January 2011 Grocery Challenge

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Comments

  • Well done brodie1:beer:

    Wow i havent been on here for a few days and have just spent ages reading all the posts its great:D, i did the multi quote but i think i lost it 5 pages back somewhere :rotfl: but just wanted to say thankyou to everyone for the new recipes to try :beer:

    After reading about AF by some of you last week i decided to have a look as i had never heard of them, and i now have a delivery coming :D Im normally one of those people that worry about the dates, but im going to try real hard not to anymore, so thankyou everyone :beer:

    :grouphug: to everyone , a hug is one size fits all and nobody minds if you pass it on afterwards :)
    GC spend Jan so far £165.68/ £160 FEB £189 /£170
    MARCH £0/£170
    Beautiful pictures are formed from dark negatives , so when your having a dark day feel rest assured that a beautiful picture is being prepared for you :)
  • martafdz
    martafdz Posts: 1,000 Forumite
    Congrats brodie for going under budget... again!

    Thansk rosieben for adding the recipe, you are a star! :D

    Pernicious wrote: »
    When did M&S start doing a 3 for £10 deal on meat?

    I saw it a few days ago, some packets were a bit small for my liking though. Well, at least if I compared it to MrM! I went there a week ago and they had the same offer. I bought 25 meatballs packet, 1Kg mince meat packet and 4 pork chops for that £10. I made little individual packets to froze and now I will have plenty of food for over a week. 50% of January's week my OH had supper on his own and lunch at work (and I just have a quick sandwich with whatever), so I am not using that much for meals. Win!! :T
    Quit smoking *1st January 2010*

    13/12/2012, baby girl!!!
  • elly2
    elly2 Posts: 556
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    Forumite
    Have messed up my GC this week so far, i forgot i had my GC money in a different purse and have been using my every day purse to pay for shopping :eek::o have no idea how i forgot but hey ho :D. I have not been to the shops since weds but my lovely DD has been to pick some things up for me mainly bread, milk, pasta. I have £70 left in my grocery purse (gave her £20 today for some shopping) so before that i had £90 left and i know i have spent more than £10 since weds (i'm confused :D).
    Need to go shopping tomorrow for veg and spices (my takeaway secret book is here:D so going to do the curry sauce and also the donner sometime next week). I was going to make pork casserole tomorrow in the SC but the fruit shop was closed today so will do that tues so tomorrow we will have chicken and rice, am trying to meal plan using mostly what we have in apart from the stuff needed for the curry and donner meals.
  • Not doing the challenge as trying to use up an overstocked freezer, but hoping to join next month so reading through for some inspiration.
    Pernicious wrote: »
    When did M&S start doing a 3 for £10 deal on meat?

    Everytime I have been in M&S their meat prices are astronomical so I refuse to buy it & stick to Mr T's instead. I'm sure M&S probably is better quality but have never been able to afford their prices, I will have to check this out.

    I've seen this deal the last few times I've been in, so perhaps just before Christmas? As above poster said, it's not always that great a deal as some of the packs are quite small. I find most of M&S meat is packed to serve 2, rather than 4 as it usually is in the more family oriented supermarkets. It's good for splurges though, I use the deal to stockpile DH's favourite spicy chicken.
  • Spiggle
    Spiggle Posts: 1,787
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
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    ... Weekend make fish pie and batch cook bolognaise and tomato sauce alongside writing assignment of 1500 words and possible marmalade making if sevilles appear

    Hi fedupandskint,

    How do you make your marmalade please? :o We've got sevilles and tried a batch today in the bread maker but it didn't get to setting temp so OH has transferred it to a pan to try and get the set right.

    I had a look at the first page recipes and love the sound of the miser's marmalade but at the moment just need a straight orange one (or lemon or mixture :p) Any recommendations/recipes very welcome please. ;)

    Well done Brodie! :T:beer::T

    Keep up the great work everyone is doing - it will make such a difference to all our lives. :D

    All the best,
    Spigs
    Mortgage Free October 2013 :T
  • Pernicious
    Pernicious Posts: 1,786 Forumite
    Hmm maybe I am better off sticking to Mr T's 3 for £10 deal then if the M&S packs are quite small.

