Let the Picky Eaters Create the Menu Plan

I have two teenage daughters and one is a difficult eater. She can't eat fish and hates the texture of some things like red meat, rice and soup. I have had enough of making two meals every night. Over the weekend I gave my daughters a job.

They emptied the pantry and wrote a list of what we had. Then they emptied the freezer and listed the contents while I did the defrosting and cleaning. The next day I gave them a challenge - how many recipes and meal ideas could they find online using those ingredients plus fresh stuff and maybe one or two small extras.

They took it all very seriously and spent ages finding new recipes. Now I have sixteen new recipes which we will all eat. Best of all it gave my daughters, especially the nuisance eater, a very good idea of just how hard and frustrating it is trying to feed a family on a budget, especially when catering for her. So this has given me a clean pantry and freezer and new recipes, and given them a bit of insight into the realities of life.
Contributed by Georgina

Be Ruthless when it comes to Decluttering

If you don't love it, and/or you don't use it, its clutter. Its the perfect time to embrace the Feng Shui art of uncluttered living. Feng Shui teaches that if energy can easily flow through a room, your life will be more harmonious and happy - and clutter is an obstacle to reaching this relaxed and calm state.

Make it a quest of yours to be ruthless when it comes to your decluttering efforts. You'll have less to dust, less clutter to look it, an easier time finding the things you do use and less stress in your life.

Organizing Finances on an Irregular Income - The $400 Rule

My partner and I were in a situation a few years ago when I was temping of not really knowing for sure exactly how much money we'd have from week to week. Whilst income can move around a lot we found our basic expenses of rent, groceries, bills, transport (essentials) cost $400 a week at a minimum for the two of us. I knew that I would always need to make at least $400 per week to survive. This meant that when I made anything over $400 it went straight into a high interest online savings which I could use if I had a week where I made under $400. You become quite possessive of your savings fund once you start to build it up and I often found that I would try to cut grocery bills so I didn't have to take money out of my savings. Since then my work has become full time but we still have the ‘$400 rule' – which means that I can now save a lot more! As we are getting married next year we are considering how we can make it the ‘$350 rule'! Cheers,
Contributed by Emma Healey

An Organized Handbag

Do you have to rummage through your handbag to find your keys or phone, or perhaps a hanky? Maybe even your purse? You find screwed up old receipts, old pens, tissues, the lipstick you've been looking for, lolly wrappers, school notices, perhaps even unopened mail.

Handbags are  a bit like the spare room: a catchall where you stash everything but can find nothing.

With a little creative organisation and a few minutes you can have your handbag in tip-top shape, organised and tidy so you can put your hand on the things you need when you need them. No more rummaging for pens or keys or business cards.

You will need:
Your everyday handbag - make sure it is a nice size for your everyday requirements. Too big and it will fill with rubbish, too small and you'll always leave something you need behind.
3 -7 small make-up purses or pencil cases. They can be fabric, plastic, printed or plain, with a zip, button or velcro fastener.

How to Organise:

1. Your purse/wallet
Money - notes
Money - coins into the change compartment
Credit/debit cards
Driver's license
Most used rewards cards
Small calendar

2. Bag 1
Lipstick/lip gloss
Small comb/brush
Blush
Mascara
Powder - pressed/loose/bronzer - whatever you use
Feminine Hygiene
Mirror

3. Bag 2
Nail file/emery board
Small hand cream
Small scissors
Hankies
Breath mints/cough drops

4. Spectacle case 1
For sunglasses

5. Spectacle case 2
For reading/spare spectacles

6. Bag 3
Business cards - yours, hairdresser, mechanic etc
Library card
Club cards - Auto club, ambulance, health fund etc.
Seldom used credit/debit cards
Small calculator

7. Bag 4
Toothbrush
Small toothpaste
Wet wipes
Small sewing kit
Band-aids
Toothpicks
Small tape measure

You won't need to carry all these bags every day, but having them organised makes it much easier to quickly pack your handbag for the day or swap to another handbag.

