Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

cheerfulness4 · 29 January 2015 at 12:31AM

At least baby will get a lovely warm blanket. Waste not want not, right?

Good advice, we love HM pizza too because you can get exactly what you like. I love tuna and peppers, DH tuna without peppers and DS cheese and bacon with plenty of extra cheese on top.
I like a nice garlicky tomato base, too. Might add a teaspoon of chilli jam to the next base to ring the changes and slice pepperoni on the top.

As expected no spends today.

DAY 28

Money Spent Today - £0 Vouchers Spent - £0
Money Spent in Total - £80.68 Vouchers Spent in Total - £5
Money left in purse - £3.32 - Float left- £0/£15
Jan non-foods left- £0/£15

Still have half my pan of Bacon and Lentil soup left so that will do nicely for lunch tomorrow as well.
DS surprised me with a big batch of Chocolate and Coconut buns at teatime so we have something nice in the cake tin for having with coffees.

Alarmingly I find that he's used the last of our eggs. I can't remember the last time we had run out of eggs. :eek:
I'd planned a treat of Smoked Salmon with scrambled eggs but that will have to wait until the weekend now.

No carrots left either now and I like those to munch on.
At least its forcing me to look at other veg in the house that gets left usually.
I've remembered too that I've some overgrown spring onions in the garden that need pulling. They are still fine so I must make use of them.

Tomorrow I'm using one of the potatoes left to make Pilchard Fishcakes. A childhood favourite of mine. DS can't abide them so I've found the last 3 fishfingers for him to have with HM wedges using the other potato.

Tired out now so shall go and join sleepyhead hubs.

1of3 · 29 January 2015 at 9:28AM

Wrong thread!

vhalla1478 · 29 January 2015 at 10:32AM

Good Morning, everyone, I hope you're all keeping warm today; it's white, white, white out here in the Lincolnshire Wolds but extremely pretty as long as you're not outside - I'm admiring it from my living room window, watching the pheasants strut around.

Here's a nice warming recipe courtesy of Morrisons, I think.

Chilli con carne

2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 large onions, 1kg lean minced beef, 2 beef stock cubes dissolved in a litre of hot water, 2 tablespoons tomato puree, 4 large chillies, finely chopped, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, 4 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (it makes all the difference), salt and freshly ground black pepper, 245g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed.

Heat the oil and fry onions until just transparent. Add the mince, cook until browned and then add in the stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce down to a simmer. Add all the other ingredients, except for the kidney beans and simmer away for an hour. Check the seasoning at this time and add salt and black pepper to taste. Lastly add in the kidney beans and continue simmering for a further hour. You can make this the day before and reheat when ready as chilli always improves the next day. Really nice with warm sourdough bread.

Hope you like it.

Viv x

silvasava · 29 January 2015 at 11:15AM

DH bless him ironed all the curtain pieces for me. I've looked them over and they're not as faded as I thought. The cushions can only be used in one position so if needs be I can always use any faded bits on the backs.
Just tried to get one of the old covers off but the zip is stuck solid so I'll have to cut the cover off. Looks like me re-using the old zips is a no go. I've a nice little craft shop run by our local hospice so I'll ask in there first in case.

cheerfulness4 · 29 January 2015 at 12:02PM

I wish we had local initiatives like craft or gardening/bakeries etc run by charities or self-help groups. We have nothing of that sort.
If all you need to replace are the zips then you've saved yourself a fortune, Silvasava.

I've never cooked chilli because we tried it once and weren't keen. However, after a bit of adventurous cooking last year (for us!) I've started using fresh chillies.
We just may have to revisit chilli con carne and see what we think this year. Thanks for that recipe, vhalla, and adding cocoa will be no hardship at all. We love it.

I'm feeling incredibly proud of myself as my wash bag is not only repaired but improved upon. The lining was of a silky nylon type that was fraying awfully in places but I strengthened and neatened with cream bias binding and it looks brilliant and much more hard wearing. Better than new in fact!

It will be a pleasure to reload it later with my bits and bobs. Now why didn't I do it sooner? Didn't give it a thought before.

