November 2010 Grocery Challenge

cw18

We have the pork chops on offer as well

ifonlyitwaseasier

can i rejoin for December please?

have been slack with work issues and general laxness.....

we will have............. £120 for december thank you

rosieben

Main Meals & Side Dishes
Bacon and Cheese Fritatta with Tomato Salsa
Bacon and potato salad -Warm
Baked potato pizza
Baked Beans (home made) ... Baked Beans (home made)
Baked Bean Tart
Balsamic Braised Beef (adapted for WW)
BBQ Cannelini Beans with sausages
Bean Curry (Slow Cooker)
Beef - Brisket
Beef Casserole
Beef Curry Dopiaza (Delia recipe)
Beef Stifado (Jamie Olive recipe)
Beef Stroganoff
Beef and Root Veg Curry
Belly Pork
Bolognaise (Remoska)
Brie Burgers
Broad Bean Burgers
Burgers
Calzones
Cheese and Onion Flan
Cheese and Onion Fryits
Cheese Pie - School days recipes thread
Cheese Scones
Cheese and Lentil Loaf
Cheesy dough
Chicken Adobo
Chicken Cannelloni
Chicken - Cheat's Chicken Cassoulet
Chicken and broccoli bake
Chicken - Cheat's Chicken Lasagne in the SC
Chicken, Cheese, Ham and Brocolli Pie
Chicken and Chickpea Curry
Chicken Fried Rice
Chicken, leek and bacon pie / pasties
Chicken - Monker's Honey and Orange Chicken
Chicken - Parmesan Chicken
Chicken - Rubber Chicken (thread)
Chicken - Sticky Chicken
Chicken with Cannellini Beans
Chicken with Garlic, Cider & Cream
Chicken and Potato Curry
Chicken and Vegetable Slice
Chickpea Curry
Chilli....Chilli (2)...Chilli (Remoska)
Chilli Bean Tortillas
Chilli Chicken Ramen
Chilli Cheese Crostini
Chilli chicken with jasmine rice (BBC food)
Chinese Pork Balls & Sweet & Sour Sauce
Chinese style cabbage
Cobbler (topping) see below for Minced Beef with Cobbler Topping
Coconut Rice
Cod - Crunchy Topped Cod
Coleslaw
Coq au Vin (SW)
Corned Beef Hash - MrsMCawber's recipe
Corned Beef Pasties
Courgette Fritters (1) Courgette Fritters (2)
Courgette Pie
Courgette and Tomato Layer Bake
Couscous with chorizo & chickpeas (ext. link)
Cranberry & Soy glazed cocktail sausages
Creamy Chicken and Potato casserole
Creamy Lentil and Rice Dish (Khircheri) (BBC website)
Curry Sauce
Diet Coke Chicken
Duchesse potatoes
Easy cheese biscuits
Faggoty Pea Stew
Falafel Burgers
Fajita Seasoning
Falafel burgers
Fishcakes
Fish Pie and Fish Pie
Fritatta
Fusilli with Broccoli
Haddock - Grilled haddock on lemon leek and pea rice
Ham Hock (slow cooker)
Ham Salad (sandwich filling) external link
Harry Potter Stew
Hummus and Garlic Pitta Breads
Indian curried pork patties recipe
Individual chicken pies
Jambalaya - Cheap and Cheerful Jambalaya
Keema and spinach pilau
Lamb curry and paratha
Lamb Hotpot
Lamb Tikka
Lasagne
Leek and Cauliflower Puree
Lemon Chicken
Lemon chicken with basil and tagliatelle
