Sausage Casserole

Ingredients:
4 thick beef sausages
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 large carrots, sliced
1 tbsp  plain flour
1 400g can baked beans
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
Salt & pepper

Method:
Brown sausages. Remove from pan and add oil. Fry onions in olive oil until browned. Sauté onion and carrot until onion is golden.  Stir in the flour, cook one minute.  Add baked beans. Stir well.  Mix Worcestershire sauce, mustard and sugar into stock.  Slowly stir into bean mixture, mixing well to avoid lumps in the sauce. Slice sausages and return to pan. Season to taste. Cook until sauce has thickened and sausages are cooked through.

Contributed by Pat, Concord

A Million Free Quilting Patterns

If you love patchwork and quilting you'll love FreeQuiltPatterns.info  You'll find links to over a million free patterns and you'll really enjoy the Pattern Playground, where you can customise the patterns to suit your project.  With quilt patterns costing from $5 to $20 or more, finding a truly free pattern helps to keep the cost of your quilting down.

Website:   www.freequiltpatterns.info

Three dinners from one roast

I am often asked how we can afford to have a roast every Sunday, as though a roast is going to blow our food budget right out of the frugal category.  I'm happy enough to admit that roasts are very expensive, a leg of lamb can easily set you back $30, a beef roast can easily be $20.

If you only get one meal from one of those roasts then yes, it will blow your food bill to smithereens. I easily get at least three meals, often more, from one roast, without skimping either, and I'm feeding three strapping males plus Hannah and myself.

Take last night's roast for instance. It was a piece of beef, 1.6kg in size. I bought it on last week when Aldi had it on sale, it cost $14.38 and I'm going to get three dinners from it.

 I seasoned it and browned it all over in a little olive oil in the baking dish before roasting it in a pre-heated oven at 175 degrees Celsius. Oh, I put the meat on a rack and put 2 cups of stock and 2 bay leaves into the baking dish. If you do this, just make sure the meat isn't sitting in the stock.  The stock formed the base of the gravy.  Browning the meat before it goes into the oven gives a lovely flavour to the meat and leaves some nice bits in the bottom of the pan for gravy. By the way did you know that if you want your meat to really brown nicely it needs to be dry? Before you put it into the hot oil dry it with a clean dish cloth or a some paper towel.

We had roast vegetables with the beef:  potato, onion, carrot and sweet potato which I put around the meat for the last hour of cooking.

I used half the roast, thinly sliced for dinner. The other half was cut in half. One piece will be diced for tonight's dinner of a sweet curry. Usually I'd use lamb in a sweet curry, but as I don't have lamb, the beef will do.

To make the curry dice one apple, one onion and two sticks celery. Heat a little oil in a large pan (I use my wok) and saute the apple, onion and celery for 1 minute. Add 2 teaspoons curry powder (more or less to taste) and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced beef and stir. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups beef stock (from a stock cube is fine) and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup sultanas and simmer 5 minutes. Just keep an eye on the liquid, don't let it completely evaporate.  We'll have this with steamed rice and homemade naan.  There should be enough curry for 6 serves, so one will go into the freezer for a lunch or mufti dinner.

The third dinner from this piece of beef will be a shepherds pie (again, traditionally made with lamb but I have beef).  I'll shred the remaining piece of beef with a fork.  Into the meat will go a diced onion, some diced carrot, peas, corn, celery and zucchini (because I've just checked and these are the veggies that will need to be used up).  A gravy will be the thickener or binder for the pie. Once the gravy is made, and it will be quite thick, I'll add the meat and the veggies and pour the lot into a buttered pie dish. The topping will be a potato/sweet potato mash.  I'll brush the topping with a beaten egg and brown it in a moderate oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, until the top peaks are crispy and the filling heated through.  Again, this should make 6 serves, so another lunch or mufti meal for the freezer.

And there you have it - three meals from one roast, with everyone being well fed and no one going hungry.

It's easy to stretch any roast - chicken can be a roast chicken one night, sweet and sour the next and chicken enchiladas the next night, with the bones going into the stock pot. Or you could just have a roast chicken dinner three nights in a row!

If you cook a leg of lamb, you will have it as a roast dinner the first night. The second night make a curry (as above) or lamb kebabs, the third night it could be sliced and served with gravy or cold with a salad. Any meat left on the bone can be put into fritters and served with homemade wedges, a green salad and some chutney. And of course the bone goes into the stockpot.

