March 2011 Grocery Challenge

CherryPie

CherryPie wrote: »

Sausage casserole in the SC to be portioned up and frozen for my own ready meals. I like cooking from fresh, but can't be bothered by the time I get in from work.

Might go freezer shopping later and see what else is lurking in there waiting to be turned into something wonderful :rotfl:

Sausage casserole done. I really need to sort out the portion control thing. Planned on about 4-6 servings, there's more like 8-10 in there!!

Did the Mr T price check thing last night after my £20 spend. Today got a voucher for £2.44. OK it won't buy a lot but it's free money IYSWIM Add that to my £7 of clubcard vouchers. I've got nearly a tenner to spend. I'm in such a moneysaving mood this afternoon. Got a voucher for a bag of Milkybar buttons. Think all of this will go on a nice early dinner for me & a friend who are off to see Russell Howard 2mo nite. Really should cook from scratch, but I'm thinking some ready made filled pasta & sauce. Could even get a bottle of wine too!

:beer:

Kitchenbunny

After that, I ended up spending £2.22 in Mr T this morning, on peppers and milk, and will update my sig accordingly.

KB xx

minnie2

cutiepieabf wrote: »

step 1) Have a look through your cupboards, fridge and freezer and make a quick inventory of what you have.

step 2) Pull out any recipe books, check out recipes at start of thread, look for those that you feel comfortable making, and that use ingredients that you mostly already have.

step 3) if you are stuck for ideas for recipes or have really random ingredients in your cupboard - try one of the websites that finds recipes according to the ingredients you put in.
external links - myrecipes , allrecipes , recipematcher , supercook

step 4) think logically about how you are going to put your week's plan together - it helps to have your diary/calendar available to check appointments, etc. check BBE dates on fresh food. also think about the use of food, eg. if you are cooking a chicken for roast one day, then it makes sense to have a chicken related meal the next day, or you could carve the whole chicken and freeze the meat for another day.

step 5) you should now have a rough plan of what you are having to eat for that week. i use a simple table which has 3 columns - day, meal and ingredients needed. then at the bottom of the page there is a box which says - ingredients to buy - and when i have filled my meal and ingredients boxes for each day i know what i need for the week.
if you want a template send me a pm.

hope this helps and i havent overcomplicated anything. the plan is supposed to be flexible, i often swap things around because i am not in the mood for something, or i have whoopsied something. :)

thank you!! i may give it ago this weekend!! I have a very restricted diet due to severe allergies but i am aware we eat the same meals over and over - although i cook from scratch! But would like to create a list so it easier shopping wise too - we dont buy things we dont need!!

123budget

was really pleased with myself today £41.5 in A**i and £28.66 in T***o. Then remembered I had spent £8.10 in the local shop mid week. I really must stop doing that!! I went in for a loaf of bread only!! Anyway I still think I am doing a lot better than I did before I joined the challenge and still think I can stay within target for the rest of the month.

Hippeechiq

>>>big sigh<<<..... We're only on the 4th of the month, but it's already clear to me that what I want to buy and what I have to spend, do not tally by a long shot

sistercas

been to sainsbugs and t3sco today spent £81.40 between them more than i planned but DD1 needs certain stuff for her a level cookery course which always adds to the cost

also spent £43 on petrol which will last 2 weeks ( i dont include that in the budget though)

off to update my sig

sistercas

Hippeechiq wrote: »

>>>big sigh<<<..... We're only on the 4th of the month, but it's already clear to me that what I want to buy and what I have to spend, do not tally by a long shot

i know just what you mean :cool:

NickJW

CherryPie wrote: »

Did the Mr T price check thing last night after my £20 spend. Today got a voucher for £2.44. OK it won't buy a lot but it's free money IYSWIM Add that to my £7 of clubcard vouchers. I've got nearly a tenner to spend. I'm in such a moneysaving mood this afternoon. Got a voucher for a bag of Milkybar buttons. Think all of this will go on a nice early dinner for me & a friend who are off to see Russell Howard 2mo nite. Really should cook from scratch, but I'm thinking some ready made filled pasta & sauce. Could even get a bottle of wine too!
:beer:

Thanks for the reminder about the Price Checker. I never shop in A$da because I don't have one convenient to me, but hey - if I manage to get money back from them when I go shopping this weekend then it's a bonus!

Mrs_Money_Penny

Hi Could you please put me down for £200 again this month. Just got back from MrA and spent £64.51.

JayJay14

Winged_one wrote: »

I got 3 quiche and put 2 in freezer, the 3rd is for lunch tomorrow. I got 2 lots of puppodums (I sometimes make fresh but often too mcuh hassle to get out deep fat fryer) and a pack of naan breads for indian meals midweek. !

We do them in the mocrowave, brush with a bit of oil and zap for about 30 secs, haven't fried one in years. You just have to keep an eye on them or they burn quickly.