Cooking for one (Mark Two)

moneyistooshorttomention

caronc wrote: »

I just pop them in a bag with a bit of the box showing what it is, I get 100 bags for £1 and these do fine so don't mind the wasted 1p. It's all part of why CFOers need just as much storage space as a family if they want to store a decent variety of food and take advantage of any cost savings.

Re using "a bit of the box" - I do that sort of thing too instead of labels. So whatever-it-is gets stuck in the freezer with however much of the cardboard outer packaging is necessary to tell me what it is/what to do with it.

I also use that for "labelling" things stored on shelves. Over the years I've put sticky labels on jars (but one has to get them back off again). I've also tried those special "pens" for writing on glass jars (not very effective). So again I just chop off the "title" of what it is and put that in the jar with it.

I certainly found myself getting confused as to exactly which "flavours" of fruit etc tea I'd got in until I started doing that. The number of times I landed up inadvertently making workmen fruit tea instead of the standard "builders tea" they wanted were legion until I started doing that. Hence my discovery that they're often quite happy to have some of my real coffee - but none of them have ever wanted any of my fruit teas:rotfl:

*********

Not forgetting my theory that singles need more storage space than families - all those part-used packets of this/that/the other - in order to try and ensure we get as much variety in our diet as families can.

moneyistooshorttomention

SquirrelSmall wrote: »

Just retrieved girl cat from a spontaneous swimming session in the marina. Actually, she got herself out.

.

Well she couldnt let boy cat have all the fun could she?:rotfl::rotfl:

FARWAY - as for gardening in the rain. Yep.....been there....done that.....well it's my garden..so it's up to me what I wear in it. The neighbours can be glad I'm wearing "something" - which ain't necessarily the case inside my house LOL.

Hollyharvey

I've just put a beef goulash in the slow cooker for dinner tonight. I'll have that with some rice, and soured cream on the goulash. I've got some raspberries and they will be pudding with some ice cream.


There's enough goulash for three portions, so I'll freeze the other two portions. I've got to be careful though, the freezers are so full at the moment.


I'm going out to a street festival in a village near my brother so lunch will be something from one of the food stalls


I haven't had any breakfast yet but I will get some scrambled eggs on toast in a minute to keep me going until lunch.

B17c

Morning all!

Breakfast was cornflakes (own brand) I'm still hungry!! Got a banana that's on its last legs so I'll have that too...
Lunch will be scrambled eggs on toast and dinner will be chicken and broccoli. And copious amounts of tea!

I've been trying to think of ways to cut back spending in my budget and it can only really come from my grocery shopping and things like buying a coffee at the station in the morning, things like that all add up!
I don't get one every day but still...

I've listed some things on eBay and if I can find someone to do a carboot sale with me (I don't drive) I've got quite a bit I could get rid of!!

I was reading another thread on here last night about FrugalQueen? blogs someone mentioned, so I'm going to read that now for some inspo!
I feel like some of it isn't really relèvent to me re the household tips as my rent and bills are fixed by the landlord and changing providers etc isn't down to me, i need to find ways to reduce my personal bills/spending!

Anyhoo, I digress! Roll on Friday so I can do my online shop for one!

PasturesNew

B17c wrote: »

I was reading another thread on here last night about ....blogs

Be wary of any "blogs".... you find they're usually families - and already have a lot more money than you have. There's little you can learn from any source unless the contributors are "just like you" really .... if they're telling you you can make your own "serves 12" cakes in the bottom of your Aga which is fabulous when the grandchildren stop over as the parents are jetting to the Caribbean for two weeks.... it's not for you.

Just be "price aware" of everything.

I've never bought a shop coffee.... I get the L1dl/4ldi 200grams instant jars at £1.39-1.49 and one jar lasts a month. I had a job once where coffee was only available from a cafe two floors below. That was how they expected you to buy your coffee. I popped into Asda and got a flask, which I filled with boiling water - and a small plastic twist-lidded beaker which I put some coffee in and a teaspoon. I started making my own at my desk from that - I was in profit by the end of day 2. Having said that, roll on 2-3 weeks and "word had got round" and there was a management memo sent round telling people they were not allowed to bring flasks into the building.... but I was only a temp and was finishing that week anyway

PasturesNew

I popped out - weather report says there'll be three occasions today when it's likely to be a thunder storm (11am, 2pm and 4pm) - and after yesterday's persistent incessant hard rain I didn't want to go out car booting and get caught in a muddy field, then a big queue to get out. (Also, there/back and admission adds up to £5 alone!) ... so I didn't want to pay £5 for the potential chance of buying somebody else's old tat I don't want or need. I'd rather stay in and spend that £5 on food

Having said that, I'd seen there was supposed to be a car boot just 3 miles away, but I've never found it/open - so I looked it up and it is "4th Sunday of the month, April-October" - and I looked that up and that was today! So I went.... 12 stalls, biggest load of drivel ever.

The route was on a "round route", so I left in the opposite direction to wend my way home and passed a small row of tiny shops - at the end of which was a tiny corner CoOp ...so I pulled in and thought "wonder what's in there then".

