General Chat

Perhaps I should start by saying 'Left over wine? Hallooo!!!'

If you have children around, use caution about freezing the dregs in ice cube trays. One such person said that the 'black currant' ice cubes in her orange squash were really nice! LOL

When my dad first had his stroke we had a visit from somebody about benefits.She filled everything in that we needed to but I didn't apply for housing benefit as OH was working.

Now he is only on very short hours and signing on he has been told to claim it.It is my dad's tenancy so I rung up about it this morning and it seems we should have been claiming it all along,to the tune of ninety odd quid a week.

Funny thing is that,as I have always been too tight to invest in a squeak, I thought we were not living too badly considering we were on benefits and that they were quite generous really.

A lot of my time has been taken up by looking after OH and I don't bake as often as I used to,but here's a tip I have used to make a crumble.
Instead of making the crumble,which is quite easy really,I made it really easier by crumbling up some Jamaican ginger cake on top of stewed rhubarb I had frozen and baked it as normal...it was delicious and grandsons had seconds.It is cheap at the moment.Think it was 39p.With some easy mix custard makes a cheap dessert.

Morning,

I'm typing today with my tail between my legs - I've not been as economical as I could have been this weekend - but to be fair to myself I have 3 interviews last week and another 2 this week - so life has been fairly hectic.

Although, on Friday evening I did feed 6 on Friday evening with 1 and a half pound of mince I made a lovely chilli and we had a party in the garden - complete with the pool table which since relegated to the garden has had more use than in the past 5 years!! The chilli was accompanied by nachos (25p a bag M*****ons special, dips, olives (already had) and feta - (A*di -77p) (nibbles) - and served with garlic bread (3 baguettes for £1)

I also keep partial bottles of wine and keep it to add to sauces. - So I suppose in hindsight perhaps I wasn't as bad as I thought I was.

Also 24 breadbuns and a pack of ham, tub of pease pudding has made 2 enjoyable lunches both of which were consumed at leisure in the sunny garden.

I have an interview with the job centre (to prove I'm actually looking for work) and another one this afternoon for a temporary job which is 20miles away and pays just over half of my previous salary - and I'm not willing to work??

Just a quick cheap recipe for Meat Loaf to cook when you want something quick and tasty - can cook in oven at same time as other dishes.

1 pack pork sausage meat from a local butcher (wrapped in plastic roll)
1 pack stuffing mix (Sage/Onion or any other)
1 egg
3 or 4 dollops tomato ketchup

Unwrap sausage meat & squeeze into large bowl. Add other ingredients, (you can use 2 eggs if you want) & mix whole lot up together. You could add sliced vegs into it, like peppers at this stage. Put into 1lb loaf tin & make patterns on top with a fork. Bake on middle shelf for around 40 mins at Gas 5. Serve in thick slices, hot or cold.

I also open a tin of Beanz without taking the top totally off, tear off the paper label & stand on top shelf of oven at same time. It's ready at same time as sausage meat loaf. Have also been known to do baked potatoes at same time.

Thanks for hints & tips - the soap especially.

Vicki

Interesting to read that when they recycle soap they put olive oil in with it. I used to hae a small plastic barrel which I put soap bits into to press into shape, and they always came away, now I know why!

After reading about the programme on here Oh and I watched it this week.couldn't believe the family spent so much in a week and the amount of pocket money the children got!!...and... the waste of food was amazing!!
how many others waste?nothing gets wasted in our house.I even freeze little bit of left overs for my daughters dogs and now Oh can't eat the crackling off pork I cut it up for the birds who need the fat especially in winter.Peelings tea bags etc go in the compost bin.They have had it too good for too long and can't cope with economising like older folk can.
What about the lady who loved going to the dump and rescuing things,and I must admit to ironing wrapping paper before now!
I agree with Sharron that I couldn't be bothered with making the hand/face cream.they say that cheap cream is just as good as the expensive type.
Must watch next weeks!

Well,he has made me look a liar again!
We had sweet and sour for tea on Thursday.Friday I manged to make the leftovers into soup and some sausages.Enough to have for tea and some to freeze.

THE OLD MAN ATE THE SOUP!!!!! All of it!!!!!

I thought the recipe for hand and face cream on the programme might not be that economical as you would have to buy glycerine and palm oil which don't feature largely in my weekly shop.I think a cheap bottle of moisturizer might work out cheaper.

