I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

recovering_spendaholic

Well we had DD2's bolognaise for tea and it was lovely! She didn't make the pasta as it would have gone all gluey so when she brought the sauce home I just boiled some pasta and heated up the sauce and we had it with some grated parmesan. DD1 wouldn't have any though as she said "ewww all those skanky mates of hers will have been breathing all over it and touching it" or words to that effect so she has gone out to her friend's house for tea!

Went to Aldi and got corned beef - it has gone up to £1.45 a tin but that's still better than Sainsburys £2.48!. I also stocked up on caster sugar as it's still 99p (£1.79 in Mr T and Mr S) and oats. I had loads of the Jordans but made flapjacks with them so had none left. Ended up spending £25 in Aldi but did get alot of sugar and sweetner, plus corned beef, plain flour and dry spaghetti.

Hoping for a no-spend/minimal weekend! planning on doing a roast dinner on Sunday with stuff I have in (there is plenty) and tomorrow will do a pizza and salad/jacket potato tea. Breakfasts will be weetabix or porridge both days and lunches will be sandwiches and/or beans on toast/cheese on toast/soup. I might give in and spend £1.20 on soup as there is a little butty shop near me which makes the most wonderful roast lamb dinner soup in the world!! I don't know how they make it but it is just lovely!

fees finally came (and went!) but I found out yesterday that I have an interview for a "proper" job on Tuesday at QVC so fingers crossed. It is only part time but it would be a regular income and I could still do my self employed stuff but wouldn't be so dependant on the money as I am now.

Julimk

Lip_stick Thinking back on it, DD was fussy when she was younger, probably about the same age as your DS. I think it is normal for them to want to be the same as their friends. Mine was not helped by m-i-l who would pamper to every whim. M-i-l moved to Oz not long after that, which removed that problem! Went through various tactics with DD of getting her more involved with the cooking & meal planning; going to the supermarket & getting one each of different fruits to do a taste test game together etc. I think I take it for granted now how unfussy she is really (subject to the odd fad). Helps with the whoopsies too, as I know she will eat most things now.

Lynsey Are the Campbell’s soups the condensed ones? What flavour do you have? I use those for sauces rather than as soup. For example chicken or mushroom mixed with cooked chicken provides the ‘white sauce’ for a pie filling, and as it is flavoured gives it an extra kick. Or we have something called ‘tuna thing’ with peas, tomatoes, whatever veg you have/ like etc, mixed with canned tuna & condensed mushroom soup, topped with cheese & in the oven for half an hour or so. Sounds odd but I like it! Or maybe it just reminds me of childhood, as Mum got the recipe from a Tupperware party in the ‘70s! There are lots of recipes online for things like pasta bakes using the condensed soup.

Damn those whoopsies!! Friday is our normal shopping day & did need milk. Too early (about 5pm) for major reductions to pennies, though there was some half-price trout, smoked cod & sausage meat, which I got. Much better reductions on more processed stuff, e.g. chicken & tomato pie from £3.29 to 85p, 2 free range ‘Happy Egg’ scotch eggs £1.49 to 39p.

For dinner we had fish & chips. These were the Young’s chip shop fish & chip meals, originally £3, on special offer at £1.50 & then reduced to 79p.

Really MUST get organised this weekend! Sort out the fridge & freezers & meal plan. Sunday lunch is taken care of as we are going out with a cousin. It is my birthday on Saturday so it is a birthday treat, and we have found a coupon!!

Lynsey

Thanks for all the tips, help and wishes regarding the slow cooker, put on around 9am tomorrow and see how it goes. Steak looks a little burnt with frost, but not too bad. I'll try 8 hours on slow.
If this works out OK, I've got sausages next on my list to slow cook.

laineygirl, that sounds like a good idea, microwaving for a few minutes first.

Julimk, I've got both chicken and mushroom Campbell's soups (had tomato also) and used to use them for cooking with rather than eating as soups (many moons ago), but think the quality/taste has changed?? Maybe just my taste buds?? I got them free anyway, actually paid 24p per can to take them away. I donated loads to my son and his flat mates, some to MIL and I've giving the last few cans to a neighbours daughter. Probably find some more lurking about somewhere, I only really used to buy the minestrone years ago, but couldn't find it when the coupons were about.
You have brought back some childhood memories though, they still have recipes now on the labels.

Jane, QVC - looking forward to seeing you on the telly.
Please don't make me buy too much junk!!! Just kidding, but good luck.

Shopping for my brother tomorrow and I'll be spending a little. I'm planning on doing a double "whoopsie" run tomorrow night, Sainsbury's and Morries. I would love a dozen cheap pies from Morries (59p for 4 would be nice). Could do with some cheap bread also to freeze.

Lynsey

cheerfulness4

Ohh Jane. Would you get staff discount on QVC? I'd be buying all sorts!

recovering_spendaholic

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

Ohh Jane. Would you get staff discount on QVC? I'd be buying all sorts!

yes I think you get about 20% - My friend already works there and there is a shop in the offices where they have mega reduced stuff (like Liz Earle for 50p and stuff) - I would love that too!! Mind you I probably won't even get the job and I'm bad enough without any discount. I sometimes go to the outlet shop in Warrington and have had some FAB bargains from there too.

Julimk - I make that tuna thingie - mine uses a tin of condensed celery soup, tuna, sweetcorn, peas (or whatever) and cooked pasta, topped with crushed tuc biscuits and cheese - it is a very old recipe from the 1970's!!

