August 2009 Grocery Challenge

Tashja

ellemm wrote: »

Tashja: Re red onion marmalade, I did boil it up a bit and it did thicken up nicely but I know what you mean, it is very sticky now! Seems to be a very fine line making this stuff to get it just right :rolleyes: DO you know how long I should wait before eating?

I think you should leave it for a while but in honest truth ours is always nearly gone a few weeks after making it !!! :rolleyes:

Would love to know the recipe for Mango Chutney :j

I have been on the Making Preserves Thread and found my copy of Mrs Beatons Jam book so guess what I will be doing today !! We are also hoping to go Blackberry picking again.

Children have also placed an order for cheap chocolate cookies from the index recipe on here so think I will be spending a lot of the day cooking, baking and foraging !! Heaven !!

T xx

MRSMCAWBER

Morning all

Well its glorious here :T
Im up to 19 NSDs out of 22 so far this month and €43 spent... we get paid in 9 days so Im having a good month so far -especially as the freezer in the basement and the one above the fridge are jam packed
We had to nip out yesterday -so we stopped off and picked another 2lb of blackberries in a few minutes -so as well as the 20 pieces of grater bake I have in the freezer I now have 11 x 1/2lb bags of berries too -and hubby has to have his medical tomorrow so I will go along armed with a tub and pick some more whilst Im waititng for him

Yesterday I made a double mix of the courgette cake recipe -and stuck it in one bigger tin -it came out lovely -so I now have 21 big pieces tucked up in the freezer -and 2 more courgettes to use :rotfl:with that lot and the carrot cake I made for the freezer -I think we should have more than enough sweet stuff to last us for quite a while:o

Dinner today is pork (I have the big lump I got whoopsed in the remoska) -and Im doing steamed potatoes, carrots, peas, sweetcorn and then beans from the garden :T-there will be masses of pork left so I will slice it up and freeze some in portions for dinners and leave some in the fridge ...
I have a loaf of bread under way (will go in the remoska later) - so tea tonight will be salad sandwiches (we ave become addicts )
I think thats about me done for the day...off to do some x-stitching
hope everyone is well and having a good day

fedupandskint

I think I set my budget too high this month. I reduced it from last month and I can see at last after a few NSD the hold the supermarkets had over me! The lure of whoopsies and basics and things you think you can't live without when youy already have tons in.

Need to keep the motivation going and get under budget again for this month

fedupandskint

redmel1621 wrote: »

Well guys I doubt I am going to come in on budget this month...but to be expected really, as I have realised that I have set myself a bit of an unrealistic budget. Yes, there are a few areas I need to look at which can be cut back, but I am going to increase my budget as of next month and sort of start form the beginning again:)

Spend so far £279.60:o

Oh well...I will try damage limitation this month and will start afresh in September, with a revised 'realistic' budget:D

Mel x

I did the same when I first started the GC. I used to set a budget too low for me at that point and then got really disheartened when I couldn't stick to it. After months of this and then dropping off the challenge I restarted with a considerably higher budget which I came in under budget for the first time last month. I then looked at what I had in and reduced it by £50 for this month. I'll try this again next month depending what the end of month total is.

It's simple for me - I just need to stay out of the shops - funny that! If I go in for a wander then I get seduced by the bargains etc Need to get back to using a list for all of the week not just the weekend

ellemm

Tashja wrote: »

I think you should leave it for a while but in honest truth ours is always nearly gone a few weeks after making it !!! :rolleyes:

Would love to know the recipe for Mango Chutney :j

I have been on the Making Preserves Thread and found my copy of Mrs Beatons Jam book so guess what I will be doing today !! We are also hoping to go Blackberry picking again.


T xx

Spookily Tashja, the Mango Chutney recipe I used is from....The Best of Mrs Beeton's Jams etc" :rotfl:page 132. I didn't make the spiced vinegar though as I only noticed it had to be left for a week before using as I had already prepared the mango, sprinkled with salt and left overnight!!
So I just added some spices (allspice, garlic & bayleaf)to the wee bag with the ginger and peppercorns and carried on. Will see how it tastes, certainly looks the right consistency.

Had also planned to go looking for Brambles today but it has been chucking it down all weekend so that's out. Will make a banana loaf instead from bananas out of the freezer and maybe even some bread.

redmel1621

fedupandskint wrote: »

I did the same when I first started the GC. I used to set a budget too low for me at that point and then got really disheartened when I couldn't stick to it. After months of this and then dropping off the challenge I restarted with a considerably higher budget which I came in under budget for the first time last month. I then looked at what I had in and reduced it by £50 for this month. I'll try this again next month depending what the end of month total is.

It's simple for me - I just need to stay out of the shops - funny that! If I go in for a wander then I get seduced by the bargains etc Need to get back to using a list for all of the week not just the weekend

I haven't raised my budget from when I used to do this a while back. when there were 4 of us:p I make most of the baby food myself, but still buy a few jars and bits in...just in case;)

Well hopefully the rain holds off and as soon as the baby is fed at 11am we are going to take the dog for a walk, and pick some blackberries:D

Mel x

highland_fling_2

Good morning everyone

weather seems more like November than August. I can actually hear the wind howling around the house. I have started to think about hearty stews and soups instead of salads and barbecues.

Have decided to have Chinese food delivered tonight as a treat. Couldn't tell you the last time I had it so really looking forward to that.

Made lemon curd cake yesterday but just misjudged it a little, still getting used to new oven. Next time will either have to reduce temp or time a little as it was a little overdone. Still edible but just a little too dark for my liking.

Off now to retrieve cold meat from freezer for sandwiches for packed lunch tomorrow.
Still on track with budget.:j

Hope everyone has a good day.

alipops1986

Morning Folks!

Got some money off coupons through from Tesco yesterday and some "Spend £30 get £4 off" and "Spend £30 get £3" off.

So considering there is only two weeks of August left, and i've only got £29.20 of my budget remaining.......this is the plan!

I'm quite low on food this week, so going to have a good think and plan the meals i'd like. To take advantage of my coupons i'm going to spend at least £30 [checking dates and filling freezer!] to get my £4 off and then i've got £3 of actual clubcard coupons.

This should hopefully take me down to roughly, £23-£24 for this weeks shopping, for £30 worth of goods. Therefore, leaving me £5/£6 to top up with bare essentials next week!

It's quite a plan, if i can pull it off! :rotfl:

ifonlyitwaseasier

hello everyone!!

made some weetabix brownies today, (recipe on front page of challenge) and my they are scrummy!!!!

still on nsd's, trying to persuade hubby to take more sarnies from home, just need to keep the cakes and biscuits made for him to snack on.

ioiwe X

fedupandskint

Whoops got the total wrong - re adjusted to a lower one of £59.89 for the next 10 days until the month ends for me. Actually that's not that bad even I should make this