Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1

MRSMCAWBER

Angelatgraceland...

That is just what I used to do..would think "hmmm thats a nice piggy bank etc" now I think well If I don't spen €5 on the new piggy bank I have an etra €5 to save :T
I have a beautiful suede covered filofax my brother got me -I can't bring myself to write in it incase I ruin it -luckily hubby got me 2 thick A4 diaries free from work :j

I have had a sort out of my wool -so I can now work out what i need to get to enable me to make all my presents for xmas 2009 -luckily no-one got scarves etc this year and I have never given them so thats a bonus

I made a stunning special fried rice for my dinner tonight using up odds n sods.. hubby tried it and has declared it better than the takeaway one -who charge €6 :eek: and has asked if we can have it again tomorrow..so thats another great recipe for using up bits n bobs :T and can be varied to suit -another regular meal me thinks
not long now... only a couple more days and we get to start

grandma247

http://www.incompetech.com/graphpaper/

scroll down to assymetric and look for "174" this can be altered a bit to suit yourself and also under "speciality" there are various accounting ledger papers.

scroll even further and there are writing papers

Marru

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

I made a stunning special fried rice for my dinner tonight using up odds n sods..

Fancy telling us your secret recipe as I happen to have some rice in the fridge that needs using (freezer full...)

MRSMCAWBER

Marru wrote: »

Fancy telling us your secret recipe as I happen to have some rice in the fridge that needs using (freezer full...)

Hi there

It was what we call a "wop it n see" :rotfl: in othere words -wop it in the pan and see what happens:p

• Heat a drop of oil in a large non stick pan
• add 1/2 finely chopped onion and cook until softening
• add frozen mushrooms, 1/4 chopped red pepper, about 1/4 tin sweetcorn, and some leftover roast chicken and cook over a fairly high heat
• once all the liquid has gone from the mushrooms -pull it all to one side of the pan and keep on the heat
• crack 1 egg into the empty side and keep stirring so it scrambles (you want to get a bit of colour on it)
• then I tipped in leftover rice (had frozen peas in it) and plenty of seasoning and kept stirring over a high heat until heated through -you need to keep it moving so it doesn't all clog together

It was really nice..I think getting colour on the egg made a difference -
Its going to be great for using those part tins of corn, bits of ham etc that aren't enough on their own, prawns in the freezer, green bits from spring onions etc
Hope you like it

candygirl

I don't have central heating and use the td a lot.was wondering about gettin one of those heated airers, ahs anybody got one?They're meant to be cheap to run.Otherwise any other clothes dryin tips?

grandma247

spin it again on the cotton setting to get more water out.

We have lines on the landing for hanging and will be making a victorian style hanger as soon as dd1 brings us some broom handles. It is raised to the ceiling once full.

candygirl

grandma247 wrote: »

spin it again on the cotton setting to get more water out.

We have lines on the landing for hanging and will be making a victorian style hanger as soon as dd1 brings us some broom handles. It is raised to the ceiling once full.

Ta hun, the reason i'm asking is my td is 2 weeks old n has broken down already.I'm ringing them tomoz, but m looking for cheaper ways to dry stuff, although it's hard without heating:o

Marru

Thank you so much Mrs McAwber! :T I am not much of a cook but do enjoy cooking leftovers, I guess it is because it is so quick and it is always different. I know what I will have on menu tomorrow evening: Fried rice with ham and mushrooms served with cheesy potato cakes :j Thank you guys!!!

candygirl

OOh I love potato cakes Marru:p

PasturesNew

I'd love to join you all but I am not disciplined enough to keep a penny by penny account right now.

I've also no freezer, my only heating is an electric fan heater and I can't grow veggies as it's a rented flat. Also, I am job hunting, so could end up with a job anywhere within 200 miles which would involve buying work clothes, travelling, renting a second flat or doing a B&B and potentially eating out or whatever. So too many variables.

Had a quick look. If I were joining you, I would have gone for £2500. As I am not, I'm free to buy chocolate and takeaways and not have to declare it

Good luck!