Extending our house without extending ourselves beyond our means

brizzlegirl

Just catching up, love all the food chat Have a good weekend x

PurpleFairy26

Evening diaryland. It's payday 😀 

I've done the money shuffle so all pots topped up and YN AB updated. Considering we're down to one wage only and that's  at 80% we're doing ok. Makes me think about what we can achieve when we're back to 2 salaries at 100% - although have no idea when that will be. I have drafted my 2020/21 budget (as it starts in September, which isn't that far away! - although in my head it feels like March 🙈 anyone else feel like they're in a time warp?) so I can plan longer term if we stay on current income position. As a reflector it gives me time to think, reflect, oh and tinker 🤣

I've made home made fajita mix for tea, all spices in stores. Made a bigger batch so there is some for next time. Going to make a steak and mushroom pie filing tomorrow to have on Father's Day. Must get steak out of freezer before I go to bed. Was trying to find my freezer list earlier to update it. Only to find mr PF had put it in the freezer for safe keeping 😜 on reflection, sensible place it seems. So I put it back. 

This weekend will be all about getting a room in the house, sorted, spring cleaned and put back together. 

f0xh0les

Re: time warp, I did find myself thinking yesterday, that it is 6 months til Christmas next week Thursday. 

Nearly time for the half year review!   It is starting to feel like the year that never was.....

PurpleFairy26

So after not achieving much this week due to feeling a bit under the weather today has been uber productive. I set about the room to be sorted early on. Had to work logically round it due to stuff that was in there, would say I’m about 80% done. There is a pile in the middle of the floor that needs rehoming. Most will be charity shop I think. One piece of furniture has been rehomed, another cleaned but needs 2 of us to move it so that’s a job for tomorrow. I’ve done a deep clean in there too. Once floor is clear I can mop that too. I’m looking forward to it being done tomorrow. 2 bags and a box of recycling have left the house, a bag of rubbish and a bag ready for the charity shop and 4 items to gift. 

As I was on a roll, I prepped steak filling for a suet pudding we’re going to have for lunch tomorrow. Whilst that was cooking I’ve prepped my strawberries for jam making tomorrow (as I can’t go picking or get to sm for any ys bargains) I’m just making small amounts from what I have delivered. Not the cheapest way to do it but it’s so much nicer than shop bought! I also made some sausage rolls and a cake to use up some of the glut of nectarines I have. Made it in a saucepan using melted butter, never made a sponge like that before but was super easy and came out really well so would definitely make again (could change fruit as to what you had). Used this recipe. 

Just relaxing before I do the DW for the third time today 😲. Also managed 2 loads of washing to dry before the rain came. 

I finally spent 20 minutes in the garden and potted on my beetroot, some more tomatoes, courgette, gooseberry and cauliflower. I’ve put my morning glory outside too as it was going wild inside and had grown around a nearby tomato 😲 I’ve never grown it before! I staked the tomatoes outside too. So it looks pretty smart out there just now. It’ll be nice if they start bearing some fruit at some point too. 

Mr PF has been busy too, he’s attacked the front garden now some rubbish has been collected today and refilled the garden bin now it’s back to being emptied.

All in all a productive day. 

foxgloves

Morning Purps, You have been very productive. We have exactly the same attitude to food waste in our household as you do. I watch those programmes where families are helped to reduce their grocery spend with horror, as the levels of perfectly good food being binned is so wasteful..... especially from people claiming to be short of money. But I'm with you on freezing little odds & ends. Half a chopped pepper, a couple of rashers of bacon, the end of a block of cheese rhat's gone a bit hard, 2 or 3 soon-to-be-squishy tomatoes.....I'd do a freezer round-up of them, add an onion, garlic, a few dried herbs & some pasta shapes & that'd be a pretty nice pasta bake. I am big on freezing single portions too, then most weeks I'll include a jacket potato night on our meal plans & we'll choose whatever we fancy from the freezer to go on top. 
Hugh Fernly-Whittinstall's book 'Love your leftovers' is good for ideas.... the one with the bright yellow cover.... I had a very 'old-school' school cookery teacher so this is pretty much how I learned to cook. It was called 'Home Economics' for a reason!
F x

joedenise

I sometimes cook a couple of extra jacket potatoes and wrap in foil and freeze them for another day.  Quick and easy lunch with beans and cheese or tuna mayo or, as you say, foxgloves single portions from the freezer.

crazy_cat_lady

Right - I'm inspired by your productivity and I'm going to get stuff done today! For definite.
Also - I cannot believe that we're at summer solstice. It feels like winter, because that's where we were when everything stopped.

PurpleFairy26

crazy_cat_lady said:

Right - I'm inspired by your productivity and I'm going to get stuff done today! For definite.
Also - I cannot believe that we're at summer solstice. It feels like winter, because that's where we were when everything stopped.

Shall pop back on your diary later for an update as to what you’ve been able to do. I was surprised yesterday at how much I got done and the room looks so much better now. Just finishing a coffee then I’m off to get it finished. 

PurpleFairy26

Thanks for the tip on the book foxgloves I’ll look that one up, perhaps one for when the library reopens. 

I’m fully aware we could spend less on food if we choose to. But we choose a budget we are comfortable with and stick to that. However, so we can buy some of the welfare meat we want for example we squeeze the waste at the other end and use every item we can. 

I also spend a bit of time portioning things up to maximise use. For example when we buy mince I weigh it in to a family portion and freeze like that rather than in the portions it’s delivered in (having to use an online butcher at the moment due to COVID). That way I get significantly more out of it rather than just cooking extra. 

We also love single portions in the freezer. They used to make great work lunches. 

missymoo81

Love all the tips on your thread Purple, you do such a great job, and well done on the epic day of productivity, you have put me to shame and inspired me to try and get done bits done today!