June 2012 Grocery Challenge

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  • Kitchenbunny
    Kitchenbunny Posts: 2,085
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    That pie sounds lush!

    I was going to post the recipe anyway, so here goes:

    pastry:
    200g plain flour
    100g marg
    bit of salt
    1-2tbsp water

    Rub the marg into the flour until golden and crumblike (was going to put crummy, but it's better than that ;) ). Add water slowly and squish it together until it forms a dough. Leave it to rest a bit in cling film in the fridge.

    Meanwhile, fry about 200g bacon chunks (offcuts are fine) in a little oil in a big saucepan. When cooked but not crispy, add 2 tsp butter and 2 tbsp plain flour. Stir for a bit until it looks pasty, then add a pint of milk a bit at a time, stirring, until all is absorbed and it looks like a sauce. Quickly taste for seasoning, and add a bit if necessary. In a frying pan brown 2-3 chicken thighs, skins removed and chunked. Add some chunked mushrooms and other veg if you want a bigger pie, and cook slightly. Add the sauce to the chicken and leave to cool a bit.

    Using 2/3 pastry roll into a big flat dish-shape (one cooking term to fit all there - my dish was oval so it was a big flat oval-shape ;) ). Put into the dish and bake with greaseproof and some dried peas or baking beans on for 15 mins at about Gas 6. Remove the beans and paper and allow to cook a further 5 or so minutes. Not keen on a soggy bottom ;) Put chicken mixture into the pastry and cover it with the remaining pastry to cover your dish. Back into the oven it goes for a further 25-30 minutes (you can egg wash if you like - I didn't have any eggs so didn't :) ).

    We had it with sauteed potato slices last night and mash tonight. When reheated the pastry isn't as short as the first time but it still tasty. :) I used the tiny bit of pastry left over to make a squishtogether mincemeat pie.

    Hope that's OK.

    K xx
    Trying for daily wins, and a little security in an insecure world.
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,289
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    Good evening all - am trying to catchup on a weeks amount of posts as my internet has been playing up -very intermittent and very annoying. Can't do a lot about it,have tried honestly - but it's due to thick cottage walls and a very old BT exchange in the next village!:o

    debbiedeejay - If you go to this site
    http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/ and test your broadband speed, you can compare it with others in your village. If it is lower than 400kb you should contact your ISP to report a problem - as we pay for up to 8mb for our ancient twisted pair wire service here, 400kb is the contracted minimum speed. We used to get as low as 128kb but I did this test on a fellow resident's recommendation and BT (the only choice for us :() did some sort of reboot thing at the server end and it was instantly 5 times faster!!

    BTW the ancient old sub-station in the next village mysteriously caught fire one night and they now have a brand new high speed digital jobby but far be it...

    Anywaythe checker worked for us and might for you
    All the best
    SL
    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
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  • Hello all,

    I'm Kat and I would love to join in with this challenge if it isn't too late?

    I'm currently pregnant with my 3rd child, due in September, and about to lose my Contribution based JSA, which has been helping a lot recently, so I really need to get a handle on our food bill.

    I'm aiming at £50 for the week, which I think is doable as I went a bit nuts the other week in F@armfoods and now I can barely shut my freezer!

    Anyway I will now be spending lots of time reading all the recipes and stuff for hints and tips :j

    xxk
  • craigywv
    craigywv Posts: 2,342 Forumite
    craigywv - well done all your reduced items - can you post a Strawberry Jam recipe that you use please - I tried one on Friday but it was a disaster [I burnt it] - I need a tried and tasted recipe - thank you

    So far I've spent £61 of this weeks £75 budget [2 days to go and kiddies back to school tomorrow] I'm happy with that so far