Lemon potatoes
Lentil Shepherds Pie
Liver and bacon pate
Liver and onions stir fry
Macaroni Cheese
Marrow - Veggie stuffed marrow .... Stuffed Marrow
Meatballs
Meatloaf (1) Meatloaf (2) Meatloaf (3)
Mediterranean Mince and Potato 'Pie'
Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta
Mince & onion pie
Minced Beef Curry
Mince - Mexican Style Mince
Minced Beef with Cobbler Topping
Mini Goat's Cheese, Pear & Walnut Quiche
Monday Pie
Moroccan Inspired Braised Chicken (ext. link)
Moussaka
One Pot Beef and Red Wine Pasta (adapted for WW)
Onion Bhaji ....... Onion Bjahis
Open top 'pizza' pie
Pasta with Tomato Sauce ....... Pasta and Sauce
Pasta Cheese and Onion Bake
Pease pudding
Pizza / Pizza Base Recipe / Pizza Base
Pork - Slow Cooker Chinese Pork (adapted for WW)
Pork Burgers with Salad
Pork and Beef Meatballs
Pork Steaks in Mustard and Cider Sauce
Potatoes - Slow Cooker Jacket Potatoes
Potato, Bacon and Onion Hotpot
Potato bake
Potato Kebabs
Potato layer bake - with cheese, leeks and stock
Potato layer bake - with cheese, onion and white sauce
Potato layer bake - with chorizo and bacon
Potato layer bake (Teisen datws)
Potatoes - Lemon Potatoes
Potatoes - Roast Potato Rosti
Potatoes - Twice Baked Potatoes
Potato Wedges, Home Made
Quiche Lorraine
Refried Beans
Rice: Summer Rice Salad.....Rice Salad
Risotto:. Easy Risotto with Bacon and Peas .. Risotto - oven baked
Rumbledythumps
Russian Salad and Russian Salad
Salmon and Dill Fishcakes
Salmon - Thai steamed salmon
Sausage and Rice bake
Sausage and Stuffing Plait
Sausage and Tomato Spaghetti
Sausage Bean Stew
Sausage and Potato Roast
Sausage Casserole or Sausage Casserole or Sausage Casserole
Sausage Meat Patties
Savoury tarts - pastry-less
Smoked salmon soda breads
Smoked Salmon - Tagliatelle with Smoked Salmon
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Spaghetti with courgettes, tomato and brie
Spanish Rice with Chicken and Chorizo (adapted for WW)
Spicy Bacon and Tomato Pasta
Spicy Bean and Lentil Loaf
Spicy Bean & Sweet Potato Stew
Spinach pancakes
Steak and Kidney stew/pie filling
Steak Sauce - Quick Steak Sauce
Steamed Oriental Buns
Stifado - Beef Stew With Tiny Onions Recipe
Stuffing - MrsMcawber's recipe
Suet crust pie with quorn
Super Tasty Bacon, Bean and Sausage
Sweet & Sour Chicken/Pork
Sweet Potato and Pea Curry
TexMex Skillett
Thai green curry
Toad in the Hole
Tofu burgers
Tomato paste (external link)
Tomato sauce for Pasta Batch cook recipe or Tomato Sauce
Tuna Fish Mousse
Tuna Fishcakes
Tuna Lasagne
Turkey and Bubble and Squeak Pie
Turkey Pasta
Turkey Pasta Cacciatore
Vegetable Casserole
Veggie Chilli and some variations
Veggie Haggis
Vegetable Samosas
Walnut Sables
Yorkshire puddings

