November 2011 - Grocery Challenge

CompBunny

Adding £9.60. My partner got paid today and we were planning to get a takeaway as a treat for his hard work but instead made an indulgent but simple meal, also a nice Magners for him and some OJ for me Big spend but we all need treats right?

I made Triple P (pinenut pesto pasta), recipe from the back of a packet of pinenuts that my mum made once and we both loved!
Its simple:
200g (pffft I used more like 400g) Pasta...we used Farafelle bows as a change
250g tub Mascarpone Cheese
50g Pinenuts
2 tablespoons pesto
Fresh basil leaves to garnish
Cook pasta, mix together mascarpone and pesto, stir into warm pasta over low heat, stir in pinenuts and serve with basil leaf garnish.
Yummy with garlic bread or rocket salad, really moreish and quick!

Unfortunately its also pretty expensive to make...any suggestions on how to MSE Old Style it?! I was thinking maybe mixed chopped nuts instead of pinenuts, would these work? What about the mascarpone?

PennyGrabber

I'm really excited! I've just put half a tin's worth of corned beef into the freezer! The amount of times I've thrown that away over the years, it's untrue, so the discovery on here a few days ago has made me one excited little (i wish!) PennyGrabber!

I think I've flunked the gc this month. Prob haven't as I've been aiming for £100 even though I signed up for £150, but as I haven't kept receipts etc, and I can't go through bank statements as lots wasn't gc but xmas/presents/ents/misc, I am officially giving up on keeping track of my whole month. In order not to fall off the wagon, as I inevitably do every couple of months, I'm now aiming for £50 from now until the 30th.

Children had corned beef hash for dinner tonight, and I had fridge use-ups. Tomorrow, my ds is at a pizza party for lunch, and dd has requested tomatoes, cucumber, sausages and pizza for our lunch at home. Luckily I have all of that in anyway (those of you who know me, know that she could've asked for anything and i'd've had it!!), so that's good. We're going out for dinner tomorrow evening with a couple of other families. I don't count this in my budget, as it happens so rarely that it's a lovely treat, and I don't like to make myself feel bad about the odd treat - as long as it is the ODD treat!!

Sunday will be ... decided once i've had a trawl through everywhere. I have a new electric meter being fitted in my cupboard under the stairs on 3rd Dec, and it's so full of food that I'm using that as an incentive to sort it out!!!!!!!

Night all,

PG x

Twiceblessed

Spent £11.50 on a hoody from gymnastics for my DD

Regretting not creating a separate clothes budget

Have £2.50 Clubcard voucher and £17.00 ASDA. Would love to be able to limp on until the end of the month

prepareathome

Not sure if this has been shown on another months challenge - this was taken I think a few years ago am sure that is when I first saw it, but came across a link to it again tonight, but still literally food for thought the amount some families spend per week, even in my wildest times I never spent the top amounts even with three growing children. Then the other side of the coin those who spend so little. Even though I have gone over budget, I have not spent a penny on junk food, no soft drinks , crisps or anything other 'food' like that bought.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519_1373664,00.html

franby64

Just dropping in to update my spends - total is currently £304.25/£380.

I'll only have one more delivery for this month - probably a minimal A*da one next Tuesday (£25-£30, leaving @£45ish for day to day spends).

So today I want to have a reccy - redo the freezer list and and my 'menu' and make sure I'm incorporating as much stuff as I can that I've already got in.

Might just do it!

XSpender

Small shop at Mr S on Thursday night but used my nectar points and a bigger shop at the smallish Mr T near my home, rather than the T extra a few miles away, as I had vouchers and couldn't see anything to use to double them up on. £7.17 spent of real money but this was used aginst some wine and beer so comes out of a different pot.

After being really pleased with Ald* last week I really didn't enjoy shopping in Mr T yesterday, everything seemed so expensive and I will be doing my main shop in Ald* from now on with a trip to Mr S for a couple of branded things we like and their basics tea bags and nappy bags.

ALDI NAPPIES can't remember who was asking about them but I tried them for the first time last week and think they are great. DS would normally wear a 4+ and they do a 4/4+ which is smaller so I will be moving up to their size 5 shortly. They look very similar to Mr T nappies in my opinion which I haven't had any problems with myself. DS is 18 months though and I only used Huggs when he was tiny.

DH has requested Quesdillas for tea which will mean buying a kit so I may have a small spend to add today plus I forgot value tissues yesterday:mad:

I am over budget but not by a huge amount and my month ends on Monday:)

boultdj

Another £12.14 to add.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

I spent £104 in Waitrose. Waitrose +me+ minus Trolley = idiot and no I am not lugging my heavy shopping home on the bus.
Budget is therefore way off line meaning approaching £250+£300 this month.
Having to restock Fridge and Freezer has not helped as I have been compensating for wasting estimated £300 worth of food. (Food is very important to me).
So I must post figure in the red.
I am at least £75 in the red over my £200 proposed figure.
:eek::eek:

pipersky

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

What is the Tesco glitch thing please?

Ooops, sorry just reading thru posts now I can see someone pointed you in the right direction - thanks CompBunny

I keep losing track of what I'm spending!! I know I never go wildly over but I'm so easily distractable! *hangs head in shame*

I can't promise I'll do better in December as it's the big C but am going to make a big effort again in January... In the meantime I'm going to try to remember to keep track of my spends

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

pipersky wrote: »

Ooops, sorry just reading thru posts now I can see someone pointed you in the right direction - thanks CompBunny

I keep losing track of what I'm spending!! I know I never go wildly over but I'm so easily distractable! *hangs head in shame*

I can't promise I'll do better in December as it's the big C but am going to make a big effort again in January... In the meantime I'm going to try to remember to keep track of my spends

Blimey compared to some people on MSE I am doing really badly. I have a lot to learn.
But learn I must and learn we must.:beer::eek: