It's Minestrone Today

Gosh we are having a storm and a half, the rain is lashing down and the wind is well very windy.  So another day to make some nourishing soup.  This is my recipe for a very rustic, chunky Minestrone, it's really filling, makes 4 very hearty portions but can be stretched if you have a smaller appetite.  It's practically a stew hence why it's so filling.  Total cost of all ingredients was £2.86, so 71p a portion but as I say can be stretched to 6 portions particularly if you have a sandwich with it. 

So chop 1 large onion, 2 celery sticks, 2 carrots and a pack of smoked bacon and sweat this on a hob for about 3 minutes. 

Add some garlic, 3 tablespoons of tomato puree, herbs (whatever you have in the cupboard, I added Oregano) and mix and fry this for another minute. 

Add a can of chopped tomatoes and a litre of chicken stock (made with 2 chicken stock cubes.  Add some seasoning and pop a lid on and simmer on low for about 50 minutes.  

Then add in 50g of any pasta you have in the cupboard and a can of cannellini beans and again simmer for about 20 minutes.  Check the seasoning and e voila 

It really is scrummy and whilst not the cheapest soup recipe due to the smoked bacon but as I say its more like a stew and is really filling so for 71p it's not too bad.  Enjoy

Deck the Halls ......

Well this time of year can be a financial minefield.  Stores are bursting with goodies and if you were to believe the adverts, you can’t have a great time without spending oodles of money.  I once was hooked in, ship, line and sinker when it came to Christmas.  I could easily spend a couple of thousand on gifts, decorations, food, drink, entertaining, new outfit, parties.  Crickey it was a lot. 

So can you have a cracking time and still be frugal?   Of course you can, because somewhere along the line some of us in this consumerist age have lost the true meaning of Christmas and with just a little bit we can have a cracking time. 

Today we decorated the house, we used to buy a real tree (hubby wanted to this year but I said no (I know how mean) I’d buy a real wreath for the door, I would always buy different decorations etc and a few hundred pounds later…..

This year however it has cost us zero, as we have decorated the house with all our old decorations, 2 artificial trees (which I bought in the sale years ago) and an artificial wreath I’ve used year after year. 

It really doesn’t have to cost much, I have made decorations in the past, and if you’ve got little ones it’s a great activity on the run up to Christmas.  I’ve embedded a link to making decorations from recycled materials again no / little cost.  http://diytotry.com/25-christmas-decorations-made-with-recycled-materials/

So reuse, recycle, make and mend.  Your home may not look like the inside of a glossy magazine but it will be fabulous and it will be you. 

Getting my craft on

Well the weather is a little milder today, just a tad, so I wrapped up warm and ventured into my workshop in the garden, just a fancy shed.  A colleague of hubby sells homemade bags using old curtain material at craft fairs and sells my cards as well.  I gave her a box full for last weekend and they went down a storm and she asked for some more for this weekend at another Christmas Craft Fair she’s attending.  I make these as a hobby mainly and its cheaper than buying cards for friends and family, it is also a little bit of pin money, not a huge amount but pays for my hobby and allows me to buy crafty stuff.

I really need to tidy up my crafting area just been so busy making so much on the run up to Christmas.  I know no excuse ;) 

My messy Crafting area, making my Christmas Stocking Cards

Pricing up my Heart Tree Cards and my Scandinavian Heart Cards 

Gingerbread Man Wooden Tree Decoration

Felt like work today ;) perish the thought.  

Budget Booze

Now to be completely frugal I should be tee total but life is short and I have to be honest that I do like the odd glass of wine or two on a Saturday evening whilst watching Strictly on the telly.  I was also thinking of Christmas and New Year with friends coming over.

Now my favourite wine costs £9 a bottle (I know very expensive tastes), you can buy a perfectly nice Chardonnay in Aldi for £4.99 and that is what I usually do.  However it is Christmas and I thought I would treat myself to my favourite as it is smoother and tastes so much more lush but £9 is a tad steep.

However Tesco currently have it on offer at £7 a bottle and if you buy 6 bottles or more they also have a 25% off deal at the moment so I did treat myself and got my £9 wine for £5.45 a bottle. Whilst still 46p a bottle more expensive than the very palatable Chardonnay on offer at Aldi the quality is worth it.  

It is a treat at a much discounted rate.  I no longer go mad at Christmas and will detail my spends in a later blog.  We will have a great Christmas Lunch with homemade Christmas Cake and homemade mince pies.  Not going too mad and keeping spends in check but we will be well fed and a little merry and so the budget booze I've stocked up on I don't feel too guilty about. 

