February 2011 Grocery Challenge

martafdz

cat_smith wrote: »

Had the first of our Donald Russell delivery last night. The steak was amazing. Succulent and delicious. Hope the rest is of the same standard.

Mothership wrote: »

It is! But be warned once you've tried their stuff its hard to go back the way.

How many meals do you get out of an average £100 shopping there? I saw mothership that your last order goes well over the £100, how many do you get out of there? I am really tempted to try DR but I need to buy a chest freezer first. I usually buy my meat at MrM and I found it to be a huge improvement from MrT or even MrS, their meat has too much water, it ends up boiling instead of frying!

Btw, thanks thanks thanks for the brownie recipe (below). Amazing! We have been eating brownies for the last 4 days and I still have a few. If you cut them in 1/2 inch as they do in some sm, they last ages. I have a big tupperware full with baking paper in between so they do not stick to each other. Really yummy and easy peasy, just mixing all, cook for 30 min and ready to eat once you let them cool down. I used basic dark chocolate from MrM, margarine instead of butter, strong flour instead of plain, normal sugar instead of caster and Green & Blacks drinking chocolate instead of cocoa. Still amazing!! Love them. Thank you very much!! I also had to leave it in the oven for 35 min instead of 20min, I guess it all depends of the oven and the tray, because I had to use a roasting tray for turkey because I only have two trays for cakes: one for fruit loafs style cakes and the second one round for victoria cakes.

NJW69 wrote: »

Decided to make chocolate brownies as I bought some for DS the other day and it was £2.40 for a small tray :eek:.

Got a recipe of the internet and adapted what I had in already.

Melt 200g of plain chocolate (used a toblerone) and put aside to cool.

Soften 100g of butter and mix with 250g of caster sugar until fluffy.

Slowly add 4 beaten eggs and then spoon in the melted chocolate.

Sift in 60g of flour and 60g of cocoa (used chocolate milk shake powder).

Should have also added vanilla but didn't have any.

Pour into a greased baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven (170 degrees c) for 20 minutes.

Leave to cool before slicing, makes about 20-24 depending on size.

It's absolutely gorgeous, really soft and moist/chewy.

Ilona

Just been to town, had to go to the bank and the Arts Centre. I bought five packs (4 tins in each) of Feline Fayre cat food at Hoam Bargins. It was 99p, but now has gone up to £1.09, still good value and my cats like it. Also bought a pair of curtains from a charity shop for £3. These are for my crafting, I make them up into bags, cheaper than buying fabric off a roll. Bought no food.
Ilona

mrs-moneypenny

just flying in 2 NSDs for me:j

made muffins today

lazy tea --linda mc ready made veggie lasagnes as ive got to go out and wont be back for tea till gone 9 eldest can put those in for us:o

doing kids early tea, mash veggie sausage rolls and sweetcorn followed by muffins

Mothership

martafdz wrote: »

How many meals do you get out of an average £100 shopping there? I saw mothership that your last order goes well over the £100, how many do you get out of there? I am really tempted to try DR but I need to buy a chest freezer first. I usually buy my meat at MrM and I found it to be a huge improvement from MrT or even MrS, their meat has too much water, it ends up boiling instead of frying!

The last order I placed had 30 lb of meat I worked it out at around 30 main meals, their mince/stews come in 440g packs thats around 1lb, 2-4 servings. So I reckon there will be a min of 120 servings in that order. As we don't have beef etc every night, that should be enough for 6 months. Add that to my earlier order there's maybe 12 months supply. That was around £200 for both.
Another good thing I discovered recently was you can re-order items you've previously ordered at the same price you paid initially.
Their steak sample packs are £29 at the moment with free delivery, so I am seriously thinking of placing a few advance orders now spread over the year maybe one every month or so. The last one was eaten right away and didn't even see the freezer. I invited the whole family down for the feast LOL. They went nuts.
They have free delivery for at least another 4 days, and have sample packs for around £29-£39, I started off with an order like that. Another good thing about them is you can order now and get delivery when you want it months from now even. Don't buy a freezer until you've sampled the meat.

I agree Morrisons meat is far superior to many of the others, but still not a patch on DR. A good guide for me is my OH. He moans the face off me if he doesn't like something, and is not one for even saying he's enjoyed something. He has with everything I've given him from DR.

Another good thing is if you recommend a friend they have really good free gifts on offer. i have two £39 chopping boards on their way for doing that. AND you can get 7% from Quidco.

jackieglasgow

ROSIEBEN could you please add Halight's BBQ sauce recipe to the index it is here

laineyc_2

Didn't manage a NSD but only spent £2. Tonights dinner is a combination of leftovers. I baked a loaf when got in from work and some Twinks. After dinner I am baking an apple cake for tomorrow's dessert.

tessie_bear

hi...hope all are well...i went to c0stc0 today...it was great...spent £90 i had £50 and had to put the rest on a card but i got lots of bargains...i checked on my supermatket and everything we purchased was cheaper...ill report back when i have tried a few of the things

i think asd$ has squeezy syrup 2 for £1 i am going to check tomorrow ...if it has i will be getting a few as i think that is a very good price..also might start getting easter eggs as i need a few

have a pleasant evening

tessa

esmer

Mothership wrote: »

The last order I placed had 30 lb of meat I worked it out at around 30 main meals, their mince/stews come in 440g packs thats around 1lb, 2-4 servings. So I reckon there will be a min of 120 servings in that order. As we don't have beef etc every night, that should be enough for 6 months. Add that to my earlier order there's maybe 12 months supply. That was around £200 for both.
Another good thing I discovered recently was you can re-order items you've previously ordered at the same price you paid initially.
Their steak sample packs are £29 at the moment with free delivery, so I am seriously thinking of placing a few advance orders now spread over the year maybe one every month or so. The last one was eaten right away and didn't even see the freezer. I invited the whole family down for the feast LOL. They went nuts.
They have free delivery for at least another 4 days, and have sample packs for around £29-£39, I started off with an order like that. Another good thing about them is you can order now and get delivery when you want it months from now even. Don't buy a freezer until you've sampled the meat.

