General Chat

My daughter HATES 'real' tomatoes and yet....she is so proud each summer of her greenhouse full of the things.

It's a pity she doesn't live near me, I love 'em, especially home growns.

Birdi

Thanks Ann.

Oddly I'm ok with tinned tomatoes LOLOL. PLEASE don't ask me why because I haven't a clue.......it's the real ones that freak me out.......x

Make a cottage pie but buy less meat and bulk it out with veg. I was going to say tinned tomatoes but I have a feeling you don't like tomatoes, but any veg will bulk it out, aubergine is good, or butternut squash. You would need to nearly cook that first though before adding to the meat.

A challenge is good, it concentrates the mind. We actually sometimes buy a turkey drumstick and roast it, they are very cheap one is enough for a meal and a lunch (sandwiches for us), or you can pre cook it and use for curry.

I don't know what we'll be getting yet tbh.......it's all still going through.

But from what I've been told we won't be HUGELY worse off than we were before.........which is shocking really....but there you go.

Time will tell.

I shall make hay while the sun is shining.......ready just in case it rains lol xx

Our nearest supermarket is M*rris*ns and I find they are hopeless at reduced food. About 10p off is not my idea of a bargain.

Our S*insb*ury's is something else; on a Sunday afternoon they reduce the meat on the butcher's counter.

I got sirloin steaks for £1 each and a load of sausages for 70p, rump steak was very cheap as well.

I felt a bit selfish; I kept saying 'I'll have all of that, all of those'. Lost me job last year and a quarter of our income went with it. Not as bad as Muffy's situation but it did make a big difference.

Birdi

If you are able to go supermarket shopping at odd times, you can pick up some yellow-ticket bargains sometimes.
I always check the veg. section for anything for our Guinea pig.
We bought some great bread late yesterday too, - 20p each for large white farmhouse loaf, same price for a multi-seed one and 10p for a French stick.
Some now frozen ready to go with winter soups.

Gwyn

Well that sounds straight forward enough !!!!!!

THANK YOU I'll give that a go sometime this week and let you know how it goes lol xx

No need to blush Muffy.

Easy as pie! Well, I don't know who made up that saying but pie making isn't easy to start with.

I use plain flour (the cheapest I can get) and half the weight of the flour in fats. I find half lard/half butter is best. Spend a bit of time to rub the fats in the flour until it all resembles a creamy colour and breadcrumb in texture. Add only a very small amount of cold water; stir round with a flat bladed knife until the mixture becomes a bit like playdoh.

Knead briefly and roll up in cling film. Chill in fridge for half an hour before you use it; it will be much easier to roll out.

As to quantities; today I used 22oz flour and 11 oz fat. That made 3 pies.

Kitchen was hell of a mess, though!

Birdi

edited posted twice

lol TW, i bet you were gratful for the pies, after havign the dodgy fish n chips lol

i remeber when i was little if u were on the dole, they did a thing every few months, were u got a slab of butter and a tin or 2 of stewing steak lol xxx

*shudders* I bet it did !!!!! Fish squits are the worst !!!!

Mscratchit .......Can I confess I have NEVER made a pie......*blushes* I don't even know how to make pastry !!!!

That reminds me of when we were particularly poor when my kids were babies.

The DSS as it was then messed up our dole, and we went 6 weeks with nothing coming in. Family allowance was spent on nappies and babymilk for my daughter, and mum gave me a fiver a week, and a bag of storecupboard stuff, like flour, marg, salt, gravy, cereal etc.

Out of that fiver, I would by a lb of sausages, a tin of beans and a joint of brisket. Some lovely neighbours would leave lots of veg on the doorstep from their gardens.

so, bangers and mash on saturday, roast on sunday, and meat and veg pies for the rest of the week. By the time six weeks were up we were sick of meat and veg pies, but we were fed and not hungry.

When we eventually got the backdated dole they owed us, I had enough to treat us all to fish and chips from the van that used to come to the village we lived in, and ended up with food poisoning! Put me off battered cod for years that did.

Pies are good and not too fattening if you only have them once or twice a week.

Make enough filling and pastry for 3 pies and freeze 2 for future meals.

My 'economy' tip is to add potato slices (par boil first) in with the meat. They absorb the flavour and you will need less meat.

I have made 3 pies today using 800g of mince. Each pie serves 4.

Another thing, when I was a kid we had 'afters'. It filled the corners so the main course needn't be so large.

Someone I know has chickens and gets great delight from them. Such beautiful creatures. I would love to have a few.

Yes it is his site, haven't been on for a while. His site is valuable in itself but the forums are great, something for everybody. I love the thought of the old style forum though even though I don't live by it. It just reminds me of the war time spirit and I love their obsession with vinegar, stardrops and these cleaning wipes they talk about lol

Chickens are just one of the nicest pets there are SRS....sooo friendly. Plus they have the added bonus of gifting me the odd egg or three lol.

Is that the Martin Lewis site? I think I have that bookmarked.......but I'd forgotten about it........thanks I'll look that up again xx

Muffy have you tried the money saving expert site? They've got many forums that can help including an old fashioned board dedicated to thrift. They've got some good recipes on there. I love the thought of you raising chickens - who needs that farming game on facebook lol

*yikes*

Lobsters.............don't you have to cook them alive?????

*sobs* lol xx

I'll try that Stray.ta....... I think I have a tin of corned beef in the back of a cupboard somewhere lol xx

Oh Muffy, I have a wonderful recipe for lobster bisque!! *searches in cupboard....

ill tell u whats a really nice and cheap meal, we call it panaklty up here

potatoes carrots and onion, chopped n cooked in water
then add an oxo, gravy granules to thicken
then add a tin of corn beef cubed

its gourgous on a cold night