2014 Frugal Living Challenge

skintygerlinky

Evening Frugalites xxxx


Just a quickie: Cheap Potato and Pepper Bake

- Oven on at 220
- Grease a large casserole dish
- Each person will need, roughly, 1 medium - large potato, half a pepper, half a medium-large onion. Chop up however many veggies you need into chunky but bite-sized pieces (I leave skins on potatoes but it's up to you)
- Put all uncooked veggies into a large bowl, mix together
- Add a crushed clove(s) of garlic, salt and pepper, dried mixed herbs and grated cheese (all of these ingredients are to your own taste; I've added pinches of chilli powder and paprika before now. However just use enough grated cheese to 'dust/coat' the veggies)
- Add a good heaped tablespoon of plain flour and mix everything together well
- Pour all seasoned veggies into greased casserole dish
- Heat a mug of milk (use more if you're making a mahussive dish!) in the mic for approx. 1min or until warm (NOT boiling) and pour it over the veggies
- Pop in the oven for approx. 45-50mins or until potatoes are soft and nicely browned on top. I give it a gentle but thorough mix at least once during cooking.


This is really lovely!! Savoury and more-ish. And very frugal! Heats up nicely the next day too.
Give it a go and enjoy xxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffythedebtslayer

pm2326 wrote: »

Had a bit of a clear out in spare room today as thinking about changing bedrooms.

As I get older I'm turning into a light sleeper and while my neighbours are not noisy I can hear them and it's starting to disrupt my sleep (I'm in bed by 10.30 at the latest).

I'm going to need to decorate both rooms as they haven't been touched for a few years. My current bedroom has the least furniture in it and I don't intend replacing the carpet or curtains so I'm thinking I should do that one first as only need to move a chest of drawers, cabinet and bed (don't want to move everything in there only to move it back out again to decorate). Just needs wallpaper and a bit of paint.

Once that one's done, I can move everything from the spare room in and decorate an empty room. That room needs everything as carpet is threadbare and doesn't have any curtains up.

So challenge is to do it on as small a budget as possible :money:

As noted above, I've started to have a clear out of the spare room and I have a big box full of rubbish and a pile of stuff for the charity shop. I've got a little pile of stuff for fleabay so have listed some of it today to see if it sells.

While tidying up I also found 2 pairs of curtains that would fit that room, they're cream but thought I could dye them once I choose a colour scheme. I know I have a big tub of white paint, which should do the ceilings and there's a tin of gloss somewhere, just have to find it!

Has anyone bought carpet online before?? I bought my stair/hallway carpet from one of the big stores 2 years ago but I've just seen the delivery charge is £30 :eek: I can get cheaper carpet and delivery online but not sure ....

OOooo I haven't post here for ages, was fairly frugal in Jan and feb but March and April were awful! I also wanted to decorate my bedroom. I bought basics paint (£8) and a new desk (30) not done much as had the Flu all over Easter. Really want to paint more furniture and do more clearing out. However that will have to wait till half term at the earliest.


May is a very tight month for me but hopefully after that it will ease up. So in theory I have plenty of time to declutter and paint!


I would order carpet online if I could go see it in the shop first? so look for a brand in RL and try and find it online?


also see if a local small shop does free delivery? Ours does


XXX

DawnW

Becky - if the potatoes look ok I would certainly eat them. In fact, I found 3 small new spuds when I was weeding today, which had grown from a potato left in the ground last year. You always miss some! I will certainly be eating them - it is enough for a portion for me

Shopping today, also finished sowing the seeds in the veg bed

Everything else will need to go in pots till something comes out. We have new potatoes, broad beans, radishes, herbs, shallots and garlic growing in there already, and have sown carrots, spinach, beetroot, spring onions and French beans today We also have rocket and salad leaves coming on, and the tomato plants will be ready to plant out in their big pots at the end of the month. We will also have cucumbers, courgettes, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries and hopefully, quinces too We only have a tiny garden, but try as hard as we can to get the maximum amount of food we can from it

Apart from the gardening, I made an apple cake from some shrivelly looking apples in the fruit bowl, and we had a 'sort of' Sunday dinner with grilled pork steaks, apple sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots and red cabbage from the freezer. I made enough mash for fishcakes for tomorrow too

Skinty - your potato and pepper bake sounds great. I will have to try that

Tomorrow - housework as it looks as though a bomb has gone off in here :eek:

sparrer

Not a good start to what will be an expensive week. Out for lunch at a different venue to the usual, it was almost double what I pay normally.
The muttley is booked in on Tuesday for a shampoo and trim, I'm booked in for similar on Friday
Wednesday I have to provide cake for 30 at a birthday
Thursday I'm going to visit my DM which is at least half a tank of fuel and a meal out.
Saturday I'm going to a craft day at Hatfield House.
Sunday I'm going to refuse all invitations for the next 4 weeks!

skintygerlinky

Evening Frugalites xxx


Declaring a couple of NSDs! Yesterday my parents took us all out for a lovely meal as a treat. Was gorgeous!! Then today was out and about at a May Day fair but there was nothing there really worth spending my coppers on. But I did get to bump into loads of people I've not seen in ages, including one who Ive been on somewhat 'awkward' terms with. So was great to see him, have a pleasant chat and a hug. Really glad!


