The Week that was

The roses along the driveway are starting to bloom again

Here's what I've accomplished this week. When I look at this list it's hard to believe so much was done, especially as I've been busy getting ready to go to Adelaide on Friday, but nothing took very long to do or was particularly strenuous. They're just everyday things I do to care for my family and our home so we can live happily within our means.

Sunday night: 

Put the veggie peelings from tea into the worm farm. Added the orange, grapefruit and onion peels to the bokashi bucket (worms don't like citrus or onion).

Used a tin of pie apple (bought for 40 cents a can a while ago) to make apple sponge. Made a stirred custard using powdered milk, cornflour, sugar and an egg to serve with the pudding.

Went through my craft drawers to find suitable papers for the male cards I'm making for the card challenge. Made the ten cards in under an hour using a production line method. Printed off a return address label for the envelope so Joy doesn't have to worry about it, she can just stick it over the label with her address and stick on the stamps.

Monday:

Dropped Hannah at the station and stopped at Bushy Park for 40 kilos of potatoes on sale for the grand total of $8.92.  Yep, 20 cents a kilo! For my American readers that’s just 9 cents a pound! And as a bonus I was given 12 large bread rolls free! We have hamburgers on the meal plan for Saturday night so they'll be perfect for MOO burgers :)

Steamed, mashed and bagged 3 kilos of sweet potato, ready to be used in baking.

 Sweet potato, ready to be steamed

  Sweet potato, steamed, mashed and bagged ready to use in baking

Dried 4 loads of washing on the clotheshorses in front of and next to the fire. Between the rain, hail, wind and freezing day I decided the fire was never going to go out and the heat it generates not only keeps our house toasty warm but all the washing was dry before I went to bed.

Collected a large mixing bowl of water from the kitchen sink (waiting for hot water). I tipped it into the washing machine on Tuesday morning.

It was very cold, only 8 degrees again, so I added an extra layer of clothes in the form of a spencer under my t-shirt and stayed warm all day.

Enchiladas were on the meal plan but I didn't have any wraps or tortillas. Made 12 tortillas for around 50 cents using flour (Aldi) and MOO yoghurt.  To bulk out the filling I used one whole chicken fillet and two tins of baked beans with 1 teaspoon of MOO taco seasoning (Hannah doesn't like them too spicy). Total cost for 11 enchiladas was $4.40 or 40 cents each. The leftover tortilla was turned into an Elephant Ear for morning tea the next day.

Wayne was home late so I kept his tea warm by sitting his plate on a cake rack on the fire and putting a cloth serviette over the plate. Worked a treat, his dinner was piping hot and hadn't dried out at all. Saved turning the microwave on for 3 minutes.

Tuesday:

Wayne was able to drop Hannah at the station, so no need to go out at all, saving petrol and time.

Collected water in both showers and the kitchen. Used it in the washing machine as it was clean.

Vegetable lasagne for tea made with zucchini, onion, celery, sweet potato, eggplant, capsicum and tomatoes from the freezer. Made the lasagne sheets using 1 cup of plain flour and one egg. No one commented and all plates were clean so it must've been OK. Hannah and Wayne bagged two of the serves that were left for their lunches the next day. The whole dish cost 40 cents or just 5 cents a serve (I cut it into eight serves) - the price of the flour and the egg (both from Aldi). The veggies came from my summer garden.

Signed up to Stan to get the 1 month free. Made a note in my diary and on Google calendar to cancel it before the month is up or I'll be billed $10. I don't watch a lot of television, but there are some particular programs and styles of programs that I like so I'm hoping I'll find some and be able to watch them of an evening for free. The shows on television at the moment don't represent my beliefs or ideals and as I firmly believe that what you watch and read (I'm fussy about books too) stays in your mind to continually influence your thoughts I struggle to find anything I think worth watching on free to air TV. A month of free movies and TV is very exciting for us.

Washed sheets and towels, using the water collected from the showers, and dried them over the clotheshorses next to the fire. They were dry before bedtime so I was able to fold and put them away.

Wednesday:

Checked the Woolworths and Coles specials and decided there's nothing we need and certainly nothing cheap enough to make me want to rush to either supermarket.

Called into Mum's and picked up some jars she's been saving for me. The dishwasher had room so in they went and I ran an eco cycle. Added nine new jars to my stash for summer.

Finished off a dishcloth I started last week. My knitting was put aside so I could get some cards made while I watched an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford on Stan.

Kept Hannah's tea hot on top of the fire. She worked until 8pm so wasn't home until 8.30pm and said it was just right, not too hot, not at all cold.

Thursday:

Stitched a button back onto the jacket I wore for the Today show interview on Tuesday morning. It fell off as I walked around to the park (outside broadcast, boy was it cold!). Thankfully I heard it hit the path and picked it up. Two minutes with a needle and thread saved me having to replace all the buttons and at least $5.

Took Mum shopping and she shouted coffee and lunch.

