This Week's Frugal Tasks

The bathroom renovations are now complete and our house is getting back to normal.  Our vegetable garden is thriving wilth all the rain we've been blessed with.  I just love to go outside and look around the garden to see what's happening.   At this time of the year it seems that the vegetable plants grow by inches each day.  There are weeds to pull,  plants to feed and produce to pick.  My heart swells with happiness when I bring a basket of food into the house.  It's pure joy.

Here's what I've been up to this week -

*  The heater has been off all week.  We've only had the evap cooling on a little.

*  Picked our first two zucchinis for the year.

*  Continued to picked strawberries and beans every couple of days.

*  Gratefully received some bread and croissants from a friend

*  Sold four dozen eggs to our nrighbour and a cleaning client.

*  Made strawberry and apple jam using strawberries I bought for 50 cents a punnet a few months ago.   I'd frozen them with the idea to make jam.  Some will be given as presents and the rest we will use ourselves.

*  Baked a triple batch of chocolate lunchobx muffins.  Most of them are for the freezer.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread.

*  Started saving water from the washing machine again.  When the machine was reconnected, last Saturday  we were so pressed for time with our busy week last week we couldn't save the water.  All is right in my world again. 

*  I started sorting out the birthday and Christmas presents for next year.  I've purchased or made about two thirds of the presents already.  When I know who I'm giving the present to I write the name,  occasion and year on a post it note and stick it to the present.  Then I record it in an exercise book.

*  Picked some lettuce from our garden.

*  Darren and Jessica made white christmas to give as presents.  Some were gift boxed and others were placed in cello bags.

*  Made more Anzac biscuit dough and peanut butter choc chip biscuit dough for the freezer.  GEE,  the freezer gets fed well doesn't it ?  I'm trying to stock up on dough and other baking for the busy Christmas season.

*  Saved some bread bags from a charity bbq and reused them.



This is what I picked from the garden on Monday

The gift boxes for the white christmas

White Christmas for presents



Our dining table flowers.  Megan took this photo for the blog.

The lettuce we are picking.

What frugal things have you completed this week ?

Making Your Own Yoghurt

About 4 1/2 years ago I met a lady at a bakery.  It was closing time and we were there to pick up the left over bread to give to needy people.  It was the first time I'd met this lady.as she was filling in for a friend.  We started talking about things we make from scratch.  I said I had a yoghurt maker and loved making yoghurt cheaper than store bought.  She told me about a website called The Cheapskates Club where you could find a recipe for making one litre of yoghurt for about $1.  As soon as I arrived home I just had to check out the website.  I've been a member ever since and the rest is history. 

I never saw that lady again but I'll be forever grateful for passing on such valuable information.

The recipe below is my adapted version of the Cheapskates one.  I hope you enjoy it.

2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
1 1/2 cups of full cream powdered milk
dash of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of sugar ( optional if you don't want it sweet )
tap water
boiled water

As you boil the kettle, put tap water into the Easiyo container up to the 500 ml mark ( the one you make the yoghurt in, not the thermos part )
Add milk powder, natural yoghurt, sugar and extract.
Blend with a hand blender
Top up the container to the 1 litre mark with tap water
Put lid on and hand shake
Fill Easiyo thermos to the top of the red insert with boiled water
Put the yoghurt container in and put thermos lid on
Leave on the bench for 10 - 12 hours
Take container out and put in fridge. 

NOTES -This yoghurt keeps for up to two weeks after it's made. 

 If you are making it unsweetened,  once it's set,  save two tablespoon of the yoghurt and freeze it to start another batch.  

 Flavour can be added by using jams,  toppings and pureed fruit once it's been made.

Full cream milk powder must be used for it to set.  Low fat milk powder doesn't have enough fat.  

The Easiyo system retails for about $20 and can be bought at Big W and Woolworths.  It makes a fantastic present for all occasions.

This Week's Frugal Tasks

Our bathrooms renovations continue and the house is a mess.  I had to clear a space for a camera crew to film an interview on Tuesday morning  Lots of fun.  The up side to having the bathrooms renovated is that I don't have to clean them at the moment.  I tried to look at this positively. No cleaning means spare time for me.  Spare time means I can do some frugal things.

