Guest Post: Can you Visit Manchester on a Budget?

A travel guide if you’re planning to go to Manchester – Can you plan on a budget?

It is needless to mention that Manchester, England is replete with passion for soccer. The city prospered during the time when it became the very first industrialized city, but then soon after it went through a sharp decline as manufacturing left England. However, at the present day, it is full of culture, hotels, restaurants and it is also the most bustling industrial district. Something that everyone knows is that the city of Manchester is popular for its football teams, the Manchester United and Man City. In short, it is a rough and tough city which is worth exploring.

What are the costs of tripping around Manchester?

Hostel costs: In Manchester, the hostel dorms start at £20 per night and most of them even provide you with a free Wi-Fi connection. For a private room, £45 would be the cost.

Average cost of food: Manchester is filled with markets which sell fresh and local cheese, meats, fruits, wine and vegetable. If you want to cook and reap benefits of these markets, you’ll get groceries at £30-50. It can cost you more if you wish to eat out.

Coffee, Fruit and Walnut Cake

Guess who has finally got her baking mojo back.....

Yes me!!!

I had a good bake off of a weekend. I baked some fat rascals, which I am planning to share soon, then I made this cake, then went on to make some delicious apple crumble using some homegrown apples, again, this will be shared shortly.

This is a recipe that has evolved. A couple of weeks ago I made a coffee and walnut cake which was delicious, but I wanted to make it into something more so I added some dry fruit and wow it has transformed this cake into something else!

I love it and that is why I am sharing it today!

This is what I did...

Weekly Meal Plan Plus a Perfect Midweek Recipe

Hello and welcome to another week of meal planning and a perfect midweek recipe.

Last week was one heck of a roller coaster. I applied for some additional hours at work which unfortunately I did not get. The role that I wanted to add on was a finance role and being up against an accountant meant that it was not meant to be. But I feel proud of myself for getting as far as I did and just happy to have the job that I have got. I am a true believer of things happening for a reason, and this was not meant to be.

Anyway, this is a new week and time to move on!

Last weeks meal plan was a success and I am loving having my Pressure King Pro out again. Warming meals are definitely the way we are going with our dinners!

This weeks perfect midweek recipe is one that is so simple but so full of flavour. One of my favourite ingredients has to be chorizo, it adds so much flavour to a dish and really does all of the work for you. This weeks recipe is a twist on our favourite cottage pie sauce.

This is what I did...

#CookBlogShare Linky Week 38 - Plus Awesome Apple Recipes

Hello and welcome to week 38 of #CookBlogShare.

Before I go on I must apologise for the post being a little late. I had it in my head that I was hosting next week! Life is certainly manic at the moment and J turns 13 today so my head has been all over!

Now on to food! I am loving the excuse to cook more autumnal meals, the weather seems to have turned even earlier this year. But it also means that we are starting to have more warming dishes. One food that is a favourite at the moment has to be apples. We have got a young apple tree in the garden that we got fruit from for the first time last year. This year we got a bumper crop from it but they were all ready to drop at the same time so I had a lot to use at once. My favourite way of using up apples has to be stewing them. Once you have got your stewed apples there are so many ways to use them. With this in mind it is no surprise that apples are the focus of this weeks CookBlogShare linky.

Check out these awesome apple recipes...

Weekly Meal Plan Plus a Perfect Midweek Recipe

At the moment my blogging time seems to be running away from me. It really is harder than I first thought it would be, working, parenting, housework, being wife and a blogger is such hard work! After I have been at work all day, cooked tea, done some jobs around the house and spent time with the children once they are in bed all I want to do is relax. Before, I used to get the laptop out and blog. I am finding juggling everything exhausting. So to make my blogging life a little easier I am going to start combining my weekly meal plan post with a perfect midweek meal recipe. I thought that it would be the perfect time to inspire your meal plan but a way to get two posts in one.

Before I tell you what we are going to be having this week I am going to share with you a recipe that I have been meaning to share for a long time. In fact, I cannot believe I have not written it up sooner. This is a recipe that we will be having this week. Now that the evenings are drawing in and it is feeling quite autumnal already my Pressure King Pro is going to be out more and more as the cold weather comes. One of my favourite things about the Pressure King Pro is that you can cook on the fast, pressure cooking setting or on the slow cook setting, and even delayed start timer. This is ideal with me being out all day and I know that it is going to be lovely to come home to dinner ready and waiting. This recipe is one of our favourites and one I am looking forward to cooking again this week. Chilli con carne is a great meal that can be served in may ways, with rice, in wraps, as enchiladas and there is always leftovers.

Here is my perfect midweek meal and meal plan...

Mushroom Orzo Risotto - A Perfect Mid Week Meal

Risotto is a real family favourite in our house. I love the versatility of risotto. You can add ingredients and take them out according to what you have in or what you fancy. It can be made with vegetables or with meat, with fish or leftovers. The possibilities are endless. The only thing that I do not like about cooking a traditional risotto is the time it takes to cook. Before when I was not going out to work it did not matter, but now that time at home is reduced the only time I can really make one in this way is at the weekend. However when we were shopping the other week the hubby spotted some Orzo pasta. Orzo is pasta but it looks very similar to rice so we got some for a mid week, cheats risotto and we loved it!

This is what I did..