The Gift Box Tray Rack

Keeping cake tins, baking sheets and pots organised and tidy is something we can all struggle with from time to time. Cheapskater Michelle has come up with a simple, free solution, by utilising something that would otherwise become landfill.

"I love baking and have lots of trays, cooling racks etc. I keep all my baking trays, cake tins etc. in the same cupboard as my pots and pans. I always stacked the pots and pans and cake tins as much as possible but every time I stacked the baking trays Murphy's law would mean that the one that I needed was in the middle or bottom of the stack, and the cupboard would always get messy. I decided I needed to do something and thought about the various options in the stores but didn't have the money to go out and buy space saving devices. I looked in the shed and found a wooden box which had been a gift crate for some wine I was given at Christmas. The sides were made from nice timber and the back was just a plywood type material stapled on. I was able to pry the ply backing off and use the crate as a large square shape in my cupboard as book ends.

The particular gift crate I had had two ply board dividers in (to hold the bottles of wine in place!) and I've actually used those to sort the trays (ordinary baking trays, muffin/cupcake trays and cooling racks).

This simple idea has saved me so much time and stress because my cupboards are no longer cluttered. By tiding up the baking trays, I've found that I have more room for my pots and pans - so much so that I no longer stack big pans like woks. They all have a dedicated spot and I've even been able to move my rice cooker into this cupboard. Not bad for 15 minutes!

Of course if you don't have a wooden box you can get creative with you might have scraps of timber you can use to create a U shape which you can use to store your trays etc. Just keep in mind lots of metal trays can become heavy so you need to use timber rather than thin plywood. Basically you're looking at a bookend type device for your baking trays. Also don't forget to check the height of your cupboard - if you find a suitable wooden box you may have to get the saw out and cut one of the sides off so that it fits in the space you have. And if you have a particular theme in your kitchen, you can always paint the timber and decorate it in your theme."
Contributed by Michelle Hickey

Financial Records Double as Emergency File

April is Get Organised month for the Cheapskates Club, so every day for April will see a new tip or idea to help you get organised and de-clutter.

Today's tip comes from Dianna Smith, and it not only keeps you organised but it doubles as an emergency file too, perfect if you live in a bush fire, cyclone or flood prone area and need to evacuate in a hurry.

"I keep an A4 file, divided into sections. In each section I keep my financial records (accounts and receipts) e.g. utilities, bank statements, credit card statements etc in their own section. This way I can keep track of my household expenditure. It also doubles as my emergency file in case I need to grab records and run."
Contributed by Diana Smith

31 Days of MOO No. 31 - MOO Easiest Ever Cottage Cheese

You either love it or loathe it. Cottage cheese is one of the neglected cheeses, and that is oh so very wrong. It is so good, easy to use, easy to make and truly delicious.

I'm not talking about that white, lumpy stuff in yellowy water you buy.

I'm talking about real, homemade with real milk, thick, white, creamy cottage cheese. The cottage cheese you can spread on bread instead of butter, that you can dip veggie sticks into for snack, the type of cottage cheese you can substitute for bechamel sauce in lasagnes and pasta bakes.

Try it, it is good.

Easiest Ever Cottage Cheese

Ingredients:
1 cup milk powder*
1/4 - 1/2 cup lemon juice
5 cups cold water

Method:
Add the skim milk powder with 5 cups of water. Beat with egg beater or electric mixer. Heat milk in a saucepan, over low heat, until just warm. Remove from heat and slowly add the lemon juice or citric acid and stir. When curds and whey have formed strain through a cheese cloth (I use a clean Chux). Before using, add salt to taste.

*I prefer full cream milk powder, I like my cottage cheese thick and creamy. You can substitute skim milk powder for the full cream for a low fat cottage cheese. Just remember it won't be as thick and creamy - this homemade cottage cheese doesn't have any thickeners added.

31 Days of MOO No. 30 MOO Aioli

This delicious garlic based mayonnaise is so easy to MOO, you'll never buy it again. It's fresh, tasty, simple to make and tastes great on chicken, fish, lamb, salads, sandwiches, foccacia, rolls, wraps, as a dip with fresh veggie sticks.

