in produce, fresh meat, chilled, dry goods (cereals, pastas, sauces, tea/coffee), bakery and homeware.  Occasionally the reduced items will be up front in their usual location.  AND THEY'RE EYE-CATCHING YELLOW!  So, it's kind of like a treasure hunt... ahem... for us grown-ups!  

Rule #3: I ask myself some questions about reduced items: 

1) Will I consume this item today or tomorrow? Since reduced items are most often "Best before" today's date, I wouldn't want to buy it only for it to sit in my fridge and then get tossed in the bin in a week.  Yes, I've done this.... lots... of... times... and it's a waste.

2) Does this item freeze well? If you don't plan to consume your reduced items today or tomorrow, ask yourself if this item will freeze well AND whether you have enough space in your freezer to put said item in when you get home.  Yes, I've done this many times, too... I've bought a huge load of reduced items only to get home and to realise I have very little space in my freezer.  Luckily none of it went to waste this time, but I still have to be careful not to buy too many reduced products.

3) How many packs of said item will it take to feed my family? Sometimes the reduced item is a pack of two burgers. This is not enough for my family of four, so I'd need to buy two packs.  This may not be an economical way of purchasing burgers, so I may as well buy a pack of regular-priced burgers, if burgers are on the menu for the week. Oh, and the salmon below... my husband and I will have this (there are two pieces in the pack I bought) while the girls have fish fingers; they simply don't like salmon despite our best efforts. 

4) Is it really a good price? Well, I answer this one by first looking at the difference in the original price and the reduced price. Take a good look at the price difference. Sometimes it's only 10p cheaper... not exactly a deal unless you were planning on buying that product anyway.  Other times, it's a lot cheaper, like the mince in the picture.  I saved 33% on this pack of mince that I plan to use next week in a yummy slow-cooker bolognese.  I often "roast" a chicken in the slow cooker (Vlog on this next week), and large chickens aren't usually reduced when I go shopping, so I saved £1.06 by buying this today rather than next week when it's not reduced.  And yes, I managed to fit it in my freezer.... now, I just have to remember to take the bird out to thaw in time!

In case you are wondering, I saved £4.09 on these 4 items alone today.  All of them fit in my freezer for next week's suppers.

Rule #5) If an item isn't on my list, but it's on offer/sale, I ask myself the following questions:
1) Is it really a good buy?  If it's half off, then most likely "Yes!"  Like my children's smoothies in a drink pack. They are 50% off this week, so I bought 3 boxes... which leads me to ask the next question.
2) Do I have enough room for 3 boxes in my fridge?  "Yes!"
3) How long do I have until the "Best before" date is reached?  "2 months... great, the girls will definitely drink them by then."
4) How often is this item on offer/sale and can I make it until the next time it's on sale without purchasing this item?  The smoothies aren't usually the price they were, even if they are on sale again in a few weeks. This was a very good price for them this week, so that's why I bought 3.

Rule #6) Is this item a WANT or a NEED? My family loves sunflower seeds and we ran out last weekend. So, I put them on my list for my shop at Aldi on Monday, but they no longer stock sunflower seeds; I even asked. "No worries", I thought ,"I'll buy them at Sainsbury's on Friday."  To my dismay I could only find a tiny little pack of sunflower seeds for 85p.  85p isn't a lot, but I don't NEED sunflower seeds today or this weekend.  I'll shop around a bit and put them on my list for Home Bargains, where I can probably find a larger pack for better value.  They are a want rather than a need.

Rule #7) Is the item a good price for the amount I'm buying? This is where it gets tricky. Just because something is on sale or reduced, doesn't mean it's a great buy. Take a look at the quantity.  Figure out how much something costs per pot, 100ml, ounce, wash (laundry), slice, person.... this will help you determine whether something really is a good buy or not.  I feel another blog is necessary to go into more detail on this one... so I'll blog about this soon.

I may be missing a few rules on this blog, but it's long enough. I hope I've given you inspiration to save a bit on your next shop. I'd love to hear from you whether you've taken any of these ideas on board and how it made you feel if you did. I've already been told by a number of my followers how they've been inspired to shop wiser and they feel great!

If you've been encouraged by my blog, I'd like to ask you to please share my blog and Facebook page with your like-minded friends.  Thanks!

Quick Tip: Fill a Jug

My mother-in-law keeps a large jug next to her sink and it only occurred to me a couple years ago to ask her what she uses it for.  She fills the jug with the water that comes out of the tap before the hot water comes through when she's filling the washing up bowl.  Why hadn't this occurred to me sooner?!?!  All of that perfectly good water - gone - down the drain.

Instead, use that water to fill the kettle, fill your water purifier, fill a saucepan... whatever... just don't waste it!  This is a very easy money-saving tip.

A Money-Saving Mindset

I'd like to thank everyone who has "liked" and "followed" the "Finding the Pennies" FB page the last 24-hours.  Your joining my page has given me a little push to get on with sharing all of my money-saving ideas with you.  Whether you joined because you need help with managing your finances, are simply curious about what this money-saving mindset is all about or have already adopted a money-saving mindset and just want to add ideas and tips to your knowledge base, welcome.

So, what is this money-saving mindset all about?  It is about going through every-day life looking for opportunities to keep hold of the money you have, stretch the money you're about to spend and look for smart ways to save in order to have more - more control and more freedom... I know, they seem like opposites, right?  Let me explain with an example: perhaps you can relate. When I make the right decisions to workout and eat healthy foods, I feel better and fitter.  If I do this for a day, I feel good.  If I do this for a week, I feel great.  But what if I did this every day for the rest of my life?  I'D FEEL AMAZING!!!  So, by taking control of your finances - creating and adhering to a budget or spending plan - and finding ways to save money, you'll eventually feel amazing... free from the burden of stress and worry over your finances.

Let me just say that, like most things, it takes practice.  Although I've never been much of a "spender", I've also made A MILLION (at least!) unwise decisions and mistakes when it comes to money.  When I first created my budget years ago, I only paid attention to it some of the time; I only set it up some months and follow it for a few days.  Fast forward many years and I now set up my budget for the next month a day or two in advance and it's the first thing that gets my attention pretty much every day once my kids are in bed.  It takes less than 5 minutes every single evening to enter in the amounts from receipts from the day's shopping and ask my husband, Jeff, whether he's spent anything today, and if so, where and how much.  Simples.

It's also become quite the hobby of mine and my husband to find the cheapest way of completing a task and not wasting. I CANNOT WAIT to share more of these, so I will post at least one tonight or tomorrow.  I just find the more I find ways to save, the more we can dream and make progress towards fulfilling those dreams.

So, where did the idea for "Finding the Pennies" come from?  From years of talking with friends and realising there's a lot of misconceptions about what money is really about. Yeah, but Lauren, finances are really personal... so is sex and yet we talk about it!  Sex is everywhere!  Yeah, but Lauren, you can't tell me how to spend MY money.  I'm not.  I'm simply giving you ideas. Take it or leave it.  Yeah, but Lauren, a "money-saving mindset" isn't really positive.  It isn't?!  It is to me!  It's about winning with money and living the life you want to live without debt, stress and worry.

Oh, and let me please point out that I am still learning, I am not perfect, nor a trained professional and would love ideas and suggestions, even corrections! Please share them with me, too.

"Finding the Pennies" is simply small ideas that I'd love for you to incorporate into your life, that, overtime, will add up to a huge gain.  I am POSITIVE that once you begin to realise the money-saving potential in these ideas, you will share in my money-saving mindset.