September 2010 Grocery Challenge

majjak

Just a quick heads up if anyone is interested, Sainsburys have all their toothpaste and mouthwash on 1/2 price offer. I've just stocked up with 4 mouthwash and 4 toothpaste for £2.36 :j - branded ones too . I was getting low on these items so I didn't feel too bad about spending yet more money!

Will update sig with spend later.

Moniker

Good morning everyone. Did my big Sainsbury's shop yesterday and stocked up on meat etc for the freezer. Have managed to spend half my month's budget, but this still leaves nearly £50 per week for the three of us for the next four weeks, so I am hopeful. Will be back to 'normal' in October once DD1 goes back to college. I will miss her of course, but...

Keep up the good work everyone. Off to make Fish Florentine for supper tonight. We are out tomorrow on a trip to the V&A (birthday treat for MIL) so it's pizza tomorrow when we get back as I will be too tired to cook!

Moniker

(P.S. Quick query - I always make my own yorkshire puds and we had these last weekend with roast beef. They always rise beautifully but either collapse on coming out of the oven or just soften up as they cool rather than crisping up. Anyone any ideas why this happens? Any tips welcome!)

majjak

Moniker wrote: »

(P.S. Quick query - I always make my own yorkshire puds and we had these last weekend with roast beef. They always rise beautifully but either collapse on coming out of the oven or just soften up as they cool rather than crisping up. Anyone any ideas why this happens? Any tips welcome!)

Try adding a small amount of water to the batter mix Always works well for me.

Ya just can't beat home-made yorkshires :drool::drool::drool:

yummymummy85

Hi everyone, I spent another £1.89 last night on some reduced rice krispies and a packet of mars bars, I now have a tray of krispie bars setting in the fridge! Hopefully that'll satisfy my husband's sweet tooth for the next few days rather than popping over the shop for sweeties after the kids have gone to bed! Will hopefully have a NSD today as long as I can find something for my husband to take to work tomorrow for his dinner as he's on duty for 24 hours! although thinking about it I think I have a lasange or cottage pie in the freezer so he can take that!!

sparkleisshopping

I was starting to have a root through the cupboards with a view to making a list of all the food we have when I found loads of bread flour at the back of the cupboard. I've wanted a breadmaker for aaaaaagggggeeeeesssss and I've just treated myself to one! It's only the Argos value breadmaker for £25 but it's got good reviews on their site. I'm picking it up after work and I'll stop in at Lidl on the way and pick up some yeast and then I'm ready to go. I've had a look at breadmaker recipes and it seems you need to put an ounce or so of butter in the mix - would it be ok if I used soya margerine (as that's what we have in) or do I need butter for the best results?

SherlockFan85

Morning to All

A £5.42 spend in Mr S yesterday on 2 pints milk, 1 loaf thick white bread (OH cannot live without it), some rolled back Boursin cream cheese and little pack of smoked salmon for my brekkies.

Today should be an NSD as am having turkey escalopes for dinner with crispy potato slices and some veg accompaniment (shall check feezer and cupboards). I won't be needing hardly anything tomorrow, as all kitchen areas are fully stocked, especially the freezer.

I have decided (and this may be somewhat controversial!) that i will no longer buy any fresh veg during our weekly Mr A shops, nor any fresh meals.

Why? Because we so frequently seem to be eating at each of our parent's homes when we go to visit (if my parents had their way, i would be there all week!) , or are eating out, or the meal i am cooking does not require the extra veg, etc. I had to throw out a perfectly nice (looking) chicken breast, spinach and broccoli from the fridge simply because we never had a chance to eat them! It seems absurd to buy food then just throw it away.

So, because we luckily have a very nice Mr S local literally across the way, i will from now on stop there only when i know we need fresh veg for a specific meal that evening. I will have to keep my head down and not look at the oh-too-tempting deals. Dangerous, i know! I'd rather have less NSDs and buy food that we are actually going to eat than buy it on Saturday and never use it all week. I can't even freeze anything as we have an already crammed freezer!

Have good days everyone :T

Sunnyday

rablovesroo wrote: »

I had to throw out a perfectly nice (looking) chicken breast, spinach and broccoli from the fridge simply because we never had a chance to eat them! It seems absurd to buy food then just throw it away.

This used to happen to me a fair bit, i would freeze the spinach, chop and freeze the broccolli and also freeze the chicken breast unless previously frozen. If it had been then i would cook it and freeze it

I`m now in the habit of shoving anything that we won`t get around to into the freezer, sometimes cooked or raw and sometimes made into something else ie mince i`ll make into cottage pie or spag bol topping and freeze.

There is no way on this planet that i could manage without the freezer now

SD

[Deleted User]

Hello fellow savers I have just got back from the therapist's and haven't spent a bean as planned .This afternoon I am going to make a carrot and orange cake and a lemon drizzle cake ,one of which I will take as a present to my friend tomorrow as I am going there for the day.So 3rd NSD in a row :j:j:j Definitely a NSD tomorrow so the week is progressing quite well at the moment .keep up the good work chums
JackieO

mrsmortenharket

I would love a recipe for a lemon drizzle cake please!

Am off to Mr S in a bit. Have quite a list as want to avoid the shops as much as possible.

Lisa x

Spiggle

sparkleisshopping wrote: »

... I've wanted a breadmaker for aaaaaagggggeeeeesssss and I've just treated myself to one! It's only the Argos value breadmaker for £25 but it's got good reviews on their site. I'm picking it up after work and I'll stop in at Lidl on the way and pick up some yeast and then I'm ready to go. ... you need to put an ounce or so of butter in the mix - would it be ok if I used soya margerine (as that's what we have in) or do I need butter for the best results?

Hi sparkleisshopping,

Congratulations on the breadmaker! I just checked with the OH (he does our cooking ) and he said he has used margarine in the past with no problem.

Hope that helps,
Spigs