If you have  a roast with a bone (I didn't last night)  you can stretch it even further by making stock with the bones. You can use the stock for soup, to make gravies, as the liquid for risottos, to cook pasta and rice, just about any savoury dish you need a liquid.

My $14.38 piece of meat will make 3 dinners (17 serves)  with the meat component being just 84 cents per serve. With that in mind, how can I afford not to put roasts on the menu?

An Easy Way to Grow Carrots

Carrots are fun and easy to grow, especially using Annaleise's method. If you don't want to use old tyres try using green bags.  Carrots can be sown directly into the tyre (or green bag) successfully. And don't just stick to your common supermarket carrot - why not try some of the coloured or round or miniature varieties available to add some variety to your diet and your garden.

Since I was young I have always been a keen gardener. Unfortunately the soil where I live is very hard and I have had no success in the past at growing carrots. I needed a way to solve this problem as I spend lots of money throughout the year buying organic carrots. My solution was to get old tyres from my local tyre store (they usually give them away for free or a very small charge) and fill them with soil and compost, and then plant the carrot seeds on top. As the soil has been built up, I now have delicious carrots that are very healthy and big. This year I have tried planting potatoes with great success. The tyres in my garden are a great space and water saver also. 

Contributed by Annaleise, Mahoney

Pretties for my wardrobe

Don't they look pretty?  And because I've recycled things I already had, instead of costing $20, they cost a big fat $0.  I can live with that.

During the April Get Organized challenge I very bravely tackled our walk-in robe.  It was a complete mess, very disorganised and decidedly over-crowded. I came to the conclusion that we just had too many clothes. And shoes. And handbags. And coats.  Alright, I came to the conclusion that I have too many of all those things.  It's OK,  I went through everything and donated a lot. Then I went through what was left and donated more. And after I'd dropped those bags off at the op shop I went through once more and found a few more things I  no longer liked, wore or needed and donated them too.

Which means that now the wardrobe is very tidy and there is room for everything to hang neatly, without getting squashed and creased. It was as I was hanging up my remaining few garments (not really, I still have far more clothes than I need) I noticed that the coat hangers were looking a little worse for the wear.

These hangers really are vintage, they're older than me

Some of these coat hangers are as old, perhaps a few months older, than I am. My Great-Grandma  knitted them for me when I was just a baby. They are knitted in that lovely old-fashioned loopy pattern, some pink and white, some blue and white, although they are a little yellowed by age now. The padding in them has collapsed and some of the knitting has worn and is turning to holes. It's time to lash out on new hangers.

I priced some at Dollar King, a local $2 style store last Thursday. Padded, satin covered ladies coat hangers were available in packs of 6 for $5.99, or packs of 3 for $2.99, so $1 each.  I need around 20 but I am not prepared to pay $20 just for coat hangers, especially when the actual hangers are fine, it is covers that need replacing.

I've been busy knitting hanger covers the last couple of weeks because I knew this day was looming.   Knitting coat hanger covers is a great way of using up scraps of wool which I just happen to have bags of (thanks Mum!). They are really easy, quick and you can let your imagination run riot with the colour ways.

The padding on these old hangers was well and truly gone. Grandma had used strips of cloth, it looked like it may have been old pillowcase or sheeting, tightly wrapped around the hanger in layers to pad it.  I thought about using strips of old t-shirt, then found some odd pieces of quilt wadding so I used them instead.

To make a cover for an adult-sized wooden coat hanger take a pair of 4mm knitting needles and cast on 20 stitches. Knit until the cover measures 30cm. Cast off loosely.  That's it. I told you it was easy. Of course you can pretty them up by knitting in a lacy pattern or adding in stripes of different stitches.  Moss stitch looks nice in a plain colour. You can knit contrasting or blending stripes. Use your imagination and see what you come up with.

To cover a hanger, pad it with wadding or strips of old (clean please) t-shirting or other fabric. Fold the cover in half to find the centre. Slip the hook through the centre of the cover. Turn so the seam will be underneath the hanger. Using ladder stitch and matching yarn, sew the cover seams together.

To cover the hook I just cut a length of wool, threaded it onto a darning needle and worked a row of blanket stitch around the hook, pushing it down tightly to make sure the hook was completely covered.