Shuffled round and spotted...... tinned cherry tomatoes. Now, I've heard of these but never had them. My mind thought "Ah, crustless quiche jobby with those..." and the price/tin was 50p, but they were a "3 for 2" offer, making them 33p/tin. I figured this was a price I was prepared to pay to give them a try.

So I am now the owner of three tins of tomatoes I've never tried before.

Came home and had the last cheese-topped roll, with some grated cheddar and the last slice of the tomato I started yesterday.

I'll now ponder whether to go out and get milk/eggs and whether to make a crustless quiche today ...or not.

I've got some "Food I didn't enjoy, but the rest of the box still needs using up" in the freezer I should get through really.... no point having nasty food cluttering up the freezer.

caronc

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Re using "a bit of the box" - I do that sort of thing too instead of labels. So whatever-it-is gets stuck in the freezer with however much of the cardboard outer packaging is necessary to tell me what it is/what to do with it.

I also use that for "labelling" things stored on shelves. Over the years I've put sticky labels on jars (but one has to get them back off again). I've also tried those special "pens" for writing on glass jars (not very effective). So again I just chop off the "title" of what it is and put that in the jar with it.



Not forgetting my theory that singles need more storage space than families - all those part-used packets of this/that/the other - in order to try and ensure we get as much variety in our diet as families can.

I pop a piece of masking tape on tubs/jars and write on that with just an ordinary marker. Easy to remove and no sticky residue:D

B17c wrote: »

I was reading another thread on here last night about FrugalQueen? blogs someone mentioned, so I'm going to read that now for some inspo!
I feel like some of it isn't really relèvent to me re the household tips as my rent and bills are fixed by the landlord and changing providers etc isn't down to me, i need to find ways to reduce my personal bills/spending!

Anyhoo, I digress! Roll on Friday so I can do my online shop for one!

I like blogs for inspiration but find most (I've not read Frugal Queens) aim for families or are a budget cut too far for me, but they are good to see ways that you can maybe save a bit here and there

That's me back to CFO for a couple of weeks and really need get my CFO mojo back. Having offspring home at various points over the past few weeks while lovely has knocked me off of CFO thinking and I have far too much food in. I'm going to a have good go through the fridge and pop everything that needs using up in the next few days at the front of one shelf and then plan what I eat round about it. (Well that's the plan anyway;))

Breakfast was toast with some of the basil & sundried tomato pate I bought yesterday. The pate was tasty but a little sweet and when I checked the label it had maple syrup in it which I'm not sure (for me anyway) adds anything. Lunch will be a sarnie and I'm not sure about dinner yet.

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

Shuffled round and spotted...... tinned cherry tomatoes. Now, I've heard of these but never had them. My mind thought "Ah, crustless quiche jobby with those..." and the price/tin was 50p, but they were a "3 for 2" offer, making them 33p/tin. I figured this was a price I was prepared to pay to give them a try.

So I am now the owner of three tins of tomatoes I've never tried before.

Came home and had the last cheese-topped roll, with some grated cheddar and the last slice of the tomato I started yesterday.

I'll now ponder whether to go out and get milk/eggs and whether to make a crustless quiche today ...or not.

I've got some "Food I didn't enjoy, but the rest of the box still needs using up" in the freezer I should get through really.... no point having nasty food cluttering up the freezer.

That's a great price for tinned cherry toms. I like them just heated through and mixed with cooked pasta and a bit of cream cheese:D

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

That's a great price for tinned cherry toms. I like them just heated through and mixed with cooked pasta and a bit of cream cheese:D

I was thinking they might be better in a sauce, rather than any form of quiche/tart ... and I really need to open the tin and see what's inside. Thinking it through, it'll be an "interesting to know" purchase, but I bet I dislike the skins... nobody likes tomato skins and tomato skins in tins are something I always look for/pick out.

So .... I figure they'll probably now just be in the cupboard for a long time until I get round to being bothered to pick the skins off each one I knew they were "expensive" and I know I pay ~31p/tin for cheapo tomatoes, so I figured that 33p/can was THE time to try them, maybe for the first/last time (well, first and last 3x as I have three cans!)

For tomatoes, even tinned ones, I ALWAYS cut out the little stalk-joining-bit... which is why I don't buy chopped tomatoes as they're harder to spot and there's more likely to be hidden in there.

EDIT: Now I've had time to reflect, I think I'll regret buying these because of the skins.... there are a ton of things I could make ... but those skins will need to either be picked off or they'll prey on my mind all the time I'm cooking/eating whatever it is I've made with them. Oh well .... 3 bl00dy tins to get through!

SunnyGirl

Afternoon All!


At work again so lunch is a cheese and onion chutney sandwich, mandarin oranges in jelly and a bag of crisps. I am being taken out for tea as a pre-birthday treat afterwards so no CFO this evening.


On the subject of blogs I've read a few over the years depending on my interests at the time but generally don't bother these days. I don't have the time and I'm suspicious of the photos and content as it is all presented to look 'just so' and often bears little resemblance to reality