Easy Peasy Baking

I love to bake with my six year old son, but to keep his attention recipes need to be short and easy to follow. So I thought I'd share with you my three favourite bakes for people with little time and a sweet tooth!

Marshmallow Fudge
These take hardly any time to prepare and you can add your own extra flavours. Try replacing the milk with Baileys, mix in some cocoa powder, or add a dollop or two of peanut butter.

450g icing sugar
100g marshmallows
100g butter
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

• Grease a baking tin or line with baking paper
• Cut marshmallows in half and put in a saucepan with butter, milk and vanilla.
• Gently heat until everything has melted.
• Sift icing sugar into the warm mix, stir well and then pour into baking tin.
• Leave to harden in the fridge.

Cookie Monster Bites
These are literally the simpliest cakes to make with the minimalist of effort. Kudos to my friend Kelly for the idea.

100g softened butter
200g icing sugar
Desiccated coconut
Blue food colouring
Chocolate buttons
Chocolate chip cookies

• Cream the butter and icing sugar to make butter icing.
• Add the coconut and food colouring and mix together well.
• Roll into golf ball sized balls, pressing in a dent or the mouth and leave to set in the fridge.
• Then decorate with chocolate buttons as eyes and chocolate chip cookies in the mouth.

Mini Truffles
225g choloclate
4tbsp double cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
Hundreds and thousands/ Cocoa powder

• Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water.
• Add cream and stir well.
• Leave to cool for 20minutes then add the vanilla essence.
• Put the mixture in the fridge for an hour and a half.
• When cool roll into small balls and decorate by either dipping into hundreds and thousands or dusting with cocoa powder

Mayonnaise Magic

Pesky water marks staining your table? Worry no longer.

We recently had a party and evidently failed to put out enough coasters. The thrifty cure to this common household problem? A dab of mayonnaise. Simply smother the area, leave it to work it's magic and voila! 

R.I.P Tesco Value

Hurray! No longer will our cupboards be stocked with the obvious cheapness of Tesco's blue and white stripped Value range. Instead, a new modern range of Everyday Value has been brought in, rebranded and repackaged.

The new packaging looks so much better on my shelves, I am defiantly a fan. Plus, this innovative change has upgraded the products as well as the packaging. The orange squash now contains 10% more fruit juice and the fish fingers contain 100% fillet of fish. Winning!
So long Tesco Value range, you have reached your sell by date.

Apt Apple's

Before we moved from Derbyshire to Surrey, my son and I made a teacher's apple inspired thank you hankie present.

I bought some cheap plain men's handkerchief's and turned them into a lovely thrifty teacher's gift using a simple stamp technique. It would also work well with tablecloths, or tea towels.

• Slice an apple in half and blot away excess moisture with a paper towel. 
• Use a paint brush to apply red fabric paint to one apple half and firmly press onto fabric. 
• For the stem, we dipped the wooden end of a thin paintbrush in green paint and made a small dash above the print. 
• To finish, lay newspaper over the top of your hankie and iron to seal the fabric paint.

This thrifty project got me thinking about other crafts I could use apples for.

Making budget busting apple tea light holders couldn't be easier:

• Center a tea candle on top of an apple. 
• Trace around the candle with a utility knife, inserting the knife only as deep as the candle is tall. Cut the circle into sections and scoop out the pieces using a metal spoon. 
• Insert a tea candle and light. 

(NB: It is best to use firm apples like Red Delicious, Granny Smith or Fuji.)

But my personal favourite? Home made apple cider. Perfect for those long winter evenings or hot summer days.

The Ingredients
1 litre of apple juice (I have been known to use apple cider as a boozey replacement!)
60ml rum
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
3 tsp brown sugar
1 apple (for garnish)

The Method
Heat the apple juice, rum, sugar and spices over a medium heat, stirring often. Once it's hot, pour into glasses of mugs and garnish with a sliced up apple.

Handmade 2012: Cheesecake In A Jar

This week, two of my friends were feeling down in the dumps, so I decided to make them both a 'Chin Up With Cheesecake' gift. My favourite easy-peasy cheesecake recipe is Nigella's Cherry Cheesecake, so I followed this, but slightly adapted the quantities.

I used Ikea jars and sellotaped a spoon to the side, allowing them to dig straight in. This was a very simple, yet creative present to make, and both my friends absolutely loved it!

The Cleaning Power of Salt

I was at my parents house last weekend, and was chilling in the kitchen whilst my mum was cooking. She dropped an egg on the floor, and I told her to pour salt onto the egg spillage to make it easier to clean up. She was amazed at how easy it was to get rid of.