We've been living the Cheapskates way for 21 years this month and now we are about to go right back to the beginning, well almost, we'll still have an income, just a greatly reduced income (by about two thirds of what we currently earn) so tracking our spending and what we do to save money is more important than ever before!

I'm re-working our grocery spending, shopping lists, stockpile and meal plans and some other bills (petrol, phone, internet) as we have decided to fast forward some plans we had for the future to just next year. This means we'll need to boost our savings considerably in a very short time and that means cutting back where we can as we'll be down to half our current income. I look after the groceries so that's where I'll start. My aim over the next two months is to calculate exactly how much of every grocery item we use is already on hand and how much of each thing I'll need to build up to twelve months supply before the end of the year. The stockpile is currently between 3 - 6 months for most things and 12 months on cleaning and toiletries. And I need to do this on the grocery money I have, there isn't any extra at the moment. We've done it before, I know we can do it again.

Found four pizza bases marked down to $1.50 (37 cents each) so bought them instead of making pizza bases tonight. Three out for tea, one in the freezer. My freezer challenge is working, sort of. I am using freezer stocks but it's hard not to add to them too!

Hannah and I had freezer meals (so free meals) for tea. Wayne and the boys had MOO pizzas using scraps from the fridge.

Used a petrol discount voucher to get $30 of petrol for $134.9/litre - just enough to last the rest of the week. Petrol hasn't come down this week so I only bought what I will need until next week when it will hopefully be cheaper.

While the oven was on for pizzas I put a batch of muffins in, ready for the weekend. Made 16 muffins for $1.85 or 11 cents each. Used some stewed rhubarb from the freezer (from Mum's garden last summer) and white choc chips from the pantry to flavour them.

Friday:

Bought three kilos of pickling onions for $1.50. They'll be made into pickled onions ready to add to the Christmas hampers.

Added orange peels saved from our morning tea to a big jar of vinegar to make citrus scented cleaner. When the peels have steeped I'll dry them to use as fire-lighters.

Orange peels steeping in vinegar to be used as a cleaner

Changed the meal plan slightly from zucchini slice to schnitzels with mushroom gravy. Still a meatless meal (I make our schnitzels, they are vegetarian). Used dried mushrooms and MOO cream of chicken soup to make the gravy. Made a double recipe so enough in the freezer for another meal.

Downloaded 14 free books for my Kindle from hundredzeroes.com. Love that I can get free books so easily.

Saturday:

A day at home is always frugal!

MOO burgers for tea

Hamburgers for tea. I always make the patties myself, using equal quantities of mince and rolled oats, seasoned with onion flakes and 2 beaten eggs to bind. I measure out 1/3 cup of the mixture and use my burger press to make nice, round, even burgers just like the bought ones. I've had the burger press since before we were married and it gets a regular workout for making burgers and rissoles. I used the buns I was given earlier in the week instead of making or buying them, and onion rings from the freezer.

Finished off my cards for the card swap and posted them to Joy.

Sunday:

Went to Tasman Meats and used my $5 off a $40 spend to stock up on chicken fillets and mince. Mince was still $5.99kg so only one tray bought, it's too expensive by far at that price. Added  three packets of mince and 10 of chicken fillets to the freezer but in light of the changes we are facing I thought it more prudent to take advantage of the low prices while they are available and I have the money.

Spent an hour weeding and digging compost into the garden to ready it for spring planting. More important than ever now to make sure the veggie garden is as productive as possible.

Made two loaves of English muffin bread, one for lunch and one for toast during the week.

Made brown sugar. The canister is full.

Made some caramel tarts using ANZAC biscuits and MOO condensed milk. The ANZACs turned out nicer than Butternut Snaps and I didn't have to buy them, they're easy and cheap to make.

Meal Plan 9th - 15th August

Mexican Meatballs are a family favourite, and I especially love the whole meal is ready in 20 minutes!

We are still eating out of the freezer, Hannah and I had freezer meals (single portions of leftover dinners) last night while the boys and Wayne had MOO pizza. The freezer is still looking full though!

I'm finding it hard not to add to it, especially when I've been given a big bag of sweet potato and another of broccoli. The sweet potato was cooked and mashed and measured into 1 cup portions and I did add it to the freezer. It goes into muffins and cakes to boost their nutrition (one of my favourite ways to use sweet potato is in Sweet Potato Chocolate Cakes). Another favourite, and a great meatless meal, is Sweet Potato Fajitas.

The broccoli is in a gel bag in the fridge. We'll get through it this week, I'll use it as the green vegetable for our meals this week.

Sunday: Roast Lamb, baked potato, onion, sweet potato, cauliflower, peas, gravy

Monday: Fish Alaska, salad

Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognaise, salad

Wednesday: Beef & Mushroom Stew, mashed potato

Thursday: MOO Pizza

Friday: Tandoori Lamb Shops, rice, salad

Saturday: Mexican Meatballs, Spanish Rice

Lemon Butter

Lots of lemon butter has been made in our house lately, thanks to the generosity of good friends sharing their lemons and our little lemon tree finally providing us with fruit.

