Grocery Challenge - February 2012

Barbeduk

Another spend day, but only £2.17 at Mr M (bouillon that they didn't have yesterday and some savers choc digestives as it was one of those days!) and £15.06 at Mr A on mainly frozen stuff and some bits and pieces to restock cupboards. Going to !id! and Mr T tomorrow to get the things that they have cheaper, really taking it seriously this week! Luckily they're right next to each other so I'm not wasting petrol.;)

Had lovely risotto for tea last night, made with chicken stock from last week's roast, last couple of slices of bacon, a few mushrooms and the last of the peas. DH finds the bone boiling process of stock making quite disgusting but even he had to admit that it tastes much better than bought stuff. And I've got two more pots of it in the freezer!:D

Tonight it's going to be lentil surprise cus I haven't yet decided whether to make spicy or plain!:rotfl:

ixia

£3.51 spent yesterday wil update total spend at weekend once I've been my grocery shop.

hex2

I called in at the co-op (sweets for the childrens snack boxes - the haribo BOGOF finishes tonight, and they have 4 pack softmints for 87p)

The offers from tomorrow were being labelled up - weetos half price (DS2 loves these), PG Tips at £3 (same as MrS). Crunchy Nut Cornflakes at £2 They had wolf blass yellow label out but no price tag yet.

Ninno820

Hi all - into double digits with another NSD

Dinner tonight is a freezer supplied one - defrosted chicken wing meat in 1/2 jar korma sauce on bed of frozen lemon pilau rice (one portion from Mr W was too large so I halved it and froze a portion). The korma sauce was cheap and a brand I hand't used before but I tried it yesterday and it was yummy. This week is show week at school so its a quick home, dinner, back to school. Tomorrow is sausage casserole in the slow cooker. I'm hanging on in there but half term is looming and I am still at the stage where shopping is a treat.

wuvvies

well i dont like to blow my own trumpet ... but im going to

this is week one for me total newbie. i got out 90 pounds to do us for the week. 2 adults and 2 kids plus 1 that comes twice a week. i took it out on a wednesday and so im due to take out another 90 tomorrow. i have 70p left in my purse AND

spend 30 of the money on petrol which was supposed to come out of a different budget
and had £15 left this morning so i went and bought some snacky bits for the kids - some yogs and dessert tonight and some lunchbox bits

if i can do this every week i will be really pleased. i know most of you do it for a lot less but this is my starting point. :cool:

im defintaly going to go to al@i a bit more i reckon that i have saved at least 10 -20p on each item compared to A@da.

one happy chick tonight. i can get more money tomorrow and i reckon i dont need to go shopping again til friday. so some of the change will be going in my xmas pot. if i didnt need petrol that would have gone in my xmas pot
happy saving people

Kitchenbunny

Afternoon everyone. Popping on to report a spend of £12.74 today which actually covered the majority of everything we need this week. Thanks for that bit of research, cw18 - I've still not managed to find a pork joint on a decent enough offer to warrant going out of my way to get it so will probably end up paying full price. I now have an idea though for any left over ... homemade hog roast baps! I'll warm the meat up in a little saved stock, drain it and pull it into chunks. Then, into a lovely soft bap it'll go, with apple sauce and sage and onion stuffing. Bliss!

Tonight's tea is shepherd's pie. I still need to visit Mr M to get the other perishable bits of food for later in the week, along with binbags, a TV book (really stuck here, as hate paying £1.40 for the one Mr Kitchenbunny prefers. He's aware of the situation though and willing to try a cheaper one ) and the pork joint. Will have to go on a whoopsie hunt!

Have a good evening, everyone. I'm off to update my sig.

KB xx

meg72

wuvvies wrote: »

well i dont like to blow my own trumpet ... but im going to

this is week one for me total newbie. i got out 90 pounds to do us for the week. 2 adults and 2 kids plus 1 that comes twice a week. i took it out on a wednesday and so im due to take out another 90 tomorrow. i have 70p left in my purse AND

spend 30 of the money on petrol which was supposed to come out of a different budget
and had £15 left this morning so i went and bought some snacky bits for the kids - some yogs and dessert tonight and some lunchbox bits

if i can do this every week i will be really pleased. i know most of you do it for a lot less but this is my starting point. :cool:

im defintaly going to go to al@i a bit more i reckon that i have saved at least 10 -20p on each item compared to A@da.

one happy chick tonight. i can get more money tomorrow and i reckon i dont need to go shopping again til friday. so some of the change will be going in my xmas pot. if i didnt need petrol that would have gone in my xmas pot
happy saving people

Nothing wrong with blowing your own trumpet, you have done so well, blow your trumpet and do a little jig as well.so pleased for you.

tigerfeet2006

Small spend in MrT today of £20 on some lunch box bits.

Tonight's dinner was a variation on a theme leek, cauli and bacon cheese

rising_from_the_ashes

seductivesmile wrote: »

Hi All. . .
I feel as if i need to have someone to tell me off if i stray into the supermarket. . . below is a list of what is in the cupboards and freezer. . . and i live alone!
So, slapped wrists if i go anywhre near a SM please! and also - ideas on meals i would love as i have gotten myself in to a rut.

Very impressed with your freezer list ..... think it manages to rival mine (another singleton) and I really must "get a grip" too! (Yup, my cupboards are the same).:D

Coxy11 wrote: »

What this effectively means is I will need to pay for two months groceries in one month as my cc bill will need paying, as well as me buying my groceries cash.

Know how you feel Coxy - I'm currently trying to "get ahead" with all my budgets. Everything is paid for on cc & cleared in full each month - but it does mean that Jan's salary (which has to last until end Feb) pays for Jan's purchases so I'm always behind:(.

I've got ahead with the cats, dog and car budgets but still struggling with fuel & groceries. I just can't afford to pay for 2 lots in one month so currently putting £20 aside to get the fuel one in advance (Feb & March to go:)) and will then probably have to do the same for several months for the groceries...... maybe I'll get there by the end of the year!:)

debbiedeejay

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I'm guessing your store cupboard is equally well stocked... How about Pasticcio?

Make a meat ragu/bolognaise sauce, you can use beef, lamb or pork mince. I use 250g beef mince to 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, tin of chopped tomatoes, spoonful of tom puree dash of worcester sauce, dash of tabasco, oxo cube, sprinkle of herbs (basil, oregano, thyme and mint but mixed or provence just as good). I add a chopped carrot, some celery, if I have some, and maybe a handful of red lentils it it looks mean.
Cook up some pasta shapes (shells or penne, bows or the like) until al-dente (2 minutes less than the packet says!).
Layer it into an ovenproof dish about 3" (10cm) deep (start with the sauce) and leave room for some cheese sauce and a sprinkle of cheese on top then into the oven at around 200C for 20 minutes. Very like Lasagne but somehow the separate pasta shapes make it go further and it is infinitely easier to dish up. I make it for winter parties and used to do it meat free for hockey teas when we played mixed on Sundays. Yum

Wow! I make this instead of ordinary spag bol or lasagne , I thought I just made it up, I didn't realise it was a true recipe with a name - thank you I can now tell my kids it is a real recipe not me just using stuff up ( but I am really!):rotfl: