September 2012 Grocery Challenge

Suffolk_lass

Billie-jo wrote: »

Have been given a price list from a wholesale butchers that a local restaurant uses and am looking forwards to re-stocking the freezer from there in the not to distant future. However will have to have a think how am going to justify this with the grocery budget. Have been thinking that every time I use some of the meat I pay £2 or £3 from the grocery budget but put it up ready for the second order of meat and not add the full cost to the budget in one go IYKWIM. Anyone got any thought on this and if it would work?

You could try a 13th month called my stores. I did and divided what was left of my annual budget by the remaining months and am spreading that extra month across five. It works for me. I plan to have 14 "months" in 2013 with two stock months to get round these stock up items

HTH
SL

Bluegreen143

Billie-jo wrote: »

No spends to add at the moment although DH kept saying we wanted bread, he doesn’t class homemade bread as bread for sandwiches!!! It’s nothing to do with the taste of the bread as he likes it its just that I usually make a round shape loaf and he doesn’t think it’s the ‘right’ shape for sandwiches!!!!:wall:

If it helps, I make HM rolls as well as a loaf and freeze them in case OH wants sandwiches. I kind of agree about the loaf thing, love my HM bread but can't slice it thin enough for good sandwiches and they are smaller but thicker so get the wrong filling to bread ratio. Rolls just work better and can be used for OH bacon butties and burgers too.

Mrs_Addicted_to_Spending wrote: »

Lol BlueGreen - I'm looking forward to hearing how this goes :rotfl:. Sounds like you'll be having a good rest that week though and then hopefully by the end of the week there will be more appreciation of what you do .

With my DH when I'm meal planning I ask him what he wants to do when he's cooking (3 nights a week) and then just tell him it's too expensive if necessary so he has to think of something else. Then when I'm cooking I just cook what I want and everyone just has to eat it :rotfl:. When we first got married, he used to want to cook unhealthy food but now he's pretty good (it's taken me years to train him lol).

Haha I'm looking forward to it too. He did used to do the cooking and shopping last year when I had to work evenings. We spent a lot more money and wasted lots but I wasn't as fussed then because it was before I learned to be all OS. He thinks I'm a bit obsessed now!

Got Mr A delivery yesterday, spent £52.81 including delivery on:

• Fresh fruit (bananas and SP apples) & veg (spring greens, carrots, radishes, SP peppers, salad leaves, broccoli, spring onions and mushrooms)
• Dairy (4pints milk, cheddar, SP butter, Greek yoghurt, SP ice cream)
• Salami, olives
• Dried stuff (coffee, basmati rice, yellow split peas, green lentils, sesame seeds, oregano, bay leaves & cardamom pods)
• Tinned stuff & jars (chickpeas, cannelini beans, SP chopped toms & SP passata, tuna, SP mayonnaise, raspberry jam)
• Toiletries & household (SP sponges, shower gel, laundry liquid)
• Two 6 packs of crisps, coke (8 bottles!)

What strikes me the most is how much SP stuff we buy compared to a few months ago. Most of it really is the same!

KatyReed+5

Updating my total.

£10.49 - Co-oops picnic snacks for a day out with all the kids on Sat.
£8.00 spent on ice creams while in the forest.

Brining my total to £332.84/£350.00

Leaving £17.16 to last till the 21st.

Should be fine as i have 23 dinners in the freezer along with bread and milk so if i'm tight i can do it, as will just need fruit and maybe some salad stuff.

Katy, X

craigywv

jumblejack wrote: »

Robinsons classic mincemeat is currently 20p at Tesco:



I used half a jar with some YS Bramleys for a lovely after supper pud...

Make up a batch of shortcrust pastry (8oz plain flour, 8oz fat, enough water to turn into a workable dough).

Line an old plate with a layer of pastry.
Put a layer of mincemeat onto it and top with sliced apple:


Liberally sprinkle sugar onto the apples (I like to use golden sugar as it makes the apples toffee like but white is fine)



Top with pastry. Put an eggy wash over it and again sprinkle liberally with sugar:



Bake until cooked and golden:



Smother with custard or cream and enjoy

hi what fat do you use can i use lard as i have quite a bit of it ? thanks:)

jumblejack

craigywv wrote: »

hi what fat do you use can i use lard as i have quite a bit of it ? thanks:)

I used butter but you could pretty much use any fat for pastry.

