February 2014 Grocery Challenge

First_Trouble

Almost forgot NSD yesterday and today hoping to stretch it out for rest of week too!
Have some change in my purse that I haven't touched since mid-jan so tempted to put that into a pot to go towards paying off debts, I tend to do this with pennies etc and then change them up when I have a decent amount. Don't see why I shouldn't do the same with the rest of the change seeing as its leftover from Jan budget. :A

norabatty_2

Faete wrote: »

This is the recipe I use - pretty much foolproof!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1153/ultimate-seville-orange-marmalade

Fae xx

Thank you - looks delicious!

First_Trouble wrote: »

Growing up my Mum refused to buy new cereal if there was still cereal left even if it was cornflakes or branflakes leftover from when grandparents came to visit. Also as there were three of us we each took it in turns to choose a cereal so there were no arguments and it also meant that she wasn't buying three different types of cereal.

When I was a kid, we only had one cereal in the house - Weetabix. My mother's idea of a sweet treat wasn't biscuits or cakes - on special occasions, we got to eat Rice Krispies instead of Weetabix!:D

Make-it-3 wrote: »

Still having problems with milk going off, which resulted in throwing 2 pts away and buying anew. Need to figure out a way round this, as my aim is to try to go to the supermarket just once a week but if milk doesn't last this long and I've been told whole milk doesn't freeze well.

I freeze 2L cartons of whole milk and semi skimmed milk every week. I have never had any problems with the taste or length of life after defrosting. I usually let them defrost in the sink for about 30 hours, give them a good shake and then place in the fridge. They are usuallly consumed in about 4 days and there is no compromise in taste.

meg72

norabatty wrote: »

Thank you - looks delicious!



When I was a kid, we only had one cereal in the house - Weetabix. My mother's idea of a sweet treat wasn't biscuits or cakes - on special occasions, we got to eat Rice Krispies instead of Weetabix!:D



I freeze 2L cartons of whole milk and semi skimmed milk every week. I have never had any problems with the taste or length of life after defrosting. I usually let them defrost in the sink for about 30 hours, give them a good shake and then place in the fridge. They are usuallly consumed in about 4 days and there is no compromise in taste.

don't think it takes 30 hours to defrost, I freeze 1l cartons and take out at night use next day. Agree with give it a good shake.

FrugalLina

First_Trouble wrote: »

I have to ask .. what are peanut puffs???

They are heaven in a bag. Sort of like wotsits, but with peanut butter on, droooool....

jammy_dodger

no spends to add to my budget, went out with a friend on Sunday but she insisted on buying tea coffee and cake as we used my car

a planned spend tomorrow on dog food ( comes out of my grocery budget) but i may have a peak at pets at home to compare prices if i can get 15% off
thanks for the heads up
JD xx

mrs-moneypenny

meg72 wrote: »

don't think it takes 30 hours to defrost, I freeze 1l cartons and take out at night use next day. Agree with give it a good shake.

i agree i thaw 2lt ones over night, they still have some ice in the middle but if you give it a good shake it breaks that bit down and helps it thaw quicker.
does taste any different to non froz once its had a shake.

spent £8.03 last night on milk, soya milk, bananas and hot cross buns.
will need to go out again in a bit to get more soya milk i forgot im making custard tonight

First_Trouble

FrugalLina wrote: »

They are heaven in a bag. Sort of like wotsits, but with peanut butter on, droooool....

OMG! They do sound amazing. I don't think they would last half an hour in my house. I may have to buy them anyway just to try them.

seemasfriend

NSD for me today. Have vegetable biryani left from last night so that's today's dinner sorted.

Veg plot is still giving! I have purple kale, parsley ( who said it was hard to grow!) and the beginnings of sprouting broccoli. Lidls are selling veg seeds at great prices so might offset some more future purchases out of this months budget, especially as DH is away so I am spending less.

norabatty_2

mrs-moneypenny wrote: »

i agree i thaw 2lt ones over night, they still have some ice in the middle but if you give it a good shake it breaks that bit down and helps it thaw quicker.
does taste any different to non froz once its had a shake.

Maybe I have a very cold house or maybe I'm just anal but I find if I only defrost milk overnight, it still has slushy bits in it and even if you shake it at this stage, when you pour this milk out on your cereal, you will get slush or icicles on your cereal and it's not pleasant. The only way to get rid of such slush is to microwave it, in which case the milk is excessively watery. As a result, I would only use partly defrosted/slushy milk in a cup of tea where I won't notice it much. Otherwise, I have to let it fully defrost which takes somewhere between 24 and 30 hours, depending on the time of year.

(I am a very sad person who has far too much time on her hands and actually knows how far down one carton of milk has to go before I should take another carton from the freezer so that I won't run out of milk during the next 24-30 hours!:o)

kayester

how come you guys freeze milk?
im trying to save money on my grocery but a 4 pint from mr A near me is only £1? i usually get 2 one week and 3 the week after, always have good dates on them too. if we are ever snowed in my corner shop sells at £1.49
if im honest i probably wouldnt have the room in my freezer anyway