October 2010 Grocery Challenge

~moneysavingnovice~

Hippeechiq wrote: »

Would any of you ladies - or gents - happen know if you can successfully freeze guinness?

I have been freezing wine for use in cooking for a long time now, and it tastes absolutely fine in cooking, but I'm just wondering if guinness would become very bitter if frozen and then defrosted?

I've found a recipe for a Beef & Guinness Casserole I'd like to try, but it only uses 150ml of Guinness. It's not something I/OH drinks, so the cheapest option would be to buy a single bottle of it but the smallest single bottle I can find is 500ml, so I'm thinking, if I can freeze it, I could get 3 recipes worth out of the 1 bottle

Sorry I can't help with ur q, but the recipe sounds yum, could you share it?

Hippeechiq

Yeah - sure Here it is:- BEEF & GUINNESS CASSEROLE

~moneysavingnovice~

Hippeechiq wrote: »

Yeah - sure Here it is:- BEEF & GUINNESS CASSEROLE

Thankyou!

sharronej

Hippeechiq wrote: »

As for are you fooling yourself - it depends how strict you can be with yourself and whether or not you have the determination to stick to your plan.

In theory, saying that you will put money into your sealed tin would definitely work if you feel you'd stick to it.

If, for example, you used some cheese, owed the sealed tin £2 but you really wanted some milk, bread, veg, whatever, and you needed that £2 to buy it, would you:-

Use it with the intention of putting the money in when you next had it? OR think, "well I can't have that, 'cos I owe the pot £2"?

If you did the former, and then forgot, or couldn't afford to put in the tin what you owe, you could soon find your household budget refund tin seriously short, if you see what I mean.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but it's much easier to borrow money than it ever is to pay it back

Thank you,

You make a really good point and I'm wondering whether I'm just making life more complicated for myself than it needs to be. Perhaps a healthier way to look at this is to save any extra money up in a sealed tin and then after Christmas see what I've managed - if anything rather than disappointing myself if I don't manage it.

Thanks also Hex2, might ask my friend if she fancies sharing the cost and the goods.

Long_tall_sally

More spends as after a week of half term & back to school & work tomorrow, I had forgotten that DD had cookery tomorrow & I had to buy some bits from the Co Op for her to make kebabs. Finally only one more day until my November starts.....

brodie1_2

Hi,

just declaring my total for October £258.50:j:j:j
Really chuffed to come in under budget of £300 for the 2nd month.

I think it is the meal palnning!!!!!!!!!

Next month I am going to try to lower my budget:eek::eek::eek:

As I keep coming in around £250.00 for November could I try £250.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am hoping to improve my NSD as well as I think I over estimated them for this month:rotfl:

Brodie1

guccigoo

Mrs m can i be put down for £250 please as i need to start buying some food bits each week for xmas.

Will update my total and report back

Sue14

£9.13 spent between C*op and T**sco, getting v close to budget now, and I have to go to L*dl at some point this week, so must only get what I NEED, lol!

hedgesparrow

I spent £8.49 at the butchers (free range Chicken and ham)
£20.98 at Lidls (cheese x2, Mayo x2, spread, onions, celery, museli, carrots, butter x 2, apples, chocolate, noodles, pasta, spring onions)
£4.99 at Saisnburys (washing powder, soda crystals and a coconut as it was cheaper than buying a can of coconut milk!) Plastic bowl and hammer time.

That takes me up to a few pounds below our £100 but I have made a menu plan to last until Nov so hopefully I can make it

Menu Plan is as follows

Mon- Roast Chicken
Tues- Chicken stirfry
Weds - Chicken curry
Thursday chicken pie
Fri - Macaroni cheese
Sat - Green tomato and ham soup (to finish off the tomatoes in the greenhouse)
Sun - Lentil and potato curry (with coconut milk!)

[Deleted User]

I am so pleased with how I have done this month.its been a bit odd some of the dishes I have eaten but the stores are going down slow but sure.I know I will have one more smallish shop before the end of the month but I can see that I hopefully will be able to halve my normal 'food purse spends' this month. more dosh to go into the holiday fund.:):)

November will be a spending month,not so much for food, but I have two birthday in Novemeber ,one of them my son-in-law and its his 40th I want to get him a really nice pressies as he is such a good lad and has cooked me sunday dinner for the past six and a half years.He insists that I eat with them every Sunday unless I am away or ill or the kids are ill.DD and he both say 'Don't argue its only an extra couple of spuds', as they cook for their tribe anyway.but I am grateful and feel very lucky to have such a smashing son-in-law.So I have my thinking cap on and I'm going to suprise him hopefully with something he has never done before I am hoping to get some tickets so he can go with his two little boys to see his beloved Liverpool FC when they play in London.He has never seen them play 'live' so it will be a lovely suprise for him .Fingers crossed that I can get the tickets.The other birthday is my DGS Danny who will be 20 ,haven't got a clue what to get him yet though.
Still I have done well with the GC over the past couple of months so whatever it is it won't break the bank.
I think we all have done brilliantly this month
Well done chums
JackieO xx