April 2013 Grocery Challenge

Bluegreen143

Kitchenbunny - I have started a blog and so have already written and costed the recipe for that, so no problem at all to post it here

Gnocchi with sage butter Serves two.



Roughly 275g potatoes, kept whole and in their skins (I used four medium-small ones) 20p
100g plain flour, sifted 3p
1 egg, beaten (the recipe called for 1 egg for four portions, I just didn’t want to waste the other half of the egg) 17p
160g roasted butternut squash, chopped into pieces (see note at the bottom re roasting squash) 23p
60g walnut halves 70p
35g butter 14p
1 small handful fresh sage, roughly chopped (I used about a quarter of a pack, which was all I had, but would increase next time) 16p
1-2 tblsp olive oil (to roast squash) 10p
80g frozen peas 8p

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes, until tender. Allow to cool a bit, slip the skins off with your fingers, cut into smaller pieces and press through a sieve to mash finely (mashing by hand will leave lumps in your finished gnocchi! I tried that last time).

Add the flour and egg, and mix well, kneading – you can season a little here too. It will make quite a soft dough. Roll into a sausage about 1.5cm diameter (might be easier to handle if you make two sausages) and cut into 1cm thick pieces. Press the tines of a fork very lightly into each one to make the ridged gnocchi shape. The dough is quite soft, so you might need to flour the fork after every few or else it sticks. Chill.

At this point, I roasted the squash. I roasted the whole squash in wedges, unpeeled, by tossing in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and cooking at 200C for about 30 minutes. You can eat the skin when it’s been roasted (it’s really good) so all I did then was pick out about 160g and chop into smaller pieces. The rest is in a tub in the fridge, ready to be added to meals all week. You can chuck into any curries or stews, toss through salads or serve as a side dish.

In the last five minutes of roasting the squash, pop the walnuts in the oven to toast slightly before chopping. Boil the peas for a few minutes and set aside.

Cook the gnocchi in a large pan of boiling water – I salted the water and cooked in two batches. They only take a couple of minutes and you know when they’re done as they float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon so you can do the next batch.

Meanwhile, heat the butter oven a low heat in a high-sided frying pan and cook the sage for one minute. Add the walnuts, peas and squash to warm through.

91p per portion. Season and serve with a dusting of parmesan or similar if desired (13p for 10g Mr A Grana Padano) – we also had a side salad (50p for half a bag of salad leaves, plus 5p for olive oil and 2p for balsamic vinegar).

lbnblbnb

I have to go back to Aldi tomorrow as I noticed when I was adding up my receipts that I was charged for a "Fishing bivvy" ...£19.99:eek::eek:
I looked online and the last time they had fishing bivvys for sale waslast August. I have been racking my brains to think what I DID buy, but can't remember. None of the items I bought was very expensive. It would be the time I was in a tearing hurry and used my card, so I didn't notice. I guess I am not the only person this has happened to, the code must have been set wrong for another item.

Living_proof

Started the month with £4.77 on Indian spices and £10.34 in Lidl, mainly with 30% off. I have had a bit of a sort out in the freezer and there is tons of stuff in there - home cooked ready meals and also joints and meats waiting to be cooked. I do find it difficult to keep up with what is where even now I have an upright freezer rather than a back-breaking chest one. I will have to run it down this month or there won't be any room after the next batch has been decanted (goulash - it must be the weather for it!). I am sure there will have been some bargains out there today but nothing is a bargain unless you need it so I will make do for as long as possible using up existing stocks.

lbnblbnb

bluegreen that looks lovely. We all love gnocchi and I have half a butternut squash already roasted in the fridge...!
Would you mind sharing your blog? Always interested in delicious but frugal recipes. X

K9sandFelines

Welsh_Poppy wrote: »

My meals are vegetarian and need to work out what i want this week:-)

Will be watching your meal plan for inspiration ... i'm trying to become vegetarian again, and eat vegetarian probably six out of seven meals of the week. Was one when i was fourteen to eighteen, and been thinking about reverting back for ages.

Wentthedaywell?

lbnblbnb wrote: »

I have to go back to Aldi tomorrow as I noticed when I was adding up my receipts that I was charged for a "Fishing bivvy" ...£19.99:eek::eek:

I'm sorry you'll have another trip lbnblbnb but I couldn't help but laugh. If someone was trying too pull a fast one, a fishing bivvy must be about the most conspicuous article to try sneak past you! :rotfl:

brighteyes1987

Evening all,

NSD to begin the month :j hopefully the first of many.

Had a lovely day with dd & didn't spend a penny. I promised her we could do whatever she wanted as I have been working loads & haven't really spent a lot of time with her lately. I offered the usual expensive places but she wanted to stay home & play/ do craft etc.. We had a fab time! :j

Hm lasagne for dinner (dd request) with jacket potato. Two portions left for freezer also.

Hope everyone has enjoyed the long weekend, back to normality 2moro :cool:

BE X

lbnblbnb

Wentthedaywell? wrote: »

I'm sorry you'll have another trip lbnblbnb but I couldn't help but laugh. If someone was trying too pull a fast one, a fishing bivvy must be about the most conspicuous article to try sneak past you! :rotfl:

Yes, you got me laughing too! Ridiculous.

Rachel021967

/SIZE]Please put me down for £600.

NickJW

Had the most disgusting meal tonight - horseradish bbq chicken - that's been deleted from my meal list! Even covering with ketchup made it only vaguely edible!

Guess you have to try things to see if you like them, and thankfully it's rare I do anything really bad, but it's so annoying when it goes wrong. :mad: