Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 19:18
In this Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store - Buying Whitegoods on a Budget; MOO Starch and it's Free; How I Stopped Spending my Bill Money
3. Share Your Tips - Have a great idea? Share it here
4. On the Menu - Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Basic Meat Sauce
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. Last Week's Question - Help! How can I deal with doggy odour?
8. Ask Cath
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Welcome to winter! It's a couple of weeks early but the cold sure has hit here. Don't get me wrong, I love winter. It can be the cheapest time of the year for Cheapskates, heating bills and all. It is easy to spend time indoors, you don't need to go out for entertainment.
Drag out the board games and cards; put your photos in order; watch your favourite DVDs again (and enjoy a hot chocolate at the same time), try new recipes and become an expert at using your slow cooker, learn to knit or crochet and use recycled yarn from old jumpers to make a cosy knee rug - the possibilities are endless.
And eating in winter is much cheaper than in summer. A big pot of soup can cost as little as $2, casseroles and stews are very frugal meals, homemade pies cost around 65 cents each to make, baking muffins, cakes, slices and breads is much cheaper than buying them.
Staying warm might seem expensive but it doesn't have to be. Dress appropriately, in layers. And don't forget the socks and slippers! Drag out the quilts and rugs, enjoy lots of hot drinks (tea, hot chocolate, milk and honey), keep the blinds on north facing windows open during the day and remember to close blinds and curtains at night to keep the warmth in. Use door snakes to keep drafts out.
Or you could do what Wayne and I are doing and heading north. We leave tomorrow for our Cape York trip, and now all the prep has been done, the car is packed and it's almost time to go - I just wanna go, right now!
If you can't head north for the winter, these are just a few ideas you can use to keep winter affordable. What do you do to keep the bills down in winter?
Have a great week everyone and enjoy the newsletter.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
Buying Whitegoods on a Budget
Approximate $ Savings: Over $800 on Fridge & Freezer
Recently we purchased a pigeon pair fridge and freezer (two separate units). We managed to save in three ways:
1. Haggling between stores. Nothing new I know...but please keep reading! I shopped around, searched the web and negotiated the prices. Isn't it amazing how much more the prices will drop because a competitor can do better? You know you've gone pretty much as far as you can when no other store will beat or even match your quote!
2. Free delivery. Yes, I negotiated free delivery too. Interestingly, if I purchased the same items from the Eastern States online I would be charged only $50 for both, yet some shops were trying to charge me that much for the Perth metro area (insane).
3. Extended Warranty. Once I'd negotiated the best deal, the sales person then tried selling me an additional 3year warranty at a cost of $218. Tempted, we decided against it. When the fridge and freezer were delivered the delivery driver gave me an extended warranty form direct from the manufacturer charging $165! The shop that we made the purchase through would have made an additional $53 in profit had we extended the warranty! We aren't going to take up the extended warranty. We've bought good brands and know the manufacturer only offers insurance because they are confident it's unlikely anything will go wrong with a new product within the warranty period.... it’s just another way of increasing profits for little work. My current fridge/freezer is still going strong after 11 years and is only being replaced because it's simply too small for a family of 5!
How much did we save? If I hadn't negotiated on the price, we would have paid an extra $398 (including delivery of $45). Ironically, they were the cheapest store in the first place (Rick Hart). The store charging the most for the fridge and freezer was Harvey Norman, by an extra $798 + delivery. It is pretty disgraceful that mark-ups can be so extreme but by being informed, persistent and upfront you can get the best deal.
Lastly, I found a rather good website offering nice prices on the items I purchased, the website is http://www.appliancesonline.com.au/. I used this as a bench mark, if I couldn't get a price close to theirs then I was going to buy direct from them, postage only $50 an order (not bad) for Eastern States. As it ends up, I was able to beat their price by $136 including postage (remember I negotiated free postage on my delivery). Ideally, I wanted to buy in Perth in case we had problems with the item being delivered damaged. Rick Hart was easy to deal with, the fridge and freezer arrived on time and the delivery person was very professional and friendly. I was nervous as the fridge and freezer were unpackaged outside as they wouldn't fit through the door in their packaging, but the delivery person was so careful and slow, 5-star service.
Contributed by Tanya
MOO Starch and it's Free
Save the water when cooking rice and use to starch your sheets. It costs nothing, and they come up crisp and fresh.