    Helen x
    :)hi , i will certainly give you my recipe but its not one of the traditional methods of making it , its my way so i expect all you proffessional jam makers to cringe, i ahve been making this since i was 18 every year and my pots get stolen when a friend / family try it so here goes i will jsut give you a basic ammount 1 lb of strawberries 1 lb jam sugar thats it mash s.berries in big pot i use my pressure cooker pot DONT PUT LID ON!!! add sugar mash up with potato masher put on high heat stir constantly it will liquify(is there such a word) keep stirring the bottom of pot DO NOT LEAVE POT FOR A SECOND!!!! it will start to bubble and boil lower it down to medium i would say gas mark 4 hob 4 on the knob. stir for ten mins take off heat . with a spoon take the foam off the top and discard . i dont have fancy jars just ones i collect over the year from sauces and coffee etc i put these into the hottest water in sink and wash and dry thorouly i then por pot contents into a jug CAREFULLY AS ITS SCALDING and then into the jars son aged 8 his job is the stickers on the front of the jars writing labels and colourful pictures:)it may not be the proper way to make jam as it does not set like the glue you buy in the shops but its the taste its lovely we put our jam on with a teaspoon anyway in our house. i was reading delia smiths recipe and she says the same thing her jam does not set its not supposed to!! only shop bought as it has setting agents . also last year got a glut of blackcurrants off our bushes so just used granulated sugar to make this jam as they have a natural pectin (makes the jam set) got loads of apricots 1 night in mr t so made apricot jam and had a handful of raspberries on my buses as it was end of season added these to apricots wow delishhhhhhh!!! hope i get apricots again. so there u go thats how i make jam it lasts over a year as i made mine last year and just finished of the last a week ago no mould or bad smells , no doudt there is a better way of doing it but thats my way hope this helps.:)
    C.R.A.P.R.O.L.L.Z #7 member N.I splinter-group co-ordinater :p I dont suffer from insanity....I enjoy every minute of it!!.:)
  • I'm pretty new on here but I'm really interested in trying the challenge, especially as I've recently been unemployed and have five kids and a husband to feed. I've always considered myself very good at budget food shopping but I know I could do better. I currently spend between £60 - £80 per week on food. I do the majority of it on line so i dont get distracted by stuff I dont need. I will try to keep the budget to £70 aweek to start with. I will also be reading peoples tips on what they do to save money on groceries. Thank you x
    Overdraft - £0, Store cards - £0, Loans -£0 :jTargets for 2012:- over payment on mortgage £200 pm, savings £50 pm, G/C - £70 pw
  • craigywv wrote: »
    :)hi , i will certainly give you my recipe but its not one of the traditional methods of making it , its my way so i expect all you proffessional jam makers to cringe, i ahve been making this since i was 18 every year and my pots get stolen when a friend / family try it so here goes i will jsut give you a basic ammount 1 lb of strawberries 1 lb jam sugar thats it mash s.berries in big pot i use my pressure cooker pot DONT PUT LID ON!!! add sugar mash up with potato masher put on high heat stir constantly it will liquify(is there such a word) keep stirring the bottom of pot DO NOT LEAVE POT FOR A SECOND!!!! it will start to bubble and boil lower it down to medium i would say gas mark 4 hob 4 on the knob. stir for ten mins take off heat . with a spoon take the foam off the top and discard . i dont have fancy jars just ones i collect over the year from sauces and coffee etc i put these into the hottest water in sink and wash and dry thorouly i then por pot contents into a jug CAREFULLY AS ITS SCALDING and then into the jars son aged 8 his job is the stickers on the front of the jars writing labels and colourful pictures:)it may not be the proper way to make jam as it does not set like the glue you buy in the shops but its the taste its lovely we put our jam on with a teaspoon anyway in our house. i was reading delia smiths recipe and she says the same thing her jam does not set its not supposed to!! only shop bought as it has setting agents . also last year got a glut of blackcurrants off our bushes so just used granulated sugar to make this jam as they have a natural pectin (makes the jam set) got loads of apricots 1 night in mr t so made apricot jam and had a handful of raspberries on my buses as it was end of season added these to apricots wow delishhhhhhh!!! hope i get apricots again. so there u go thats how i make jam it lasts over a year as i made mine last year and just finished of the last a week ago no mould or bad smells , no doudt there is a better way of doing it but thats my way hope this helps.:)

    Do you just fill the jars to the top and then screw the lid on?

    This sounds fab! I fancy having a go at this. Think I will do it when I get back from Devon.
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  • Eyebright
    Eyebright Posts: 1,018
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    I was going to post the recipe anyway, so here goes:

    pastry:
    200g plain flour
    100g marg
    bit of salt
    1-2tbsp water

    Rub the marg into the flour until golden and crumblike (was going to put crummy, but it's better than that ;) ). Add water slowly and squish it together until it forms a dough. Leave it to rest a bit in cling film in the fridge.

    Meanwhile, fry about 200g bacon chunks (offcuts are fine) in a little oil in a big saucepan. When cooked but not crispy, add 2 tsp butter and 2 tbsp plain flour. Stir for a bit until it looks pasty, then add a pint of milk a bit at a time, stirring, until all is absorbed and it looks like a sauce. Quickly taste for seasoning, and add a bit if necessary. In a frying pan brown 2-3 chicken thighs, skins removed and chunked. Add some chunked mushrooms and other veg if you want a bigger pie, and cook slightly. Add the sauce to the chicken and leave to cool a bit.

