May 2010 Grocery Challenge

Billie-jo

LONGTERMLURKER - Just to let you know I eventually made the cheese, onion and herb bread tonight and it was lovely. The only problem was right at the end it sank a bit in the middle. Not sure if this was cause a drop too much liquid in or I did notice that it was rising VERY well and may have touched the inside top of the B/M - would this cause it to then sink a bit?
What ever it was it doesn’t alter the taste and that’s what counts
Thanks for the recipie and will be using it again.

Keiss_21

booskyeboo wrote: »

Hi, I don't do much posting but I enjoy reading what everyone is up to and how you are all saving money.
I purchased a BM a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love it, I am following the recipes in the book that came with it, I was going to make some wholemeal bread but it says add vitamin C is this an important ingredient as I dont have any in and I was going to do a loaf later.

Hya booskyeboo, vitamin C is added to wholemeal loaves to help them rise, and make them softer. Wholemeal bread doesn't rise anywhere as much as white does. If you don't have any to add, be prepared to have a much flatter, denser bread, which will still taste wonderfull! I make my bread by hand (and 4 at a time). I usually add dough improver (Claybrooke Mill Oganic, from Lakeland), but as I have run out recently, have been trying it C...not nearly as good, so will have to order more dough improver soon...possibly tonight as today was a spending day..only 16 mins to go,so better be quick! :rotfl:

Back now, I have done my order, so the next batch of bread will rise better!:D

Off to bed as getting late again.

NIght, night

lilian1977

Grr. OH decided that he wanted to spend £50 in Mr T to get the petrol coupon yesterday, so we've had to revise our budget to £100 for the month. Subtotal updated - hopefully this means we can spend a lot less next month.

TheBees

Slow and Steady - I completely agree with you regarding the weekly shopping as I've just discovered this month I'm doing a lot better shopping regularly every Saturday with a list and a menu plan, rather than trying to last 10 days then running out of things before I get to the supermarket. I would always need to pop in for bread or milk, or maybe an ingredient for a dish that I'd forgotten and end up spending £10 or more.

Today I'm off to the butcher in town then to MrW as there's a voucher in the paper for £8 off a £40 shop which works out better than my staff discount! Shame I can't use both!

TheBees

Botany

Hello everybody happy WEEKEND!!!

Here is my mid-month total: 160.74 spent so far (ouch!), with £109.26 left in the pot to last till May 31st

A hug to all of you wonderful Moneysavers!

highland_fling_2

Good morning everyone,

just had a disaster. I spilled a bottle of cooking oil all over the kitchen. The lid had not been replaced properly:mad: and when I lifted it out of the cupboard it errupted like an icelandic volcano. I then got such a shock I dropped the blinking thing on the floor.:eek:
I has taken me ages to clean up the mess. So to say I am not in the best of moods this morning is perhaps the understatement of the year.

Anyway on a different note. Plan to clean kitchen cupboards thoroughly (was emptying cupboard when disaster struck) check dates of stores and ensure I use up what needs to be before it goes out of date.
It is pouring down here so there is little incentive to venture far from home today. Had planned to go to nursery for bedding plants but it can wait until tomorrow.

Just having beefburgers and onions for dinner with gingerbread and custard for dessert.

mothershipton

spent a whopping £183 so far this month.. kids still complaining there is nothing in the house. Must do some baking to keep them happy. We did a tesco shop on tuesday and dont seem to have used any of it. Husband does the cooking and will insist on complicated dishes which take forever, will he ever learn. He is now ill and not keen on cooking...

Spiggle

Hello All,

Thanks to rosieben, pipersky and all who sent me hugs, really appreciated. :A

I feel much better now and the advice about what it would have been like before my lightbulb moment was so accurate and really put things into perspective for me.:T

Had a very very relaxing day yesterday just spoiling myself by watching my favourite recorded programmes and doing very little.

OH did a bit of shopping in town yesterday getting some lovely braising steak, (casserole in the oven at the moment) veg, garlic pearles and lighter fluid. He spent in total £12.34 and I've updated the sig. So just £93 left for the rest of the month but hopefully that will be enough for just the fresh things that we need like milk, f&v and meat.

We'll see how this goes and whether we come in on target or not but my feeling at the moment is that £240 is probably the lowest we should go for a while so that we can get used to that level and work form there on more ways to cut down. If I go over I'll probably raise up to £250-260 and stick with that for a while.

To be fair to us, we are lucky that we can afford that level of spend each month and compared to where we were before (sometimes spending that in a week! :() the change is dramatic and manageable. So no more down in the dumps!

I've just baked a malt loaf with an adapted recipe and took the time to write down what I included so depending on how it turms out I'll post it later or tomorrow. And I have the chocolate & pear upsie down cake almost cooked and it smells and looks lovely. GD thoroughly enjoyed making it with me too.

Thanks again all for your support. If it wasn't for that I may easily have caved in on Thursday and just said s*d it! But you all have kept me going, you are all wonderful. :A

Speak to you later and have a great day,
Spigs

boultdj

$27.94 spent today,must go and look at recipe's and see if I can get OH to try something "new" cause he dosen't like/gone off food's and I'm sick of the same old stuff.

Spiggle

Sorry me again!

Popped up to town and had a 99 with the GD while OH went and got a couple of bits including cream to go with the scrumptious looking chocolate & pear upside down cake. Yum, yum! :laugh:

So another £8.08 spent and the sig is updated.

Have a great Saturday all,
Spigs