Contributed by Frances de Andrade
How I Stopped Spending my Bill Money
For a very long time I was not very organised with my spending, I would just lift money from the cash line machine, never budgeting and then wondering how I could not pay my bills, every month was so full of stress. I started to read the Cheapskates stories and decided that's the way I want my life to be. I now write a budget every week then I know I don't have money to fritter away. I still had a problem at the weekend, I would know I had to have a certain amount by the end of the month and I would say "oh I'll just use that £100 out of the bill money and make it up later" which is impossible. So now on a Friday I go into the bank on my way home from work and lift out the money and put in into a little book account, so I know I can't lift it. At the end of the month I transfer it back to my debit card for all my direct debits. This has changed my life so much; I now know I can always pay my bills on time and no more worrying about where I'll get my bill money from, at last I can sleep at night. So, thank you Cheapskate members for all you help.
Contributed by April Clark
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Submit Your Tip
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Submit your tip
4. On the Menu
Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
This is a recipe that I adapt to suit the ingredients I have. I have never, ever used three chicken fillets to make this dish; one chicken breast fillet, skin removed, and chopped into small dice is plenty, and reduces the cost significantly.
I don't eat bacon, so rarely have it in the fridge (I figure if I don't eat it, and I do the meal planning, shopping and cooking then we eat what I eat - anything else is a treat for the family), but mushrooms can almost always be found in a paper bag in the crisper drawer, so three or four are sliced to replace the bacon. If we don’t have fresh mushrooms, I sometimes open a small tin of champignons.
If there are no spring onions in the garden, I use a small brown onion, finely diced.
When I don't have cream in the fridge, I use plain yoghurt or sour cream thinned with a little milk or MOO evaporated milk.
Grated tasty cheese can replace the parmesan and the sauce still tastes great.
It's a simple pasta and sauce recipe, so adapt it to suit your tastes (and budget), or enjoy it as is.
Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
Ingredients:
3 fresh chicken breast or thigh fillets thinly sliced.
250g pkt fettuccine or spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
2 rashers bacon, rind removed and finely chopped
6 spring onions/shallots chopped
300ml thickened cream
1 chicken stock cube
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Heat butter in a large frying pan and add the chicken and bacon; cook until chicken is golden. Lower heat and add remaining ingredients. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. Drain pasta and fold through sauce. Serve with salad and crusty bread. Extra grated parmesan cheese can also accompany.
How I make this recipe:
I use one chicken breast fillet and dice it into small pieces.
If I have bacon, I use it. If I don't have bacon I use sliced mushrooms.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Fish, potato gems, coleslaw
Tuesday: *Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
Wednesday: Rissoles, mashed potato, peas, corn, carrot, gravy
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tomato & vegetable soup
Saturday: Sub sandwiches
There are over 1,600 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
Basic Meat Sauce
Every now and then, you need a basic recipe. Nothing glamorous, no hard work and no expensive, exotic ingredients. It had to be cheap, quick, easy and something the family will like, that is kind to your budget.
This recipe is just that - very basic and very kind to your budget. But you can glam it up if you want to by adding extra ingredients and serving it with various accompaniments. My family loves this basic meat sauce, and I use it at least once a week.
I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients:
500g mince
1 tin tomato soup
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 large onion chopped
pinch mixed herbs
1 tsp crushed garlic, fresh or from jar
Method:
Brown the mince and then rinse under hot running water to remove any excess fat. Wipe out the fry pan. Spray pan with cooking spray and brown onion and garlic. Add mince, herbs, tomato soup and crushed tomatoes. Simmer 20 minutes.
This makes 6 generous serves, total cost $5.10 = $0.85 cents per serve.
This sauce can be used as a base for a variety of dishes such as:
Spaghetti Bolognese: cook a packet of spaghetti noodles and serve with the sauce on top.
Total Cost $5.70 = $0.95 cents per serve
Pasta Bake: cook a packet of spiral noodles and stir through the meat sauce. Put in a baking dish, sprinkle with 100g grated cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and golden.
Total Cost $6.30 = $1.05 per serve
Lasagne: Layer meat sauce with lasagne noodles in a baking dish, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake according to the directions on the noodle packet. You can cut the cost of this dish by making the lasagne sheets.
Total Cost $6.30 = $1.05 per serve
Use your imagination and make shepherd's pie, individual meat pies, moussaka, tortellini, cannelloni, family pies, jaffles etc. with this one basic recipe.
