Meal Planned... From Scratch... But still £60?!?!

kerri_gt

esmy wrote: »

I have a brand loyal OH so I have some sympathy with you, but I have got him eating Aldi's baked beans! Top tip is to not let him know what you're buying and NEVER take him food shopping with you. HTH

:rotfl::rotfl: Just like my OH - bless, when he does come shopping I'm forever sending him back with the branded items telling him to get the cheaper ones instead (must admit, he much prefers Smart Price mushy peas to branded ones now though so it is personal taste)

HappyMJ wrote: »

MSG is a flavour enhancer like salt. You might see it as an E number on the ingredients list it's number is E621. Best to avoid any E numbers at all.

Not all E numbers are actually bad. The term E number comes from the number each additive / preservative has been given in the EU as a standardisation. Whilst some of these (or in some cases) too many aren't good (like many things) there are also a large number that are naturally derived, or perform a function of a naturally occuring preservation / colouring etc process. E.g E101 (sounds scary) which is riboflavin (again still sounds scary) is also known as Vitamin B2 - its used for yellow / orange colouring.

ladylouise62

Indian shops are great for bulk buying things like nuts and fruits, rice, uncooked beans etc. From what you've said I suspect that you don't have access, so take a look at this site. You'll have to factor in the delivery charges - assuming they deliver to you, the more you buy, the cheaper the delivery (e.g. over £50 and less than 27KG, it's just £2.99.). It's worth considering if you can go for bulk buying.
http://www.itadka.com/control/homepage

Fruball

Tommelise wrote: »

How to part a chicken :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW5BFvCmV7k

Its not that difficult, and you can use the chicken for different dishes.

OP when it comes to learning how to cook you will find a lot of usefull tips, recipes and videos on the internet. Just set your mind to learning a new thing, recipe or use a new ingredient each week.

It's not the mechanics of it, it is the grossness of it I don't even handle a whole chicken if I can help it, just tip it from the wrapper into the SC or a baking dish!

But thanks for the tip - I am sure someone will find it useful x

Tommelise

Fruball wrote: »

It's not the mechanics of it, it is the grossness of it I don't even handle a whole chicken if I can help it, just tip it from the wrapper into the SC or a baking dish!

But thanks for the tip - I am sure someone will find it useful x

Sorry I just could not help tease you a little

I do know some people find raw met gross, but in all honesty I often buy big pieces of meat and cut them out myself. It is often cheaper that way and I get the meat the way I want it. With chichen I cut out most of the bone, as my husband will not eat the chicken with the bone in. (bones are cookes for soup)

- my father and mother were raised in the country and I grew up with them getting 1/2 a pig and cutting all the meat up themselves, so I suppose that the reason why I dont find it gross.

sonastin

I'm way too clumsy with a knife to consider portioning a chicken myself and OH won't handle raw chicken (paranoia!). I've found that it is much easier to strip all the meat from the carcas of a bird cooked in the slow cooker than one cooked in the over - the meat falls away from the bones rather than needing carving or tearing off.

Luckily my OH prefers the A$da smartprice biscuits to any other brand, but unfortunately a$da is the only SM which isn't on my route home from work. I'm in a similar situation where the cost of fuel is more than the cost of the delivery but I make a point of stocking up on biscuits when I'm passing on my way to somewhere else. Everything else comes from A!di, L!dl or Te$co (OH will only drink their soya milk - he tried A!di's but said it was too greasy) on my way home from work.

hereigoagain22

I'm not brave enough to try portioning up a chicken just yet :-) I can't even slice it for a roast and have to get my OH to do it. Even when dicing up chicken breast etc. I make a mess of it and end up just pulling it into strips or pieces with my fingers (euww I know)

Got some biscuits for Christmas so can take them off. And have plenty of tangerines left from this week so can take them off too.

Have also been looking at the things we buy regularly but don't have in stock, and found a few half prices and buy one get one frees, they aren't going to get any cheaper so I might aswell add now and save later in the month (I am going by a monthly budget). Good idea?

I have another problem though - me and OH are coffee lovers, we only have around 1-2 cups a day each but it has to be really nice smooth coffee. We like Nescafe Azera, Percol Americano or Columbia. Any ideas for us? I tried Tesco Classic and Tesco Gold and gave them to my mother-in-law as just couldn't enjoy them! I enjoyed "Rappor" at a friends and it's on offer just now so have added it to basket.

Was having a good think and decided to stick with the online shopping for now as I don't trust myself to have enough self-control just yet. Plus I always hugely under-estimate the cost of my shopping and end up short in cash for the rest of the week. Even when sticking to a list I get flustered and get it wrong! Although I am tempted to print off my Tesco list (cancel the order) and go to Aldi on Monday instead - I can make it my weekly visit to family to save myself the fuel cost. I think if I went alone and really concentrated I could do it and maybe beat my online price but only if I bought exactly what is on my printout or a cheaper alternative.

Edit - sorry - another question!!! I have a 2.5kg bag of Maris Piper potatoes that's still edible for another few days but growing sprouts! What can I do with it? Bake some and freeze them? Make chips and freeze them? Thanks x

babyshoes

Potatoes can be frozen as mash, baked (slightly under-cooked) or part-boiled chips (spread on a tray and freeze before bagging up to stop them sticking together).

If freezing mash, do it before adding the extras like milk/cream, butter, mayo etc as they tend to separate when re-heating and make the mash greasy. When microwaving it from frozen, it may seem a bit watery at first, but stir it in and keep heating until it is really hot and the moisture is absorbed.

rowsew

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

Edit - sorry - another question!!! I have a 2.5kg bag of Maris Piper potatoes that's still edible for another few days but growing sprouts! What can I do with it? Bake some and freeze them? Make chips and freeze them? Thanks x

Potatoes keep for ages, even when they're sprouty, but if you want to use them up, I would make wedges with them and freeze them. (Scrub pots, slice each into about 6 wedges, plonk into a bowl, rinse quickly and shake off the water, cover and nuke in microwave for about 5 mins. Leave to steam off, then either a) toss with a little veg. oil and bake on a flat tray in the oven for 20 mins or so at 200 deg C; OR, b) bung into a plastic bag and freeze until required.

Keep up the good work!