January 2012 Grocery Challenge

Suffolk_lass

bupster wrote: »

Well, OUCH. I went and bought my cheap seeds and bits for muesli and granola and bread making and it came to 25 quid, which feels extremely painful. I bought some pecans and some chopped dates. Anyone got any ideas?

I make a (fatless) Tea Bread with dates and pecans
To the basic 1 pound of mixed fruit I add a sprinkle of pine kernels, a small handful of pecans (chopped) and a few (6-8) dates or apricots (chopped a bit) then add a mug of hot black tea and leave until the fruit plumps up (at least an hour but overnight is fine too. Then add 2 mugs of flour filled to the same point as the tea is a good guide (I do 1 wholemeal and 1 white but anything works) and up to a mug of sugar - I use about 2/3 mug of soft brown or it is too sweet for my taste with dates as well. I also add a pinch of table salt but this is optional.
Mix it all together with a wooden spoon and one beaten egg (add a dash of water if it is stiff - it should dollop off the spoon, if you know what I mean. Pop the mixture in a greased or lined loaf tin (I use the Lakel**d liners - don't even have to wash the tin if feeling slutty!- it will be rather full but won't rise much unless you've used self-raising flour. Bake in a moderate oven (350F or 190C) for an hour then cool and store. Stays moist for ages and gets better for keeping a few days. I love it with a smear of butter but I know this for a totally unnecessary indulgence but I still do it. Fab with a cup of tea!:)

Suffolk_lass

rachbc wrote: »

£3 on ingredients for ds to make lemon cheesecake in food tech (grrrr - we could make a far nicer one at home I am sure)

£5 on reduced pork in Morrisons - 2 packs f leg steaks whcih will be split for 3 meals, 1 belly joint for a sunday roast (plus neough for a LO meal) and a rack of ribs as a treat for ds sometime - they are his fav but only had one pack plus a 2kg bag of seconds apples

Sent you a PM that might help

ModestyB

Florenceem wrote: »

I had cookery lessons at school - in my day - it was called domestic science. I didn't cook at home except for - the odd batch of fairy cakes - out of the Viota mix in a packet - oldies will remember them - you got green/red glace bits to put on your cakes. So I when I married at eighteen - had to learn quick!

SNAP! That's exactly what happened with me. :rotfl: One of the best bits was scraping the bowl! Anyone else remember doing this?
Spent £13.67 at Mr M's today and £2.00 at chippies. . I blame DH for that (of course).

Big hugs to all who need one.
Be Well.

Suffolk_lass

Long_tall_sally wrote: »

NSD today but yesterday spent a bit in Sainsbobs & Home Bargains.

On the subject of school cookery lessons, I wasn't pleased recently when I provided all of the ingredients on a provided list for chocolate truffles which for my son meant gluten free cereal only to be then told by the cookery teacher (at the school that I work at) that she had added oats to them! My son had even told her that he couldn't eat oats. The whole lot ended up going in the bin because he couldn't eat them & nobody else liked them, presumably because of the g/f cereal that was in them.

When my TDS was at first school they spoke to us about his behaviour; sudden bursts of aggression and lashing out. I asked his form teacher what she had given him. After a moment's reflection she remembered the coloured sweets she rewarded him with, not long before the violence. I asked why she had elected to give him something we had already told the School he was alergic to; effectively poisoning him and making him feel totally sh**ty. Naturally, having asked for the information from us, they had treated it as confidential and not even told the poor woman. We agreed on chocolate buttons for any future rewards...

Sad but true

Herbyme

Why do my posts keep beiing rejected, something about a token having expired?
Anyway, a whole £3.20 to report, including 29p for whoopsied parsnips, now in soup with cumin and lentils, yum!

piggeh

carolinerunner wrote: »

Why do my posts keep beiing rejected, something about a token having expired?
Anyway, a whole £3.20 to report, including 29p for whoopsied parsnips, now in soup with cumin and lentils, yum!

are you using a USB dongle or mobile internet or similar? Sounds like a network connection problem

soup sounds nice.

janiepopps

ModestyB wrote: »

...One of the best bits was scraping the bowl! Anyone else remember doing this?

Whaddayamean...? I still do :D

SueP19

janiepopps wrote: »

Whaddayamean...? I still do :D

DD and I fight for it, she's 20 and I'm 44 :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

bupster

Suffolk lass, that sounds gorgeous - I used to love tea bread. Nom nom nom.

aberdeensaver

Morning All,

Had to pop to Mr T's last night for milk and cheese, came out £3.92 but that is pretty much the last shop of this week. Still got £[STRIKE]132.93 [/STRIKE] £83.61 left of budget and a freezer full of odds and ends. Fingers crossed we will make it through to the 27th January in one piece!

Made a pasta bake last night with the last of the LO turkey, gammon and some broccoli but didnt get to eat it as MIL in hospital so mad rush up to see her and by the time we got home we just couldnt face eating. So packed it up into my lunch box and will have it today instead.

Wishing you all a good day, whilst i hope to have my 6th NSD of the year. Aiming for 200 NSD for the year!