MOO Aioli

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
2-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pepper to taste
2 cups olive oil
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Method:
Place garlic in the bowl of a mixer and add yolks, salt and pepper. Beat on high until the eggs are thick and frothy. Gradually add the oil; first drop by drop and slowly increase to a thin stream when the appliance is on. Whisk in the water, lemon juice and mustard. Pour into a clean, air tight container. Chill and serve.

Keeps in the fridge for up to four days.

31 Days of MOO No. 29 MOO Peanut Butter Cups

I was having a cuppa with Wendy a few weeks ago and she reminded me of these lovely little treats and just how much I like them. This recipe is a MOO on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and having enjoyed the genuine treat it is a very good copy. The trick is to use a Kraft-style peanut butter. MOO peanut butter is too oily to make these delicious morsels, so splurge on a jar of commercial peanut butter (I use the Aldi PB and it's fine, and cheaper than Kraft).

MOO Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:
24 foil chocolate cups*
375g milk chocolate melts
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Step 1. Melt the chocolate melts over a double boiler or in the microwave.

Step 2. Using a teaspoon, pour some chocolate into a foil cup and swirl around so it covers the entire inside of the foil chocolate cup. Repeat with the remaining foil cups. Put them in the fridge for the chocolate to set.

Step 3. Combine the peanut butter, icing sugar and salt in a bowl.

Step 4. When the chocolate cases have hardened, microwave the peanut butter mixture on half power for 30 seconds to soften.

Step 5. Using a teaspoon, spoon a small portion of the peanut butter into each chocolate cup. Leave room for another layer of chocolate. Chill until the peanut butter has hardened.

Step 6. Melt remaining chocolate. Spoon over the top of the peanut butter, making sure it is completely covered. Chill until firm.

*You'll find the small foil chocolate papers at kitchenware shops and in some supermarkets in the baking aisle with the cupcake papers etc. Spotlight and Lincraft sometimes keep them with the chocolate making supplies too.

31 Days of MOO No. 28 - MOO Passionfruit Cordial

Oh how I wish I had a passionfruit vine or two in the backyard. I love passionfruit - just to eat, in a sponge cake, in flummery, in yoghurt - any way I can get it really.

I especially love passionfruit cordial. It such an old-fashioned type of drink, reminds me of my childhood and how the summers seemed so hot and endless, of cousins coming to stay and picnics at the river.

I usually make one or two batches of this beautiful drink each year and then guard it jealously, bringing it out on special occasions.  I make it with either chilled soda water or plain mineral water and float mint ice cubes in each glass.

MOO Passionfruit Cordial

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh passionfruit pulp

Step 1. Place the sugar, water and lemon juice into a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Stir in the passionfruit pulp. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

Step 2. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a jug, pushing the pulp through with the back of a spoon. Discard seeds. Pour syrup into a sterilised airtight bottle and seal. Place in the fridge to chill.

To serve put some ice cubes in serving glasses. Add passionfruit cordial to taste and top with sparkling water.

31 Days of MOO No. 26 Super Easy MOO Orange Marmalade

This is wonderful on toast but for a real treat use orange marmalade instead of jam in bread and butter pudding - it turns an ordinary pudding into a special dessert.

Super Easy Orange Marmalade

Ingredients: 
275g oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
500ml boiling water, divided
500g sugar

Method:
Cut the oranges into quarters, and remove pips. Chop the oranges roughly. I use my food processor to do this.

Put pips and lemon shells onto muslin square and tie with string to make a bag. Put the oranges, lemon juice, 300ml boiling water and the muslin bag in a 3-litre microwave safe bowl (or bigger if possible to prevent splashes).

Cover and soak for 1 hour. Add 200ml boiling water. Microwave on high for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes, until peel is tender.

Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Microwave on high for 25 minutes until setting point is reached, stirring every 5 minutes. Be careful as the mixture can get very hot.

Stand for 15 minutes, then stir and ladle into hot, sterilised jars  and seal while still hot.