Stuff those boots

Boots are back in fashion and now the weather has turned to winter they are coming out of the wardrobes. I love my boots, they keep my feet dry and hide the fact that I'm wearing  extremely unfashionable, but oh-so-cosy, big, thick hiking socks. I love that I can wear a dress or a skirt in winter and still keep my legs warm. But sadly keeping them in tip top shape can be expensive. Boots flop over when they don't have legs in them! Instead of buying expensive boot stuffers (and yes, there are such things available) I use rolled up newspapers to keep the legs straight.  Use your local paper (it's free) and keep it rolled up with a rubber band at each end. Then just slip one paper into the leg of each boot.  Pool noodles (those long, coloured foam tubes for the swimming pool) also make great boot stuffers when they are past their pool use by.  Boots are expensive and keeping them in shape will give you many more years of wear for your money.

The Great Chocolate Pudding Experiment

The kids gave me these cute little jelly cups because they match the colours of the website and my blog.

A few days ago a question was asked on the Member Forum for a chocolate pudding recipe. As usual, one of our talented Cheapskaters shared a recipe, which led to some questions.

In the interests of all things Cheapskates, and because I too happen to like chocolate just about anything, including pudding, I volunteered to make the pudding to see how it turned out.

After a few attempts, it turned out very nicely. No complaints from anyone, and no leftovers. I re-jigged the recipe a little to suit our tastes and the results of the second taste test were even more positive if that's possible. This time the testers were arguing over who was going to scrape out the saucepan and lick the spoon.

This is the final recipe:

Chocolate Puddings
Ingredients:
1 litre cool water
1 cup skim milk powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornflour
1/4 cup cocoa
1tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan, whisking to remove all the lumps. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Turn heat down and simmer 1 minute, or until the custard is thick. Cool slightly then pour into serving dishes. Makes 8  1/2 cup servings.

My notes:
1.  You can use fresh milk instead of the water and milk powder, this will increase the cost.
2.  One cup of sugar may seem a lot, but this pudding seems to need the sweetness. You can substitute Splenda or another sugar substitute if you prefer.
3.  I use Homebrand cocoa and it is quite strong and can leave a bitter taste, hence the vanilla extract. It seems to round out the chocolate flavour. You could use another less bitter cocoa if you have one, in which case you may not need the vanilla.
4.  If you have a double boiler, use it to make this pudding. It will stop it sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
5.  Whisk, and don't stop until it's finished cooking. You want this pudding to have the same silky smooth texture as the bought Yogo puddings.

I wouldn't make this every day, it has a high sugar content, but as a treat every now and then it is easy, quick and relatively cheap at just 21 cents a serve.

Costings: Chocolate Pudding

1L water	--
1 cup skim milk powder	$0.60
1 cup sugar	$0.20
1/2 cup cornflour	$0.30
1/4 cup cocoa	$0.55
1 tsp vanilla extract	$0.10
Total Cost	$1.75 (21 cents per serve)

It did occur to me that this might make a good meal for sick tummies or sore throats as it's cool, smooth and quite light. To make it more nourishing, whisk in two eggs before cooking and reduce the cornflour to a quarter cup.

6 Things You Can Make With a Bread Maker

Owning a bread machine can be a lifesaver when you work, have a family and home to care for and want wholesome, fresh bread. Just toss in the ingredients, set the timer and forget about it until you hear the ding.  I love my breadmakers, yes we have two. One makes a regular sandwich loaf, the other makes the odd shaped loaf of the early bread machines. They both have timers and get used every week, we like our sandwiches and toast in this house.

Wayne found our first breadmaker at a garage sale, brand new in the box, for just $25. The old couple who sold it to him had never used it and couldn't wait to get rid of it. And we've been making bread ever since. Often I'll set it on a Saturday night before I go to bed and wake up Sunday morning to freshly baked bread for breakfast. It certainly makes sitting up in bed extra special when you can enjoy fresh bread and homemade jam for breakfast.


Making our bread doesn't save us a fortune, especially when I could buy 600g loaves from the supermarket for $1.09, but it does let me make the bread that we like, control the amount of salt and additives that go into it (in our house absolutely none) and make it fresh when we need it.

But our breadmaker makes so much more than a loaf of bread. Some of the things it does are:

Bread 

This is kind of a no-brainer, after all, it is a bread machine. The standard bread machine today has a number of settings for various types of breads, from sourdough and fruit loaves to your standard white bread and rye. Higher-end bread makers have special settings that you can even customize for breads not listed in the manual. Since bread is what bread machines were originally designed to do, it is the set it and forget it setting is the easiest. Just follow the instructions in your manual.

