NTBY's sensible living and debt busting adventure

elantan

i think we need recipes people ..and whats this veggy mince malarky? ...whats it taste like? how does it cook? ... i am attempting to go fully fledged veggy and need options people

Nottoobadyet

Elantan - The best veggie mince I've found in the UK is the Saisnburys basic one, its in the freezer section. Im a life long veggie so cant really compare, but OH says it tastes just like real meat! Just substitute it for the real stuff and you're set.

the Butternut squash soup I make is a bit time consuming but sooo worth it:

Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
dried sage
2 medium butternut squash, roasted in the oven for about 30 minutes until knife soft, then peeled (much easier once they're cooked!) and chopped into cubes
1 can cannellini or haricot beans
1 litre veg stock

Heat oil, add onion garlic and sage and cook over a low heat for 5 min. Add squash and beans, stir, then add the stock. Season with plenty of S and P, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Let it cool a bit to reduce chances of burning yourself, then blend until very smooth with a stick blender.

I find this makes too much for my biggest saucepan (which, granted isnt that big ) so I'll often end up making it in two. Its simple but so yummy and filling it can be a full meal if served with some crusty bread, and makes enough for 6-8.

jo1972

I've just bought all the stuff for the pasta thingy!! It's a beef and pork mince version though... I'll let you know how it turns out

Nottoobadyet

Update all - OH has had a talk with his boss and, well its a mixed bag.

The good thing is that his job is safe, and hes been given some extra projects / hours, which means that he'll be taking home an extra £200-£300 a month and hes offered to stay until at least autumn. I'm not sure how I feel about this - his current job is great experience, but because hes essentially on an hourly wage he gets no benefits or paid leave, so if he gets sick or needs to go home for an emergency, or even just take a break, well then tough, no income. :eek: Neither of us qualify for any sort of benefits so it could be a real crisis, and I'd feel much better if he instead dedicated himself to finding a permanent job, even though thats tough in this climate. We could technically survive on just my salary if everything hit the fan, but it would be very tight indeed and would make all but minimum repayments impossible.

I'm sure this sounds like a pathetic gripe to everyone on here who is dealing with much bigger problems, like pay cuts and redundancies, but I thought I'd get in my little moan while I could!

jo1972

Morning NTBY,

It is a worrying situation, but at least he's in work I guess

Made the pasta bake last night, put extra cheese and parmasan on it, totally yum! Supposed to feed 6 but I think I used too much ingredients as I don't measure anything, it fed the 5 of us and I've still got half left, they weren't small portions either!

Thanks for the recipe

Nottoobadyet

Ohhh glad it worked out! I made it smaller thinking that with only two of us it would last, but it the leftovers disappeared by lunch the next day... just too good to sit in the fridge!

You're completely right that being in work is really good for this day and age. I guess that after struggling through this last year where he was studying and only working part time, I had hoped that there would be a reasonable jump in salary / job security that would magically appear. Oh well.

elantan

have saved that recipe thank you it sounds tasty and filling


ohhh a veggie ...i am attempting this so recipes would be very welcome ...have been attempting this all year and in the most i have succeeded...just the odd occasonal slip but they are getting fewer and fewer (about once every two months or so) do you ever get cravings for meat?

re your oh i know what you mean when your saying that you shouldnt worry others have it worse ...but the truth is you arnt others you are you and it affects you not others so if it worries you you shouldnt feel guilty ...

is there anyway you can save some of his extra earnings as a emergency pot? maybe build it up slowly ?

Nottoobadyet

The truth is I was raised a veggie so no, I don't ever get meat cravings! Meat doesn't even really look like food to me. The only time I'm tempted is when traveling someplace that doesn't have much veggie food, like northern Greece where I had to survive on salty cheese and cucumbers for a week :P

I know quite a lot of people that are mostly veggie but eat meat or fish occasionally, and if you're doing it to generally reduce your carbon footprint / reduce your reliance on the meat industry, then I don't see any problem with that. I think its best to work out how you want to eat based on your own ethical or health goals and work towards that, rather than cutting out huge chunks of your menu all at once. Best of luck!

An emergency pot is a good idea... I am a bit torn though between paying off debt sooner rather than later to save on the interest and having money put aside. I actually keep most of what I put aside for debt into an instant access saving account, which I empty and wire transfer every time my mum asks for it (usually when the exchange rate is good). There is usually a few months of salary in there so I'm sure we could raid it if worst came to worst.

Nottoobadyet

Had a productive day - got my letters sent and my passport sent off to get additional pages put in.

Out of curiosity I looked at my new years resolutions from last year, and bloody hell, since last December I have been to 10 foreign countries! That doesn't include trips within England (several of those) and places I've been more than once this year. No wonder I'm out of money!! :wall:

Nottoobadyet

Well I've had several low spend days here, but largely its been from not feeling too hot and staying in the house! I wont lul myself into a false sense of security here - I'm being frugal because no one is around to blow £40 in the pub with, not because I'm better behaved.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma a the moment - my partner needs to go home for surgery on his hand at the end of January. I'd like to go with him (not an exciting trip, but I want to be there for him), and Easyjet flies so its not overly expensive (about £200). The problem is that the home office here has his passport to renew his visa, and if it doesn't get it back in time, then he'll have to move the surgery. In that case, we'll just lose the tickets since you cant change anything with Easyjet. Arg, its frustrating because the longer I wait the more expensive flights get. Fingers crossed that his passport (which they've had upwards of two months) will get back in the next few days and we can just book and go.

Onwards and upwards....