This isn't pretty marmalade but it tastes delicious. If you like pretty marmalade you can quarter the oranges, then thinly slice instead of chopping in the food processor.

You can use a mixture of citrus fruit if you would like a different marmalade. You can use cumquats, lemons or grapefruit instead of the oranges or any combination of them for a mixed fruit marmalade.

Where I Shop

The most asked question today is where do I really shop?

Well, you saw where I shop on A Current Affair on Monday night. The stores we went to for that story are the stores I shop at for the food I feed my family and the grocery items I use in our home. Oh, you might see me in other stores in other shopping centres, especially on a Thursday when I take my Mum to do her shopping. But if you want to know where I shop, watch the segment or keep on reading :)

I do the bulk of my groceries at Aldi (love Aldi). The Aldi I prefer to shop at is at Vermont South shopping centre here in Melbourne. I jumped for joy and clapped my hands with glee when Aldi opened there a couple of years ago.

Then I zip down to Coles. It's in the same centre and is definitely shares first place with the Coles Bayswater store as my favourite in the area. It's always clean and tidy, is rarely out of stock of anything I want, readily gives out rain checks and if I really need something I can ask and they do their best to get it in for me. And I love the staff - some of them have been there since the store opened almost 40 years ago - it must be a great store to work in.

It gets busy so I time my shopping for either first thing in the morning or around 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. I prefer Sunday afternoon so I can check out the meat markdowns and pick up any really good specials to add to the freezer stockpile.

For fruit and veg I go to Bushy Park Wholesale and Jenkins on High Street Road, Wantirna. The prices are excellent, the quality is amazing, buying Australian isn't a problem and the staff are really nice. I don’t know what else I can say about greengrocers without sounding like a complete fruit cake so I'll leave it at that.

I think everyone knows my favourite butcher is Tasman meats. I used to go all the way to Hallam to buy meat, then a store opened in Oakleigh which is just a smidge closer. When the Mt Waverley store opened I was in butcher-shop-heaven! Only 15 minutes from home, the Mt Waverley store is lovely to shop in. Again wonderful staff, slicing meat isn't a problem, prices are always excellent but the special prices are what I wait for and stock up.

Because I only shop for meat every 3 months I usually take Wayne or one of the boys with me to help push a trolley and lift it all into the car. Twelve weeks' worth of roasts, chicken, mince, sausages, steak and chops for my family of five is a lot of meat, and I usually spend around $240, or just $20 a week on average for meat for the family. While I'm there I look for markdowns to save even more.

Herbs and spices I buy Hindustan Imports. Spelt flour, legumes, gluten flour and yeast I buy from The Full Pantry in Croydon as bulk orders once a year.

And that's about it. Nothing fancy or special, regular stores anyone can go to.

So now I've shared where I shop, where do you do your shopping?

Why I bought crumpets at Coles instead of Aldi

That seems to be one of the most asked questions coming off my A Current Affair story on Monday night.

Who'd a thunk it?

I bought the crumpets at Coles because, even though the Aldi crumpets are cheaper, we don't like them. And buying them just because they are cheaper and then throwing them out because no one will eat them is as good as tossing the money into the bin with the wrapping.

I usually make our crumpets, they are easy and if you type crumpets into the search over on the right there you'll find the recipe I use, but I also buy them and freeze them because sometimes the cost of the bought $2 convenience is a better use of my money, time and energy than the stress of trying to make them, cook them and freeze them.

Simple really. Sometimes the cost of convenience is less.

31 Days of MOO No. 23 - MOO Tim Tams

Nothing can beat a real Tim Tam but honestly they are expensive, especially when we all love them and one packet doesn't last a single afternoon tea. And that of course had me searching for a MOO for what is undoubtedley Australia's favourite biscuit.

Much to the family's delight I tried around a dozen different recipes in my quest to find at least a reasonable MOO of these delightful chocolate morsels.

What I came up with is not a genuine Tim Tam, but for a homemade version, it is pretty close and very, very good. Best of all I always have the ingredients in the pantry so when the mood strikes I can make a batch, then sit back with a glass of icy cold milk and dunk away to my heart's content.

MOO Tim Tams

Biscuit:
225g SR flour
25g cocoa powder
1 tbsp malted milk drink
215g butter
125g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup

Filling:
125g unsalted butter, softened
1-⅔ cups icing sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk

Topping:
200g block milk chocolate

Method:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Sift together the cocoa, flour and malted milk powder. In a separate bowl cream together butter and sugar. When light and fluffy and sugar has dissolved, add the syrup. Sift in the flour, cocoa and malted milk powder. Beat until the dough comes together in a ball.

Take two layers of baking paper. Place the ball of dough between the sheets of parchment and roll into a rectangle about 6mm ¼ inch. Trim the edges.

Using a clean ruler and a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into smaller fingers - your biscuits. I make them about 5cm x 3cm.

Carefully lift the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes until cooked. Remove from the oven and let the biscuits cool on the baking sheet. Once they are cooled move them to a cake rack to cool completely.

To make the filling: 
Beat together the ingredients for the filling until very smooth.

Take half the biscuits and turn them bottom side up. Spread a thin layer of filling on each biscuit. Top with the remaining biscuits, bottom side down.

Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over barely simmering water. Remove the bowl from the pan. Dip the biscuit sandwiches into the chocolate until completely covered. Shake off excess chocolate. Place on a rack to cool and harden.

Sample one, then hide the others somewhere only you can find them. Or share them with your family if you're feeling generous :)

31 Days of MOO No. 22 MOO Wool Mix

I use this wool wash for washing our blankets, jumpers, doonas, sleeping bags, winter coats, gloves, beanies - anything that contains wool or is put into long-term storage. The eucalyptus and pure soap in the mixture help to deter silverfish and moths from woollies perfect for jumpers or woollen blankets going into storage for the summer.

MOO Wool Mix

Ingredients:
4 cups Lux flakes*
4 cups boiling water
1 cup methylated spirits
2 tbsp eucalyptus oil

Method:
Mix together and bottle. To use dissolve 2 tablespoons mixture in hot water, cool before gently kneading woollens to wash. Rinse well and dry carefully in the shade, preferably flat to retain shape.

*Lux flakes - you can use any pure soap flakes or grate cakes of pure soap to get the flakes. Depending on the size of the cakes of soap you'll need 2 or 3. If you use the zester side of your grater the soap will dissolve easily and quickly.

Where to Buy Lectric Soda and Borax

Every time I mention Cheapskates Washing Powder I am inundated with requests asking where you can buy Lectric Soda and borax.

The answer is simple, and Australia wide: Coles. In the cleaning aisle,

Now you will have to look for them, they're not popular products so they don't hold prime spot on the shelves but they are both there.

At my local Coles supermarket in Vermont South here in Melbourne you'll find them both on the top shelf. Washing soda is at the very end of the aisle on one side and the borax is on the top shelf about half way along on the opposite side.

I asked the manager of the store if they were available at all Coles stores and the answer was "yes".

I'm also often told that it is illegal for supermarkets to sell borax, that's why it's not stocked. It is not. As far as I can tell that is a story told as an excuse for not keeping it on the shelves.

The same goes for washing soda, or Lectric Soda (which is just a brand name). You can still get Lectric Soda powder, which is what we use for the laundry powder, although the crystals are no longer made.

So there you have it. If you can't find these two washing powder ingredients anywhere else, you'll definitely find them at Coles.

Let's All MOO

 Really. Let's all take back the power of our grocery money and tell the big wigs at Coles, Woolworths and yes, these days even Aldi, that we don't want them deciding what food and brands we will buy - we want to make that decision ourselves and we'll do it by Making Our Own!

I commented on ACA a couple of weeks ago that I really do not like my shopping habits being dictated by a supermarket managing director and it seems to have stirred up a hornet's nest.

I don't care; if my comment gets people thinking about how they shop, where they shop and what they buy with the money they earn then that is fan-freaking-tastic!

Supermarkets are shrinking their grocery aisles. Aisles that used to be full of baking ingredients are now down to one half of one side of an aisle. Aisles that used to be full of beautiful canned Australian produce have shrunk to less than one side of one aisle in the average suburban supermarket.