Pizza Dough 

When making bread, the bread machine takes all of the ingredients, combines them and mixes and kneads them to the perfect consistency. So why not allow your machine to do all of your work for your pizza dough? Bread makers usually have a setting for this and the dough will be mixed and kneaded until it is perfect every time.

Specialty Breads 

Pannetone, and other specialty breads can be made with a bread machine. Bread makers are so durable these days that even the toughest of breads to mix can be easily man-handled by these machines. Pick out your favorite recipe and give it a go.

Jams 

Believe it or not, you can even make jam with your bread maker. With the heating and mixing that bread makers do, it is a perfect environment for making jams, jellies, preserves, conserves and marmalades. Just prep your favorite fruit, toss it all in with the needed ingredients and by the time you get home, your fruit will be properly cooked into jam.

Pasta Dough 

Making perfect pasta dough can be tough by hand because you don’t want to over work the dough. With a press of a button, your bread maker can crank out the perfect pasta dough, ready to roll out, cut and cook.

Bagels and rolls 

Pretty much any type of bread roll can be made in your machine, including bagels. The machine offers the combining, mixing, rising and baking of the perfect bagel. All you have to do is create the round shapes you want and voila, you have the perfect bagel.

After bread, the setting I use most is the dough setting. I use it for pizzas and breads, to make dough for scrolls (sweet and savoury) and to make the dough for the bread rolls we like for Sunday lunches.

There are tons of other things your bread maker can do. Just be sure to read the manual on how to set up the operation for each. If you have any questions about whether or not your specific machine can achieve any of the tasks, call or Google the manufacturer and read up on what your model can do.

The Multi-tasking, Unpaid, Miracle Worker

My fun new apron!

I just have to show you my new apron - it's just gorgeous.  Hot pink, it defines what a Mum is, a:

• multi-tasking
• unpaid
• miracle worker

That defines mothers the world over - who hasn't juggled feeding the baby with reading a story to a toddler while stirring the soup on the stove and wishing desperately for five minutes peace? I know I have, so when I opened the prettily wrapped present from my mother and saw what it was I just smiled.  I still have the smile on my face.

The best job I've ever had is mother. Doesn't that sound trite and patronizing? I don't mean it to be. I mean that I truly love having three human beings call me "mum".  I wouldn't be the person I am if I didn't have them in my life.

If Wayne and I had not had children, for whatever reason, we'd still be living in Sydney, in the hustle and bustle.  I imagine Wayne would still be in the same job, his loyalty is forever. I know I'd have moved on, but I'd be working flat chat at a job I love, that much is for sure.

Our three kids are grown-up now. Hannah is the youngest and she's 15 already.  I'm sure if I turn around she's just 8 months old and taking her first steps to keep up with her big brothers.  She was one little sister who was not going to be left behind.

And wasn't it just yesterday I was watching Thomas through the kitchen window as he played under the magnolia tree, making roads and tunnels and dams for his cars, and settling the argument and wiping the tears when said little sister wanted to play and "wuined my woad Mummy".

I still know all the words to every Wiggles song and I can still repeat word for word the Chubby Engine book.  I don't think I'll ever forget the script to Puff'n'Toot, AJ's favourite cassette. If I've heard it once I've heard it 95,658 times! We played that cassette so many times the first one wore out and we had to replace it.

I remember the absolute joy on Hannah's little face when she announced that when she grew up, she wanted to be a.......SHOPPER! I remember how hard it was not to laugh out loud too.

They were so cute when they were little.

As they grew of course they weren't so cute. But they were interesting. When I first heard my friend Debbie say her children were getting interesting it stopped me in my tracks. But she's right. Babies are gorgeous, toddlers and pre-schoolers are cute. Then they get interesting.

It's been fun watching them grow and their personalities develop.  Seeing how they work things out for themselves and how they like their independence.  How Thomas will always defend the underdog and AJ is a peacemaker, doing his best to stop quarrels and arguments.  Seeing how Hannah is compassionate and caring, generous and loving to everyone. Now the boys are both at Uni and Hannah
is in Year 10.

Yes, they are interesting and I just love being their mother, even if I am a multi-tasking, unpaid, miracle worker.

