March 2011 Grocery Challenge

tigerfeet2006

It definatly does sound worth it. Another gadget to squeeze in my tiny, shoebox kitchen

Kitchenbunny

Afternoon, everyone. Just popping on to add that I've had another NSD (getting good now) and that I'm going to be busy tonight writing my shopping list with strong intent of sticking to it! I know I need bread tomorrow, so I'm thinking I might do the big shop tomorrow too and top up any other bits & pieces we might need as and when. Hopefully there won't be that many! I'm trying to get myself off tinned pop and am going to have another look through the fabulous recipe threads (thanks, Rosieben) to try and get more inspiration for the weekly mealplan.

Pork fajitas tonight for tea, so will go prepare it as soon as DH gets back from work. Been busy today in the garden (I'm wondering if I can't grow some veggies this year). Have a nice evening, everyone.

KB xx

jumblejack

Hi folks. Noticed a few of you are mentioning slicing your own ham. What exactly do you buy? (I truly have no idea!!)
Apologies for my ignorance.

tigerfeet2006

I haven't done this yet but it is one of the things I am looking at to help save money and bring the bills down. I am guessing you can slice things like gammon joints or ham hocks.

I am sure that someone will be along to tell us what they do

cat_smith

Mr T was doing 1/2 price gammon joint last week. I've got enough sliced ham out of it for over a weeks worth of sandwiches for about 1/2 the price of sliced ham. Maybe not quite as cheap as the waterlogged wafer thin stuff you can get, but definitely better tasting. DH gets huffy when I try to feed him the WT stuff as I normally buy it for the dog!

tigerfeet2006

Thanks Cat. That is what I am aiming to do for the broods lunch box's. As you say not as cheap as the water logged stuff but probably better for them and I guess I won't have to use as much to get the taste where as they tend to have 2 or three slices at the moment.

cat_smith

tigerfeet absolutely healthier. The slicer has been a godsend - no waste of leftover roasts or thick cut home made bread. Also makes cheese sandwiches much more economical. At the moment my freezer is fairly full so I'm not experimenting too much, but when I have space I will be trying out halving pork chops etc to kid DH that he's had 2 !

jumblejack

Ah! I generally dislike gammon when I've tried it at carveries. Never thought of using it as sliced cooked meat for lunches!! Will ask on freecycle for carving knife now otherwise it wouldn't be too OS! My hand carved things don't stretch too far as I dint have an electric carving knife. Thanks so much for the tips everyone. I am so much more focused on saving than I would otherwise be!

tigerfeet2006

cat_smith wrote: »

tigerfeet absolutely healthier. The slicer has been a godsend - no waste of leftover roasts or thick cut home made bread. Also makes cheese sandwiches much more economical. At the moment my freezer is fairly full so I'm not experimenting too much, but when I have space I will be trying out halving pork chops etc to kid DH that he's had 2 !

Ooooh! that is a cunning plan I like that idea. I was leaving DH to help himself from the pan etc. when he came home but I am finding he is taking so much I am not having anything for the freezer. So I have started plating it up and putting the left overs in the freezer before he gets home. So he has to eat my portioning and not his

cat_smith

tiger managed to get 7 portions out of a 4 portion pasta weight with my tuna mess last night. Put it into multiple not very deep dishes rather than my normal deep lasagne dish. Amazing how the presentation changes your perception. Thick or thin slices of ham/left over roast don't actually seem to affect the 'suitably full' feeling. It seems to be the number of slices that matter. Next time I do a roast I'm actually going to use the slicer rather than a carving knife (although the cleaning up will be a pain!) But will be interesting to see if the same holds true for dinner as well as lunches:D