And our favourite brands and products are disappearing. Try finding Lectric Soda in the cleaning aisle or Golden Circle marmalade in the condiments aisle if you don't believe me.

Our favourite brands and products are being discontinued and replaced with generic or store brands. That's fine, I have nothing against another brand but I still want to be able to make the choice to buy that product myself, not have it forced on me by a supermarket genius who thinks he/she knows better than me what I want and what I should spend my money on.

Every month something disappears, sometimes completely, sometimes to be replaced by a store brand, a product I may or may not be familiar with. The items that stay go up in price, putting a strain on my grocery budget.

If I could compare store brand labels to branded product labels then chances are I'd be happy to make the switch. But if I can't compare, if I am being offered just the store brand or even worse nothing, then I get cranky, I cross that item off my list for that supermarket and I start looking for a way to make it myself.

I MOO it.

So far, with almost 21 years of MOOing experience, there are very few things we would normally eat, drink or use that I don't, couldn’t or won't MOO.

Washing powder- MOO it.
Soap - MOO it.
Biscuits - MOO them.
Crackers - MOO them.
Sauces - MOO them.
Bread - MOO it.
Pasta - MOO it.
Toothpaste - MOO it.
Deodorant - MOO it.
Floor cleaner - MOO it.
Cereals - MOO them.
Taco seasoning - MOO it.
Breadcrumbs - MOO them.
Pastry - MOO it.
Pizza - MOO it.
Crumpets - MOO them.
Cordial - MOO it.
Flavoured coffee - MOO it.
Dish cloths - MOO them.

There are thousands of everyday things I MOO. And you can too.

If you can't find your favourite sauce or biscuit or shampoo or washing powder at the supermarket MOO it!

I've been MOOing and teaching others just how easy, cost effective and time saving it is for years.

There is a Let's All MOO workshop coming up on the 29th March and I'll be teaching everyone not only why they should be MOOing as much as they can, but what to MOO, how to fit MOOing into a busy schedule and best of all just how much money we save when we Make Our Own.

And I hope that at the end of the workshop there will be a lot less being bought at the supermarket and a lot more happy, smiling, MOOers who aren't afraid to tell the supermarkets that they know what is best for them and their families and that they will control their buying habits and money thank you very much.

31 Days of MOO No. 17 MOO Sweet Chilli Sauce

I'm not a fan of chilli, but I love a good sweet chilli sauce. I love it on fish cakes, on wedges or chips and combined with cream cheese for a dip. Yum!

This is a very simple sweet chilli sauce, great for home and perfect for gift giving.

A Very Simple Sweet Chilli Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Jalapeno chillies*
2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Method:
Put on a pair of disposable rubber gloves. Trust me on this. Chilli burns, so rubber gloves are essential. And rub your eyes and scratch your nose before you start handling the chilli. Again, trust me on this. Chilli burns - you do not want it anywhere near your eyes or nose.

Prepare the chillies by de-seeding and chopping roughly. The heat of the chilli is in the seed so you can decide just how hot you want your sauce. No seeds will give a milder sauce, all the seeds will give a very hot sauce, something in the middle will give you a medium - hot sauce. And the heat will depend on the type of chilli you are using.

Roughly chop the garlic.

Put the sugar, water, rice wine vinegar, garlic and chilli in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Simmer rapidly for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to low. Stir in the cornflour/water mixture, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.

Use a stick blender to puree. Or pour sauce into a food processor and process until pureed. Make sure the vent/chute on the processor is open so the hot sauce doesn't explode.

Pour into a hot, sterilised bottle and seal.

*The heat in your sauce will depend on the type of chilli you are using and the amount of seeds you leave in the sauce. Use your favourite chilli or a combination of chillies to get the flavour and heat you love.

31 Days of MOO NO. 16 MOO Cake Mixes

Boxed (or packet) cake mixes are convenient - to a point.  You still need to add the wet ingredients, usually egg, water or milk, butter or oil, so what you're paying up to $9 for is basically flour, sugar, a rising agent, flavouring of some kind and then a whole lot of things you can't pronounce and really shouldn't be eating.