Salt can be a very thrifty cleaning method to soak up other spillages and stains as salt absorbs liquids and helps to lift them from the surface (like with the egg). It works well on other greasy spills, such as on hobs or oven floors. Salt can also be rubbed on china cups to remove stubborn tea and coffee stains, or on burnt-on-food in pans.

Poured out too much washing powder? Sprinkle some salt onto it to reduce the froth without spoiling the cleaning power of the detergent. My most common use for salt removing stains, is pouring on a red wine spill (or strawberry daquiri in my case). See YouTube video below:

Handmade 2012: Cupcakes

Over the weekend, my boyfriend celebrated his 29th birthday. But unfortunately, my crazed organisation skills meant I had bought him his birthday present about six months before I decided upon my handmade new year's resolution (tickets to Tim Minchin's Matilda, thoroughly recommend!)

To overcome this, I decided to bake him some cupcakes. For my first attempt I'd say they turned out well, if not a little sweet. He appreciated the gesture and it made me feel better about not making his entire present!

Chop Chop Chopping Board Rescue

Wooden chopping boards are considerably prettier than plastic ones, but can crack and become smelly over time. Follow my top three tips to chopping board rescue to prevent this from happening.

1. Water Tight: To prevent cracking caused by dry wood, avoid submerging your chopping board in water for a long period of time, including putting it in the dishwasher.
2. Treat It Right: Your board should also be oiled about once every six weeks. Use a butcher's block oil and some kitchen roll to buff your board, thus replenishing moisture. Alternatively, get thrifty and use vegetable oil. It'll achieve the same outcome, but for less money. Just be sure to wipe off any excess oil after a couple of hours.
3. Win The Scent Fight: Often wooden chopping boards can soak up unwanted food smells and flavours. A good way to avoid this is to have separate boards for meat and veg. If the problem persists, simply rub in a sprinkling of mustard powder using your finger tips and enjoy the more favourable fumes.

Mince Pie Madness

Thrift-Queen's Bargain Alert: Home Bargains are selling boxes of Mr Kipling's 6 Mince Pies for 25p! So you really can have your pie and eat it. Lots of it!

Lemon Heaven

We all know lemons and pancakes go hand in hand, but since watching an episode of How Clean Is Your House recently, I was reminded of just how useful lemon's can be around the house. Lemons cost around 20p each so it makes perfect thrifting sense. They not only smell lovely and fresh, but are acidic and can provide some antibacterial and antiseptic properties for cleaning. Below are my five favourite Kim and Aggie lemony tips:

1. Limescale Removal: Lemons are the perfect ingredient when de-limescaling taps and kettles. Squeeze on a generous amount and leave on for about 10 minutes. Then wipe clean.
2. Bleaching: Stubborn stain? Lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent. Put lemon juice onto white linens and clothing and allow them to dry in the sun. Stains will be bleached away. For particularly stubborn stains dab lemon juice with salt onto the mark. Leave for a while, then rinse well and wash as normal
3. Polishing Windows: Make your own window cleaner. Fill a spray bottle with a litre of water, 2 cups of vinegar and 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Then shake and spray. 
4. Restore Wooden Floors: To make your floors really sparkle, use this purse friendly solution. Mix equal amounts of lemon juice and olive oil then rub the liquid in with a soft rag. Simple!
5. Microwave Cleaning: Put half a lemon in a bowl of cold water and cook in the microwave for five minutes. The fresh citrus smell gets rid of cooking odours and the condensation from the steam loosens dirt. Simply wipe clean with a damp cloth afterwards.

Have Yourself A Very Thrifty Christmas: Food

Saving money doesn't mean you have to become Scrooge, it is possible to serve fabulous food over the Christmas period without breaking the bank. Try following these few simple thrifty tips to save money at Christmas to help you on your way.

• Share The Load: If you have friends and family coming round for Christmas or Boxing day lunch, ask them to bring a dish with them. An extra trifle, piece of Stilton or bottle of wine will always come in handy over the Christmas period. Besides, people like to contribute.
• Make It Yourself: Don't be tempted to buy everything ready made, get creative on the run up to Christmas and make your own chutneys, cranberry sauce and stuffing and save yourself a fortune. Christmas desserts and cakes can also be baked by you. Not enough time? Delegate!
• Home Grown: If you've grown vegetables throughout the year, Christmas is an excellent time to serve them up. My parents always have masses of potatoes left from their haul earlier in the year to get roasting and mashing.

