February 2024 Grocery Challenge

Angelica123

Suffolk_lass said:

Angelica123 said:

I have spent £91.24 on shopping so far although £50 was on a Jam Doughnut voucher for Tesco that isn't all used up. 

I was watching a "What you Eat in a Day" style video on YouTube and saw a recipe that Meghan Markle makes for a courgette pasta sauce using just courgette and a stock cube. I might try that - add onion and garlic to give extra flavour. 

I was thinking that was a lot to spend on jam doughnuts (and if I had, I don't think I would be that upfront about it), so I searched and now realise it is a cashback app. It made my husband use an expletive when I read that out to him, lol 

Hahaha that would have been a lot to spend on jam doughnuts!!! Yeah it is a cashback app - you pay for vouchers to use in certain stores and the cashback is added to your account immediately. I use Airtime Rewards too (that's been good for cashback for Hello Fresh boxes) 

Balancinglife

Sorry forgot to report last week. 

£70 last week 
£70 this week 
Been lucky enough to keep the shop low with help from olio and my mum finding YS bargains. 

£280/£425

otb666

490/550 Got a week to go on my month Looks like we will have to give muscle food a miss this month.. Have ate lots of tuna/mackerel/pilchards this month with salad and pasta.  

debtfreewannabe321

Thanks @elsiepac for that recipe. I will work out how to save and print that one!
And thanks for the jamdoughnut app, I hadn't heard of this. I am going to look into it some more as I see they have s'burys on there which is where I get my online groceries from. Be good to earn a bit of CB.

I have just done my last shop of Feb which will arrive on Saturday. I will wait until then to declare the specific amount as just lately they have been substituting quite a bit and I have asked for refunds on bits that were not good quality. But if it is anywhere near the £92 ish that it should be and we do no top up shops until the 25th then I am under budget again! Just...!

Next week is mainly freezer meals from my batch cooks that I have done already this month. I purposely put them away for this last week which is usually tight. So this is my meal plan for Saturday- Saturday and then we get paid so I will start a new month then.

*Saturday - fake-away (jarred sauce black bean with peppers, tofu and bean shoots, bamboo and noodles with crackers on the side)
*Sunday- Vegan Roast 
*Monday- Dahl (freezer portion)
*Tuesday- Spag Bol (freezer portion I may make it into something else yet like cottage pie)
*Wednesday- Pie'n'mash (freezer)
*Thursday- Fake balls & pasta (freezer and cupboards will need to make this sauce from scratch)
*Friday-Jacket Potatoes
*Saturday- Ratatouille & rice (freezer)

Really happy with the last week being accounted for, for the most part, as it means I get an easy week of cooking too And all meals aside from the fake balls and the jarred one (the jars have been sat there for a long time so hoping they are still good) are all cooked from scratch. I will carry on the batch cooking for the first two weeks of next month so the last week of Feb-March budget is cheap too.

LadyWithAPlan

Thanks @elsiepac for the jambalaya, looks tasty and very pretty recipe card
Tx for adding recipes - such a good idea - my veg pie I kinda made up was v good too.

Grocery spending  Feb -   £85.50/£155 + bulk £11.80 
Grocery spending -   £14.98 inc £2 bulk
went to college  but  I got there remembered it was half term...
 However I popped into a local estate agent there - another North London area  - and asked re flats.. as havent seen any there in that area - I received my mortgage in principal today (scary but its time) so I have to find a flat to buy now the MIP is in place
So I really need to watch my spends and declutter/sell the excess shoe problem I have ..

Does anyone have any tips on  GF pastry -making??? I know there are a few people on here who have mentioned popping it in fridge for 30 min before baking - I have never tried and the jusrol at £2.50 is too expensive


As was near college I popped into big tesc*  as my local Lid closed down - so annoying - looked for a FR chicken but they are £2 more per kg than Lidl was!

£14.98  - of which £2 bulk  (Earl grey tea YS) +  £12.98 grocery - included YS pork crackling joint that my  halogen oven does brilliantly, GF oats, satsumas, DF milk, raisins for more fabulous GF seeded fruit bread..


