£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Cherryfudge

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

This weather is totally weird. We have gorgeous sunshine in Cornwall and no snow. My son in laws office is in Devon about 15 miles away and the snow is so treacherous over there he turned round and came home.

A couple of hundred miles north of you, and the sun is shining on the last little bits of the snow! Mind you out of town there might be snow for a while yet.

If anyone has any good uses for leftover stale bread, I'm all ears! I always end up with one stale heel of my handmade loaves left, and I have been accumulating them in the freezer faster than I'm using them up.

Cinnamon toast? Or what we knew as 'Poor Knight's Supper Dish' - cube a few thick slices of white bread, beat three large eggs in a pint of warmed milk in a buttered casserole, add bread cubes and seasoning of choice (e.g. nutmeg). Add crumbled or diced cheese to taste and mix with a fork. Bake at 200C (180 fan) for 55 minutes.

Verbatim

oh meat balls/ rissoles are also a way of using up stale bread crumbs- soak and squeeze out water first.

[Deleted User]

My partner adds fried bread croutons on top of soups and bean stews to add a bit of texture and delicious flavour or you could breadcrumb them for when you do veggie burgers?
My grandma used to make a summer pudding with stale bread and frozen/tinned fruit.
I grew up eating a lot of veg stews etc as a kid, now im so glad my dad made me eat what he cooked as I am a very unfussy eater and looove veg stews now!

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 58: Day 2

My gosh I'm knackered, despite going to bed before 9 last night. Long walk to and from my client yesterday, plus the work of actually being there, then had to make dinner and do some baking for breakfasts/packed lunches etc when I got home - made savoury muffins, flapjacks, granola and onion quiche. And split pea curry and rice for dinner, which refused to cook (do you ever get pulses like that? Where they take an absolute age to soften up. Happens sometimes) so I ended up making omelettes for the DC too, and we adults had leftover macaroni cheese. At least dinner is already made for tonight!

Armchairexpert that's exactly how I feel on the food - I know I could keep the budget low, and probably even reduce it a little further, but actually family meals are a really important time for us, and I want my children to remember good food as well as time together, as I do from my own childhood. Not sure I can increase it much, but going to have a look at the numbers for April. Reusable bread bags are a huge success. We don't own a bread bin so I have been wrapping the bread in a teatowel inside the bread bag for another layer of protection from dryness, but our loaves never last longer than a couple of days anyway.

Thanks for the bread ideas, will start saving the bread heels! Bread and butter pudding is the obvious one, why didn't I think of that? We have a 'proper' pudding once a week, so I'll make it one week for that. I already use them for croutons and things sometimes (although not regularly, I confess).

Today is my only quiet day this week and the snow has dissipated a lot, so I'll pop into town today for a veg top up, then catch up on admin work.

Three things to do today
1. Food top up.
2. Sort out next week's contract work.
3. Soak chickpeas for houmous.

Debt repayment:
- £22.77/31 March rounding down pot.
- £1,608.78/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.

cocalls

Morning TOPM you tend to need proper slices for bread and butter pudding so im thinking heel ends wont work but have you tried bread pudding https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13355/bread-pudding

could be good for pack ups.

wishingthemortgaheaway

cocalls wrote: »

Morning TOPM you tend to need proper slices for bread and butter pudding so im thinking heel ends wont work but have you tried bread pudding https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13355/bread-pudding

could be good for pack ups.

Bread pudding is one of my all time favourite fruit 'cakes' yummy yummy

arsenalbarnie

My OH loves bread pudding, I can't stand it, the only way I could eat it was with custard as a child. But it does double as a lunch box treat and a pudding. The trick is he says is to have it crunchy on the top with sugar! I used to make it when son no 3 was a teenager as he loves it too and it was a way of filling him up. He's vegan now so cakes are more tricky.

Treadingonplaymobil

Still feeling a bit knackered and broken after the last few days, and have two more busy days ahead. Waaaaah. Really feeling a bit sorry for myself, and really want things to slow down but have work tomorrow, Thursday and Saturday then two DCs birthdays and parties next week.

Spent a bit on a top up shop today, have totally lost the will to live with trying to keep a tight hold on the food budget this month on top of everything else.

On the bright side, I have enough leftover dal from dinner to feed a family of eight for about a week. May have slightly mis-calculated quantities of dried pulses...

Three things to do today
1. Food top up.
2. Sort out next week's contract work.
3. Soak chickpeas for houmous.

Debt repayment:
- £22.77/31 March rounding down pot.
- £1,608.78/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.

Eager_Elephant

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

If anyone has any good uses for leftover stale bread, I'm all ears! I always end up with one stale heel of my handmade loaves left, and I have been accumulating them in the freezer faster than I'm using them up.

A bit late to this but wanted to mention stuffing - I save all my bread ends in the freezer and then use them to make a mushroom stuffing (sometimes with chestnuts if I can get them cheap enough).

Really nice with a roast dinner and even nicer the next day with left over roast potatoes when they become the main part of the meal. Very filling.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 58: Day 3

Well, an annoying morning in all ways. Firstly, I have to go and do a talk that I don't really want to do (I was slightly misled about the sort of people I will be talking to, and I don't think they are my target market). Secondly I checked the bank accounts and while DH's salary is showing as a pending transaction, there is no sign of any bonus at all in it. Humph. Not sure whether this means no bonus, bonus being paid separately, bonus being paid next month or something else. A shame, as I had slightly got my hopes up. So much for the excitement of his first bonus ever. And I have an unhappy customer with my smaller business, which just never happens. Will offer a refund etc, and it's only a small sum (<£20), but I hate knowing a customer is unhappy with what I supplied. All things considered, including the fact that I am still knackered, I am not in the most fantastic mood this morning.

I also have spent not enough time planning the two upcoming DCs' birthday cakes and parties. Must get on top of that today. Need to make sure I have time and supplies for cake baking/icing etc, as well as all the usual party prep.

The bank accounts and YNAB continue to look a bit sad - am looking like overspending by £130 so far this month, which now might not be covered by any bonus. I have the money in my business account to cover it, but it will mean raiding some of my savings pots (not my three months salary and income) which isn't ideal, but at least the money is there to be raided.

Three things to do today
1. Pack snacks and drinks to take to talk so I don't spend anything.
2. Plan parties/cakes/anything left to buy for birthdays.
3. Write and post a cart for friend's birthday on Saturday.

Debt repayment:
- £22.77/31 March rounding down pot.
- £1,608.78/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.