I want to get my pilchard fishcakes made and chilled for later but at the same time I'm waiting for a workman to come a repair my front and back door locks.
I have a little gallery kitchen and I really hate cooking when someone doing jobs. If I leave it he may come later today but if I do it now he may arrive this morning, as stated. Dilemmas. :cool:

cheerfulness4 · 29 January 2015 at 12:12PM

downloadFile?media_fileid=39189&a=597&s=720x452

Wow this recipe looks delicious. I just have to try it. A bit different from what I usually make, more fuss than my basic fishcakes but I love the look of them.
http://www.picknpay.co.za/picknpay/action/media/downloadFile?media_fileid=39189&a=597&s=720x452

[Deleted User] · 29 January 2015 at 2:09PM

Been to Aldees and spent up but the cupboards are full and nothing to buy foodwise for the next couple of weeks.
I too will watch the programme toningh about cutting back on foodstuffs although I think i'm a bit like cheerfullness4 and I'm pretty frugal.I am definitely an 'old-school type of cook but I love to try something different .I love chilli but rarely make it as I'm the only one to eat it and a kilo of chilli would last me a month of Sundays .I'm trying to run down my freezer at the moment but once its been defrosted then I'll batch make some I think and portion it up for the freezer.

Prinzessilein · 29 January 2015 at 3:45PM

Hi all MdMaMers! (or are we MMMers.....what is the correct abbreviation?)

It is really cold today here on the East Coast....snow flurries have been promised/threatened for this afternoon or overnight.

Porridge is just about the best breakfast I think for keeping warm on a wintery morning. And thankfully it doesn't cost much!

Those fishcakes look absolutely scrumptious cheerfulness! I do like a nice fishcake....served with mushy peas and extra vinegar!

I picked up a nice bargain in M&S this morning...they are far from being the cheapest food shop - but if you are lucky you get some really good offers!...I found our local store had a pile of those packs of sliced cooked chicken all neatly stacked to one side of the shelf...they were all short-date-coded - today's date on them...BUT they can be frozen! Guess who now has a freezer with enough chicken to make 5 or 6 meals ...all at less than half price!

And, I have been part of the Consumer Pulse Panel for a few years...and today postie brought me my latest reward...£20 of Waterstones vouchers! ...So now I will have to decide what to treat myself to!...The best thing is that Waterstones count the vouchers as a 'proper' sale so as well as my books I get 'free' points on my Waterstones card AND stamps on my Collector's Card (the one where they stamp it for every £10 spent..get 10 stamps and trade the card in for a £10 voucher...so I get 2 stamps for free too!)

And, just thought I'd share a little laugh (well...I gasped first...then laughed!)....A friend of the family was moaning - their little lad (started school in September last year, so he's about 6) was in tears, he NEEDED a new pair of trainers. ...and they had just bought him a new pair for Christmas! ...When asked why he needed a new pair so soon, the friend said 'well the laces snapped on one of his Christmas ones!'!!!!!......she buys a new pair of trainers when one of the laces break?????...she seriously needs to come onto this thread!.....(and yes, I DID show her how to knot the snapped lace as a short-term solution...and pointed out that shops sell spare laces for a fraction of the price of new trainers!)

zebedy · 29 January 2015 at 3:51PM

Hi all MDM&Mers

V excited because I just discovered 2 wooden fruit crates in the skip in the car park at work. A tall colleague fished them out for me and they are in great condition. I'm going to clean them up and paint them and probably use them as herb planters in the garden or maybe as shelves in the spare room.

I'm planning to sew some waterproof squares with cotton lining this weekend (to sit down on for thermos of coffee when on walks with wet ground/no benches) out of an old waterproof mac.

Good advice - how are you putting names on your drawstring bags? Is that by appliqu!? (A skill I have not tried yet). I make drawstring bags out of left over fabric and it would be great to label them in some way but I don't know how.

vhalla1478 · 29 January 2015 at 4:38PM

Hi Zebedy, could you embroider them?

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Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

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