When I make this sauce, I make four times the recipe, portion the sauce into freezer bags and freeze - cook once, eat four times suits me just fine. With ready-made sauce in the freezer a quick and easy dinner can be on the table in 15 - 20 minutes - as long as it takes to cook the pasta and thaw the sauce in the microwave.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
Most popular forum posts this week
Which Name Brands Will You Not Compromise On?
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?1517-Which-Name-Brands-will-you-not-compromise-on
Savings v Bills
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?2681-savings-vs-bills
18th Birthday Gift Ideas
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3186-18th-Birthday-Gift-Ideas
Most popular blog posts this week
Quick and Easy Oats for Breakfast
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2016/04/quick-and-easy-oats-for-breakfast.html
Let's Revisit Pita Chips and Save a Bundle
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2016/04/lets-revisit-pita-chips-and-save-bundle.html
How to Cut Back on Household Expenses: Heating
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2016/06/how-to-cut-back-on-household-expenses.html
7. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Toni who wrote
"As well as our two children, our family has two fur-babies, that we love to bits. We have a three-year-old staffy and her five-year-old mother. Even though they are bathed every Sunday, their beds, the laundry (where they eat), carpets and even our lounge have a distinct doggy smell that can be very off-putting, especially for visitors. It's really noticeable after we've been out of the house for a while. Their beds are washed regularly, I've gone through cans and cans of Febreeze (bought and MOO) and Glen20, tried burning candles and essential oils, spent a fortune on carpet cleaning and room deodorisers and the odour still lingers. What else can I do? Please help!"
Cat answered
I too have fur babies inside and out, but mostly inside. I use 'Nilodor', I have a recycled squirt bottle and I put 12drops of Nilodor in it and top it up with tap water, or you can use tank water. This works a treat. I spray over my lounge and carpet in the morning and at night. I also put vinegar into the rinse when I wash their bedding. Hope this helps
Kaye Silich answered
I have a 12-year-old staffy/kelpie and have had various other dogs in my house and a can tell you that it's probably the food your fur babies are eating that is the problem. Staffies seem to be prone to skin conditions too so when you bathe them try and find a local dog groomer who can recommend a gentle/natural shampoo and conditioner.I've used this recipe for dog food for 10 years and it's great.
For a dog of approximately 13kg for 3-4 days;
3 lg carrots grated
300g mince, I buy Aldi $7kg
One cup of quick oats cooked with 3 cups of water
One small can cheap sardines in oil, Aldi about 60c
I also put NZ green lip mussel extract powder in (2 caps) as my dog has bit of arthritis
All the dogs I've fed this too are their best weight, according to the vet, their skin is good, fur is shiny, and they have lots of energy and they poo about half the amount!! Definitely a bonus. and no doggie smell, make a big batch and freeze, it's so easy.
Wendy Farthing answered
Bicarb of Soda is a great deodoriser. You can sprinkle on carpets or furniture, leave for a while and vacuum up. Also, I leave a small container of Bicarb in an out of the way part of my laundry where my animals eat and sleep which absorbs bad odours as well. There is a product which used to be available from pharmacies and supermarkets (and hopefully still is) called Nilodor. A tiny drop extinguishes nasty smells.
Carol Woolcock answered
I know exactly what you mean as we have a Labrador who only sleeps in the laundry on cold nights, but the room and her bedding always seemed to have a wet doggy smell. After trying numerous products, I gave eucalyptus oil a try. I use 1 capful plus detergent in the washing machine with her bedding and one capful in a bucket of hot water to wash the tiles. Works like magic.
Lisa Noomford answered
We have four small dogs and two cats, all indoors. We often wash our carpets with a pet carpet shampoo in our carpet shampooer and our uncovered floors with phenyl mixed into water. The phenyl can also be used outdoors to get rid of that pet smell and can be used to clean your bins as well to get rid of that garbage smell. My hubby said it costs $4.25 from Bunnings. It is the best thing that we have ever used to wash our floors with to get rid of that pet smell that you are talking about. I also wash our dogs with about 1/4 cup of bicarb soda mixed into our dogs' hot bath with a few drops of pure lavender oil. I use diluted bleach, or a bathroom cleaning spray sprayed around to clean it and get rid of that pet smell or I call it protein smell, in the bathroom. I sure hope these help you as they did us as we had to sell our home a few years ago and now rent and haven't had any complaints so far.
8. Ask Cath
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
For just 10 cents a day you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun.
Joining the Cheapskates Club gives you 24/7 access to the Members Centre with 1000's of money saving tips and articles.
