'supporting each other through really tough times'

SDG31000

Morning everyone

I hope rummy has a speedy recovery

fuddle Do you have a local Lidl? Their weekend offers are sometimes well worth having and I stock up the freezer when they are ones the family will eat. You are allowed 6 packs of the meat offer per person, so DH takes me and we get up to 12. After a few weeks you have a good selection of meat to work with. That said this week's sausages are very cheap, but not a bargain as they are awful. Oh and Mr T has big packs of steak mince at half price at the moment, much nicer than the basic stuff and not much more cost wise. I'm sure we can come up with some new recipes between us

I love a good jumble sale. I haven't been to one in ages as DH has absolutely no interest in them. I have to get my bargains from charity shops.
Today I need to go to the supermarket and try to make the most of the money off vouchers I have and I need to cook some more pulled pork. DS2 has to take pizza toppings into school on Thursday and wants to take some. I'm waiting to hear what his teacher's response to it is lol.
Yesterday was a good day in the charity shop. The manager of another local shop was in helping and is trying to poach me to go and help there. I've said that I will consider it in the Spring as the path down to the shop is untreated and absolutely terrible in bad weather. It also has very little lighting and I wouldn't want to be coming home in the dark. It is always nice to be appreciated though

Time for more tea. Take care everyone xxx

Pooky

We have lots of jumbles in the village hall but I've yet to muster the courage to go (and I tend to forget they're on until the day after).

Fuddle - house looks fab, is the rent the same as where you are now?

I'm going to attack Mt Washmore before venturing over to Mt Ironmore for the sheer fun of it. I've found a christmas radio station so will drive the kids mad with non stop festivity.

SDG31000

One other thing....

I was clearing out my internet favourites and came across this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBaHPND2QJg&feature=player_embedded

Turn the volume way up and I hope it makes you feel as joyous as the people watching it/performing it.

xxx

fuddle

Pooky wrote: »

Fuddle - house looks fab, is the rent the same as where you are now?

Sure is pooky Hoping that with a house half the size as the old one we're in now that the heating costs will come right down. Plus the heating is ran by a thermostat on the new one and no just heating on constant.

There's a lidl right where DH works, I'll send him in, gawd knows what I'll get mind :eek:

[Deleted User]

I love the house fuddle, looks a lovely cosy nest. My bro and his wife and 2 daughters bought a tiny starter home 23 years ago and they still live there because it is so easy and cheap to run

for those who want to try the os way of veg preserving ie fermenting

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...egetables.html

you don`t need electricity, just a pot and a bit of salt.

kidcat

Fuddle - its a new build so will be very economical to run, all the insulation etc will all be at new regs and windows etc all good too. We moved into our 7yr old house from two old uninsulated houses, we noticed the difference immediately, we used £36 of gas between May and October, that was cooking (hob), and heating water. In previous houses we used £300 gas during the same months and were grateful it was so much smaller than winter bills

Mrs_Veg_Plot

meme30 we are doing OK so far. Mr VPhas applied for quite a few jobs but has not heard anything so far. There is a job coming up at my place that Iam going to apply for that is a band higher than I am at the moment and thereare four years of annual increments attached to it. We are hoping that my back will have improvedenough in the next couple of weeks for me to start doing bank shifts again.

Fuddle I often do rubber chicken weeks as I out of 1 chicken for 4 people Ican get a roast dinner, a chicken and pasta dish as risotto type dish and asoup for soup and sweet night by making a stock from the carcass and pickingthe little bits of chicken off the bones. I can stretch a packet of mince really well by padding it out with soyamince (not too much) lots of red lentils and veg. If your OH is like mine and sometimes feelsdeprived if he does not have meat in his meal try cauliflower cheese but swophalf of the milk in the sauce for chicken stock and add a bit of chopped ham tothe sauce, it’s very tasty and seems totick the meat box. I am not so good at padding out other meats unless it’s astew or casserole but DD2 has gone off them. There is nothing wrong with basics and it will be worth saving all ofthose pennies towards your holiday. Ifanyone deserves a holiday it’s you. The new house looks great. :j

SDG31000 that clip was great, I had a grin from ear to ear by the end of it. Thank you.

Hardup Hester I love your avatar. LesDawson used to make me laugh out loud. I can still see him now in charactertalking about a hysterectomy.

Quiet day foe me today MR VP has done all of the housework during the week amd most of the laundry so I just have the ironing to do. I wanted to do some baking bu MR VP used all 10 eggs on two omlettes for breakfast :eek: :mad:.

Off to try to prise a teenager out of their bed before lunch, wish me luck.

Mrs VP

missrlr

Couple of ideas we use regularly sausage pasta bake, brown sausages and chunky onion bits on pan, cut cooked sausages to bite sized pieces cook pasta mix cheapy tin toms and whatever interesting bits you want re herbs, chilli, or use browned bits from sausages pan to make BBQ type flavour, mix together if you want scatter barest handful of cheese on top serve.

Tuna lasagna if you can get the tuna cheap, mix with cheap toms onions herbs layer between pasta and pour basic white sauce over top stick in oven for 40 mins 180 oC

Cheapo fake carbonara: Spaghetti cook, chop any veg have into little bits and add to cooking spaghetti, drain, break couple eggs over it and beat together heat of spaghetti cooks eggs. Grate a small handful cheese on top when served. You can add loads of stuff to this, ham pieces, any other meat pieces, breadcrumbs to top to make a crunch works nicely with halved cherry toms if on offer or anti pasti toms if you can get hold of them sometimes cheap in l1dl I use oil for flavouring other pasta dishes by drizzling.
The cheapest place to buy chicken is zc0stc0 we use 1 breast for 2 of us p meal and no scuzzy white polyphosphates in it or added water!

Potato and ham hotpot, layer thinly sliced spuds and onions. Add ham where you can cover with white sauce or cheese sauce and cook slowly works with any meat, I you don't have a lot just out it on the top layer.

Have you considered liver if people will eat it. You not need a lot and with some onions and pots by tasty.

Hope that helps.

2tonsils

I heard someone mention olive oil soap...forget giving it to the relatives and keep it...its worth its weight in gold! Really good for using in the bath/shower as its very moisturising, it helps with dry skin conditions and can be used to wash the hair even if your hair is dry. It can be used for hand washing for wool garments and it is fantastic for cleaning as it will remove any stains including oil/grease and red wine. It is so cheap in Greece as its produced here from the excess from olive pressing...I pay a euro a bar which lasts for ages. I used to take loads of it with me in my case when I visited America, as the African American girls loved it when I gave them it as a present as it was so moisturising. They used to give us a huge discount at the shopping mall when we took it for them.

I also have jumble sale envy...I have been trying to convince everyone here to start holding them in the village halls and everyone would benefit. I think I spent most of my childhood searching through jumbles, my mum was an expert with four children to clothe and on very low wages.

Having a lovely relaxing weekend and the sun is out. Bliss. Going out tonight to the karaoke and tomorrow there are two car boot sales on at the same time. Lots of people selling up and going back to the UK....it is just so sad to see their dreams gone.

ivyleaf

Just delurking to say

YAY FUDDLE! :j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j

And SDG thank you for that lovely link, it is wonderful and I was grinning and wiping away tears at the same time

(((HUGS))) to everyone, i love this thread xxxx