From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

rtandon27

GP - in a similar vein to EH's comment...

Would it work better (in your head) if you subtracted the price of the sausages from next month's grocery budget if that is indeed when you will be using them?

It's always a great feeling to score a bargain on something you know you will use up, as long as it's accounted for in the correct budget/month.  When I go over budget in a month, I do a quick review of how much and why & then subtract it from either the next month(s) budget or a different pot, if it was used for the take-them-a-meal program (gift) or food bank (charity) or our sharing table at work (work lunch budget).  That way I can review if we need to do more eating from the stores at home or more fugal meals for the upcoming month.

Greying_Pilgrim

Hey RT, totally get where you are coming from - and it makes sense, as the budget (for me) is not life and death or 'when it's gone it's gone' as some people have to operate.  I would prefer to not start parcelling off next month's budget - albeit with something that I may well use in that month, as I just think I would slip into having spent April's budget by week 2....... 🤔 I know me well 🙁🤣  But I may well have to in this instance.  I did limit myself to purchasing only 2 packs - there were more, and it is something that we use.  I will see how we go and may yet count the £3 spend in April.

Tea is cooking in the oven.  I have made a crustless quiche that uses up the majority of eggs that were going toward being out of date.  I have made a cake too that uses up the rest of that batch of eggs and some of the prunes bought for the Mushroom Carbonnade de Flamande.  The quiche is a 'made-up' and 'use-up' affair, the cake is a recipe from Nadine Abensur - I'm not sure if it is a re-printed Cranks cookbook, or she published a new book, but it's (the book) from the naughties, rather than 1973 - or whenever Cranks was in it's heyday. 

I was going to use rice in the quiche to give it a bit of heft, but as I decided to serve with mashed potato (and baked beans), I changed my mind and minced the last of the cauliflower from an XXL frozen bag from MrL.  The other veg in the quiche is;  onions, celery, garlic, peppers, carrots.  

Thanks all for contributing and making me think through my actions - it is appreciated.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Dry but overcast here with us today.  

I've got my shopping list done - well, done as I thought and then I keep on thinking, "oh, I haven't put that down".  Lawks, no way I am going to stick to £35 for this week at this rate, never mind with the 4 days of the month left next week.  Mind, I am including bits and bobs of household non-food in those calculations, so I am hampering my own efforts.  Perhaps I need to increase my grocery budget massively, or do one just for non-food but household.  I was saying to DH this morning, one thing I resent paying alot for is the own-brand sandwich pickle that looks like the branded item in MrL.  DH uses it daily on his sangers, but it's £1.30 a jar now - used to be about 85p.  Trouble is, there is no realistic alternative.

I see MrL are doing the 19p veg next week.  carrots, tatties and swede 🙄 If anyone knows of anymore swede/turnip recipes that I need in my arsenal, then please shout up. I won't baulk at buying swede (as long as they have fewer wrinkles than me......), but I'll be looking out to see if MrAl have different choices, in their Easter offers, as meals may get a bit samey......

Tea last night was nice - you know how sometimes 'made-up' gives you a good combination, that you've no hope of replicating, but it was nice at the time.... well that was the quiche 😁  LG did eat it up, but expressed the opinion that the quiche they had at school used to be better........ 🙄  I'm not hurt, it's just that was cheese & onion quiche and LG started off not being prepared to eat it, and the cook left 18 months ago, and, and, and...... 🤣 I made mash with the 'new' maris piper tatties - lovely tasting mash.  Minor niggle with them was that there was slug damage inside the tattie - right in the centre.  No way that anyone could have seen the entry hole, just irritating to have to cut it out of quite a few of the tatties I used.  At least I didn't find any half slugs..........  I didn't think MrL could shoe-horn in anymore sauce into their simply baked beans tin... I was wrong 🙄

Right, can't think of anything else MSE related at the mo.  Best shift-a-tail-feather.

Greying X

Fortune_Smiles

Morning Greying 🌞

we had a note in our vegetable box this week explaining the hole in the middle of the potatoes.  It's called Hollow Heart and it occurs because of uneven amounts of moisture during tuber development or a combination of other environmental factors.  It usually happens when there's a lack of water and then a sudden abundance of it - the tuber swells quickly and tears it's heart apart 😢  That doesn't affect the taste, quality or nutritional value though.

Have you thought about making your own pickle?

Have a great day.

Fortune x

Greying_Pilgrim

Howdy Fortune!

How are you?

My tatties were full of little tunnels, with uneven munch marks - I'd always been led to believe that it was the work of those teeny weeny black slugs.  But agree whole-heartedly, the growing season has been so up and down, that maybe it is 'hollow heart'.  I did indeed cut out the offending bit and use the rest of the tattie, no bother.

