Botanical blunderings on a budget - good life starts here.

Pippilongstocking

Maty - that made me giggle!!

Keiss has done a stripey shop thank you keiss xxx

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

You can also get paper tape - this sort of thing - http://www.tapes-direct.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=148_192&products_id=900 - but not sure how good (i.e. strong) it is. You can recycle it with paper.. but dunno if it's made of recycled paper in the first place. Interesting one!

This also seems pretty good -http://www.euroffice.co.uk/i/z5d2/Scotch-Magic-Tape-900-Natural-Fibre-Film-19mmx33m-Ref-90019339-Pack-9

Thank you, I've got all the stuff, will cut flowers tomorrow and fingers crossed I get it right. If I do, won't cost more than bag sugar

Much appreciated thank you so much.

Catching up withyouall, just home(via reduced shop from a meeting.

Uni - I'll post my recipes tomorrow, yours looks ace. Mine is different but tasty too;)

I made meatballs, turkey (let's pretend it's chicken curry), stew, fajhitas (ready to go not cooked) and shepherds pie, um ok five teas.

I'm hardly organised, just a 'frugal-bugal' MSE devotee

Keiss_21

Pippi - I have PMed you. Stripey shopping accomplished, what fun we had!

Thanks to you all for your good wishes about the interview. It went pretty well I think (but you can never tell!). I should hear by Monday, so fingers crossed.

Hope the meeting went well, oh dear to ex-supervisor being there, but that's small communities for you, You just can't get away from the bad'uns, and you never see the good'uns often enough, funny how that is!!

Off to bed soon, shattered after our busy day. DS2 really can't cope with a long shopping session...wimp! :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

Thanks keiss muchly superbly appreciated, got your pm xxxxx your poor ds xxx


Lt, missed u too lots and keiss, cheery yup small communities indeed, chair wants get rid him too, ex supervisors days are numbered! No claws involved.

Today netted a pile of reduced shopping, late in supermarket. Mainly veg, bread, meat and fruit.

Also got half a bucket of courgettes at work and 3plants, guy told me to help myself to veg ( as payment for petrol) so I thinned, sorted out the end rot courgettes (a problem in tunnels, if the courgettes flower isn't removed from the fruits, the end begins to rot, rest of courgette is ok, but left alone whole fruit will rot) so, scratched arms, bucket of usable courgette halves later, for free, I've. Pot if pasta sauce bubbling away now for free or, to balance petrol money. Yay. We all win. I can have all dropped ( and can't sell) tomatoes. This will help me hugely. Don't feel guilty about the driving into town/ no paid work bit.

Want o stay up til midnight to see if wages in, but tired! Xx

Post recipes tomorrow promise



The rest of you, no bowing required

Pippilongstocking

Sorry on iPad, still can't use it, end bit should read, you lot very silly no bowing required lol xxxxx bow to you all and Martin couldn't do it without u xxxxx

Pippilongstocking

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

I make cordial something like this - http://www.jammychicken.com/2011/07/elderflower-cordial.html - if you don't have citric acid then add a few more lemons, but mine was a lot better with the citric acid.

Got elderflower & ginger 'champagne' brewing at the moment too (must remember to put that in the fridge tonight before it explodes :rotfl:)

Thank you, that's what I tried to say thank u to earlier lol, ingredients t the ready! Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Cheri oh, I'll look thank you too xxxx

cherisong wrote: »

I have an elderflower champagne recipe on my blog somewhere I think. Made it last year. I keep looking a the elderflower round here at the moment but it isnt exciting me enough. Must check out that cordial recipe.

Yes Pippi, the deal is that you get onto it this afternoon. It could make a bloomin big difference.

Pippilongstocking

Been paid, yay! And yup I'm this sad, woke up early and first thought was check bank will budget it later

*veggies probably want to skip past the next bit of recipes its all meat I'm afraid*

Ok recipes all are four-six peeps, we eat for four freeze two for quick meals, or I take out a couple portions (2-3) before I serve anything, easier that way to make sure some left!! The costs are based on the labels in my freezer - I know we don't all get reductions to the level my place does but the principles of cooking the stuff mainly come from the os board on here, so I've learnt tonnes. We rarely buy branded, fajhita mix is one thing 'ready made' we buy in, as is gravey thickener and curry paste, aside that I tried jars etc of stuff, but I don't tend to buy them, not cos they're not any good, just cos they've developed mainly whilst I've lived off mailnand and I'm not familiar with them, so I buy passata or chopped tomatoes, generally in tetrapacks, whatever is on offer, the last batch I bought (20 packs!) was passata 500g for 29p, cheaper than anything else I could see so I snapped it up. good old mse

I ALWAYs buy reduced meat, I try my hardest to buy local, but I'm lucky I live in a very farming based region with beef/lamb readily available, so often I can buy local meat reduced, if I can't buy that I buy scottish even if I don't need it, I figure at some point I might, I'm not happy with buying factory farmed chicken, so I tend to buy turkey as a substitute - they are generally treated better (maybe cos they are bigger and look like thugs?) than factory chicken, I buy local free range or freedom chicken otherwise. I'm also lucky that in my supermarkets they reduce the meat to almost nowt at the end of the day, often you can pick up mince/meat for 10p-99p most weeks - so I stash it and always look for it.

We often also use quorn as a subby for turkey - no one notices.

I normally (9 times out of ten) lob soya mince/chunks into anything I make, we've done this slowly adjusting the amount we add over the past couple years - I'd say we're almost at half and half for soya/meat these days - which I think is nicer now. But its a matter of taste and if you add it when browning meat, you don't notice it as it sucks up the flavour, add it at the end or half way through its pretty rank and tastes like polystrene. (BUT, thats only my opinion:rotfl:) best added when browning meat, or if veggie I guess you know how to use it, but I put it in when sauting veggies.

