January 2014 Grocery Challenge

poppycracker

went and did my grocery shop that absolutely has to last for two weeks!! £49 and, as long as we stick to our meal plan and dont go mad eating during the day, it should last.

Then I had to spend £22.50 on a postal order, £5 on passport photos and 60p on a stamp to renew the photo on my driving licence. *sigh*. Still, got all the most urgent bills paid.

First_Trouble

Yesterday DH insisted on meeting me from the train station after work to pop into Mr T to get some bits he brought the dog along so I had to wait outside with him while my DH went inside (he insisted this point too). After pushing the fact that we only needed milk, bread and cheese as we had plenty of food in the freezer he still came out with three bags and £16 lighter!! :mad:

So he has blown the budget, really annoyed as we didn't need any of the extras that he bought and I know that if he had left it with me we would still be under budget. My DH really doesn't understand the concept of budgeting at all so frustrating.

BlueMoo

Hope you're feeling a bit better MEG

Agree with tessie, is there a numbder you can call and see what's gone on? MAGPYE

Stick wiht it FirstTrouble - is there a jiont goal you could work towards to keep him focussed - like if we save 50 per month on grocery shopping, we can go for a weekend away?

**********
Pork again for dinner last night and enough for the OH today for lunch.

No idea what tonight will be - absolutely knackered from working and doing all the doctor's appointments etc. I am tempted to just get a takeaway.
Have defrosted some chicken breasts for curry but really don't feel like that tonight.

Have no eggs either to make a quick omelette.

Hohum!

2childmum

magpye - I hope you can get this sorted without too much hassle.

I can't believe how quickly this thread grows! Just taken ages to read through just a couple of days worth.

The butternut squash pasta thing from the jaimie oliver book was, how shall I put it, interesting! Everyone ate it and there are two portions in the freezer, but I don't think I will be repeating the experiment!

We had stew with a cheesy muffin topping on Tuesday - I padded out the beef with carrots and parsnips and everyone was really keen on this one, so I'll do it again - and there are two portions of that in the freezer too!

Last night was a tuna lasagne, made with soya milk, which was very tasty and cheaper than using my lactose free milk.

I have just taken a chicken out of the oven ready for tonight, and I'm hoping to have enough left to make a pie. I don't think I shall do stock, though - nobody seems to like soup made with it cos it seems a bit greasy - any tips?

I spent £16.50 in Mr T yesterday, including some reduced cider as a treat for DH and some other fresh bits and that WILL last until Monday. I've got a save £15 when you spend £60 voucher for a Mr T delivery so I've booked a slot for Monday. I didn't buy some of the bits we have run out of yesterday so I can add them to the total on Monday, and it's DS 16th birthday next week (how did that happen?!) so I need to buy some stuff for when he has friends round and I can add that to the total too, so I should spend it without too much hassle!

I've looked up our nearest Aldi as people seem to prefer it to Lidl. It's a bit further away but I may investigate. It's near a Mr A so i could top up there if Aldi doesn't have everything I need. Not sure about the parking situation. I'll save time next week having a Mr T delivery, so I might go and look later in the week.

Have a good weekend everyone

mrs-moneypenny

magpye, so sorry to hear youve got this problem stressing you, i hope it can be sorted quickly and proved to be a mistake of some kind. HUGS

did bubble and squeak for dinner. cinema tonight (free tickets) so toast and maybe a snack later.

samtoby

Hope your ok Magpye

Been to Aldi today spent just over £30 and its Gammon Steaks for dinner yay!

Soworried

I hope everything works out ok Magpye x

I hope you start to feel a bit better Meg x

A nsd today. I was very tempted to go to Morr isons on the way home to look at the YS but I was very good and drove past it :A
My freezer is full and I listed my cupboards yesterday, it was shocking how much is actually in there. Yet for some reason I still want to go food shopping :eek:

LO turkey made in to curry for dinner tonight.

First_Trouble

2childmum wrote: »

I have just taken a chicken out of the oven ready for tonight, and I'm hoping to have enough left to make a pie. I don't think I shall do stock, though - nobody seems to like soup made with it cos it seems a bit greasy - any tips?

Boil up the carcass as usual and then when done pour into a jug and put in the fridge. The fat will sit on the top so all you have to do is scrap off the fat from the top and you are good to go. This is best done the day before you need the stock to allow a good few hours for the fat to solidify.

2childmum

First_Trouble wrote: »

Boil up the carcass as usual and then when done pour into a jug and put in the fridge. The fat will sit on the top so all you have to do is scrap off the fat from the top and you are good to go. This is best done the day before you need the stock to allow a good few hours for the fat to solidify.

That's really helpful - thank you. I may give it one more go as it seems a shame to waste it.

First_Trouble

2childmum wrote: »

That's really helpful - thank you. I may give it one more go as it seems a shame to waste it.

Glad to be helpful.
If your roasting a chicken as well you can do the same process with the meat juices at the bottom of the pan. Add some hot water to the pan to get the meaty flavour off the bottom (helps to scrap the pan with the back of a spoon) and stick it all in the fridge in a jug. Scrap off the fat and use that too. It looks like a meaty flavoured jelly, I put it in my chicken stew and it adds a lovely flavour.