Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

Mrs_Cheshire

Finally caught up with you all, have read about 8 pages tonight. Some great recipes, thank you for those, and thanks for popping them all into one post cheerfullness.
I'm wondering if I can make a picnic blanket, bench protector out of an off cut of plastic material that was bought as a table cloth. I have also seen a lego bag, made from fabric with a drawstring which becomes a play mat and then pull the string and voila all the lego away.
Going to sort out the seeds at the weekend hopefully and get planting!

misstara

Vhalla - the recipe for ginger prawns looks amazing, absolutely love prawns so that is definitely going on my list of recipes to try.

A much more productive day from me today - button repaired on winter coat and practised a bit of stitching on my sewing machine. I also made the banana loaf, 1/3 kept out to eat in the next few days, the rest in the freezer for a later date.

HOWMUCH

Good evening everyone, DGS aran is coming on a treat. We only had chance to do a quick shop on Monday cos the white stuff decided to start yet again just as we was leaving the house. So it was just a quick dash to Hasda Got some YS Schwartz hot chilli powder for 20p and Jerk rub also 20p odd cos they have 2017 dates on them. Also managed to get Copella Orange Juice YS 17p from £1.74 got 3 bottles. Had a busy week what with Full time work, looking after DGS and hospital appointments. I am allowed time off for mine but have to make my time up for OH appointments. Viv I will have to try out the biccie recipe. OH has a sweet tooth I am type 1 diabetic so would just have a nibble. We have got a date for DGS op which is only 4 weeks away. Still awaiting date for OH op we should know more at the end of the month. Hope you all have a lovely day tomorrow.

nursemaggie

GreyQueen wrote: »

One of my favourite taglines about furniture is the definition of a what-not - a place to put things you ought-not have bought.

One of my uncles sardonically referred to ornaments as 'dust-gatherers'. If encountering a dusty home, please remember that it's OK to autograph the dust but not to date it.:rotfl:

Should be appropriate for this thread then since what-nots are not very big.

vhalla1478

Hello, yet again, just had this thought which I've been meaning to share for days now. If you have a local dress agency, check if they have a rail of garments that haven't been sold/claimed. There's one in my nearish market town of Louth, in Lincolnshire that has such a rail where everything is £3 - cheaper than a lot of charity shops. Last year I bought an enormous Daks coat from there - fabulous quality and it was so worth taking to the local tailors to have altered to my size. I absolutely love clothes so when money is tight (like now) I shop for second hand at that well-known on-line auction site for makes that I know are great quality and that fit me well. In all honesty I have to confess that I am not short of clothes and I do wear everything I own but I look after them and they all get worn to the death or are re-cycled into clothes for the grandchildren.

Viv x

[Deleted User]

Hi chums is it me or do toasters have a mind of their own? I have yet to own a toaster that works properly.I was at my DDs yesterday and the DGS wanted a bit of toast and butter for a snack after school.No problem says I, and the minute I started to use the toaster to 'pop--up' kept blooming popping up Grrr...

so last night I found a tea cake in the freezer and thought Mmmm a nice toasted teacake for supper with some butter and a scrape of honey,that'll go down well with some hot chocolate (I know how to push the boat out :):)wild living :):))

Blow me down if my toaster also wouldn't stop popping up so no toasted teacake .Now is it just me that toasters don't want to work with, or am I jinxed in some way with two unfit toasters .Anyone else have a toaster problem I am on the point of hurling my toaster in the bin in frustration.Even on holiday I rare manage to get the toaster working grrr

vhalla1478

Good Morning, Everyone,

I gave up on a toaster years ago, JackieO, although there's one sitting sulkily on the back shelf in the pantry; I must remember to oust it - don't think this quotation is quite right but didn't William Morris say 'Have nothing in your house that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful'; and if something doesn't work it has to go I also read somewhere along the same lines that to reduce clutter you should go round your house touching your possessions and if you didn't like something or it is superfluous to your needs, it should go - I try and do that.

