The Friendly Frugaleers - Furtively planning Christmas, as August arrives

[StoogingOn]

Welcome one and all!

I'll settle for a hand drawn picture

Yay em, congrats!

Right everyone I need your help with a meal plan! I have £40 to get us all food to last until Tuesday next week so will need 5/6 days but obviously the more the better. Things I have:

1/2 chorizo
1/2 jar of chargrilled peppers
6 sausages
1x tinned tomatoes
Herbs, spices and stock a plenty
Pack of gourmet puy lentils
3x baking potatoes
Cheerios

I will do chorizo pasta with the peppers and tinned tomatoes and a sausage casserole but that's all I have so far.

Wonderful news em, delighted for you. Exciting times, and stressful but totally worth it my lovely xx

Does anybody know anything about booking a holiday in Center Parcs? We're thinking about doing it and we seem to have to choose a house type, but it's not clear whether the various houses are especially different. A lot seem to be much the same.

wrecked. A few ideas.

Sausage, egg and beans.
Spaghetti Bol, bulk up with lentils or extra veg if poss to last two meals.
Baked potatoes with tuna/beans/salad/coleslaw/cheese
Pasta of various guises such as pesto pasta,
A chilli if mince is on two packet offer. Bulk up with veg and lots of rice.
Split chilli and buy wraps.
Mince can be made into burgers easily, or cheeseburgers.
Big veg soup with an variety of cheap veg.
Carrot soup is dead cheap.
Noodles?
Fried rice?
Frittata
Flapjack is cheap and easy to make.
Porridge.
Lentil dhal
Tuna pasta bake
Mac n cheese?

Ah yes lentil dahl is one I was thinking. I usually use red lentils could I use the puy or would that taste weird? Will add macaroni cheese and use normal pasta if I haven't got macaroni in the cupboard. Will do frittata and chilli too. Thanks. Hopefully I can keep it within budget. I'll have to go to Tesco as not enough fuel to get to Lidl or Aldi but I can do scan as you shop so can add it up as I go along and will only buy strawberries if we have enough money at the end.

breathe some of the places have a daily cleaning service so that can impact price. There are also some options that have been upgraded so newer furniture I think. We've always just booked a basic woodland lodge and they are absolutely fine

wreck will oblige with hand drawn pic later!!

Waiting for dh outside lawyers now. Told him to meet me here at 1225. So he’s not late. Yet.

Moving in date is 5 October. Well that’s the court date which has been set at this stage. Well go to court this time. With obligatory standing on steps waggling keys picture after and bottle of bubbly at the pub next door.

Toad in the hole wreck made in muffin tins with cocktail sausages
jam has used a lot of the ones I'd have thought of too.

Bacon lardons give the flavour of meat cheaply to a pasta dish or a hearty soup. Recipe I got on this thread yonks ago, fry off lardons with onion and garlic, add carrots and water and simmer until almost cooked and add red lentils, makes a delicious and filling soup.

Yippeeeeeee em! So excited for you!

Unpacked a couple more boxes and shuffled a few shelves around to start organising games. Trying to gather lots of empty boxes that my friend can use as she is moving (to Portugal :( will miss her so much) so the more I can empty for her the better!

I did have a bath with epsom salts and had a lovely seabass risotto made by DH. Going to watch Porco Rosso now nocuts as it is one of the few Ghibli we don't have on DVD and it's on film4.

Ooo mammy that's a good idea but I don't have a muffin tin only a small fairy cake sized one would that do? Soup will be good for lunches the dc love it and I have some stale rolls that I froze so can make croutons

For wreck

This is my new house.

Have signed all the paperwork to allow our sale to happen. Eeek.

Just had lunch with my little one and my best friend, who I don't get to see much so was nice to catch up

Lovey em full of character. Really like the table and chairs out the front.

I'm just having some lunch didn't realise how much onion I put in it

Yay! Em did they accept DH offer? he'll be crowing, but of course you were still right
Fantastic that your system gives you a date straight away. Is same part of island .where you are now?

It's looks fab

I only suggested tin like that for portion control but would work in any tin

em congratulations. How are you going to celebrate??

We had an excess of sandwiches in work today so we reduced them to 10p a pack so I picked up 6 packs. Two for parents lunch, one for me and DS1 and two for DH. 60p for a meal for 6. What a bargain. Going to brave Sainsbo's later for uniform but not looking forward to it because DS2 is contrary today. I think he might be coming down with something...

Ooh congratulations Em, that’s great news. And good that you found one that gives you The Feeling, not Just suitable on paper.

I bet that pub next to the courthouse does good business

DM left this morning, we both cried a bit when I left her at the airport. It’s been such a lovely week together after a difficult and emotional year. And I think DM is sad about going home to an empty house - dad’s death really hits her at times like that. For some reason it’s hit me again today and I’ve been tearful. I got back from the airport an hour ago and DH said DD had been asking for ‘mummy mummy mummy’ a lot. But when I walked in she looked past me and shouted ‘Ganny Ganny Ganny’ and then cried when DM wasn’t there .

We’re not doing much today. I bought wipes from Lidl on my way back from on the airport £4, also a book each for the dc £10.50 and £180 total on lovely necklace each for my sisters. Will be a combined birthday /Christmas present. They do a lot for us with the kids so I try to get them something decent, I think they will love them!

em congratulations!! That is fantastic news, so will that be about seven weeks at your parents?

Had an unexpected days holiday today so went out for breakfast - £20 for the four of us. It was very tasty, although you'd think I was taking the DSs to an execution from their tripping faces... This has been my first year where they have literally wanted to do nothing all holiday

Mammy I love Fairy capsules the smell is lovely, but they are pricey. I usually only buy them when they are on offer.

We made mini TitHs using pork mince once, made into teeny meatballs. Or sausagemeat?

I grate courgette and carrot into mince dishes, I can't find any lentils that don't say "may contain traces of gluten".

Some people use oats but obviously I can't do that for DH.

Not that I'm a good person to ask about meal planning TBH. I am beyond shit at it. Starting to improve a little at waste reduction since moving but then we are having to shop more often.

christmas that sounds really tough 😢 Take care of yourself this afternoon.

Aw seacow :( your poor mum, and you.

Em fabulous drawing, are you going to retrain as an architect :o

Pacing sucks sometimes

Excellent news em