May 2012 Grocery Challenge

rising_from_the_ashes

Flat_Eric wrote: »

not awake yet - what does moc stand for ???

Money off Coupon

Most of them are a bit of a con IMHO - eg spend £40 and then get a £5 MOC off your next £40 shop so ..... you actually need to spend £80 to get £5 off.

So, they actually encourage you to go & spend money and, yes you may get £5 off but would you usually have spent £80?

(Obviously rewards ones like CCard ones are different as you've already spent money to get them IYSWIM)

craigywv

Flat_Eric wrote: »

not awake yet - what does moc stand for ???

money off coupon:)

tessie_bear

morning....hope everyone is well and dry...difficult in there drought conditions....we are having chicken fried rice for lumch then out for tea....the rice is the 3rd meal from a chicken i got in the m and s meal deal....we have had a roast dinner fajitas and fried rice to come
need to sort out some bits for tomorrows pack ups i have done a weeks meal plan for next week

what do peeps think of frozen veg ? for 99p a bag i got kg bags of
peas
fine beans
broccoli/cauliflower/carrot
i thought i would use them this week and see how we go....seems cheap

take care tess

Carmilla

My month starts tomorrow and I think I've really underestimated what I will need as I've got a completely empty fridge and freezer and a box of tins, pulses and herbs, as we have just moved out of a shared house. Do you think I should up my budget now or try to stick to it but accept I will be way over it by the end of the month? Going shopping today before the month starts feels like cheating, what do you think?

jumblejack

Hi Craig. The choccy fudge recipe is more a 'made by eye' cake. The only thing I weigh are the cake ingredients to get the ratio right.

If its a cake for a dinner party then out comes my large tin. It would be a 6oz of each:butter, sugar. Then 3 eggs. Finally, 1oz of cocoa and 5 of SR flour.

This takes an age in my oven so I only do large cakes for special occasions!

The topping is lush but is done without scales. I couldn't even guess the measurements as it is just added bit by bit til it's right.

Basically it is butter which I melt in a pan. This is removed from the heat and then I add milk to it.

In a bowl I seive cocoa powder and icing sugar then I add the butter n milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon. It it's too dry, I keep adding a little milk until it is shiny and a spreadable thickness.

When the cake is cooled, I half it into 2 pieces. The spread goes in between the layers and is spread on the top and sides.

When it is cooled it is nice with cream but I like it best served on individual plates which can be nuked for a few seconds. It comes out with a steamy moist sponge and the topping begins to remelt almost into a sauce.

Serve immediately to your guests with icecream!

If you were doing this just for family (so the look of it is not important) then experiment doing a 2 min micro cake. The topping method can be done on a tiny scale instead of using nearly a full big box of icing sugar!

prophecy_grrl

I'm just nipping in to say I'm aiming for £150 for May - 5 week month at £30 p/w

Good luck all

p_grrl x

chelseabun_3

jumblejack wrote: »

Here you go:


JJ's Herby Cheese Bread

Mix ingredients together in this order below with a fork until it forms into a ball, then finish with clean hands:


8oz SR flour

1.5oz fat (any will do: butter/marg/suet/spread/reserved fat from cooking joints, etc)

4oz grated cheese

Handful of herbs (I prefer chives:))

1 egg

Up to 1/4 pint of milk (add gradually as if making scones. You may not need the whole amount;))

1 tsp mustard.


If too wet add more flour, if too dry add more milk.

Method for bread to accompany a soup:


Pat/roll it into a circle on a tray.

Cut it into 6 wedges and slightly part them.

Glaze with egg or milk.

Looks like this as they go in the oven:

15 mins or until golden around 200 degrees
Then it should look like this (mmmmm, smell that!):

Verdict: Nom!


Method for dumplings:

Roll into 6 (or more if you want smaller ones) balls and add to a simmering stew.

Pop back into oven with the lid off and allow to cook in the liquid.
Cooking time depends on the temperature I'd oven and size of the dumplings. I usually leave em in a good 20 mins.

Thanks JJ - you're a star!:A They look delicious! I'll be having a go at them soon, and will let you know how I get on!
CBx

fozziebeartoo

bikelesschick wrote: »

Hello! Not been around in April at all as I completely lost track of ALL of my spending. I don't think it was great from my bank balance, but it doesn't seem to have been a complete disaster. We spent over £300 in GC's March which I'm not very happy about as there's only 2 of us and a puppy/young dog. I know that it's not generally recommended to lower the budget until you're comfortable with the one you've been setting yourself but I found myself thinking 'I still have x for this month' and spending 'x-a little bit' on the previous months . So I'm challenging myself and setting £200 for May (I'll just update my sig Helen, thank you!). I've found out we have a lid* nearby so I'll be popping in there rather than relying solely on Mr T and I'm considering having a 2nd purse as well but this may not happen till June. We'll see. I found out I'm pregnant a few weeks ago and have been very tired so may not be able to post regularly but will try to read the thread regularly and will definitely report at the end of May (I find that doing these help me keeping on track so thank you all!). Good luck everyone and thanks to everyone who keeps this thread going!!

Congratulations!! What lovely news!! :T

fozziebeartoo

jumblejack wrote: »

Tesco value english mustard

I only had Colemans dry mustard powder (bought for my Christmas gammon glaze) so I used a spoon of that in my bread......such a versatile recipe!! :T

fozziebeartoo

tessie_bear wrote: »

what do peeps think of frozen veg ? for 99p a bag i got kg bags of
peas
fine beans
broccoli/cauliflower/carrot
i thought i would use them this week and see how we go....seems cheap

take care tess

Now I am on my own, I am finding frozen veg brillant value!!

When I was cooking for the famiy, I always tried to use fresh veg, mainly because I prefer the taste......but there is so much waste when you peel, chop, forget to use it (not that anyone on THIS thread would waste veg ).

My best buys have been frozen diced onion and mixed peppers - added them to alost every dish I make and lasted ages.

I also find frozen mixed veg useful for bulking out casseroles, stews etc with very little effort and gets me eating peas and sweetcorn, neither of which I would probably have otherwise.

Has anyone had good experiences with frozen mushrooms? I would like to have them to hand at all times but find them a bit "smelly and slimey"......maybe some brands are better than others????

Any opinions please???

I currently always use fresh......but when I go out to buy 85p's worth of fresh mushrooms from Lidl, I come back with £10 or £20's worth of other stuff too :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: