I have lost my OS ways, help!

[Deleted User]

I never throw a jar or bottle away from anything (edible) and use any jars I happen to have as long as they're right for the thing I'm making. I put them through the dishwasher so they're sterile amd store them in a cupboard with the lids on until I need to use them. Then while the jam/jelly/chutney is cooking they go in the oven on very low so they are hot enough that hot jam etc. won't break them and you pot up jams etc when they're just made and still very hot. If you're making anything with vinegar in you need jars with lids that have the white plastic film inside them, that protects them metal from corrosion with the acid and keeps your pickles and chutneys fit to eat. I find for the Bread and Butter Piclkes that jars that have had mayonnaose in are a good size and have the protective film in the lids. Good luck with it, if you want a specific recipe pm me and I'll go through my books to find one for you, Lyn xxx.

I'll pm you my Picalilli recipe when I've potted up the redcurrant jelly, I've got 5 big jars of the B & B pickle on the table, should get 4 lbs of jelly and have 4 lbs of mixed blackberries and raspberries ready to make 8lbs of jam, phew!!! Then we've just been given an entire silver birch tree for the woodburner so I'll have to wheelbarrow that from front to back gardens for He Who Knows to stack in the log store, Phew and Phew again xxx.

jlhmd666

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I never throw a jar or bottle away from anything (edible) and use any jars I happen to have as long as they're right for the thing I'm making. I put them through the dishwasher so they're sterile amd store them in a cupboard with the lids on until I need to use them. Then while the jam/jelly/chutney is cooking they go in the oven on very low so they are hot enough that hot jam etc. won't break them and you pot up jams etc when they're just made and still very hot. If you're making anything with vinegar in you need jars with lids that have the white plastic film inside them, that protects them metal from corrosion with the acid and keeps your pickles and chutneys fit to eat. I find for the Bread and Butter Piclkes that jars that have had mayonnaose in are a good size and have the protective film in the lids. Good luck with it, if you want a specific recipe pm me and I'll go through my books to find one for you, Lyn xxx.

I'll pm you my Picalilli recipe when I've potted up the redcurrant jelly, I've got 5 big jars of the B & B pickle on the table, should get 4 lbs of jelly and have 4 lbs of mixed blackberries and raspberries ready to make 8lbs of jam, phew!!! Then we've just been given an entire silver birch tree for the woodburner so I'll have to wheelbarrow that from front to back gardens for He Who Knows to stack in the log store, Phew and Phew again xxx.

Sounds like you have a busy day ahead

Thank you for taking the time to pm. I would like to try both piccalilli and the pickles. OH would love the pickles whereas piccalilli is more my thing

CRANKY40

We made pizzas using the recipe for penny pizzas from Jack Monroe's cookbook tonight, but made one big pizza instead of lots of small ones. Spread with tomato puree, some grated cheese and sliced value mozzarella on top my fussy eater declared it the best pizza ever. He's not your usual fussy ester mind, he loves mashed carrots and dislikes most sweets other than ordinary chocolate. He doesn't like anything chewy, so that's most meat and also jelly sweets out and bananas make him gag. It makes life a bit interesting at times.

Caterina

Hello all,

joedenise welcome to this thread, hope to see you post often!

Just back from the IKEA meal and sink exploration. There is a very cheap way to eat in ikea and that's ordering kids meals. I had a kids full meal which comprises of a small (but decent as starter) dish of organic pasta with tomato sauce, an organic fruit yogurt (Rachel's, really good quality), a drink carton and a fruit, for £2.50. Then for main course I had a child portion of fish and chips for £1.99, which is half an adult portion of fish but I had as many peas and mash (in alternative to chips) as DH had in his full portion. So I had a 4 course meal plus drinks for the princely sum of £4.49. Not complaining!

frugirl

I'm interested in the penny pizzas. Is it just standard dough?

joedenise

Caterina wrote: »

Hello all,

joedenise welcome to this thread, hope to see you post often!

Just back from the IKEA meal and sink exploration. There is a very cheap way to eat in ikea and that's ordering kids meals. I had a kids full meal which comprises of a small (but decent as starter) dish of organic pasta with tomato sauce, an organic fruit yogurt (Rachel's, really good quality), a drink carton and a fruit, for £2.50. Then for main course I had a child portion of fish and chips for £1.99, which is half an adult portion of fish but I had as many peas and mash (in alternative to chips) as DH had in his full portion. So I had a 4 course meal plus drinks for the princely sum of £4.49. Not complaining!

frugirl wrote: »

I'm interested in the penny pizzas. Is it just standard dough?

