April 2008 Grocery Challenge

bails

Ha ha, snap FFM! I think I remember people saying you can just slice and freeze the peppers too, I can't see that they would need blanching. I'm sure someone wiser will be along in a minute to confirm or deny this...

MRSMCAWBER

Hi funky

I just freeze sliced peppers raw.... i have 9 in the fridge at the moment too well they were 50c for 3 ..mind i won't freeze them until im desperate...a) i have no space in the freezers b) i have a kilo bag of frozen ones allready and c)im quite happy to eat the red , yellow, orange ones instead of an apple

Angelraesunshine

went to asda as DH wanted some lawn feed stuff anyway he let the DD2 fill the trolley ( near enough) with 6 packets of waffles as she wanted them for breakfast today as she had seen them in the shrek cookbook. picked up 4 packs of chicken legs that were reduced and some reduced milk and some coffee pods that were reduced as the box was mashed up so bargain there. Spent £14.02p not too bad considering nearly £6 of that was waffles lol.

Frugaldom

funkyfunkymonkey wrote: »

I also bought 6 peppers for £1, does anyone know if these can be sliced and frozen for use in cooking/pizza tops etc? Or, do they need to be blanched first.

I slice, dry and freeze loose in bags as mixed peppers then cook from frozen and have never had any problems and brilliant when you can grab a bargain on sell-by date. Only learned I could do the same with mushrooms via MSE

nopot2pin

It is a stuggel to keep up wiht this thread... It really does move very fast.
I must admit, when I dont have time to read back I also skim read:o
But I have had a proper read through today

My spends so far this week is £12.90... which is really good for me :j
However, I over spent quite alot last week,(overspend of £22) so I am trying to even it out over the whole month. :cool:

I was going to go to Tesco's later for a couple of bits and bobs... but might see if I can skip it.

I really do need to bottle my Blueberry wine this afternoon. :rolleyes:
Bottled the Apple, the Pineapple and the Cranberry ones last night :whistle:
The Apple and the Pineapple ones are very tastly.
The Cranberry needs a few months to mature..... but should be nice for the summer

Rowan9

Went to Tesco today and have updated my sig. Am wondering if I will make the challenge this month. Early days I suppose. I have a delivery of my veg box this Wed and that's paid for so I will be able to have some veggie meals. DD will be back from Edinburgh by then and OH will be away for a week. It's more difficult to do veggie meals when he is here as he is more of a meat and fish man! I did buy quorn sausages as I'm doing stewed sausages, yorkies, mash and veg tomorrow and I don't fancy meat at the moment. I'll stick in a couple of quorn ones for me - I think we'll be able to tell which are mine!
I'm going to have a trawl through the recipe threads to see what I fancy with the different beans and pulses I have.
Good luck this month everyone!
w

SmellyOldSock

Update on buying milk, and veg for the weekend. Am so chuffed that i've managed to keep well in budget! I've also got my step daughters this weekend, so a bit more is being eaten.

Week 1 = $45.00 :T

Heres to week 2!

Charlotte

Moniker

annaangeluk wrote: »

2 quick questions!

What are soapnuts ? Does anyone recomend them for whatever it is they do?!

I have used these and like them a lot. You can find out more about them here:
http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/

They are a naturally occuring product which is bio-degradable and re-usable (up to 4 times). You won't get bright whites with them - though you can add a tsp of baking powder to the shells to brighten whites (I can't remember why that helps - it's nearly 40 years since I did 'O'level chemistry!) I use them mainly because I wanted to cut down on pollution - I often get blocked drains caused by a build up of detergent as we have very hard water here - but they are also quite cost effective as you don't need conditioner. After use they just get chucked on the compost heap.

Have had a NSD sort of (apart from ordering more soapnuts that is!) as am confined to house with a 'throat' and losing my voice - hurrah says DH! (Only joking!) Any way, DD1 phoned this morning and asked for my moussaka recipe and thought I would share it with you folks. Here goes:


Moussaka
3/4 kg (1 1/2 lbs) aubergines washed and cut into 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick slices
or about 1lb courgettes - use fairly fat ones - washed and sliced
90ml (3 fl oz) olive oil
25g (1oz) butter
2 onions peeled and sliced (or 1 largish one)
1 garlic clove crushed (optional)
1/2kg (1lb) raw lamb or beef mince
1tsp dried marjoram
pinch of ground mace (or use nutmeg)
salt and pepper
15ml/1 tbsp tomato puree
1 400g/14oz can of tomatoes

for the sauce
25g/1oz butter
25g/1oz flour
300ml/1/2pt milk
1 egg yolk
100g/4oz plain cottage cheese, sieved
25g/1oz cheddar cheese grated

Method
Place the aubergine slices on a tray, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes. Drain off any liquid and dry on absorbent kitchen paper. (Omit this stage if using courgettes).

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the aubergines/courgettes until soft. Remove from the pan and reserve. Add the butter to the pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft and transparent. Stir in the meat, marjoram and seasoning and fry briskly for 8 minutes stirring frequently to break up the meat. Stir in the tomato puree and tinned tomatoes, bring to the boil and remove from the heat.

Butter a deep casserole dish and fill with alternate layers of the aubergines/courgettes and meat mixture, starting and ending with a layer of aubergines/courgettes.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and gradually add the milk. Return to the heat and bring to the boil stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolk and sieved cottage cheese. Season to taste and add the nutmeg.

Pour the sauce over the casserole and sprinkle with grated cheese.

To freeze: Cool quickly, cover, seal and freeze.
To serve: Reheat the frozen moussaka, covered, in a fairly hot oven (200C or 400F or gas mark 6) for 1 hour. Remove the cover and cook for a further 10-15
minutes to lightly brown the top. Alternatively, to eat before freezing cook uncovered in a hot oven for about 25-30 minutes.

This quantity should serve 6 people. Note - it is best to drain the tinned tomatoes as they can make the meat mix too sloppy (alternatively, add more tomato puree).

Enjoy!

This is based on the St Michael Freezer Cookery book recipe (published c1978!). I use courgettes in stead of aubergines as the latter don't agree with me! Hope giving both metric and imperial measures isn't too confusing but DD1 and I don't work in metric though we have to buy stuff that way. BTW mace is quite expensive and if you don't use it regularly you might use nutmeg in stead.

Off to put a chicken in the oven for tonight's supper.

Have a good evening everyone.

Moniker

pinkcloudnine

Update on my first week of my 1st GC,
Total spend £49.69! Am well please, technically my week doesn't finish until Mon, but will not be going near the shops for at least 3 days!!!! This has included 2 smallish bags compost, computer paper, DD's face wipes, seeds, & a treat of a cheescake & cream for tea tonight!:)
I am taking the money out of the CP on a weekly basis, & am hating having to hand over "real" money!!:(
Total for April is £ 300 so am well on course, so far!!!:j
Will be trawling the recipie section when DH is at work, so he doesn't find out how much time I spend on MSE!!!!

earthmother

A little up on where I ought to be, but that's because I've already done next weeks main shopping, with a freezer stock up too.

Spent so far £119.22, with £90.78 left to get us to the 27th