Soup a success! menu planning is back...

Well just switched off the lentil soup in the slow cooker and it taste yum - next time will put more lentils in than the recipe (I like a thick soup)but very pleased.

Did my Asda order - came to £101.32 with free delivery - got loads of stuff that will last me longer than 2 weeks (ie lentils, soup mix, barley etc) The menu is as follows (in no order) - anything I will be cooking in the slow cooker is marked SC

1 - Beef stew - SC
2 - Goulash - SC
3 - Gammon joint - SC
4 - Gammon fritatas
5 - Gammon and lentil soup - SC
6 - Lasagne
7 - Lasagne (we like lasagne!)
8 - Pasta bake
9 - Macaroni cheese
10 - Sausage casserole - SC
11 - Creamy pork and mushrooms - SC
12 - Egg, beans and chips
13 - Chicken curry
14 - Mince and potatoes
15 - Beef olives
16 - Curried parsnip soup - SC
17 - Chicken broth with mushrooms - SC

As you can see its actually more meals than just 2 weeks by using up leftovers (and might manage to sneak another couple of meals in too) I also intend to make apple flapjacks, scones, rock buns and h/m hummus for snacks.

I also bagged some bargains on ebay

Velvet scarf/wrap (gorgeous colours)
Blouse
Skirt
Red padded coat

Total including postage - £18.18. Very pleased with the coat - the picture wasn't great but its a padded jacket from M&S - the picture looked a very bright pink but read the description and it said dark red (problems with camera) so I got it for 99p with £4 postage - lets hope they all fit!

Housekeeping - £108.82
Holiday - £41
My allowance - £39.80
Entertainment - £17.50
Household - £5
Clothes - £51.10

Slow coker soup

Been on a bit of a mission today - 2 loads of washing (put out, dried, ironed and put away!) Sorted out my kitchen cupboards and washed the inside (not a bad chore as its not long since we put the kitchen in!)re-arranged some cupboards, washed out the fridge and put a load in the dishwasher. Had a break (read my caravan magazine from the subscription paid for in Tesco vouchers) and had a cheese toastie (using one of those thingys in the toaster - mmmmmm)
Am going to do a 2 week menu this afternoon after checking all the cupboards to see what I have - freezers are looking sad as I have been using things up so time to re-stock - will do an Asda on-line shop.
Trying out soup in the slow cooker. I use my slow cooker loads but have never tried soup. Its a lentil soup from the slow cooker book I got ages ago in a charity shop (basically onions, carrots, lentils, chicken stock, tin tomatoes) and it says to cook it on low for 6-10 hours. Trying it through the day so I can see if I can leave it on all day (or even over night if I want to take soup to work) Been looking up a few more recipes for slow cooker soup so will report back.
Am bidding on a few more items on ebay so will if I get them will add them to the total below.
Feeling very domesticated!!!!!

Housekeeping - £7.50
Holiday - £41
My allowance - £39.80
Entertainment - £17.50
Household - £5
Clothes - £32.92

Nights out and ebay

Busy few days - Fridays lunch at work cost £1.35. Stayed at my daughters on Friday night as I was going out for a meal with the girls from work. Had a great time and I think it cost me £26 (few drinkys involved) On the way home the next day I bought 2 pizzas, 2 bottles of lemonade and 4 loo rolls at a wee rural co-op (total £7.50) Me and both my dds were invited to a friends house at 3pm for a "ladies afternoon" - we had to dress up (had to borrow a dress from dd!) and had a great time. 18 of us in total - it was a scream! Played bingo, had a quiz (which I won!) and there was a jewellery sale and everyone bought bits to sell for no more than £1. Had strawberry's and champagne and salmon, cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches - weather was perfect for it. Then had a wee too many drinks for comfort and toddled off home at 9pm.....

I have also been hitting ebay - as I am a "ahem" larger sized lady I find it very difficult (and expensive!) to buy clothes. Very rarely do I find any at charity shops or jumble sales and the likes of Evans is extortionate. So I thought I would look at ebay - now its been a while since I bought stuff from there but the prices have really shot up. Anyway - I have bought the following

Winter Skirt (aubergine, suede look)
Purple going out top
Black patterned reverible skirt
Long length tunic
Black/cream top
Beige raincoat

Cost a grand total of £29.92 including postage which is still less than the price of one blouse in Evans.

