January 2012 Grocery Challenge

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  • Spiggle
    Spiggle Posts: 1,787
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    Morning All,


    I'm trying not to post too much as you're all so on the ball but I'm smiling so much at the posts I had to! :p
    ... Today I am going to be cooking. A nice day in the kitchen. A couple of questions though.

    I am making a spaghetti bolognaise. I will be using 500g of mince. Normally this feeds the 4 of us nicely. However, I was thinking of adding red lentils to the mince to, hopefully, stretch it to 2 meals. How much should I add and should I add any extra liquid? ...

    Miss Organised, good on you for making your meals go further! :T I didn't used to add too much more liquid when using lentils as the liquid from the meat and toms is usually enough. One thing I always used to do though was add the lentils to the pan when frying off the onions and garlic (and chopped/sliced carrots if you were me) before adding the mince to brown that off. Not sure why and "I'm a chuck it in 'til it looks right" kind of cook so can't help with quantities but the lentils have a lovely flavour when treated like this and (to us at least) blended completely with the mince once cooking is finished. Think I used to chuck a couple of good handfuls in. This can also be used as a veggie bol if you use a lot more lentils as a replacement for the meat. Oh, and don't forget you can also add a handful of porridge oats to a meat version (as well as lentils) and that disappears too but does make the meat stretch a lot further. Hmmm, nom nom I'm starving now! :drool:
    gailey wrote: »
    ... I forgot to add yesterday was pester power from my 5year old they so brand orientated shes forever saying seen this on the advert.

    She thinks if I feed her baby brother follow on milk he be healthy from the inside and be able to walk hes only 9months!Not sure if shes confusing dog food add for formula:rotfl:

    Anyway brought her pack iced buns in tesco reduced treat 25p.

    yogurt ailses the worst.

    She keeps pestering me for those flipping cadbury choc mouse button thing think was 2 for 79p in sainsburys.

    I comprimised

    value choc mouse shocking 35p now:eek: but low cal as not convinced much choc in it!

    value choc buttons 35p

    ok so 70p together

    but 4choc button desserts:D

    Now wondering what else I can copy.

    she thinks co-op value fromage frais is munch bunch as comes in coloured pots so she can easily identify flavours she annoyingly only likes apricot.

    its 52p so now 2p more than others as they rose from 44p to 50p last few weeks:mad:

    yesterday brought natural yogurt lidls 49p on offer.
    going to add some stewed fruit to make muller corner.
    crushed up biscuits or flakes work well too.

    brought some ellas kitchen fruit pouches in sainsbury on offer at 50p but so sloppy more like drink so going to stir in and flavour the natural yougury divide into small tubs and work oujt what a saving a big tub is? ...

    My gailey how really original, sensible and inventive of you. :T Made me laugh out loud at the follow-on milk comment! :rotfl: I banned my GD1 from watching anything other than BBC when she stays with us. That's getting a little harder now she's almost ten though! I do hate the ads that are directed at children, real bugbear of mine. :mad:

    I've made a dessert this morning that my dear old Mum used to make when I was a kid. We bought a load of jellies the other day (OH and I have had a real hankering lately, ah well good for the hair and nails if not the tum :o) and so I picked up a can of evaporated milk in L*dl to make Milk Jelly. All you do is dissolve the jelly in as little boiling water as possible, while it's dissolving give the evaporated milk a bit of a whisk up (can be done by hand) and then add that to the fully dissolved jelly (it should be cooler rather than boiling by then) whisking all the time. Remember you still want to be getting to the 570ml quantity at the end, too much and it won't set properly. Whisk it until it has a good 'head' on it and then cover and put it in the fridge to set. It should set with a bubbly 'head' on it so it looks like a set milkshake. Great too if you want to portion it in to individual glasses, bowls or other containers for kids. Also good alternative to the two and three part sachet desserts I saw in MrT on Friday. Not sure if it would freeze but it's worth trying a portion to see. ;)
    Ninno820 wrote: »
    :pUber excited - please forgive me!

    Its freezing here and all I want to do is snack. Nothing in house but trying not to spend - have already declared a NSD for today. Solution - make a cake from the ingredients in the house - hmm.

    So i rubbed 8oz sr flour and 4oz margarine and then added 4oz sugar and mixed together. Looking around I had a handful of sultanas, two appleas from befre christmas and an orange from before christmas. Solution - I peeled and chopped the apples and added them together with the rind of an orange - remembering to squeeze the orange juice into ice cube trays in freezer for future use of course - and the sultanas. add a beaten egg and milk and stir. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of the mixture once in the cake tin to add a little crust and cook at 18o degrees C for 30 - 45 mins. Hey presto a beautiful and tasty cake. Not slimming I know but OS.

    Incidently the initial part - flour, marg and sugar works with cherries as well.:p

    Brilliant Ninno! :T Your excitement oozes from your post and brings a huge smile to my face. :D It is amazing what you can do with storecupboard stuff as you have admirably proved. Enjoy that cake! :cool:

    Was hoping for a NSD today but OH has just gone to get some mushrooms for our hm Chinese later, some sweets and a bottle of water. The sweets and bottle of water are because he gets the second part of his Christmas present tonight when we go to see War Horse at the cinema. The first part was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in Christmas week and I refused to pay over £2 :eek: for a bottle of water there and the sweet prices are also ridiculous. :mad: Also taking tons of tissues as I suspect they will be needed. ;)

    I just want to say well done to everyone taking part this month. :T To read your posts noting how much you are saving, learning and changing habits is wonderful, keep up the fantastic effort. :T:A:T

    See you all later,
    Spigs
    Mortgage Free October 2013 :T
  • Had bad news yesterday that my Auntie has passed away-it was imminent-we knew but sad all the same. At least MIL and hubby are not still in hospital!Glad I am fairly organised for next week now but its a hectic one with exams, dental apps and taking hubby for chemo. I do hope the funeral doesnt clash with the chemo!
    Backup plan in motion if t does!
    I have a Mr A delivery tonight so no shopping next week at least! All of my appps were unplanned when I booked it so Im glad I am reasonably organised!
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
  • Spiggle
    Spiggle Posts: 1,787
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    Sorry for your loss angelatgraceland, sending you virtual hugs. Glad to hear MIL and hubby are out of hospital and hope your hectic week goes as well as it can.