Maureen used lemon butter in the beautiful cream sponge she brought to share with us on Saturday and it was delicious. Since then the recipe has been requested a couple of times, so I thought it must be time to share it here again (it is in the Recipe File in the Member's Centre).

Six Minute Lemon Butter

Ingredients:
125g butter (real butter please, not margarine in this recipe)
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice

Method:
Using an electric mixer beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy. If you don't have an electric mixer you can use a stick blender or a large balloon whisk.

Add the sugar to the eggs in two parts and continue beating until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and fluffy.

Stir in the lemon juice.

Melt the butter.

Carefully pour the melted butter into the egg mixture and whisk well.

Pour mixture into a microwave safe jug or bowl. Cook on high for two minutes. Beat well.

Cook another two minutes. By now the mixture will be starting to thicken. Make sure you beat it well to make it smooth.

Cook a further two minutes. Beat well, breaking up any lumps. The mixture should be thick, a similar texture to a pouring custard.

Whisk well between cooking spurts. The mixture will change colour and texture as it cooks.

Pour your lovely, hot lemon butter into hot, sterilised jars.  Seal immediately. Once cool place in fridge. The lemon butter will set as it cools. Keep refrigerated. This lemon butter will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.

This recipe makes 3 cups of lemon butter.

Notes:

Cost: $1.80 if you buy all the ingredients, much less if you have lemons and chickens for eggs.

I sterilise the jars in the oven and leave them there until the lemon butter is ready so they stay hot.

I've searched and searched and not found a satisfactory way to preserve this recipe for long-term storage other than freezing it. It is not acidic enough to be preserved in a hot water bath successfully and the risk of botulism isn't worth it (the eggs and butter in the recipe make it a prime candidate if not cooked and stored properly). 

With storage in mind I make one batch at a time unless it is going to be used straight away or frozen.

I have used both fresh and frozen lemon juice in this recipe with equal success.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Often my best creatively frugal moments come when I’m trying to solve a dilemma with little or no money. One that I’m proudest of happened when we first moved onto our property, which was not landscaped. We live on 100 acres, with no near neighbours. Everywhere you looked, there were rocks; I couldn't imagine what to do with them to tidy up my yard. As I stood outside, wondering how on earth I was going to get rid of all these rocks, inspiration struck. I now have a sprawling rock garden. I gathered them all together, leaving varying sizes of rounds to fill in with dirt and plants. The plants were grown mostly from cuttings of geraniums, pelargoniums, and daisies etc., all hardy, strong growers that don't need molly coddling. To paraphrase a certain ad, it didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen. Bit by bit, my mind picture became reality in my garden. I can’t tell you how many compliments I’ve received over the years and like most gardens, it is a work in progress. But I did learn that instead of looking for ways to get rid of something, I should look for ways to make it part of the solution!
Jenny, Wandong

The Week that was

I rearranged some flowers in a favourite vase, put some shells in an antique dish and the clock on a new doyley on the TV unit to pretty up a blank corner

This week has been quite odd. When I think quickly not a lot has been accomplished, but sitting down to make a list I've been pleasantly surprised to see just what I did this week to save money, time and energy and care for my home and family.

Firstly, I've cooked dinner every night except last night when the boys made us pizza for tea. Not that I don't normally, but I know it would be odd for some families to have homecooked from scratch dinners every night of the week.

What I have cooked has used freezer ingredients. I'm still trying to eat down the freezer, although it doesn't look that much emptier. On the upside I haven't added anything to the freezer this week, not even leftovers for freezer meals.

On that note there are lots of freezer meals to eat so I'm encouraging them for lunches. That wouldn’t normally happen, as they make an expensive lunch, but I would like to get them down to a more reasonable supply and this biting, cold wind has meant the boys are hungry at lunchtime and want something warm. Wayne's been taking his in a food thermos as he's been on the road all this week.

I worked outside most of Sunday and it wasn't until I came inside that I realised just how cold it was - only 8 degrees! No wonder my nose was red. But I did get a lot of weeding done, still more to do though. The back garden is now bare - all my winter crops have been harvested, the only thing left is the catnip for making bug repellent for summer.

Mulched the front garden beds. I've been thinking for months about what to do with these and I've decided on a lavender garden with roses behind it. My mother-in-law had the most beautiful lavender garden, with hundreds of different varieties so she had lavender all year round. The fragrance was gorgeous, the colour in the garden so pretty and it attracted butterflies and birds to the yard. It was lovely to brush past it and then get a gentle wafting of that light lavender scent.

Sliced the roast lamb on Sunday to give us another roast dinner and two slices for curry or soup or French shepherd's pie. Put the bones in the freezer to make soup stock, I love soup made from lamb bones it tastes so much richer than beef bones I think. That's 20 serves and four meals from one leg of lamb, bringing the cost down to $3.91 per meal or 78 cents per serve. I try to keep the meat portion of our meals to an average of $5 per meal, or $1.20 per person. Do you have a meat budget?

