October 2008 Grocery Challenge. Please read first two posts.

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  • MRSMCAWBER
    MRSMCAWBER Posts: 5,442 Forumite
    Evening all, hope everyone is having a good weekend:D

    9 days in and still haven't broken into the budget yet :j ....
    I concocted a rather nice thing for dinner using lots of odds n sods -including 2 turkey steaks -which I normally find really bland (but I still have loads in the freezer I got when whoopsed :p )I did mine in the remoska but i will pretend I did it on the hob/oven in the recipe ;)
    • 2 turkey steaks -cut into chunks
    • 1 leek sliced -needed using
    • 3/4 tin sweetcorn -from yesterday
    • thick cheese sauce -made using milk that needed using up
    • mashed potato and swede -left over from dinner yesterday
    • cooked green beans/cabbage -ditto
    1. seal the turkey, then add the leeks and cook until soft
    2. stir in drained sweetcorn and cheese sauce and reduce
    3. chop the beans and cabbage into the mash then place on top of the turkey mix
    4. sprinkle with grated cheese and bake until golden n bubbling
    It actually would have been plenty for 4 with extra veggies or roasties -but we had it as it was and hubby had seconds as he had been out golfing in the cold all day -although his excuse was "well I will just see if it really is as nice as I think it is" :rotfl: .. It was lovely - I love bubble n squeak so the topping was a twist on that :D

    Tomorrow is roast chicken dinner - I did the chicken in the remoska this morning so will strip it off in the morning and make hubby some chicken n sweetcorn soup for lunch monday ;)

    I can't believe how well we are eating from the cupboards, freezer etc, I did give hubby €20 so he could stop off at the naafi to see if they had anything like butter to whack in the freezer -but he came back with it as there was nothing of use to us :j ...see I can't spend it even by proxy :rotfl:

    Hubby has a golf comp in the morning so im going to get lots of crochet done..although I may have to make something sweet too :p probably some cranberry scone in the remoska -seems much quicker than faffing with the oven :confused:
    anyway enough waffle..will get off..
    Have a great weekend everyone:D
    -6 -8 -3 -1.5 -2.5 -3 -1.5-3.5
  • :confused: my Tesco still has value products online, does it depend on your local store?

    I had a delivery on Monday that was predominantly Value products - I often wonder what the person picking it thinks - is it someone who thinks "what a skinflint" or an OS'er who thinks "ahh someone with sense" :rotfl:

    Yes I find this also-really annoying as I know they have it in the store it is picked from! They are trying to make us buy the more expensive stuff. The value shower gel,shampoo and conditioner and also the value washing powder ar not online on either Tesco or asda lately.
    Julimk wrote: »
    Another NSD. The weather is absolutely horrid, so didn’t go out at all! Will have to go out tomorrow for the main shop and am working on the list.

    I don’t think I will need any meat or fresh veggies this month, as there is enough in the freezer not to mention the recent batch cooking & UFOs. Will need fresh fruit, for pack-ups & snacks. And we are getting through a lot of milk/eggs/cheese. I am still buying the extra mature cheddar even though it is not the cheapest; there is usually at least one on special offer & need less to get a really cheesy flavour.

    First experiment with SC (beef casserole) is OK. Not amazing, so not completely converted, though that may be due to what went into it rather than anything else. Will try sausage casserole tomorrow, as have some sausages that need using & plenty of canned tomatoes, beans etc.
    Yes I usually use a strong cheddar when cooking as I use far less so it also means theres less fat in the meal. The exception to this is the cheese I grate you go on top of the pasta dishes as DD23 uses it like there is no tomorrow.
    Re the SC I assure you it is indeed what is going in there-I never look back on getting mine.
    Just in case anyone wants it-here is my recipe for sausage casserole in the SC. I always precook the sausages by the way as I like to cut down on the fat content of the dish.