Frugal cleaners

Next to food, the biggest grocery cost for most Australians is cleaning supplies. It's no wonder when we are bombarded with ads telling us we need a product for the dishes, one for the floors, another for the baths, yet another for the shower, washing powder, fabric softener and ironing spray, we must have room deodoriser and a carpet deodoriser (who could live with stinky carpets?), furniture polish for light wood, another for dark wood. Then there's the bleaches and disinfectants, the cleaner for the walls and the one for the benchtops. Yikes! To save money, stick to one type of cleaner - the one you make yourself. You'll save hundreds of dollars a year and have a cleaner, healthier home.  Cleaning with the Super Six has some great instructions for making your own cleaning products, that really work and that will truly save you money.

Spray and Wait

Miracle Spray - the Cheapskate friendly wonder cleaner

Most cleaners need time to work, so while the name may imply that you can simply spray and wipe, you can't if you want the product to work properly.  Instead spray and wait two or three minutes, then wipe over with a damp cloth.  You'll find the product works much better and requires less elbow grease to get the job done.

You Are What You Eat

I grew up hearing that saying and it came to mind yesterday as I was planting out some more seedlings and watering the in with compost tea. It was a saying my great-grandma and my mother often told us as we'd screw up our faces at the dinner table and suggest that fish and chips would be a better dinner (it was a long time ago, fish and chips and the local Chinese take away were the sum total of fast food available where we lived).  At the time I didn't understand what they were saying other than "stop whining and eat your dinner".

Now I have a family of my own I well and truly understand the importance of eating good food.  We've had a sizeable veggie garden for years and apart from the financial benefits I believe the health benefits have been huge so when I read a blog post this afternoon, wondering if the increased nutritional benefits of certified organic foods were real or just hype, it had me thinking.

The organic food market here in Australia is growing at a phenomenal rate. Even the three major supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths and Aldi) have introduced their own ranges of organic groceries. 

But is the organic hype just that? Are organic products truly better for us, our homes and our world? Or have we all been conned yet again by an incredibly good marketing campaign? Organic produce and groceries are very expensive, adding around 45% (by my calculations, off my grocery list, often more if you stick to organic meat and poultry) to the average grocery bill. That's a lot of money out of a family's budget.

It doesn't have to be so.

If you want organic produce, without busting the budget, skip the media frenzy and supermarket organic hoo haa and eat real organically grown food - from your own backyard (or balcony)!

For the most part, less than 50 years ago, most Australian homes had a substantial veggie garden and mini orchard in the backyard - our grandparents and their parents ate the original organic produce. 

Grown from seed they sowed, fertilised by compost they made. They practised seed saving and thus helped to keep the plant DNA intact.  They didn't rely on chemicals to keep their gardens green and the crops healthy.

Most backyards had a lemon tree and the obligatory plum tree was often a feature of the front yard or even the nature strip. Fig trees were common too.  I think it should be part of every council's building regulations that every backyard have at least a lemon (or some other citrus) tree growing.

With the advent of the supermarket revolution in the late 1950's early 1960's came the niggling little doubt at the back of the housewife's mind that somehow the produce grown at home was lacking the nutrients available from commercially grown produce. And thus began the Australian family's dependence on supermarkets and the farmer's dependence on chemical fertilizers, bug repellents and GM seeds. 

Once again we were brainwashed into thinking that it was easier, cheaper and better for us to buy all our produce from the supermarket.  It's not true. Trust me.

You can grow your own food, at least some of it, regardless of where you live, even if it's just a cherry tomato and a few herbs in pots. You'll be able to cross those things off your shopping list.

And if you have a glut of cherry tomatoes, try oven-drying them with some of those fresh herbs. Keep them in a jar of olive oil and use them on sandwiches, in salads, add them to rice or quiche - you'll be eating gourmet dishes for a fraction of the cost.

Be brave, I dare you. Start growing your own veggies - it's easy, it's cheap, it's healthful! Use heirloom seeds and you'll be sure that the food you put in your mouth truly is organic.

If you want to give growing your own organic food a go, here are a few ideas:


Growing Your Own Greens in a Home Garden

How to Grow Your Own Organic Vegetable Garden

Is It Organic?

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

The lemon tree is full of ripening lemons and one of my favourite ways to use them up is in this delicious dessert slice. It's a really easy to make recipe, but unless you put it away quickly it won't last long.The tart lemon cuts through the sweetness of the topping, making these bars are very, very morish.