No, although I like cooking I have never taken to making jam nor pickle - and as well as no real storage space, I don't think it would be a particularly cheap option for us, as we don't have garden produce to process.  I'm in favour of DH giving up pickle - he has the same sangers day-in-day-out (would drive me bonkers), but as he makes them himself, I suppose I shouldn't complain too much - particularly as he isn't heavy-handed with the pickle, bless him.  

Right, school run.  Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

OK, food and household shopping done.  

MrL's was very busy, I suspect they have had a new wave of converts, possibly from MrS.....

I got everything apart from sugar (oos) on my list, plus i did break my own golden rule and go 'orf piste'.  However I will mostly likely need onions before the end of the month, and our branch still had the 2kg onion pack at PoTW, so I got a net.  Also I am running low on (fresh) coriander, so grabbed a pack and saw a YS'd (60%) tub of mushrooms (400g) so nabbed them.  No plans for mushrooms this week, but if all else fails, I will process and freeze - they will certainly be used.  My shopping in MrL came to £22.79 - no wine this week as MrL is still out of my preferred shiraz from 'down under', and it was chaos in the wine aisle, due to shelf-stacking, so I walked on by.  Came home via HB, and picked up several non-food items, the sugar that MrL didn't have and some sunflower/pumpkin seeds.  Spends in HB = £6.29.  Total spend this morning £ 29.08.

I really am going to have to re-think my budgets now that we've been in this new house several months and costs/outgoings (for the most part) have settled down. I know the news is banging on about inflation falling, but that only means prices are rising at a marginally slower rate - very few prices are actually falling.  I am finding that I am spending (on average) about £50 per week on food now - just food, not loo-roll, washing up liquid and toothpaste on top - just food.  So I think that I am going to have to trawl through everything and come up with a plan b.  

I am trying to be kind to myself, because that £50 pw does pretty much provide every meal or snackette that we eat.  I don't have a budget for takeaway/dining out or entertainment, as we on the whole, don't eat out of the home, unless we take a picnic somewhere.  And no, I ain't fishing for compliments, I am just being honest - simply because as much as anything, it can be marginally more difficult to get VFM on bought veggie food.  A colleague of DH's is going out for lunch on Sunday, to a place that was a 'haunt of our yoof', so just out of interest, I looked up the lunch offering.  Not too expensive - relatively speaking - but it was interesting that whilst you could have a choice of 3 meats, the veggie offering was made out of lentil with sweet potato, and the price was the same......  I know, there are all sorts of economies of scale, use of separate ovens etc etc that come into play, but heck, it makes ya want to tuck into a slab of beef, doesn't it???? 🤣😉

Also, I have been giving some thought to the point dearest Fortune made about making pickle.  And whilst I am content that I don't want to go down that route, for the reasons given, it occurred to me that I could do more in the 'fridge pickles' 'Quick pickle' department - or even in the vegetable jam arena.  You don't have to make alot, it isn't made with the intention of storage for months, and it would add a bit of variety.  So I'm going to investigate that avenue further, as I have seen a nice looking recipe already that could utilise special offer Easter veg.  So yet again, thank you all for continuing to support me and commenting on my thread, as I do always give consideration to what you say, and cogitate on things and find new things to try or take new roads that I wouldn't otherwise.  

Right, off to update my siggie and put the rest of the shopping away.  Ta for popping by.  Appreciated.

Greying X

peb

Well, I don't have a recipe but swede pickle?

I suspect Mr GP might not fancy that on his sandwiches though

Greying_Pilgrim

peb said:

Well, I don't have a recipe but swede pickle?

I suspect Mr GP might not fancy that on his sandwiches though

You're advocating working with what we have peb - I applaud you 😁  I suspect DH might not be so enthused tho....... 🤣

Greying X

redofromstart

I just came on to post that I had inspected my MrT sandwich pickle jar and the second ingredient (after sugar) is Swede!

debtfreewannabe321

Yes it was me that mentioned shroomdogs, and I am not sure I will ever be able to eat one again without thinking what you said thanks for that
I am the same way since going vegan with eating out. I used to be able to find a relatively decent offering when out and about as a pescatarian, then also when I went full veggie...as vegan nah, usually one offering of "suppose I better offer em something so they don't moan" on the menu which is usually flavourless and overpriced. I get narked with it so rarely eat out unless it is somewhere I know and know it's worth it. When I went out for the xmas drinks and meal my collegaues were like, ooo we checked for you there is stuff! I was shocked but surprised, well when I got there is was a lentil curry with rice. That was it I kinda just laugh these days rather than get angry and I ordered fries and salad on the side and spent my food money on G&T instead