Made a chicken and vegetable pie from scratch, using two sheets of bought pastry, half a chicken fillet, 1 cup mixed frozen veggies, a sprinkle of celery salt and tarragon and a MOO white sauce. Tasted amazing and only cost $2.60 to make. It cut into eight serves so just 32 cents a serve. Another budget meal and it used pastry, chicken and frozen veggies from the freezer to help with the freezer challenge.

Stopped off at Pellegrinos on my way home from dropping Hannah at the station and bought 3 kilos of bananas for 99 cents a kilo and 20 kilos of Thorpedale potatoes (the best potatoes in Victoria I think) for 90 cents a kilo. That's 10 cents a kilo over my regular top price, but these are superior potatoes in every way. I'm wondering if I shouldn't buy another 20 kilos and store them.

20 kilos of Thorpedale potatoes, just 90 cents a kilo, ready and waiting to be stored

Spent Thursday at the hospital with Mum having some tests done and an iron infusion. Saved on buying morning tea by accepting the lovely nurse's offer to make me a cup of tea and she even brought some biscuits on the side of the saucer. I took water to drink and my kindle to read while I waited.

Finally hung a little embroidery I did a long time ago. It has been framed and sitting on the kitchen dresser forever until I decided where I wanted it. It's now  hanging in the laundry and looks lovely.

The washing was dried on the clotheshorse next to the fire every day this week, even on the sunny days. I put it over in the morning and most of it is usually dry by tea time, just the heavier things to dry overnight. My dryer is still a convenient wall-hung storage cabinet :)

Heavy work clothes drying by the fire

Spent more time in the garden on Tuesday. Tom was home to help me move heavy things and prune the higher branches of the trees. It's looking tidier and I'm itching to start planting but it is still far too cold. I'll start more seedlings in the blanket bag hot house this week so they'll have plenty of time to establish before the soil warms up.

Gratefully accepted some lemons and some pears. Lemons have been juiced and  frozen. Juiced some more oranges from our tree to make cordial (froze some of the juice for later). Grated the zest and froze it in ice-cube trays for flavouring later on. Orange zest is lovely in icings, marinades, salad dressings, bread crumbs.  Scraped the flesh out of the oranges and whizzed it then bagged it for orange cakes.

Made six batches of lemon butter, using lemons gifted to me. I've been saving pretty jars for gift giving and they look lovely. Used sugar, butter and eggs from Aldi, cost for 12 jars of lemon butter $5.85.

Made 4 batches of orange and grapefruit marmalade for gifts using the microwave marmalade recipe from the Recipe File. The oranges and grapefruit are off our trees.  Only cost was the 2 kilos of sugar. Aldi sugar, $1.80.

One batch of orange grapefruit marmalade and a double batch of Six Minute Lemon Butter

Made a triple batch of 50:50 Cordial. Bottled it in recycled canning bottles. Again the only cost was the sugar, citric acid and tartaric acid. Sealed the bottles in a hot water bath as I want to keep this cordial for summer. If we were going to be using it straight away I'd have just kept it in the fridge.

Joy suggested caramel tarts as my contribution to afternoon tea yesterday. The butternut snaps were on sale for $2 a packet at Coles and I used MOO condensed milk to make the caramel. Cost $3 for 18 little tarts or 16 cents each - a very frugal treat indeed, and really easy to make.

Knitted a soap sack from lovely soft bamboo yarn leftover from another project, so basically free. This is to go with a matching face washer and hand towel and a pretty soap for a gift.

Soap sack knitted in bamboo yarn, crocheted edge on a facewasher and a pretty soap ready to be wrapped for a gift

Started making Christmas cards, but was side tracked by the August card challenge. It's masculine cards so I switched over to making some manly and boyish cards.

Used a discount voucher to fill the car up with petrol for 115.5 cents a litre at Woolworths in Bayswater, the cheapest I've seen it in a while. I had the discount applied to my card after last week's great bargain shopping session and was very happy to use it.

Kept the central heating off and the fire burning all week. The house has been warm, even in the mornings.

Checked the catalogues this week and apart from peanut butter there wasn't anything else I would normally buy on sale so it was an easy shop - milk, bread, mushrooms ($6/kilo!), and 6 jars of peanut butter.

Saved the string from the bag of potatoes to use for craft. Cheaper than buying twine and just as pretty and it's authentic!

String from the 20kg bag of potatoes, perfect for crafting

Took four bags of Wayne's clothes that are too big for him to the op shop. They were happy to receive them all washed and ironed. I am happy to be able to put things away without having to jam them in.

This week I've been on a power saving binge. I've been walking around turning things off at the wall, making sure only necessary lights are on, checking globes to make sure they are the right size for the task. Our power bill seems to have gone crazy since May. I worked out we are averaging $34 a week in electricity and I only budget for $30 so something has to be trimmed.

