This week has been a busy one making the most of the blessings that have come our way. There's been lots of cooking, baking, juicing and freezing. We feel very blessed to have so many citrus fruits offered too us.
Here's what we've been up to -
* I decided to make pumpkin bread for something a little different. We had a pumpkin given to us as well as Darren picking the one that popped up in our garden. So I steamed and blended one pumpkin then did a Google search for a pumpkin bread recipe. Of course I changed it slightly to make it my own and the result was delicious. It was wonderful to eat fresh or toasted in the oven and spread with butter. I'll share the recipe shortly as soon as I test the recipe again.
* I picked up 3 x 500g packets of beef strips on clearance for $6 each.
* I made a double batch of ANZAC biscuit dough. A couple of dozen biscuits were baked for morning teas and for Luka and Bryson ( they LOVE them ). The rest of the dough went into the freezer.
* We picked the first ever decent sized mandarin off one of our trees. We have about another 40 to come shortly.
* I was gifted more lemons from a friend. I was happy to share this blessing with a few family members.
* I made a large amount of beef stroganoff in the slow cooker using the clearance beef and some gifted mushrooms. After having it for dinner that night I also froze another 8 serves.
* We fed kitchen scraps and grass to our chicken.
* I cleaned the kettle with citric acid. I also clean my clients kettles too.
* I juiced and froze lots of lemon juice.
* Zested and juiced lemons and oranges together and froze them to make 50 / 50 cordial in Summer.
* I made a whole orange cake for a family birthday afternoon tea. I made the recipe in a 1 1/2 size so I could also freeze some for future occasions.
* Darren made flat breads using the last of some gifted Greek yoghurt. He added a few herbs to the mix and they are absolutely delicious. We use some to make smallish pizzas and froze the rest.
LINKS -
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| Bargain beef |
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| Darren's flat breads |
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| Pureed whole oranges for the freezer |
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| Some of the whole orange cakes |
Hi Wendy! I'm a new reader and I've been devouring your blog over the last few days. I'm a wife & mum of 2 girls (3 & 11 months) and I'm finding the budget is becoming just that little bit too tight, if you know what I mean. I'm thinking of baking my own bread as the one I buy is $4.90 and we go through at least 2 loaves a week. Surely I can bake my own for much cheaper? I was wondering if you had any advice on bread tins? Thank you for all your ideas!
ReplyDeleteHi Kalie and welcome. I certainly know about having a tight budget. My food budget is $150 a month and to keep it this low I now only buy very basic ingredients.
DeleteYou certainly can make bread very cheaply ( about $2 for 2 loaves ). I use generic plain flour to keep the costs low. Bread tins are pricey but they are an investment that will last for many years if you look after them. Never wash them or spray with any oil. When they are about 10 years old you might need to brush them with a little oil.
The best place to buy bread tins is from a baking supply shop or somewhere like ' Kitchen Warehouse '. They cost about $35 each for the 700g loaf tin.
Good morning Wendy, citrus fruit and crisp apples are our gifts for our cold, winter weather. A kind person in our neighbourhood regularly puts a basket of lemons on their gate post and I pop one in each pocket as I walk the dog past.I used your orange cake recipe for cupcakes and they were amazing and the spares froze really well also. I worked out my small clothes horse can be lifted up onto the dining table when there’s no visitors and it is then right in front of the split system we use for heating. The clothes dry quickly and I don’t feel so guilty using power when it’s doing double duty. Have a lovely week and stay warm.
ReplyDeleteI must try making flatbreads; I've not done that before. They look delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt's very cold here this week so I've tucked hot water bottles into our beds to warm them before we snuggle in. In the morning, the water in the bottles goes onto my pot plants. Other frugal things have included batch cooking, baking, filling up petrol when price low, planting more in veg patch and taking picnic lunch to have while watching our son play sport. Have a lovely week!
Meg
Hi Wendy I have only jusy found your blog and I haven't read very far but can you tell me what you do with the frozen orange fruit? we have 2 orange trees that are loaded
ReplyDelete