Here's what I achieved during this crazy week -

* Cooked pie meat for four pies and froze it.

*  Made three meatloaves and froze them.

*  Made dried bread crumbs from some rolls that were given to me a while ago.  They were rolls my family wouldn't normally eat but I saw them as a blessing and froze them until I needed bread crumbs.  I then made the dried bread crumbs into seasoned bread crumbs to coat chicken drumsticks ans salmon patties.

*  Picked a handful of beans and strawberries every couple of days.

*  Made brown sugar.

*  Washed our clothes by hand.  We haven't had a washing machine plugged in since Friday last week.  After Darren washed our sheets and towels at the laundromat ( costing $5 per load ) I've been washing what I can by hand.

*  My girls and I had to wash our hair in the kitchen sink a couple of times when we were without a shower.  When the ensuite shower was finished we had to have very quick showers as we are all sharing the bathroom while the girl's bathroom was gutted.  Oh the joy.

*  Kept the heater off most of the time as the tradies liked to have our front door open all day.

*  Bought meat specials at Tasman Meats.  For just over $80 I was able to divide it into 27 meals for the four of us.  Tasman has number 9 raw chickens in twin packs for $6.99,  sausages for $3.99 kg,  regular mince for $3.99 kg and lamb chops for $6.99 kg.  Great specials  !!!!

*  Sorted out the girls old school text books and advertised them for sale on the Sustainable School  Shop website.  I was able to pass a few down to Megan from Jessica.  Some text books will be used two years running for Jessica.  It looks like some folders can be cleaned and used again.

*  Hand watered the vegetable seedlings.  The rest of the vegetable garden was watered by God.  It's such a blessing.  THANKYOU  !!!

*  We gratefully received some blocks of cheese and a loaf of bread from a friend.  God is taking care of us and we feel so blessed.

*  Made fruit ice cream with frozen bananas,  strawberries and a few raspberries ( store bought ).  It's a great way to use up soft bananas.

*  Diluted a bottle of laundry liquid by 50%.


Honey mustard chicken made from scratch.

Our daisy bush is blooming

Ready to pick lettuce again.

Fruit ic cream.


Sorry,  I didn't have time to take many photos this week.  Next week looks more promising.

Did you do anything frugal this week ?

Fancy Face Washers

Fancy face washers make lovely presents for females of any age.  My Grandma gave me face washers and hand towels with crocheted edges for birthday presents when I was little.  They were beautiful and I loved them.  It was twenty years before I was able to unpack them for use in my own home.  Every time I used them I thought of my Grandma.

I can't crochet ( yet ) so here's my version of a fancy face washer.  All you need is-

*  Scraps of material about 10 cm wide x the length of the face washer or hand towel.

*  New face washers or hand towels.

*  Sewing machine or neeedle and thread

*  Iron

Cut the material strip to the desired width and length allowing an extra centimetre for a seam around all the edges.

Fold and iron the one centimetre allowance back onto the wrong side of the material.

Sew the material onto the right side of the face washer.  Quite often face washers have a strip of detail woven across.  I cover this with the material.

Trim all cottons and there you have it,  a lovely present that cost $1 - $2.  My girls have requested one in their Christmas stocking.

This Week's Frugal Tasks

Being frugal can be a challenge when life gets really busy.  This week we started bathroom renovations so the house is in disarray.  Darren and I have been sharing a bathroom with the girls ( lots of fun ).  On Tuesday I was sent away to do a tv story and flew back Thursday afternoon.  In all the craziness we managed to do a few frugal things. 


*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread.

*  Saved some bread bags and reused them as bin liners.

*  Made four batches of Anzac biscuit dough for the freezer. Some of this will be baked to go with a few Christmas presents.

*  Started picking a handful of strawberries each day.

*  Darren picked the first few beans on Friday.

*  Saved water in the washing machine and showers.

*  Had the heater off for most of the week.  With good weather and tradies in and out of our house,  it wasn't worth having it on for long.

*  Our Christmas tree is a little low to the ground.  It can be a bit hard to put many presents under it so Darren solved the problem.  He built a timber box to lift the tree up.  He used timber off cuts he already had.

