May The Force Be With YOU!

AuntyRuby

Great news NSK re fleabay sale! I need to get stuff listed but have lost all oomph for the bay. I know it's addictive once I get going, it's the getting going bit that's tricky. But I have had another SFD so chuffed not to be spending.

Leftover hm pizza from last night and Wednesday's kedgeree for tea (ok it was only me who had the kedgeree so if it's a bit dodgy at least I haven't poisoned my family :-)) I had a madeira cake mix gifted by dear friend so chucked that in oven for a pudding with custard. So really trying to use up what we've got before buying more supplies.

It rained on and off all day so only a brief allotment visit but got gifted broccoli seedlings from a fellow plotholder (and bean plants from a lady on yesterday's course and salad plants from the group running the course - it was like Christmas!) But when DH turned the compost in the compost bins they all had mice nesting in them...cue scream (well yelp kind of) from me... Of course the outdoors is their domain and I totally respect that and don't mind watching a wee solitary moose but their jumping about had me running in the other direction :eek:

Sorry not much of an mse post, but this month has been really good for no spending which is what I need so I'm not relying on cc each month.

ps - DS2 fell asleep whilst on his mobile?! the other night and found it locked in the morning...£90 bill and they wanted £40 to unlock it so he is now planning how he pays for this. Not sure what's more scary the wee mice or the phone bill!
See you all tomorrow
AuntyRuby

angelpye

Poor mrs toast! Hope the foot doesn't ache too much in the morning! When I have been pregnant I have always felt I little vulnerable so hoping you're ok. On another note I am intrigued by what a rice salad is???

Well trying to get my mojo back so ebay listing tonight and 2 have watchers already. Fingers crossed, exactly the same as one of my items went for twice what I paid for it so one can only hope!

Extra shift tomorrow as was yesterday and two next week - all in aid of dd1's trip - the things we mums will do, eh?

Wrote a massive post earlier that got lost but was proper moaning myrtle so probably for the best and I do feel better for the rant even though no one saw it...sometimes I could just kick myself for getting into a situation where I can't afford to do all the things I should be able to and have missed out on yet another opportunity to realise my dreams. Oh, well maybe the pain is part of the learning curve

Anyway onwards we march... Almost halfway through may

Jonesy88

AuntyRuby wrote: »

a wee solitary moose

I knew what you meant but this really made me laugh!
Id be scared if there was a moose in my garden too!


Mrs Toast you be careful pregnant lady!

NinjaSavingKat

Good Day One and All and What a lovely bright day it is...

How are we all doing today? Fed up - let us know..? Having a ball - let us know...? My fright for the day is over.. The Mog nearly got eaten by a fox this morning. Put her out for fresh air and heard an almight crash 20 minutes later... she was balancing on the fence other side of the neighbours garden and Mr Foxy was in my garden looking bemused. She must have moved FAST and broke a decorative candle holder hanging on my landladys fence..:(. I hissed out the window, he ran away, I grabbed Moggy.... PHEW..

Anyway... todays musings are focused on Jack Monroe. Have we heard of her on this thread... located here http://agirlcalledjack.com/ she has been all over the news for feeding her son and herself on meagre money.. she is my current inspiration...

I have realised that I had miscalculated my food money and it looks like it would have to be a bit of a stretch to the end of the month... so I sat on the tube this morning and made a list of what is left in my cupboards and freezer that I can remember off by heart because if Jack can do it, Kat can do it...... it looks like this...

