13 Moons ... ( *** Off, I'm Fabulous )

taxi73

Quite a lot going on in Lula world and all sounding good.The shopping budget is the thing I find hardest as well...in fact I don't even set a budget..very bad mser me.

Souk08

Morning lady, re the slow cooking, I do it last thing at night so it's READY 1st thing in the morning then just portion it up when I get up and put some in the fridge for that night and some in the freezer. Things like chilli, curry etc taste better if they've sat a bit anyway! That also means you can avoid doing a bit of mince browning at 7am! I don't mind a bit of pre cooking but know some folk don't bother.

Well done on the inventory and yes I know what you mean about trying to see how far you can stretch the £16, just for the fun of it.

I am dropping off the diet tonight to get a bit trolleyed with my best mate who is up from London. Had a rotten day at work yesterday and that is keeping me going!

I do a big online shop for staples and tins every few months too Lula and it really does help. Not from Tatco though as I'm not the local Lottery Winner, a bit of Asda never did a girl any harm!

Have a good day and XXX

P.S Taxi lovely you have had more to bother you than food budgets...but when the time is right I favour the seperate purse method!

moo2moo

How about using the manky mandarins to make Mandarin Cake? Chuck 'em in the slow cooker for a couple of hours instead of boiling them. If your slow cooker is too big you can alway put a smaller bowl inside and then pour water around it bain marie style. Incidentally this also works for melting chocolate.

Karmacat

Taxi, its one of those things you don't absolutely *have* to do right now, so I'm kind of glad you don't have one!

Lula-Hula wrote: »

I think we might have 'visitors' here.

3 times I turned the hifi off & left the room, 3 times it turned itself on again :huh:
Ooh, I think you have ghosts :j will you talk to them?

Never mind, I've been doing lots of decluttering. I've filled a box with books, mainly my old childrens books that after 30 years, really need to go. I'd sort of hoped that DD might want to read them, but I think they're just too last century for her so I might as well send them to the charity shop.
Do you not want to keep just a selection, even half a dozen, to split between them for "posterity"?

I reached the same conclusion as you on hardbacks on Amazon - I love "charitize", btw, you make some brilliant words :j

I love the planning of the spends and routes and whatnot too - good for you!

Lula-Hula wrote: »

I also need to get that chilli in the slowcooker first thing. I'm a bit disappointed that I have to brown meat & soften onions, garlic etc before bunging it in, although I do see why. I just cant see me ever getting that all organised before going off to work in the morning, Onions, mince etc first thing in the morning eeeeuuuuugggghh .

It will be fab for soups, veggie meals & am thinking of sausage type casseroles that wont need pre cooking.
Thats the way to go! Or make a gravy at the last minute with the water from the slow cooker and a hefty helping of bisto

This is a self imposed budget as I do have access to other funds but just want to see what I can achieve with a bit of creativity & actually using up what we have rather than 'popping to the shop'

I'm enjoying this in a perverse kind of way; & it's made me think about how to shop for the rest of the year.
I love this! The way that we can waste so much on nothing, and all the while we're sitting on so much food, is awful - which reminds me, most of the bottom drawer in my new freezer is full of quorn. Must use it up

IIf I want to give up home-job without having to do another day at work-job to compensate, I need to cut other costs & growing veg & learning to cook properly is going to be an essential part of that.

Definitely. Hopefully growing your own veg and fruit is cheaper than buying the flipping stuff at the shops. For me too

makeup

moo2moo wrote: »

How about using the manky mandarins to make Mandarin Cake? Chuck 'em in the slow cooker for a couple of hours instead of boiling them. If your slow cooker is too big you can alway put a smaller bowl inside and then pour water around it bain marie style. Incidentally this also works for melting chocolate.

Fab recipe, I've definitely got some dodgy satsumas that need using up!

Lula - great idea, I did a freezer inventory before Xmas and I too need to work on getting my freezer stuff used up. I did a big shop with a special offer I had with Ocado and have stocked up on the basics like pasta, rice, couscous etc so I should have the base of various meals. I need to make as many meals as possible from the stuff in my fridge & freezer before buying more stuff!

And in honour of this drive for my lunch I had cheese ball nibble things that I'd bought ages ago for a party from Iceland but never used....

Shoe_Gal

makeup wrote: »

And in honour of this drive for my lunch I had cheese ball nibble things that I'd bought ages ago for a party from Iceland but never used....

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: sounds fab!