Had a lovely, very frugal afternoon yesterday with nine lovely friends making cards, learning how to make a shirt card and how to put an insert into a card and generally sharing ideas, tools, materials, tips, yummy food (what an afternoon tea!) and lots of laughter and good conversation.

Avoided a gym membership by getting plenty of exercise gardening, vacuuming, scrubbing showers, mopping floors, carrying grocery shopping and stretching to put washing over the clotheshorse. Yes, I realise I'm scratching here but I didn't spend money on a gym membership and I did get a fair amount of exercise :)

How have you saved money, time and energy this week?

Meal Plan 2nd - 7th August 2015

We're still eating from the freezer and it is slowly, slowly emptying. It is going to take more than a month though.

I'm out of mince so the lasagne will be vegetarian. We like this lasagne, it's full of layers of delicious veggies between layers of thick, rich tomato sauce. I think it has to be one of the best ways to eat vegetables ever.

I don't have a specific recipe, just layers potato, onion, zucchini, sweet potato, pumpkin, silverbeet or spinach (whichever I have), capsicum, egg plant - you get the idea. Use whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Slice them thinly so they cook quickly and evenly, mandolin makes this easy if you have one. I make a tomato sauce using diced tomatoes, onion, basil and garlic and let it cook until it is thick and rich.

Layer it all in a lasagne dish, starting with tomato sauce, vegetables, pasta, sauce, vegetables, pasta until I run out of ingredients, finishing with a pasta layer. Top the lot with a white sauce and grated cheese and bake it for 30 - 40 minutes until the veggies are soft and the sauce is bubbling.

We have this with green salad one and garlic or herb toast.

Sunday: Roast Chicken

Monday: Enchilaldas

Tuesday: Vegetable Lasagne

Wednesday: Tomato & Onion Pie

Thursday: MOO Pizza

Friday: Zucchini Slice

Saturday: Hamburgers

BRAZILIAN CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Cold winter nights need warm puddings and this one hits the spot. Serve it with a scoop of ice-cream or a dollop of whipped cream to drizzle over the delicious sponge and rich gooey sauce  and let it warm the cockles of your soul. I included this recipe in this week's newsletter and made it for dessert tonight as a treat. Needless to say there are no leftovers!

This pudding serves 4 hearty appetites or 6 normal appetites for a grand total of $1.46 making it between 36c and 24c a serve.

Now that's bargain comfort food!

Brazilian Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar 12c
1 tablespoon cocoa 10c
1 cup S.R. flour 20c
1 teaspoon vanilla essence 10c
2 tablespoons butter 50c
½ cup milk 12c

Topping:
¾ cup sugar 12c
1 heaped tablespoon cocoa 10c
1 mug strong coffee 10c

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 4 cup casserole dish. Mix sugar, cocoa and S.R. flour. Melt butter, add milk and vanilla. Combine and beat for 2 minutes - the mixture will be thick. Place into greased casserole dish and sprinkle with topping of sugar and cocoa. Pour coffee over and bake 30 – 40 minutes until cake is cooked through.

Notes:
I buy my flour, sugar, milk and butter from Aldi. I buy generic cocoa from Woolworths. I buy Nescafe in 500g tins on sale. I MOO vanilla essence using vodka from Aldi and vanilla beans bought online.

Scalloped Potatoes, and they're not $6.67 per kilo!

This is not the post I had planned for today, that one can wait, this one can't.

Yet again we're being convinced that buying our meals ready-made from the supermarket is better, easier, cheaper and more convenient, that we can't cook for ourselves and it's just not true. Convenience is not always better, especially in this case. It is expensive, tasteless and horrible.

As I was trawling the catalogues last night, looking for the specials, I noticed at the bottom of the Coles catalogue they had 600g scalloped potato (frozen) for $4, save $1. That equates to $6.67 a kilo for sliced potato, onion and a little cream. Ouch!

We love scalloped potato, I make it often and it doesn't cost anywhere near $6.67.

Don't think for one minute that making a dish of scalloped potato is hard or time consuming because it isn't. The time is in the cooking, which you'll have with a frozen convenience meal anyway. And while it's cooking you can be setting the table and enjoying your family's company, perhaps talking about how easy it was to save $4.10!

Here's my scalloped potato recipe with a price breakdown.

Our Favourite Potato Bake

Ingredients:
1kg potatoes, washed, peeled and thinly sliced - $1
1 large onion, thinly sliced - 15c
300ml MOO evaporated milk* - 30c
1 pkt French Onion soup mix - 75c
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
½ cup grated tasty cheese - 30c

Method:
Grease a large casserole or baking dish well. Layer the potato and onion, ending with a potato layer. Mix the evaporated milk and the soup mix well (I usually shake it a drink shaker) and pour over the potato and onion. Mix the grated cheese and the breadcrumbs together and sprinkle evenly over the top of the potato. Cover with foil and bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil and cook a further 10 minutes until the cheese and crumbs are golden brown and the potato is cooked.

Total cost $2.50, saving:$4.17  - and that's being generous with the cost per kilo for potatoes.