Garlic x 3
3 whole red onions
[STRIKE]1 quarter of old red onion[/STRIKE] Used in burgers.
250-350g brown rice
[STRIKE]198g brown lentils[/STRIKE] 100g used for spicy lentils
Quorn Slices (1 full packet)
500g vermicelli
250g macaroni
[STRIKE]1 can chopped tomatoes[/STRIKE] Used for spice lentils
[STRIKE]1 can bean salad[/STRIKE] Used in burgers (8 made)
Mock chicken
[STRIKE]14 eggs[/STRIKE]11 left. 3 used in banana cake.
1 pack pitta
2 single pitta
7 veggie sausages
1 frozen green pepper
1 frozen courgette
3 lemons
[STRIKE]6 bananas[/STRIKE] 4 left as two used in cake.
1 jar of organic cunchy peanut butter (my luxury)
150g Popcorn kernels
4 fresh going squishy tomatoes
2 kiwi
1 grapefruit
500g SR Flour
[STRIKE]1550g plain flour[/STRIKE]1.5kg left - used in the cake.
1kg porridge oats - 75g in oatmeal cookies..
150g mixed nuts
500g sultanas - few used in oatmeal cookies.
1kg caster sugar - cookies and cake
500g plain boring cous cous
[STRIKE]100g quinoa[/STRIKE]..Used in tabbouleh
Silver skin onions
80g cheese
[STRIKE]300g unsalted butter[/STRIKE] cake and biscuits.
1 tin of pineapple
[STRIKE]1 pack of falafel mix[/STRIKE]Used in burgers.
1/4 tin golden syrup
Panko (Japanese Breadcrumbs)
Rice Paper
1.5kg Red Lentils

So I shall be making

1. Simple porridge oat and golden syrup biscuits...Enough for two weeks / two a day for snacks perhaps...
2. Falafel and mixed bean burgers for inside the pitta with cucumber and tomatoe,
3. Spicy lentil and tomatoe sauce to have with macaroni and a little cheese plus 1-2 sausages.
4. .....or in a bowl with left over pitta bread with said sausages,
5. Jack Monro's Red Lentil Bolognese although the lentils might have to go without tomatoes if I was to make this...
6. Frittata with courgettte, pepper and a tomatoe with brown rice for two-three meals at least..
7. Jack Monroe's Sunny Breakfast Buns with my flour, pineapple and sultanas...(she add's carrots, and I have none )..
8. Lemon Drizzle Cake to slice and have for lunchboxes.
9. Leftover spice lentil mix or tomatoe sauce will be used with pineapple and onion for mini pizza's x 3.
10. Rice paper Vietnamese style spring rolls with the quorn slices, onion, vermicelli, cucumber and a possible purchase of corriander:o. This will make a LOT!.
11. Mini vermacelli and mock chicken stirfry with courgette, onions, chilli flakes and lemon...

Right.. My purchases this week will include Lidl's herb plants as I have read elsewhere that they are very good and grow well - I need basil (preferable thai basil but beggars can't be choosers), I need a chilli plant and I need mint and thyme... basil and thyme will share the large pot..

My landlady has scavanged beautiful ceramic pots from the neighbours than moved out and gifted them to me and I will have the chilli plant in my room for heat ..not sure if it's the right time of year but it's worth a try... and I need coriander which I use faster than it grows so this will be my other purchase...

I am taking this debt busting / money saving and stretching to an extreme. Let's see what happens...To my name I have £40.27 in my purse and £25.46 in my Paypal account which is for the Bike Loan.. So - here we go.....Please please feel free to post your cupboard contents. Let's bite back, only buy essentials, plan plan plan and then plan some more...


Onwards and Upwards........ROAR!!!!

NinjaSavingKat

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1127645/
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4942/lemon-drizzle-cake
http://agirlcalledjack.com/2013/02/13/red-lentil-bolognese-21p/
http://agirlcalledjack.com/2013/03/25/breakfast-sunshine-buns-6p-each/
http://agirlcalledjack.com/2013/02/02/courgette-sultana-and-lemon-bread-14p-per-portion/

For a start....

thriftylass

Hello,

Friday and Sat were spend days getting ready for DS 2nd birthday party. Which went really well apart from making way too much food (potato salad and carrot sticks for us for a week now , am used to catering for adult dinner buffets not toddler afternoon ones ) and 3 people disobeyed the rule no presents please as DS got enough (and we don't want to have to reciprocate (sp?). Anyway, one we disguised as look there's our afternoon entertainment an indoor bouncy castle (saw them for £50 :eek: in Tesco). One I was able to open at the sidelines and thank her quietly. The other one couldn't wait to have hers opened publicly despite my politely pointing out that might be awkward for people that didn't bring anything as asked.

