Anyone got a nice spaghetti and meatballs recipe?

cheerfulness4

Just got back from my final shop this month... armed with my £3.50 and I got CHANGE! I'm actually under budget this month. :j :j :j Okay, only 19p but its still under.

Got:

3lt squash £1.........(bless farmfoods)
value T rolls 89p.....(will watch them carefully )
sugar 79p..............(diddled as only 69p in farmfoods )
Cooking marg 24p
and as I still had money I bought from reduced section
bag apples 20p
sunflower seed ryvitas 19p

So lil_me my final figure to declare for February is £139.81.


As said before MrsMc - my budget for March will be £135

Can't wait now, all excited. Well done to all those staying in budget and don't give up those who are trying their best.

Frugaldom

Just popping on to say I am almost keeping up with the posts here and I liked the Chesterton quote pointed out by MikeD, too! So true! next month I am changing tack, slightly, and rather than posting non spend days (NSD), I'm only going to post 'spend days'. Bails suggested we see how many NSDs we can accumulate during March as part of the living on 4k challenge, and I'm up for that. I'm minimising my bread/milk outings by attempting to batch bake & freeze my frugal rolls and stocking up with milk powder at the start of the month. I did a rough calculation of the cost of the rolls and, if baking them all at once (it will mean using 2 racks of the oven and switching the trays halfway through), they should cost about £1 for 50. If I make it into small loaves, that's 3 loaves for £1. If I find bread cheaper than 33p per loaf then it will be bought and frozen.

OK, I've wittered on enough here, I spend far too much time on MSE and not enough time doing other things - must get the routine sorted before summer! :rotfl:

Back again!! Forgot to say, my month ends on 29th but am def in for March £100 for 3 adults. Am sure I posted this alread but just in case I didn't

meanmarie

Had €23.31 left of February's budget left yesterday but have had to ask DD4 to bring back some food to-day and OH spent €12.00 on pork chops for dinner to-day.

Chances of coming in under budget are pretty slim at the moment...I did forget about SIL being here for a week, DDIL and DGD2 also for a week and people dropping in to see Aoife, so costs have been higher than normal...DD2 tends to live on things like BLTs and shop bought pizza so there is extra cost there too...hadn't taken any of this into account when setting budget....will just draw a line and start again on 1st.

Will declare budget final spend for February as €325....€25 over budget

Thanks Lil_me for your Trojan work and thanks also to MrsMC for taking over.

Budget for March will be €350.

Good luck to all,

Marie

MRSMCAWBER

Hi Becky 2

Sorry.... yes macaroni is a kind of pasta..the little tubes, but you can just use what you have to hand

lilmisskitkat

Afternoon all I love this thread, its been so inspirational and a great place for support when its all going wrong lol

I'm doing my grocery challenge every 4 weeks so Feb is almost finished (bar any midweek bits and pieces) and i'll start March next Fri with my £200.

Have totted up and my spend so far has been £182 :j So i should come just under my budget of £200 which i am really shocked at tbh. Either i wasn't overspending as much as i thought or (more likely) that having to keep track of it all i've been more careful. We certainly haven't gone without!

March will be a tougher month as i've used quite a bit out of my freezer and cupboards and we are on the last dregs of things like shower gel, bubble bath, mouthwash, washing up liquid etc so will stock up in March with whatever brands are on offer. But i'm determined to stick to budget again and try for April to reduce to £180

Anyone already into their March challenge yet?

Kate xxx

JayneC

Moniker wrote: »

As I suspected, with extra visitors this weekend I have had to buy more milk. Also 'had' to buy the 4 litres of orange juice my DD1 had bought for a social event she organised yesterday and which were surplus to requirements! Much posher stuff than I usually buy but at least it's in the freezer and I won't have to buy any for the next two weeks. Have updated my sig. Still have about £55 to spend and only one big shop before the end of the month so I am still hoping to stay on track.

Have spent all day baking - spinach and ricotta cannelloni for tonight's dinner, apple crumble ditto, and a fruit cake and Twink' s hob nobs. My DH thinks he's died and gone to heaven as he doesn't usually get treats like this! Also bread in BM - which didn't rise properly - I think this batch of yeast is duff as it happened with the last one too.

Off to put my feet up for 10 minutes!


Enjoy the rest of the weekend folks.

Do you have recipe for Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni? I love this but have never made it.
Ta x

JayneC

mrs-moneypenny wrote: »

managed another NSD yesterday
i got asked by the local papershop to cover a round as one of the usual kids was sick- worked on the theory it was £3 i wouldnt of had so it went straight in my £1 a day pot.:D .

i bung all my clods and coppers in a demi-john at the end of the week, that will be used for hliday spends in the arcades etc for the kids (and hopefully a few ice-creams as well)

ive started saving my plastic trays as well and freezing left over portions in those once they are frozen i can 'knock' them out into a plastic bag i just need to make sure i label them up;)

4 of mine NEED haircuts in the next week but im going to take the money out as extra and just note it as an 'extra expense' if i try squeezing it out of the grocery money ill just go way over for the month. I've booked 2 for thursday and2 for next monday a friend whos a hairdresser comes round and does them here its easier and cheaper

I cut my kids hair myself!! Have 5 so it's v expensive to take to hairdressers!! The girls have theirs long and I just trim it the boys I cut with clippers. I think I've become reasonably profffecient now, can do layers an stuff:D.
Jayne x

MrsBartolozzi

Last week of the month for me (1st-29th) and I have spent another £34.60 between farmfoods, Lidl and Tesco. I am well under budget so unless I find some really good deals for next month this week I am unlikely to go over.
I think I will need milk and bananas, and probably bread before the end of the week so £10 will cover that - woopee I am winning for once.

I am defo in for March £220 as I said earlier (I think), but MrsMC I don't think I was on the previous list so could you please check, and put me in? Thanks.
Better go change my sig.
MrsB.

JayneC

tattycath wrote: »

Speaking of carbonara... When My DD does carbonara, (I'll just put my fingers in my ears ready!!!) we use a jar of carbonara sauce, is there a cheaper way??? please???

Hi,
I got a recipe from weightwatchers and that uses cream cheese (like philli, but i use the cheap version:D )
(to feed4)
350g spagetti (i use less)
low fat cooking spray (if you're not slimming any oil is fine)
bacon (suggestion 8 rashers, but I use bacon bits and guess!)
1 garllic clove
1 egg and 2 egg whites
100g low-fat (doesn't have to be) cream cheese
pack of fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Cook spagetti for 10 mins,
meanwhile spray frying pan with oil and cook bacon until crisy
add crushed garlic and fry for another minute.
Take off heat
add hot (drained) spagetti and quickly add the egg and egg whites, soft cheese, salt and lots of pepper. add parsley and that's it!

lingojingo

Been to OU tutorial today, £3.20 bus fare & £4.20 train fare.:eek:
As the bus ticket lasts all day I went back into town this afternoon and did a Lidl shop. Spent £40.05 and could hardly carry it home!!!! Took 20 mins to walk back to bus station (usually about 5), and now have very long arms!
But it means I can avoid a Mr. T delivery for a bit longer:T as I think we'll only need milk and possibly some green veg for the rest of Feb.