A few months ago I was acting at higher duties at work, I knew there was no possibility of extension and so in a few months I would have to return to my previous role. Looking back over my past seven years in the job, I could not remember a time when I'd had a significant period of time off. So for the sake of my sanity I applied to have a month off work before the transition back to my old job commenced. Having odd days off here and throughout the year I only had a total of two weeks leave and as I was not willing to settle for any less than a month of leave I took my leave on half pay. I factored the reduced pay into my budget and figured I could cover my mortgages, my personal loan and a few small other bills. However, it did not leave any money for entertainment, groceries or any more than two tanks of fuel, so in a word it was 'tight'.
I had a fair amount of meat already in the freezer and a pantry of pasta, rice and other staple foods. For the first week I slept in, went shopping with my petrol budget (oops, good start) and got all of my housework out of the way.
By week two however, reality set in. I had to plan all of my trips in the car to ensure the petrol lasted me till the end of the week. So to find some extra money I cleaned out my entire garage and put un-needed items on ebay. The de-clutter is a fabulous feeling and now I have room to park my car in there! I signed up to a local babysitting website and for a few days of my month of holiday, babysat a couple of children.
Week 3 I was running out of food...In the pantry still had flour, some rice, some pasta and a couple of tins tomatoes, mushrooms and kidney beans. In the fridge was eggs, long life milk, cheese and a couple of wilted vegies. I was also lucky enough to have some fresh herbs from my portable garden - see "Kitchen Savings" I made up my own recipes and adapted some that I found on the web to make the following;
Day one - simple spaghetti
One brown onion finely chopped
One tin of tomatoes
One carrot grated
One zucchini grated
Tsp garlic
Two tbsp tomato sauce I had no paste)
One cup of pasta
Salt & pepper to taste
Served with grated cheese
Day two - Mushroom crepes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
To make a crepe
1 tin mushrooms
spring onions
Grated cheese to fill
Make a thin crepe, sautee the mushrooms in a separate pan, place onto crepe, sprinkle with cheese and roll up crepe
Can also be served with a basic white sauce or more sauteed mushrooms.
Day three - Mushroom quiche
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups sliced button mushrooms
4 eggs
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup grated cheese
Flour, water, eggs and butter to make quiche base
Pour the egg mixture into the pie shell and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
Bake for about 45 minutes at 180 degrees or until centre is just set. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.
Day four - Cheese and tomato omelette
1 tomato
1 tbsp grated cheese
3 basil leaves
1 spring onion , finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs , beaten
Finely chop the tomato and tip into a bowl with the cheese, basil leaves, spring onion, half the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Heat the remaining oil in a small, non-stick frying pan, then swirl in the eggs. Cook until done to your liking, then spoon the tomato mix over half of the omelette. Fold omelette over the tomato, leave for about 30 secs, then slide onto a plate.
Day five - Dinner at mum's
Day six - Carrot souffle`
4 carrots, sliced into one inch pieces
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I toast frozen bread and then run it through my spice grinder/ coffee mill)
1/2 cup dried minced onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Place carrots in pot and covering them with water, bring them to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain.
Preheat oven to 190 degrees and spray individual ramikins Puree carrots in food processor. Add eggs, breadcrumbs, onion, salt, pepper, and cumin and pulse. Place puree in ramikins, but don’t overfill them- they tastes best when shallow so they get a crispy crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is brown and crispy. Carrot souffle should start to detach from sides of dish.
Day seven - Dinner at a friend's place
I made cheese twists out of some puff pastry from the freezer (could have made my own but was lazy) and rolled them with cheese 10 mins in the oven and they were an instant hit!
So I'd made it through Week 3
Luckily it was payday and although all I had available to me was my petrol budget, I used $20 to get some basic groceries from my favourite supermarket - ALDI
I got an entire week's worth of food for $20! I got the staples (bread, pasta, margarine, milk and eggs) from ALDI for a grand total of $10 and then went to the larger supermarkets on a Tuesday morning to get their marked-down meats. I got a 400gm tray of mince for $3, tray of 12 sausages for $3 and 6 chicken drumsticks for $3.
Dinner for the next week consisted of bbq sausages, chilli con carne, honey soy drumsticks with rice, sausage casserole, chicken fried rice, toad in the hole (old english dish with sausages in dumpling pastry) and of course a dinner at mum's.
I now have bare basics left in my fridge and pantry, but will make it through till next payday just fine. I plan to sell some old jewellery to the local goldsmith and top up the car with petrol ready to go back to work. Life doesn't have to be as tough as the 2 minute noodle uni days, just use your imagination!
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