rosieben

Cakes, Biscuits, Sweets, Snacks & Desserts
Apple Braid
Apple delight
Apple Charlotte
Apple - Microwave Autumn Apple Cake
Apricot Flapjack bars
Baileys Chocolate Truffles
Bakewell Tart
Banana and Honey bread pudding
Banana Cake (bread)
Banana and lemon drizzle cake
Banana Muffins (wholemeal)
Banana Muffins
Banana and Walnut cake
Banana Ginger Parkin
Biscuit recipes (Owens3116 thread)
Blackberries - Grated Blackberry Bake
Branflake cake
Brownies
Bounty Balls
Bran Fruit Loaf
Bread & Butter Pudding ... Bread Pudding
Bulk pancake mix
Buttercream topping
Butterscotch squares
Caramel Shortbread (Millionaire's Shortbread)
Cheesecake - Misers white chocolate cheesecake
Cheese n marmite twists
Chocolate Biscuit Thins
Cheesy Biscuits
Chocolate and Pear Upside Down Pudding
Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate Concrete
Chocolate Coookies - Cheap and Easy
Chocolate Courgette Cake
Chocolate fudge
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Chocolate Krackolates
Chocolate Log - gluten free
Chocolate orange muffins see also Muffins
Chocolate pudding (microwave)
Chocolate pudding - self-saucing
Chocolate Trifle
Chocolate yoghurt cake
Christmas cake - baked bean tin size
Coconut Cake
Coconut Flapjacks
Coffee Fudge Frosting
Cookie Dough
Cornflake Tart
Courgette Tea Bread/Muffins
Cranberry And Chocolate Brownies
Currant Loaf
Custard Cookies
D&DD’s Apple Braid
Date, Nut and Oat biscuits
Easy Syrup Sponge Pudding
Eggless Chocolate Cake
Fifteens
Flaky Bars
Flapjacks and Flapjacks and Microwave Flapjacks
Fruit Cake
Fruit and Mascarpone dessert
Fudge Tart
Gingerbread Men
Ginger Raisin Crunches
Golden Syrup Tart
Gluten-free Chocolate Log
Healthy Snack Bars
Honey Frosted Buns
Honey Crunch Bars
Ice Cream - slimmers world - Mint Ice Cream
Iced Buns
Impossible Coconut Pie
Jam Buns
Jammy Buns (1) ...Jammy Buns (2)
Key lime pie
Krispie marshmallow bars
Lemon and Cranberry Muffins
Lemon cakes
Lemon Curd Cake
Lemon Curd Ice-Cream jenid's / MoneySavingDiva's
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Lemon Flan
Magic Lemon Pudding
Malt Bread
Marshmallow Crunch Bars
Marshmallow Squares
Mascarpone and Lime Torte
Mascarpone Ice-cream
Millies Cookies
Mince Squares
Miini Krispie Christmas Puddings
Muffins: Basic Recipe / Chocolate Orange Muffins (1) / Chocolate Orange Muffins (2) / Gingerbread Muffins / Kiwi Muffins / Sticky Date Muffins / Strawberry Muffins / Toffee Apple Muffins
No fat sponge
Oatmeal Biscuits (Be-ro Website)
Oaty Pancakes
Oaty Shortbread Biscuits
Orange and Poppy Seed Cake
Peach Cobbler (Slow Cooker recipe)
Peanut Butter Cookies
Petits Pots au Citron (Little pots of lemon)
Pineapple, Fried
Pineapple Sponge Cake (using tinned pineapple)
Rhubarb and Orange Jelly
Rice Pudding ....Rice Pudding in the Slow Cooker
Rock Buns
Scones ... Scones
Scotch pancakes
Spiced Apple Bars
St Peter's Mud Pie (no cooking required)
Sticky gingerbread
Sticky toffee apple crumble
Teacakes
Twink’s Hobnobs
Weetabix Brownies
Weetabix Cake
Weetabix Fruit Loaf
Wonderbites
Yoghurt: Homemade yoghurt, Slow Cooker Yoghurt
Yoghurt Cake (the easy way)

rosieben

Soups
Bacon and Carrot Soup
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Carrot, leek and butterbean soup
Carrot, parsnip and lentil soup
Celery Soup
Cheats Minestrone
Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup
Courgette & Tomato Soup
Cream of Tomato Soup
Curried Parsnip Soup
Gammon and lentil soup
Ham and Lentil Soup
Iced cucumber soup
Leek and Lentil Soup
Leek and Potato Soup
Lentil - Golden Lentil Soup
Moniker’s Leek and Potato Soup
Leek and sweet potato soup
Moroccan Chickpea and Broad Bean Soup
Onion Soup
Oxtail Stew + Oxtail Soup
Parsnip & Apple Soup
Pea & Ham Soup
Pumpkin Soup
Red Lentil Soup
Real Tomato Soup
Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
Soup - Red pepper, carrot & lentil soup
Spicy Carrot and Tomato Soup
Spinach Soup
Split Pea and Courgette Soup
Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
Vegetable Soup



Pastry
The best mince pie pastry ever
Pastry economics
Making pastry
Basic pastry
Flaky Pastry (BBC Food)


Bread
Bagels
Baguettes
Banana Bread
Bara Brith (Welsh Tea Bread) Bara brith teabread
Basic white bread recipe (makes a 2lb loaf)
Bread - Mrs McC's recipe for Remoska
Breadsticks MrsM's / angelnikki's (No Salt Recipe)
Chapatis
Cheese, Onion and Herb Bread
Cheese & Potato Bread
Cheesy Bread Rolls
Chewy Soft Flour Tortilla
Chocolate Bread
Courgette Flatbread
Focaccia
Garlic Dough Balls
Herb Quick bread
HM Bread
Irish Soda Bread
Lahmachun
Malt Bread
Malt Loaf
Naan Bread .. see also .. Curry Queen's ...... Mrs McCawber's ...... OrkneyStar's
Oatmeal bread
soft bread rolls
Super Seedy Bread