Caterina - thanks for the welcome. Good idea about ordering child's meal in IKEA (not that I get there very often as not one close to me and DH doesn't like going!).

Frugirl - It's a smaller quantity than my usual dough but fairly similar. Link to the recipe http://agirlcalledjack.com/2013/02/14/one-a-penny-little-duck-pizzas.

HTH.

Denise

grandmasam

Morning all,
I have my dgd, 10, today and she wants to go on a charity shop trawl, her words! Bless her, she knows that it's the rule of '1 in ,1 out ' but this doesn't apply to her teddy collection sadly, they take over her room lol.
So I take only a very small amount of money with me, she has her own purse. Books are my weakness and have a bagful in the car to donate before anymore come in.
Have made a picnic lunch to eat in their garden so thats sorted before we hit the shops! Rice salad with hardboiled eggs and crisps, fresh raspberries from the garden with ice-cream and squash should do it.
Another OS'er in training!
Caz

Caterina

Hello frugirl, good to see you joining in.

My OS day today:

Laundry at a friend's in exchange for taking her little girls out - had to go to the shops anyway so it was no hardship at all, they were very well behaved.

We got ice cream in sainsbugs, 1/2 price offer, 4 cornettos in a box for a bargainous £1. But there was 3 of us so we decided to donate the 4th to someone's child. First asked the mum, of course. One very middle class mum looked down her nose and turned down offer, graciously but a bit snootily. Their loss hehe! Then we spotted a granny-type woman, not pretentious looking, asked if the boy with her wanted 4th ice cream in box (explained our predicament), she accepted gratefully and the boy was very happy. Warm fuzzy feeling on double account:1. Little boy happiness. 2. No waste!

Got new strap on DH's watch. Had email original brand and they wanted £21 for strap plus £12 for labour, P&P. Sent them on their bikes (mentally), went down the shopping centre to my trusted little jewellery kiosk, got a perfectly acceptable real leather replacement for £8, labour an'all.

DH came home to talk to the builder so I made him a nice hummus sandwich and he did not have to buy lunch (as previously planned due to early start).

Because of weather the laundry will be dry soon and I hope to fold it before evening comes (but no ironing today, not in this heat!).

Tonight is the night of the free beer codes, which we did not use the other night due to storm.

Also, sainsbugs soon doing the 10p off fuel so am saving from doing any shopping until the last day of offer (30 July) as minimum shop to get voucher is £60. Will stock up on detergents, toilet toll, tinned goods etc! Then the voucher is valid for 2 weeks. Great as DH needs a full tank on 9th August to drive up North.

No idea what we will have for dinner, see how we feel and how hot it is when the time comes.

That's it for me today, enjoy the rest of the day!

Augustus_the_Strong

It sounds daft, but I think it's more difficult to live in an economical way if you don't have to. If it has to be done, I can knuckle down to scrimping & saving as a way of life. So what I suggest might help you do it, is to artificially create an economic situation by saving for something big & committing yourself to putting aside £xxx a month. Make it a large enough chunk to be a bit tight on your finances. Then you'll get your mojo back!

Caterina

Augustus The Strong welcome to the thread - love the name BTW!

Well you hit the nail on the head I think, it is exactly the problem I have had, with getting more financially comfortable I became quite slack with spending, not madly extravagant but enough to make the innate OSer in me uneasy.

Now I do not have to artificially create a financial situation, I HAVE the financial situation, after spending several thousands of pounds on a new kitchen and shower room. It had to be done, it will be great to have the new space and it will help us bring some income in, as we will be able to rent the upstairs room with the bathroom sole use (and we use the downstairs). But while DH is still working we need to rebuild our reserves for old age. He could retire in two years but the project he is working on is going on until 2018 and he would like to see it to completion.

So we have committed to save back the cost of the works over 4 years. While he works it is perfectly feasible if we are careful.

Until we finish everything we are unable to save as such, as we still need lots doing, materials to be bought and people to be paid, but since I started this thread we have started being very money savvy again, so that no inessential expense is being made.

Once the works are completed and we have spent a reasonable budget in Prosecco (forget the champagne) and homemade buffet for the new kitchen inauguration party, we really are in the business of physically putting away X per month.

So I hope that these works will more than pay for themselves in the long term.