Over the last three weeks since I last posted our frugal tasks, we've tried to stay busy each day. I've started Spring cleaning around our home and clean something different every few days. On the milder days we've had lunch or morning teas outside on our deck and admired all our hard work in the garden.
Here's how we've spent our days -
* Bought Osso Bucco beef from Australian Butchers for $10.99 kg. This is a fantastic price for any cut of beef.
* Made up one slow cooker of Massaman beef curry and one slow cooker of beef stew ( at the same time ). We enjoyed these meals for the next two nights and all the leftovers were portioned out and frozen.
* Gratefully received a pot of chicken noodle soup from Megan. Unfortunately she made too much for herself and had no room in her freezer. She dropped it off on our doorstep and we enjoyed it for dinner that night and froze the leftovers.
* Dried the washing on the line or clotheshorses. Over the last three weeks I've only put one load in the dryer when it was too muggy for the washing to dry naturally ( I tried ).
* Wrote out a menu plan for the next four weeks. Added in soup a few times as our cheap meals.
* Baked wholemeal bread with extra goodness twice during the last three weeks.
* Baked a batch of ANZAC biscuits using dough I'd previously frozen.
* Gratefully received tomato plants from my Dad.
* Made up a bottle of surface spray using cooled boiled water and a dash of dish washing liquid. I use this to clean my toilets, wipe sinks and clean the stove and kitchen benches.
* Bought approximately 10 kilos of chicken breasts for $4.99kg. For just over $40 I portioned out the meat and there was enough for 40 meals for the two of us. Some meals I might be able to get 3 or 4 serves.
* Made a pot of chicken stock from chicken skins and offcuts from the chicken breasts. The stock should give us enough for 8 serves of chicken soup when I make it up.
* Sold a few cards and face masks to friends who requested them.
* Sold quite a few dish cloths, face scrubbies and greeting card sets. I still have a few left so if you are interested please check out the posts I put on my Facebook pages.
* We picked lettuce, silverbeet and sugar snap peas from our garden.
* Darren and I baked raspberry and white chocolate muffins, blueberry muffins and sausage rolls as our latest lockdown treats.
* I found a few rouge seedlings growing under bigger plants in our front garden. I gently dug them up and planted them in better locations to fill in some gaps. With all the gardening shops closed, we are grateful for the little surprises in the garden.
* Made a garden scoop from a recycled vinegar bottle. I'm planning on using it to scoop out potting mix from the bag.
* We had both our ovens fixed for free by the company who makes / distributes them. Even through they are well out of warranty, it was a design fault. The value of the repairs was approximately $500.
Here are a few photos from our garden -
 |
| Tomato plants from Dad |
 |
| A birthday chocolate / rose bouquet from Jessica |
 |
| Massaman beef curry and beef stew |
 |
 |
| Dish cloths for sale on Facebook. |
Here in the Midwest area of the U.S., it should be autumn but right now we are have Indian Summer with temps feeling much warmer than normal. It’s delightful outside but I know, after years of living here in Ohio, not to be deceived into thinking that cold wintry weather isn’t just around the corner.
ReplyDeleteSo, today I started planting our strawberry runners that have already taken root. I got about 50 of them planted and still have about 3 - 4 times more to do!! Not only will that expand our strawberry patches and harvest but it will also give us a nice extra stream of income in the Spring.
I also used some of my sad little potato harvest to put into 3 individual mini chicken pot pies! Each mini pie is quite a filling meal for Hubs and I to share for dinner.
I made Turkey, cranberry, cheese tortilla wraps for lunches. They were identical to the ones in our grocery that are $5 for 2 halves, but I figured that in the 15 minutes it took me to make 10 halves I spent 27 cents per half instead of $2.50 per half. That saved $22.70 just for 15 minutes work!!
We use the grocery store less and less - only for rock bottom sales on things we use regularly.
I also made 3 scrappy quilts this week using only fabric scraps I had and piecing together scraps of leftover batting from quilting jobs I’ve done. So no OOP cost.
We live simply but enjoy our life fully.
Thanks for your encouragement and motivation!
I always love to read about your frugal life. You have so many strawberry runners. You'll be making lots of jam next season.
DeleteI have never eaten (or made) Anzac biscuits before but think I will give it a try soon. All your food pictures look delicious!
ReplyDeleteAnne, ANZACS are a well loved and much eaten biscuit ( cookie ) in Australia.
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteYour blogs about vinegar reminded me to find the recipe online for toxic free weed killer. (We've had the wettest winter for 20 years in WA and the weeds are thriving!) The weed killer is a mix of vinegar, salt and detergent poured into a spray bottle and applied on a hot, sunny day when the weeds will be in the sun for a few hours. Took two applications over two days to work but I am pleased with the result. It kills the weeds and they are easier to pull out or leave to rot. (The recipe is on my blog WWW.makecookgrow.com) I love your practical hints so much!
Deborah
Apparently it works better on young weeds and needs more applications on established ones.
DeleteHi from New Zealand,
DeleteReading with interest, as NZ I think is just on the cusp of a delta storm. We're starting to see empty shelves in the supermarkets, posts here have prompted me to keep well sto ked and eat more from the veg garden, I've 3 weeks off and hoping to get another garden started.
Keep safe ladies, and keep up the great tips
Karen
It's so nice to see you back with your frugal wins for the week. Ours are the normal array of things.
ReplyDelete-Made applesauce from apples a friend shared with me. Then made applesauce muffins from some of the applesauce. They are delicious
-Menu planned
-Sold a few things on eBay
-Line dried the majority of our landry
-Our 14 y.o. got his first job, and we helped him open a retirement account. We are matching his earnings, so he can put them into the account, but still have a bit to spend.
On our drive to Adelaide and back (some 1600kms), my Husband stopped to pick Quandongs on the side of the road. These are native Peach. Their flavour can be quite rich and strong, but my Husband made a crumble and added apples from my workplace that were getting withered, so together they made a lovely tasting crumble to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI do use my dryer - I have to with the current autumn weather - but I only set it on the gentle setting, to remove most of the water. It's still moist when I hang the laundry on the dryer rack over our banister, where it will dry overnight. I only put the heavier items in the dryer; smaller, fast-drying items go on the laundry rack immediately.
ReplyDeleteI'm religiously picking my autumn raspberries and freezing them. I will eat them in winter and spring, when supermarket fruit is more expensive. Fruit prices have gone up, it's getting difficult to find fruit for less than 50 eurocents a portion (that's AUD 0.79). DDs will be eating more carrots :), as those are still cheap.