October 2010 Grocery Challenge

hex2

Flat_Eric wrote: »

I still have a butternut squash in my fridge from the 9th Oct ? if I don't use that soon, then that will need binning.

If you haven't cut into it then they keep for ages (months). If you have cut into it then cut the rest into chunks and roast with a bit of olive oil and then freeze. You can blanch and freeze the spinach too.

ellemm

Hi all been MIA for a couple of months but still keeping up with the challenge

Mrs McC can you put my yearly total to date as £1,043.27 thanks.

That leaves me just under £400 till the end of the year and the challenge but confident of being on budget :cool:

[Deleted User]

slbhill wrote: »

Could you make them "bring your own bottle" events? If you're providing food then it seems a bit unfair that you have to provide booze too. Of course bear in mind I know absolutely nothing about your circumstances but that's what I would do

We once had a party years ago when my OH woke up and said I'm fed up of all the t.v. rubbish lets ask everyone we know to bring what ever they want to that they don't want left over after boxing night We had such a suprise when everyone turned up with something and at the end I told everyone to help themselves to what ever they fancied that was left .One friend brough 3/4 of a black forest gateux and left with half a box of mince pies It was a great way to shift some of the excess food and drink that we all buy too much of.I counted that every one 'swopped what they didn't want for bits that they did and alomost everyone brough a bottle of something or a few beers.With the cost of living spiralling almost daily I would be quite happy to 'bring a bottle of something and also a plate of goodies .its a great way to get people together on a night when we are all too full of food anyway and are fed up of t.v. a squabbling children .My eldest DD does a buffet one year on Christmas night and the next on Boxing night .She shares the event with her sis-in-law and it a real 'family do'all the in-laws and kids and boyfriends and girlfriends and assorted relatives turn up with odds and ends and we have a smashing time Last year we had 14 children from 18 down to 5 all playing charades My 7 grandchildren love it .One of my DGS Henry asked his 'Auntie Shelly (my DD) if she was going to have a 'buffulo' again this year (he meant a buffet of course) and she said of course she was and he beamed at her and said 'Oh thats cool we really like coming to your house as we get to play lots of acting games .
Bless him all the computer games in the world can't beat a family night with soppy games with balloons and even the old folk (like me) join in the fun.Kids love to see adults acting daft as well.
My youngest DD made the most amazing cheesecake on Christmas afternoon with melted chocolate drizzled over it to take with her.needless to say it dissappeared very quickly

russetred

Wow I've finally caught up with the posts! I still havn't adjusted my siggy but I know I'm well under budget. Going for an annual budget seems to suit me, it allows me to make the most of special offers and not panic when one or two weeks seems to be way over. Not for everyone of course.

Now for some of you this maybe a little bit offputting so if you're squeamish look away now.

I had to take DH for a hospital appointment in Glasgow yesterday driving through rural west coast. BANG! one pheasant hit the car , then straight across the road another car hit another. I marked the spot and on the way home picked up the brace of pheasant.

I'm okay with butchery so both birds were de- feathered and jointed that night. Tonight I had pheasant with butternut squash in a rich cream and porchini sauce(porchini were picked by us too).I fed 5 of us and we're left with another 3 portions. It was amazing for roadkill! At this time of year the birds are released from their cages to roam free but they are really dolly birds and they just wander out into traffic. May need to check the local roadsides for the next few weeks.:rotfl:

Hippeechiq

LannyLee wrote: »

Well you could adapt it & use thighs, just jig it a bit, if you like I can re-write the recipe for you, or are you a bit like m just chuck it all in hope for the best

No, it's fine as it is thanks hun, thanks for your help

skilly Your budget is similar to mine. Mine is £275 and I've go £31.23 left until 1st November. Have you got another big shop to do? I haven't - or rather £31.23 isn't enough for me to do a big shop with, but I think it's doable, provided we only buy what we absolutely have to have....in my case milk, bread and f & v - what do you need?

CupOfChai

Hi everyone! JackieO it sounds lovely what your family do, I like a good family do too. And congrats on doing so well this month!

Well I got some tinned tuna and a bottle of wine for the weekend today, am pleased about the tuna as it was reduced on offer, AND the packs on the shelf were makers offers of 6 tins for the price of 4. So 6 tins, for less than what 4 usually is. Be rude not to! I think that's my spending done for the month, so I'm going to declare now at £84.83 for October. Hurray, under budget! :j

Have decided to keep my budget the same for November, to see if I can do it again and it wasn't some fluke caused by going out more than usual (which I don't count as part of GC), or something like that. So can I be put down for £90 for November please?

adelight

Why am I stocking up the freezer when it's already full and I'm over budget? God knows, but this is my last purchase of the month...
reduced turkey steaks for £1.29.

I also just made a free £10 order with milk & more for bread, 6 eggs, 2l goats milk & 1l activia pouring yogurt to arrive next week. With this and the huge amount of meat in my freezer(4 turkey steaks, 6 portions mince, chicken breast, 2 pollock, kippers) I'm contemplating attempting November with just £20. We'll see!

Sue14

Another £3.99 spent today on milk, potatoes and hot chocolate, actually spent about £12 altogether but luckily the rest wasn't groceries, so I still might come in on budget. OH keeps suggesting going in to town on Sunday, but with only £23.30 left in the grocery budget I don't think it would be a good idea, so maybe we'll leave that till the following week when the new month has started!

skilly

Hippeechiq wrote: »

No, it's fine as it is thanks hun, thanks for your help

skilly Your budget is similar to mine. Mine is £275 and I've go £31.23 left until 1st November. Have you got another big shop to do? I haven't - or rather £31.23 isn't enough for me to do a big shop with, but I think it's doable, provided we only buy what we absolutely have to have....in my case milk, bread and f & v - what do you need?

Hippeechiq no more big shops for me this month ,but i still need to pay for a veggie box tomorrow about £13.00, i was ment to cancel it but left it to late .but i think we will be ok .i am going to try and use more stuff from my freezers next month .

JayJay14

Well this last month has been the biggest disaster since I started the GC (back in Feb 2008!!!) so I am declaring at £270.70.

Since the start of the year the population of the house has doubled though. DD2 returned to live with us in April and DS has come back this month, so I suppose I can't expect to feed us on the same amount as I did for two.

I don't plan to have a big blow out at costco in November like I did in Sept but I will be picking up a few bits for Cmas over the weeks in other shops, so I am posting £180 for November MrsM if you would be so kind.

Hope to do a little better then.