The most important thing is the kids had fun (quite funny actually that as it was only girls and some mums pretend to arrange future betrothals with DS as he's the only boy amongst our close friends :rotfl:).

Also this was the first kids party in our house and a lot less painful, messy (don't like mess) and hard work than I imagined.

Also updated my sig. Went over the other budget due to nappies bulk buying and to fix the BBQ (only a tenner rather than the expected £40 for new gas etc, but guarantees cheap dinners, no gas usage, need to lear how to make rolls). Still under my food budget just. Should only need milk this week as we can live off left over party food (quite healthy actually as I bought the kids loads of fruit etc)

NinjaSavingKat

AuntyRuby wrote: »

kedgeree for tea ........I had a madeira cake mix gifted by dear friend so chucked that in oven for a pudding with custard......... So really trying to use up what we've got before buying more supplies.......
...broccoli seedlings from a fellow plotholder (and bean plants from a lady on yesterday's course and salad plants from the group running the course - it was like Christmas!)

ps - DS2 fell asleep whilst on his mobile?! the other night and found it locked in the morning...£90 bill and they wanted £40 to unlock it so he is now planning how he pays for this. Not sure what's more scary the wee mice or the phone bill!
See you all tomorrow
AuntyRuby

WOW!! I love all these gifted presents!! How can you say this isn't very MSE when you have your own allotment.. make your own food ( what on earth is Kedegree though?).. and you are not using your credit card.. I am very impressed..

Albeit a little jealous.. I would love some outdoor space and I think my landlady has an area that she is not using but since she retires in two days I think she will be out in the garden soon.. although she has the pots for me I want to try and grow tomatoes and onions as well..

So jealous of your outdoor space - keep it up. Have you been on this website...http://www.lowcostliving.co.uk/index.php...."better living for less".. I am on it now and finding it hard to concentrate on work..

Living_a_good_life

Morning all, SFD yesterday and today - DH has gone to the land of merry men in green outfits until late tomorrow so will be flying solo for a couple of days.

Mrs Toast - glad you and bump are ok and hope that today is nice and restful!

Kat - that lemon drizzle cake recipe caused me nightmares! Kept coming out of the tin as it cooked or sinking in the middle - Ive switched to a nigella one and so far so good! Let me know how you get on The Jack blog is fab though!

We had (and survived) sunday school anniversary yesterday. DS was very cute when he managed to grab a mic for one of the songs and sing loudly (and fairly tunefully) into it - not bad for nearly 4 years old!

Oh and I phoned Mr Hong Kong bank this morning - said thankyou very much for upholding that I had been miss sold but could they recheck the figures etc as a £350 offer on £1600 of PPI inc the interest paid before you even get to the 8% thingy was a little short of the mark - case reopened so they can kick their heels a little more! Oh the joys!!!

Right work to do - food first though

Love to all

LAGL xx

karmachilovething

Hello all!

Checking in after the weekend: I have secured 2 SFD (hoping for another today, which would be 4 in a row) and not much else to report.

I missed the free listing weekend on eBay, but deliberately. I've been finding more response/watchers/bids for starting listings at 99p. And it means I can upload items in my lunch hour at work, which is much more convenient for me that trying to do it on the weekends. It has helped me regain my faith and excitement in eBay!

NinjaSavingKat

Living_a_good_life wrote: »

Kat - that lemon drizzle cake recipe caused me nightmares! Kept coming out of the tin as it cooked or sinking in the middle - Ive switched to a nigella one and so far so good! Let me know how you get on The Jack blog is fab though!

Done twice to perfection already - once as trial run for my birthday party and again for said party. Winner everytime... although I leave it in a little longer than they say. Also jsut realised I forgot about the wonder that is tabbouleh for my bulgar wheat and tomatoes. Along with the herb gathering today I might get some parsley..