I forgot to say yesterday that the stuffed peppers (stuffed with leftover rice, chicken, coriander and a teaspoon of tomato sauce) were delicious. I'd sliced down a red and a yellow one the previous day for the warm chilli chicken salad, so I turned the remainder on their sides and stuffed them, covered them in foil and roasted them in the oven. I only ate one (still stuffing myself with the biscuits - gave the rest to the tribe to save myself from obesity!) so will have the other for lunch and still the fridge is full.

Speaking of peppers, this is a very quick recipe for a light lunch or a starter. I buy the jars of ready-roasted peppers from Lidls or Aldis, last time they were around £1 a jar.

Gratin of Roasted Peppers, Basil and Feta

The quantities in the original recipe (Gordon Ramsay) were ridiculously large, so I adapt it to the size of my gratin dishes and cook individual ones for everyone.

Jar of ready-roasted peppers, bunch of basil, 200gram pack of feta cheese (the cheapest is fine), black pepper, olive oil to drizzle, parmesan for grating.

Heat oven to 220 degrees/gas 7. Drain and cut pepper into strips. Arrange a layer of peppers in individual gratin dishes, top with a handful of basil leaves, then crumble over a layer of feta. Season with pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Repeat these layers to reach the top of the dishes. Grate some parmesan over the top and grind over a little more pepper. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. sit back and be prepared for the compliments you'll receive!

I must go and investigate the contents of the fridge and see what needs using up first.

Have a good day, Everyone; we're all in this together.

Viv xx

moments_of_sanity

JackieO wrote: »

Hi chums is it me or do toasters have a mind of their own? I have yet to own a toaster that works properly.I was at my DDs yesterday and the DGS wanted a bit of toast and butter for a snack after school.No problem says I, and the minute I started to use the toaster to 'pop--up' kept blooming popping up Grrr...

so last night I found a tea cake in the freezer and thought Mmmm a nice toasted teacake for supper with some butter and a scrape of honey,that'll go down well with some hot chocolate (I know how to push the boat out :):)wild living :):))

Blow me down if my toaster also wouldn't stop popping up so no toasted teacake .Now is it just me that toasters don't want to work with, or am I jinxed in some way with two unfit toasters .Anyone else have a toaster problem I am on the point of hurling my toaster in the bin in frustration.Even on holiday I rare manage to get the toaster working grrr

Mine does that too JackieO but only because I forget to switch it on at the plug! :rotfl:

cheerfulness4

My toaster has suddenly developed that very annoying habit of making one side dark brown and the other side pale golden.


My meal plans are up the creek this week. DH is not at all well and is at the doctors surgery as I type. The nurse thinks he has a chest infection and wants him to see the doctor.
DS has just informed me he won't be in for dinner tonight and is eating out.
Don't mind really its just a waste when you've defrosted certain foods. I'll cook them and refreeze for another time.


Had my smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on lovely buttered toast triangles. Such a treat.
Seeing as I'm all alone until DH comes back, (I have a feeling he's going to be off work for a few days) I have decided to get on with my circulars. Didn't get my first pattern row done so I think now is the moment.

Nigel Slater's Chicken and Leek pie filling being made for my dinner later. Will top it with cheesy potato mash rather than pastry. I have l/o roast chicken that I must use so this will be just the thing.

vhalla1478

Not a particularly productive morning - ie no sewing done as yet, but I'm feeling pleased about the food situation. I had the second stuffed pepper for lunch together with the leftovers vegetables from the chilli chicken salad (juices decanted to add to the next lot of soup/stock) but the best bit was dessert - I sliced up an eating apple, threw in a few sultanas and topped it with the leftovers from the pear and ginger crumble and stuck it in the oven for 20 minutes- it was heavenly, especially as I put a dollop of crème fraiche on top of it! I've also mashed up some leftover carrot and potato and will use that as a topping for a fish pie soon. I'm feeling rather optimistic that I might manage my self-imposed challenge.

I find that as long as I keep leftovers in sealed polythene boxes I don't waste hardly at all.

Another tip, as long as you don't have little ones running around, is to leave the oven door open when you've finished cooking so that you don't waste any of the residual heat. I am fortunate that I have a double oven, so it's very rarely that I use the larger one.

Viv x