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Need help this month - £46 for food for 2 adults, 3 pets and toddler

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  • the frozen veg mush i would incorporate into a soup as its going to be blended anyway.

    with the sauages make a sausage casserole, i would chop sausgaes in half and would def get 2 meals out of it. (my husband always thinks he has had more when sausages are chopped!!) - you could serve this in half the yorkshire each for you and husband.
  • Hawthorn
    Hawthorn Posts: 1,241 Forumite
    What sort of tinned/dry stuff do you have?
    Proud to be dealing with my debts :T

    Don't throw away food challenge started 30/10/11 £4.45 wasted.

    Storecard balance -[STRIKE] £786.60[/STRIKE] £708
  • Ok just done the tins now:

    Savoury -
    1 x big soup
    4 x veg soup (but it's cheap and horrible)
    7 x tomato soup (again cheap and horrible)
    3 x chicken soup (yep cheap and horrible again)
    8 x Baked Beans
    5 x Chopped tomatoes
    3 x spaghetti
    5 x Kidney Beans
    1 x carrots
    2 x sweetcorn
    3 x potatoes
    1 x Corned Beef
    3 x tuna

    Sweet -
    2 x peach slices
    6 x rice pudding
    2 x fruit cocktail
    1 x grapefruit chunks
    1 x Choc Pudding
    1 x Strawberry pudding
    1 x Syrup pudding
    3 x custard
    1 x Carnation milk
    Debts May 09 [strike]£100 Od[/strike], [strike]£1550 boiler[/strike], [strike]£1750[/strike] £400 credit card :mad: Goal - to 3k of savings by Oct 2009 in time for Baby num 2 :j Total so far £1200
  • In the fridge:

    about 10 carrots, 1/2 cabbage, 1 onion
    about 10 yoghurts, biggish block of Cheshire Cheese, Lard, Margerine and butter
    Debts May 09 [strike]£100 Od[/strike], [strike]£1550 boiler[/strike], [strike]£1750[/strike] £400 credit card :mad: Goal - to 3k of savings by Oct 2009 in time for Baby num 2 :j Total so far £1200
  • Have just done the jars cupboard...

    We have:
    3 x various curry sauces
    1 x bolognese sauce
    1 x pasta sauce
    1 x sweet & sour sauce
    2 x Sausages tonight
    3 x Chicken tonight (must have been on offer lol)
    2 x Pasta Bake sauce
    Couple of packets of noodles
    Debts May 09 [strike]£100 Od[/strike], [strike]£1550 boiler[/strike], [strike]£1750[/strike] £400 credit card :mad: Goal - to 3k of savings by Oct 2009 in time for Baby num 2 :j Total so far £1200
  • Cat72
    Cat72 Posts: 2,398 Forumite
    You could maybe make your soups- like the tomato & chicken into sauces & jazz them up a bit ,if they are yucky.
    The same thing can be done with the chicken soup, either add it some pasta dish or to a casserole.
    Or use them as a stock for a better soup, maybe adding some pulses.
    You can also add the beans to sausages for a casserole, sprinkle some cheese on just before serving -easy to do & add some nice crusty bread as well.
    Do you have any dried pasta or flour ?
  • Cat72 wrote: »
    You could maybe make your soups- like the tomato & chicken into sauces & jazz them up a bit ,if they are yucky.
    The same thing can be done with the chicken soup, either add it some pasta dish or to a casserole.
    Or use them as a stock for a better soup, maybe adding some pulses.
    You can also add the beans to sausages for a casserole, sprinkle some cheese on just before serving -easy to do & add some nice crusty bread as well.
    Do you have any dried pasta or flour ?

    Yes, I have a couple of packets of plain flour, some pasta (although not loads) and some cous-cous.

    I'm just going to look in the other freezer now and see what's in there, and then hopefully I'll be able to do a full meal plan for the month.

    BTW - the sausage casserole sounds lovely, I may have a go at that tonight.
    Debts May 09 [strike]£100 Od[/strike], [strike]£1550 boiler[/strike], [strike]£1750[/strike] £400 credit card :mad: Goal - to 3k of savings by Oct 2009 in time for Baby num 2 :j Total so far £1200
  • Hawthorn
    Hawthorn Posts: 1,241 Forumite
    First thought that comes to mind is get a couple of bags of oats. 58p for Smartprice from Asda. You can use these as breakfasts, and adding it to the mince beef will double it's capacity. I can make 1lb of mince stretch across 12 meals by adding oats and veg.
    Get a big tub of margarine (around the £2 mark). Obviously useful as a spread, but by adding half marg to flour, rubbing it in and adding water, you have dumplings to add to your soups, making them more filling, cheaply.
    Have you considered dried milk for yourself and your husband? Lidl do an excellent one. We only use it in drinks - you can't tell the difference. It's £1.49 for a tin, and that will probably last you the month, or thereabouts. You can also use it in cooking. That will save a little on the fresh whole milk if you could just purchase that for your son to use.
    Potatoes - Smartprice potatoes are around 80p for 2.5 kilos. Versatile, cheap and filling.
    Another cheap meal we like - we buy the smartprice pitta breads...23p for six I think they are?
    I chop onions finely, fry them up in a little butter or oil, add beans and cheese and serve with a pitta bread.
    The corned beef could be made into a corned beef hash, or cornish pasties if you can make pastry.
    I would be tempted by an offer they have on at asda - three chickens for a tenner.
    Each one could do a roast dinner, a sweet and sour, a curry and a soup made from stock. They wouldn't do huge servings, but that would about cover your meat intake for the week.
    make yorkshires/dumplings to bulk it out a bit, and serve with veg.
    Carrots are 80p for 2k from asda at the moment. Onions are less than a quid for 2k. Swede about 80p a kilo?
    A bag or two of lentils would be a good investment. High in protein and filling.
    Eggs - Asda do 30 cooks eggs for under £3. They would cover you for the month for a couple of meals a week.
    Buy bread flour (48p for 1.5k), a pot of allinsons yeast and make your own bread.
    Pasta - cheap and filling. You already have pasta bake in your stocks.
    I would also buy a couple of blocks of lard, and flour. Pastry is filling, easy to make and cheap.
    Proud to be dealing with my debts :T

    Don't throw away food challenge started 30/10/11 £4.45 wasted.

    Storecard balance -[STRIKE] £786.60[/STRIKE] £708
  • scotrae
    scotrae Posts: 588 Forumite
    Congratulations on your marriage! People have already come up with some great ideas foodwise but I thought it worth adding a cheeky tip that I've picked up from the Old Style MSE threads in the past. i have to add that it's not one I've tried but ...

    Get your wedding photos and arrange to call on different friends/family on different days to show them. With a bit of luck you'll get one or two invites to stop for something to eat (and if you feel bad remember that if it's someone you invited to the wedding they'll have had a meal on you recently!)

    There - I can't belive I've even suggested it but others have mentioned having tea with friends and family as a great money-saver in the past and you've got a very good excuse to visit!
  • Ok the kitchen freezer now and all done:

    2 x spotted !!!!!! puddings
    10 x sausage rolls
    20 sausages
    2 pckts mixed veg
    2 salmon pieces
    2 garlic bread
    6 breaded fish portions
    18 meatballs
    frying steak
    2 garlic naans
    7 portions home made soup
    about half a loaf of bread
    Debts May 09 [strike]£100 Od[/strike], [strike]£1550 boiler[/strike], [strike]£1750[/strike] £400 credit card :mad: Goal - to 3k of savings by Oct 2009 in time for Baby num 2 :j Total so far £1200
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