Lula-Hula

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Tasks to be completed by midnight on Sunday :


[STRIKE]4 [/STRIKE] [STRIKE] 3[/STRIKE] [STRIKE] 2[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]1[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]laundry load[/STRIKE]s DONE

[STRIKE]Ironing[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]Stripping & remaking beds[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]Stripped & now airing ...[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]Hoovering everywhere[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]Cleaning the bathroom[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]De-dusting[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]Tidying[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]Sorting through wardrobes & drawers for charity stuff[/STRIKE] - DONE & found yet more stuff

[STRIKE]Topping up essential groceries[/STRIKE] DONE

Fuelling up car ( a bit) - CHANGE OF PLAN

[STRIKE]Returning books to the library[/STRIKE] DONE

Posting lovefilm DVD

2 x exercise sessions ( any variety) whoooops

[STRIKE]Visiting rellies[/STRIKE] CHANGE OF PLAN

[STRIKE]Making chilli in the slowcooker[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]Sorting through paperwork.[/STRIKE] DONE

Good afternoon lovelies,

I've been a very good Lula today as you can see ^^^

Completely forgot to post the lovefilm DVD, will do the ironing tomorrow & have some wii fit / just dancing planned for later ...


Moo - thanks for the mandarin recipe, will probably just eat them though as cant really afford 6 eggs & almond stuff on current budget. Love the chocolate melting idea ... I've always just used my mouth

Souk - thanks for the overnight cooking tip - had never even occurred to me & will probably work much better. the chilli is smelling gorgeous although not reduced anywhere near enough yet, hopefully throwing the kidney beans in will help somewhat. I would happily shop at Asda if we had one anywhere near, Tatco is as cheap as we get here, although I have been reading good things about Sainsburys basics range so might try that as there is one in town.

Makeup - actually using up stuff is a whole new concept for me too. I'm hoping to discover that by actually doing this & also doing real cooking, I can save hundreds of squids over the year ...

Karma - We've often thought we had additional residents here, both DDs have had experiences in the past, although this latest event could be just due to power surges or dodgy wiring. Things do move around occasionally & often used to come in & 'know' that someone had been in the house. I quite like & there's a lovely atmosphere here so all good

I didnt get a chance to ring Dad as having wisely left me alone for a couple of weeks, he called earlier & asked if he could pop in. Was a bit worried that he might want some of our chilli, but he's meeting a friend for dinner & wants to drop some things off so that's fine.

DD1 is also due here anytime on the way to visit her friend & she's dropping off her old tv for DD. I havent told DD the reason for the visit so it will be a nice surprise for her. I wouldnt have bought her a tv for her room for a few more years, but as its a freebie & she'll only get whatever earth channels a coat hanger can pick up for the next year, then I wont worry too much.

I'm hoping she wont want chilli either :rotfl:

Shoe_Gal

Well done, you've got loads done

Lula-Hula

Hmmmmmm the chilli was a mixed success. It tasted fab but there was so much juice/sauce/stock that it was drowning in it, to the extent that even after removing some with meat for another meal, there is still over a pint left :huh: It is so tasty that I will have to reuse it.

Both DD & I have decided we can happily live without kidney beans though - nasty.

My Dad arrived bearing foodie gifts - leftovers from christmas eg unopened tubs of twiglets, mini cheddars & cheeselets & 2 big bags of doritos. He also brought the spare food that we'd had to bung in the freeezer when Intl Rellies were taken ill. I now have some frozen roasties all basted with dripping & a tray of various sausages, stuffing balls & piggies in blankets.

This was why I was saving our visit until next week

Well, as you know I am now a born again moneysaver so ... I have removed the sausages from the meat pack & they will be pre cooked & then drowned in the leftover stock/juice along with a couple of chopped up potatoes & some of the frozen veg to make a meal for tomorrow .

The leftover chilli & rice will do for a meal on monday ( I think rice is ok in the fridge for 48 hours ?) & we'll still have plenty of stuff left.

We did the library trip earlier & I chose 3 new books to keep me occupied so I have avoided late charges this month.

Popped in to the co op to get a few essentials, bread, buttery stuff (still half price so grabbed 2 tubs) eggs, yogurts for DDs packed lunches & bananas. Total spend was £7.75. This brings my grocery total to : £ 68.61 & means I have about £9 left to spend if I am to stay within budget.

Unless I have a complete freak out, this means that if I stick to budget, I will have spent under £100 on groceries & household stuff this month :cool:. This is completely unheard of as my usual spends are around the £230 mark . Admittedly, the fact that I do have stocks of all other household, cleaning & basic toiletry items has been beneficial but the concept of using stuff I have rather than buying new is (I'm ashamaed to admit) a basic money saving method that has until now, gone way over my head :whistle:

I am celebrating this remarkable revelation with a glass of the deliciously chilled rose & a small bowl of peanuts

taxi73

your meal plans sound great and using stuff up is a great moneysaver.What a great idea to put the sausages and pots in with that spare sauce.Can see you becoming a great cook.