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
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11. Contact Details
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
Contact Cheapskates
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store - Buying Whitegoods on a Budget; MOO Starch and it's Free; How I Stopped Spending my Bill Money
3. Share Your Tips - Have a great idea? Share it here
4. On the Menu - Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Basic Meat Sauce
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. Last Week's Question - Help! How can I deal with doggy odour?
8. Ask Cath
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Welcome to winter! It's a couple of weeks early but the cold sure has hit here. Don't get me wrong, I love winter. It can be the cheapest time of the year for Cheapskates, heating bills and all. It is easy to spend time indoors, you don't need to go out for entertainment.
Drag out the board games and cards; put your photos in order; watch your favourite DVDs again (and enjoy a hot chocolate at the same time), try new recipes and become an expert at using your slow cooker, learn to knit or crochet and use recycled yarn from old jumpers to make a cosy knee rug - the possibilities are endless.
And eating in winter is much cheaper than in summer. A big pot of soup can cost as little as $2, casseroles and stews are very frugal meals, homemade pies cost around 65 cents each to make, baking muffins, cakes, slices and breads is much cheaper than buying them.
Staying warm might seem expensive but it doesn't have to be. Dress appropriately, in layers. And don't forget the socks and slippers! Drag out the quilts and rugs, enjoy lots of hot drinks (tea, hot chocolate, milk and honey), keep the blinds on north facing windows open during the day and remember to close blinds and curtains at night to keep the warmth in. Use door snakes to keep drafts out.
Or you could do what Wayne and I are doing and heading north. We leave tomorrow for our Cape York trip, and now all the prep has been done, the car is packed and it's almost time to go - I just wanna go, right now!
If you can't head north for the winter, these are just a few ideas you can use to keep winter affordable. What do you do to keep the bills down in winter?
Have a great week everyone and enjoy the newsletter.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
Buying Whitegoods on a Budget
Approximate $ Savings: Over $800 on Fridge & Freezer
Recently we purchased a pigeon pair fridge and freezer (two separate units). We managed to save in three ways:
1. Haggling between stores. Nothing new I know...but please keep reading! I shopped around, searched the web and negotiated the prices. Isn't it amazing how much more the prices will drop because a competitor can do better? You know you've gone pretty much as far as you can when no other store will beat or even match your quote!
2. Free delivery. Yes, I negotiated free delivery too. Interestingly, if I purchased the same items from the Eastern States online I would be charged only $50 for both, yet some shops were trying to charge me that much for the Perth metro area (insane).
3. Extended Warranty. Once I'd negotiated the best deal, the sales person then tried selling me an additional 3year warranty at a cost of $218. Tempted, we decided against it. When the fridge and freezer were delivered the delivery driver gave me an extended warranty form direct from the manufacturer charging $165! The shop that we made the purchase through would have made an additional $53 in profit had we extended the warranty! We aren't going to take up the extended warranty. We've bought good brands and know the manufacturer only offers insurance because they are confident it's unlikely anything will go wrong with a new product within the warranty period.... it’s just another way of increasing profits for little work. My current fridge/freezer is still going strong after 11 years and is only being replaced because it's simply too small for a family of 5!
How much did we save? If I hadn't negotiated on the price, we would have paid an extra $398 (including delivery of $45). Ironically, they were the cheapest store in the first place (Rick Hart). The store charging the most for the fridge and freezer was Harvey Norman, by an extra $798 + delivery. It is pretty disgraceful that mark-ups can be so extreme but by being informed, persistent and upfront you can get the best deal.
Lastly, I found a rather good website offering nice prices on the items I purchased, the website is http://www.appliancesonline.com.au/. I used this as a bench mark, if I couldn't get a price close to theirs then I was going to buy direct from them, postage only $50 an order (not bad) for Eastern States. As it ends up, I was able to beat their price by $136 including postage (remember I negotiated free postage on my delivery). Ideally, I wanted to buy in Perth in case we had problems with the item being delivered damaged. Rick Hart was easy to deal with, the fridge and freezer arrived on time and the delivery person was very professional and friendly. I was nervous as the fridge and freezer were unpackaged outside as they wouldn't fit through the door in their packaging, but the delivery person was so careful and slow, 5-star service.
Contributed by Tanya
MOO Starch and it's Free
Save the water when cooking rice and use to starch your sheets. It costs nothing, and they come up crisp and fresh.
