Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2017

VJsmum

misstara wrote: »

VJsmum could you post the recipe for mincemeat flapjack? It sounds yummy and would be ideal for using up the leftover mincemeat I have in the cupboard.

The recipe comes from Flower Tot Mum off the "No T words" thread. I use half the sugar as they are very sweet anyway.

Mincemeat flapjack..

8oz margerine/butter
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar
8oz oats
2 tbsp of golden syrup

Melt butter and syrup in a saucepan over low heat.
Put all dry ingredients in a bowl.
When butter/syrup is melted pour over the dry ingredients..mix well.
Use half the mix to line the bottom of a tray..flatten well..spread mincemeat over it.
Use other half of mix over the top of mincemeat.
Put in the oven for 30 minutes at Gas mark 5..or until goldeny brown
Enjoy..

Once out of the oven, i mark the tray into squares and leave to cool in the tin as they are prone to disintegrating. My DS says they are the best cake ever and i am not to make them too often as he can't resist them

dND

A big hello to all the new posters, welcome to a lovely friendly thread. :hello:

I too have been sorting out the last of the Christmas food. Here in France the annual gastroenteritis epidemic is in full swing and the flu one is building. As I live in a very rural department it has one of the lowest rates but I make a point of interacting with people as little as possible over the worst months. So that means shopping every couple of weeks rather than once a week. Added to that I want to return to the UK to be nearer my children so I'm also trying to eat through the rather large store cupboard(s) I have - home produce and the necessities in case I get stuck at the house for couple of weeks which has happened. And supermarkets are 20+ minutes drive away, and village shops are minimal.

So the dried haricot beans are currently slow cooking in my wood burner and have 'minimised' 3 packs of frozen tomato sauces from the freezer. I'm not sure this is really minimizing as more than 3 packs of frozen beans will go back in!

Next up I'd over bought bread and eggs so to use up some demerara sugar and a good portion of the grapes I dried last year I now have a massive bread and butter pudding which definitely won't minimise me. :rotfl:

And then lurking at the bottom of the fridge was a bag of carrots a friend gave me as she was going away for Christmas so I used the contents of the stockpot and have a rather lovely carrot and coriander soup for my lunches.

Now all I have to do is to go through the freezers and try and generate enough space to store the extra portions and organise it so that I can see what I have to eat easily :eek:

The final M (Mending) is ongoing - a consequence of living in an old farmhouse!

taurusgb

Another lurker here. I want to try minimizing my online time this year while also making the most of the time I am online by being more discerning with the websites I visit. I do NOT need any more fabric, yarn, crafting stash for a start, so will try hard to stay away from the tempting websites for this and spend more time on MSE where I can possibly save money.

All Christmas food now eaten or frozen. Only wastage was a single lime - but since I only paid 25p for a bag of 12, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

Like a lot if you I am going to make do with food from the freezer and cupboards in January, though I do need to buy fresh milk, veg and fruit.

Have awful cough and cold so would be greateful for any suggestions on how to mend or minimize that!

summerlady_2

Hi, another lurker here too.

Today I have decided to "make do" with what I have in the house and cook a fish pie with fish from the freezer. I don't have any fresh veg left except potatoes so I will use up a tin of green beans and some sweetcorn. This will do me for today and tomorrow and at least one portion to go back in the freezer.
Lunch will be soup and crackers and cheese, with half the soup for tomorrow. It will save me going to the shop for bread and other things which usually ends up being lots of other things.

I haven't any mending to do today (well I have but I can't get to it in my craft room) so I'll make some canvas bags to hold some of my group's craft supplies.

I need to minimise
me - so a walk is on the agenda today
my craft stash - so this year I am planning to complete at least 6 unfinished projects.

It's good to read about other people's efforts - some people are much further along than I am so it gives me inspiration.

hollysnan

Jellie, Thank you for that will look in to it.
Its my 61st birthday today and I Minimised some gift vouchers to get a bird feeder for the garden.
I love watching the birds so this gives me pleasure and also the birds get some food.
Have some mending to do on OHs sleeves of a favorite cardigan.

fiftyeighter_2

Well minimised me slightly by a nice bracing 2 mile walk with the dogs. Came home and maximised me by eating a gorgeous bowl of my home made broccoli and Stilton soup. But that did meen I made do with food from the freezer. I'm going round in circles here, must try harder. Lol.
All decorations down and sorted through so got rid of the rough ones.
Dinner tonight pasta with turkey from freezer and a nice home made sauce.
Dentist tomorrow..........oh no. I'm the most dreadful coward. Let's hope I'm not going to have to minimise any teeth.
Happy birthday hollysnan. Have a great day.

taurusgb

Hapy Birthday hollysnan :bdaycake:

Magpied

Another lurker here! Make do: Found some heavy red velvet curtains that were given to me to use for the fabric, but fit absolutely perfectly in one of our bedroom windows - will also help with keeping the cold out, as our central heating hasn't been working since christmas eve... and (Christmas) Turkey from the freezer stew tonight with tired veg.

Mend: Yet again, having to re-sew my M&S white knickers back together!! I bought 3 packs of the bog-standard white cotton ones a few months ago, and most of them have fallen apart in various places where the elastic meets the fabric. I know they are only cheap, but I am not impressed, and will not give up on them yet, since it's so hard these days to find *real* cotton undies, rather than the, ahem... sweaty synthetic ones that are everywhere these days...

Minimise: Tons of dog fur from our carpeted areas, the vacuum doesn't pick it up, so i have to use a dog slicker brush to pick it all up first!

mrs-moneypenny

Happy birthday hollysnan hope you have a lovely day.

Magpies I got some undies from Tesco, I'm sure they are cotton they do them in various styles from dental floss to proper bottom covers.

Have taken the deccys down and done some cross stitch in an attempt to minimise my crafting stash, it will be a long job as it's a very intricate piece.

Hope all are well

vodkawitch1

Making do with stuff I have in, no hardship as I have loads and its to cold to go out anyway.
minimizing a lot of out of date paperwork
Mending - not got any mending but intend to sort out my sewing draw tomorrow.

Have a nice evening everyone, I babysit Monday and Tuesday nights for my neice so I will off there after tea.