April 2009 Grocery Challenge

I don't know where to start in these months anymore - my challenge begins today, as that's when my money goes in. I'll be trying to stay under £160 all being well but can I still use this thread?

x Frugalswan x

Totally lost count this month:o

I know I am well under budget though

But I am gonna ditch out for this month, and get my act together for next month

Thurday -NSD day
Friday - Bottle of wine £7
Saturday - Hope for NSD day

£20
-£7
Balance remaining £13 until 30th April !! However there is food in the freezer, so only essentials to buy ,milk bread and potatoes.

Morning all

I have been lurking on this thread - since payday is the 23rd and therefore my "grocery month" starts then - can I declare a target of £120 please.

I have had a look at some of your recipes and am desperate to try them - they all sound fab!

Ninno x

BigMummaF wrote: »

Hi Kezlou--& everyone else :hello: Sorry to chop, but could you do the recipes for the pie & pasties please? I always make my innerds too soggy or too dry, but as I'm trying to get us all on a healthy food kick perhaps we shouldn't have the pastry anyways
I wish my lot would at least try to be moreadventurous food-wise cuz the burgers sound lovely. I made a snake & tiddly concoction the other night with carrot, parsnip, sprouts & potatoall in the same pot & one refused to even taste a bit off the spoon :mad: My one saving grace from that meal--which Pup & I thoroughly enjoyed btw--was the herby dumplings. 6oz of plain flour sifted with a sprinkling of salt, dried mixed herbs & a swoosh of cold water....started to put little dollops in the 'stew' only to see the suet still sitting in the bowl of the scales :doh: I didn't have the time,inclination or flour to make more so left as is & they tasted fine :T so have I found a dieter's dream?
As for GC, I'm attempting to keep spends to a minimum & read here all the time, so I am with you all in spirit if not physically declaring.
Good Luck everyone.

Well the cheese and bacon pasties i made:-
Flaky pastry (i cheated and used the sainsburys one that OH got of the freezer so had to be used, he thought it was a block of cheese :rolleyes:)

Filling:- any strong cheese and drained potatoes mashed.With no butter, milk, salt etc just ordinary potatoes, with fried bacon and onions. I then mixed it up all together till bonded, left it in a colander for thirty minutes. This allows any moisture to escape and the filling to cool down. I then put the filling into pastry and cook in the oven on gas mark 5 till golden and brown.

HTH

Chicken. leek and bacon pie / pasties.

4 rashers bacon, chopped, quite small.(provides all the salt you need)
oil for frying
2kg leeks, washed, cut and finely sliced (my kids will only eat it like this) or a mixture of onions and leeks works fine.
ground black pepper (i use quite a bit)
800g cooked chicken meat, (or turkey)chopped into chunks
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour (or cornflour)
2 pints of vegetable stock
1/2 x 500g packet puff pastry or fresh if making you own

1) Fry bacon in oil till partially cooked add leeks / onions till brown add chicken and fry for a couple of minutes.
2)add two tablespoons of plain flour to the chicken and stir till coated.
3) add the two pints of veg stock to the chicken mixture, mix all together and bring to the boil for about 2 minutes.
4)Pour the chicken mixture into a sieve over another large empty pan and let the juices drained.
5) once all the juices are drained turn the chicken mix into a pyrex dish (or any glass dish) cover with the pastry and cook in the oven on gas mark 5 till pastry is golden brown.
6) I then use the drained juices as gravy.

My kids are really fussy but i now have a system in place eat your food or starve, (or no desert, fruit etc) i know it sounds awful but its worked for the past few weeks. I tend to make a lot of curries, so my kids are used to getting concoctions of some kind, poor kids Even got them to eat liver and spinach :eek: which shocked me as they actually liked it in the end! Bad for me as i can't stand liver .

Will have to try the dumplings , thanks for the recipe!

Basic white bread recipe (makes a 2lb loaf)
250g Strong White Bread Flour
250g Plain Flour
220ml of cold water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
7g dried fast action yeast ( or if using bread machine about 1 1/2 tsp of fast action yeast)
2 tsp of dried milk powder (optional)

after mixed together you could add things like herbs, garlic and leave to rise for a couple of hours till doubled in size. Then knock back down and put into loaf tin rill risen again. Bake in hot oven on gas mark 6 for about 45 minutes or till cooked.

In the bread machine, put it on a basic setting, 2ld loaf, when the starts add herbs(optional).

I do this with sun dried tomatoes and mixed herbs, its lovely.

Well make the falafel yesterday with rice and chickpea curry for lunch, then went off to my sisters, she fed the boys and i came back with HM jarwala for me and OH, was lush with HM bread.

No idea what were for lunch etc as i'm waiting on friends kids to come, who are extremely fussy, so don't know if were eating out or not.
Will post up meal plan later, once i've seen what we have in.

Frugal swan:- A new thread will start soon for May, so just post on they, but keep on here if you like till that one starts.