• Set a Budget: and stick to it.
• Write a Shopping List: Before you go shopping, write a list of everything you need for all of the festive period. No matter how appealing the fresh lobster looks, if it's not on the list, don't buy it.
• Use Your Leftovers: Get thrifty in the kitchen. A turkey (or any poultry) carcass left to boil in water, vegetables and herbs will make a wonderful stock which you can use as a base for turkey curry's and soups. Even leftover vegetables can be fried up for some bubble and squeak This Busy Cooks website is full of wonderful inexpensive ideas and recipes to serve up delicious meals, from leftovers, for friends and family.

My Top 12 Uses for Foil

We all have a roll of aluminium foil sitting in our cupboard, and yes it's good to store your sandwiches in, or wrap around a jacket potato in the oven. But there are many other fabulous uses for the stuff to help simplify everyday tasks. Get thrifty, save money and become a foil god/goddess!

Some of these tips I use ALL the time, and some are courtesy of the wonderful Reader's Digest.

In the Home

1. Clean pots and pans - Don't have a Brillo pad to hand? Scrunch up some foil and get scrubbing (works well on barbeque's and silverware too). Foil can also be useful for preserving the life of your Brillo pads. Prevent rust after initial use by wrapping it in foil and storing in the freezer. Go on, get your money's worth!
2.  Move furniture with ease - To slide big pieces of furniture over a smooth floor, place small pieces of aluminum foil under the legs. Put the dull side of the foil down, the dull side is actually more slippery than the shiny side. 
3. Speed up ironing - I hate ironing, it's such a boring chore. So anything to help speed it up is a winner with me. When ironing your clothes, a lot of the iron's heat is sucked up by the board itself, requiring you to make several passes to remove wrinkles. To speed things up, put a piece of aluminum foil under your ironing board cover. The foil will reflect the heat back through the clothing, smoothing wrinkles quicker. You can also use foil to clean your iron. Simply run your hot iron over a piece of aluminum foil. 
4. Sharpen your scissors - I use this method all the time to sharpen up my dull scissors. Fold a piece of foil about seven or eight times and cut a few times with the scissors. It works a treat. 
5. Keep a paintbrush wet - Going to continue painting tomorrow morning? Don't bother to clean the brush, just squeeze out the excess paint and wrap the brush tightly in aluminum foil (using a rubber band to secure). For extended wet-brush storage, think paintbrush ice-pop. Put your wrapped brush in the freezer. But don't forget to defrost the brush for an hour or so before you paint.

Out and About

1. Protect tree trunks - Mice, rabbits, and other animals often feed on the bark of young trees during winter. A cheap and effective deterrent is to wrap the tree trunks with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil in late autumn. Be sure to remove the foil in spring. 
2. Put some bite in your compost - To keep hungry insects and slugs away from your cucumbers and other vegetables, mix strips of aluminum foil in with your garden compost. As a bonus benefit, the foil will reflect light back up onto your plants. Be eco-friendly and try using Lovechock's biodegradable foil.
3. Keeping your sleeping bag dry - When camping, place a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil under your sleeping bag to insulate against moisture. Stay warm without spending a fortune on gadgets and gizmo's
4. Keep matches dry - It’s a tried and tested soldier's trick worth remembering (I learnt it in Scouts): Wrap your kitchen matches in aluminum foil to keep them from getting damp or wet on camping trips. 

Do you know of any amazing uses for regular household items? Leave a comment, or email me at thrift-queen@hotmail.co.uk.

Pumpkin Recipe (2)

As promised, my next most loved pumpkin recipe. My ricotta and pumpkin lasagne is a simple, purse friendly dish packed with flavour. A seasonal delight, perfect serving if you have vegetarian dinner guests. Pumpkins are still available in most green grocers, I bought one last week for 50p! Thrifty goodness. Alternatively, you could use a large butternut squash.

Ingredients
1 large pumpkin/butternut squash, peeled, cut into 2cm piece
350g ricotta
8 lasagne sheets
1 egg
1 cup grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sage (dry or fresh)
½ teaspoon on chilli flakes
A pinch of salt and black pepper

• Preheat the oven to 190°C.
• Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with oil. Then season with chilli flakes, salt and black pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Allow to cool slightly. 
• Use a blender to puree the pumpkin with the sage. I prefer to leave a few chunks of pumpkin in it for texture. Set aside. Then blend the ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt and pepper. 
• Lightly grease a square baking dish and begin to build up the layers of your lasagne. Start with a layer of pumpkin then add the lasagne sheets. Spread with another layer of pumpkin and then spread with half the ricotta. Repeat process, then sprinkle final layer of ricotta with extra parmesan. 
• Cover your dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden. Stand for 5 minutes. 
• Serve with a salad or seasonal vegetables.

