Botanical blunderings on a budget - good life starts here.

Pippilongstocking

Ok not quite 4 meals for under a tenner - um, well 5 actually but definitely over £10 with the accompaniments. Each recipe will give at least two-three into the freezer portions except the fajhitas where its everyman/mse'r for themselves and there's never anything left.

I often batch cook, so we've meals in freezer/fridge for the week/ only have to cook rice/pasta/tatties when home. Much easier, thank you mse

However, these are only the way I do it from the storecupboard, freezer and we improvise with whichever reduced bits we've got stashed or have acquired or collected (ie I've reduced cream in the freezer which I've been keeping for fajhitas). Adding the porridge to thicken is an Os thing and the soya mince is too, other folk use lentils but my kids don't like the texture. Alot of the ideas came from that 'what sneaky ways do you save the pennies thread' from ages back which I just love.

OK phew - thats my homework for today done!!! Happy to answer anything if wanted (I doubt there will be any questions, you'll all be bored rigid and refusing to come visit due to the shoddy cooking!)

off for a cuppa and a cuddle with OH, who's oblivious to my subdefuge this am so far

starnac

enjoy your cuppa and cuddle.

Thanks for the recipies. Was planning on making bolognese for tea tonight as DH has been away camping with a school group. Might have to rummage around in store cupboard and make my own sauce instead of using the jar I've got.

Maty no not nesting yet just sick of this place looking like a !!!!!! hole (oops did I just swear?? sorry I never swear)

DD has her first sports day today. So I'm going up the school later for that and then they are having a teddy bear's picnic afterwards. She was much quicker than I thought this morning when I asked her to pick a teddy to take with her. I thought she'd be there for ages deciding but she just picked Sophie her "baby" (her doll). She looked so cutein her shorts and t shirt this morning. She always picks dresses or skirts to wear so to see her in shorts was fab.

Must get off and see what I have for a picnic

Karmacat

Good lord, Pippi! Thats a lot of computer work so early in the morning! Hope you're getting a proper cuddle from Oh

The deal on the courgettes sounds great! I must say, courgettes seem to grow really easily, and yet they're pretty expensive in the shops. I might well try a few plants next year (there'll be no grass left at all, which suits me fine ).

gilligansyle

Wow you've been working hard this morning with those recipes pippi.

Will have a look through them - I can't go back a page, someone used Aldi pasta sauce in a recipe - I've never got to grips with ready made sauces as the salt content is too high for me but I make a basic tomato sauce that gets added to just about everything.

2 tins tomato
1 onion
1 carrot
stick of celery
clove garlic
basil leaves
tbsp olive oil

Chop veg into even sized pieces.
Fry garlic in oil,chuck it all in a pan and simmer for about an hour.
Blend or sieve.

Cost - about a pound, depending on how cheap you can get the tomatoes. You could also use any other spare veg up.

Cheery_Daff

Oooh, glad you're getting all that free veg Pippi! :T :T Definitely makes going into town worth it! :T:T :T

(am also impressed at how early you were up and how busy you were! :eek:)

Pippilongstocking

Thanks gill ace recipe - will give that a go I use stock cubes which are loaded with salt I guess, but the value ones are ace (10p a pack) and not as salty as the branded ones, IMHO.

starnac we must be opposites, I swear, um, well, alot, a bit like a farmer! Your dd may or may not get a parcel soon they said 3-4 days hope she likes the fairy book, was my dd favourite

KC - I was so excited about getting paid! Courgettes are really easy (here under cover) but with you outside, the trick is to not grow too many and sicken yourself of them. And, watch out for the killer spikes - I'm scratched to blazes! It *is* a good deal for me, helps me to fill up on the sauces for dd and her pasta consumption of epic-ness.

Now I have £812 wages and I need to allocate it!

Today:

Hen to feed
Collect eggs, drop eggs if enough
Working, take in more fish boxes and a couple sad looking courgettes of my own from the garden (not enjoying life al fresco in the frozen north)
Do a bit work on web stuff
Talk to web lady about cost to date, then can allocate whats left
speak to landlord, I'm being woosy about this about putting tunnel up
Go get hen food, look at metal for polytunnel
Bit work on flower project
Bit work on revisions
May or may not tootle at charity shops, its getting paid I've gone all giddy



Catch you later chaps!

Karmacat

£812, thats great!

I must do some bulk cooking of strong sauces ... I often just throw stuff into toasted sesame oil and balsamic vinegar, and swish around - that is *nice*, mind you. I started using ketchup on its own, then realised how expensive it was compared to just 30 seconds of effort. I'm very lazy I think a lot, but I'm lazy :cool::rotfl:

Uniscots97

Thanks for the recipes Pippi, am off to supermarket tonight so will see what I can get. If it were me I'd pass on courgettes but thats only as they make my throat swell up, strange I know and I found out the hard way!

NorthernLas

Pippi - if you have a glut of courgettes you can always peel and grate and make cakes with them. The structure of the veg means that cakes are lovely and rich but can be pretty fat free.

I have recipes if you need them

NL x

Uniscots97

gilligansyle wrote: »

, someone used Aldi pasta sauce in a recipe - I've never got to grips with ready made sauces as the salt content is too high for me but I make a basic tomato sauce that gets added to just about everything.

Hello, that was me. I tend to keep this in the cupboard to add to things if i want a shortcut which recently has been a saviour (had an op recently so can't stand too long), when I have time i do make my own and put it all in the slow cooker. But at 18p a jar I can't argue with that as Aldi's is one of the nicest cheap pasta sauces i've tried.