    Using 2/3 pastry roll into a big flat dish-shape (one cooking term to fit all there - my dish was oval so it was a big flat oval-shape ;) ). Put into the dish and bake with greaseproof and some dried peas or baking beans on for 15 mins at about Gas 6. Remove the beans and paper and allow to cook a further 5 or so minutes. Not keen on a soggy bottom ;) Put chicken mixture into the pastry and cover it with the remaining pastry to cover your dish. Back into the oven it goes for a further 25-30 minutes (you can egg wash if you like - I didn't have any eggs so didn't :) ).

    We had it with sauteed potato slices last night and mash tonight. When reheated the pastry isn't as short as the first time but it still tasty. :) I used the tiny bit of pastry left over to make a squishtogether mincemeat pie.

    Hope that's OK.

    K xx

    Thanks for posting the recipe, sounds delicious yet easy to make, which is a must for me! Can't wait to give it a try :T
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  • MrsCD
    MrsCD Posts: 1,787
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    Hi All,
    Mostly I just lurk, and read all your words of wisdom... sometimes I read the posts in the wrong order...
    I did that today, and look what I read... Lol! x

    #659
    On a better note, has anyone else tried MrA's SPrice shampoo for 20p? I've been using it this week, and I can't stop telling people about it! My hair is so soft, it feels like I've used some expensive conditioner, but it's just the shampoo

    #658
    Kitchenbunny - I have - it was OK but I would add a few drops of vanilla extract and some pureed fruit to make it less custardy - strawberries are good ...

    I'm still giggling now x

    Thanks for that Midnight Shopper! Haven't had such a good laugh in ages :T Maybe we should tell MrA to refine his recipe for the shampoo?

    Helen Jelly - if you're going to eat the strawberry jam fairly quickly, there is a recipe on the side of the 'jam sugar' packet for microwave jam. I've tried it and it's really good and easy to make. HTH :)

    800g fresh or frozen strawberries, washed and prepared
    1kg Silver Spoon jam sugar
    Small knob of butter
    2 0r 3 jam jars, sterilised in microwave with boiling water
    Place the fruit in a 2.8 litre bowl suitable for microwaveand cook on HIGH for 7 minutes. Crush the fruit with a potato masher, stir inthe sugar and butter, microwave again for 14 minutes, stirring the mixturehalfway through.

    (I've found that it sets well if you cook it for a bit less than this)

    The mixture mustboil vigorously for 4 minutes during this time or it may not set properly.

    Check jam after 11 minutes or so, as it will be ‘rubbery’ ifcooked for too long.

    Pour into jars and seal.

    Caution: Boiling jam reaches a very high temperature. Do not be tempted to touch!
    2024 Fashion on the ration 0/66 used
  • craigywv
    craigywv Posts: 2,342 Forumite
    :)
    Do you just fill the jars to the top and then screw the lid on?

    This sounds fab! I fancy having a go at this. Think I will do it when I get back from Devon.
    :)yes lol told you nothing fancy i can feel the wrath of all those expert jam makers tut tutting me but my mum makes it the "proper" way and it ends up looking ,tasting and being the same so it cant be that much different, yes maybe if your wanting to do the proffessional canning or whatever the Amish call it go for the proper recipes but i dont and nobodies died yet
    C.R.A.P.R.O.L.L.Z #7 member N.I splinter-group co-ordinater :p I dont suffer from insanity....I enjoy every minute of it!!.:)
  • Bonglecat
    Bonglecat Posts: 220
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    Hi there, I've been off work for the last week so I've been out and about and doing the garden so I haven't been looking at my computer. Looks like I've got a lot of catching up to do.

    Anyway, here's my update. I started off well meal plans worked out very economical. But then I popped to Aldi to use all my vouchers from the Mirror and stocked up too much £29.84, but that did include £6 on DVDs and £4 on a pet towel.

    Then we went to the Cotswolds and on the way back popped into a posh farm shop where I dropped £35.91 on bits and pieces which were all treats. EEK!!

    This morning I did my usual Lidl, Asda and Aldi but again got carried away buying gym stuff, laundry baskets, all sorts of rubbish. So that was another £80 gone.

    Still just within budget hopefully I can manage until the 20th which is my end of month.
    My Debt Free Diary LBM March 2010
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