I agree Morrisons meat is far superior to many of the others, but still not a patch on DR. A good guide for me is my OH. He moans the face off me if he doesn't like something, and is not one for even saying he's enjoyed something. He has with everything I've given him from DR.

Another good thing is if you recommend a friend they have really good free gifts on offer. i have two £39 chopping boards on their way for doing that. AND you can get 7% from Quidco.

Can I just ask what DR is? Interested in getting decent meat as the supermarkets is just not up to muster. Can you let me know please?

Thanks

Spiggle

Missus_Aka wrote: »

Have had a total of 8 NSD's so far so looking like i will probably beat last months 11, am currently on £117.33/£135 of my budget so i have £17.67 of my budget still left to cover pitta bread, salam, chicken breasts, green peppers, cucumber, spread cheese and drinks. Will manage and i have a few bits that will get left over for next month as well. Was looking at my bank statements from 2009 and i spent £266 on just my online te$cos shopping in one month and thats not even including my top up shops or my regular trips to the turkish shops!!!! Im scared to think what the total for that month would have been about £400+ EEEEEEKKKK!!! Well at least its well under control now and i managed to pay £1000 off my debt so only have £932 left, am so happy with that its like a weight has been lifted (they are from payday companies with MASSIVE interest) finally feel like im back in control of things

Missus Aka, congratulations on getting your spending under control and that's a great sum to have paid off your debts, well done! :T

I laughed when I read about you looking back at your old spending. When I started this a year ago next month, me and OH were spending £600+ per month and no real meals to speak of. :eek: He would shop virtually every day, never with a list and would get different things for each of us (there are only us two and two beautiful cats). His idea of a bargain was something like a duck breast that was 'reduced' from some extortionate price (say £6) to a ridiculously high price (say £4.30) and that would provide just one meal just for him once he'd put other bits with it. If we'd carried on we would have been bankrupt by now! Thank goodness I found this place. :j

cutiepieabf wrote: »

Corned beef hash for tea tonight.

Had a look at the recipes on here and they differ somewhat from my version so thought i'd share...

- Boil your spuds and mash them. Don't forget seasoning but dont go overboard with the salt cos the corned beef is quite salty.
- Slice your corned beef quite slim. Aim to get about 12 slices from your block (depending on the size of oven dish you're using but you need enough for two layers).
- Place one layer of corned beef onto the bottom of the dish. Add layer of mash. Add another layer of corned beef. Add another layer of mash. Beat an egg and using a fork spread over top layer of mash. OR add grated cheese to the top.
Pop in the over for 30-45 mins until golden brown on top.
Serve with beans or peas.

This is how my Mum always makes corned beef hash and i love it!!

Voila!

I like the sound of that corned beef hash cutiepie. We tend to do the traditional mash it all up type but the variation you have here is making my mouth water! We've only recently started to add onions to ours (I'm a picky c*w with food ) but they have to be fried crisp first. We will have to try your variation soon, thanks for posting it. :T

It's funny how little things get stuck in your head isn't it? I love your name Karmachilovething and whenever I read it I say it to myself in a pseudo-American voice 'cos I just think it's got that sort of vibe. Something like the pleasure-pain principle iyswim. Well, OH managed to drop his mobile down the loo last week :mad: and so I had to get him a new one (luckily was due an upgrade ). I gave him real grief about it as you can imagine. This morning while 'doing my face' in the bathroom a pot of eye cream fell out of the cupboard did a double loop around the basin and hopped up and over and plonked itself in the loo! :doh: At that point I found myself saying "It's a karmachilovething!" That'll teach me to be smug about not dropping things in water. :rotfl:

Well I haven't updated my sig but will try to in a while. We haven't spent anything since the last update which is why I haven't had the urge to do it. There are some really lovely posts on the last couple of pages that have made me smile. Seeing our successes, sometimes small achievements and those going over but learning all the time warms my heart. So thank you all.

Ooooh, almost forgot! We had the savoury crumble (beef crumble) from the recipe list. It is absolutley delicious!!! :T:T:T If someone had told me a year ago that sage & onion stuffing would go well with minced beef I would have had them committed! I have to say it is gorgeous and highly recommended. And the bonus is that if you wanted to reduce the meat content or stretch it further then you could increase the quantity of lentils. Stunning food, thank you. :dance:

Right better get off and have my portion then. Probably won't be on tomorrow. Got the CT scan in the morning and then off to work for a late evening. So take care all, keep your resolve strong and your list stuck like glue to your hands. :rotfl:

All the best and see you Thursday,
Spigs

Spiggle

esmer wrote: »

Can I just ask what DR is? Interested in getting decent meat as the supermarkets is just not up to muster. Can you let me know please?

Thanks

It's an online butcher supplying meat direct called Donald Russell.

Have you tried your local butcher though esmer? We find ours far better value and quality than anything you would buy in a supermarket. Normally they will supply locally produced meat too. I haven't eaten sm meat in years even before joining here. And if it's an independent and local it's good for the community too. Double bonus! :cool:

Hope that helps,
Spigs