make do and mend for tougher times

fuddle

Can I ask another question?

I have a top oven and a main oven. Default for me for cooking is the main oven. I was wondering would it cost less to run the top oven instead. Does it cook the same?

Also, hotpot. Never had one or made one. I'm going to go source recipes later to see if it's worth adding to the meal plan

Had a reminder flyer from my local organic box scheme. I quit doing it when money got tighter but wondering if it's worth doing it again as we now eat a lot of veg. I'll look into it.

quintwins

fuddle wrote: »

Can I ask another question?

I have a top oven and a main oven. Default for me for cooking is the main oven. I was wondering would it cost less to run the top oven instead. Does it cook the same?

Also, hotpot. Never had one or made one. I'm going to go source recipes later to see if it's worth adding to the meal plan

Had a reminder flyer from my local organic box scheme. I quit doing it when money got tighter but wondering if it's worth doing it again as we now eat a lot of veg. I'll look into it.

The door fell of my main over nearly 2 weeks ago, it's driving me batty, i cooked pizza in my top oven and the base was soggy, i cookied biccys and burnt half the batch on one side of the tray, it is cheaper to use your top oven, but it's even cheaper to use both at once as it takes less to heat the top when the bottoms on, so if you can fill it and freezer things i would do that.

You can make hotpot in the slowcooker and thats alot cheaper than using either oven

Veg boxes aren't for me, i like to pick and choose offers, i find them expensive and i'm abit fussy like yesterday one if my kids asked for a brocolli in tesco and i said yes but there must have been hundreds but they were all really really soft, we checked them all even the loose and more expensive oragnic ones, so in the end i tld him there was some in the freezer and left it, his brother is really fussy and won't eat blimished fruit, so if an apple had a pit i couldn't give it to him, he's being tested for autism later in the year and i would rather humor him for now with something as simple as that.

fuddle

Thanks for that. My oven is definitely a large expense. My freezer space is limited as I shop for the month, freezing milk etc I don't batch cook.

Are halogen ovens a good way of saving money through electricity? Can you cook yorkshire puddings, fruit crumbles, lasagnes etc in a halogen oven?

I can cut the gas costs but really struggling with the electricity.

No, box schemes are not for me either. I have just reminded myself of the prices and I can't pay that just now. I would love to mind, but no. The 6 miler and trolley it is. I'm missing going down actually but I just don't think I can take the girls that far.

mardatha

I've never used my big oven since I got the cooker - an electric oven uses a fantastic amount of power, I donot about a gas one but it will use less. I have Calor gas. I don't batch cook either, I kept forgetting to take the stuff out of the freezer lol

kate1974

Hello,
Somebody asked about hand-washing-I did the hand-washing last time 13 years ago when our washing machine broke down and we couldn't repair it for 3 weeks-the memory of blood blisters on my hands is still fresh:rotfl:

Pooky

Fuddle - anything you can cook in an oven can be done in a halogen, I love mine and have used it daily. There's no heating up needed so it's pop the food in and set it going. It can be a faff if you're cooking more than one thing as sometimes you need to swap them from top to bottom but the running costs being so much lower are worth the hassle. I got the arg0s own make as it had excellent reviews, you need to think about baking tins/dishes etc as they need to be on the smaller side but I picked up a couple of small 89p roasting tins in Mr Ms that fit the bill

As for washing clothes, Ive been there and done that with that washing by hand when I couldn't afford a machine, I won't be going back to it. I'm fussy with what's washed and we all make clothes last as long as possible, mainly by having "in" and "out" clothes, we all change when we come in and the good clothes get hung up and we have trackies/leggings etc for round the house. Underwear is changed at least once a day, other stuff gets the sniff test.

I do a wash load per day on average. Our bedding gets changed weekly, DDs every other week (both have double beds so a load each, each time) , towels get changed weekly along with bath mats (hand towels every other day) I get through at least five tea towels a day. Then there's the normal clothing washes and the cat bedding/blankets get done each week. Door mats/rugs get done weekly and cushion covers and sofa blankets get done every 6 weeks or so.

I can't abide smelly people in dirty clothes, or even clean people in dirty clothes, there's no need for it.

mrswive

I too love a good cuppa, or rather several good cuppas, and last year I tried the Sainsbury's basics tea bags on the reccommendation of several posters on this forum - still using them as they make a really good cuppa, are v. cheap and fair trade too. What's not to love?

[Deleted User]

Hello again, can I add to my blackberry hand? I'll raise you 12oz of lovely ripe wildies collected this afternoon when we walked Docky!!! They are now in the freezer with the ones I picked from the garden this morning. Cheers Lyn xx.

Pooky

Do you not soak your blackberries first? I soak them for 24 hours in slightly salty water, the amount of creepy crawlies that emerge is quite stomach turning.

fuddle

Mrs L... slightly envious here. I haven't even considered how I'm going to pick the wild ones with a bounding beagle/collie cross. One treat for Alfie, one blackberry for me QUICK! :rotfl:

I've been investigating the cost of running a top oven as opposed to a main oven and all I can come up with is it will be cheaper because the capacity is less.

I've entered my readings to predict my usage for gas and elect this month and I'm set to have spent £1 more than last month on gas (someone has had deeper baths! :mad: :rotfl: ) and electricity £10 more than last month :eek: That's got to be more PC runnings. wii playing, TV watching, games consoles charging with the kids off school) not happy though

I get to play all day online though as I use a netbook. Once charged I get 7 hours of battery life.