    Anyway can any of you lovely people help me to complete this challenge successfully? I am down to my last 3 washing tablets...& will need more (or powder, or anything else that will work :rotfl:) before payday comes around on the 28th, I really can't spend what I'd usually spend on them as we will still need to buy fresh fruit, milk & bread etc.

    Soooo, can anyone recommend which is cheapest first of all? Tablets, powder, etc? What brand? & where to get them?
    :idea:Debt at July 2012: £12,862.57 :eek:
    :dance:Current Debt: £0 :j
    100% paid off!
    :think: Savings Goal for November 2016: £5000 :cool:
    :D Current Savings: £1176.24 _party_
    23.52% Saved!
  • SilverCo
    SilverCo Posts: 160 Forumite
    elly2 wrote: »
    Have messed up my GC this week so far, i forgot i had my GC money in a different purse and have been using my every day purse to pay for shopping :eek::o have no idea how i forgot but hey ho :D. I have not been to the shops since weds but my lovely DD has been to pick some things up for me mainly bread, milk, pasta. I have £70 left in my grocery purse (gave her £20 today for some shopping) so before that i had £90 left and i know i have spent more than £10 since weds (i'm confused :D).
    Need to go shopping tomorrow for veg and spices (my takeaway secret book is here:D so going to do the curry sauce and also the donner sometime next week). I was going to make pork casserole tomorrow in the SC but the fruit shop was closed today so will do that tues so tomorrow we will have chicken and rice, am trying to meal plan using mostly what we have in apart from the stuff needed for the curry and donner meals.

    elly2 - I know exactly what you mean, I'm always doing the same thing! You wouldn't thunk it would be that difficult to get confused over two purses would you?! :D

    NSD for me today or yesterday, woohoo!!

    Roast chicken for dinner this evening, then will use the leftovers for curry and freeze the carcass so I can make a big batch of stock sometime.

    The M&S 3 for £10 has been on since beginning of Jan where we are. Think it's something they seem to do on and off all year through.

    I too make my own bolognese sauce - dead easy and yummy too:

    1. Brown mince in a pan and then drain excess fat.
    2. Meanwhile, soften onions and garlic in a pan with olive oil.
    3. Add mushrooms (and fresh chilli if you like a bit of a kick) and soften.
    4. Combine mince and onions/garlic /mushrooms.
    5. Add 400g tin chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.
    6. Stir in a level teaspoon of sugar (takes sharpness away from tomatoes) and season according to taste.
    7. Cook on low heat for 15-20 mins.
    8. Add fresh basil and stir in just before serving.

    Silver x

    PS. Well done brodie1!
    1st LBM :idea: 21.12.09 Total Debt - £21049.95.
    Final LBM :idea: 16.8.13 Total Debt - £16583
    DFW Nerd #1282 - Proud to be Dealing with My Debts! :D
    :A SPC Member #1182 :A
  • minnie2
    minnie2 Posts: 513 Forumite
    Disaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    well i did not get cash out, i did not stick to my list, and i did not add up as i was going round!!!!!!!!!! but i did SPEND A BLOODY FORTUNE!!!!!!! Argh!!!

    Sainsburys - spent £6.92 saved 50p and spent a £2.50 nectar reward so end total £3.92

    Asda - spent £43.94 saved £4.06 end total £39.88

    Morrison - spent £39.61 saved £10.94 end total £28.77

    total spend - £72.57

    overall spent £86.27 this month so ive got £68.73 left till end of this month

    i suppose its ok as i have been spending £395 a month and have slashed the budget £155

    i did get a couple of things i was pleased with - cod reduced from £2.58 to 29p i got 2lots not that i eat it, but hubby does! plus a massive lump of gammon for £6 - other gammon was £4.55/ £5.19/ £5.49 a kg but the lump i got works out less than £1 a kg

    but now what to do with it!!!! i dont eat the stuff so itll be meals for 1 for hubby!!!
    Frugal living challenge - need to revisit its been.a while !! Need to reduce our debts!!
  • Pernicious wrote: »
    Anyway can any of you lovely people help me to complete this challenge successfully? I am down to my last 3 washing tablets...& will need more (or powder, or anything else that will work :rotfl:)

    Soooo, can anyone recommend which is cheapest first of all? Tablets, powder, etc? What brand? & where to get them?