MOO Evaporated Milk

Ingredients:
2/3 cup milk powder
1 cup cold water

Method:
Dissolve milk powder in cold water. This recipe makes the equivalent of one can of evaporated milk.

Variation:
Light evaporated milk: Substitute skim milk powder for full cream for a lower fat version.

Notes:
If you don't want to use evaporated milk, use 600ml of cream. This will increase the cost by 90 cents, making the total dish $3.40.

I pay no more than 80c per kilo for potatoes and that's when I simply cannot get them anywhere any cheaper. At that price I only buy enough to last a week and I keep looking for cheaper spuds. When I find them cheaper I stock up - I'll buy 20 kilos at a time and store them in hessian bags in the bottom of the pantry where they stay dark and cool. Twenty kilos lasts us about two months.

I MOO evaporated milk, using Aldi milk powder.

French Onion soup mix is also MOOed. For the costing of this recipe I used the price of a generic bought soup mix from the supermarket as not everyone MOOs.

Breadcrumbs are MOOed from leftover bread crusts, dried and then processed into crumbs.

I buy tasty cheese in 1 kilo blocks from Aldi for $6 and grate or slice it as it is needed.

The Piglet

This is the most decadent slice I've ever had. We had it while we were on holidays, just one slice bought from a cake shop in a country town and shared between us. What a mistake that was! We both wanted more, more, more!

It's a simple enough slice: biscuit base, caramel filling, raspberry marshmallow topping.

Here's my version of The Piglet

Base:
1 cup SR flour
1 cup coconust
1/2 cup brown sugar
125g butter, melted

Line a slice tray with baking paper. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Combine all the ingredients together then press firmly into the slice tray. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown. The base will still be soft as it comes out of the oven, but will firm up as it cools. Cool in tin.

Filling:
1 can condensed milk (or MOO equivalent)
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp butter

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over a medium heat until the butter and syrup have melted into the condensed milk. Bring to a boil, stirring all the time. Turn heat down and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until caramel is formed - about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over base straight away. Smooth and set aside to cool.

Topping:
1 pkt (200g) pink marshmallows OR 1 quantity MOO marshmallow
1 tsp butter

Place marshmallows and butter in a large heat proof bowl. Microwave on HIGH in 1 minute bursts, stirring between, until marshmallows and butter have melted and combined. Remove from microwave and pour over slice immediately - don't dawdle or the marshmallow will start to set. Cover slice with baking paper and set aside for marshmallow to set. Dust the top with icing sugar. Cut into fingers to serve.

It’s Time for Christmas in July - Day 27

Christmas in July - Things I've Learned From The Past

• Start actually making gifts a bit earlier, especially those things that kids wants to help with. I once forgot to plan around our business Christmas rush, and things got a bit hectic.

• Pick a theme for the kids gifts. One year the themes were cooking for Hannah, building for Tom and photography for AJ and that worked so well! Extended family who wished to give gifts had a general theme to work around that was based on the kids' likes, and we were able to do some really fun stuff (actual functional cooking tools for Hannah, real working tools for Tom, just like Dad's and books, film, camera case etc. for AJ).

• Start working with your kids now on handmade gifts for their siblings, grandparents and cousins.

• Simplify the meals even more. Too much time was spent cooking, and that takes a lot out of the day. Plan menus early, and make ahead as much as possible. If you have a freezer, you can make your puddings and cakes in October and November and freeze them. They will still mature and will be fresh and delicious for Christmas.

• If you are planning on a party this year, start now to plan the menu, guest list, pick a date (if you do it now, you'll be sure to get your guests). If you want a particular theme, start to choose the decorations etc. Budget for the cost - save $2 a week towards the nibblys, drinks etc. Start to buy drinks that will keep until Christmas if you have the room to store them but don't be tempted to dip into the store before Christmas.

Spend the next few months contemplating and jotting notes, but don't start organizing and planning in earnest until September. By then, the shops will have their Christmas things coming in, and as you've already thought out what you're doing, you'll be ready to tackle Christmas. Without the stress!

It’s Time for Christmas in July - Day 26

Create a No-fail Homemade Gift Giving Plan

Homemade gifts are special.  Receiving a gift that has been made by the giver, knowing that they have put time and effort into making something just for you is priceless.  Occasionally though, those homemade gifts are not quite the success they are intended to be.

So what’s the secret of successful homemade gifts?

There are a couple of important things to remember. The first rule is that, as with any gift, the more it taps into the receiver’s interests and passions, the better.

The second is that homemade gifts shouldn’t be second rate products that are cobbled together inexpertly – so make sure you have the skills or a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

On this basis, the best place to start is to decide what you can make that will also be a good quality gift. Ideally it needs to be well made, useful, beautiful or perhaps a memorable keepsake in some other way. There are lots of things that you can make at home without special skills or craft equipment, but over-ambitiousness and poor workmanship can be the ruin of your gift giving plan.