I've never used lard but I can't see why not. I've used suet in pastry for sweet pies before successfully.

Apparently lard is excellent for shortcrust pastry as it makes for tasty, flaky pie crusts! Just remember to eggy wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking.

craigywv

jumblejack wrote: »

I used butter but you could pretty much use any fat for pastry.

I've never used lard but I can't see why not. I've used suet in pastry for sweet pies before successfully.

Apparently lard is excellent for shortcrust pastry as it makes for tasty, flaky pie crusts! Just remember to eggy wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking.

will do and thanks for that.:)

Suffolk_lass

craigywv wrote: »

hi what fat do you use can i use lard as i have quite a bit of it ? thanks:)

When I did housecraft lessons at school in the 1970s Miss Armstrong :eek: (terrifying woman) taught us to use 50% lard 50% marge (cooking fat) within the fat amount - so having checked my school recipe book for a plated jam tart we used 6oz flour 1.5oz marge and 1.5oz lard (and a pinch of salt).

Tried and tested for 40 years!
HTH
SL

jumblejack wrote: »

...Make up a batch of shortcrust pastry (8oz plain flour, 8oz fat, enough water to turn into a workable dough).

JJ - do you really make pastry with the same weight of flour to fat? I make short crust with 50-60% fat to 100% flour - so maybe 8oz flour to 4-5oz fat and that is really short, flaky pastry

SL

jumblejack

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

When I did housecraft lessons at school in the 1970s Miss Armstrong :eek: (terrifying woman) taught us to use 50% lard 50% marge (cooking fat) within the fat amount - so having checked my school recipe book for a plated jam tart we used 6oz flour 1.5oz marge and 1.5oz lard (and a pinch of salt).

Tried and tested for 40 years!
HTH
SL


JJ - do you really make pastry with the same weight of flour to fat? I make short crust with 50-60% fat to 100% flour - so maybe 8oz flour to 4-5oz fat and that is really short, flaky pastry

SL

Sorry. Thanks for pointing it out. No I don't. I use one part fat, 2 parts flour. I don't know why I put that. I DO use the same fat to flour when baking cakes.

I think it was cos I wanted to point out the quantity required for a pie (8oz batch).

I will edit now before someone tries it.

Cheers me dears. That's what happens when you don't proof read.

X

Mrs_Addicted_to_Spending

Bluegreen143 wrote: »

If it helps, I make HM rolls as well as a loaf and freeze them in case OH wants sandwiches. I kind of agree about the loaf thing, love my HM bread but can't slice it thin enough for good sandwiches and they are smaller but thicker so get the wrong filling to bread ratio. Rolls just work better and can be used for OH bacon butties and burgers too.



Haha I'm looking forward to it too. He did used to do the cooking and shopping last year when I had to work evenings. We spent a lot more money and wasted lots but I wasn't as fussed then because it was before I learned to be all OS. He thinks I'm a bit obsessed now!

Got Mr A delivery yesterday, spent £52.81 including delivery on:

• Fresh fruit (bananas and SP apples) & veg (spring greens, carrots, radishes, SP peppers, salad leaves, broccoli, spring onions and mushrooms)
• Dairy (4pints milk, cheddar, SP butter, Greek yoghurt, SP ice cream)
• Salami, olives
• Dried stuff (coffee, basmati rice, yellow split peas, green lentils, sesame seeds, oregano, bay leaves & cardamom pods)
• Tinned stuff & jars (chickpeas, cannelini beans, SP chopped toms & SP passata, tuna, SP mayonnaise, raspberry jam)
• Toiletries & household (SP sponges, shower gel, laundry liquid)
• Two 6 packs of crisps, coke (8 bottles!)

What strikes me the most is how much SP stuff we buy compared to a few months ago. Most of it really is the same!

Me too and it saves a fortune . The only problem items we have are baked beans, coffee and ketchup - DH refuses cheap versions of these though my sons don't notice the difference so I can get away with it for them :rotfl:.

[Deleted User]

KatieReed+5 Wow, just noticed your June/July sig and that is a massive reduction. Fantastic.
MrsAddictedToSpending have to agree with the beans, although they can be improved with tomato puree, but im a Branston beans gal. As for the tomato sauce, i really can't tell the difference. You could be a bit sneeky and put it into his fave sauce bottle, just as a trial, to see if he really can tell the difference, bet he cant if its Tesco Value or Smartprice (they are the only ones ive tried)