Anyone got a nice spaghetti and meatballs recipe?

carolt2

Afternoon all,
Only got paid on friday and spent £24.22 already. Mind you £12 approx was spent on the cats. Cat litter, biscuits and meat.
Was not going to buy any cat meat but it was on offer. So we are well stocked up for a couple of weeks at least.

OH wanted to pop to lidl today, plus I wanted to see if there were any of the Gammon joints MrsMc and other people have been chatting about.... they did not have any on special offer. Was not sure if the ones on offer were frozen or chilled? But looked in fridges and freezer. They had 1kg joints for £4.49:eek: but did not buy any.

Ended up spending £12 on a few bits and pieces that OH wanted. Mind you he paid , out of his contribution to the GC fund.

Well done to everyone who have completed their challenge for this month:T

Just made 2 pear crumbles (one for freezer and other for tonight) also made a batch of chocolate & nut muffins that OH is eying up as i type:rolleyes:

To add to above post LIDL were selling heads of celery for 29p today. not sure how long its going to be at that price for.

OH has demolished 1 of the muffins and said they were lovely

betterlatethannever

I totally agree with what Savingfortravel says about growing confidence when it comes to cooking. My little family can't believe some of the stuff i'm producing.:D

I've cut out all ready pre-pared meals except one..:o Lasagne. I know it needs to go but i'm not convinced that making it myself is any cheaper..(puts hands over my ears as you all shout at me) but by the time i've bought the stuff needed and the cost of cooking etc i find the £2.50 one i buy to be reasonable. I don't have the freezer space to make in bulk and freeze it so unless i can be convinced otherwise, i'll stick to buying it ready made.

Still doing really well and hope to come in under budget (just) by the 29th Feb.:j think next months budget will have to be a little higher though as its a longer month and i'm low on lots of stuff.

Thanks guys for all your help and support though, its been loads more fun than i anticipated.:T

savingfortravel

Hi everyone.
Mrs M I've put my March challenge amount at bottom of message. Hope you include me this month as I've really enjoyed Feb.
Our months run 25th to 24th.
Thanks J

jackiegibbo

mrs mcawber please add me to march's grocery challenge of £200

Becky_2

Hi mrssnowy!

Thanks for the recipe for the leek and potato soup. I shall give it a go.

Becky

purplevamp

Went to Mr S yesterday to get milk and bread and spent £33.24 :eek: . This did include flowers for my Mum who had a little op on Wednesday (nothing major but still nice to give her something), and some unexpected alcohol :rolleyes: .

Lil_Me and MrsMc (not sure who's doing what) please put my final total for Feb down as £380.39 (this did include 3 Chinese takeaways and fish & chips - must work on my takeaway addiction!!). Also I will try again for £300 in March.

I did make some tortillas for lunch today and am very pleased to say my fussy 5 year old daughter ate them and loved them:T . I've also made another batch of hobnobs, so that's treats sorted for the next week or so, but at the rate hubby is eating them I'll be surprised if there are any left by the time I've finished writing this. I haven't done my meal planner for March yet as I'm waiting for my new Rosemary Conley books to arrive!!

Well done all of those who came in on/under budget. For those like me who hiccupped good luck for next month, I'm sure we know where were all went wobbly and will try and sort it out :j .

egon

carolt2 wrote: »

Afternoon all,

OH wanted to pop to lidl today, plus I wanted to see if there were any of the Gammon joints MrsMc and other people have been chatting about.... they did not have any on special offer. Was not sure if the ones on offer were frozen or chilled? But looked in fridges and freezer. They had 1kg joints for £4.49:eek: but did not buy any.

where abouts are you? gammon joints are definately on over here in malvern/ worcestershire.

try checking lidl web page.

egon

Moniker

A NSD for me today and so was yesterday as managed to avoid going to the shops. We enjoyed a cheap supper on Friday night as I had a packet of leeks left over from the previous week’s shop that needed using up. I also had some cauliflower left but not enough to make a cauliflower cheese, so used it with the leeks (which I fried off in a bit of olive oil) and a carrot to make a gratin dish. It was yummy!

Saturday we had Italian style roast chicken (potatoes saut!ed in olive oil and rosemary and courgettes fried in olive oil instead of roast potatoes and the usual veg). Whilst the oven was on I made a rice pudding which I love. There’s enough chicken for a couple of meals next week.

Today we had a Navarin of lamb dish which came from my pressure cooker recipe book but which I adapted for the slow cooker and which worked well. There was about half a pint of the sauce left so I have saved it to blitz with some crème fraiche and pour over pasta later in the week. I also made the Bakewell tart recipe from an earlier post, but as I didn’t have ground rice I used 2oz desiccated coconut and that was also very nice.

By the way I tried doing the jacket potatoes in the slow cooker wrapped in foil as recommended by a few of you but although they tasted ok-ish they looked really odd, sort of purple coloured! Was it the type of potato I used do you think?

I will probably have to buy milk in the week but I hope that will be all.

JayneC here is my Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni recipe:

For 4 people:
20 small cannelloni tubes
250g ricotta cheese
150g frozen spinach, defrosted and with liquid squeezed out
½ small red pepper diced, 2 spring onions (or use a small ordinary one)
½ - ¾ pt white sauce
5g grated parmesan

Mix together the ricotta, drained spinach, pepper and onion, and season with salt and pepper. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish. Fill the cannelloni tubes with the cheese and spinach mix (I use an icing bag as this is less messy than spooning it in!) Arrange the tubes in the dish and pour over the sauce and parmesan. Cook at 190 C or gas mark 5 for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with green salad or vegetables of your choice. Enjoy!

My month ends on Thursday and am hopeful of being under budget – fingers crossed!

mikeD

Good arternoon luverly people.

Shot up to shop this morning and spent 32p :eek: on a lemon for a marinade. Really a NSD though. Someone mentioned not posting their NSD's as and when but adding them up and posting the total at the end of the month. Fair idea but as I get big orders from Mr T fortnightly and buy veg about every 5 days that leaves only milk and bread, so I tend to get quite a few NSD's, so quite often I don't even bother to post them. Also I probably could cheat and bulk buy milk and bread and whack them in the freezer . BTW, I can't spell schnitzel either, but I can manage eschscholtzia .

cheerfulness: Well done!

MrsMc: That Pastitsio sounds very tasty. DW loves macaroni cheese and she also likes lasagne and this seems a bit like a cross between the two, so I guess it might go down well with her. No good for DS3 as it couldn't be reheated in the microwave. will give it a go tomorrow. As you are dieting I see you use margerine and skimmed milk for the sauce, I usually use butter and full cream milk, I assume that would be OK. Also could I add grated cheese to the breadcrumbs for the topping like I do for the macaroni cheese or would it spoil the balance of flavours. Sorry to go on a bit, but I have to get it right otherwise I get sent to bed and NO TELLY :rotfl:.

Still six days to go before the end of my month and should come in under budget - with luck - hopefully - possibly - maybe - definitely/maybe etc.

BUDGET FOR MARCH (31 days) is £230

Good luck all.

Love the FM

egon

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

Hi BigMummaF

Schnitzle-probably spelt wrong

Schnitzel - you are getting really good with your german spelling :T