    8-12 sausages
    1 tin of baked beans or kidney beans plus tomato puree or both
    about 1-2 pints of water
    2 or 3 beef stock cubes
    1 or 2 tins tomatoes
    maybe some carrots
    herbs of choice
    1 teaspoon chilli powder or 2 dried chillis if you like it a bit hot n spicy.
    1 cup of soup mix
    2 onions(small/med)
    2 medium potatoes-maybe more sliced or small chunks
    possibly other beans pulses or lentils I want to use up
    Any bits of veg I want to use up
    I top it on the last half hour with dumplings made with suet.
    I usually make a double batch of dumplings. I basically fill up my large SC and don't need to serve any extras with the casserole.
    As you see-its very "chuck it in the pot" in style and not important regarding quantities unless you really want it to be. The important part is making sure its not too salty-I put in 2 stock cubes and add the 3rd only if necessary. whether I use 2 tins toms depends how much I want to make and so forth. I tend to make this when I want to use up bits from the cupboard-they never really know what will be in it. Never done a bad one though.

    I used my first ever breadmix today-the hovis one. It was so different to what I usually make. Now Im wondering-is it the bread mix ingredients or is it the breadmaker programme I used? Normally ~I do large dark rapid but for the breadmix I did the standard large dark and(handsome)it looked and tasted great-far better than I've been making previously. Has anyone else found this? I will experiment with my own breadmaking now and use this programme and see what happens. 3 and a half hours is a long time though. It was much bigger and fluffier than usual.:j
    P.S A NSD for me. Total food spend this week was £80.17 but thats loads and loads of stuff!
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
  • CherryPie
    CherryPie Posts: 429 Forumite
    Had pasta with HM roasted veg sauce, salad & whoopsie crusty bread (18p) for dinner tonight. Didn't realise they whoopsied so early (6pm) in Mr T's. Maybe cos it's Saturday??:confused: Had some nearly past their best mushrooms in the fridge so on a whim decided to make some risotto. Turned out not bad I think so there's another 4 dinners in the freezer. At this rate I'll not be buying food until Decembers challenge!!
    My name is CherryPie and I'm addicted to grocery shopping!!



    Grocery Challenge

    Feb 2016 - £46.73 / £100.00
  • Hi everyone,
    Just done my main shop for the month, came in at $50, so it will be tight this month. Will just have to stay away from the shops!
  • Am having a disaster, but trying to look at it as a challenge. Went to costco yesterday, spent £128 OMG, then £9 in Aldi. Means things are going to be a bit tight for the rest of the month. There is masses in the freezer though so hopefully just F+V and Milk and Bread. (famous last words).
    Eat food, not edible food-like items. Mostly plants.
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,613
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    I used my first ever breadmix today-the hovis one. It was so different to what I usually make. Now Im wondering-is it the bread mix ingredients or is it the breadmaker programme I used? Normally ~I do large dark rapid but for the breadmix I did the standard large dark and(handsome)it looked and tasted great-far better than I've been making previously. Has anyone else found this? I will experiment with my own breadmaking now and use this programme and see what happens. 3 and a half hours is a long time though. It was much bigger and fluffier than usual.:j
    I've never used a breadmix, but I always use the standard (3lb loaf in 3.5hr) program on my machine. The instructions say that using the rapid setting misses out a 'raise', so I guess the bread won't be as big or light done that way (which matches your description), and my son doesn't like "heavy" bread.

    I actually did a 2.5lb loaf for the first time on Friday (have always done 3lb-ers before - and it was only 10 mins quicker!), as the blokes didn't actually eat much of the last one I did anyway :eek: Turned out to be because the slices were too big for the toaster..... So I figured it was worth trying the smaller one, and it fits in -- just!!

    I guess if the rapid setting makes them smaller then either size done that way would fit, so I might try it for the next loaf, but I'm then back to whether or not my son will eat it due to it not being as fluffy :confused:
    Cheryl
  • WelshWoofer
    WelshWoofer Posts: 5,076 Forumite
    Just a real quickie to tell you that Wexford mature cheddar in Mr S is marked down to £1.20 (in the whoopsie bit but with at least a month on the date:confused: ) but at the self scan tills it goes through at 50p! That's for the big block - so I got 3! Don't worry I left loads behind for someone else!