* I went shopping early this week to find something nice to wear for the tv story.  I couldn't find anything I liked.  Nothing fitted right or it looked too fancy.  So I spent zero dollars and wore something from my wardrobe.

*  The family ate freezer meals one night while I was away.

*  Sold a few freezer meals to a cleaning client.

*  When I was away I ordered breakfast each morning.  The toast basket came with four cute little jars of assorted jams and honey.  I bought home all the jas ( used and unused )  These will be used to put homemade lip balm in.  Cath from Cheapskates put a recipe on her blog a while ago and Jessica wants to make some during the school holidays.

Home grown strawberries

Freebie jams and honey

Free jars to put lip balm in.

Darren's Christmas tree box

Our first year for cherries

First crop of beans

Our first zucchini for the year

What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?

My Menu Plan Thursday 20th Nov - Thursday 18th Dec 2014

It's time to post my monthly menu plan again.  The busy season will be upon us shortly so I've made sure most of the meals are quick and easy to prepare.  As usual,  the menu can change depending on how the week is panning out.  The weather will also decide if we have salad or hot vegetables. 

I have lots of freezer meals as a back up if some family members are absent at meal times.  Megan is away on camp for five days during this menu period and she doesn't want us to have any of her favourite meals while she is away.  That makes it difficult as she likes just about anything I cook.

Here's my menu plan -


Thur 20th - Honey mustard chicken with rice
Fri 21st -  Meat pie with greens
Sat 22nd -  Church leaders lunch
Sun 23rd -  Get your own but feed me
Mon 24th -  Crumbed chicken drumsticks and salad
Tues 25th -  Sausages and salad
Wed 26th -  Roast beef in slow cooker with roast veg and greens
Thurs 27th -  Salmon patties,  rice and veg
Fri 28th -  Freezer meals
Sat 29th -  Chop stew in slow cooker with toast or bread stick
Sun 30th -  Get your own but feed me
Mon 1st -  Saucy chicken drumsticks,  rice and veg
Tues 2nd -  Meatloaf,  mash and veg
Wed 3rd -  Leftover Meatloaf,  salad and baked potatoes
Thurs 4th -  Fish portions and salad
Fri 5th -  Hamburgers and wedges
Sat 6th - Beef stew and mash
Sun 7th - Toasted sandwiches
Mon 8th -  Sliced meat,  salad and smashed potatoes
Tues 9th -  Lasagne and veg
Wed 10th   Silverside in slow cooker with roast veg
Thurs 11th -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 12th -  Nasi Goreng
Sat 13th -  Chicken schnitzel and salad
Sun 14th -  Get your own but feed me
Mon 15th -  Sliced meat,  salad and pasta salad
Tues 16th -  Chops,  salad and pasta salad
Wed 17th -  Chicken burgers and wedges
Thurs 18th -  Tuna pasta bake

Some of my monthly grocery shop.

Roast beef and roast veg.

I've been stockpiling.

 

How do you cope with the busy season ?

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

 

1 cup of Self Raising flour

75 grams of butter – melted
Approx. ½ cup of milk
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder – sifted

 Sauce

½ cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
Approx. 800mls of boiling water

 Mix flour,  sugar and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl.  Add the melted butter and milk and mix to form a very thick batter.  Spoon into a deep casserole dish and smooth off the top.

Into a large measuring jug add the cocoa powder,  sugar and boiling water.  Stir until sugar has melted.  Pour gently over the batter.

Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Serve with cream or ice cream

Just out of the oven

Ready to eat.

.

This Week's Frugal Tasks

The Gower household has had a very busy week this week.  The girls have had end of year exams.  I've been busy with my cleaning work,  blog work and housework.  Darren has been very busy at church organising a big Christmas hamper and toy giveaway. 

We've still enjoyed our frugal life with lots of cooking and baking from scratch.  Our list for this week isn't as long as it usually is but every little bit helps.


*  Made mini quiches for a cleaning client.

*  Dried all the washing on the line.

*  Had four single serves of chicken curry leftover.  I've frozen them for future use.

*  Darren made pita chips.

