Stretching things

Queenie

Curry_Queen wrote:

The sort of things I'd be most likely to do to save money would be to add more vegetables/pulses/grains to reduce quantities of meat used in casseroles/soups, use cheap value beans/tomatoes if adding to a dish (sorry gotta be Heinz for eating on their own ) buy cheaper cuts of meat (i.e. brisket, breast of lamb, belly pork) and cook in slow-cooker or add interesting marinades etc to make them taste better, bulk out meals with more veg/carb and reduce meat portion size etc etc

Bless yer heart ... that *is* "stretching"

Glad

moggins wrote:

No I'm not being sarcastic honest, I don't get the smilies coming up whenever I post and I am using the post reply and not the quick reply bit either

Any smilies I can use I have to type in by hand

And I checked and I don't have smilies disabled either.

go to quick links and edit options, scroll down and in the bottom dropdown box make sure that 'enhanced interface' is selected then click save and the smileys will be in your reply box

maryb

I find cheap versions which are no good on their own are very good for stretching expensive brands. Example - cheap washing up liquid is rubbish, you end up using so much you don't save but, somehow, watering down expensive stuff doesn't seem to work very well either. However I find if you mix 1/3 Fairy Liquid with 2/3 cheapo it works very well and is much cheaper overall - somehow the consistency of the cheapo helps it to blend better.

another thing I stretch is gravy powder - I don't like 'proper' gravy made just with flour in the roasting tin as it never comes up dark enough so I have a small jar with Bisto powder mixed with three times the volume of plain flour - tastes lovely and a good colour and is not too salty

moggins

Glad wrote:

go to quick links and edit options, scroll down and in the bottom dropdown box make sure that 'enhanced interface' is selected then click save and the smileys will be in your reply box

:j

Glad you are brilliant :T

Bargain_Rzl

Curry_Queen wrote:

The sort of things I'd be most likely to do to save money would be to add more vegetables/pulses/grains to reduce quantities of meat used in casseroles/soups

My favourite is kidney beans to stretch mince. When I had very little money I used to feed myself for several days on a concoction made of 1lb mince, 1 tin kidney beans, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, peas and mixed herbs. Sprinkle with Lea & Perrins and serve with spuds or rice. Works out at about 50p per portion.

Bargain_Rzl

...and I forgot to say, that's decent fresh mince I was using, so it was a way of avoiding economy mince.

Austin_Allegro

If you buy full fat milk, you can add 25% water to make it taste like semi skimmed, and 50% to make it taste like skimmed, IMO. Using this method I've halved my weekly milk bill, without noticing any major difference.

maryb

My husband notices if I water down the milk if we're running out, but if I mix half semi skimmed and half reconstituted dried skimmed milk it's fine and you don't notice the powdery taste you get with Marvel on its own

squeaky

moggins wrote:

Oh I wish I knew how to do the rolling on the floor laughing smilie right now :rofl

You mean this one?

crana999

Diluting fruit juice, for example, means you get a refreshing drink without quite as much sugar etc. Yes, you get fewer vitamins as well, but vitamin C is not something I struggle to get enough of! I prefer the taste of watered down juice, too.

I also water down soya milk, but only really if I am running out :-)