I'm really looking forward to Bonfire Night this year. The children are
old enough to enjoy the fireworks now (rather than be petrified of
them!) and I love all the ooohs and ahhhs, the whizzes and bangs and of
course writing my name in the air with a sparkler!
Now I
definitely don't want to be stuck indoors cooking whilst all the fun is
going on so I will be using my slow cooker. Slow cooking is a perfect
way to make meat really tender and it allows time for the flavours to
infuse the food so it's ideal for a Chilli Con Carne. It also means that
once I have put all the ingredients in I can just leave it, relax and
enjoy myself. I brought my slow cooker from Crockpot and have been
really pleased with it but of course there are many different ranges
available.
For this dish I am going to use chunks of beef rather
than mince as this is the traditional way it was done and the slow
cooker will make it deliciously tender...
By hertfordshiremummyDealPro
at 12:05PM,
6 months ago
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under
Money Saving Tips
Soup in a pumpkin I was feeling rather guilty that on two occasions in the past week, we had resorted to eating out unplanned! A combination of severe backache, some difficult days homeschooling and various other factors had conspired against me cooking, so I knew I had to find a way of getting the food budget back on track...meet the virtually zero cost meal we made.Take a pumpkin (grown from the seed of a previous years pumpkin we grew). Cost: £0...
By TheBeesleyBuzzDealPro
at 4:49PM,
7 months ago
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Money Saving Tips
Over the weekend, news broke that parents are spending £300 per month per child on 'essentials', items such as clothes, food and transport. I have to admit to spluttering my morning coffee when I read it; according to the study, I'm blowing £1500 a month just to feed and clothe my 5 kids. Seriously, where do they get these figures? I'm not actually expecting any of the Savoo community to agree they spend this sort of money on the regular costs of living - after all, you're all part of Savoo because you like to save money, not squander it. And yes, I honestly think anyone with those sort of everyday expenses is squandering their money.
However, on the off-chance that someone might be nodding and saying, 'Yes, I can see how essentials can add up to that, let me give you a few pointers on how to reduce those expenses dramatically. Many of our DealPros are parents who have fine-tuned the art of saving money when it comes to kids.
By Clodagh Foelster
at 8:30AM,
7 months ago
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under
Family Life
I don't need an excuse to indulge in chocolate, dark chocolate is my favourite. I was delighted to be sent this book which details 25 gorgeous projects that will wow everyone before they indulge in your chocolate creations.
This book is a brilliant introduction to working with chocolate and livening up your home baking and help to make it look stunning. It is more of a cake decorating book than a baking book. There are recipes for a chocolate sponge cake with options for various sizes, chocolate cupcakes and chocolate brownies.
However, the book mostly contains instructions for decorating your baking with chocolate creations including intricate orchids, delicate blossoms, easy and impressive Christmas tree decorations and chocolate jewels, just to name a few. To make some of the creations in the book you will need some moulds and tools but these can be bought online relatively cheaply and there is a list of suppliers in the back of the book...
By utterlyscrummyDealPro
at 11:26AM,
7 months ago
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Money Saving Tips
New research from the Child Poverty Action Group (funded by the Joseph RowntreeFoundation) has estimated the average cost of raising a child until the age of 18.It found that it would cost £143,000 overall - or £150 for each week - and that a full-time job on National Minimum Wage is no longer enough to keep up with those costs. In today's climate of wage freezes and benefit squeezes, many parents are in a difficult financial situation...
By jetheather
at 4:37PM,
7 months ago
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under
Money Saving Tips
I have decided to start a weekly post, giving you 5 ways in 5 days to make changes, that hopefully will become habit over the weeks and months. Five ways in five days to make autumn savingsDo not buy a coffee on the way in to work. Have a go at making your own.Close the curtains as soon as dusk comes. Keep the warm in and the cold out.Collect seeds from any of your flowers, you can swap these with other gardeners rather than buying new next year.Learn how to make your own pastry. Home made pies are frugal as you can use leftovers and so much nicer than shop bought ones.check your car's lights, a new bulb is so much cheaper than a fine from the police for driving with a headlight out.
By TheMadHouseDealPro
at 3:01PM,
7 months ago
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under
Money Saving Tips