what can i do??

chaos-is-home

hi everybody. i'm totally new to money saving and i would like some advice as you are all so helpful and nice i thought that you could help-
my oh went to the local butchers yesterday and asked what was cheapest even though i'd given him a list of what to get. the butcher offered to make up a mystery box up for him. the butcher told him the box could contain any type or cut of meat. also the meat bought separately would cost more overall. so he bought one for £25 thinking it was a great idea:mad:. This means i have just £15 to last the month to buy extras, eg veg.:eek:
Could any of you lovely ladies advise me on how to stretch the box to the end of the month and what extras i may need to get?
I already have loads of spuds, a few carrots, a bag of frozen mixed veg, some cheese, a few different herbs and spices, bread and milk.
the box contains the following--->

• 2lb sausage (don't know what type)
• 2lb chicken drumsticks
• 2lb frying steak
• 1lb turkey joint (don't know if it is breast or thigh)
• 1lb very lean pork escalopes
• 1lb bacon bits
• 2lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tiny gammon steaks
• 2lb bbq ribs
• 1lb pork shoulder steaks
• 2x 1kg stuffed chicken (not sure about the type of stuffing, just that is very green!)
• 1lb middle bacon
• 1lb peppered beef steaks (they look quite tough)
• 1lb minted lamb chops
• 1lb braising steak

I need to feed 2 adults and 1 toddler with the above and i have no idea where to start. sorry about the long post. please please please help.

Bitsy_Beans

Wow that sounds like actually a lot of meat for you all.

Have a look at the Recipe Index
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=346783
This way you can look and see if there are any receipes using the meat that you'd fancy making this month.

Personally I try and meal plan and that cuts down on the extras I have to buy each week.

Do you have a slow cooker? Don't be put off if the meat looks tough - slow cooking is best for these types of meat.

With regards to the extras do you have a good stock of rice and pasta? I use these a lot along with potato during the month.
Personally when I don't have any home grown veg to hand I do prefer frozen since I can cook as little or as much as I need without wasting any or having a panic if it goes limp and yellow LOL! Perhaps you could look at what veg is in season and aim at buying that as it should be cheaper.

I make meals stretch with veg and lentils (not all the time) but there is for a example a recipe I cook using sausage and lentil hot pot (lovely ) and only allocate 2 sausages per adult that way the sausages last longer.

Hope that helps (sort of )

ailuro2

Have you got room in the freezer for it all?:eek:

That amount of meat will easily last you till the end of the moneth with a bit of forward planning.

On your list, tick off which ones you want to have for Sunday dinner/mark a date next to them, then which ones will be multi -purpose (e.g. the bacon bits will be used in lentil stews, in soup, as crunchy bits for salads...) because you'll probably need to freeze these in smaller portions.

Extras will be salad, pasta, rice, spices, lentils, remember to use the bones for stock once you've taken off the meat, this can make soup that will cover a lunchtime or three.:)

It doesn't look like a bad deal he got, though.:)

boultdj

Hello Chaos, personal I would chop the brasing steak into cubes,split into 1/2 or 1/3lb bags + use for stews. the gammon I would do in to strips + use for stir-frys same with the bacon bits,also both could be used for pasta dishes if you have any pasta in. not much but it,s a start.

knithryn

Whew..that's a LOT of meat!
I'd start by deciding what your Sunday lunches are going to be for the next 4 Sundays
eg
Week 1. Roast chicken (then use the 'rubber chicken' ideas to get that roast to last until Tuesday's dinner...)
Week 2 Peppered beef steaks
Week 3 Roast chicken (again stretching until Tues)
Week 4 Pork

Then sort out some recipes for everything else and stick the ideas on the front of the fridge.
At the start of the week (or just before you go shopping) decide which mid-week recipes you will use, and buy the veg accordingly.
Just thinking about stuff like lunches, you can have chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, cold sausage sandwiches, chicken pasta, warm bacon salad...

Also check out the veg and fruit on offer each week at Aldi and Lidl. You shold be able to get your veg etc for each week for perhaps £3-4. If you can manage on £3 on veg, that will leave you £3 for bread, butter, tea etc.
Buy your bread reduced from the supermarket, and if possible freeze some spare if you get it at a good reduced price.
I'd say you have MORE than a month's supply of meat there, so although this month might be a bit tight on money, next month you can replenish stocks of loo rolls etc with the extra cash.
It might even be possible to stretch that meat to TWO months.
Your OH has done a Good Thing.
You can do this. It WILL be possible.

sammy_kaye18

Wow that is alot of meat.

We probably don't eat that much meat in 2 months though - but mainly as I work a Sunday shift so roast Sunday dinners are a thing fo the past and we end up having them on a Tuesday instead so its stretched over the week rather than a long weekend.

I agree I would plan any roasts first.

Then dice up the stewing steak to use in casseroles etc but then the same could be said about sausages too - you could make some hearty casseroles from the chicken drumsticks and sausages as well I guess which could use up veg and would make a few portions for you to freeze etc.

