MASTERCLASS - HOW TO MAKE & SELL DIGITAL FILES on ETSY - SVG, EPS, DXF, ...

Best tutorial I have seen in a long time.  Starting on making my bundles for listing now!

Food for 1 week - a Sainsbury's v Morrisons comparison

 I am ashamed to say that I do not use my nearest supermarket.  For me I have spent years comparing items pricewise and Sainsburys has come out more expensive overall.  However, recently they have introduced a price match for ALDI which means that suddenly the odd item here and there is cheaper than where I usually do my shop (Morrisons).  With this is mind I revisited my £15 meal plan and compared item for item to see if it would be cheaper.

In short the total is cheaper - instead of £14.96 the total would be £14.17 but the devil as they say is in the detail...

1)First up margarine £1.00 using an item on offer at Morrisons when the post was written

Price is the same (albeit for own brand) - interestingly own brand at Morrisons would be slightly more expensive if they did not have an offer.

2) 500 g frozen mixed veg 85p at Morrisons

A winner at Sainsbury's thanks to the price match

3) Passata - 35p per carton at Morrisons

40p per carton at sainsburys - not so good

4) 1 kg of onions - 65p at Morrisons

a whole 20p more expensive at Sainsbury's

5) 500 g red lentils £1.15 from Morrisons

same price

6) Loaf of bread (800g for 49p at Morrisons)

Price match to the rescue again - a 13p saving at Sainsbury's

7) 2 pints whole milk - 80p at Morrisons

no change in price - not a big surprise really...

8) 500 g pasta 45p at Morrisons

Sainsburys is a loser this time at 10p more expensive

9) 1 head garlic - 45p at Morrisons

A nice surprise to find a 20 p saving here!

10) 6 eggs for 75 p at Morrisons

15 p more expensive at Sainsbury's

11)1 kg of granulated sugar 65p

This one looks like it is cheaper but look at the pack size - gram per gram it is more expensive and would last me half as long BUT if the bottom line is the total at the checkout this week then it saves me 15p on the total bill - you pays your money you takes your choice...

12) Own brand baked beans 30p per tin from Morrisons

Price match again - 9p per tin saving

13) 500 g plain flour - 45p at Morrisons

Same price BUT look at the pack size.  Thanks to price match this is a massive 3x the amount for the same cost OR I could have chosen to have a pack the same size for a 5p saving...

14) 1 kg frozen cauliflower/ broccoli 99p at Morrisons

£1 at Sainsbury's - let's call this one a draw...

15) £1.89 for 350g cheese

smaller price saving 39p off the total BUT for a smaller pack (the next nearest was 400g of cheese for £2)

16) 100g curry powder 65p

15p more expensive at Sainsbury's

17)  Mixed herbs 95p

10 p saving

18) 8 pack of sausages £1

20 p saving thanks to price match

19) 80 value tea bags 55p 

Half as many teabags for 15p definite loser for the final item.

So what is the conclusion-.  Well as a generalisation the ALDI price match makes all the difference.  You can find out what is included by following the link on the Sainsbury's Groceries homepage  and this includes over 250 items at the latest.

One of the highlights is the 1kg of rice for 45p which would make a good substitution for the pasta in my original list and give more food in the long run for the same price (yes at a pinch one form of carbs is pretty much like another).  Other things like eggs, flour, teabags are geared towards the bigger value packs though - great if you are scaling up to feed a family - or can operate on a monthly budget, not so good if you are hand-to-mouth on a week by week budget.  I still cannot get all the way down to £10 for 1 person without cheating and using value packs and proportional pricing - well not unless you want baked beans on toast for lunch and dinner for 7 days!  What it really underlines is that it is very rarely cheaper on everything when you compare one shop with another and you also have to weigh up things like travel costs as well.  Using a price book (and stocking up if you can) for groceries that have a long shelf life does help, so can combining journeys like the work commute (assuming you still do one) so long as you are disciplined and don't fall for the offers etc instore.  Finally, don't forget that if you can have a little wiggle room in your food budget for emergencies this will help with the mindset as there is nothing that will make you stick to your old (bad) ways more than knowing even if you don't like it you have to eat it or go hungry;  just remember even an emergency tin of beans or soup will do and try that recipe you have been recommended by your mate - it might even change your mind.

Post Furlough/Student Food: World's cheapest soup? Potato Soup

 With the wind and rain blowing a hoolie this morning soup springs to mind for lunch.  I have previously done a "cream of anything" soup post which made the use of those veggies that are about to go in the bin - incidentally it is also great made with tinned or frozen veggies as well.  This time this is the cheapest (thick) soup that I can think of - at it's most simple it is just stock, potatoes and a splash of oil and so can be really cheap, but of course it would not be one of my recipes if I did not include some variations if you have extra money in your budget or ingredients in your fridge/cupboard.  It begins to sound like the real life version of Stone Soup.

Potato Soup (serves 4)

450 g potatoes, peeled and cubed

Splash of oil

Stock to barely cover (can be homemade or from a cube) ~ 1 1/2 pints

In a large pot toss the potatoes in the oil and allow to saute for a few minutes until just starting to begin to start to colour.