I have two very old Aunties who have just gone into a home and I have had to clear out their house and I have come accross all kinds of treasures for the kitchen (one of them had a restaurant in the 60's) - I found this set of international recipe cards produced by bournville chocolate in the 50's or 60's and one of the recipes is for using up left over marzipan so I thought I would share it, in case (like me) you have loads left from Christmas.

Chocolate almond slices

Basically you make a victoria sandwich mix (115g flour, sugar and sr flour and two eggs whipped up to make the cake mix) and baked in a tray bake tin. when cooked and cooled you spread apricot jam on the top, or you can split and sandwich it with the jam. The you take half a pack of marzipan and roll it out for the top. Then you melt 250g of plain chocolate with 25g butter and 3tbs water and when melted stir in 60g icing sugar. Spread the chocolate mixture on top of the marzipan and leave to set firm. Then cut into slices. I think I might have a go at them - hope they work out if you do have a go- the original recipe is in ounces but I think I worked out the conversions!

DD2 has just come in and said that she didn't have her tea at her friend's so I had to make her bacon and scrambled egg grrrrrrr!!!!!

ms_night_ryder

Lynsey, hope your casserole turns out well, i LOVE my slow cooker been using it about 3 months now and wouldn't be without it! it gets used most weekends and allows me to batch cook, so i very rarely cook on weekdays now, as i have food for lunches and dinners, freezing some of course, i use the below site, have tried a few receipes, doing a chilli in mine tomorrow, can't wait!

http://www.slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/chicken-chow-mein.htm

Back on topic, i have eaten the paella pot taken out yesterday to make space for the whoopsies and have taken out and put in fridge for defrosting a pack of the whoopsied organic beef mince, when i look in my fridge the meat drawer is full of whoopsied or gotten for a bargain price meat and fish, makes me happy just to think last year, i was buying 20-25 quids worth of food every weekend and buying lunch at sandwich shops etc, wasting alot of money, now i have a freezer full and take a nicer lunch to work, with a treat on fridays

So tomorrow for dinner i am having chilli and rice, tomorrow i am going to take out the bits of whoopsied steak, add some onions and herbs and put in the slow cooker sat night, overnight and take a sheet of puff pastry out of the freezer, half of the puff pastry will make a kind of steak bake, will make mini ones, can i partially cook and freeze these does anyone know? if not i will cook and freeze them and take out when needed.the other half of pastry i am planning to make something, just remembered i have some apples need using as well as the pears, so some kind of dessert for sunday.

You guys have reminded me that i still have a few campbells soup free with coupons and a ton of wholewheat 22p penne pasta so in the spirit of using that up, i will make a pasta, prob take out the cooked chicken and strip and bung soup and mixed veg in, chuck some grated frozen cheese on top, that will be sunday dinner, then hopefully the pear apple dessert and some of the ambrosia i got, needs using from the glitch.

Lynsey

Just had a little look at some of the slow cooker recipe sites and it's quite amazing what can be cooked. I generally thought they were basically for stews, chilli con carne etc. Slow cooker chicken chow mein sounds wacky, I always thought of this as a quick stir fry meal done in minutes. I need to get my head around this slow cooker usage and read up and ask.

Egg muffins later for breakfast, coffee in a minute or two.......................and a lovely beef casserole for this evening meal, might pop open a bottle of Faustino to celebrate.

I don't want to spend over £10 today if possible. I want "whoopsies", but not desperate for them. I need very little and I'm going to try and remind myself of that today. Only top quality cheap "whoopsies" considered, others will be discarded. I sound like a real "meanie", but I'm staying strong..................I hope!!

Lynsey

recovering_spendaholic

Morning all - I have just had some toast for breakfast and sent DD2 out to work with a packed lunch using a tin of tuna made into sandwiches, along with two pieces of bread with philadelphia and jam for her breakfast (she starts at 6.30 so has breakfast on her first break).

Lunch today will be the rest of the tuna in sandwiches with some soup, and dinner tonight will be pizza from the freezer with salad, although it is so cold here today I am re-thinking that and might have some of the chilli I made and froze the other day.

I don't need anything from the shops this weekend so will have to be very disciplined not to go looking for whoopsies!

bramble1

Scrambled egg muffin for breakfast today. Lifted out prawns and pork for stir fried rice for dinner tonight and need to get the joint of lamb out for tomorrow's dinner.

NSd yesterday. Hopefully one today too but i do want my good food magazine for weekend reading.

Lynsey

5 bars of chocolate @ 22p each and I succumbed to a pack of pork chops, just the 1 pack - they looked absolutely delicious (the ones I picked anyway), so 4 lovely chops to freeze - £2.94 spent on food. That's it until after 7pm!!

Slow cooker didn't seem to be doing much on low, I was expecting a sort of gentle simmer?? I popped it up to high for 20 minutes and it starting spitting a little, so the heat must be there - back to low until 5pm. Checked the potatoes (sliced) and they are nearly there.

Non budget items, popped into ASDA and bought 2 Persil non bio and 2 Comfort Pure using 4 coupons, added to "stash" whilst cheap.

This ASDA offer ends tomorrow if anyone wants the Persil and Comfort cheap. Persil £2 and only £1 with coupon (£1 off) for 10 wash capsules. Comfort Pure £1 and only 25p with coupon (75p off) for 21 wash (750ml) size.

Lynsey