I would try shopping the reduced sections in supermarkets or getting over to an aldi/lidls for veg - or even see if you have a local potato seller (like side of the road with a truck type) as we had a large bag of spuds for £5 and they were decent sizes that we could get jackets from too.

Brain isn't quite functioning yet as im having a dilemma about my lost purse and praying that my 5 year old gets dressed quick enough that i can get to the post office to check if its there (fingers crossed it its!) so I'll come back with more ideas when im slightly more coherent!

Although would suggest making a list of what you have in the freezer/fridge/cupboards already so we could maybe help you meal plan - might find you wont need that £15 or much of it

Bronnie

chaos-is-home wrote: »

hi everybody. i'm totally new to money saving and i would like some advice as you are all so helpful and nice i thought that you could help-
my oh went to the local butchers yesterday and asked what was cheapest even though i'd given him a list of what to get. the butcher offered to make up a mystery box up for him. the butcher told him the box could contain any type or cut of meat. also the meat bought separately would cost more overall. so he bought one for £25 thinking it was a great idea:mad:. This means i have just £15 to last the month to buy extras, eg veg.:eek:
Could any of you lovely ladies advise me on how to stretch the box to the end of the month and what extras i may need to get?
I already have loads of spuds, a few carrots, a bag of frozen mixed veg, some cheese, a few different herbs and spices, bread and milk.
the box contains the following--->

• 2lb sausage (don't know what type)
• 2lb chicken drumsticks
• 2lb frying steak
• 1lb turkey joint (don't know if it is breast or thigh)
• 1lb very lean pork escalopes
• 1lb bacon bits
• 2lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tiny gammon steaks
• 2lb bbq ribs
• 1lb pork shoulder steaks
• 2x 1kg stuffed chicken (not sure about the type of stuffing, just that is very green!)
• 1lb middle bacon
• 1lb peppered beef steaks (they look quite tough)
• 1lb minted lamb chops
• 1lb braising steak

I need to feed 2 adults and 1 toddler with the above and i have no idea where to start. sorry about the long post. please please please help.

Are you able to tweak your budget? It seems like a lot of meat to me too, but depends I suppose on how often you need to have meat on the table, so to speak!! I would be inclined to split it exactly in 2, and box up half for next month and grab back £12.50 for your budget for this month. Plus, if your budget is only £40 per month, that much on meat is probably a disproportionate spend. What about salads, fruit, baked goodies, dairy etc? Less than £4 a week is quite tight for that.

BitterAndTwisted

That is a LOT of meat for £25 and I'm sure that with careful housekeeping it will last you for at least two months. What would I do? I'd split all those meats (where possible) into half-pound portions so that each half-pound would make a single meal. Label up each portion you're not going to cook in the next three days and pop them into the freezer. Now you've got usable amounts and plenty of time to look up recipes if you need them. Those 1kg chickens should do you for at least three meals each with stock for soup out of the remains of the carcass.

Just shy of £4 a week for milk, bread and veggies is do-able but will take some bargain-hunting at the supermarket so you need to be aware of what time of day they mark things down. Round here it's about 7 to 7.30pm. You might find frozen veg comes out cheaper than fresh.

mi_jardin

do you have a farm shop near you? ours has 25kg bags of potatoes for a fiver at the moment, that will make life easier; jacket potatoes, mash etc.
other than that, you need to stock up on bargain veggies, today will be a great day to go bargain hunting as the supermarkets will have 2 days of reductions to do as they are closed tomorrow!

wssla00

That is a HUUUGGE amount of meat! WOW! 2lb of sausages will easily give you a casserole, a toad in the hole and sausage and mash
2lb of chicken drumsticks can be made into casserole, barbeque drummers for snacking on or just plain roasted. The bacon bits could make a lovely quiche, a nice pasta etc I could go on but you get the picture.....

Could you get to Aldi for their super 6? 59p a pack of veggies? Also I think sainsburys are doing their 30p veg again and frozen veg in Asda is 4 packs for £3 at the moment. If you pad it out with inexpensive stuff like potatoes, carrots, brocolli etc you should be ok.

I would definitely freeze at least half though- theres no way I could get through all that in a month!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

chaos-is-home. dont panic, your mind has prob gone blank because hubby hasnt bought what was on the list, and spent a bit more than you expected.

In fairness to him, he has got a good deal and selection for the money. the only blip is it was over what you wanted to pay.

i would suggest you sit down have a nice cuppa, and take a deep breath, as i say your mind has gone blank and you have gone into panic mode, so no meal plan ideas have jumped out at you.

here is a link to recipes on the thread.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=8736367#post8736367

while you are drinking that lovely cuppa, have a browse through the link, then hopefully you will get some great cheap recipes.


i buy the big sacks of potatoes and you do save loads of money compared to buying htem in the supermarket.

also have you got a farmfoods near you? as you can buy bags of frozen veg for casseroles etc. and you will have no waste.

i would love to know what meals you are planning ....