January 2012 Grocery Challenge

1170171173175176330

Comments

  • :rotfl:NSD for me today. I had a very productive day cooking up the contents of the fridge. I had a packet of puff pastry which I turned into a pizza with half a tin of tomato putee, some sliced green peeper, chopped onion, tin of baked beans and a bit of cheese. I also made bread and butter pudding from the gluten free bread from App Foods which I didnt like as bread! I used up some out of date goats milk in it and out of date eggs and my eldest dd(26)who is a fussy eater said it was the best she has ever had! Oh I had mine with "out of date" cream(naturally)but I find double cream is always good even a week out of date!
    I then made my scotch eggs with the pork sausagemeat I bought a couple of days ago(so it was out of date but I rely on smell for meat).
    Recipe for this to follow! They were the best scotch eggs ever even if I do say so myself-I even toasted my own breadcrumbs! (from my out of date bread):rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
  • Fiasco55
    Fiasco55 Posts: 1,347
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Another NSD for me today - that now makes 5 for January :j. Lunch was a very boring ham sandwich and dinner tonight was fish and chips with loads of beetroot.

    I need to use up some eggs tomorrow so I think lunch will be egg mayo baguette.
    No buying toiletries Graduated May 2017
    Decluttered 2016 2469 items, 2017 1580 items :j
    2018 3060 items
    Sealed Pot Challenge No 038
  • raphanius
    raphanius Posts: 1,338
    Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    my first NSD of the year :dance:
    Wins: 2008: £606.10 2009: £806.24 2010: £713.47 2011: 328.32
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,289
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Forumite


    It's a spreadsheet developed by Cheryl (CW18) on which you can record your monthly outgoings / spends on things like groceries / toiletries etc and very kindly shared with those of us (ie me!) who aren't able to produce anything nearly as sophisticated!

    Available here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=39711066&postcount=360

    This place is awesome :cool: and the spreadsheet makes my basic tracker appear somewhat feeble and pathetic by comparison! It still lets me total my spend and filters on the columns let me see how many times I buy things in a month so I know what my bulk buy totals should look like. Thanks for taking the trouble to upload the link - much appreciated. Makes me realise what a naive money saver I am at this stage... Oh well, it can only get better :rotfl:
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
  • SuzieY_2
    SuzieY_2 Posts: 16 Forumite
    edited 11 January 2012 at 8:44PM
    Another weekly shop on Monday. It only came to £17.49 including two saver stamps :) as i used a £5 Morrisons voucher that that i got from the Daily Mail for collecting weekly codes :).
    Grocery Challenge
    Jan £129.83/£130 - Feb £130.51/£130
    - March £138.26/£130 - April £150.16/£130
    - May £196.78/£130 - June £127.74/£130 - July £133.51/£130 - Aug £132.21/£130- Sept - £78.89/£130 - Oct £165.44/£130 - Nov - £65.30/£130
  • Scotch eggs

    Ingredients.
    6 eggs
    700g Waitrose essentials pork sausagemeat(outdoor piggies)
    1 egg for brushing
    4 slices of bread for crumbs
    1 litre veg oil for frying(this can then be strained and used again)

    A deep pan
    A slotted spoon
    some kitchen roll
    A big dish/basin for rolling eggs in breadcrumbs
    A cereal bowl

    Method

    Put eggs on to boil.
    In a foodprocessor crumb 4 slices of bread
    Put crumbs on a shallow tray in oven on gas 6 approx for a few mins until dry and slightly browned
    Divide the pack of pork into two pieces, then each piece, divide into 3 pieces-6 pieces total.