Add the stock and bring to the boil.  Simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Mash with a potato masher or use a stick blender.  Add extra liquid to get desired thickness.  Serve

Variations:

Ah where to begin...

When you add the extra liquid use milk or cream instead of stock.  I have even used skim milk powder instead of fresh milk, still adds a creamy flavour.

Add a chopped onion to the potatoes, allow to soften for as long as possible before adding the liquid.

Use sweet potatoes instead of all "normal" spuds

Add cooked bacon for extra flavour

Add grated cheese for extra flavour

If garlic is you thing then add some garlic along with the potatoes

Add chopped leek to the potatoes

Add chopped chives or chopped dill on the herbs front.

Add curry powder or garam masala (mix into the veggies after they are softened in the oil but before the stock and allow to become fragrant before adding the liquid)

Post furlough food: Dump and go pork and potato casserole in the crock pot/slowcooker.

 This weekend was a bank holiday for the UK.  We found ourselves at IKEA collecting a bed for our 17 year old having discovered that the metal bed frame had broken on his bed and his bum was halfway to the floor each night - he hadn't bothered to tell us for months!  Anyway this involved a 4 hour drive to to click and collect and then get back home during which time our two autistic sons were tasked with taking the old bed apart on their own- which they did much to their surprise.  They then got to put the new one together with only help when absolutely stuck (Dad was banned!).  Final comment was "It's just like a big Lego really"  so a very well done A and B- I told you you could do it!

This meant of course a very late day and whilst the boys love pizza or sausages and chips the grown ups in the house not so much so I put together this dump and go from some pork I had in the freezer before the road trip.

Pork and Potato Casserole - serves 4

500g pork - I used tenderloin as this was what I had in the freezer but you could use cubed meat or chops, even mince

1 tin of cider

2 courgettes, chopped

2 carrots chopped

500 g new potatoes, washed and halved

1 tsp garlic granules or 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 chicken stock cube.

At this point you can put all the ingredients in a freezer bag and freeze if desired.

Place all the above ingredients in the slow cooker and leave to cook for bout 6-8 hours - or in our case 10, the longer you leave it the more the cider will soak into the potatoes.

To serve,

Fry a sliced onion until softened and brown.  Add the liquid from the slowcooker and 2 tsp of cornflour that have been mixed with water to make a paste.  Stir all the time and bring to the boil when it should be thick.  Mix back with all other ingredients and stir to make sure everything is coated.  Serve.

Variations:

-The reason I add the onions at the end is because I loath the taste of "boiled" onions which is what you get if you add them at the beginning - however feel free if you want a dump and go bag for the freezer and you don't mid the taste

-this works well with sausages instead of pork

- if you don't do alcohol then use apple juice instead

-Add some sage if you have it, pork loves sage

-Use other veg instead of courgettes and carrots - any root veg will work well as will squash, don't add mushrooms though they go slimey.

Fresh Basil from Cuttings - an experiment.

 With the approach of the Easter holidays comes the warmer weather.  Last year I invested in a polytunnel and had limited success growing Basil - despite numerous gardening articles that it is the easiest herb to grow, to be fair it is probably how I water it but there we go... I love basil and tomatoes and when I look at most of the recipes I have posted they involve this combo so to have my own basil would be a saving.  I have tried basil from the supermarket in "growing pots" before and they usually last a week if I am lucky.

So this time inspired by a YouTube video (of which there are many)  I am going to take cuttings from my supermarket basil.  If the worse comes to the worse I will have wasted £1.50, which is afterall the same as a pack of seed anyway.

Materials:

1 pot supermarket basil

scissors or snips to cut the stems to length

cups/jars/galsses to stand the cuttings in

water

a sunny windowsill

Snip the stems of the basil just above a leave node (ideally they should be about 4 inches long and have a couple of leaf joints along the stem.  Remove the lower leaves to leave a cluster of about 4 leaves at the top.  The remaining stem will sprout from the leaf node that you just cut above, the cutting will sprout from the leaf node that is in the water.  Leave for a couple of weeks, changing the water every day.

Sounds simple enough doesn't it!

Now I don't have a sunny windosill - but since I got paid £25 in Amazon vouchers I managed to snag a Growlight that I wanted for my pepper seedlings anyway so I will be snuggling the basil cuttings alongside and will update this post later with as it works for me - or not...

Day 1 - just started - still alive!

Day 7 - mother plant is still alive which in itself is amazing!- the cuttings however show absolutely no sign of any roots at all. :(

Day 20  - still no roots or any sign at all of anything happening.  By now we should at least have some baby tendrils forming.   Hmm......

Finally - May bank holiday weekend we have enough roots to try and plant them up!  All we have to do now is fight off the slugs.

Post Furlough/student food: Sausage and Lentil Soup/Stew - slow cooker and freezer friendly Dump and Go recipe

 This is one of those recipes that can be bagged and frozen ready for throwing into the slow cooker straight from the freezer on your way out for the day - remember when we were able to do that!  Once it is cooked the leftovers also freeze beautifully and since it uses sausages and pulses - both of which are cheap it will not break the bank either - win win win.

Speaking of slowcookers they are one worthwhile investment if you are serious about saving money on fuel.  The often quoted statistic is that they use the same as a lightbulb - but this is misleading because since LED lightbulbs became the go to this is no longer true. They use about 1% of the electricity that it uses to keep the oven on low (comparing one hour of slow cooker use with one hour of oven use) and unlike Instant Pots and other trending kit they are under £30 and widely available so they recoup the outlay quickly.

Onto the recipe - if you intend to freeze it uncooked then freeze without the added liquid - saves on freezer space.  The only difference between a soup and a stew is the amount of liquid.  I use a pack of sausages from the chiller, but you can substitute frozen sausages if you prefer - just make sure they go straight back into the freezer before they start to defrost.

Sausage and Lentil Soup/Stew (serves 6 ish)

1 pack of you favourite sausages

340 g brown lentils (when I am feeling lazy this is about 2/3 rds of a 500g bag)

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 onion diced

2 sticks celery, chopped

3 crushed cloves garlic

1 carton passata

1 tsp mixed herbs

4 pints water or stock for soup or enough water to barely cover for stew

To make fresh:

Brown the sausages in a little vegetable oil, remove from the pan and add the onions, fry until softened.  Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add all the ingredients except that water to the slow cooker, use the water to rinse out the pan used for frying to get the last of the juices from the onions and garlic.

Bung on the lid and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or  LOW for 7-8 hours - it will not hurt significantly if you go a little over!  

I like to slice the sausages before serving to make them portion better between us all.

Serve with fresh bread. pasta or rice

To freeze cooked:

Allow the stew to cool then portion into freezer bags, label and freeze.  To use thaw in the fridge overnight (or microwave if pushed) and heat either in a saucepan or in the microwave until piping hot   all the way through.

To Freeze "raw":

Once the sausages and onions have been browned add to a freezer bag along with all the ingredients except the stock or water.  Label with instructions that remind you to add this and how long it needs in the slow cooker - it is easier to write it on the bag rather than a inventory sheet which gets lost!  No need to thaw - the bag can be emptied in as is to cook.  Once it has been thoroughly cooked freeze the leftovers as above.

Variations:

The pulses that you use can be any kind lentils not just brown, if you do not have lentils then beans can be used as a substitute.  If you use dried beans remember to soak them overnight and then change the water and bring to a "hard boil" for 10 minutes before draining and adding to the slowcooker.  A slightly more expensive but less faff version is to add a drained tin of pulses.  This can even be generic baked beans in tomato sauce if pushed - still very cheap.

The sausages you use can be supermarket "bangers", hot dog sausages (from a tin only about 50p a go), frozen sausages (I always have a pack in the freezer for emergencies), "fancy" sausage like smoked sausage (kiebasa), Chorizo also makes a nice addition but can be a bit much if used as the sole meat.  I use leftover bangers for this recipe as well - when I cook sausage and mash just for the kids I have 2 sausages leftover -pop those in the freezer and when you have 8 you have enough for this stew.

Substitute other meat for some of the sausage in this recipe - add a couple of rashers chopped bacon, leftover roast meat, mince.

If you want to stretch the recipe slightly then add some more chopped veggies.

Making cards and scrapbook backgrounds - resources for free

 One of the things that I like to do and do not do as much now my "kids" are teens is making things together.  However I have found two resources that I am using to up my craft quotient and keep me away from the screen more often.  Usually this would be sewing - but my machine is sick and thanks to COVID cannot be mended yet... so I resorted with scissors and paper to get my fix.

The first resource is a monthly pdf  from "Call me {crafty} Al".   Her YouTube channel contains the link in the description and a new video is released on the first of the month and has been for over a year. This uses card stock and patterned paper from pads (usually 12x12) to produce a set of co-ordinating cards.  Of course they are US cards which needs mentioning as this is not a standard size for the UK and you need to buy specific sized envelopes but I digress. The layout and cutting guide are free and anyone who uses them uses the hashtag if they post online so that you can look at all the examples from around the world for inspiration.

Here is this months video for your starter for ten

The second resource that I have been using is for background papers and elements.  This came about because my youngest son is still at home rather than school and will be until I get my jab.  The school I have to say have been brilliant - no fines here and when we return it will be phased as he has not been in the building for a whole year come this week.  As a result I have been acting as his teacher/teaching assistant and one of the things we had to do was a mood board for a textiles project that the pupils in school will be completing - we have indicated that since we have a home sewing machine there is no reason for us not to do it either.  For the task to count towards assessment (B is not at the GCSE stage yet) it needs some information to back it up so we needed to do a digital mood board - and therefore headed to the digital scrapbook sites available on the net.  This one stood out for us - free, easy to navigate and thousands of papers (mostly suitable for backgrounds which was perfect).  When I say thousands I mean over six and a half thousand sets in 36 colourways - someone sure had a ball in Photoshop. Anyway the site is called chantahliadesign click here to head to the Home page.

Right off to review, adapt and supplement the mainstream worksheet for today for my SEN son for the day.  Keep safe.