Help! £40 to feed family for the month

blue_monkey_2

Srumping for us meant collecting fruit, mum used to say we had been scrumping but it meant a walk to the shops and picking the fruit up on the way. There used to be loads of trees by the bus stop that were hanging over the path so we used to get the greengages from them.

I thought you could do that, even if the tree was in someones garden, if it fallen onto the road you can pick it up and take it, can't you? Or are you supposed to give it back.

The trees we used to get the fruit from were not in someones garden but on wasteland overhanging the path.

Now I am not sure. I thought it was just a term mum mum used to use for fruit picking. I thought that is why cider was called scrumpy as it had come from fallen apples. Sorry God, maybe she had us nicking fruit. Surely that would apply to blackberrying as well then? There is a field behind my house that is full of blackberries, I've a plum tree that overhangs my garden and I take from it. It's just in a field, it'll go rotten if I did not take it and I saw another lady heading over there with a tub the other day too.

So is that right or is that wrong? Ooer

blue_monkey_2

I just looked at the link and I can honestly say we never nicked anything from other peoples trees or went into someone elses property t get the fruit... but if they are on wasteland like behind our house do they belong to anyone? Because then I am guilty of blackberrying and getting the plums. Plus we got some little plum things off some trees next to the park last week. Oh no...

About the fruit, yes, we also have eggs and honesy and honest boxes around here too, I guess it is the joy of living in the countryside that people seem more honest, or maybe there are these people living around the edge of your town but you've never managed to find them.

Do those sheep get drunk on the apples they eat? Assuming they are getting them off the floor and not up a ladder. That would be a sight, lots of drunk sheep roaming around after eating the windwalls. This has given me a little chuckle 'al la shaun the sheep'. :rotfl: :rotfl:

mummysaver

I gave the link to this thread to a friend, she has just emailed me saying she can't believe it and is printing it off now before going to the supermarket, lol! Assume she is only printing off mbaz's meal plan tho else she's gonna be wandering around with a huge wodge of paper! Apparently she now thinks I'm not quite such a nut using oats and lentils!

Blue Monkey - I don't think the fruit police will be coming for you just yet! As for the sheep getting drunk, well they do seem to spend a lot of time asleep!

Edit: just had a call from my friend asking what lentils look like, oh how I laughed! Bless her, she's all ready to do a bulked out bolognese sauce when she gets home, she's told me to keep my mobile handy lol!

blue_monkey_2

LOL, they are clearly plastered and then going back for more the next day. Come the day there is no fruit left they'll all be shaking and dribbling as they are going cold turkey *LOL*.

I have to confess I have just found this thread and I've just added lentils to my shopping list to give it a try. I always thought they were vile when I cooked them for DD but nothing ventured and all that!!

This thread is genuis!!

mummysaver

blue monkey - this is fast turning into the lentil lovers thread! They are great for adding to things like bolognese, just add a few if you aren't that keen on them, they stretch it a bit and you don't notice them at all.

flufff

Only just caught up with this thread so I thought I'd add some of our cheap meals that feed up to 6 of us for anyone else needing some quick meal fixes

Reduced baguette sliced into 6.Thin layer of tomato puree and sprinklin of cheese.Pop in oven for cheap pizza.

Value curry sauce..add cheapest chopped cooked spuds.Peas and onions, cauliflour.Makes good heart veg curry serve with rice

Lentil broth.Third bag tescos soup mix (bag costs 59p).I soak these first to reduce cooking time. Tin of baked beans,kidney beans, grated carrot, onion,tin of tomates, couple of stock cubes and pince of chili.Simmer till soft.Blend if prefered.Serve with crusty roll

Tesco value penne (20p).Serve with homemade cheese or tomato sauce and homemade garlic bread

flufff

Jacket spuds are always good or sausage casserole or sausage mash and onion gravy

outrageous_monkey

mummysaver wrote: »

For a 500g pack of mince I use a couple of handfuls of lentils and a couple of handfuls of oats, 2 cans of toms (or water and tom puree), onions, carrots (grated), couple of stock cubes and some garlic. I cook mine in the slow cooker so just chuck the lentils straight in and they cook in it - you will need some extra water for the lentils, the tom juice won't be enough.

I can usually stretch this to a bolognese, a couple of lasagnes (add more toms to stretch it further), and just about to a chilli with the addition of some more veg (mushrooms, sweetcorn, courgettes, basically softish stuff) and kidney beans - if there is not enough for a proper chilli I serve it in wraps (see Mrs M's recipe at the beginning of the grocery challenge for soft wraps, or just make v basic ones with plain flour, water and bit of oil, so long as you cook them just before you eat them they will stay soft if done this way).

Good luck!

Blinkin 'eck!! I am so having a go with the lentils and oats, if you can get that many meals from a 500g packet of mince! Thanks for that mummysaver (just to let you know, I still use your bolagnaise/tom sauce receipe).

Sorry, reading the thread, I promise not to quote again.:D

mummysaver

Hi OM! It really is amazing how far you can stretch mince when you keep diluting it! It might be a bit of a shock if they're used to just mince on it's own though, but veg, lentils and oats plus a generous dose of tinned toms make it stretch further than rubber chicken!

Glad the sauce is still going down well! I've got a batch in the sc at the mo, need to find some tubs to freeze it in now!

Kandipandi

mummysaver wrote: »

Hi OM! It really is amazing how far you can stretch mince when you keep diluting it! It might be a bit of a shock if they're used to just mince on it's own though, but veg, lentils and oats plus a generous dose of tinned toms make it stretch further than rubber chicken!

Glad the sauce is still going down well! I've got a batch in the sc at the mo, need to find some tubs to freeze it in now!

Hi sorry to be thick but do you have to steep the lentils first or just throw them in? Same with the oats do you make it up with water or just stir in?
Thanks