November 2014 Grocery Challenge

Solstice_3

Sounds like you had a good time maria3104

Sending get well wishes to those with colds etc and good luck grocery vibes to everyone.

10/11 NSD (4)

echo_and_narcissus

Grocery shop delivered today. 84.75 in total. I usually go Saturday to Friday but a couple of days behind this week so not sure whether to do another shop Saturday and get back to usual, or Monday. We spend more on weekends for food if we don't have a big shop in so will prob go through to Friday as have menu planned the week, then see what we have in and shop/plan accordingly for the following week.

Menu plan is up on the fridge. Feeling good!:D

icontinuetodream

Currently running at £62.12/£300 not too bad really as about £16 of that is on fabric conditioner and loo roll

Right, off to update signature - I will do the shopping list for this week in a minute and see what (if anything) I can substitute to reduce the bill!!

Bobarella

Hello all
Logging a spend of £7.50 today. Used a brand match coupon for 20p. All basics except for Marmite.
Will be making a bacon pasta bake tonight with crispy breadcrumb & mozzarella topping.
14 days to go for me.
Bob

CountingPennies

Just finished my meal plan and decided to do an online food shop at Mr T's. Had a few MOC to use and £12 worth of top up vouchers so I spent a total of £77.33 but after vouchers and MOC its down to £51.03 which i'm really happy with. I won't add it to my total till tomorrow tho as I won't know final price until they deliver. Normally something missing!

Dinner tonight is jacket potatoes, beans and cheese.... as planned

CP xx

january_23

I'm happy to say, that until today, we spent nothing since our A&C delivery last week.
A&C came this morning making our total £87.04. So we still have £112.96 out of our £200 budget (or £72.96 left of £160 that I would love to be at or under).


We did run out of bananas and oranges last week. Usually when we run out of bananas and/or oranges I get OH to get some more on the way home from work but didn't! That saved us a couple of pounds.

Dinner yesterday was home made Chinese.

My hopeful meal plan for this week :

M: shepherdless pie (can you tell we have an oven again :rotfl:) served with baked kale chips

T: lentil/bean soup with HM corn bread

W: LO shepherdless pie with salad

T: curry and HM cornbread

F: chilli over mashed potato

S: calzones

S: roast dinner

Coxy11

Hi everyone,


Sorry I've not been online for a few days. Budgets updated to here


Welcome/welcome back to:
moneypoor, hotspur_pam, Pandora, scotmumof3 and echo_and_narcissus


WantToBeSE - SW Lamb Hotpot recipe is in the Nov/Dec magazine as follows:


Lamb Hotpot - serves 4


Low-calorie cooking spray
700g lamb leg steaks, all visible fat removed, cut into large chunks
2 onions, thickly sliced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
4 celery stalks, thickly sliced
600ml chicken stock
1 level tbsp gravy granules
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 bay leaf
750g floury potatoes, such as Desiree or King Edward, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


1. Preheat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Spray a large ovenproof casserole with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a high heat. Lightly brown the lamb in batches, turning occasionally, and transfer each batch to a plate.


2. Reduce the heat to medium and spray the casserole with low-calorie cooking spray. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, gravy granules, herbs and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Stir in the lamb, then remove from the heat. Arrange the sliced potatoes on top and season well.


3. Cover and bake for 1.5 hours or until the lamb and potatoes are cooked through. Uncover and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.


Syns per serving: E/E 1


I served this with superfree veg - delicious.


Coxy

Solstice_3

Look at that for perfect timing! I have lamb leg steaks in the freezer waiting for Sunday, now I have a recipe to use ^_^ Thanks!

WantToBeSE

Thanks Coxy, I'll add that recipe to my folder


REALLY pleased with myself today. Was tempted to go to Tesco and buy a pizza for dinner but instead I made a Chicken, Bacon and Leek pie.
I have never made a pie before, and its probably no big deal to many of you OS'ers, but I am amazed with it! It tastes so nice!


I am on a mission to learn to make all the things that scare me because I think they are so complicated. Pie was 2nd on the list.


Next, a cheese sauce from scratch. Any tips?


So, a NSD again today

FoxFace

Just popping by to recommend a recipe, I know we all love Jack and she has done me well tonight!

Bacon & Brie Risotto ... completely delicious! I picked up a small wedge of Brie YS'd to 50p so this was perfect! I also added a good hit of garlic and a splash of white wine I had leftover... absolutely gorgeous, will definitely have it again!

Also, from the 80p pack of cooking bacon I got this meal and another at the end of the week, I also managed to salvage a few slices to have for lunch tomorrow... :T

Edit: Wanttobe... cheese sauce is actually really easy, once you get the hang of it... my tip would be to make sure you add the milk quite slowly and make sure you deal with any lumps early on... that and don't be afraid to take the pan off the heat if it is thickening too quickly... other than that it's really not too bad, good luck and congrats on the pie!