Base:
1 cup SR flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk powder (skim or full cream)
1/2 cup coconut
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg

Topping:
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, melted
3  3/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons

Method:
Preheat oven to 175degrees Celsius.  For the base, mix together the dry ingredients, lemon zest, butter and 1 egg.  Mix well. The mixture will resemble a dough. Press into a baking paper lined 20 ×30 baking pan and set aside.  For the topping, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, lemon juice and melted butter.  Mix together well and add icing sugar. Mix until the icing sugar is fully incorporated.  Spread topping over base and bake for 40 minutes, until lightly brown and when gently shaken the centre will only slightly jiggle.   Cool and cut into small bars. Cover and store leftovers (if there are any) in the fridge.

Note: If you chill the slice in the fridge before cutting into bars it will be much easier.

Hang up your tools

Magnetic knife strips are handy in the kitchen, but did you think they could be handy in the craft room or office too?  Stick them on the wall above your craft table or desk and hang your scissors, pliers, rulers, Stanley knife and other metal tools.  Magnetic knife strips are available from kitchenware stores (where you'll pay a premium) or from hardware shops, but why not buy a length of self-adhesive magnetic strip from your local craft shop (or hardware store - check the prices)?  Cut it into three equal lengths, stick them on top of each other to make a deep, strong magnetic strip to hang your tools from.

The agony of a lost purse

My mother called me on Friday morning, she'd lost her purse. Understandably she was distraught, more so because this is a woman who in her entire life has never lost anything.

It wasn't the money in it (although there was a lot, she'd just drawn her housekeeping for the fortnight), but the cards. So many cards, for all manner of things. And each and everyone of them had to be cancelled and re-issued.

We spent hours on the phone, calling the bank, Centrelink, Medicare, the Library and a dozen other places to get new cards issued.  Thank goodness she keeps good records, she had all the cards listed in a little notebook, with the oh-so-important details for each one. I shudder to think how long those calls would have taken without those details. She was even able to provide the security/identity answers for each card that required them!

I keep a list of our cards and the details, but this little incident really shook me up. When I finally made it home I counted just how many cards I have in my purse and then, after I'd picked myself up off the floor, found the list and updated it.  When Wayne came home I did the same thing with his cards and suggested the boys might like to update the list in their folders too, not that they have quite as many cards as we do but if they were to lose them it would be painful.

These are the cards I had in my purse:

3 x various bank cards
1 x Flybuys
1 x Ambulance
1 x healthfund
1 x Medicare
1 x Costco
1 x RACV
19 - yes 19! X store loyalty cards! - how I've come to have so many I have no idea - most of the stores I haven't been in for years.
1 x Diggers membership card
1 x drivers licence

That's 30 cards! No wonder my purse was so heavy!  I've culled most of the story loyalty cards, now the back of my purse clips shut easily.

On my list now are:

• My driver's license
• Medicare details
• RACV details
• Bank details
• Healthfund details
• Ambulance details
• Costco
• Diggers
• Myer
• Spotlight
• ABC Shop
• SPC Shop
• Koorong

Obviously not all of them are finance related, but they are the cards that are most important to me and that are used regularly, so the details for each one are listed. If I ever need to cancel or replace them it should be as easy as a quick phone call.

If you don't have a record of your  cards may I suggest that you take a few minutes this afternoon and make one? I've uploaded a Card Log into the Printables for you to download. All you need to do is copy the details off your cards into the relevant columns and then file it safely away.

Hopefully you'll never need to use it, but if you do have to, it will make a distressing time a little easier.

The Cheapskates cabbage war

With the price of cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli going up and up, it's time to declare war on supermarket prices and grow your own.  If you are worried about not being able to use a whole cabbage or cauliflower before it goes black opt to plant the miniature versions and pick them when they are about the size of a softball.  Loosen the soil in the veggie patch and mix in plenty of compost or well rotted manure. Plant single rows of seeds, two weeks apart for a continuous supply through to summer. Be sure to put down snail bait, water regularly and give a dose of seaweed fertilizer once a fortnight. If you see any caterpillars, pick them off and squash them. Don't have a garden or room for one? That's no excuse! Plant into green bags, one seed per bag and follow the instructions above.

A big pot of soup

Saturday is my day off - no housework, no cooking or gardening.  I love my Saturdays and look forward to the next one when I wake up on a Sunday morning.

Not cooking on a Saturday can be a challenge, especially when we are all home. The boys especially are usually really hungry, always looking for something to munch on so I try to have enough food prepared to get us through without me having to cook.

