Living Simply

 Hello friends,

I just wanted to pop in here quick and share a couple of 'frugal living' things with you a recipe & an idea. These days most people are being a bit more mindful about spending and looking for ways to cut costs. Like many people I spent many years having to live this way out of necessity, especially when the children were small. Now life is easier but I still enjoy being a good steward of what God has blessed us with, and like looking for creative ways to do that.

First up: the recipe 'Pillowy Potato Bread' - oh my word this bread is so good.  It was fairly easy to make and I used our garden potatoes and that made it even better and cheaper. We ate a slice each with our dinner tonight and will have it for sandwiches for the next couple of days. The texture was simply divine, very soft and delicious. I made two loaves because if I'm turning that big oven on I may as well make it count and use the power wisely. The only changes I made were I didn't have regular yeast, only instant - so I used 2 teaspoons of that instead per loaf. I also added 1 T of light olive oil to each loaf and added a little oil to the bowl that the loaves were rising in. Here's a link to the ladies recipe and blog: https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/homemade-potato-bread-recipe/

 

Next up - here's a little idea for homemade cloth napkins to save on purchasing paper serviettes.

~ C L O T H   T A B L E   N A P K I N S ~

I wait until tea towels/dish towels are on sale (normally at KMART). I cut them in half across the middle and hem them. They look good are lovely to use. I much prefer them to paper ones. Also cloth napkins are expensive in New Zealand and often come in shades I don't like or the material is synthetic.

Pics of what I did:

 
        ~ Then I store them stacked up in this little wire basket, so they are always handy to grab. ~

 

...and finally. I got an Instant Pot. :) and I'm quite pleased with it. I'm taking my time and apart from one bad experience where I disintegrated the vegetables, it hasn't been too bad. Mind you I've only made two other things in it ...he he :) One of the things I made was to cook a whole chicken. I followed a dear lady on YouTube and did exactly what she said. Mine somehow took a little longer to cook completely (48 minutes), and also made about 2.5 Cups of delicious chicken stock too. I like that it is saving money as I'm not using my big oven and it cooks so fast. I can use ti to cook beans (which we eat a lot of), Rice and even yoghurt. I also made a Thai Chicken Curry another night and that was very delicious too. I purchased the 6 litre and that is a good size for our needs. If you also have one I would love to hear what you've made in it plus your cooking adventures, be they good or funny :)

Video tutorial to cook a whole chicken in the instant pot: https://youtu.be/vjQzADYqSow

Well that's all for now. I hope you try the bread recipe - let me know if you do. I also hope you enjoy reading about how I make our little cloth table napkins. Blessings to you all ~ Linda