    Flatten each portion of pork into a burger shape
    Beat up an egg in a cereal dish
    Check your crumbs and when they are done, whizz them up in the food processor again.
    Transfer crumbs to the large dish/basin

    Now for the eggs
    Hardboil the eggs and allow to go cold-put them in cold water after they are cooked to speed things up.
    When cold, peel off the shels in a pan of cold water.
    Dry the eggs
    When the eggs are cold put the oil(or half a panfull)on to heat up very hot
    Roll each egg carefully in the burger shped pork in the palms of your hands until it resembles a tennis ball and is covered evenly.
    Dip it in the beaten egg(Only use a little egg-don't have it dripping-just enough to coat it.) then roll it in the breadcrumbs pressing the crumbs gently onto the sausagemeat.
    Set this aside until all of them are done.
    KEEP YOU EYES ON THE FAT BOILING
    Test the fat to see if its hot enough-I just dipped the slotted spoon in it and felt the oil on the spoon to see if it felt hot but I am used to doing this. You could drop a tiny blob of egg into the oil to see if it fries or sinks. You need it hot enough to fry!
    When you are happy that the fat is hot gently lower the eggs into it using the slotted spoon(so it doesnt splash)one at a time. I got 4 eggs in my first batch.
    When it is sizzling turn it down a bit-the oil should never bubble up more than 3/4 of the height of the pan!!!
    Keep turning the eggs avery minute or so and keep cooking them until they look the right colour(a bit darker than shop ones)
    Take the eggs out with the slotted spoon and drain on kitchen roll. Put in the rest of the eggs as you did before.
    Allow to cool(if you can resist)then they are ready.

    I hope I have written this in easy terms for novices-that is my intention!
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,289
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    janiepopps wrote: »
    :D

    Can someone help me sort out a problem we have seem to have with portion sizes? I've googled it to not much avail, but I always seem to cook (and therefore dish up) too much.

    OH is a builder so needs more than a sedentary type. However I am most definitely not! Most evening meals leave me feeling uncomfortably full, although I always have considerably less than him.

    Tonight we had Xmas Pie, a lovely mix of the leftover xmas dinner in shortcrust pastry (which was yummy) with mash & peas. What I now wish I'd done was leave some mash in the pan for tomorrow but I slapped it all on the plates :o

    How much do you guys put on your plate, do you have any tips for me to stop me being so gluttonous...?

    Hi Janiepopps, Haven't read 83-87 so not sure who else has replied but a few years ago I was given a copy of a British Heart Foundation Healthy Eating Guide and at that time there was a PDF version on-line. I just did a quick check and there is a portion plate available now, together with suggestion proportions between fruit and veg, protein, fats, carbs etc. You will need to increase to reflect OH physical job but for a woman it's excellent. I seem to recall 2 portions of protein a day was recommended for a woman with a portion being the equivalent to a pack of playing cards and veg being 2 tablespoons (or broccoli florets) to a portion. HTH:beer:
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
  • hex2
    hex2 Posts: 4,736
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Ninno820 - sometimes it takes a long time to have an impact! A good 15 years in my case but going on maternity leave at 30 (after years of M&S ready meals) I remembered my home economics lessons and knew that things like sausage casserole, bread, soup and pizza were manageable in 80 minutes including writing out the method. From there I taught myself, and now am ok but that initial confidence to try went back to lessons at school. My mum is a good cook, but as the middle one of five chidren, limited funds and a small kitchen I never really got the chance to play. Both my sons love cooking, help me and very much look forward to cooking lessons at junior school.

    Some RTC steak from the co-op stashed away in the freezer, along with a huge pork shoulder joint on half price offer. I have ten to feed for Sunday lunch so this will be perfect slow roasted.
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need' Marcus Tullius Cicero
  • bupster
    bupster Posts: 259
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    Am very proud of self. Went into Sainsbobs on the way home, had a look round for whoopsies, with a £2 voucher off a £20 shop burning a hole in my purse and about to run out tomorrow. Left the supermarket without buying anything! Now about to make a giant pasta bake from stuff in the fridge and freezer, in a very smug and self-satisfied manner :rotfl:
    Grocery challenge September 2022: £230.04/£200
    Grocery challenge October 2022: 0/£200

    2012 numbers:
    Grocery challenge - April £65.28/£80
    Entertainment - £79

    Grocery challenge March £106.55/£100
    Grocery challenge February £90.11/£100
    Grocery challenge January £84.65/£300
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,289
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    Beccatje wrote: »
    Thanks for the tips on second purse.. off to read now.. and I was planning on cleaning my house.. tsssss. oh well..

    lol!
    More to life than housework, as I tell my lightbulb-polishing friend :j
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 606.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.7K Life & Family
  • 247.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards