Shoptastic fairy

Doesn't shopping day come round quickly?

There we go, aldi joy!
£19.58 to be precise, taking my total spend to £39.01. But, I have enough meat to last the month if we manage to stick to the menu plan!

DS does love his veg!! But we may have to find an alternative mayo. Him and his girlfriend go through it like mad... and today SHE asked DS if I'd make her a sandwich at dinnertime! I know my sandwich making skills are epic but i thought it a tadge cheeky!!
So, thats the meat for the rest of the month, and as there wasn't loads to do today i thought I'd have a bit of a batch cook..

TVP 'mince'! Only a cup added to the savoury mince mix! Not the prettiest but protein tastic.It's on the shelves, I buy it in bulk...aint gonna work out how much it costs!

Zizzed some celery (which both DS and OH say they don't like!) carrot and onion for a base for both lots of mince. Did some dry frying and ended up with some interesting fat (more about that in a bit)

18 portions of savoury mince!! That was a big swede :-P and there might be some oats in there, and maybe a spoonful of lentils, and alot of carrots, and the tvp, peas and celery! Then there was the mince that became bolognaise..

15 portions:D made with last years homemade pasta sauce :) and some carrots, onions and celery! They will eat celery if it kills me. (DS asked for it in his lunchbox, but discovered he didn't like it raw, so its nearly dissapeared somewhere/everywhere)
Last nights chicken leftovers have been decanted...

And this ickle bit was for tea, in a fried rice stylee..

with some eggies made into omelette strips..

The eggies came from DS's G?F so it makes up for the sandwich request!! I did offer cash but was refused :) Ate the fried rice before I could take a picture!!
Anyhoo...mince fat...would you look at all this...

MMMM fat. I've clarified it before...instructions from WW2 booky

I use this one alot! Good instructions too..

And look how much fat is cooling off..

I reckon there will easily be enough for pasrty for pasties out of that! Tomorrow I'll peel it off the water layer and heat it to rid it of water :) Perfect and less wasted! I do like a day when I feel I've achieved something. And there are now lots of easy cook meals in the freezer!
BBS x I think I need a rest!

Rallying on

Ah yesterday picanica basket :) Egg sarnies all round!! And scone pizza's (delighted to find out they are great cold) And cake..yay cake!

So, rally rally and look at the steam engines...lovely!

Tractors...

Tractors...

Our tractor! And...you guessed it...

Shiny tractors! Oh went round the ring...

Here he comes in a cloud of smoke...

He's only been waiting for 30 mins in line! And I bought myself a blankie...

MMM green and knitted! DS and girlfriend came too...no they hadn't been in the woods! They went to see the sheep!

DD came to see me today so I had to start rolls when we came home last night, but its worth the time as DD was happy!

And she bought me my belated birthday pressie!

Hahhhaaahahha crazy cat lady :D Thats me!!
And lastly, here is tea...mommy...STUFFING!!

The last of the tidgy puds found at the bottom of the freezer!! Now we just have to see how much chicken I can get out of whats left! Stuffing sandwiches for the next few days...mmm my favourite..well, after egg anyway!
BBS x I think the stuffing is calling my name!

Diggadiggadigga bang

Firstly I'd like to say hello to my readers in the Ukraine :)привіт :)Здравствуйте! Well at least thats what google says is hello :) so don't blame me :)

Suns shining, chores are being done and what is diggadiggadigga bang? Tis the sound of Maria the tractor coming out of her shed!

She's a special tractor as she is a prototype my dad bought. We believe she was named after the makers wife! Lucky lady :)
Getting ready for the day of the visit. Aka, old men who like tractors coming in a bus to look at things.
So there has been alot of tidying going on :) As you may have noticed with my bits of garden. 

Thats one of the most annoying things. We are rich in 'stuff'. Yesterday DS's girlfriend needed arty things...easy..most things I have saved or acquired over the years, and like dad, I keep them, "In case they never come in handy". Five jars of sparkly sequins, two biscuit tins of different kinds of paint, a bag of string. and oodles of different papers! See, they did come in handy after all :)

DS has hunted out the picanica basket. Bought last year at a second hand stall at..you guessed it...another rally!

I've put the flasks in the sink...last year they were getting a bit..foisty! So they have been filled with boiling water and oxy clean!

And guess the sandwiches...

Yay eggy! Wheelbarrow fairies favourite :) Oh lord would you look at the state of the cooker!?

If I get a sudden urge I might make some jam buns...but I'm not feeling it right now!

BBSx If I'm quiet tomorrow its because I may need a little lay down after an entire day of rally! But I will take pictures :)

Late start may budget

I reckon the sun's setting on my sanity!!

