I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

VfM4meplse

Lip_Stick wrote: »

I've a tin of prunes. Anyone know if they'd be ok to put into the slow cooker, rather than buying dried?

It depends on the effect you want...I think a few hours in the slow cooker will reduce tinned prunes to a mushy pulp and probably not add a great deal to your recipe.

pixnmix_2

Lip_Stick...ohh do i remember that well with my kids !! There were times I was convinced my ds was posessed !!

Kirri...that recipe for pizza dough sounds brilliant. Going to try it later this week. Do you have to leave it to rise or anything?

Katskorner... how many meals do you think you have in your freezer? When I started the freezer challenge it was around 30 family meals and i saved myself a fortune doing this. Am off to try to get some whoopsies to fill an empty shelf of it later.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone

Kirri

Lip_Stick wrote: »

Will try and get ds to have school meals too. Will save a fair bit and won't be encourage to buy those little extras for his pack up.

Lynsey... might have to have a go with my breadmaker this week to save cash. Thing is my ex left it and there's no instructions so not very confident with it. Also don't have the measuring cup. I've used it once with success but that was with a breadmix. Scared about using it with a recipe I have to add yeast to lol.

Good luck with that, I refused throughout primary, though maybe there is more choice in food these days?! Sign of the times, freecycle/ebay, sure my mum would have used those for me! I used to get told I'd be sent to nursery if I didn't behave!

Can you download the instructions for it? You can use any recipe in it, though you just mainly need to know which order your machine wants you to put the ingredients in, ie mine is liquid first but I know the Panasonics want the dry stuff in first. You can use any measuring spoons and jug if you don't have the ones that came with the machine I put the yeast in a hole in the flour and switch it on, easy

pixnmix wrote: »

Kirri...that recipe for pizza dough sounds brilliant. Going to try it later this week. Do you have to leave it to rise or anything?

The 1st recipe says no 2nd rise but the one in the other book, the recipe I've not tried yet, says to leave it 15 mins whilst preparing the topping.

Lynsey wrote: »

Morning all.

Kirri - thanks, more flour than expected. The Wrights bread mix was 500g, so was expecting around 2/3 of that.
I loved the elasticity of the dough yesterday though.
I'll get some flour during the week, trying to stay away from shops today!! Got to take my brother shopping tomorrow, maybe get some then or wait until I go back to Lidl later in the week.
I'll have to start experimenting with different doughs now...................reduce all those yeast sachets!! Still got a small tin of dried yeast to get rid of, need to check the date on that though!!

They are quite big pizza's though, I don't usually eat a whole one in one go (though a man would and I probably could at a push!). The Wright's mixes are unusually small packs though, I wouldn't normally buy them as I buy 1.5kg shops own usually - there is a big difference in quality though, I stick to Waitrose organic now mainly but Sainsbury's strong was ok, Morrisons organic strong was ok but their ordinary strong wasn't - so worth trying a few and seeing what works and then stick to it. Yeast can be ok out of date, I get the orange Dove's Farm pack which lasts ages but sometimes if too old you won't get a very good rise, best start baking lots!!!! I eat much more bread making it than I ever did buying it!

Good 2 monthly spend there Lynsey, at least I am just under you now, I'd feel bad if I'd spent more for just me and the pets lol.

TODAY:
Breakfast - Toast
Lunch - rest of the pancakes - love them!
Dinner - got 1/3 of the swede (3rd day running) already cubed so will have that yet again. Run out of sausages though so not sure what to have with it, either omelette or pasty I suppose, neither of which really go.. can't face going out as bad weather forecast and wind so will have to make do!

Lip_Stick

VfM4meplse wrote: »

It depends on the effect you want...I think a few hours in the slow cooker will reduce tinned prunes to a mushy pulp and probably not add a great deal to your recipe.

Yeah I thought that, maybe I could add them in at a late stage just to warm them through. Will buy some dried apricot to go in it, not sure if I fancy both apricot and prune in it. Will look at recipes.

pixnmix wrote: »

Lip_Stick...ohh do i remember that well with my kids !! There were times I was convinced my ds was posessed !!

haha.. yeah he looked like he was possessed. Wouldn't stop running around like a lunatic! He's normally quite well behaved, but I've also realised he has his sad look perfected to get round me. Well I'm not falling for it anymore!... (bet I do though lol)!

Kirri wrote: »

Good luck with that, I refused throughout primary, though maybe there is more choice in food these days?! Sign of the times, freecycle/ebay, sure my mum would have used those for me! I used to get told I'd be sent to nursery if I didn't behave!

Can you download the instructions for it? You can use any recipe in it, though you just mainly need to know which order your machine wants you to put the ingredients in, ie mine is liquid first but I know the Panasonics want the dry stuff in first. You can use any measuring spoons and jug if you don't have the ones that came with the machine I put the yeast in a hole in the flour and switch it on, easy

They have quite nice sounding meals now, a choice of 3 mains, things like veg curry or mediterranean chicken. They serve the meals on flight trays though, so I think they get the pud at the start, which means they can start on that right away. Daft idea, but I bet the kids don't mind lol.

