let there be cake

quintwins

I'm also avoid af at the mo, i just don't ahve the room in my tiny new house.

I get my RTC stuff on a sunday, trading hours are different here so i got at between 3 and 6, i can get bread for 20p if i got at 3 and a few bbits of fruit and veg and possible some chilled things, but if i got just before 6 when they close i can get bread as cheap as 3p so depends what i want really.

My mums cars roken so i'm playing taxi, she works near the big tesco go far this week i've got 2 2kg bags of carrots for 11p each, a bagette for 8p (they had loads i'm gonna cut it up for the freezer) and some baps for 10p (kids love baps for breakfast), problem is with all the running my meal plans went out the window, i have only been buying bargains and things i need tho.

Have you seen MG's tatie curry? looks yummy and cheap if you can get the kids to eat it.

I think selling stuff on ebay is a good idea, however don't forget about gumtree it's free and pick up only thinsg like butcher blocks might sell better on there.

TiredIAm

greenbee wrote: »

Let me know what windsurfing kit you've got and I'll run it past my brother.

Do you have holiday plans, or are you holidaying at home year?

It was from e-bay some years ago, took the tweenagers but not adults.

My sister was kindly pet/housesitting, and we had vague plans for a cottage week in July. Currently off, by mutual agreement, we both refuse to run up debts for a holiday. Camping would be cheap and we have the kit but I'd really rather not. Memory foam keeps me moving despite the fibro.

Biggest concern is if he finds a job trying to find some childcare cover at short notice.

24 chocolate chip buns (now 22), and 36 twinks - the majority are intended for the freezer ready for packed lunches.

Quintwins, I do miss decent RTCs, but I live in a village. It is a 10 mile round trip to a supermarket and the £5 in fuel simply isn't worth it on the off chance of decent reductions. The new potato curry looks lovely, I have some earlies in the greenhouse bed so I am tempted.

Co-op, BOGOF cheese (bland cathedral city, the only one DS2 will eat), RTC half cucumber, my milk and some coriander so I can make MGs curry in a hurry base. Lots of 25% off RTC meat/veg, I might go back later this evening and see if it has gone down any further. After buying the cheese I probably had better not! £6.65 spent :eek:

quintwins

Oh i love cathedral cheese, the new pilrims choice tastes the same, theres usually one or the other bogof/half price somewhere.

pity it costs so much to go shopping, i can get a tesco del slot of £3 tho that could be your cheapest option if you can't shop arounds (from what i understand asda is just as cheapy but don't del here, nice fancy new store is opening in sep tho )

greenbee

If the windsurfing stuff is ancient then eBay is probably your best bet. As for holiday, I was going to suggest a home swap, but it would cost you to be away anyway. How about getting your sister to come and stay and doing some day trips with her (or with DH while she pet sits)? Or send her camping with the boys I guess DH needs to be around anyway in case interviews/work come up. Despite the password issue, linkedin is probably a good bet for him... Has he got his stuff up to date?

Horace

Sorry to hear that you are in a pickle - I have been there (although no mortgage thankfully), it is not a nice place to be. I had enormous help from MG.

I have changed the way I shop - I use my local butcher for some meat (not all) and I buy some meat from Aldi along with some fruit and veg with other veg being bought from the greengrocer. Aldi has some quite good things - I havent tried their non-bio washing powder yet but I will get some when I run out of my tatco non-bio which I bought last year (I eke it out).

Pilgrims Choice cheese tastes like Cathedral City - I will only buy cheese now if it is on BOGOF as one gets used straightaway and the other block goes in the freezer although that makes it a bit crumbly but cheese is cheese however it goes on the sandwich.:D

Free range chickens eat things like worms so I wouldnt worry about a few veg peelings, they make for a better tasting egg and meat. Maybe if your hens become more prolific layers you could sell boxes to neighbours and friends? I know one lad who sells his eggs via his dad's farm shop - he sells a half dozen (a mix of white and brown eggs) for £1.27, he even sells hens for £10 each.

When I first moved into my flat I admit that I couldnt really cook so one of my work colleagues spent a night writing out all her favourite easy recipes because she always cooked an evening meal. One of my favourites which is really cheap was cheese & potato pie - basically mashed potato in a dish sprinkled with cheese or if I was really daring I would add onion to the potato then top with cheese and bake in the oven until browned on top. You can make this with cheddar or with primula tube cheese.

TiredIAm

Hi Horace and thanks for posting. Hens eat anything, never mind worms, they eat the remains of mice that the cats leave if I don't get there first. One is old and rarely lays any more, two eggs from the three who do lay isn't bad. The local farm sells them at £5 each so I could buy more but I am waiting for the old brown hen to expire first as I already have pecking order issues. Hen politics are complicated!

DS2 instantly spots subs for cathedral city, even if you put it in the same packet! We have tried the Pilgrim before, and most of the alternatives. DS1 much prefers extra mature Black Bomber and refuses to eat plastic cheese. I generally buy whatever mature is the best price per kg, and freeze it in 4oz blocks and/or grated for general use.

We have had to spend money on school shoes this morning - DS1 had a hole and hadn't told me because he knows things are tight. Good of him but the guilt was enormous.

Quick trip into Lidl as we were passing, 6 packs of sausages (half price, and 3 with another 30% off), fruit, oil, butter, and some milk. £8.01 spent, which takes me to 14.66.

The sausages have been frozen in pairs. Kept one pack out, and defrosted a block of puff pastry. I will make sausage rolls and some cheese and onion ones to freeze for something quick to put in lunches later.

I also plan to make MGs curry base today, again for the freezer.

Quintwins, Sainsbugs do free delivery when you spend £100 so I tend to use them every few months when I need pet stuff and basics. Asda are awful. Tesco are ok, I use them when they send vouchers, but this time they sent me in store ones which are no use even if i had the money (£13 off a £90 as well, humph).

I looked at the utilities and we are on the cheapest tariff already. The oven wasn't that bad to run, and I can fit much more into the side one if I am baking so worth using.

I found a couple of sad baking apples when I was tidying. I also have a packet of value stuffing. Must be able to cobble these together to stretch the sausage meat.

TiredIAm

I skinned 8 sausages, added a made up packet of basic stuffing, mixed thoroughly and used this for 48 sausage rolls. Very nice they are too but the boys have eaten lots of them. Must freeze the rest before they (or Daddy) snaffle them all. 32p sausages, 15p stuffing, 75p puff pastry so not bad at all if I can freeze some for packed lunches.

Dinner will be curry, DH tasted the curry in a hurry base and decided it was essential that we test it for dinner. I suggested kidney beans or tofu but he was adamant it deserved chicken cubes.

TiredIAm

Lamb shoulder slow cooking in the oven, leftovers will do shephards pie tomorrow. Might even use the cabbage of doom.

Reduced full fat milk (46p) in the co-op so I have finally got round to having a go at making cheese. Added chives and garlic so could be interesting.

I also made the dregs of the cob nuts into biscotti - the raw mix was lovely.

greenbee

There was a delicious braised cabbage recipe on the Yorkshire cook site a while back which might work

I have 7.5 avocados and 4 mangoes, so need to redo my meal plan...

TiredIAm

Sadly the cabbage was beyond recovery. Even the hens objected.

The biscotti are lovely, only had enough nuts for a half mix.