Feather your Nest Friday. 1st of May, 2015.

Friday and a new month! You might as well get comfy as there are so many things to report!

Firstly thank you to everyone who contributed to Jar Mixes. Just wonderful thank you. Mum is coming to town on the weekend and brining me a heap of big jars with lids and I can get going making some of these ready mixes that I want to try. If this was a good idea for you go back and copy the great recipes that came in as they kept coming until last night! I now have so many. Also Colette had the idea to make the SOS mix up in a jar as a gift and print the booklet that went with it as part of the present. This would be a fantastic gift for anyone wanting to save money and also anyone trying to avoid preservatives etc.

Cath gave us the recipe for Bisquick at Debt Free Cashed up and Laughing. Mum always called this Baking Mix. Uses for Bisquick include easy pies, scones/biscuits, dumplings, cakes and pancakes. It is a versatile base for so many things. Maybe we can work towards a Bisquick cookbook? Cath also gives her ready mix for chocolate cake!! So I will be busy stocking my pantry with mixes this week which is just in time for helping me help out when the baby arrives! Thank you Cath!

Following on from my post the other day on "Stretch a Meal and Use it Up" Tania posted her Mum's Apple Roly Poly. This recipe uses up apples AND qualifies as a stretch a meal desert as well. Deserts are handy when dinner is a bit light on or perhaps just a soup. Finish the meal with this and you will have happy bellies all round. Tania made it a photo tutorial and now I have seen this I think how gorgeous, delicious, filling and easy this is to make. So please add this to your list of ways to stretch a meal and use it up Tania's Mum's Apple Roly Poly. Thank you Tania!'

So how did I build up my nest and save money this week?

It was Andy's Birthday. I made him his favourite fruit cake which he loved. When he came in the door it was waiting for him on a nice glass cake stand. A cake stand makes everything look special! I did a tutorial ages ago on how to make them. This one is simply a glass plate glued to a candle stick. The cake then was desert and his lunch box morning tea all week and we are still going for a good while yet!

From last weeks 99c a kilo pumpkin I made a huge batch of soup. I have a super size crock pot (slow cooker) and packed full I get a bulk amount of soup. It was so good. I gave some to Chloe as she loves this, froze some and have been making it my lunches. Usually I remove some before I blend it and make pumpkin scones. But this time I didn't as I had the cornbread I made earlier in the week. Together these make a beautiful meal.

I found bargains! I bought marked down turkish bread, flat bread, focaccia breads all between 50c and 99c. This was a huge amount. These go on to be made into pizzas, heated to go with soups, as sides and we have a focaccia for dinner on a Sunday night as an easy dinner and use up all kinds of left overs.

Also I got zucchinis for $1.79 a kilo. I have heaps to make another big batch of soup next week.

I had some lovely ceramic empty pots. I filled them with soil and added little parsley plants to them. This turns empty pots and continually coming up parsley seedlings into gifts I can give. Once these are six inches high or so I will be able to give them away.

We also had fantastic news. My husband has not been getting paid enough for his main job. When he takes out expenses he isn't earning much at all. This is very depressing for a man who likes to provide. He has been kept going by doing other jobs in between. This week he got three extra jobs to do that amounted to a few extra days work AND he was offered a better full time job. He starts on Tuesday! This job at least pays a fair wage. So the mood around here is a sense of relief, joy and happiness. This certainly falls under the "building up our house" category!

I added to my pantry and cellar.

Mum had given me two pieces of beef. I made a huge curry, enough for several meals.

Something that I think is a general building up your home thing is I learned a lot this week! I have had some very generous mail that I am learning so much from. My list of subjects to go on with in Pantries and Preparedness is never ending! The same applies to the list of methods and reciepes for Stretch a Meal and Use it up! I have reached the point of having to make lists. This is so exciting to me!


It was also our Anniversary and I got flowers!

I hope you had a great week.  How did you save money and build up your home? It is so easy to forget all we accomplished or not even recognize how much we did as we do many things automatically! But they are worth a lot. Most days I write in my diary the main things I achieved in the day. Otherwise I really forget. Also on Sundays I plan the week and write a list of goals. As I tick these off I feel a sense of accomplishment. I don't always get all these done but it is still great to get some of them done. Then I can look back at the week and be pleased anyway.  And the week isn't quite over yet! This afternoon I am giving my fridge a big clean out and re organize, getting my floors all done and doing some gardening. The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day!

Have a lovely weekend. On Monday I am adding to the Stretch a Meal and Use it up series. xxxx