September 2008 Grocery Challenge. Please read first two posts.

pinknfluffy

Hi

Can I join in please....This is the very first time I have posted on any thread but I have lurked for a few months. I added up all my August receipts and they came to just under £500.00 for 3 adults and ds's girlfriend at weekends. DH was horrified and asked what I had wasted all the money on!!! :eek: It felt like everything I bought was a necessity, but as I spent a few years living alone with my 2 kids and only spent £25.00 a week (was about 15 years ago) on food I think I can bring my spending under control again...I am hoping to overpay my mortgage by £200.00 per month if possible.:o

princess_leia_3

sashanut wrote: »

Hi all

Just panicking as have NO IDEA what to make for dinner tonight......does anyone know the web address of the site where you put in the ingredients list & it suggests dishes please??? I'm sure I've seen it mentioned on here, but forgot to make a not of it. Apologies if I should have posted this elewhere..

On the GC front have updated sig, went to Mr T's & did not stick completely to the list, surprise, suprise, must try harder!!:D

I use this http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes but I know there is another site out there but I don't know what its called either

I have leftover roast chicken in either a rice dish / pasta dish / salad / sandwich :rolleyes: I will just see what we feel like when I get in from Weightwatchers!

Winky,_The_House_Elf

Thanks for all the replys about the vending card, I topped it up earlier with £20 and added it to my total. but that can keep me going until some time in October...as long as I just buy hot drinks and keep away from the choccy and crisp machine!

I popped in to Home and bargain on the way home to pick up some toiletries and ended up spending £19.81:eek:

It does include 6 packs of Douwe Egbert coffee which are only 99p there as opposed to £2.59 in Mr T's. My other half is Dutch and insists on fresh coffee each morning (I never protest as he brings me a cup in bed;) )

It was sort of planned, as I refuse to pay the full price on stuff like Shampoos and deoderant when I get a delivery, so I always pop in to stock up for a little while. Should have enough for at least the month.

I thought I had taken an educated guess as to what I would be spending in my first GC, as have already spent £92.32 I am shocked to say the least! :cool:

I must admit I hadn't really factored in anything other than food, however I realise that all spending is spending and needs to be accounted for somewhere!

I have a freezer thats fit to burst (only a small half n half ff) so I am going to try and plan my meals for the rest of the month from it!

The scary thing is I havent been extravagant, and if I'd gussed at how much I'd normally have spent I'd have said £50ish:p

Sorry for the post!!!

love

Winky x x x

OrkneyStar

PurpleSkies wrote: »

The only problem is all the recipes I've found tells me to throw all my ingredients into a BM.....which I don't have and really can't afford right now.

Does anyone have an easy recipe or any tips for making bread by hand for the first time?
Also are these packet mixes I've read about suitable for hand made bread or should they really only be used in a BM?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! :beer:

I use a Jamie Oliver recipe for hand made bread but don't have a link to that just now (its in my cookery book), however this link to the allinson web site may help- there is a version for two different types of yeast (firstly the dry active version and secondly the stuff you have to activate). I have used either but prefer the second option for hand making bread. And yes nikki, I am pretty sure the Oatmeal bread would work by hand, just adding the oatmeal with the flour at the start and then as normal really.
hth
Updated sig as a couple of more small spends today, but nothing to report fantastic offer-wise or anything!
x OS

MRSMCAWBER

Evening all

Well I have spent a bit today.... not much from this months GC mind

1. 3 x 3 litres whole milk @ €1 each -now wedged in the freezer (only possible after taking out some bits for tomorrows dinner )
2. 5 kilo net of onions @ 1.79

So €4.79 in total taking me to €6.79 so far this month..rather happy with that for 14 days :j ...

Out of my "bulk fund" -all the odds n sods leftover from every GC budget
I got

1. 2 x 10 kilo boxes washpowder @ €6.99 ..and im still on the 1st box I got when we moved here 14 months ago -So 1 will be needed about December :rotfl: and the other is to take back to the UK with us
2. 3 cartons of veggies for the "winter store" in the basement -for emergancies:p -1 peas n sweetcorn in light cheese sauce, 1 carrots n peas in light hollandaise and 1 lentils n veggies in a creamy sauce @49c each
3. 2 bags dried peas -not marrowfats like we get mind...@ 69c

I also fetched in another 2lbs of tomatoes from the tubs..so will roast them tomorrow -have another 2lb finishing ripening in the window and loads more still outside :T -at this rate I will have enough bags of roasted veggies in the freezer to do 1 pasta based meal a week for a year

I ordered some more veggie seeds ready for next year :T and got some of these

http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2533

im planning on growing them on a nice warm window bottom through winter.. thought they might be of interest to someone ....

Right i had better get off and update the list
have a great evening everyone:D

mumofjusttwo

Well spent 10.90 today. Went to the cafe with DS and DD as it was his first day at big school then had to go to A&E with DD and bought a drink and snake.

rosieben

sashanut wrote: »

Hi all

Just panicking as have NO IDEA what to make for dinner tonight......does anyone know the web address of the site where you put in the ingredients list & it suggests dishes please??? I'm sure I've seen it mentioned on here, but forgot to make a not of it. Apologies if I should have posted this elewhere..

On the GC front have updated sig, went to Mr T's & did not stick completely to the list, surprise, suprise, must try harder!!:D

Maybe you're thinking of Cooking by Numbers? There are other similar sites out there too

Mrs_Money_Penny

Hi everyone a NSD today. Trying to keep it up for as long as I can.

Sashanut The site your after is http://www.cookingbynumbers.com/.

Managed to cut the grass this afternoon!

Have a good evening everyone.

fluffysox

Hi everyone, hope you're all well x

Hugs to Cornish pixie with chickenpox- its horrible, I caught it in secondary school from a younger sibling- I think that the NHS should give everyone the vaccine nowadays.

Not doing so bad with the spending so far. I spent under £23 at the weekend and my fridge and cupboards are full. Although just looked at calendar and realised maybe being neally halfway through budget on the 8th day isn't so great

Can anyone give me some advice on preserving apples. My rather weedy looking apple tree has produced an admirable crop this year and the apples are now ripe and starting to fall so I've harvested a load. I've prepared a big crumble to cook tonight but there will are loads left. So what I need to know is:
1. Do you have to stew them before you freeze or just chop?
2. How to stew them?
Thanks guys :T

rosieben

pinknfluffy wrote: »

Hi

Can I join in please....This is the very first time I have posted on any thread but I have lurked for a few months. I added up all my August receipts and they came to just under £500.00 for 3 adults and ds's girlfriend at weekends. DH was horrified and asked what I had wasted all the money on!!! :eek: It felt like everything I bought was a necessity, but as I spent a few years living alone with my 2 kids and only spent £25.00 a week (was about 15 years ago) on food I think I can bring my spending under control again...I am hoping to overpay my mortgage by £200.00 per month if possible.:o

Hello and welcome to the GC!! you'll find loads of help here and on other OS threads; good luck!!