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Feasting off the Smell of an Oily Rag
The secret to feasting off the smell of an oily rag is to eat
well but without high cost. Our calculations show that a family can feast off
the smell of an oily rag for about half the cost, without compromising the
pleasure and nutritional value of their meals.
Click on a subject to find out what you can do with these
ingredients. To
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I have a family of 7, 2 adults and 5 kids. My growing lot can
go through 2 loaves of bread a day, so you can do the math
with the amount I spend on bread a week, so I started
experimenting with some cheaper alternatives. The best one I
have come up with is this. Grab yourself a bag of high grade
flour cheapest being home brand at $2.15. Add enough warm
water to form a firm dough, leave to stand for 30 minutes.
Break off small amounts of dough roll into a ball, then roll
out on floured surface to circles about the size of small
dinner plate. Heat non stick pan (medium heat) then dry fry
each dough round about 2 minutes either side. One bag of flour
makes about 40 "wraps". Fill with desired filling
and send the kids off to school happy. I also fill them with
salad, chilli and cheese. Kids think they’re much better
then boring sandwiches plus you don’t need butter. So butter
bill also goes down...winner! - KM, Te Puke.
Purchase Oat Groats (oats not processed) put them in a coffee
grinder and grind into a powder.
Add water and soak overnight.
The next day put this in a pan with a touch of olive
oil and salt. In a
few minutes, you will have oatmeal. The oat groats cost about
88 cents American per pound.
Add milk and sugar. Great breakfast for hardly
anything. - Motivated In Ohio, Ashtabula, OH U.S.A.
To
make chocolate ice blocks that turn out exactly like the
expensive store-bought ones, at a significant savings. First
make a chocolate custard. Place 500ml milk in a saucepan (I
use fresh whole milk, but you can use reconstituted powder
milk for extra savings) and bring it to the boil. Then add a
tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa, and a tablespoon
of cornflour. Stir constantly until thickened, then cool.
Second, pour the cooled chocolate custard into pre-moistened
ice block moulds. Freeze for at least three hours. Cost to
make one ice block (if using powdered milk): approx 6 cents.
Cost to make one dozen: approx 80 cents. Savings: $27.60 per
dozen (based on the price of a dozen chocolate ice blocks at
the corner shop). - LTB, Auckland
Go
to the local Indian food emporium and buy 100 grams each of
Ground Nutmeg, Ground Ginger and Ground Cinnamon. Throw
together in a suitable airtight jar, shake well and sprinkle a
pinch or two over rice for breakfast with a bit of honey. Add
Milk or cream. OK on cornflakes and probably OK on oatmeal
though haven’t tried it. Lasts quite a few months and gives
plain food a lift. - Pamflitt, Hawera
I brought up six hungry kids and we didn't have much money to
spare. (my husband would give me about $30 a week for
groceries - it was enough
40 years ago) My brother-in-law was a butcher and we
would get meat cheaply from him. I would get mince
and chop up onions
and saute them in the electric frypan then add mince
and brown and season it. Add water and some frozen veges or
fresh ones when the garden
was plentiful. Then let it all simmer until cooked Then
I would add a large tin of Baked Beans
to build it up. The
kids loved it and would look for more. My eldest daughter
still makes it for her kids.
It made the mince go a lot further and lots of fibre
from the beans was good for them.
Chilli beans are good too.
I would also make a big wheel bread with flour, salt
and baking powder, mixed together with water and milk. then
rolled out and cooked on a griddle. There was never any left
over. - Nana-C,
Christchurch.
This ice cream recipe doesn't cost much and it's easy to make.
The kids would love to get involved too. Use 3 bowls.
Place four egg whites in the first bowl. Beat till stiff then
add ¼ cup of sugar and beat again. In the second bowl beat 4
egg yolks with another ¼ cup of sugar until frothy. In the
third bowl, beat 300ml of cream until fairly stiff. Use a
metal spoon to fold in the contents of the first and third
bowls into the second bowl. Pour
the mix into a 2 litre ice cream container and freeze approx 6
hours. No need to beat again.
How easy is that! - BW from Auckland.