    We were spending a fortune on washing powder, I need to do a load every day sometimes 2 if I need to do towels/ bedding etc...anyway we switched to MrS basics washing powder, and it does the job just fine. I think its £1.50 something for one of the big boxes, the box says it does 30 washes and that probably works out about right for us. I dont like the smell of MrTs value washing powder- its really strong!!
    January grocery challenge- £338.09/£350
    £365 in 365 days- £25
    January NSDs- 9
    Money made on ebay- £16.89
  • minnie2
    minnie2 Posts: 513 Forumite
    I make my bolognese sauces really simply...just cook some mince in a pan with whatever veg I fancy (or have left!) mushrooms, peppers, courgettes, onions etc, stick a can of chopped tomatoes in, and I usually put a bit of black pepper/ garlic/ mixed herbs in too, and thats it!
    martafdz wrote: »
    I do the following:

    1. Put sunflower oil in a pan, enough to cover the base without making a pool lol. Put a middle heat.

    2. Add chopped onion (small chunks), it should go soft and yellow, not brown. If it goes brown, the heat was a bit too high.

    3. Add garlic. If you like garlic, chop it finely or use the dry minced one. If you do not like eating garlic, just put two dents without skin but whole, so you can remove them later on.

    4. Add chopped mushrooms (if you like them). They have water usually, so now it is time to put the heat up a bit. My kitchen goes from 1 to 10 and I put it at 7-8. Keep moving everything so nothing gets burn. If the mushrooms had too much water and now you have a pool you might want to either spoon out liquid and add a bit more of oil, or put the heat up for a bit until some water evaporates.
    At this point I put the other pan with water for the spaguetti to boil.

    5. When the mushrooms start to change colour and they do not look that raw, I add the mince meat. I spread it around making sure there are not big balls of mince meat. Mix everything, stir and leave it for a bit so the mince browns a bit. Then turn it and leave to brown the other side.

    6. I put the pasta to cook in boiling water in the other pan.

    7. I add a jar of tomato sauce and half a teaspoon of mixed herbs (optional) to the pan with the mince. I put down the heat to 3. Stir stir stir so everything gets mixed well. Tomato burns easily and stick to pans, so keep stirring until everything is mixed and everything has cooled a bit. If you see the tomato bubling really softly (not exploding lol), then you can leave it for a minute at low heat, then stir and leave for a bit again. I usually add the salt at this point because some tomato sauces make it sweet, so I prefer to check here how much I need. If I do not have a jar of tomato sauce, I use chopped tomato but then I start earlier because it is always really watery so I need to take all the water out and leave the tomato to fry for a bit, so I do not reduce to 3 but maybe 5 and stir most of the time until it changes colour from bright red to darkish red. I also have to add more salt. Sometimes also add tomato puree to make it thicker if I have used the chopped tomato tin.

    8. I then drain the spaguetti (after I tried and it is soft inside but firm outside) and add the mix from the pan. I stir everything and sometimes put it back to the heat for less than a minute, still stirring, just so the tomato sauce sticks even more to the spaguetti.

    9. Eaaaat! Lol

    I quite fancy doing spaguetti tomorrow now, lol. Or burritos!!! :D I kind of do the same but without mushrooms or tomato, adding fajita spices and draining well before adding to the tortilla and salad. Mmmmm, yummy!!
    Another £10.53 spent todat as I was passing a Sainsburys so went in for some of the o0ffers - Ariel liquid, sausages, muller lights plus some g/f wafers & Sainsbury's weetabix. Made a curry last night with one of Co Op's 1/2 price healthier option jar of sauce (64p?) & it was very nice so might get some more tomorrow if offer still on. It may be cheaper to completely make your own curry but I am happy using a sauce for an easy meal on Saturday nights & it's still way cheaper than getting a takeaway.

    Bolognaise - I fry onion, garlic, a stick or two of celery, a grated carrot or two, mushrooms if I have them, brown the mince, drain the fat, add tomato puree & oregano & mixed herbs & cook for another minute, add tinned tomatoes, s & p, a teaspoon of sugar (to take off the acidity of the tomotoes), a small cup of beef stock and sometimes a few squirts of ketchup. I keep tasting & adding to it until the taste is exactly as I like it!


    thanx everyone!!! i usually buy sauces to add but they are now £1.20 (were 98p) so wondering if making my own was cheaper!! will have an experiment!!
    Frugal living challenge - need to revisit its been.a while !! Need to reduce our debts!!
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