November 2014 Grocery Challenge

NewShadow

PennyGrabber wrote: »

Thanks jil! That feels more doable to make yoghurt, as I won't have to check temperature. Will buy a starter yoghurt next time I'm out. I love the idea of making my own soft cheese too, but didn't want to buy the lake land set.

Have a frugal day everyone!

PG x

you can turn homemade yogurt into cheese without an expensive kit - its actually a good thing to do with yogurt thats made with culture thats starting to get a little 'tired'. all you need is a piece of muslin.

stir any flavour you want into your finished yogurt (i use garlic powder or leave it plain), then tip it out into the cloth (this can take two people depending on how much you're trying to do at once). Squeeze it till it stops gushing liquid - this is then soft cheese.

to make paneer (for in curries), tie the together the top and hang it over your tap. leave it hanging over your sink overnight to drip drain.

you can also make cottage cheese by heating (but not boiling) it in a pan then adding a spoon of lemon juice to curdle. sieve and keep the whey for making bread.

I always use UHT (skimmed or semi) to reduce bacterial risks (and its cheap and keeps).

Caterina

Declaring a NSD, my second of the month. Good night.

lynnejk

physicsgirl wrote: »

Do you have freezer space? If so I'd collect four empty 1 pint cartons (rinse them out), then buy a 4 pint carton of milk, split it between them and put 3 in the freezer. They defrost in the fridge in approx. 24 hours, if you get full fat or semi just give it a shake and it's good to go. Voila, 25p per pint milk.

I'm still buying my semi-skimmed in A*di. Maybe my maths is out but I worked it out as

If you buy 4 pints that equals 2.27 litres so at £1.00 that's around 44 pence a litre.

In A*di I am buying 2 litre packs for 78 pence so 39 pence a litre.

As I buy two packs every week I reckon I'm saving 20 pence a week or one free a month.

Please tell me if I've worked it out wrong
Lx

Happygreen

Had a good cruise yesterday (Lidl, Aldi and M's) and I managed to get loads of YS bargains like 2 kilos of grated cheese for £ 1.40 and other offers....The freezers are packed again. Will do the maths later (take off stocking fillers and my personal luxury - wine) and update my signature.

merzal

Hi, can I join in again this month please? I'm upping my budget to £100 for the month as OH has finally come round to the idea of taking in a pack lunch and his own drinks, we are cooking meals for his nan (just plating up a portion of what we are having about 3 times a week) and still cutting down on smoking so need to get extra treats in!
OH doesn't really like squash so I have said I will get him bottles of flavoured water / cans of coke to take in which will increase the grocery spend but will save money overall! So far this month I have had 3NSDs and one trip to MR T where I got 4 litre bottles of flavoured water and some scotch eggs / pasties for him to take into work - total spend £3.99. I need to get milk but that should be it for this week.

FoxFace

Just nipped over to T's to get the bits I need for my Xmas chutney... came to just under £10, but this isn't from my food budget... The total spend for Xmas presents is currently around £20 for 10 people including the hamper baskets and cellophane (I had some funds in the paypal account for those), just need to get the cheese and that's done!

I also need to make some chocolate muffins for the kids packed lunches, as the lemon drizzle ones I made at the weekend are gone!

Oh, and we are at the in laws tonight for a bonfire party, so dinner is provided and I get to save my planned lentil curry for another day, yay!

So as I will be slaving over the stove today, will log as a NSD

Bobarella

Hi Guys
Am I right in thinking somewhere in this section is a how to use up certain ingredients thread? If so can someone point me to it.
Many thanks
Bob

WantToBeSE

Some spends in Tesco yesterday, so only £170 left for the month now.

bmma

NSD today x

just_the_two_of_us

Hi - just been to Mr A*di and spent £13.11 on tons of fruit and veg and milk / bread for next week. Can't fit it all in the fridge!!1




Have updated signature. At this rate should be well under budget! Need to read back on thread but hope you are all doing Ok.