Fabulously Frugal and Free at 50!

Pippilongstocking

Thank you my dear you're very kind and what a read that is too! Amazing. Love the tone of it all. I'm a kind of like the look of this what do I actually have kinda cook, so she sits well with me. xxx UScot - me too and love Jacks book.

Well we have various 'never before seen in a spring roll wrapper' delights here including left over chinese, beef burgers and veg and sausage and veg and erm, sausages. they're 'snackage' for the DH long days at work and freeze easily.

OK so some of the concoctions might have the spring roll wrapping association wondering what on earth I'm at - but I'm thinking they're more like spring roll pasties - little rolls of leftovers. Pastry is Pastry after all.

DD left a packet in my possession and they did take up a lot of fridge space so I've used half of them now and frozen (rolled up) the rest of the 'raw' wrappers.

Soups looking good and had a good natter to a chum who's a bit poorly.

Thought I was needed for 'ice wedding cake' emergency today - turns out not. So a productive kitchen and chores day = suits me as I'm hardly ever here. Nice to have a day pottering at home.

I've also tamed the tupperware and sorted everything we have which has lids.
Made some coleslaw from gifted HG cabbage
Done a couple loads of washing never hurts.

Off to walk les mutts. Lamb is still buggling about on the stove - will shred that up later and freeze it and the breakfast 'spring rolls' for his work.

Never a dull moment and todays new skill is spring roll wrapping. First few look well dodgy but by the end, I looked like an old pro, oven baked instead of frying - was easy enough on a non stick tray.

Talked to DS in NZ seems very happy if a bit tired but that's OK he's in seventh heaven cooking. Still talking about heading this end for alps again this year so we'll see.

XOXOX

rtandon27

Pips - :rotfl::D:T - at the thought of spring roll wrapper surprise! We have some wrappers languishing in the freezer, my just have to give it a go! never thought of baking them - brilliant idea

We've had broc&cauli soup with fresh soda bread for lunch & a portion left over and stashed in the freezer for another day - best bit is that it used up the veg leftovers!

Chook bones & skin currently bubbling away making stock to stash away for risotto and stews. Use about 4 birds worth & store in the freezer until there is enough for a potful.

Dinner tonight will be roast chook on a bed of carrot & mushrooms with sweetcorn & roast wedges. Leftovers are a given of course - cook once eat twice...:D

Pippilongstocking

Hey there RT - how fabulous that you've thought of them as pastry the way I just have. Ace.

Do you have a good soda bread recipe you'd share with the body of the kirk so to speak, I love it and have passed those books on to DS who seemed more in need. Love it when I have it (soda bread) but seldom make it.

I'm glad you've got a good stock a brewing - nom nom. So useful.

DH returned muddy but happy and tried the 'current experiments in spring roll pastry' utterly loves them so woop - that's some choice and yummy low calorie bakes (pastry is so much lighter than puff or rough or shortcrust) so keeping hearts a bit healthier too.

They do bake remarkably well RT - I truly wonder what the difference between these and filo is (I suspect NOT much).

Walked mutts, had a natter and then off to wrap up the spoils of cooking today into easy meals for the working week.

Must update spends later. Like really.

Todays spends have included the 20m walk to the neighbours with chickens and splashing out 1.50 for a dozen free range zero miles eggs. Whilst they don't have them often, they are tasty and the proceeds go to the local first response unit, so I lobbed in an extra 50p.

Greying_Pilgrim

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Todays spends have included the 20m walk to the neighbours with chickens and splashing out 1.50 for a dozen free range zero miles eggs. Whilst they don't have them often, they are tasty and the proceeds go to the local first response unit, so I lobbed in an extra 50p.

