March 2008 Storecupboard Challenge anyone?

Softstuff

Can I please borrow someones overstocked freezer so I can join in? :rotfl:

I love reading these threads, and find them quite inspiring, but never seem to get to the stage of having to do one, since I'm always too tight with shopping!

kika

I will try to empty my cupboards and freezer this month as short of money and want to book holiday. I agree £4000 a year is too little.

moo2moo

My food bill would be great if my DH didn't smoke. Unfortunately he pops in somewhere on his way home for fags and picks up something foodie at the same time. I end up with him being "helpful" and buying something he thinks we need. Obviously we need 6 Ginsters pasties at £2 each then. I have all the ingredients here to make pasties if only he'd say I fancy a pastie. Then theres the things I ask him to buy. God knows how many thousand times hes watched me pour liquid detergent into the washing machine. I even wrote "Tesco non-bio liquid detergent concentrate,small clear bottle dark blue liquid, silver top £2.00" on his list. That'll be a 10 wash pack of biological Ecover then.

I even resorted to buying his fags for him when I did the shop to stop him setting foot in a supermarket. He just smoked more because it was there.

I really do appreciate him helping out by shopping just wish he'd read the prices.

I have taught the demonic daughters well though (assume thats what the abreviation DD means). Took the youngest (small, cute and blonde haired) to Tesco yesterday as she wanted to cook me a special Mothers Day tea. Armed with a trolley she narrowly avioded ram raiding the dawdling little old ladies who suddenly stop for a chat mid-way down an aisle. Zoomed directly to the fish counter where she told the sales assistant it was Mothers Day and she was cooking her mummy a special tea and she'd been saving up her pocket money and she had £5 (even showed the lady her purse) and she'd like some mussels please. Cue the "excuse me grown up but please could you tell me how much the mussels are speech". Lady weighs them and says they are £3.80 per 1 kg bag. I'll need two says my tiny tot aged 5. Lady weighs two and reports back that that will be £7.20. Gosh thats very expensive says Tootie Frootie (the tiny tot). I'll need some white wine and some butter to cook them in and I'd like to buy my mummy some beautiful flowers too. Sales assistant helpfully said it was almost the end of the day and she'd see what she could do. Few buttons later and the mussels appeared reduced to £1.80 for 2kg. Tootie gave her a big hug and blew kisses as she trundled off. 2 reduced french sticks and a carton of wine later she found some reduced daffodils.

Went to pay at the check out. Total shopping bill £4.80. Happilly chatting away telling the unsuspecting checkout assistant that it was Mothers Day and she was cooking a special tea for her mummy and she'd saved up her pocket money and she had £5 and she'd like a packet of Chocolate Buttons for her big sister too. Scanned them in, total now over £5. Check out lady asked if I had any MOCs. Daughter helpfully told the lady I had lots and grabbed my wallet. Anything that would scan was scanned. Tootie was then told she'd have enough money left over for a treat for herself too if she'd like, more Chocolate Buttons and £2.90 change as well. More kisses blown.

She came home. Annihilated an onion into giant chunks, masacred a clove of garlic, chucked 1/2 a pack of butter in the biggest wok we own and then delegated to daddy as shes not allowed near the cooker when its hot.

DDs and DH sat and stuffed their faces with mussels for almost an hour. Blissfully peaceful. I ended up with buttered french stick for dinner. I hate mussels!

purpleivy

Oh MooMoo! What a tale!!! How come dd doesn't know you don't like mussels! YOu know that expression "it's the thought that counts!"?

purpleivy

Well, over the last couple of days I seem to have devised a reasonably workable plan using stuff from the cupboard and freezer. Just as well, as I'm now iinto minus figures on the food purse, in spite of what my signature says. I've just realised the time! Need to get ready for work... see you later!

Grotbags69

Hi All...
I'm an avid reader of these threads & not a very good poster i'm afraid.
I'd like to join you all in the storecupboard challenge this month & beyond plz. As my dear scooter (mobility) has given up the ghost & died on me. So, having to rely totally on my brill neighbour who is essentially lookin after my 3yr old son & i, in return for me supplying food for her & her daughter. So now, on benefits i am feeding 4 of us instead of me & my son. I'm not complaining coz would cost me a small fortune in carers fee's & the thought of strangers in my house mooching all over just doesn't cut it for me
So...
We did a cupboard/fridge freezer inv & have come up with a 4 week meal plan. Hope son conforms & gets out of his faddy eating. We started the challenge today...
Will let u know how we get on.. Just need to shop tomorrow to get some veg in to freeze. Hoping to turn the garden (back) into a little salad patch & get a composter & wormery going too. so have those to come out of my budget this month also

Grotty x

moo842

hi there i'd like to join this as we move at the end of the month so i want to empty the cupbords before we move, then i don't have to take it with me!!

purpleivy

3rd: COld pork and Veg
4th: More cold pork, channa dal and rice
5th: Pasta, turkey (F) and mushroom sauce
6th: Veg curry (F) Saag Aloo (F) and spicy rice.
7th: Soup and Pudding
8th: Mince (F) and veg, Bubble and Squeak (F)
9th: Roast Lamb (F)

Thereafter
Pizza
Curried Nut Loaf
Soup and Sandwiches
Chicken (F) Couscous
Bolognese (F)
Lamb casserole (F)
Dinner party, don't know what yet*
Chicken (F) Enchiladas
Liver (F)
Chorizo and Beans (F)
Chilli Con Carne (F)
Egg, Beans and Toast
Jacket Potatoes

I'm not there for a whole week and kids coming and going.

DH on his own:
Egg beans and Toast
Out with his mum
Lamb casserole (F)
Takeaway

Kids and DH:
Pizza

DD & DH:
Salmon* and veg
Taking MIL out for lunch for her birthday
New Vegi recipe by dD
Meal scrounged at MIL's, she likes to cook.

*a main item to buy. Other than that I only need dairy, fruit and veg. Will try and use what I can in the way of veg from the freezer.

Spends today were just some bananas (lunch for dh) and 500g channa dal.

DawnW

Loads of ideas Purpleivy, well done! I am still to pluck up the courage to look too deeply into my freezer, but have taken out 4 reduced free range chicken legs and some home made ratatouille to cook something up for the next couple of days (when there are just the two of us I tend to cook enough for 4 and make it last 2 days, especially if I know I am going to be late in from work). I have some pancetta in the fridge, and that will go with it too. I think I will brown the chicken and pancetta and then put it in a casserole dish over top of the ratatouille and bake in the oven, then serve with boiled potatoes. No other veg needed as the ratatouille contains courgettes, aubergines, onions, garlic and tomatoes, so lots of veg already. I don't know if that is a proper recipe, but I have cooked fish over ratatouille before (but without browning it first or adding the pancetta) and that was very nice, so it sounds as though it will work ok. Anyone tried anything like this?

purpleivy

I was really hoping for a no spend day today, but there isn't fruit for packed lunches, just enough bananas for dh till Friday. I have to fetch ds from school, so will stop and check out the greengrocer in the village on the way. There's a really nice butcher there too, who has free range eggs. They're nicer than the supermarket ones, so will stop and get those too. I usually pass on a Wed, when he is shut. Will try and be restrained. Will also check list carefully before I go so that I can avoid going near shops again this week.