Souper Sunday

Well I don’t know what the weather is like where you are but up north its blinking freezing and then some.  On days like these we yearn for hot comfort food and homemade soup is the best. 

I make soup most weeks, it really is a great way to prevent food waste, any vegetables or bits of meat lingering in the fridge and you don’t think you will use up in time before they go off can be chucked into a stock pot. 

So today I went out and bought a ham joint, I cook one each week, it’s only £2.99 in Aldi and lasts us for the whole week.  So today’s recipes are Leek and Potato Soup (6 hearty portions) and Pea and Ham soup (4 hearty portions).   Total cost of ingredients was £2.49 (I only used about 50p worth of the Ham joint in the pea and ham soup), equating to 25p a portion, for a big bowl of soup which tastes far better than any tin you can buy in the shop, I promise.

I know there are lots of recipes for both but these are mine and really yummy

Leek & Potato

Into 2 litres of ham stock I put in (I did add in about 500ml of water to make up the 2 litres and crumbled in a chicken stock cube)

2 roughly chopped onions (I also added in a few spring onions as these where looking past their best)

2 roughly chopped large leeks

2 roughly chopped baking potatoes

Add a few herbs, salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

As we like our soups smooth I then but it in the blender, check the seasoning and e voila

Pea and Ham soup

Into 1 litre of ham stock 

1 roughly chopped onion (again added in a few spring onions)

1 roughly chopped potato

A few herbs salt and pepper

Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

I then put in 500g of frozen peas from the freezer, I don’t cook these just leave them in the hot stock for a few minutes this ensures that after you’ve blended you have a luscious green colour and a very pea flavour.  (Photo doesn't do it justice due to poor lighting)

From the ham joint I chop up a couple of slices of ham, I then check the seasoning and again e voila a fab soup.

In this weather hubby likes to take soup to work to reheat for his lunch, filling, nutritious and on cold days like this feeds both body and soul. 

Black Friday - Did you survive?

So yesterday was a bit of a shopping frenzy, a recently adopted annual tradition that we have to thank our American cousins for.  Stories peppered the papers of people queuing in what was sub zero temperatures at 3am in the morning waiting for stores to open so they will hopefully get the gadget or goody they have their eye one.

I suppose it is quite frugal in one respect, if there is something that you need and you can get it at a hugely discounted price then it makes sense.  I do wonder however how many in the queue fell into the really "need" category as opposed to the “want” category and just got caught up in the consumerist madness.

I have to say I very nearly embarked on my own online Black Friday journey.  I don’t like shopping, and if I have to its normally online.  My lovely microwave is in a perilous state.  The internal white enamel paint has flaked away and it has gone rusty underneath; courtesy of advice via google this is a potential danger.  It can create hot spots and even fires, yikes.

I do use my Microwave daily, I heat up milk in it for Dads daily lattes and nightly hot chocolate and I also heat up left overs frequently, so whilst I don’t cook in it per se, it is well used.

Now the old me would have just ordered whatever I wanted online and despite the Microwave working perfectly fine apart from this, it would have gone into the bin.  So I perused through online shops to see their Black Friday deals and I couldn’t find a microwave that I liked or was willing to pay for.  All my white goods are integrated in my kitchen, all hidden away and those on show have a vintage / retro feel.  My microwave wasn’t on sale and online it ranges from £70 - £75 depending upon where you shop.  Yikes tis a bit steep.

So again thanks to google I found a step by step guide on how to sand down and repaint the interior and I found some specialist paint made for the inside of microwaves for £10. 

So instead of £70 I should end up with a “new” Microwave for a tenner, I can live with that.

Once I get the paint and I do my little bit of DIY I'll share to see if it works.  

Hello - I'm Back !!!

So where have I been, now that is a story and a half which I won't bore you with now, but one of the biggest changes is that I have "retired".  I say retired as I'm only 47 years old, can you retire that young?  But the reality is that I no longer work for "The Man" anymore and I don't get any state benefits, I live off (like a 1950's housewife) my husband and no we didn't win the lottery. 

It wasn't an easy decision but one that was necessitated by family circumstances and my darling dad who has many health issues coming to live with us full time.  He's a full time job in the nicest way.

So with a considerable drop in our income how do we survive?  I'm happy to say we are surviving and thriving and we really couldn't have done it without embracing frugal living.

I budget within an inch of my life, I have lots of time to make home cooked meals daily, so not having to rely upon any expensive convenience food.  I make do and I mend and we are debt free.

So I'm back to sharing what I have learned, the mistakes as well as the triumphs, lots of recipes, frugal tips and bits.  I will be throwing in a bit of crafting tomfoolery when I can, along with odds and sods as it comes to mind.