I watched the programme with o.h. this week, and he was astonished when I said I had used oats to bulk out savoury mince which I often make in bulk and freeze in portions. Next time I make it I know he will be looking out for it so I will not put much in so as to fool him lol, but the time after that will add my usual quantity lol

Good for the cholesterol problems too as well as making the mince go further.

Glad you got the money back for the meat, Angelsong.

Lizx

How the other half live!! Couldn't believe the waste on Wednesday's programme. Having a frugal childhood (the 1950's), equally frugal 60's, 70's, which included my OH's redundancy, unemployment for long periods of time, the 80's were an eye opener, but even then, money was not thrown around. The weekly trip for groceries was just that, no popping into town for extras.

Now that we are OAP's, we already know how to stretch the money. The other night I took medallion steak from the freezer, put it in the fridge overnight, and found that it was did not smell fresh. Our tea that night was a vegetable bake, carrots, onions, mushrooms, pepper and parsnips, with mashed spud - very tasty. On the following night, because our meat was for two meals, I opened a tin of macaroni cheese, and we had that with mashed potato.

Today I received a voucher for the price of the meat from T****co, after informing them of the less than fresh item.

Looking forward to next weeks programme.

I have added 2 Weetabix and extra tomato puree to a pan of bolognaise, when the children asked if their friend could stay for tea.
Nobody was any the wiser, so I sometimes repeated my 'recipe.

Gwyn

In the days when I was very broke I mixed dry sage and onion stuffing with mince. It tasted good and bulked up the meat.

Wendy x

Saw the tip last night about mixed in porridge oats to mince to make it go further. I can recall my mum doing this during the rationing.

I made soup for lunch on Wednesday and my OH said it was really lovely and beefy. He asked me what was in it and then didn't believe me when I told him. While I was sorting out the freezer I found a portion of shepherd pie so I chopped some carrots and boiled them in a Knorr beef stockpot added the shepherds pie (thawed) some whole grain mustard and a dash of worchester sauce. I mixed it altogether and heated it through then whizzed it, the mashed potatoe topping made it into a nice thick soup.

Wendy x

Good Morning Ladies, Chris in Wessex, you have pre-empted me on the Cardinal Red polish.LOL. Every spring, and I have just done this, I paint my downstairs outside window sills with Cardinal Red paint. Makes them look clean and fresh. My outside steps are painted white gloss as they are wooden.
Have a Good Day All
Julia in Derbyshire

Hi All.
I love watching Hugh .Hes so inventive. Dau in law made his Elder Flower Champagne. It was quite nice when you got used to it.

As for citric acid we buy it at the supermarket next to the baking soda. I didnt know dealers used it to cut heroin.Im in New Zealand so different rules for selling stuff I guess.
The Olives will be ripe soon so dau in law will be collecting them to have them pressed ( she takes them to an company for that ). We are still using oil from last year. She makes her own Pesto and if we havnt any Basil she uses other herbs and its still lovely

Chris, yes that was what it was, Cardinal polish, I must say the step did always look clean ad nice. We had rugs made from bits of material left over from Mums sewing, she made nearly all our clothes, including our coats. She would go to the local Market buy material and put it out on the floor, then she would use tailors chalk to draw the item..so clever. She even made my and my younger sisters, wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses this way.

Please someone add some soup recipies, many thanks
21.27 hrs Spain

The dried fruit salad made three crumbles.

He does like prunes after all.I knew he would if I told him to!

Spanish - probably Cardinal polish - I have used it mysellf!

Hi All - I missed 'Super Scrimpers' last week - but know I am one!
Todays effort : I had worn right through the soles of my house boots (The soft, fleecy lined faux suede type). So, cut the complete front & back leg sections off & made 2 pairs of lovely fleecy insoles for my wellies & dog-walking shoes!

I do agree that alas, the cost of fuel doesn't always make DIY baking as economical as it used to be - BUT, although I don't usually eat white sliced bread,, when I see one reduced to about 25p, I can't resist getting one & making that wonderful old classic : Bread Pudding! - Then the rest of the loaf gets frozen for toast.
Yes, I definitely qualify - Rationing when a child, Now broke when retired!
Keep it up folks. Paula x