October 2012 Grocery Challenge

WantToBeSE

Thanks minicooper and Maman for the recipes, i'll be giving both of those a go within the next week or 2

Am off shopping at Lidl this morning (for those of you who are preparing for winter, they are doing draught excluders for £3.99). I'm pretty sure i'll stay within budget, as i dont need that much.

rupe34

Uh! Spendy week already - and my children have rediscovered the hungry button now that they are back into the school term. Need to go and get extra lunchbox stuff already this week.

Got to refocus next week.

milky1991

do

you have any cooking facilities at work?
My hubby used to average just under a fiver every day (butty, drink and crisps/choc) and when I told him that he probably spent approx £1200 a year on his lunches (not to mention where the loose change from the lunches went!) and he had heart failure.
Now at tea times, I make extra and he takes it to work and bangs it in the microwave. He also takes beans/soup etc to work too. If I've made say chicken biryani, he will take this and eat it cold.

We do have facilities for cooking , but it;s more just me being lazy and not sorting things out the night before then not having time in the morning. Being more organized is my answer

milky1991

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Hi guys.

As part od cutting costs, i am trying not to buy chicken breast all the time. I see that as from tomorrow, Lidl are doing Chicken thighs (£2.25 for 1kg), so thought i'd do something with them.

Anyone have any ideas for any recipes please?

I dont think you can beat a good chicken curry with chicken thighs done in the slow cooker.

Just chop an onion and bit of garlic and chilli if you like it hot, soften in frying pan add to SC de skin and de bone the thighs and then brown them in same pan add to SC with a tin of tomatos and some curry "paste" I find pataks the best and leave to cook for a few hours.....

If you dont have a slow cooker just do it in a casserole dish in the oven on a low heat for about 1 1/2 hours but you may have to add a drop of water this way just keep an eye on it and see.

Hiddenidenity

Still no grocery spends here, well £3 milk but that's a different budget as I have a milkman but hes on holiday but using his money this week to get it from the shop, and wow its so much more expensive at the shop!

Today should be shopping day but change of plan and will probably be tomorrow now x

jedi82

Morning, have to pop out today and get kiddies toothpaste and some black bags but not buying anything else! I have always had a strange aversion to chicken thighs but all these ideas have made me think about getting some in my weekly shop tomorrow and incorporating them into next weeks meal plan-thanks!

After a week of DD2 being home poorly, she is back at pre-school today so can hopefully catch up on all those chores I haven't done (better get off here then )

Have a good day, lovely and sunny here
Jedi x

quintwins

Hi everyone a few more spends £23 on shopping and £2.25 on lunch out.

mummygems

I dont usually buy chicken thighs as the last 2 times we bought some there was hardly any meat on them which was a massive waste of money for us.

NSD today. I must do some housework but am so tired from working last night and then having DS up from 2-4am! He seems to have an aversion to sleep!!!

I might make some chocolate fork cookies which are looooovely but dont last long in this house lol.

Its blimmin cold here today so might have a jacket and cheese for lunch as thats really filling and warm. Off to my mums tonight for a girls night and she is making drop scones which I am sadly very excited about!! I shall be taking some traditional lemonade for us to drink.

With regards to tea bags, I find the cheapest ones need to be left to be as strong as a PG/Tetly tea bag. I wasnt overly impressed but I dont drink a lot of tea.

DH and me are having chicken stir fry for dinner, my DDs are having a dinner at school today as its a "special" meal (they are usually packed lunch) so they will be having sandwiches etc for dinner instead. I might try DS with chicken stir fry as well but he isnt a very good eater so might do him a bit of stir fry and a little sandwich so he has a choice.

I went into a butchers yesterday with a friend of mine (I didnt spend anything) and I am going to compare the prices vs the supermarket and costco as the chicken breast, chops and casserole beef looked superb. I dont usually go into butchers as they generally work out quite expensive but their chicken breasts looked fab.

Right better get on with my housework. Hope everyone has a good day.
x

becksfaz

Becksfaz thanks for that, any chance of some prices, i only go to Morrisons occasionally, but will hunt some bits out if they are comparable to Tesco/Asda.[/QUOTE]

Using my receipts so it's accurate (but may fluctuate week by week): All savers brand
Pears 82p (pack 9 small last week, this week 6 but bigger)
Apples 84p 7 pack
yoghurts 33p x4
kitchen roll £1 x3 rolls
custard 17p
rice pudding 12p
pasta 30p 500g
raisins 98p 500g
crumpets 37p
carrots 69p x6 large
tortilla 67p x6
washing up cloths 36p pack 10
tin toms 31p
kidney beans 29p
fresh orage £1.30 2 ltr
grapes £1.19 500g
plain flour 52p 1.5kg
lard 39p
rice 40p (thrown bag so don't know weight 500g?)
eggs x18 £1.80 (not free range but cost counts for me)

Hope that helps xx

becksfaz

I didn't officically do the challenge in Sept but my month has come to an end with my final shop last night (which I hope to spin out until next weekend) and total was £249.15 for '5 weekends' and I usually spend £300 sometimes more in 4. Very happy!!!!
Hoping to achieve my £150 in October month!!!!