Anyone got a nice spaghetti and meatballs recipe?

fallen_angel_shelley

i seem to of gone a bit of track with money saving this month. i have 19.99 left out of mt GC money until the end of this month:eek: i have loads of tinned stuff, beans, spaghetti, more beans, (i'm sure they keep breading) tuna, sweet corn, dried pasta, 2 jars of sauce to make lasagna, bread & cake making stuff and 1KG of mince in the fridge, going to use half for the lasagna and half to make scouse in the SC just need to pick up some veg, milk and eggs, oh i all most forgot picked up a couple of meatball & pasta ready meals for £1 each at mr t's, so should have more than enough for the next week. i just need to make sure i take a list to mr t's when i go to pick up veg and eggs and stick to it, something happens to me when i go in that place, i end up buying stuff i don't need, eg, i went last sunday got what i need for the week, went with a friend on tuesday, spent another £22 on stuff i did'nt need yet

Moniker

Just got back from my last big shop of the month and have £6-19 left till next Thursday. I am determined to do it this time! Will probably do a big online order for the bulky dry stuff to start the month. Last time I did this I spent nearly £100, but it lasted more than a month so I reckon I should allow about £80 for that and £200 for the rest of March - which is a 5 week month for me and there's Easter as well - don't know yet if we are having any visitors - which might tip the balance.

One big saving is that I have bought no alcohol since the beginning of December and we still have 4 bottles out of a 12 bottle case left. This is mainly due to giving up booze for Lent - which I do miss but my purse and my waist line benefits! Although the 12 bottle case seemed a lot (I think it cost about £57) it has certainly been good value. As the wine is nicer than the usual supermarket stuff I am less inclined to open it mid week for cooking!

All my savings are going into my ISA for our retirement and overpayments on the mortgage which will be cleared in July 2011 if I keep disciplined!

I'm in for March then with a target of £280.

Good luck everyone - hang in there those of you who are struggling!

P.S Forgot to say that the savoury mince cobbler was delish(see previous post) - though I think I will use the half I froze to make a sheperd's pie as I'm not a great fan of the pastry topping! However, I served it with broccoli and courgettes and no potatoes and OH didn't complain!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I've just done an inventory of stuff I've got in and decanted packets of rice/beans etc to tidy it all up so it looks more appealling. Anyhoo, I've made a big pot of chick pea and veg curry with bits and bobs leftover and frozen veg that needed using up so there will be extra portions to freeze. Also made a soup out of leftovers for lunch which looks great.

I am making a big effort not to waste anything, it all goes in the fridge and I work out what to do with it. Mashed swede today went in the soup. Any bits of fruit like 1/2 eaten apples go in a smoothie.

Well done everyone, its nearly the end of the month....yay!

pigpen

I'm in for March.. aiming for £550. I do need to do a big cupboard refill shop next week though.. but I have a list!!!!!!!!!!!

I have stuff I doubt I'll ever use so I am going to incorporate them into the weeks meal plans.. I have loads of pulses, lentils and beans.. I will make some mroe lentil paté and might sling a handful into everything to bulk it out!

I may have to invest in some oxo cubes!

bails

Well, I'm back from Lidl and as expected, I've gone over this month's budget (have some things for next month). I still have to go to Sains yet too :rolleyes: We seemed to get a lot for our money at Lidl which was great, but I am feeling quite hopeless at this challenge at the mo
Betterlatethannever, how on earth do you spend less than £68 for two of you, that's so impressive! Our budget is £160 and I've blown it both months! (we are 2 adults, 3 cats and 2 guinea pigs).
Right guys, if I give you a brief breakdown, I wonder if anyone can give me any tips where I'm going wrong please? I have bought lots of cat food while it's on offer (need to check out how much and estimate how long it'll last - we are now feeding an extra cat) but we don't buy any meat, alcohol, washing powder or cleaning stuff (we're not smelly, we use other things ), ready meals, squash etc. We would like to eat organic but don't on most things (yoghurt and milk only really), OH drinks soya milk. I can't understand where I'm going so wrong, although I'm sure it's staring me in the face I batch cook and freeze portions, we don't waste food, I water down my milk, buy damaged/reduced stuff at night, have downsized on brands...
OH has just bought 8kg of muesli, apparently for the next month, does that seem like a lot? I am grateful I've got him out of Waitrose (he used to shop there before we got together) and buying in Lidl (it was £12.82 for the muesli).
Sorry for the long post, just tearing my hair out this end! Thanks for any tips you can give me x

betterlatethannever

Betterlatethannever, how on earth do you spend less than £68 for two of you, that's so impressive! Our budget is £160 and I've blown it both months! (we are 2 adults, 3 cats and 2 guinea pigs).

I do cheat a little....my DD works for a supermarket and i get 15% discount on anything i buy:o
Other than that i just do the same as everyone else.:D

(if anyones good at maths, maybe they can work out what my bill would have been without my discount, allowing for the fact that almost all my spends have been in the supermarket)

bails

Your bill without the discount would've been £80, still half of mine

fallen_angel_shelley

count me in again, i'm still going to stick with £170 for march.

lilmisskitkat

Hiya all, not been on for a couple of days, will catch up properly in a bit. Well done to those doing well, (((hugs))) to those who are struggling.

I think i'm doing ok, expecting to come in on budget or just slightly over. Its been a real eyeopener though, knowing i'm doing the challenge and have to come and confess has made me think before buying things lol

I have had to buy stuff i wouldn't normally like cans of coke, snacky things etc for OH to take whilst working at the new house but for next month i'm hoping to get organised and make things rather than buying. Bit tough at the moment as my microwave (also my oven) is broken and i'm still waiting for them to fix/replace it. And i'm addicted to salad which is costing a fortune :rolleyes:

Think i'll try for £200 again for March because i haven't bought toiletries etc since before xmas but we're running very low now so will stock up again.

Good luck all

Kate xxx

mama67

Today is another NSD for me.