Pumpkin Recipes (1)

Pumpkins are rife at this time of year and very cheap to buy. My son and I made two awesome jack-o-lanterns for Halloween, and with the leftovers I made a delicious chicken, pumpkin and jalepeño soup. A light and aromatic winter warmer with a lovely heat of the jalapeño's. It not only makes your house smell wonderful, but is easy peasy to make and inexpensive to boot.

  
Ingredients
1 medium sized pumpkin peeled and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2–4 jalapeños, seeded and chopped (2 jalapeños give this soup a hint of heat, but if you like it hot, add all 4)
1 potato, cubed
Flaked chicken breast, if you prefer your soup to have texture
1 clove garlic, minced (I use Very Lazy garlic)
2 tablespoons unsalted margarine or butter
A pinch of pepper, curry powder and [preferably fresh] chopped parsley
4 cups of chicken stock (I tend to make my own from a chicken carcass)
2–3 drops hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
½ cup low fat sour cream (optional)

• Melt margarine in a large pot over medium heat; add onion and jalapeños. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes. 
• Mix in potatoes, curry, garlic, and pepper and cook for 1 minute longer.
• Add carrots, pumpkin, parsley, 2 cups chicken stock, hot pepper sauce and bring to the boil. 
• Decrease heat to low; cover and simmer until vegetables are cooked.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a hand held blender, puree the soup until smooth.
• If require, add flaked chicken breast, heat through and serve, with a dollop of sour cream swirled in, if desired.

Want to impress? Serve in a hollowed out pumpkin. The perfect way to get thrifty for a dinner party.

It's Been A While...

Sorry for my absence in the blogging world. I FINALLY managed to sell my house, but it would seem the finding somewhere to live and relocating 180 miles is pretty time consuming. But I'm back, with a vengeance.

Hope Halloween's were appropriately spooking and bonfire nights' sizzle-tastic. For those who like to cook, I'll be blogging about my favourite pumpkin recipe's shortly. With many other top thrifty tips to help save you money on the run up to Christmas, heading your way soon. Watch this thrifty space...

An Egg-cellent Tip

 

I do a lot of baking and cooking with egg separates. I tend to use egg whites for making meringues or egg-white omelets and egg yolks for baking biscuits or cakes. In doing so, I throw away the part of the egg that's not needed - not very thrifty at all. So you can imagine my delight when discussing this with a friend, I find out that you can freeze the egg separates! Simply freeze in a suitable container and then when needed defrost in the fridge, bring to room temperature and cook. An egg-citing tip that the Thrift-Queen can't wait to try.

Chipped crockery? No problem...

I love pretty mugs, teapots, cups and saucers, so it always saddens me when they get chipped or develop hairline cracks. But thanks to my thrifty solution, there is no need to throw them away. 

Reuse them and make your own pretty planters for your kitchen window, in just four easy steps. 

1. Place some gravel in the bottom of your cup/ teapot to allow for a bit of drainage if you happen to over water.
2. Add a small amount of potting soil or compost. If using a teapot remember to put some up the spout. A handle of a wooden spoon is a useful device to help push this down.
3. Loosen your chosen plant from its pot (my plant preference would be a beautiful smelling herb such as oregano), and plant in your new planter.
4. Add some more potting soil or compost around the top of the plant and compress. Remember to water and hey presto.

Thrifty Winter Warmers

Asda are now selling their own brand slow cookers for a mere £9. An absolute snip, and a must for any bargain hunting, time-conscious cooks. Imagine coming home from a long day at work, to a tasty, nutritious and hot home cooked meal. Sound good? Then invest you should.

Slow cookers use only the electricity of a light bulb and their moist-heat system make it perfect for cooking all your favourite winter warmers including, soups; stews; casseroles and curries.

Judith Finlayson, author of The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes and Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes claims slow cookers really can save you money. "The slow cooker is the perfect appliance for a recession. It performs best with the less expensive cuts of meat and does a fabulous job with inexpensive staples such a root vegetables, lentils and beans. So people can cut back on their food budgets, while producing delicious, nutritious food." Sounds like a winner to me, thriftful living and value for money at it's best.

Food For Thought...

The Thrift-Queen's top tip today - keep cakes fresher for longer, by adding some orange peel to your cake tins. Inexpensive yet very worthwhile.