    All the best,
    Spigs
    Mortgage Free October 2013 :T
  • kit77
    kit77 Posts: 197 Forumite
    I spent £6.50 on icecream yesterday :eek:

    I know it is a lot to spend on 1 tub if icecream but it is the only one I will eat and it has been years since i last bought some. Kids are furious that i wont let them have any but they had profiteroles (SP) so it was not as if they didn't have a nice desert.

    Anyway need to get bread and milk later so will update further spends latley.
    Feb 2012 Grocery Challenge £200/£4.00

    Save 12K in 12 months - £12K/£250
  • 123budget
    123budget Posts: 171 Forumite
    Had bad news yesterday that my Auntie has passed away-it was imminent-we knew but sad all the same.
    dobs wrote: »
    hi all have updated my spends in signature, can see i am going to go over the 200 i wanted to spend, hubby has been buying extras but have had a horrible last few days with our little old jacksy being put to sleep yesterday

    Sorry to hear of your losses, wether its a relative or a much loved pet always hard - Big Hugs

    Made celery soup today for the first time as I found a rather wilted pack at bottom of fridge:
    Chopped head of celery
    1 red onion chopped
    1 clove garlic
    1pint ish of chicken stock
    salt and pepper

    Was delicious and dd ate a huge bowlful so will def do this again - also added a little single cream that was left in a small pot.

    Am making bread pudding this afternoon with the odd slices of bread that I kept freezing when kids kept leaving them and opening new loaves! So that should cut up nicely for packed lunches this week.
    Sealed Pot Challenge 2011 / no. 1205 £110 made]Sealed Pot Challenge 2012/no 1205 target £300
    Jan g/c 355.83/£450
    g/c Feb487.66/£400
    March 411.03/£450
    To feed 5 adults and 2 dogs includes toiletries & cleanining
  • Redouble
    Redouble Posts: 468 Forumite
    £63 spent in the coop today. I only have £30 left in my purse now and that is going to last me the month. I got some serious bargains today, just through normal promotions, for example 3 X 800g packs of mince for £10. Each makes 3 meals for me and the kids, then I got quite a few whoopsied items and now have enough meat in my freezer to last until the 2nd of Feb :D

    I am also pleased the £63 felt like a HUGE amount. I am used to spending £200 a week ( :o ) so this alone is a major achievement.
    NSDs 7/20
    Make £10 a day £403.74/£310
  • ModestyB
    ModestyB Posts: 1,574
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    dobs wrote: »
    hi all have updated my spends in signature, can see i am going to go over the 200 i wanted to spend, hubby has been buying extras but have had a horrible last few days with our little old jacksy being put to sleep yesterday so i'm not going to mention the budget to him :(. Anyway am thinking of doing the shopping myself next month and trying not to get extras.

    We do have lots of food in the house so i am going to try not to spend too much over my limit i set, its always the basics we seem to get through with 3 little gannets in the house lol, went shopping yesterday and loads gone already!!! Still haven't meal planned like i meant to, being so lazy this month, going to kick myself up the bum and get up and and walk our little puppy, so glad we got her now, making it a little bit easier for us now our dear old dog has gone. Hope you all have a good and cheap spending day :) x

    So sorry for your loss. Many hugs.
    S.P.C. 9 2016 No. 062 Banked £337.50
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  • sistercas
    sistercas Posts: 4,803
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    [QUOTE=Flat Eric;50209777
    Although I have been saving my receipts, I don't know where they are QUOTE]

    :rotfl::rotfl: this made me laugh - its just like me :o

    angelatgraceland so sorry to hear your news (((hugs))) to you x

    123budget that recipe sounds delish - will have a go at that

    spiggle your support for everyone is greatly appreciated , it really does helps to keep things on track when things are difficult :T

    NSD today as its too cold to go out , made a cottage pie for lunch with things from the freezer , an economy gastronomy base mince , frozen mashed potato ( which looked awful when it defrosted - but came back together nicely when reheated ) and some fresh parsnips which i sauted in a little butter - twas delish and really quick :D

    need to sort out a meal plan for the coming week as i work long days
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,289
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    Also, I wanted to make some savoury bread. I bought some buttermilk to do this last week but did not get around to it. The buttermilk is out of date. I have never bought or used buttermilk before. Any idea how I check whether it is off or not? Smell? Appearance?

    I would use the buttermilk - it is slightly sour tasting anyway and I've used it three weeks out of date before and the results were fine. Worst case is the bread is a bit tangy :)
    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
  • sproggi
    sproggi Posts: 1,560
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    dobs & angelatgraceland - Big hugs to you both, no matter whether it is expected or sudden, it doesn't make it any less painful.

    A NSD for me today, very much overdue!

    Sproggi
    'We can get over being poor, but it takes longer to get over being ignorant'
    Jane Sequichie Hifler
    Beware of little expenses.A small leak will sink a great ship
    Benjamin Franklin
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