Be as nice as this pie

After a successful trip to Asda in Stockton-on-tees the other day, we managed to bag quite a few bargains from the fruit and veg department. I have to say, the two ladies who were pricing up the reduced items, advertising their wares like market stall holders, with beaming smiles and jokes galore, were a pleasure to speak to. I always admire people that go that extra mile, being nicer than they have to, just because they can, especially in this day and age where so many people are quick to judge and hate. I often think, people that have time to make nasty, negative (not constructive, there's a difference) comments, must have pretty miserable lives consumed by hate and bitterness. For that reason I forgive them and recommend they try my compliment challenge. I guarantee it will lift their spirits and make them feel better and the world can be a better place. That's world peace sorted and I haven't even had a coffee yet! Now for world hunger, this recipe I'm about to share is delicious and I'm aware asparagus is usually quite expensive, however thanks to our shopping trip it was reduced to 81p a bunch. You could make this go even further by adding a pack of mushrooms and although I used chicken breasts as I had them in already, you could use leftover roast chicken. I used chicken stock and cream, but you could substitute that for chicken soup instead. For my local followers, don't forget your Whitby Gazette tomorrow for my column!

2 chicken breasts diced

2 bunches asparagus snapped into bite size pieces

3 rashers streaky bacon chopped

Tsp dried thyme

1 pint chicken stock (or 2 tins of chicken soup)

100ml cream (or leave out if using soup)

Tbsp flour (leave out if using soup)

25g butter

Ready roll puff pastry sheet

Fry off the bacon and chicken breasts until cooked add thyme

In a separate pan cook the asparagus in butter

If using soup, add this and the asparagus to the pan with the chicken and bacon

Otherwise add the flour to the asparagus and stir

Combine the asparagus and chicken and slowly add the stock

Stir in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes

Place contents into an oven proof dish and top with pastry

Cook at 200 for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden

Serve up with a large helping of niceness.....don't choke on the hate!

The art of thrifty gifting

We all have that one month that seems to be full of occasions, mine's March. Neve is ten and Chase is two this month, I know, I planned that well. My dear brother Steven has also, very inconsiderately I might add, decided to get married in the same month and as if that wasn't enough we have Easter to look forward to too! So, with all these events to buy gifts for, and of course new outfits, I need to keep costs down without looking like a tight wad, although with my dad being a scouser, I could blame him-I joke he's actually very generous! I have a way of buying gifts without spending a fortune, that are memorable and pleasantly received. I will use the last gift I gave as an example. My brother's lovely fiancé Charlotte has not long found out she was pregnant, much to my delight, although I cursed as another gift would be needed. I scoured Asda for the cheapest things I could find, that would relate to pregnancy and bought a gift bag to put everything in. I ended up with:

2 notebooks, one for him to keep the baby appointments in and one for her to document the pregnancy and birth.

A pack of Twining's ginger tea for if she was feeling sick.

2 face masks and a box of bath salts to have a pamper night while they had the chance.

A pair of booties for the baby. 

A box of paracetamol for him for when the baby was born!

I wrapped all the items in silver tissue and labelled what each one was for and it went down a treat. All for just short of £7! 

This was just an example of one type of gift, but the main idea is put some thought into it then you can get away with spending a bit less and not look like a cheapskate. Use their age as inspiration, for instance you could get a ten-year-old ten things from the pound shop, or if it's a wedding anniversary use the colour, buy red for ruby, silver or gold for 25 or 50 years (obviously not real silver or gold, just the colour) or you could make it a funny gift and buy a friend who you know doesn't like the thought of ageing, a pack of incontinence pads, a cover your grey dye and some slippers! Let your imagination go wild and think how you can make the next occasion memorable for someone without breaking the bank.