August 2013 Grocery Challenge

Billie-jo

Caught up with August now and will be here from tomorrow. Just managed to creep under budget by £3.99
Thank you to everyone who keeps the thread running.

Meg72 - you asked for the sheesh kebab recipe on the July pages so am putting it on here and hope you see it.

Makes 6-8 kebabs depending on how big you make them.

400g Minced lamb
1 large garlic clove
1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 - 1tsp garam masala
Pinch fenugreek
1 tsp ginger paste ( I grated a piece about thumb size)
1-2 chillies (remove seeds if desired I left a few in)
1 Egg beaten
1/2 diced onion
Pinch cayenne pepper (I used paprika)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (can also add lemon zest if you wish)
Small bunch fresh coriander (didn't use as not keen on this)

Just put everything into a food processor and pulse to a paste.
Cover with film and leave in fridge for 2 hours minimum or over night.
When ready to cook firmly press around either bamboo skewers (soaked for at least 2 hours) or I used metal skewers slightly oiled. either BBQ or cook in oven for around 30 minutes turning occasionally. Serve with minted yogurt dip.

Tonight's tea using up what's in ready for shopping tomorrow - Chinese chicken thighs & noodles we also had some salad with it.

she_who_can_not_cook

XSpender wrote: »

Went to Mr S last night to get the meal deal for a tenner and managed to lock my keys in my car. Not how I wanted to spend my birthday night, waiting 2 hours for the AA man to turn up:mad:

Total spend was £9.04 as the cost of the wine out of the deal comes out of the booze budget. I also spent £9.17 of my birthday money on 2 bags of basics stuff as they are collecting for the local food bank at work. Since I didnt know what to spend my birthday cash on I thought I would do something useful with some of it.

Raggy Doll - any chance you could share your GF wrap recipe? I am coeliac and used to love enchiladas but the warb&rton wraps are soooo expensive I never have them and would love to make my own. Thanks

That is so good of you spending your b day money so people can eat.you will get your reward in the next life.

mrs-moneypenny

just declared and went over by£21.13 in july

im in for £400 for August please.

been mostly having salads while the weather been nice, but tonight was new pots, peas and veggie sausages.

Coxy11

(rushes in and slams the door behind her)

Hi everyone,

Budgets (finally) done to here Getting so bad that people are posting their budget up twice (apologies mrs-moneypenny )

Welcome to our new members:
madhatter90, Yazhini26, Sunshine4, joedenise, mumoftwo, couponchaos, Mrs-s, shelly_crow and LisaJane

I'm officially joining you today as its PAYDAY :j

First spends of August GC in Tesco - £83.50 - lots of camp bits and bobs in there (DS1 and DD off for 10 days tomorrow) and also some holiday bits as I'm taking DS2 away next week.

Good luck for August everyone.
Coxy

Sunshine4

Did a small shop yesterday of £6.96
Some fruit, cheese, yoghurt, milk.

Went through some of meals on here and found some I could make with items I already had so that saved a few pennies.:T

forever_saving

Could i please be put down for £300 for August. My month runs from the first day of the month to the last. Good luck to everyone else.
FS

NickJW

Morning all!

I would like to aim for £160 again this month.

Looking at my budget history I started off so well this year and things are gradually getting more expensive!

Good luck all!

raggy_doll

XSpender wrote: »

Went to Mr S last night to get the meal deal for a tenner and managed to lock my keys in my car. Not how I wanted to spend my birthday night, waiting 2 hours for the AA man to turn up:mad:

Total spend was £9.04 as the cost of the wine out of the deal comes out of the booze budget. I also spent £9.17 of my birthday money on 2 bags of basics stuff as they are collecting for the local food bank at work. Since I didnt know what to spend my birthday cash on I thought I would do something useful with some of it.

Raggy Doll - any chance you could share your GF wrap recipe? I am coeliac and used to love enchiladas but the warb&rton wraps are soooo expensive I never have them and would love to make my own. Thanks

Ooh I never thought of doing a booze budget, that would bring down my total quite a bit

I miss enchiladas too, they're my fave but found the gluten free wraps that you can buy don't roll very well so really looking forward to them again!

the recipe is really simple:

280g plain gf flour
2 tsp xanthan gum (I got this for a couple of £ on a visit to Mr S a few months ago)
1 tsp gf baking powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1tsp salt
240ml warm water

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the warm water and mix until it forms an even mixture. Separate into 6 pieces, put the 5 you're not using in a bowl covered with cling film and roll the remaining ball onto a floured surface until it is thin. Put into a hot pan with a smidge of oil (this is the part i'm having issues with!!!). Let it cook for 1-2 minutes or until it starts to puff up, flip it over and cook the other side

hope you have better luck at moving them from the work surface to the pan than I've been having!

mumoftwo

Morning. Just spent £7.04 in our new HomeBargains. We needed razors, foil and juice/snacks for road trip tonight. I could have easily spent lots more, that shop is so nice, and lots of good prices but resisted.

What do you all include in your budget? Toiletries, cleaning stuff etc?

Nicki_Sue

Hi All.
My August starts today and I have done a blinking big shop at Tesc0 for.... £42.74. This is our main shop this week and we shouldn't need to top up (much). I did use a £5 helping hand voucher and a few small coupons but a good start overall.