I hope that was 20 metres away, as opposed to 20 miles, Pippi - but loving that you can buy such good eggly goodness *on your doorstep* so reasonably priced, and that your neighbours put all proceeds to a worthy cause - :T:T:T for charity :T:T:T for hard-working hens :T:T:T for lobbing in a *bit extra*

Greying X

beanielou

Harvey Mics :rotfl:

Pippilongstocking

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

I hope that was 20 metres away, as opposed to 20 miles, Pippi - but loving that you can buy such good eggly goodness *on your doorstep* so reasonably priced, and that your neighbours put all proceeds to a worthy cause - :T:T:T for charity :T:T:T for hard-working hens :T:T:T for lobbing in a *bit extra*

Greying X

Ah yes twenty metres - and they're good sorts and they've got very bonnie hens so its all good all round.

beanielou wrote: »

Harvey Mics :rotfl:

Well it makes me laugh too so glad it made you smile - what an utterly ridiculus shop.

Morning lands I hope all is well with you all.

Last night was unexpectedly leftovers as neither of us really fancied lamb - so that's ready to go tonight and leftovers will be wrapped for freezing later.

Coleslaw and beetroot for lunch with a tattie from the garden - delivered fridge/freezer to the garden today so we can top up things like milk and butter without any wastage. Great to help someone get rid of an old appliance too and help us make the garden bothy comfier.

Not very motivated here - feeling a bit poor atm - but then again I did pay off a huge chunk of CC and Im' not starved to death.

Must update the budgets.

Pippilongstocking

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Thanks guys - more tests required but she's seeing someone early next week. Appreciate the positive vibes. XOXO

Spends update.

Petrol budget - 200 - £35 paid by me, £30 by DD = £35
Grub/Household budget £300 + 1.04 straggler = 301.04 - spends 55.74
Treats 100 budget - spends 3.75

Still pondering the 500 quid - realistically I think it makes more sense to pay it off the CC sitting at 700 high interest and find a way to get rid of the final 200 rather than do a balance transfer.

Might go away next weekend for a wee treatsy sneak away before the MSc kicks off in full.

So the petrol budget is now sitting at £80 left/200
Food budget is minus cleaner (£44) and various grub spends = £102 left/300
Treats budget is sitting at £21 left/100

Paid the 500 to the CC so current debts look like this

CC1 7.99 audio book sub on there
CC2 2469.42
Overdraft 1 - 900
Overdraft 2 - 1000

So total debt siting at 4377.41

So we've paid off 1377.99

Not bad bit of focus eh - thanks chaps - will do better but that at least lets me know whilst I'm feeling a bit skintarooni the debts are being hammered.

I'm going to lob 7.99 at the card that should be at ZERO so that's today's PAD. I'm cancelling the audio subby as I fear I don't need it and there are as we've seen :money: free alternatives

Pippilongstocking

£6.89 paid to tidy up the overdraft account - so that's gone to CC2
Balance there now - 2462.53

£7.99 paid to CC1 so balance there now ZERO

Woo hoo

An extra £14.88 paid off the debts

EssexHebridean

So in full on :money:/DFW mode - is CC1 now being shredded into tiny pieces and the account closed once the subscription has been cancelled?

Zero food miles eggs sound fabulous - we bought ours from the campsite at the weekend, not quite so bargainous as yours but the only food miles put onto them were the ones when we drove them home! :T

Loving the idea of spring roll wrappers as pastry - genius indeed - and also another devotee of Jack Monroe's first book in particular - I use it often as a "springboard" for using up things and coming up with ideas - the 9p burgers are favourites in our house albeit obviously with carrots substituted for parsnips! :T

rtandon27

LOVING the debt bashing progress Pips! Keep beating it over the head:D:D:D It feels soooooo gooood when it's gone!

I know that common :money: wisdom is to get rid of credit cards & overdrafts once you've hit zero, but even though we've been debt free for almost a year, the security blanket is still in place & we have 4 cards & 2 overdrafts available between us. We put a lot of day to day expenses on the one that collects points but pay it off every month. Maybe one day we've be brave enough to get rid of them...;)

Soda bread is super easy! Try this recipe - I use all whole wheat flour and add a crushed vitamin C table so that it rises a bit better - I've not found good buttermilk this side of the pond, so just sour some whole milk with a touch of white vinegar or lemon juice...

OH is sooooooooo jealous of your 20m egg access - and what a great price for a dozen! - we thought we were doing well this week buying seasonal veg & chook from the local farm but still had to drive almost 10 minutes each way!