Dinner on a budget

The kids and I watched Food Inc. over the school holidays.

It was a real eye-opener for us, but especially them.

There were some parts in the movie that really upset them, such as the scenes of animal slaughter and the like, but I'm glad it's enabled them to question what they eat and what others eat.

The interview with the family who felt 'forced' to basically live on a diet of McDonald's really got to them.

They wanted to know why that family felt they had to eat junk food every day.

I explained to them about how different people have different priorities in life and how some people don't know how to cook from scratch.

Little Man said, "but you know how to, don't you mum?"

I took this opportunity with both hands and ran with it.

We set ourselves a challenge to see how little we could spend on a filling meal.

We settled on an old favourite - savoury mince.

* * *

First, chop an onion or two and fry in oil with enough curry powder to taste until the onions are opaque.

We had bought just over a kilo of mince at the supermarket that had been reduced to $8.43 and had used half of it two nights previously for spaghetti.

So that means the meat component of this meal was about $4.20. 

 Brown the mince with the onions.

I add heaps of mixed frozen vegies (or you can use fresh if you like, diced small).

It costs about $2 for a kilogram bag of no-name mixed frozen vegetables at the supermarket. 

I used about a 1/4 of the bag so that worked out to be about 50c.

Once they are all mixed in together I add a couple of scoops of gravy mix, adjust seasonings such as curry, pepper and herbs, and mix in.

I also like to add some halved cherry tomatoes from the garden, just for fun.

Finally, I add water to the gravy mix; I add water as I go until I get the desired consistency.

Then I put the lid on and simmer until cooked.

I stir it occasionally and add water as needed.

The best thing is, this meal came to just over $5.50.

I added a couple of packets of cooked 2 minute noodles (about 38c a pack - no name ones).

This gave us two meals over two nights.

You could bulk it up with extra vegetables, serve it with mashed potatoes, turn it into shepherds pie, add a tin of kidney beans and add chilli powder - anything you like.  

We also like it for breakfast the next day on toast with eggs.

So, I guess, if you put your mind to it, you can feed a family for less than at a fast food place.

And I'm glad I've taught my children that very important lesson.

Life is good.

It's coming into the Wet Season.

This is the build up time of year.

The days are getting hotter and more humid.

Thankfully we have strong winds at this time of year so the heat isn't as unbearable.

This is the time of year when the bugs start to come out and annoy you.

When the cane toads start their awful sounds and make their presence WELL known.

It's one of my favourite times of year - not too hot and not too cold.

Just right.

Chicken Stir fry

The days are getting warmer so our tummies are wanting heavy 'comfort foods' less.

This is our summer 'comfort food' that is light yet very filling.

I don't have a recipe for this as it's too simple and I add whatever I have available in the fridge or garden.

Except for the chicken and carrots, all of this came from our garden.

I like to add heaps of soy and worcestershire sauce and garlic to my stir fry's.

Sometimes I add fresh egg noodles or rice.

And the best part, there's usually enough for at least a lunch or two leftover if I add heaps  more vegies or make up extra rice. 

Welcome to Spring.

It's the little things I'll miss...

School goes back tomorrow.

I'll miss the sleep-ins.

I'll miss the late breakfasts.

The 'not having to do anything because we simply cannot be bothered' easiness of the days.

Most of all I'll miss this...

Little Man and The Princess working together to build cubby houses in the lounge room.

This is the "Theatre Club" - a place where they've set up their portable DVD player and all of the pillows off the bed so they can watch movies.

As we're going on a big family holiday at the end of the year, I told them there would be no trips to the movies these holidays as we are saving money.

Goodbye, holidays.  

I'll miss you.

But only for a short while, when we'll do them all again for Christmas.

A morning when I'm up with the sun

I must confess to not being a morning person.

But having no curtains in our room makes one wake up with the dawn.

And so outside I go...

The ladies greet me in anticipation of receiving any tid-bits.

Augusta has taken to taking her throat feathers off.

She must love the bare-neck look.

The space behind the sweet potato cage is always guaranteed to bring up any buggy-treats.

This is a hotly contested piece of real estate with the ladies!

The sunflower is growing nicely.

I wonder how long it will be from when it flowers to when the cockatoos discover it...

The dogs love watching the ladies.

It's a shame they also like eating them if they happen to get out of their yard.

R.I.P Maude, and Olive has recovered well.

 The orchids have started to bloom.

This one was recently removed from a tree we had to have cut down and has been transplanted onto an African Mahogany outside the chicken yard.

You know, it's not bad being up early in the morning.

When one thing leads to another...

This is what happens when you get your sewing machines out to give them a clean...

You remember that pair of corduroy jeans you bought ages ago that are still sitting in the bag in the wardrobe...

They were a bargain at $40 down from $149.95 - they are R.M Williams and are such a great fit... except for the length.

Then again, I always have a problem with length and am accustomed to shortening all of my trousers.

So, then I made up a little drawstring bag and burp cloths for a relative's new twin boys (who are oh-so-cute!) but I forgot to take a photo of it.  I got the idea from here.

And because I love Posie Patchwork's blog and would love to have a go at making some of what she does, silly me thought, "How hard can it be?"

So I gathered up some scraps from my scrap fabric bag and this is what I came up with.

It was going to be a bag but because everything was cut without measuring (why is it my things always go missing???  that's right, i have children!!!) it came out kind of crooked.

I had to do some trimming to try and get it into a square shape and decided it will become a (small) cushion instead.

I think it looks cute and quirky.

Not bad for a first attempt and I had no idea what I was doing.

Maybe next year I might invest in a cutting board...

On My Mind...

This is the first time I've participated in Down To Earth's On My Mind and I'm quite pleased with myself.


This is what is on my mind today.


The Princess and I have horse-riding lessons again today, which I enjoy for two reasons.


One - I love horses and riding and the connection you feel with the horse and what your body is doing in response to the horse and the horse's with yours.


Two - it is something that we do together and it creates memories and history for us.

my dusty size 6 riding boots

The joys of life...

This is how I spend many of my nights.

Curled up on the couch.

Watching tv, knitting and chatting with the children.

Or sometimes we read to each other (they think it's funny when I read to them because I always tend to put on funny voices that never quite remain consistent...)

I'm knitting a scarf for when we go skiing.

This is wool that I bought for $2 a ball and so far I've only had to use 2 balls.

I think I might use the rest of the balls to make another scarf as a gift.

I love being at home with my family.

A day in the garden

Whatever is in there must be really interesting!

Sshh, mum's coming.  Look natural...

Proud Princess

an early photo from riding lessons

The Princess and I have been having riding lessons together for a couple of months now.

A couple of weeks ago we started learning jumps.

Today, The Princess competed in her first dressage event.

She is very proud to boast that she got a 2nd in dressage (walk/trot event) and an overall 3rd (dressage/chicken jump).

I didn't compete.

I went along as proud mummy and chief photo/video taker.

She is so proud of herself, even if it was in the beginner events.

Well done my girl!

We now have 2 weeks of school holidays and I'm relishing the idea of 2 weeks of not having to make school lunches and being able to stay in my pj's all day if I want to.

And cooking cakes and roasts and other things that take a long time to prepare or cook.

I'm grateful for all of the work I've been getting but being at home is much more satisfying.

Aah, love it!