In winter I always have a big pot of soup on the stove.  We have it for lunch, for afternoon tea when we come in, frozen from working in the yard and for tea with hot buttered toast or crumpets.  Soup is one of the easiest meals to make, but it's also one of the easiest meals to ruin and there's nothing as unappetizing as horrible soup.

I make soup the way my mother makes it, using stock, good meaty bones and lots of vegetables and beans. It's always a little different, that is I think what makes it such a wonderful meal.  Sometimes the beans and lentils will thicken up until the soup is almost like a stew, other times it will be delightfully thin and light.  However it turns out it's always good.

Here's how I make soup:

First I make the stock. Into a large stockpot put four or five good meaty bones. You can use shanks or shin bones or even lamb flaps if your butcher has them. As long as they are nice and meaty they'll be fine.  Add cold water to cover, a large onion cut into quarters, the tops off a bunch of celery and three or four carrots cut into chunks. Bring this to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for at least an hour, preferably two.  Every now and then skim the foam off the top of the pot. This makes the stock that forms the base of your soup.

When the meat is falling off the bones your stock is ready. Carefully pour the stock through a colander or strainer into a clean bowl. Go through the  colander and pick out the meat and return it to the stock. Now to get the fat from the stock you need to cool it. You can leave it in the fridge overnight or put it in the freezer for half an hour, depending on how much time you have before you want to eat soup!

When the stock is cold the fat will form on the top. You can then just lift if off and put it in the compost.

To make the soup, measure the stock and return it to the stockpot. Now add the same amount of cold water. Dice 2 or 3 onions, 2 or 3 carrots, 3 or 4 celery ribs, 1 parsnip and 1 turnip or swede.  You can dice the veggies by hand, I put them into the food processor and whizz until they are in even sized pieces. Add the veggies to the stockpot. Bring to the boil. Once the stock is boiling add 1 1/2 cups soup mix - the dried lentils and beans - available from any supermarket. There are different styles of soup mix - it doesn't matter which one you use, although we like the Italian mix because of the variety of beans.  Stir the soup mix into the stock and bring back to the boil.

Turn the heat down until the soup is at a rolling simmer. By that I mean not boiling so hard it will froth up and boil over, but still bubbling and moving around. The stock needs to be moving to keep the beans and lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. Every now and then give it a stir. 

I let this cook away for at least 45 minutes, to ensure the soup mix is properly cooked (you don't want hard beans or lentils) and to develop the flavours.

That's it. Once it's cooked I have a hard time keeping the family out of it.  I don't season with salt or pepper until it's served. Sometimes it needs salt, other times it doesn't. I find it best to leave the seasoning until eating so it's not over-salted or too peppery.  And if there is any left it goes into the fridge for the next day, when it is even better.

That's all there is too it. Making soup is easy. It's also very frugal. A big pot of soup costs around $6 to make, depending on the cost of the bones and easily makes 15 hearty serves.

If you've never tried to make soup give it a go.

Every wardrobe needs a crochet hook

Even if you don't crochet, you need a crochet hook in your wardrobe.  A fine crochet hook, either 2.5 or 3mm, is the perfect tool for fixing those pulled and loose threads. As soon as you see a loose thread on a garment, get your crochet hook and use it to pull the thread through to the wrong side. Your clothes will not only look better longer, but they'll last longer too.

More creative cushion covers

After the Tip of the Day "Creative Chic Cushion Covers" Robyn McKellar sent me this email:

"Your blog reminded me of a cushion tip I have so I thought I would share.

Had a girlfriend visiting that I hadn't seen for ages, so house was immaculate (you know how it is!  got to make a good impression!), biscuits made, dinner prepped, but I hadn't gotten around to covering that chatty old cushion I had on the lounge.  I had bought the material, a nice bit of Liberty MacIntosh reproduction cotton.  Then I had a brainwave, just while she was here I would cover the cushions and tie the material on.  Problem solved!

I folded the material into a square, placed it right side down on the carpet, placed the cushion so that I had four triangles showing, then folded one triangle over the cushion, folded an "edge" on the opposite triangle and knotted the other two triangles from each side across the front.  I have to say I have never sewn the material into a cushion cover,  and have had so many remarks about how great it looked,  and questions asked as to how I had sewn it to get that effect, etc, I left it.

I have attached pictures of that cushion and others I covered using an old table cloth, a woollen shawl and a pashmina (which was a bit of a challenge as it wasn't square).  As you can see, anything can be used, and the effect is instant.  Have a go.  You can change your cushion covers as often as you like, having a smooth side or an “interesting” side.  Some materials, like the shawl, have a centred pattern and this looks good on the “plain” side.  It’s only limited by your imagination and Cheapskaters have lots of that!"

