NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

thefrugalflirter

Thanks for all the great ideas – it’s definitely soup weather at the moment!
Joedenise – I’d love the curry recipe, if you don’t mind? A week at the German Christmas Markets sounds AMAZING, I’d love to go!

Maria3104 – Thank you for the lovely comment - I’m looking forward to the wedding, it won’t be anything extravagant, and it seems so far away that I have no ‘Bridezilla’ tendencies as yet!


Lina T – I definitely like the sound of a neutral wardrobe, I bought a lovely blue flowery dress a few years ago for ‘wedding season’, and decided to get my use out of it – I ended up wearing it to so many different occasions that the photos on Facebook for that year made it look like I was wearing just that one dress non-stop for about 6 months! Haha, at least it looked quite nice!:)

Off to clear out the freezer, wish me luck!

Lina_T

lessonlearned wrote: »

I am now retired (actually I work for myself when I feel like it:D) but when I was Corporate Woman I did have to glam up and dress very smartly.

I managed to find a really good Nearly New Shop which sold fantastic clothes, often designer or really good mkes. I used to get most of my business suits, smart jackets, overcoats etc. the clothes were more expensive than a charity shop but they were always top makes and had to be immaculate for the shop to accept them.

I would usually pay around£30 to £50 for a suit which would normally cost several hundreds, my best it ever an Armani for £40.

I must have looked very successful.......little did they know........

I need to find somewhere like that. I've just been looking at dress agencies. The ones in the posher areas of South Manchester are a rip off, and you can buy new for nearly the price they're selling second hand :eek:

I have sourced one in a little village about half hours drive from me, and that seems cheaper so I might have a trip up on one of my days off and have a look.

I see fashion as my hobby, and it's my only one (apart from reading - which can be done free) so I don't mind spending money on it. But I still want to shop smarter, be more selective and get the best deal I can on stuff.

Lina_T

thefrugalflirter wrote: »

Lina T – I definitely like the sound of a neutral wardrobe, I bought a lovely blue flowery dress a few years ago for ‘wedding season’, and decided to get my use out of it – I ended up wearing it to so many different occasions that the photos on Facebook for that year made it look like I was wearing just that one dress non-stop for about 6 months! Haha, at least it looked quite nice!:)

:rotfl: That made me laugh. I'm another one for having a favourite item and doing it to death. This website might interest you if you're looking at a neutral/minimal wardrobe: http://into-mind.com/

maria3104

purpleshoes wrote: »

Veggie recipes

Fritatta or tortilla
Wraps with refried beans and guacamole/salsa. I dont eat much bread these days but these were a godsend to me when I was losing weight in the beginning, you can also take the beans out and stuff the wraps with roasted veg
Mushroom dopiaza/mushroom stroganoff
Red or green thai curry, some of the curry pastes have fish in, but not all brands so just make sure you check
Sweet potato fries/wedges
Mustard mash, if you like mustard as I do, add some to your mash, you can add spring onions/leek and also make them into potato cakes and fry

Im going to make a stir fry with sprouts, leek, onion, carrot, pepper and chilli later on, got lots of veg to use up, leftover veg will go in another pot of soup

Google will throw up tons of veggie/vegan recipes

Hi

Wow I fancy the mustard mash. Sounds lovely.

lessonlearned

I have a secret ingredient for improving "tasteless" meats such as mince.

Rather than open a bottle of red wine just for cooking or even those red wine cooking sauces I buy a bottle of port from Aldis for around £6 and just add a slug.

It works wonders for Spag Bol, Shepherds Pie, beef stew etc.and whereas a a bottle of red wine will go off fairly quickly, port will last for ages. Dark sherry also works well, or even red vermouth.

White vermouth also works.

Not that I'm an expert on alcohol......:rotfl::rotfl:

icontinuetodream

Primrose wrote: »

I was wondering about a slow cooker. Had one briefly but was very disappointed with the flavour of stuff cooked compared with an identical product cooked in the oven. Casseroles were more watery and less flavour intensive for some reason. Any hints for getting a better result if I try again as I'm sure slow cooker cooking is less fuel intensive than using an oven.

I have had exactly the same experience I just can't get on with a slow cooker at all....