I've downloaded the instructions to the breakmaker... somewhere, but they all use the cup that was provided and I've no idea what the quantity of the cup is. I could order it I think but can't do it this month.

Kirri

Lip_Stick wrote: »

They have quite nice sounding meals now, a choice of 3 mains, things like veg curry or mediterranean chicken. They serve the meals on flight trays though, so I think they get the pud at the start, which means they can start on that right away. Daft idea, but I bet the kids don't mind lol.

I've downloaded the instructions to the breakmaker... somewhere, but they all use the cup that was provided and I've no idea what the quantity of the cup is. I could order it I think but can't do it this month.

Sounds better choice, though even as an adult I wouldn't want all my food dished up on one tray at the same time, think it would put me off..

Just use a recipe out of a breadmaker book measured in grams, the book I mainly use suits all breadmakers, they all work much the same so you don't have to stick to the manufacturer recipes as long as you know the basics of using the machine

ms_night_ryder

Hey all

Was thinking about how many people gave joined this thread since I stumbled on it, its great to have loads of diffrent ideas,receipes and the bargain finds and more people to converse with, its lovely and the thread is moving alot quicker.

Had brunch today of 2 more of the muffins, I love them only 2 left Nd they have gone in the freezer, had it with 3 of the frankfurters and some cheese oh and a bbq sauce from mcd's if i dont use them I take them home lol, the chicken drumsticks I took out are nearly defrosted, will put them in sc, on high for a few hours later, have it with the rice and maybe do the egg fried rice I didn't do yesterday, my fridge is full, need to eat mangos and apples, would juice them but I o ly have a blender and the apples don't come out great, also have downs, a fruit shy of a fruit salad, got some ww yogurts, in my milk and more delivery they included the cream eggs, so another 28 days of avoiding thise, still alot of my budget left for the month.

tracey12_2

gailey wrote: »

got my revenge helped myself to 15 sachets of ketchup!
Goes nicely with sachet stockpile from hubbys hotel at work other day!
anyone sle stockpile sachets?

Years ago I used to work in the BHS restaurant for a saturday job and every week a little old lady used to come in and buy a cup of tea and then fill her handbag with sachets of sugar, salt, vinegar, ketchup and serviettes, used to make me smile

Lip_Stick wrote: »

The phone call was rather painless though. Ds had an accident at school, poor lamb. Couldn't phone them as I don't have their number on my mobile. She was quite nice about it, didn't threaten to remove me from their list... shame really.

Hope they don't still charge you :eek::eek:

Lip_Stick wrote: »

If anyone wants to buy a four year old, I've one going spare at a great discount. I'll even put a yellow sticker on him! How can you resist?

I have two dd who are 3 and 6. I could sell them and do a BOGOF, I know you all can't resist a bargain

Tracey

Kirri

Just made some cupcakes as too wet to go out..

Used up an egg just within date, finished off the rest of the out of date marge and also finished 1 pack of icing sugar (still have one left). Will re-buy the Pure marge though as found it's good in cakes and a good price. Still got far too many cake decorations which are out of date but still seem fine. I even used up the remnants of the lemon I've had for pancakes the last two days in with the buttercream, wasn't much juice left but gave it a lovely flavour which wasn't too overpowering.

Seeing as though I will probably eat a cake or two shortly, I may leave the swede for dinner till tomorrow night!

Lynsey

NSD. :j

Straight past Sainsbury's, well done me. lol
The car park looked fairly busy though for 3pm on a Sunday!!

Kirri - I'm actually well pleased on how the budget is going and shows what can be done, albeit with stocked freezers and cupboards.
£90'ish to last until the end of the month and then I'll have £360 to last the 2nd quarter (average £30 per week). Then a whopping £900 left for the 3rd and 4th quarters - start eating properly then.
From the start of April, we are trying to have 2 days per week without meat. Should be easy and hopefully save a little, hopefully pick up some cheap Quorn mince for Lasagnes etc.

Weather is miserable here today, drizzle on and off all day, just starting to brighten up slightly.

Had some parsnip soup and very nice, adding some carrot certainly balances out the taste.
Took some burgers out as planned, so easy day.

Lynsey

Kirri

^ Lynsey, with the way you've managed to shop though, you may find you can continue to spend as low all year and have money leftover from the budget, or are you using up more of your stocks than you are currently managing to buy in at low price? I'm surprising myself at how little I do need to spend as most of my overspend last year was obviously mainly going into storecupboard over stocking, some of which, when I check back over my spreadsheet, has literally sat in the cupboard over a year! Even when that finally gets used up I don't see I will spend anywhere near what I was spending per month last year

Quorn actual shop offers seem to have been very thin on the ground so far this year, they normally have the fillets for £1 but haven't seen them yet as I like to stock up then. Bulk cooked veggie meals can be very cheap though.

I've not been out shopping in March so far, I can't bear supermarkets at weekends anyway though. Need to go tomorrow, pets haven't got hardly any veg left. Going to hopefully visit a couple of new farm shops this week too and the bonus, I will have to go past a Waitrose too so I can get the few things I want in there and avoid having an Ocado delivery at min spend.