I love crumbed steak and
I remember my Mum making this. She did it the hard way I cheat
and buy the ready made crumbs. I buy two or 3 slices of lean
topside and then pound them with a tenderiser and cut the
slices into meal size pieces. I crumb them the normal way egg
and milk etc but the crumbs are the secret. I use no name
stuffing mix and at 75cents a packet it goes a long way. I
then place all the steak in the fridge for and hour or more
then simply cook it and freeze it. I cook it as it comes out
of the freezer as the crumbs tend to go soggy if you let them
defrost first. Serve with mashed potato and fresh beans or
peas/carrots. I have kept this steak in my freezer up to 3
months and it's as fresh as a daisy. BTW I wrap it in cling
wrap then in foil. - Mishka, Mooloolaba.
As one with celiac disease I use half a tin of baked beans
into which I put two tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, 2 of sesame
seeds, 2 of ground linseed and 2 of sunflower seeds. Add a
little water. Place on toast. Makes a delicious breakfast. I
you have celiac disease, make sure beans
have no wheat flour. I use Oak baked beans in BBQ
sauce, which is G/F. - Kevan, Kaiwaka, Northland.
Milk powder is half the price of fresh milk.
Lots of people don't like the idea or the taste of it
but if you keep complaining about milk prices you will do it.
Or alternatively find a local farmer that will sell fresh
wholesome raw milk to you. We
sell it for $1 litre. It
is legal and I can't understand why more people don't pursue
this.- Farmer, Opotiki.
Broccoli/Courgette: If
you already have broccoli and a recipe calls for a courgette
(which you don't have), you can use the broccoli stalk
instead. Broccoli
leaves are also edible (raw or cooked). - ANG, Masterton.
Silverbeet stalks are
edible and are nice sauteed in a little butter, with some
S&P, or added to all sorts of things (e.g. soup, quiches).
- ANG, Masterton.
As we drive around the countryside be on the lookout for wild
fruit trees such as apple trees...in season blackberries are
everywhere...gather and freeze blackberries and cook and
freeze apples for pies or
sauces. the sealable bag now is much easier than bottling and
the food is just as nice frozen. Crabapple and feijoas are a
great base for making jam jellies, but now we have sugar
specially fortified with setting agents so combine the apples
and berries and make beautiful jellies ...we all need to be
aware there is a lot of free produce around our countryside
that will feed and nourish the family all it requires is a
little time to collect so become a forager and save money in
the process. In the warmer areas citrus fruit is in abundance
and if you see a tree laden with fruit just ask the owner if
you can have some
or even offer to buy...most kiwis if you take the time to ask
will offer it to you for free...so take advantage of their
generosity and make
lemon curd , cordials and just plain fruit juice. It rankles
me when I see fruit rotting on the ground and no one is
utulising that free food. So just look around and you will be
amazed at what you can find when you take the time. The
freezer is a must but if you do have a good supple of
preserving jars then by all means use them.... I have got my
children interested in foraging now and growing their own
herbs and making their own pasts sauces...it is saving them
lots of money.....vegetable gardens are also a must and you do
not need a great area to grow enough potatoes to keep you for
a year....They can be stored in rua pits by digging a hole
about 8ft in diameter and 24 inches deep...line it with hay or
bracken fern. place your potatoes on top , cover with more
bracken then cover again with the removed soil...this method
can be used for any root vegetable like carrots etc.....just
scoop out a little hole to access the vegetables when needed
remove what you need then recover the opening. - Moyra Te A
Bramley, Rotorua.
My grandmother wanted me to share her tip after reading an
article about food wastage. With
soft biscuits she places them in the oven for a few minutes
(even if they have filling) and they come out crisp, fresh and
taste beautiful! - L.J., Whakatane.
A good way to store and use celery in the winter is as
follows. Cut off the base, and the very coarsest top leaves if
necessary, and
discard. Wash the
remainder thoroughly. Dry
and chop fairly finely ( leaves and all) Store in the freezer
in zip top bags. Add handfuls to soups, stews, stir frys and
casseroles as needed. No waste, quick and convenient, stays
fresh. - Allie, Nelson
If you have lots of excess lemons, juice them and freeze the
juice in ice cube containers. When frozen shake out into
plastic bag. Instant fresh lemon juice cubes all year!
One of these cubes added to a glass of fruit juice
reduces the sweetness and adds a Vit C boost. Also, always
handy when you need a lemon and honey drink for a sore throat
or cold.. - Allie, Nelson
In relation to Helen's query on preserving garlic, there's
more useful information here:
www.ehow.com
- B.W., Auckland
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