We continue to make the most of the produce we are picking from our backyard. Over the last four weeks the only fruit and veggies we've bought from the shops are carrots, cucumber and a few bags of lettuce ( our seeds weren't growing. We now have seedlings we can harvest from ). This has been a big saving and blessing for us.
Here's what else we've been up to -
* Made 4 jars of pear butter in the slow cooker using pears from our little tree. Two jars went into the fridge and two into the freezer. From my research, pear butter only lasts two weeks in the fridge. By freezing some it means it will all be used up within a good time.
* Descaled the kettle using citric acid.
* Darren used the compost from one of the bins on the veggie garden and one flower bed. The other bin now needs to mature ( bake ) for a couple of months while we start filling up the newly emptied one.
* Turned a couple of sauce bottles upside down to get the last of the contents out.
* Baked three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.
* Added crushed up wheat bix and corn flakes to the dried seasoned bread crumbs to make it stretch further.
* Made and sold a double batch of raspberry and white chocolate muffins to a friend who had ordered them. The profit I made has been put aside to go towards presents for next year.
* Made plain dried bread crumbs from saved bread crusts. I like to keep a jar of plain bread crumbs to add to meatloaves etc without the seasoning.
* Picked zucchini, pears, tomatoes, silverbeet and raspberries from our garden. The zucchini was planted as seeds in mid January so it's only taken 7 weeks from seed to picking.
* Sold a dozen eggs to a friend.
* Made a 10 litre bucket of laundry liquid from scratch. As I pour it into smaller containers it's diluted down with water 50 / 50.
* Made zucchini fritters and added zucchini to a tuna pasta bake to stretch it further.
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| Lettuce now ready to pick |
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| Broccoli seedlings growing |
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| Zucchini growing |
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| Our latest potato crop |
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| One mandarin tree is in bloom |
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| Muffins from my kitchen. |
It's wonderful that you have so much homegrown produce to enjoy and keep costs down, Wendy. I have a volunteer pumpkin that's come up around our compost bins. Hoping to get a few pumpkins! I need to get out in the garden this weekend too.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a very expensive time at our place of late, particularly with medical out-of-pocket costs, so continuing to do all the little things to save:
* filled car with fuel when price came down and will top up if it remains low
* picked spring onion, ceylon spinach, herbs and bay leaves from garden
* got some free seeds, from Woolworths promotion, when I did my shopping
* Added chocolate chips to my pantry this week as they were on good special
* made all meals at home including spaghetti bolognese, zucchini slice, sausages
and salad and pasta carbonara
* added bacon and frozen veg I had on hand to carbonara.
* baked double batch of chocolate chip bars and made pear muffins for school lunch
* all lunches made at home - sandwiches, rolls, leftovers, fruit, home baking
* hung washing outside to dry in the sun or on racks if weather showery
* bought my son a collared shirt, from Target, reduced to $8 down from $18 saving
$10. This shirt will be worn when he performs in school music event this coming
week.
Tonight, my son has two friends coming for dinner so I am making a big tray of lasagne, meat sauce stretched out with grated veg, and a cake for dessert. Have a lovely Saturday, Wendy.
Meg:)
This is the week that I planned to follow the $21 challenge. Shopping with my mother soon changed that. However, I think I will keep quiet about it and try anyway. Right now I have a pot of curry on the stove. I plan to use it for two meals for us and one for one of my children's families. I have notes that there is a lot of stuff to use. This was compounded my the fact that mum bought so much stuff on Thursday and I could not fit it in the freezer. She wanted to buy more yesterday and today she managed to push stuff down the back of the freezer drawer. I was ruthless and threw away meat that was too old etc. It was a very painful half hours as my ice skaters knee screamed its displeasure. So not a frugal week but lesson must surely have been learned.
ReplyDeleteMy eldest daughter likes to compare presents and it is not much fun either. Anyway today she and I went shopping and I bought her the same gifts I bought my first granddaughter. Beth was amazed that we saved $130 on item by shopping in Big W and not Baby Bunting. That extra will buy some other much needed items.
Another little win. Some items I normally stock pile were on sale in Coles. When I checked my docket I had been over charged. I was refunded just over $8.50 and was able to get the first item free.
I needed to get a few groceries this week. Broccoli heads 2/$5, cabbage .68, carrots. 2/$4, asparagus 1.69 ea (got 2). I found croissants for breakfast sandwiches 3/$1. The rest were not on a great sale as they are resetting our local store and it was a mess. I just got what I needed and got out.
ReplyDeleteWe purchased a whole hog from Dh's co-worker for $150 plus processing. We will pick that up this week. I'll post on my blog the final price per pound.
Since I needed to make room I defrosted that freezer and will use up foodstuffs from it for this week's meals. We'll need to take some of the pork to ds's freezer as I only have 1-1/2 shelves open now. The chest freezer is totally full. We won't starve anytime soon!
Those muffins do look delicious! We were gifted a bag of pears that have a few bruises so I stewed them and we'll have them for breakfast I've never heard of pear butter I asume you use it like lemon butter. Have a lovely week
ReplyDeleteI make a dry laundry powder from Rhonda's Down to Earth book. Best thing ever. I make a 2 litre version of the liquid form. I use it for pretreatment and mix with Sodi Bic to make a good cream cleaner(works just as wellas'Jif'). Only have to make it once a year, so good for the wallet and not have to carry those heavy bottles upstairs.
ReplyDeleteThose muffins look wonderful. Cheers
Hello, Wendy. It's Clara from Sicily. Would you, please, give me the recipe for the pear butter and some tips to use it? That would be great for me because I've never heard about it.
ReplyDeleteHi Clara. I don't have a recipe as such. Just peel, core and slice the pears. Add to a slow cooker with a tiny bit of water, small amount of sugar and cinnamon. Cook over night then puree with a stick blender. Cook for another 4 plus hours with the lid off stirring every now and then. Spoon into sterilised glass jars.
DeleteThank you very much. I will try! 😊
DeleteHello Wendy, I hope that you and loved ones are ok? Haven't heard from you lately so hope all is going well for you. Take care, regards Robyn S.A
ReplyDeleteHi Robyne. We've had a lot of sickness go through our family. I was sick for 3 weeks.
DeleteBest wishes to you and your family for the Easter season
ReplyDeleteHope you and yours are now on the mend😊
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Not sure where my comment went. I was wondering if you gave away your muffin recipe? They look and sound delicious
ReplyDeleteLisa