Grocery shopping experts - how little do you spend

robpw2

BusyGirl wrote: »

originally posted by robpw2


Sorry, I would and often do buy fruit and veg in Aldi especially if they have special offers on. Today I bought a lovely savoy cabbage for 39p, same cabbage cost over 50p in Asda. Just have a look at the different offers each week as I buy some fruit/veg in Aldi and some in Asda. Also Lidl is a great place for fruit/veg as they often sell it for half the price.

i have had bad experience buying fruit/and veg from aldi as it doesnt seem to last more than a day

Cazzdevil

I worked out that a home made pizza, INCLUDING a whop load of mozzarella on top still only worked out at around £1 and if you had some home made tattie wedges or something with it, you could easily make one pizza feed 4 people.

For the base sauce I reduce down a tin of chopped tomatoes or a jar of passata and add seasoning, a generous teaspoon of sugar and a shake of mixed herbs/basil (one tin is enough to cover about 3 bases). For the toppings I add anything I have lying around (quite often I'll use a few chicken scraps left from a roast and squirt some sweet chilli dipping sauce over the top). The cheese is bought in a huge block from Costco at a cost of about £8, quartered and frozen. Each quarter does about 3 pizzas.

purpleivy

I've been using the Bertolli/seeds of change jars of sauce as they have a better flavour than most (though I do dilute with cans of tomatoes!) , find that a lot of cheap tomato products are just too sharp, but sweet at the same time, presuming artificial sweetener, but don't know. I'm realising from reading the threads here that I should be making my own sauce for pizza and pasta etc. How long does it take to reduce? cn you do more than one at once... dim questions from someone who qualified in catering years ago, still keen cook, just that I'm trying different ways of doing thing in order to get the bills down in order to pay off the rest of the new extension and start saving for stuff to go into it!

Cazzdevil

It usually takes about 30 minutes at a simmer to reduce down a tin of toms to a consistency suitable for a pizza base, but if there's too much it can be kept in the fridge for about a week or frozen.

I'm lucky that the breadmaker my mother has "loaned" me is a double one so I just make 2 pizzas at a time and freeze one uncooked.

bandraoi

Tomato sauce is easy to make:
The basic principle is:

Garlic and Onions Fried till cooked
Add tomatoes and herbs.

The herbs to use are - rosemary, oregano, marjorum, basil
You can use any combination really, but I usually stick to basil
I tend to add a teaspoonful or more with each ingredient, some people prefer to add them all at the end.

After that you're talking variations on a theme.

You can add
Chilli (at the start with the garlic, or if powder add a bit extra at the end)
Peppers/courgette/leek/carrots (after the onions and before the tomatoes)
Sugar (fry with the onions and a bit to the tomatoes to take out acidity)
Cream (near the end after the tomatoes, makes it rich)
Bacon/Chorizo (with the garlic before the onions)
Cooked meats (just before the tomato sauce)

Another thing I tend to do is if I have a jar of tomato sauce, look at the list of incredients on the back and anything I have some of I add to the sauce. I judge the amount from how far down the list of ingredients it is.

BusyGirl

originally posted by robpw2

i have had bad experience buying fruit/and veg from aldi as it doesnt seem to last more than a day

It depends how you store it. I buy mine every monday and it lasts the week. I buy large bags of potatoes and store them in a dark cotton pillowcase in a cupboard and they last 2-3 weeks. I store carrots, parsnips, swedes in paper bags in a very cold shed and most other things go in the fridge. I have noticed that Aldi grapes last much longer than Asda grapes though.

Perhaps you've just been unlucky but I've been shopping in Aldi for the past 2 years and would recommend their fruit, veg and many more of their products. It has helped me almost half my grocery budget from £350 to £200 per month for 2 adults and 2 children.

catkinq

purpleivy wrote: »

How long does it take to reduce? cn you do more than one at once

I sometimes thicken mine with cornflour and water rather than reducing it. Also reducing is quicker if you use a frying pan (and a splatter guard). I usually make enough for two and freeze half (having fussy children I often also add veg - carrots, brocalli, cauliflower etc and liquidise mine).

Skint_Catt

Busygirl Asda grapes are awful! We bought some on Saturday - I put some in a box for work last night and this morning they are all mildew! Box was dry and was kept cold last night! :mad:

Rowan9

purpleivy wrote: »

I've been using the Bertolli/seeds of change jars of sauce as they have a better flavour than most (though I do dilute with cans of tomatoes!) , find that a lot of cheap tomato products are just too sharp, but sweet at the same time, presuming artificial sweetener, but don't know. I'm realising from reading the threads here that I should be making my own sauce for pizza and pasta etc. How long does it take to reduce? cn you do more than one at once... dim questions from someone who qualified in catering years ago, still keen cook, just that I'm trying different ways of doing thing in order to get the bills down in order to pay off the rest of the new extension and start saving for stuff to go into it!

just in case you are still buying Bertolli and maybe don't know, the jars are half price in our Rainbow at the moment, so imagine it's country-wide?

belfastgirl23

Yeah, I price home made pizza at about £1 a go too... we have it nowadays with a mix of mozzarella and red onion on the base topped with sliced potatos (precooked), italian herbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Using the potatos makes it really filling and yummy. I know it sounds weird BTW but it's from an original italian recipe...