January 2008 Grocery Challenge

hilstep2000

:T :T :T :T :T
Well done you! It's great when you feel you've got one over on the big boys!
I did a shop a few weeks ago that came to £20.56 and I had a £2.50 Tesco clubcard voucher (OH's not mine!) and £16 in Luncheon vouchers, for doing surveys forPine Cone Research! So I had to find £2.06!:rotfl:

moanymoany

The way to beat the supermarkets at their own game is to only buy what you need.

They set out to sell us what they want us to buy. Even buying online is not without dangers when it comes to temptation. However, I hate going into supermarkets and I can shop much more effectively online.

Congratulations

irishwexford

Just testing this out. Thanks for tip.

charleybabes

i was going to shop on line but i only have £30 this week to spend on all our shoppng and the delivery charge meant that the shop in asda alone would have come to £29!!!
so i had to save my money and go in store meself!!!

MRSMCAWBER

Evening everyone

Nopot2pin....
this is the recipe for pittas...its a bread machine recipe but i made them by hand -yesterday was my first attemp:T

PITTAS

• 3/4 cup tepid water (about 180ml)
• 1tbsp sunflower oil
• 1tsp salt
• 3 cups bread flour (about 400g)
• 1tsp yeast (i used 7g fresh)

1. set on "dough" setting
2. tip out and knead for 2 mins
3. divide into 10
4. shape into balls and place on a greased baking tray
5. cover with oiled film and leave to rise for about 20 mins
6. using a floured rolling pin roll each into an oval shape approx - 1/4" thick
7. return to baking trays and leave to rise for a further 15 mins
8. pre-heat oven to highest setting
9. when dough has risen bake for 5 mins (if they need longer reduce temp to 190c/375f/gas5
10. transfer to cooling rack and cover with clean tea towel to cool a little before using...

They were lovely -im not normaly much of a fan of pittas but these will be done again hubby went crazy about them.. but next time i think i will try baking at a lower temp...and use a drop more liquid to make the dough softer...
Not sure how well they would re-heat but straight out of the oven and they are lovely

I haven't done the flatbread/wrap things yet ...they are going to be tried over the weekend -I was going to do them tomorrow but have decided to make cornedbeef cakes and oven chips instead.... oven chips using NO fat..an egg white instead..so i HAVE to try it:p so i will report back about the flat breads
the recipe is :-

FLAT BREADS

• 1 cup tepid water
• 1tsp celery salt
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1tsp yeast

1. set on dough setting
2. when done -turn out onto a lightly floured surface
3. divide into walnut-size pieces
4. using a slightly floured rolling pin -roll into a disc, the thinner the better as they wil puff up when cooked
5. warm a large -heavy(preferably cast iron) frying pan over a high heat
6. when the pan is almost smoking place 1 disk in the pan and cook for 1-2 mins on each side
7. remove from pan and cover with a clean teatowel and keep warm whilst you cook the rest..

I would think this would make about 8 as its a similar size mix to the pittas and that made 10 ...

then my next mission is to have a bash at piklets ans muffins and in one of my bread books i have come across a recipe for DOG BISCUITS :rotfl: that i thought was just the name -but they are made using chicken stock-so i guess they really are for dogs:D

Mollymop5

£14 spent in asda today and I only needed milk .this should be me til next week now.In fact I will make sure it is as I don't want to be over budget on my first Grocery challenge!

Irish_Mom

Hi Guys,

Its all gone a bit pear-shaped over here!! Had a hectic week last week and I went slightly over budget. I then when shopping on Friday night and made a huge mistake, my boss and my daughter came with me:rolleyes: Now my boss knows I am on a budget but at the same time I coudn't keep say "no put that back I can't affourd it". Subsequently, I have wound up with Chinese starters which cost €3.86 which I normally wouldn't look at. 5 YES 5 packets of biscuits :mad: Worse- there are now none left - half of them now on my thighs!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

Bill came to 50 quid roughly and I still had no cat or dog food. I have now "merged" into next weeks budget so I now have roughly €26.00 to last until 1st Feb. I should be ok, still have the mince mountain;) ,sausages,pork steak and a chicken in the freezer. I just need to get off by backside this weekend and make cornish pasties and more soup this weeknd. I am also going to finally try the scones after the tips I got from you guys.

I'll update the sig once I get to terms with what happened last week:rotfl:

IM

mrssnowy_2

Hi all
Good day today-only spend milk £1.19
Made chicken pie,well more like pea and chicken,but tasted good-2 large portions with veg for lunch,3 to freeze
6 portions lasagne
1 bolog sauce
Chicken stock and enough meat for curry or cawl for Friday
Bacon sarnies for tea-DH won bacon in meat raffle.Should i count his £1 in budget or is it a bonus!

Frugaldom

lil_me wrote: »

Just a little ask, could people when they are finished their challenge post the total to add to the list on the first page in a different colour, I don't have time to read all the threads at the mo and this will help

Hi Lil_me, my months run from first day until last, but please count me in for February with a target of £100 for 3 adults (it's a shorter month ).
Thank you.

jackiegibbo

Hi everyone

as you can see i have already failed my first challenge :mad: and i still have more shopping to go to the end of the month and i am wondering if i am either expecting too much or have not budgeted enough:rolleyes:

I would appreciate your opinions please,my challenge was for £175 for 2 adults,1 child,1 big dog,2 cats and a hamster(oh and some fish in the pond)

I spend approx £40 a month just on pet food!!!,it has to be tinned as my big dog and 2 cats wont have anything else.Now im sure you think thats silly but when they go off in a huff and then come back with their big brown eyes the next day telling me they are starving i cant resist them:p and they just wont have dried food

So i get Mr ts tray of 12 tins multiplied by 4 for the dog and a tray of 12 whiskas multiplied by 4 for the cats(hope that makes sense).

I am also including lunch boxes x3 for 5 days and meals,toiletries,cleaning materials.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions