The $1,000 Plan: Day Sixteen

It is Day Sixteen of The $1,000 Plan and we enjoyed having sultana scones for lunch today. It was nice to have a change from the usual pattern of having our main meal mid-day.

Here is the recipe for those who also might like to make some delicious sultana scones:

Sultana Scones

The following recipe makes approximately 12 large scones.

Ingredients:

6 cups of Organic Plain Flour
12 tspns of Baking Powder
1/2 tspn Salt
150g Butter, chopped
3 cups of Rice Milk *
2 cups of Organic Sultanas

Method:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl. Add the sultanas to the combined dry ingredients.
2. Chop in butter, until the combined ingredients resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add the milk and mix quickly to form a soft dough.
4. Knead the dough a little and then shape each scone as you wish. 
5. Dust a cool oven tray lightly with flour. 
6. Place each prepared scone onto the tray. Brush the tops with a little milk.
7. Bake the scones in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for about 10 - 15 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Remove cooked scones from oven tray and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
9. Serve when cool with jam and whipped cream.

*Or whatever milk you prefer.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Nine

Can you entertain and still have a savings goal you want to achieve in a short space of time? The answer is yes. With the $1,000 Plan underway in our household, we have been mindful of making changes where we can, however experiencing joy daily is still something that makes life richer and makes memories all that more happy and pleasant.

We had visitors come to visit during the weekend and I wanted to enjoy blessing them with good food as part of being hospitable towards them. Food is such a part of being hospitable, and I for one always love to bake or cook something that everyone will enjoy and which will add to being welcoming and friendly.

Thinking through what was onhand, I chose to bake Anzac Biscuits, one of our household favourite biscuit recipes, plus I chose to bake scones. I envisioned how lovely it would be to have something of a Devonshire tea, so checking the budget situation I knew I could afford to purchase a small bottle of cream.

From the feedback received, everyone loved what was on offer for afternoon tea. I had found a packet of sultanas in my baking ingredient stash, and these added a little extra something to what otherwise would have been plain scones. With no actual jam or jelly preserve onhand, I opened instead a small jar of stewed plums, and these were used alongside the cream for the scones.

We can entertain when we are on a fixed or even tight budget. People appreciate seeing gestures of hospitality and kindness, and it does not have to be over the top in presentation or delivery. The simplest of afternoon teas, or any other meal for that matter, can still create a sense of welcome.

Here is the recipe for the Anzac Biscuits that I chose to use, for those that also might be interested in making them:

Anzac Biscuits 

This recipe makes approximately 40 biscuits.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Organic Flour
2 cups of Organic Raw Sugar
2 1/2 cups Dessicated Coconut 
3 cups of Organic Rolled Oats
200gms Butter
4 Tbspns Golden Syrup
2 tspn Baking Soda
8 Tbspns Boiling Water

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats. 
2. Melt butter and golden syrup.
3. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water, and then add to the melted butter and golden syrup mixture.
4. Stir butter mixture into the dry ingredients.
5. Place tablespoons of the mixture onto a cold greased tray.
6. Bake the prepared biscuits at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Made from Scratch

As part of our homeschooling programme, the children and I have learnt to make yoghurt completely from scratch. It was an interesting 'kitchen science' activity for us to do, as we followed the process through, making the yoghurt using whole milk and a yoghurt starter and monitoring the temperature along the way. It is an easy process, all done in a slow cooker.

If you would be interested in us sharing a post in more detail, (perhaps even with a video!) please leave a comment and we will aim to then put together an actual  'How to Make Yoghurt in a Slow Cooker' post to share with you. It really is a very easy process.

Autumn

"Gratitude can transform common days into

 Thanksgiving,

turn routine jobs into joy,

and change opportunities into blessings."

William Arthur Ward