Contributed by Frances de Andrade
How I Stopped Spending my Bill Money
For a very long time I was not very organised with my spending, I would just lift money from the cash line machine, never budgeting and then wondering how I could not pay my bills, every month was so full of stress. I started to read the Cheapskates stories and decided that's the way I want my life to be. I now write a budget every week then I know I don't have money to fritter away. I still had a problem at the weekend, I would know I had to have a certain amount by the end of the month and I would say "oh I'll just use that £100 out of the bill money and make it up later" which is impossible. So now on a Friday I go into the bank on my way home from work and lift out the money and put in into a little book account, so I know I can't lift it. At the end of the month I transfer it back to my debit card for all my direct debits. This has changed my life so much; I now know I can always pay my bills on time and no more worrying about where I'll get my bill money from, at last I can sleep at night. So, thank you Cheapskate members for all you help.
Contributed by April Clark
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Submit Your Tip
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Submit your tip
4. On the Menu
Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
This is a recipe that I adapt to suit the ingredients I have. I have never, ever used three chicken fillets to make this dish; one chicken breast fillet, skin removed, and chopped into small dice is plenty, and reduces the cost significantly.
I don't eat bacon, so rarely have it in the fridge (I figure if I don't eat it, and I do the meal planning, shopping and cooking then we eat what I eat - anything else is a treat for the family), but mushrooms can almost always be found in a paper bag in the crisper drawer, so three or four are sliced to replace the bacon. If we don’t have fresh mushrooms, I sometimes open a small tin of champignons.
If there are no spring onions in the garden, I use a small brown onion, finely diced.
When I don't have cream in the fridge, I use plain yoghurt or sour cream thinned with a little milk or MOO evaporated milk.
Grated tasty cheese can replace the parmesan and the sauce still tastes great.
It's a simple pasta and sauce recipe, so adapt it to suit your tastes (and budget), or enjoy it as is.
Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
Ingredients:
3 fresh chicken breast or thigh fillets thinly sliced.
250g pkt fettuccine or spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
2 rashers bacon, rind removed and finely chopped
6 spring onions/shallots chopped
300ml thickened cream
1 chicken stock cube
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Heat butter in a large frying pan and add the chicken and bacon; cook until chicken is golden. Lower heat and add remaining ingredients. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. Drain pasta and fold through sauce. Serve with salad and crusty bread. Extra grated parmesan cheese can also accompany.
How I make this recipe:
I use one chicken breast fillet and dice it into small pieces.
If I have bacon, I use it. If I don't have bacon I use sliced mushrooms.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Fish, potato gems, coleslaw
Tuesday: *Fettuccine with Chicken and Bacon
Wednesday: Rissoles, mashed potato, peas, corn, carrot, gravy
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tomato & vegetable soup
Saturday: Sub sandwiches
There are over 1,600 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
Basic Meat Sauce
Every now and then, you need a basic recipe. Nothing glamorous, no hard work and no expensive, exotic ingredients. It had to be cheap, quick, easy and something the family will like, that is kind to your budget.
This recipe is just that - very basic and very kind to your budget. But you can glam it up if you want to by adding extra ingredients and serving it with various accompaniments. My family loves this basic meat sauce, and I use it at least once a week.
I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients:
500g mince
1 tin tomato soup
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 large onion chopped
pinch mixed herbs
1 tsp crushed garlic, fresh or from jar
Method:
Brown the mince and then rinse under hot running water to remove any excess fat. Wipe out the fry pan. Spray pan with cooking spray and brown onion and garlic. Add mince, herbs, tomato soup and crushed tomatoes. Simmer 20 minutes.
This makes 6 generous serves, total cost $5.10 = $0.85 cents per serve.
This sauce can be used as a base for a variety of dishes such as:
Spaghetti Bolognese: cook a packet of spaghetti noodles and serve with the sauce on top.
Total Cost $5.70 = $0.95 cents per serve
Pasta Bake: cook a packet of spiral noodles and stir through the meat sauce. Put in a baking dish, sprinkle with 100g grated cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and golden.
Total Cost $6.30 = $1.05 per serve
Lasagne: Layer meat sauce with lasagne noodles in a baking dish, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake according to the directions on the noodle packet. You can cut the cost of this dish by making the lasagne sheets.
Total Cost $6.30 = $1.05 per serve
Use your imagination and make shepherd's pie, individual meat pies, moussaka, tortellini, cannelloni, family pies, jaffles etc. with this one basic recipe.
