August 2010 Grocery Challenge

Hippeechiq

seductivesmile well done you :T

Why don't you come up with a plan to treat yourself to something once you've saved x amount of money by being on or under budget, then you could browse the high street for whatever it is you'll eventually treat yourself to?

I made this for dessert tonight, taken from the January Grocery challenge, and oh my, it is lush even if it is a like zillion calories per portion :eek:

TheBees wrote: »

As requested, here is the recipe for self saucing chocolate pudding - found in a magazine a few years ago.

Serves 8 (or 4 hungry people!)

Pie dish 750ml (1 1/4pt)
125g plain flour
pinch of salt
60g caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
120ml milk
40g melted butter
1 egg
couple drops vanilla essence

Topping
180g muscovado or any brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
250ml boiling water

Method
Grease the pie dish
Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl. Combine the milk, butter, egg and vanilla and mix with the dry ingredients all together. Pour into the pie dish. Cover with cling film and put in the fridge. Can be left overnight for the following day if you wish.
Preheat oven 180c. Sprinkle cocoa and sugar for the topping over the pudding. Pour the boiling water over the top. Do not mix. Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes until puffy and firm in the centre. May be served with cream or ice cream.

Two small spends totalling £5.80 in the last 4 days, and 2 NSDs. Brings my total to £133.32 so far out of my £275 budget. Not great, but I'm trying

gdyr1945

So far 2 lunches and 2 dinners out of freezer using things I'd fogotten about. Having cheese toasties for lunch and chicken tandoori, aubergine curry and rice tomorrow. All from the bottom of my freezer. Find I'm enjoying the challenge. Big expense for me is coffee but managed to buy 48 packs Dowe Egberts for about 50p each from Dan Approved Foods. Luckily I have plenty of storage space so can take advantage of bulk buying if REALLY good bargain. Next shop - Friday at local market for fruit and veg; memo to self ONLY buy what is on your list!

KITTY_2-2

Had 3 consecutive NSDs which are much needed as I've almost spent up. Only need fresh stuff for rest of month, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Winchelsea

Have only been food shopping 3 times so far this month. If I was only counting food spending I would have clocked up 7 NSDs.

Spent money today, on a jumper for DH and a 60p library reservation fee.

Continuing to have a lot of storecupboard meals - enjoyed a lovely risotto tonight - and so easy to make. Lunch was a sandwich - HM bread with peanut butter, salad, a small corner of leftover cheese which I grated, and blackcurrant jam (HM by DD4 with fruit from her allotment). Sounds weird I know, but it was delicious, and ticked all the healthy food boxes!

Hippeechiq

Winchelsea wrote: »

Continuing to have a lot of storecupboard meals - enjoyed a lovely risotto tonight - and so easy to make.

I've been searching for a nice risotto recipe, but all the ones I find look a bit, er, gooey/sticky - or is that how they're supposed to look?

They look like Basmati rice when it's cooked...all gooey and stuck together (despite being rinsed several times) I don't care for that kind of gloopy 'consistency' at all in my rice.

angelatgraceland

Yes Ive seen it described as "creamy" but it doesn't appeal to me either! My imagined risotto is more like a variation on savoury rice and I somehow think yours may be too? Why not do it that way and just choose the ingredients you wish to add to it?
Had a small spend today in Co-op mainly of stuff to do the recipes from the site mentioned previously-Weezls?
Bought 2 loaves of reduced bread, some milk reduced chicken breasts, dried peas,butternut squash,FR eggs,oil,onions and mustard plus a multipack of fruit pastilles as dh has been asking for them for weeks! It was painful paying £1.99 for them though!Total of £15.63
Planning to cook: risi e bisi,onion tart,spanish omellete and butternut squash tart among other things!
today I had too much to do and no time to cook so I ate the leftover bacon and onion pie from yesterday, ds made toasties,dd did oven chips for herself and dh and also had chicken nuggets(yuck) and soup and sandwiches.Tomorrow I will cook!
I tried out my apple curd on toast for breakfast for myself and same for supper. Froze 2 jars to make sure its not wasted. Going to Tesco some time for som value salted peanuts to try my own peanut butter I have some jars spare so I can make a few things now-just not chutney as Ive got loads of it!

catznine

My spends so far:-

organic box £10.94
Mr S £18.00
AF £16.00

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£44.94 out of £150 budget (just about on target)

I am really trying to use up contents of freezer but as it is mostly fruit (crumbles) and veg (interesting soups and maybe a veg curry or 2) it is taking some time to make a dent in it. Wouldn't mind if it was full of fish, meat etc.,;)

I have spotted some greengages while walking the dog :jso hopefully can get enough to make some jam (have plenty of sugar and certo)

Dinner tonight is tuna pasta bake all from the store cupboard (this will use up another packet of AF mushroom soup!) with as much salad as I can scrape together! Have lettuce, tomatoes, onions and carrots.

Creamy rissotto is lovely! Could eat that every day! yum!

cw18

catznine wrote: »

Creamy rissotto is lovely! Could eat that every day! yum!

You and me both

DS "tolerates" it once every couple of months, so this is another of the "roll on him moving out next month" meals

notjustlaura

seductivesmile - I totally know how you feel as I have the same problem. Don't know the solution but I'll be reading the responses to your post with great interest.

guccigoo - If you're sad for liking the food magazines then so am I! Must remember to send of my subscription form (bought with Mr T points) so I can stop haunting the newsagent ...

Mr S delivered last night and I shouldn't need any more food shopping before payday (15th). Am going to make a Chicken & Leek Casserole in the SC today if the chicken's defrosted. I only put it in the fridge last night though so I think I might have to do it tomorrow instead.

Sammy-cat will be visiting the vet today so it's not an NSD. And I'm going to my WeightWatchers meeting this morning but won't be buying anything apart from a raffle ticket!

kalojac

Have updated signature sitting at just under 200 pounds will need to get 8 pints of milk, bread and smoked sausages, so that will be another 4.50.

Hippeechiq - thank you for the above recipe, will try that one out tonight I think.

Have a nice day x