I cook several casseroles at a time now to get the most out of the oven and also to have pre-cooked meals from the freezer when I want them....I also use the gaps to cook jacket potatoes which I then stuff and freeze for later use too...

I did consider getting a sc just to cook beans in but I don't see that there would be too much benefit over my pressure cooker so I won't invest in one....if I happen to come across a freebie, I will try it for beans though!!

I am completely ready for this challenge now - I have a full freezer and fridge, I am throwing no food away and planning meals from my stocks only for the whole of January - any ingredients that I don't have will be substituted with something I do have!! I will spend a maximum of £10 per week on things that I really need (dog food, extra veg, milk etc). I am going to look at making my own dog treats as this is one area that I spend a lot of cash on!

I have frozen and tinned veg in stock so I won't be buying any other veg until all of the current stocks are used up. I have a load of dried milk powder which I will use in sauces etc and I think I will probably make a load up and find out what my morning latte tastes like with it - I know that the rest of the family won't touch it but if I can eliminate my use of fresh milk until the powder has gone, it will save a lot of cash I also have job lots of coconut milk powder which I am not really sure what I can use it for other than thai style dishes and coconut, corn and lime soup....however, I intend to find something constructive even if it just means using it in pina colada cocktails!! :rotfl:

So, this is it for me now - I AM NOT BUYING IT 2015 starts today for me!! :j I'm enjoying it already!!

lessonlearned

Re the cornflour. I don't like the taste of cornflour either, I find it spoils the dish.

If I find something is a bit watery I use MCDougalls thickening granules, they don't have that "claggy" cornflour taste.

DawnW

Primrose wrote: »

I was wondering about a slow cooker. Had one briefly but was very disappointed with the flavour of stuff cooked compared with an identical product cooked in the oven. Casseroles were more watery and less flavour intensive for some reason. Any hints for getting a better result if I try again as I'm sure slow cooker cooking is less fuel intensive than using an oven.

I found this until I got a slow cooker cook book (30p in a charity shop, but the library will have them as well). The recipes state that you should add thickener before you actually put the food in the SC. For example, if making a beef stew, you would toss the beef cubes in a recommended amount of flour before browning, and add any leftover flour to the mix before it goes in the SC. The (measured) amount of liquid would be less than you would use if cooking using the oven, as well. The flour, frying oil / fat and the limited amount of liquid makes quite a thick sauce, avoiding the watery problem.

So, I would look for a SC specific cook book and try a couple of the recipes. The liver and bacon casserole one in mine is to die for! Once you get the hang of the method it is easy to adapt your own recipes, too

Primrose

maria3104 wrote: »

Hi

Wow I fancy the mustard mash. Sounds lovely.

Another cheap savoury veggie potato dish is to make up some Sage & Onion stuffing mixture, mix into mashed potato, make into little flat rissoles and shallow fry until crispy brown on both sides.

Cheap doesn't have to mean tasteless!

cheeseontoastwithham

purpleshoes wrote: »

Ive blocked cheeseontoastwithham, everyone is entitled to vote as they please but it saddens me that a nice thread like this has been derailed by someone who just wants to go on about how great Thatcher was.

You may not agree with me but it seems slightly extreme to 'block me'. You may be wondering why I mentioned this but in fact the whole thread seems very political (or at least anti-corporation) - the first poster said 'I rally against rampant capitalism' so I feel needs some balance.

I did only mention Thatcher once but let me justify myself. In the late 70's, I was unemployed and lived in a council house in Crawley, West Sussex. However in the 1980's, life changed - I got a job with the recently privatised BT who were expanding, paid less tax due to Lawson's tax reforms and bought my council house in the late 80's when they were sold to their tenants at discount prices in order to encourage people to gain a foothold on the property ladder. That government's policy certainly improved my life as the expansion and degregulation of the city gave my something to aim for and make me aspire to join the so called 'yuppies' in London in the late 80s.

Sorry if you think I am derailing the thread but I enjoy talking about these things. Can you not be dictatorial and state what things can and can't be talked about - unless offensive, nothing is off limits.

Apologies again to anyone who didn't want to hear any of this - feel free to ignore!!

Best wishes for 2015 to everyone!!