November 2013 Grocery Challenge

meg72

shiningfaery wrote: »

So I am gearing up to cook some freezer meals and make sure I use all the food i just bought and was wondering is cooked rice freezable?

I am considering making briyani style lunches and would only work if I can freeze them has anyone frozen rice and if so how did you do it?

Cooked rice will freeze very well. As I live alone I usually do enough for 4 portions and freeze 3. I cool it quickly with cold water, drain and use either a plastic bag or one of those plastic boxes from poundland (pack of 8)

just_the_two_of_us

physicsgirl wrote: »

It was T*sco, and thank you!



It's maybe a little cheeky, but it's one of the ways I justify shopping at T*sco after the horsemeat scandal and considering how much food they throw out at the end of each day instead of giving it to food banks and how much money they fleece out of people who don't have the time to read forums like this, I don't feel bad at all. I'd rather it was sitting in their warehouses than in my cupboards, and the money was sitting in my pocket (which they've been earning interest on in the time since I bought it).

I believe we all need to do what we are comfortable with and what shops will allow us to do.
Personally we had no T or treaters this year as were shopping and must have missed them! My OH is very happy to have a mini bar of choc with his packed lunch for the next couple of months however as I don't eat it and he doesn't usually!!!

There is some news about Mr Te*co and food waste however which came out 16 October which may be interesting. They have strengthened their partnership with FareShare a charity that distributes surplus food to foodbanks and are going to be donating the equivalent of 7 million meals. Not sure what other SM do but it all must help.

Mr T also have a food appeal twice a year and in July topped up the customer donated items by 30%, so 3.5 million meals worth of food was donated at that time. The next one is due at the end of this month and volunteers were needed if anyone is able to give three hours of their time?

Had NSD today and waiting for HM mushroom soup to finish so can have lunch!

just_the_two_of_us

just_the_two_of_us wrote: »

Mr T also have a food appeal twice a year and in July topped up the customer donated items by 30%, so 3.5 million meals worth of food was donated at that time. The next one is due at the end of this month and volunteers were needed if anyone is able to give three hours of their time?

Sorry - I didn't make it clear in the above that if you want to volunteer it is through the FareShare website - just search for FareShare Food Appeal 2013.

meg72

just_the_two_of_us wrote: »

I believe we all need to do what we are comfortable with and what shops will allow us to do.
Personally we had no T or treaters this year as were shopping and must have missed them! My OH is very happy to have a mini bar of choc with his packed lunch for the next couple of months however as I don't eat it and he doesn't usually!!!

There is some news about Mr Te*co and food waste however which came out 16 October which may be interesting. They have strengthened their partnership with FareShare a charity that distributes surplus food to foodbanks and are going to be donating the equivalent of 7 million meals. Not sure what other SM do but it all must help.

Mr T also have a food appeal twice a year and in July topped up the customer donated items by 30%, so 3.5 million meals worth of food was donated at that time. The next one is due at the end of this month and volunteers were needed if anyone is able to give three hours of their time?

Had NSD today and waiting for HM mushroom soup to finish so can have lunch!

Thank you for this, I must admit that I didn't realise Tesco topped up the donations and just thought they used this event to increase their sales with very little effort from them. I do think that the fact they top up makes a big difference and have now signed up to volunteer at my local store.

[Deleted User]

BlueMoo wrote: »

Allie23 - Do use Arborio rice. It has a slightly 'plumper' texture (sorry I can't really describe it) making for a much better risotto. If you are in a pinch, use normal rice, but I wouldn't personally recommend this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arborio_rice

"When cooked, the rounded grains are firm, creamy, and chewy, due to its higher amylopectin starch content;[1] thus, it has a starchy taste but blends well with other flavours. It is used to make risotto"


For the bacon and veg risotto - how about stirring in a bit of blue/goat's cheese and using spinach as the veg?

Thanks Bluemoo, you are an absolute star. Will definelty give it a go!

cocoloco

[Deleted User] wrote:

I have never used risotto rice before. Can anyone recommend which one to buy? What is the difference between normal rice and risotto rice? And what is the difference bewteen risotto rice and Arborio risotto rice? Sorry for all the questions, I haven't got a clue which one to buy!!

I only recently started to make risottos- our favourite is the garlic mushroom one. I followed Jammie Oliver's basic recipie from his TV programme and turned out really tasty!
I found if you stir in a spoonful of butter and add grated cheese once it cooked and rest it for 2 minutes with the lid on you get the nicest / creamiest texture.;) Its also very economic because a 500g bag is only 99p (approx) and it would serve 4 people and you can really experiment with any flavour/ leftovers you have at hand! Good luck with your risotto and hope it turns out nice.:)

Yesterday we had the fancy YS sausages (69p) with mash and steeped peas (40p/packet) and it was nummy- so overall we had a lovely dinner for a cost of less than £2 for the 3 of us.

I will be out YS hunting at the weekend again- work interferring with the best times to hit the shops .

WantToBeSE

Update:

£40.01-Asda
£15.17-Aldi

cocoloco

CountingPennies wrote: »

Forgot potatoes, so will TRY to do without. Took pork joint out of freezer. Just a small one. Will do for tea tomorrow. Also took pastry out of freezer to make a pie. Most likely cornbeef as I have cornbeef in, and possibly enough potatoes to do the mash. Potatoes are SOOOO expensive at the moment. Does anyone else think so???

CP xx

ABSOLUTELY! :mad: I refuse to pay more than 50-60p per kilo for potatoes and often find it that small local shops/ garages have better deals on potatoes than the big supermarkets?!?

I sometimes manage to get YS potatoes (not that often) and if I'm in luck I just stock up on it because it keeps well for weeks in a cold place. I'm just about to finish up the last lot of YS potatoes and already searching for cheap ones:think:.

joedenise

Main shop done today:

£19.89 Mr T
£3.80 Iceland
£1.00 Pound shop

Totals added in signature.

Denise

Soworried

cocoloco wrote: »

ABSOLUTELY! :mad: I refuse to pay more than 50-60p per kilo for potatoes and often find it that small local shops/ garages have better deals on potatoes than the big supermarkets?!?

I sometimes manage to get YS potatoes (not that often) and if I'm in luck I just stock up on it because it keeps well for weeks in a cold place. I'm just about to finish up the last lot of YS potatoes and already searching for cheap ones:think:.

They will be on the Lidl weekend specials next weekend if you can last until then? It is 2.5kg for £1.09 I think it is. I'll be getting 5kg