Housekeeping - £7.50
Holiday - £41
My allowance - £39.80
Entertainment - £17.50
Household - £5
Clothes - £32.92

Another day out

Took a flexi day off today as dd had a hospital appointment - everything is fine - off for a quick lunch before she had her college induction day. A nice lunch at the buffet at Pizza Hut (dds choice as I always treat her to lunch after the hospital) Popped into New Look and got 2 pairs of woolly tights for youngest dd reduced from £5 to £1 each and 2 pairs of knees length socks (like thick denier tights) reduced to 50p each. Got a new lipstick in Boots (used my £5 voucher from when I bought a picnic for the pictures at Boots with my luncheon vouchers!)so only had to pay £4.25. Then went to Asda and got some random stuff.....

Coloured pencils and colouring books
4 lunch bags (for picnics)
(the above bought for grandkids as we are all going on holiday in 2 static caravans - 14 of us including 2 babies! - must be mad!
Food flask (for taking soups etc to work)
2 nail varnishes and a lipgloss - these only totalled £5 - George makeup is very reasonable.

Got home and oh has been working (long story - he's a fisherman and only started back working in July but the boat has been out of commission since the beginning of August) and had brought home a big bag of prawns (which he cooked and shelled as I hate doing it) had them simply with noodles as they were so fresh we didn't want to drown the taste!

Holiday - £41
My allowance - £12.45
Entertainment - £17.50
Household - £5
Clothes - £3

A new month dawns....

Back to putting up my spending - put £50 from housekeeping straight into the extra holiday fund - was starving at work so had lasagne and chips (hangs head in shame). Went to the knitting club tonight and finished a little cuddle robe ( I have started doing charity knitting again - these are for premature babies)

Holiday fund - £50
From my allowance - £3.20

A cheap day out

Its Tuesday which means mother and daughter day out - this may stop as from next week as she is going to college and isn't sure what days (and you can guarantee it will be Monday and Tuesdays as they are my days off!) - got my hair cut this morning.

Popped to the pictures to see The Sorcerers Apprentice (well, I just wanted to see Nicolas Cage for 2 hours!) - took our sandwiches and crisps into the cinema (bought with luncheon vouchers earned from Pinecone research) - dd paid for the cinema as she owed me pennies and we indulgently had 2 Frappes outside Ocean Terminal on the terrace overlooking the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Meatballs (bought from Aldis) and Smart price paste for tea with a Lloyd Grossman sauce (£1 - normally make my own but always have a couple of jars in for quickness)

Nice day....

Well I am back blogging! thanks to my friend Caroline (thanks for the meal - it was fab!) who misses my blogs I am up and running again......
I vanished for a while as I turned 50 and was having a major re-think about my life (special birthdays always do that!) so I have bitten the bullet and sent off for my provisional driving licence and am going to take lessons - never driven in my life but think its about time I did - I have just over £500 to put towards them (birthday money and a lovely cheque from Scottish Power as all my moaning over the winter about not putting the heating on until really necessary paid off!)so lets see if this old dog can learn new tricks...
I will re-start my outgoings on 1st September - oh wants to have a 2 week holiday next year touring in our caravan up to the Orkney Islands and around the top of Scotland so that's a goal I can be saving up for (I find I am quite happy being frugal if I have a goal) Also, as oh points out, if (sorry, when!) I pass my test I would like a wee car so have to save for that and insurance etc.
Did make a start by making my own soap powder - got the idea from Frugal Queen - grated up 2 bars of Morrisons household soap and mixed with equal quantity of Soda crystals - whizzed up in the food processor and use 1 dessert-spoon per wash. So far I am very pleased with the results - more pleased than using the Asda smart price soap powder! Have now completely given up using fabric conditioner and use 2 tablsps vinegar which makes everything really soft (my towels are fab!)
Also tried out Aldis own make dishwasher tablets which are really good - I am going to try and break them in half to see if that works.
I have routed out all my nearly empty bottles of shampoo and mixed then together (its amazing how much you can get out if you leave them upside down when you think they are empty) and put them in a pump dispenser I bought for 50p at a car boot - considering I have to wash my hair every day it doesn't really matter what shampoo I use.I also added the collection of shampoo sachets I seem to have acquired!
So that's a start!