Food - I made up  that veg pie  idea from the Sain box (£3 to 20p) and I have to say it was v tasty - 

I did buy the jusrol GF pastry - £2.50 - so I will have to have a go at making my own cheaper GF pastry - anyone got any tips?
The veg pie was
aubergine, carrot, courgette, red pepper, red onion - chop and  roast for 25 min in oil (I also added kalettes and some spinach at end to up the greens) 
- Then dry bake  in oven for 5 mins the pastry (I used puff GF)
Then layer
              - a spicy tomato sauce - basically passata with some herb/Spices in,
                with the roasted veg,
                chopped garlic, fresh chopped rosemary 
                 they also said to layer cheese in eg feta like an Italian green pie but I added a bit of DF cheese and I had a tiny bit of parmesan left from a HF .
                Plus I also added in layers  some  fresh dill and ground cumin  in the tomato sauce
Then you bake for 15 min
Leave to cool  for 5 min 

V V delicious - and well worth making - and enough for lunch today   - I have another  veg box but need to try the pastry making first

NSD 3/13 (V Day was a NSD)

PipneyJane

@LadyWithAPlan - congratulations on getting your mortgage-in-principle.  I hope you can find your dream home quickly.  Also, I love the quotes in your signature.  

I need some suggestions please:  what can I do with a 300ml tub of double cream, BBE tomorrow?  Shall I just capitulate, get out the food processor and make butter?  (I rarely use double cream, unless I’m making a pavlova or a cream tea.)  The cream was originally purchased to make a variation of a dish that I do with creme fraiche, in the mistaken believe that I’d have to avoid live-cultured food for the next few months.  (No.  It’s encouraged. The hospital fed me live yoghurt on Monday.).   We never got to make the variation because very kind people, keep dropping meals around for us.  

Hmmm… I think making home made butter is definitely winning in my mind.  How long should it take in a food processor?

- Pip

keggie

Hopefully, today will be the last shop before pay day. Have gone over my budget but we have had 3 lots of entertaining this month and is still less than last month.

So £250/£240

redofromstart

@PipneyJane

1. whip it and feeeze in usable portions / you can freeze cream if you whip it first. 
2.  If you have the oven on anyway, thin sliced potatoes, cream, garlic and or grated cheese cooked low and slim till tender. I par boil my potatoes if it won't be in the oven long. Again this can be frozen once cold.
3. Butter making is fairly fast but can be very messy. Make sure you squeeze all of the buttermilk out, again you can freeze the butter. 

If I really am pushed for time I just freeze it as it is (split into a couple of containers with room for expansion) and use it for stirring in at the end of soup making.

hope this helps. 

PipneyJane

redofromstart said:

@PipneyJane

1. whip it and feeeze in usable portions / you can freeze cream if you whip it first. 
2.  If you have the oven on anyway, thin sliced potatoes, cream, garlic and or grated cheese cooked low and slim till tender. I par boil my potatoes if it won't be in the oven long. Again this can be frozen once cold.
3. Butter making is fairly fast but can be very messy. Make sure you squeeze all of the buttermilk out, again you can freeze the butter. 

If I really am pushed for time I just freeze it as it is (split into a couple of containers with room for expansion) and use it for stirring in at the end of soup making.

hope this helps. 

Yes, it does, thank you @redofromstart.  Very helpful.

I’m inspired by your potato recipe.  How much cream would you use, proportionally, to the potatoes?

Many thanks, 

Pip

redofromstart

PipneyJane said:

redofromstart said:

@PipneyJane

1. whip it and feeeze in usable portions / you can freeze cream if you whip it first. 
2.  If you have the oven on anyway, thin sliced potatoes, cream, garlic and or grated cheese cooked low and slim till tender. I par boil my potatoes if it won't be in the oven long. Again this can be frozen once cold.
3. Butter making is fairly fast but can be very messy. Make sure you squeeze all of the buttermilk out, again you can freeze the butter. 

If I really am pushed for time I just freeze it as it is (split into a couple of containers with room for expansion) and use it for stirring in at the end of soup making.

hope this helps. 

Yes, it does, thank you @redofromstart.  Very helpful.

I’m inspired by your potato recipe.  How much cream would you use, proportionally, to the potatoes?

Many thanks, 

Pip

I slice the potatoes, layer them in the dish, and then cover with the potatoes with cream. You need a little expansion room in your dish so it doesn't make a mess of the oven.  If I'm short of cream then I rinse the tub out with milk.  You can flavour the base with onions/garlic/cheese etc. 

A proper recipe here if that helps: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/dauphinoise-potatoes