If you’re going to try to save money by making homemade gifts, there are two strategies you’ll have to adopt. The first is to make sure it’s not going to cost you more than it would to buy an equivalent item at retail prices. The second is to make sure you have enough time to make things. The rule of thumb is that homemade gifts can turn out to be a bit more complicated and time-consuming than you may have anticipated.

Don't wait until the week before Christmas to start that hand-quilted knee rug for Granny, unless you have absolutely nothing else to do and are prepared to stay up 24 hours a day until Christmas Day to get it done.

I like to allow at least twice the amount of time I think a project will take. This leaves room for mistakes and repeat steps and still gives plenty of time to take things slowly and get them done properly.

To minimize expensive setup costs, it makes sense to specialize, and make several of the same (or similar) things. You’ll save by making half a dozen decoupage boxes, rather than having to shell out on the tools and materials needed for a variety of different crafts.

When it comes to the people for whom your gifts are intended, ask yourself whether whatever it is you are making is really their thing. Just because you love your chosen hobby or craft, is it what they really want? Some of us just aren’t handmade or rustic gift kind of people.

That doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy a conventional present. It does mean that you need to think it through. Someone who’ll blanch with horror when they open their gift to find a hand-knitted beanie may go crazy for home-made condiments or some mouth-watering, authentic gourmet snacks.

Sometimes the pleasure of a homemade gift is the creative idea behind it, rather than the master craftsmanship that you’re no doubt aiming for. Only you can come up with those creative ideas that make gifts personal and memorable for the recipient. A really humorous gift that is ideal for the receiver’s lifestyle and personality can be a hit because of the concept and the thought you’ve put into it – but that still doesn’t mean you can skimp on quality.

So don’t get carried away and remember that a successful homemade gift giving plan means making a bunch of smart decisions. Get it right and you’ll have the satisfaction of creating your gifts and of seeing the pleasure that your handiwork gives to others.

It’s Time for Christmas in July - Day 25

No Cost Gifts

Why not try a completely cost free Christmas gifts for friends? Recently I had a birthday which inspired this idea. I had instructed my friends to not give me any gifts etc. as I wanted them to save their money. Several friends took me very literally and gave me wonderful gifts of items they owned and I had admired or appreciated but they no longer had a need for: a great cook book; a serving dish and a stunning shawl were all gifts that I know I will treasure. It's not re-gifting as these items had all been used by my friends and admired by me. Our book club have decided to use this simple concept for Christmas this year. It is exciting, practical and environmentally friendly.
Contributed by Evelyn Chapman 

The Week that was

Some of the flowers from the beautiful bouquet Wayne surprised me with this week

This week has been busy with a capital B!

Lots of frugal tasks accomplished, some started and still in progress and others on the drawing board. The beautiful day last Sunday meant I could nag gently ask the boys to spread another layer of mulch and compost in the front garden beds for me.

I also took cuttings of the lavender to strike new plants. I love this lavender, the fragrance is beautiful, so if I can strike even one more plant I'll be so happy.

Transferred the small amounts of moisturiser and toner left in the bottom of the bottles that I couldn't get out easily into the new bottles. Now I can use every drop.

Kept the fire stoked and the ducted heating off. House has been warm, most noticeably in the early mornings.

Shopped around for firewood. We haven't been wood cutting this year so we've been buying it. Found a tonne delivered for a price Wayne was happy to pay. The boys moved it all around to the woodpile for me then raked the small bits off the grass and put them into a kindling pile.

Closed the blinds and curtains as soon as the temperature started to drop in the afternoons and kept them closed a little longer in the mornings to keep the warmth in.

Then on the couple of beautifully sunny days I opened the drapes on the  north facing windows right up and let the sun stream in. It was so warm we were able to let the fire burn down. I put the clothes horses in front of the windows to dry the towels and bath mats.

Accepted a petrol discount voucher from Mum and used it to get petrol for $119.4c yesterday. I haven't been shopping for 7 weeks so I didn't have any vouchers.

Opened some new soaps and put them through the linen cupboard and the shelves in my wardrobe to harden before using. They'll also freshen the cupboards and help to keep any bugs that dare to try invade away.

Rearranged some droopy flowers into a smaller vase to get another few days of prettiness out of them.

Spent an hour with my garden book planning the spring garden and working out the sowing and planting schedule for spring.

Sorted my card supplies and tidied them up then made some Christmas cards and a few gift cards to match the Christmas themed wrapping paper for this year. Started getting ready for next week's card making afternoon :)

Stocked up on shampoo for 50 cents/500ml bottle on Thursday (on clearance at Coles). Eighteen bottles is enough for two years of shampoo for my family, and all for the grand total of $9.00.

12 bottles of 50 cent shampoo and 4 bottle of half-price bodywash ready to add to the stockpile. 6 bottles of shampoo have been put in the bathroom cupboards

Stocked up on Shapes and CCs for the Christmas hamper and stockings, both on half-price sale at Woolworths this week. They are safely stashed in the box in my wardrobe until needed in December.