So...I'm glad the short part of LBTL is over! I felt deprived and miserable..and I put others before myself...isn't that what being a mum is about? Must be a love thing:)
Anyway...29 days left in May
£3 a day = £87
Add 3 days with Jones the steam eating here £3
Add DD and her OH visiting £2
Yay..£92 for the rest of the month!!
And DS's G/F for 5 days another £5
£97!!
I may ignore some things that are small and on the shelf. And if I've grown it I refuse to count it. Thats just my love I'm adding to food :-P
I'm sticking with the mealplan I wrote before...hopefully. So todays shopping list is...
Meat -
Mince x 2                5.38
Chicken (medium)  3.99

Sausages x2          1.98

Ham                       1.79

Stuff -

tea bags                1.99
milk x2                  1.90
sugar                       .75

rolls                         .79although this may become a fight with OH who has decided he doesn't like the cheaper rolls. i have pointed out he only used to have rolls once a week as a treat, but to no avail!

Margarine!!            1.69
Cooking marg          .98
lard                          .39
bread x2                 1.10
eggies                     1.35
Heavens it soon adds up thats £24.08 already! But that is meat for the entire month!
Then theres asda things!
Stuffing x2 30p
mayo 40p
lasagne sheets 32p
£25.10
choccy x4 1.20
flour x2 90p
£27.20

Ok, brain is slowing down!!

Anything left in the fridge is fair game for using up. We shall see how we get on!

Anyway, I'll put it on here as I spend it anyway..I likes to share :)

And did I have chocolate fudge brownie for breakfast???

   Nope! But I did have a piece after lunch :D And boy was chocolate good!

Today we took one of dads tractors to a rally:) first one of the season for us. makes me a little sad, had a little tear in my eye when I explained who I was to a very nice steward.

So...polish..

Then load her up...

Drive to the rally and off it comes again!

All ready for the rally to start tomorrow!

Stradsett park, sunday and monday:)

Today I spent £19.43/£97 in aldi.

Chicken. milk, bread, tea, marg, veg, sausages. Alot of rolls as we're having a picanic on monday :) (the food at rallies tends to be high priced and this way they just think I'm being cute wanting a picnic)

If OH decided to buy nice things for a saturday night I shall let him!! :D And if I find things at the bottom of the freezer they are bonus items! Today I went deep and found 4 burgers..so I just had to buy an extra pack of rolls for tea! I'm not gonna be too hard on myself!!

BBS x

Day 5 LBTL

I know I'm repetitive but someone, somewhere is worse off than we are.

At least there are still potatoes, but not for much longer! This is all thats left in my little heap. I think its mainly straw now!
Today I was a total grump! I'm not sure if its lack of choccy or if its the rally this weekend. Dad used to take his tractor and DS. It was their time together. Now we all go. I've been on the verge of tears most of the day and when the tractor starts up tomorrow I'll burst :( but in his memory we do this :)
Anyhoo...today I have stomped about and shouted at inanimate objects! Eaten wallpaper paste...soup, dry bread, and a radish!! The first one..

Now you see it....

CHOMP! I do like a good radish!! Even though they give me indigestion :)
Tea was truely exciting...omelette with the last bits of the ham from monday :)

Thats the ingredients for 3 of us...so now, just before bed...I'm hungry again. I believe there may be a roll left...maybe some cheese...hmmmm. Hopefully tomorrow we can go shopping. And guess what I made tonight..and guess what I may actually have for breakfast...chocolate fudge brownies...and nope, not going to eat it tonight. 
This has been one heck of a challenge. DS's girlfriend is here tonight. She bought her own tea! And yes, I let her have the first piece of brownie. Maybe I'll appreciate it more because I've had to wait. Maybe. 
BBS x I'm going to see if they've left me anything to eat.  

Day 4 LBTL

Is it chocolate cake time yet? Share the love if you can afford to!

Firstly...look at my pretty wildflower. It was in a freebie pack last year, and its so pretty but I have no idea what it is!

And would you look at my chives...

Who says food isn't beautiful? Not me...I love my herbs:)

OOh and before I forget, I tidied up another bit of garden...and guess what???

That is definitely a gooseberry!!! Yay! And you should see the raspberry plants and the redcurrant :D

Would you look at my breakfast..at least the super cheap jam stops it looking quite so much like wallpaper paste!! And I love porridge:)

And here is dindins. Now heres another thing. I love soup, but the same soup for three days and tomorrow will make it four..well repetitive isn't the word!
But tea was truely exciting...

44p mozarella, a tomato and last years tomato sauce from the freezer! Add some scone base..

Toppings ahoy..

Into the oven...serve with crinkly chippings..

I've been using this recipe for a few years now, it came from a somerfield magazine...

Strangely enough it costs me today only £1.10 for three portions :) (Yes my portion sizes are generous!)
8oz flour 8p
1tbsp baking powder 4p
1 3/4 oz marg 9p
1oz cheese 24p
1 egg 9p
4floz milk 5p
Topping -
1 tomato 7p
mozarella 44p
tomato sauce or pesto if you like it,
slithers of any veg or pizza ish things
And its all things that I grew or bought in the budget :) Stodge!
Its all feeling a tadge monotonous now. Roll on may budget money on saturday...even though its the same amount of money, being over a longer period I can play with it easier!
BBS x grumpy Gus wants chocolate cake!