    Have enough cheese to last about a month now:T for £1.50.

    Anyway off to the US tomorrow so have a good week - see you next weekend.
  • Pitlanepiglet
    Pitlanepiglet Posts: 2,129
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    Went to costco yesterday, spent £128 OMG,

    I'm trying to work on a plan for dealing with Costco shops. I imagine that what you bought yesterday will last you well over a month? Presumably you bought your three trays of mince along with 'loo roll? :rotfl:

    I've started (since July) recording my Costco shops separately so that I can work out how much I spend at Costco but then spread over a longer period that reflects when I use the stuff.

    I had thought I'd spent way too much money in Costco but looking at it for July, August and September I've only spent £129 per month (2 of us) and that includes the gammon and pork offers from the last month that I still have most of in the freezer. Once I get a feel for what I'm spending over a six or twelve month period I'll set a budget to make sure I'm not over spending.

    I'd be interested in how others deal with bulk buying?
    Piglet

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  • bullet_2
    bullet_2 Posts: 137 Forumite
    I did a corned beef and piccalilli pie yesterday that tasted delicious. Had some cabbage to go with it.
    Today it's going to be fish in a cheese sauce with an oatmeal and breadcrumb topping, with mashed potatoes, carrots and brussel sprouts. I'll do extra mash so that some can be saved and mixed with a tin of sardines for me and our youngest son's lunch tomorrow.
  • catnap53
    catnap53 Posts: 230
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    I'm trying to work on a plan for dealing with Costco shops. I imagine that what you bought yesterday will last you well over a month? Presumably you bought your three trays of mince along with 'loo roll? :rotfl:

    I've started (since July) recording my Costco shops separately so that I can work out how much I spend at Costco but then spread over a longer period that reflects when I use the stuff.

    I had thought I'd spent way too much money in Costco but looking at it for July, August and September I've only spent £129 per month (2 of us) and that includes the gammon and pork offers from the last month that I still have most of in the freezer. Once I get a feel for what I'm spending over a six or twelve month period I'll set a budget to make sure I'm not over spending.

    I'd be interested in how others deal with bulk buying?

    I thought I was spending a lot too, but since I started GC in May I have just worked out that mine averages out at 138 pounds a month for the 5 full months.

    I started a spreadsheet to take out what was stock and what was for immediate use, e.g. fruit for the week or a chicken vs a tray of baked beans that would last nearly 4 months or the proverbial loo rolls. I gave up as I found [strike]I couldn't be bothered [/strike] it difficult to decide whether a pack of chicken breasts or soap powder that I would use some of in the month would be counted as stock.

    I do remove the non-GC items (books, DVDs and the Kenwood ;) ) from my total though, but otherwise just count it all in, as I won't need to spend on those items during the next months, so figure it will balance out.

    Just sorted one shelf of my freezer to try to get the mince in, forced myself to stop at two packs. I have taken out lamb chops and cheesecake for tea, and chicken livers to make pate. I then rationalised the boxes with fish portions and chicken tenders, weighed and labelled some things, made the inventory and put back the stock. I now have less room than I started with, so back to the drawing board when I have given it time for the temperature to settle.

    Definitely doing a meal plan for this week as this will help with the freezer space as I can cook and chill for a couple of days at least.

    I only logged on to find out what I can do with the lamb chops. I don't normally buy them but they came as part of the half lamb. I have 5 that weigh 800g in total and 4 of us to feed, seems a bit much to use the lot in one go, but I suppose there is a significant amount of bone to account for. I did buy some rosemary yesterday as I thought I might use some and I never buy it normally.

    Just found the leeks (not leaks thank goodness) in the porch, it would have been cool enough overnight, but the sun has now been shining on them. Will use some in the chicken casserole that is simmering, I am sure I can play catch up.

    Zzzz
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