Here are the photos Robyn sent. Isn't she creative and don't her cushion covers look great?  
 

 

Just because we're Cheapskates doesn't mean we have to live with ugly belongings. It really doesn't have to cost a lot or take a lot of time to make our homes and surroundings beautiful. When we choose to live the Cheapskates way it changes the way we look at things. Where BC (before Cheapskates) Robyn may have rushed out and bought a temporary cushion cover, now she's a Cheapskate she saw a beautiful fabric and looked for a frugal way to use it to get the effect she wanted. A little change in thinking for a fantastic result and money saved.

I love this idea - think how easy it would be to change your decor for the seasons - just untie the beatiful fabrics and replace them with other squares you have. What a great way to use a vintage tablecloth - tie it over a cushion and use it on a comfy chair in your kitchen or on the sofa in the family room or lounge. Old lace shawls would be lovely used on bed pillows, piled up high. What luxury, and for almost no cost and just a few minutes of your time.

Bunnyrugs could be used to wrap cushions and pillows for the nursery or a toddler's bedroom too.

The possibilities are endless - just use your imagination and the stash in your linen and craft cupboards to give your soft furnishings an instant facelift.

What fantastic frugal decorating idea do you have? Please share it, I know all Cheapskates love great ideas.

How to Make a Bed

My secret to a comfy bed is  just  making it carefully.  There's only 10 simple steps.  It only takes about 5 minutes to make a queen size bed, 3 or 4 to make a single, not long to ensure a comfortable night is it?

Daily:

1.Turn the blankets and quilt down and let the bed air while you shower and dress.

2. Smooth bottom sheet of any wrinkles.

3. Pull top sheet up and smooth wrinkles.

4. Pull up blanket, smoothing and turn the hem over. Tuck in the sides.

5. If you have a doona or quilt, shake and lay on top of blanket. Place pillows at head of the bed, openings to the centre.

6. If you have a bedspread, place the pillow at the head of the bed under the sham. Pull spread over the pillow, tucking the excess underneath the pillow.

Weekly:

1. Strip the linen off the bed and put in the wash. Turn the mattress and vacuum thoroughly. This doesn't need to be done weekly, but I lose track of the weeks otherwise. Monthly is probably often enough if you have a good memory.

2. Put the mattress protector (if you use one) on, making sure it is tucked under the mattress on all sides.

3. Lay the bottom sheet over the mattress. If you use fitted sheets, make sure the corners and sides are properly tucked under the mattress.

4. If you use flat sheets (I do) take the bottom sheet and spread it over the mattress. Pull to the top edge, taking the hem over the end of the mattress to the lower edge. You should have just enough at the bottom end of the bed to tuck over the end. Don't worry about holding it in place, the top sheet will do this very well.  Use hospital corners to keep the sheet firmly in place.

5. Put the fleece over the bottom sheet, tucking in the top and bottom. It should be centred on the top of the mattress, it isn't wide enough to tuck in at the sides.

6. Lay the top sheet over the fleece and bottom sheet, patterned side down. This is so the hem and pattern show on the turnback.  Take the lower edge of the hem to the top of the mattress. Make sure the sides are even.

7. Next the blanket goes on, with the top edge of the blanket  going to the bottom of the hem on the top sheet. Make sure the sides are even.  Turn the sheet and blanket down. Tuck the  foot of the sheet and blanket under the mattress and use hospital corners for a neat finish.   Tuck the sides under all the way up.

8. Turn the sheet and blanket down. Tuck the  foot of the sheet and blanket under the mattress and use hospital corners for a neat finish.

9. Give the doona or quilt (if you use one) a good shake and lay it over the top of the bed, making sure the sides are even and the top covers the turnover.  If you use a bedspread instead of a quilt, lay it over the blanket, taking the top edge of the pillow sham to the top edge of the mattress. Make sure the sides are even. Put the pillows under the sham and turn it down.

10. Put the pillows into clean protectors and pillowslips. Lay them on top of the bed, open ends to the centre.

How to make hospital corners
To make hospital corners, tuck the bottom end of the sheets and blankets under the mattress. Then, on the corner, lift the side and carefully tuck the piece left hanging down under the mattress. Drop the side of the blanket and tuck it under the mattress all the way along.  Repeat on the other corner.