Dips, Jams & Chutneys and Drinks
Alioli / Traditional allioli
Bean Pickle
Beetroot and Apple Chutney
Brown Sauce
Chilli Jam
Elderberry cordial
Feisty Rhubarb Relish
Jams & Preserves
Lemon Squash
Miser's Marmalade
Onion - Caramelised Onion chutney
Onion Marmalade
Piccalilli - Diva's pick a lilly
Pineapple Salsa
Riata - Mint, yoghurt and Cucumber Dip
Tomato/Chili Salsa
Red Tomato Chutney
Spiced Apple Chutney
Tomato Chutney
Mango Chutney
Xmas Chutney


Top Tips (OS threads)
Batch cooking ideas
Cheapest recipes? links to various OS threads, thanks Pink!
Complete Menu Plans Collection
Cooking for the Freezer
Frozen food safety - misconceptions
Grocery Challenge Top Tips
Laundry Washing Gel/ Gloop, Fab conditioner, vinegar.....
Meal building blocks for the freezer
Microwave Recipes
Mr Badexamples Cooking Index


External links
Batch Bake Minced Beef Recipe
Easy and Cheap Biscuits (DowntoEarth forum)
Cheap Family Recipes (our own Weezl's excellent site) and the Christmas Menu here
How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet... (Webook)
List of conversions
Love Food Hate Waste website
Jamie Oliver Recipes
Show Jamie How To Cook On A Budget Champagne Contest
10 Great Tips for starting out with meal planning


Home Made Dog Biscuits
Home Made Dog Biscuits (2)

Homemade Play Dough

[Deleted User]

Declaring £91.33 for November as I definitely have no shopping to buy just yet this week.My new month starts on Wednesday with £120.00 for December I am very pleased with what I have achieved this month.Well done everyone

Hippeechiq

Hi elf06 Re the prices in £idls. My local one has Pork Chops on offer from Thursday 25th Nov - Wednesday 1st December inclusive, as well as Lean Steak Mince & Beef Sirloin Joints. The Rump Steak is on offer for today and tomorrow only @ £2.24 instead of £4.49 per pack. So I'm guessing the offers vary from region to region.

NickJW wrote: »

I'm another calendar monther so will be here until the 31st :-)

I don't know what you're drinking, but if you think there are 31 days in November, can I have some too? :rotfl:

Flat_Eric wrote: »

Just out of interest though, my budget covers everything - cat food/alcohol/toiletries/food/fruit etc, I don't see the point in having a cat food budget / alcohol budget / fruit for my slimming world budget etc as that would just get too damn confusing but how much do people allow for alcohol ?

That's kind of like asking how long a piece of string is hun, as some folk on here drink and others don't. It's all about putting whatever you want into your budget and trying to stick to it. So whether you want to add £20 for booze or £40, that's up to you, and then just adjust your GC figure to whatever you realistically think you can bring it in at, and aim for that figure

katholicos wrote: »

so thought if i collated my fave recipes in one place then i would vary our meals much more. So that's my plan, it will take a while to write them all out, but little by little i'll no doubt get there!

That's exactly what I've done, and it does make menu planning that much easier.

Most of the recipes are I eat now are new ones I've discovered this year, but I still have some old faves that I eat, but I now have them all written down on individual pieces of paper which I keep in a bulldog clip.....and you're right, it does take a lot of time but once it's done it's done, and it makes life (or at least mine) a whole lot easier

Each month, I arrange them in the order that I've menu planned to eat them in - so whatever I've just cooked for tonight's tea, goes on the bottom of the pile, and the recipe I'm due to eat tomorrow is on the top. That way, I can quickly make sure that I have all the ingredients necessary for the next evenings meal.

I have a weekly menu written on the side of the fridge, but with this system in place too, I can make doubly sure after eating one meal that I have everything I need for the next.

Having all your recipes written down does stop you from eating the same things over and over, as it's surprising - once you've written them all down - just how many recipes you find you have in your repertoire.