That cake mix convenience ends up costing you up to $11!

If you make a cake from scratch you'll use flour, sugar, butter or oil, milk or water, an egg or two, flavouring of some kind and if you didn't use self-raising flour, a rising agent (baking powder or bicarb soda, depending on the recipe). And your cake will cost you under $2!

Now cake mixes are supposed to be convenient time savers because you just dump the contents into the mixer, add the wet stuff and beat for 3 minutes.

If your recipe is a one-bowl mix, like the I've shared below, you do the same thing - dump all the ingredients into the mixer and beat for 3 minutes.

It may take you a minute to measure out the flour, sugar and flavourings so a from scratch cake will take you 1 or 2 minutes longer to get to the baking stage. At a saving of up to $9 a minute or two is nothing.

And they will both take about the same time to cook too, so no saving there.

If you really love cake mixes, and I confess I do, you can quite easily make your own.

When I'm baking a cake I get out a half a dozen ziplock bags and measure out the dry ingredients for 7 cakes, the one I'm baking and 6 to put in the cupboard. The bags are labelled with the type of cake the ingredients will make - chocolate, coffee, butter, sultana, cherry or whatever, a list of wet ingredients and the instructions. I do this a lot so I have marked the bags with a Sharpie. Once the mix has been used the bag is washed and dried and put away ready to use again - and the instructions are already written on it.

This is a quick chocolate cake I make into MOO Cake Mixes.

Quick Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups SR flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa

Wet Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

You can double, triple, quadruple the quantities (I measure out 7 lots at a time). Put the dry ingredients into ziplock bags and seal. Label the bag and add a list of the wet ingredients and the instructions.

To make a cake add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.

One quantity will make 2 dozen cupcakes or two 20cm square cakes. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes for 20cm cake (or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean). Bake for 12 - 15 minutes for  cupcakes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Catching Up

The last two weeks have been traumatic for me, and that is not an exaggeration. I've had very little sleep, spent hours and hours sitting hunched over my keyboard, ignored housework, fed the family freezer meals, even resorted to takeaway (something we haven't had for over 5 months) for tea TWICE!

Most of you will be aware that my website, Cheapskates, disappeared on 26th February. It took 60 hours of constant Skyping, emailing and messaging with techs here in Australia, in Baltimore and in Vancouver to find out what happened and get it back up. Then the server that runs the Cheapskates Club websites decided to have a hissy fit (I wanted to have one too!) and slow down, then stop. Once it was restarted it decided to start throwing out little errors that once again brought the website down.

During this time my blog was getting hit with some unacceptable (and quite hurtful) comments and so I made the decision to turn it off, and it has been off for 12 days. I wasn't sure I'd bring it back, and if I did, whether or not it would be public.

I had no idea just how many people would miss it. Of course I see the stats for visitors each day, and I know it is  looked at by lots of people every day. But I didn't really understand how many of you would miss it if it wasn't there. This blog is really just me putting some thoughts and habits into words, sharing the weird and wacky things I do to maintain our frugal lifestyle so we can live the life we want to without the stress and confines of debt.

Over the 12 days the blog has been down I've been emailed, messaged via the member forum and the Cheapskates Club facebook page and even had phone messages asking where it had gone and when would it be back. Lots of them!

So it's back.

This is my blog, my kind of personal record of what I do in my day-to-day Cheapskates lifestyle. Sometimes I am a regular blogger, updating with titbits every couple of days. Sometimes it might be a few days or even weeks between posts. When I blog depends on time.

My time goes firstly to my family. Family always comes first. Then it goes to the Cheapskates Club members. Then if I have time it  goes to the blog.

So every day I'll post the latest Tip of the Day from the Cheapskates Club, and when I have the time to sit and write a post and take photos for you I'll blog.

Thank you for your encouragement, you have no idea how I have appreciated it.

I am humbled that you've missed my ramblings and I will do my best to blog more as requested :)