Ate out of the freezer all week. The freezer challenge is going well and my freezer stocks are dwindling, slowly, down. It will be at least another 4 - 5 weeks before the freezer is empty enough to even think about re-stocking but by then I'll be in Christmas and holiday planning mode.

The freezer is still full,even with the freezer challenge. Lots of veggies, bread, fruit, chicken and roasts. No mince though!

Printed the meal plan for the rest of the year out and stuck it on the fridge. No need for anyone to ask what's for dinner now, but I know they will :)

Picked mandarins, oranges, grapefruit and lemons off our trees. Made grapefruit and orange and lemon marmalade and lemon butter and froze the lemon zest. The mandarins are beautiful and taste so much better than what I've been buying.

Mended a pair of shorts, a pair of Wayne's jeans and sewed buttons back onto a couple of shirts and one of my caridgans. No more mending pile!

Made some no-bake slices for snacks. No oven has meant no baking. Normally not a problem and I'm sure it is purely psychological but since I've not been able to bake everyone has been craving biscuits and cakes and muffins!

Continued to use up the UHT milk left over from our holiday instead of buying fresh milk.

Saved shower water and the "cold" hot water from the kitchen to water the plants and clean the floors.

Cut down two bathmats that had gone to holes to make pot holders for the kitchen.

My oven was fixed yesterday and I've been baking up a storm! The new fan is so fast,I had no idea the old one was so slow. Baking time has been slashed by 5 - 10 minutes on the things I made yesterday, and that has to mean a power saving.

Experimented to create a slice we had while we were away.It was so delicious, totally not good for us in any way, but so good. Just thinking about it starts us drooling. Everyone has given it the thumbs up so I'll get the recipe typed up and take some photos and post it over the weekend.

The Piglet - a treat we had while we were away. I've never had one before so I created my version of the slice we enjoyed. Thomas said it will be hard, but he'll force himself to eat it so no one else has to suffer the joy agony of The Piglet.

Best of all, apart from picking up the grocery specials on Wednesday morning as I took Hannah to work and Thursday shopping with Mum, I've stayed home, saving on fuel, my time and money.

That's about it, or at least all I can remember. Living frugally is a habit so lots of the things we do are automatic but I'd hate to see how much our budget would blow out if we didn't do them.

Cath's Meal Plan 26th July - 1st August

Tom tells me this is a great week for meals, he's given it a 10/10!

Joanne commented a while back about how often we have roast lamb and roast beef and she queried how they could possibly fit into my $320 a month grocery budget.

Well firstly I only ever buy legs of lamb or roasting beef (or any meat really) on sale. That means when legs of lamb are $6.99/kg or less I stock up. I've been known to buy 12 at time, bring them home, wrap them and put them in the freezer.

Secondly a leg of lamb gives me at least 12 serves. That''s two roast dinners and two serves to use in French Shepherds pie or wraps or a sweet lamb curry. The bone is used to make soup and/or stock.

On Sunday when Wayne is carving the roast, he'll slice it all up. Then I'll dish up five serves, put five serves into a Tupperware container and two serves into a smaller container. When I make the gravy I'll make a double quantity, use half on our dinner and pour the other half over the five serves of lamb in the Tupperware container. The secret to doing this is to make sure all the lamb is covered in the gravy. Then I seal the container and pop it into the freezer.

Next time roast lamb is on the menu, the meat just needs to be thawed and reheated. I don't need to have the oven or the barbecue on for a couple of hours to cook a leg, it is already cooked.

The average leg of lamb I buy is around two kilos and costs between $13 - $15 and I get six meals for my family of five from one leg: two roast dinners, one other dinner and three soup meals. That brings the average cost per meal to between $2.32 and $2.50.

And that is how we can enjoy our roast lamb dinner once a month on my $320 a month grocery budget.

Sunday: Roast lamb, baked veggies, gravy

Monday: Hannah’s choice (birthday dinner - but it will include cake and ice cream!)

Tuesday: Spinach & ricotta cannelloni in tomato sauce, salad

Wednesday: Stuffed drumsticks, baked potato, pumpkin, broccoli, corn

Thursday: MOO Pizza

Friday: Sausage casserole, sweet potato mash, greens

Saturday: Pumpkin soup, toasted muffins

It’s Time for Christmas in July - Day 24

Now's the Time to Plan your Summer Holiday

In Australia January is traditionally the month most of us take our annual holiday. Some of us head to the beach, some of us head to the bush, some of us head off anywhere else and some of us holiday at home.

However you plan to spend your summer holiday, even if it is just the gazetted days, start planning now. Think about where you are going, how you'll be getting there, where you'll stay and what you'll be doing. Work out your holiday budget and start saving towards it.

Take some time to research accommodation costs, travel cost, discounts to entertainment and restaurants and anything else you would like to do on your holiday.

Look for discount opportunities online and through any club or organisation affiliations you might have.

It might be cold and dreary right now and holidays may seem a long way off but summer and holiday time will be here before you know it.