Moniker I like the idea of saving the Council Tax towards the Christmas fund I also like the idea of saving your Nectar points towards January's groceries. I don't shop at $ainsburys, but I have acquired a few Club Card points through Te$co. Not a lot, as I split my shopping between so many shops, and I was going to put them toward my Christmas shop, but I like your idea better

Well, my budget is almost blown. Bought a couple of packs of the Rump Steak (I have to say, that the ones in my store didn't look the best steak I've ever seen, so I think mine will become casseroles) from £idls today, and some yoghurt, chocolate mousse, tcp, germoline, pizza, milk, sweeteners, chips, some decaf teabags a thank you card and a tv magazine, bringing my total to £273.14 - so just £1.86 to last until Wednesday......not likely methinks. I could put the rump steak into Decembers budget, as it wont be eaten until then, but I don't see the point, so I'm not going to. I'm ok with coming close to my budget, even though I will undoubtedly go over now.

skilly

morning all,declaring for november £181.55 out of £300 really pleased with that been useing stuff out of stock but still made no room in my freezers:eek:what money that i have spent has been on offers only ...i think i need to leave my oh at home when i go shopping he really is no help to me when shopping because he keeps putting stuff in trolly that i do not need then says but its a really good offer ....Can i be put down for dec £350.00please can't belive its almost december already were has this year gone .

XSpender

Flat_Eric wrote: »

I've updated my signature :eek: and feel rather fed up that clearly I am spending far too much ! I am way over my budget! As I have mentioned previously, I attempt the grocery challenge each month but give up / stop counting half way through. This is the first month in many months when I have made a real effort to count every receipt and it makes for sobering reading. Must try harder. Will aim to meal plan properly in December and see if I can make a better attempt at sticking to my budget. I've batched cooked this month so have lovely home cooked meals at the drop of a hat (once defrosted) and don't really understand where all the money has gone ? I need to do a forensic examination of my receipts !

Just out of interest though, my budget covers everything - cat food/alcohol/toiletries/food/fruit etc, I don't see the point in having a cat food budget / alcohol budget / fruit for my slimming world budget etc as that would just get too damn confusing but how much do people allow for alcohol ? Last saturday for example, it would have been lovely to go out for a meal but I did a nice meal at home instead with pudd and wine. So our dinner cost more than normal but it was certainly cheaper than if we had gone out. My bank account looks very sad at the end of the month and clearly my spending on groceries is one reason why!

If it's any consolation I have been doing the GC for 2 years (with a few months break when I had DS) and have not once come in under budget although I recorded every spend and did cut back our spending signfiantly.

I allow about £20/week for beer and wine as, with an almost 7 month old, we do not go out much. Yesterday was only my second time out since July without DH & DS:eek: We have people over for food quite often and as my parents live 100 miles away they come to stay at least once a month and I buy/make extra treats and wine for when they are here. I think it is impossible to split these costs into 'entertainment' or 'groceries' as we eat the left overs and we would be eating those days anyway.

I do split my spends into categories so that I can see where we are spending our money but they do not have amounts/seperate budgets. I split it into food, stuff for baby, dog food, toiletries/cleaning/OTC meds, alcohol and eating out/takeaways. Last month we spent £105.70 on alcohol which is more than £20/week so I will be focussing on reducing that down a bit this month. We also overspent last month on easy/snack food so this month I am doing a more detailed breakdown of our spends to see how much gets spent on different types of food.

I always think 'what gets measured gets done' from my days in management so I detail the spends after each shop so I can see where we are spending too much and adjust my next shop/meal plan accordingly rather than wait until the end of the month to reflect on my spends.

Don't beat your self up about being over budget or how much you spend, as long as you are happy with the total. Everyone on here has different lifestyles, different budgets and include different things so it is impossible to compare one against the other. I am always amazed by people who only spend £100/month on everyting. I admire them enourmously but know I couldn't do it and TBH probably wouldn't want to.


In other news I forgot to freeze part of the pack of 20 thin ham slices I got on Friday before I went out yesterday afteroon and DH had eaten 15 of them by the time I got home at 8pm! Well, it will be cheese sandwiches for him for the rest of the week now and next week he can have bead and butter;)

NickJW

Hippeechiq wrote: »

Hi elf06 Re the prices in £idls. My local one has Pork Chops on offer from Thursday 25th Nov - Wednesday 1st December inclusive, as well as Lean Steak Mince & Beef Sirloin Joints. The Rump Steak is on offer for today and tomorrow only @ £2.24 instead of £4.49 per pack. So I'm guessing the offers vary from region to region.

I don't know what you're drinking, but if you think there are 31 days in November, can I have some too? :rotfl:

Boy do I feel stupid now :rotfl: I always get the days in the month confused. There were no drinks when I wrote this either...:o