April 2008 Grocery Challenge

MRSMCAWBER

CHEESE N MARJORAM SCONES
MAKES 18
pre-heat oven to 220c/425f/gas 7
grease a couple of baking sheets

1. 115g wholemeal flour
2. 115g SR flour
3. pinch of salt
4. 40g butter
5. 1/4tsp dry mustard
6. 2tsp dried marjoram
7. 50-75g grated cheddar cheese
8. approx 120ml skimmed milk
9. 1tsp sunflower oil
10. 50g pecans or walnuts -chopped

• sift the flours into a large bowl and add salt
• rub in butter to resemble bread crumbs
• add marjoram, mustard and grated cheese
• add enough milk to make a soft dough and knead lightly
• roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 3/4" and cut out with a 2" square cutter
• place on the baking sheets, brush with milk and sprinkle over chopped nuts
• bake for 12 mins-serve warm

scotsaver

Thanks everyone for all the Birthday wishes, I had a fantastic day but back to the old routine today!! Popped to Asda this morning so have updated my total, just to let you all know they are doing trays of 18 FREE RANGE EGGS for £2:j and bags of 500g Smart Price pasta tubes rolled back to 19p. Finding all these price changes a bit confusing as on the lunchtime news they have just said that prices are higher than a generation ago and we will all be spending an extra £800 this year on food :eek: (oh no we won't if we stick together on the GC.):T

Think people must be getting put off by the price of bread and making their own as Asda had totally run out of Asda Yeast and Hovis Yeast, only had Allinson stuff which you can't use in a BM but luckily I've still got some in the cupboard to see me through for a little while longer.

moo2moo - sorry to hear about the little chicken.

chimp_choker

victory wrote: »

Does anyone work out the spends per week as in say £50 and that has to do for the week and anything over cannot be spent or taken from the following week or do you do it monthly? April 30th we get paid and I reckon I spend £100 a week so cutting it in half, don't know whether to take out £50 say each monday and make that last or take out £200 do a huge asda shop and make that last?

I've tried a few ways over the last few months. The first was buy anything i wanted which was usually how i shopped ( notice past tense) then I tried £100 spend all at once and it worked for most of the time but that's because I only had the £100 left. If I'd been honest and paid my bills first I'd have had nowt to eat.

I then put £200 on my asda chrimbo savings card and then that was all I had but then found I had to go to asda to buy milk and bread when the freezer lot ran out which either took 2 hours and a lot of pain to walk or the petrol ( which we didn't always have) to drive. Also we get money weekly and monthly in our house so gradually i've got to try a 1/2 and 1/2 I guess.

We do a bulk shop for around £70 and £50 on the asda card out of my wifes wages ( monthly) and then I have a couple of days bulk baking / cooking etc depending on my health then the other £80 is split over the remaining 4 or 5 weeks for top ups like milk and bread etc.
We tend to have a few no spend days in the first 2 weeks then the last week we have 3 or 4 NSD because we have no money.

I've found out it's easier to do it weekly then what you don't have you can't spend.

gunsandbanjos

Eek, scarily close to my budget. I have £1.68 to do me til the 30th. I have just had a huge Tesco order delivered though, should be enough pasta, flour etc to do me for at least 6 weeks. Cutting it fine...

chimp_choker

SmellyOldSock wrote: »

Hello All

well Asda delivered last night - 20 minutes late! Will email them shortly to complain.

Spent £64.50 including beer for hubbie, kitchen foil 36p and milk yesterday £1.15 total of £ 66.01 leaving me with 8.99 til the end of the month!

best wishes
Charlotte

Charlotte,

If you email them will you get anything in the way of compensation ??

chimpy:T

chimp_choker

scotsaver wrote: »

Thanks everyone for all the Birthday wishes, I had a fantastic day but back to the old routine today!! Popped to Asda this morning so have updated my total, just to let you all know they are doing trays of 18 FREE RANGE EGGS for £2:j and bags of 500g Smart Price pasta tubes rolled back to 19p. Finding all these price changes a bit confusing as on the lunchtime news they have just said that prices are higher than a generation ago and we will all be spending an extra £800 this year on food :eek: (oh no we won't if we stick together on the GC.):T

Think people must be getting put off by the price of bread and making their own as Asda had totally run out of Asda Yeast and Hovis Yeast, only had Allinson stuff which you can't use in a BM but luckily I've still got some in the cupboard to see me through for a little while longer.

moo2moo - sorry to hear about the little chicken.

Why not get the fresh yeast from Asda bakery... free if you ask for some. Mix it with a little luke warm water ( what the hell is luke warm water... like what is the temperiture???) [ I go for 35deg c] and suger and wait half an hour.

mama67

Have gone horrendously over budget this month even allowing for the "treats" the boys thought they had to haveover school holidays; and the bulk purchase of all types of flour and bogof marg/buttery spread.
I also got quite a few whoopsies which will go into next month and beyond.

Overall on the yearly average I don't think its too bad, its very bad. Will just have to tighten the purse strings over the next few months, to claw some back.

I know I still have to pay both the milkman and the organic veg box next week and will come in at £224.16 (£54 over):eek: :eek: I'm declaring this amount Mrs M. (thanks)

It doesn't help at the moment that I have a just turned teenager with hollow legs who having eaten his 7 chipolatas, 3 yorkshire puddings, mash & veggies declared he was still starving, this was after having had 2 tuna rolls and a piece of carrot cake when he came home from school; he then had a big portion of treacle sponge with ice cream. This was altogether more than his dad who does a manual job had on coming home from work at similar time.

mama67

1.205kg potatoes (7)
480g spring greens
cucumber
250g mushrooms
230g aubergine (1)
365g white sprouting broccoli
215g radish (bunch)
335g onions (3)
460g carrots (8)
445g cauli

Sosh

angelnikki wrote: »

I sometimes substitute the two depending on what I've got in. It doesn't seem to make much difference IMO I also sometimes substitute caster sugar and normal sugar

Nikki
x

Thanks Nikki, I thought as much, just wanted to make sure.

Sosh

chimp_choker wrote: »

Why not get the fresh yeast from Asda bakery... free if you ask for some. Mix it with a little luke warm water ( what the hell is luke warm water... like what is the temperiture???) [ I go for 35deg c] and suger and wait half an hour.

Luke warm is a range between room temp and body temp, so between 21(ish) - 37deg. It should feel slightly cool.

Whatever you do, don't have water above 40 deg. The temperature will destroy the yeast.

Sorry, it's the science teacher in me, guess I'm missing school whilst on mat. leave, NOT!