Meatballs
Pack of reduced fresh scottish beef burgers 94% beef (99p from£4.95) - we don't eat burgers much but thought at that price we could use the meat for something different
Two large onions (20p)
Two packs mr T passata 500g, (58p, 2@29p)
Two stock cubes (value 10p for 10) 2p
Two table spoons value mixed herbs (?)
Squeeze Gia garlic paste (69p a tube- prob used 5p)
Double handful home gown windowsill basil - plant cost 75p, harvested 8 times now, handful frozen basil ? (<5p)
2pints water
Cost -£1.89

Serve with half 500g pack value spaghetti -(41p ea) -20.5p

Chuck burgers into bowl and mix with half the dried mixed herbs, half the garlic
Reform into walnut sized meatballs
Warm large non-stick pan, gently add and brown meatballs, no oil, enough in meat, (chuck in half a handful/tablespoon soya mince if you want here)
When brownish add chopped onions and then stock (water and cubes mixed)
Add passatta, rinse cartons and add that into pan too
Add garlic, dried herbs and basil
Gently cook on stove or oven for 1-2hours until sauce nicely thick.

Our bolognese recipe is similar, but with 150-200g mince to one cup of soya at the start instead of the meatballs, tried soya mince into meatball mix (not the most successful experiment! they fell apart) :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

Mince
1 200g lamb mince - reduced -10p - or any beef mince
1 cup soya mince dried - £1.64 pack mr T (375g) - used 80g -34p (we added only a bit of this each time we cooked meat until we got to our 'capacity' for soya mince, slowly adjusted the family, now I can't eat 'straight' mince or bolognese without soya mince, think the soya helps make it 'lighter' and for every 200g of meat it almost doubles your mix which is brilliant)
2onions chopped (20p)
2 stock cubes - 2p
2pints water
1 bay leaf (1p)
Two table spoons gravy thickener (10p)
Carrot chopped- (5p)
Diced swede (freezer, from garden) free
Cost - 82p

serve with tatties and or dumplings, I always buy reduced tatties too, generally cheap and put in fridge where they keep for yonks - I've one 10p bag left in there - need to find more or buy a big bag of local tatties

Brown mince, no oil
Add soya mince once meat browned and 'brown' this in meat oil and juices
Add onions chopped and stock and bay leaf
Add carrots and neep (if wanted)
Cook for 30 mins or longer depending on the time you've got
Thicken with gravy granules or flour, use as base for shepherds pie or as mince or as pie filling

Pippilongstocking

Turkey or chicken curry (this is pricey but less than a curry out)

1 500g pack turkey breast escapoles/steaks reduced £2.45 from £6
Splash veg oil - <5p
2 onions 20p
Squeeze garlic Gia paste - 5p
Two tablespoons pataks korma paste - (bought on bogoff, made it £1 a jar) -25p
Two table spoons value curry powder - 5p
Handful cardamons - 5p
Two mr t 500g - 29p each - 58p
Handful soya mince ( 15p)
Handful porridge oats to thicken (5p)
2 chicken stockcubes (2p)
Cost - £3.95

Serve with half pack value basmati rice with couple cardamons pods lobbed in (50p)

Heat oil and garlic in pan add curry powder cook a bit
Chop and brown meat lob into non stick pan
Throw in soya mince to juices
Add paste, onions mix
Add tomatoes, rinse packs and add stock
Throw in cardamons if wanted - I think makes it more aromatic
Reduce heat simmer on stove or put in oven if batch cooking for 1 hour+
when sauce reduced down gently sprinkle porridge on and mix, goes thicker and a bit shiny, nice effect.

I like potatoes and cauliflower in this (or I cook it just with them for a veggie curry) but the chaps don't.

We also make this a 'creamy korma like version' substitute tomato for tin/packet/dried coconut milk

Turkey breast cheaper than chicken that's for sure
Works brilliantly with quorn too - no one even notices it's not chicken

Pippilongstocking

Fajhitas

425g turkey strips of breast (3.00, reduced to 29p)
1 el paso fajhita dinner kit -1.04 ( or flatbreads, fajhita dry mix, salsa)
3-4onions 30p
2 peppers - 1.05
Japapenos Fridge, home grown preserved in vinegar
Half tub reduced double cream or elmlea (5p) splash lemon juice, makes sour cream
1/2 stock cube, 1/4 pint water (0.5p)
Cost 2.73

Mix breast meat (or quorn) with dry spice
Brown in a hot pan non stick, don't really need oil - cook through
Roughly chop peppers and onions in strips
Add onion and pepper
Cook for couple mins then add stock to sizzle
Serve with salsa, sour cream and hot tortillas (heat in micro for one min)
Eat quickly, no one is your friend, elbows out and make sure you get your share!!

OH likes cheese with these and left over rice, I'm inclined to go without cheese, think enough going on flavour wise, and cheese is pricey!!!!

Pippilongstocking

Stew

1x10p stewing steak 250g
2xonions (20p)
2xcarrots (10p)
neep if wanted - (Free)
2xstockcubes -2p
2pint water
Bay leaves -1p
Gravy thickening (10p)
Squish Gia garlic puree (5p)
Cost - 68p

Brown meat in nonstick pan
Lob in handful soya if wanted
Add veggies
Add stock and bay leaves
Cook on stove or oven -1-2 hours
Thicken gravy with granules or flour

Serve with bag dumplings mix (46p) or pastry (we buy reduced and freeze) and tatties/veg - I often bulk the meat bit up with chunky veggies added after browning, I don't like stew the family love it, so I eat the chunky veg and gravey they eat the meat bit and veg, we're all happy.

stew, bleurgh, one reason I was veggie for many years was stew, its the devils work, bleurgh, bleurgh.