When I make this sauce, I make four times the recipe, portion the sauce into freezer bags and freeze - cook once, eat four times suits me just fine. With ready-made sauce in the freezer a quick and easy dinner can be on the table in 15 - 20 minutes - as long as it takes to cook the pasta and thaw the sauce in the microwave.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
Most popular forum posts this week
Which Name Brands Will You Not Compromise On?
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?1517-Which-Name-Brands-will-you-not-compromise-on
Savings v Bills
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?2681-savings-vs-bills
18th Birthday Gift Ideas
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3186-18th-Birthday-Gift-Ideas
Most popular blog posts this week
Quick and Easy Oats for Breakfast
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2016/04/quick-and-easy-oats-for-breakfast.html
Let's Revisit Pita Chips and Save a Bundle
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2016/04/lets-revisit-pita-chips-and-save-bundle.html
How to Cut Back on Household Expenses: Heating
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2016/06/how-to-cut-back-on-household-expenses.html
7. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Toni who wrote
"As well as our two children, our family has two fur-babies, that we love to bits. We have a three-year-old staffy and her five-year-old mother. Even though they are bathed every Sunday, their beds, the laundry (where they eat), carpets and even our lounge have a distinct doggy smell that can be very off-putting, especially for visitors. It's really noticeable after we've been out of the house for a while. Their beds are washed regularly, I've gone through cans and cans of Febreeze (bought and MOO) and Glen20, tried burning candles and essential oils, spent a fortune on carpet cleaning and room deodorisers and the odour still lingers. What else can I do? Please help!"
Cat answered
I too have fur babies inside and out, but mostly inside. I use 'Nilodor', I have a recycled squirt bottle and I put 12drops of Nilodor in it and top it up with tap water, or you can use tank water. This works a treat. I spray over my lounge and carpet in the morning and at night. I also put vinegar into the rinse when I wash their bedding. Hope this helps
Kaye Silich answered
I have a 12-year-old staffy/kelpie and have had various other dogs in my house and a can tell you that it's probably the food your fur babies are eating that is the problem. Staffies seem to be prone to skin conditions too so when you bathe them try and find a local dog groomer who can recommend a gentle/natural shampoo and conditioner.I've used this recipe for dog food for 10 years and it's great.
For a dog of approximately 13kg for 3-4 days;
3 lg carrots grated
300g mince, I buy Aldi $7kg
One cup of quick oats cooked with 3 cups of water
One small can cheap sardines in oil, Aldi about 60c
I also put NZ green lip mussel extract powder in (2 caps) as my dog has bit of arthritis
All the dogs I've fed this too are their best weight, according to the vet, their skin is good, fur is shiny, and they have lots of energy and they poo about half the amount!! Definitely a bonus. and no doggie smell, make a big batch and freeze, it's so easy.
Wendy Farthing answered
Bicarb of Soda is a great deodoriser. You can sprinkle on carpets or furniture, leave for a while and vacuum up. Also, I leave a small container of Bicarb in an out of the way part of my laundry where my animals eat and sleep which absorbs bad odours as well. There is a product which used to be available from pharmacies and supermarkets (and hopefully still is) called Nilodor. A tiny drop extinguishes nasty smells.
Carol Woolcock answered
I know exactly what you mean as we have a Labrador who only sleeps in the laundry on cold nights, but the room and her bedding always seemed to have a wet doggy smell. After trying numerous products, I gave eucalyptus oil a try. I use 1 capful plus detergent in the washing machine with her bedding and one capful in a bucket of hot water to wash the tiles. Works like magic.
Lisa Noomford answered
We have four small dogs and two cats, all indoors. We often wash our carpets with a pet carpet shampoo in our carpet shampooer and our uncovered floors with phenyl mixed into water. The phenyl can also be used outdoors to get rid of that pet smell and can be used to clean your bins as well to get rid of that garbage smell. My hubby said it costs $4.25 from Bunnings. It is the best thing that we have ever used to wash our floors with to get rid of that pet smell that you are talking about. I also wash our dogs with about 1/4 cup of bicarb soda mixed into our dogs' hot bath with a few drops of pure lavender oil. I use diluted bleach, or a bathroom cleaning spray sprayed around to clean it and get rid of that pet smell or I call it protein smell, in the bathroom. I sure hope these help you as they did us as we had to sell our home a few years ago and now rent and haven't had any complaints so far.
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