*  Gratefully received two cos lettuces from my friend Cath Armstrong from The Cheapskates Club.

* Made some cranberry hootycreek biscuits.  Cath and I enjoyed them for morning tea as well as the rest of my family.  Everyone gets excited when they know I'm baking them.

*  Found some very cheap pillow cases at the Savers op shop.  These will be cut up and used to decorate hand towels for presents.

*  Planted out four more tomato plants that my Dad grew.

*  .Baked a double batch of raspberry and white chocolate muffins for us to eat.  They are now in the freezer ready to be enjoyed.  If I'm home or at a cleaning job I heat them up in the microwave and they taste like they are just out of the oven.

*  We've started picking strawberries - YAY  !!!.  Just a few every couple of days but there will be plenty to come.  What we can't eat will be frozen to make jam and fruit icecream.

*  Gratefully received a few bread rolls and a block of cheese from a friend.

*  Used up all the bits and pieces in the fridge before they went off.  It's a great to know that the money I spend on food is used wisely.

Strawberry flowers growing in guttering on the fence.

Magpie scratching around in the sliverbeet we gave her.

Iceberg roses growing in the chicken enclosure.

Free ranging the chickens for a while.

Our first raspberry.  I ate it a few days later.

 

 

 

What frugal tasks have you completed this week ?

 

 

 

 

What Makes You Happy ? November 2014

A big thankyou to everyone for commenting on last month's " What Makes You Happy ? " post.  It's always great to spend some time reflecting on what really does bring a smile to your face.  Please share this post with your friends and encourage them to share three happy things.

Here's what makes me happy -


* Beautiful vintage china. I have some of my Grandma's cup, saucers and plates. My Grandpa used to play lawn bowls and was very good at it. When he won, quite often his prize was a cup, saucer and plate set. Many of them are well known brands and I treasure them. I also love to use them on the odd occasion.

*  When Darren cuts a rose from our garden for my bedside table.  The fragrance is beautiful and it's the last thing I smell before I go to sleep and the first thing when I wake up.  I also love to stop and smell the roses in the garden.

*   I love the color apple green. It's a happy, fresh color and if I see homewares in apple green, it always puts a smile on my face and warms me up inside. I have towels, tea towels, ramekns, table cloths, clothes and a handbag in apple green. I was attending a Cheapskates workshop a few months ago and was wearing my apple green coat. One lady there commented on my coat and showed me her price book. It was apple green too. I then picked up my apple green handbag to show her and we all had a laugh over our apple green accessories.



Some of my apple green things.

What makes you happy ?

 

  

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin scones are a family favourite in my home.  Infact,  they have been a favourite for a very long time.  My grandpa loved to eat them too.  Although I didn't start making them until after he passed away,  I make them in honour of him.   I can just imagine him licking his finger to pick up the crumbs off his plate - just like he did with any food.

1 cup of cold, mashed and drained pumpkin
2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of sugar

Cream the sugar and butter together.  Add the egg and mashed pumpkin and mix until combined.

Add the self raising flour and mix in with a dough hook or wooden spoon.

Turn onto a floured surface and lightly knead into a ball. 

Roll the dough out until it's about an inch high.

Cut with a round cookie cutter and place in a greased baking tin.

Bake for 15 -20 minutes at 200 degrees celcius

Serve with lashing of butter.


NOTES -

*  I use Jap pumpkin for flavour and price.

*  When pumpkin is on sale ( under $1 a kilo ) I buy a few whole pumpkins and store them on their sides in a dark cupboard.

*  Cook up a lot of pumpkin at a time. I use a vegetable steamer for the microwave.

*  Drain the pumpkin in the fridge for about 4 - 6 hours using a fine colander with a bowl underneath.

*  I freeze pumpkin in 1 cup measures for this recipe.  That way I have pumpkin on hand at any given time.

*  I use an electric mixer for this recipe.  I use the whisk beater for the wet ingredients then switch to the dough hook when I add the flour.

*  Scones can be frozen for at least a few months.

The finished product

Draining the cooked pumpkin

Pumpkin ready for freezing for future use.

Cutting the dough

Ready to bake

Pumpkin scones galore