Upstairs now, radio on, need to crack on with some work. Hope everyones had a lovely May Day holiday today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzByKhjOhL8 xxxxxxxxxxx

DawnW

Well, not much spent (only £3.73 on a big bunch of parsley for my fishcakes, and 2 reduced packs of outdoor reared pork sausages in Mr S) but not much done either

We had big plans for pulling everything out of the living and dining rooms and thoroughly cleaning the floors, paintwork etc - but DD and her LO turned up. She is a bit bored and fed up as her OH has taken himself off on a trip for 2 weeks and the baby is fractious and doesn't sleep much at night

So we entertained them instead. I didn't even get to put the washing out, and now it looks like rain

Still, we did a quick once over with the hoover so at least it is looking better than it was.

Fishcakes made for supper with leftover mash, tinned tuna, half a tin of anchovies from the freezer, and lots of parsley and capers, yum

Other than that, I put on the nematode stuff for vine weevils on the garden pots. I need to do the slug one as well, but the soil needs to be damp for that, so I will wait till it has rained.

No spends planned tomorrow for me, though OH is going to play golf and always has a drink and a chat with his friends afterwards, though only tea as he will be driving, so it won't break the bank

Maybe, just maybe, I will get to start on the cleaning in the morning

sparrer

nsd/npd
Booked/paid for a flight for a friend and got nectar points
First rhubarb is ready
Dug up 2 potatoes to have with my salad this evening. Delicious!
Did laundry with no spin as it was warm enough to dry it on the line

lynnejk

pm2326 wrote: »

Had a bit of a clear out in spare room today as thinking about changing bedrooms.
I'm going to need to decorate both rooms as they haven't been touched for a few years.
So challenge is to do it on as small a budget as possible :money:
Has anyone bought carpet online before?? I bought my stair/hallway carpet from one of the big stores 2 years ago but I've just seen the delivery charge is £30 :eek: I can get cheaper carpet and delivery online but not sure ....

Just a thought. If it is a bedroom do you need to have a full carpet ? When you think about it - unless your rooms are huge - most of the carpet is under furniture and the bed. Maybe you could just use one or two nice rugs ?? Easier to keep clean as well

sparrer wrote: »

Not a good start to what will be an expensive week. Out for lunch at a different venue to the usual, it was almost double what I pay normally.
The muttley is booked in on Tuesday for a shampoo and trim, I'm booked in for similar on Friday
Wednesday I have to provide cake for 30 at a birthday
Thursday I'm going to visit my DM which is at least half a tank of fuel and a meal out.
Saturday I'm going to a craft day at Hatfield House.
Sunday I'm going to refuse all invitations for the next 4 weeks!

Oh Sparrer :laugh: Look upon it as a nice relaxing week - spoil yourself and enjoy it. Being frugal is good but we all need a break now and then


I had to smile today. Popped into MnS to take back a pair of trousers for a refund and slid into the food bit. I spent Two Squids on YS stuff which will make 2 meals with veg in the house and the cashier gave me a £5 off £25 valid 7th - 20th May.
So if I go in towards the end of the week and hunt around for some YS stuff for £25, with the refund voucher for £18 plus the £5 off = spend of £2. Winner twice :dance: I'll let you know how I get on.


Hope you all have a thrifty Thursday
Lx

DawnW

Evening everyone :j
Quiet on here today. Busy one for me, although I didn't get as much done as I had hoped.

Good deal at M&S Lynne

Frugal stuff today:
Low spend day - OH's regular tea and snack after his game of golf, and for me some pocket money given to the 3 eldest grandchildren , whom we saw tonight when we popped down to deliver a piece of furniture we had picked up for their Mum.

Finished off the oldest bread toasted for breakfast, with some honey.

Washing dried outside on the line

Finished off the fishcakes made yesterday for supper

Applied nematode stuff to garden to murder the slugs but not harm the hedgehogs, birds and toads that visit out garden :)This is frugal because it protects our food crops

Cleaned the dining room thoroughly with products I already have. I have decided to deep clean one room at a time (I don't like housework much, and soon get bored ). Lounge tomorrow! And if I can stand it, the loft bedroom as well. We store a lot of the stock for our business up there, normally in a large cupboard, but it is all over the room at the moment, after a sort out last week

Best thing about today:
6 month old baby grand daughter laughing uncontrollably at our old dog playing with one of her tennis ball collection - for ages :rotfl:

How do babies who are only a few months old KNOW what is funny? :rotfl::rotfl:

just_the_two_of_us

Lovely DawnW - you will capture many more of those special moments with your baby grand daughter now you're a lady of "leisure". Thanks for sharing.

I did exactly what you are doing ( deep cleaning a room at a time)when I finished work last year - good job 'cos now so busy with vol work and other stuff don't have time to do it as thoroughly!!!:o