June 2008 Grocery Challenge

mumzyof2

I have gone over budget already

BigMummaF

Morning All!

A rather splendid NSD for me yesterday, & today fingers X:p Mind you, I was on the thread about growing stuff in pots for ages yesterday [MrsMc...you'll have to show them your apotment ]so the lekkie bill was being increased:o

MrsToast...I've been pondering your post....oh & Congrats on the amazing weight-loss:T Hope you don't mind me offering a few suggestions?
If you are taking passengers, there is no shame in asking for a contribution towards the fuel...my lot very often drive their mates around in exchange for a few drinks in the pub [have you had a coke in there recently?:eek: prices for a syrup mix:mad: ] or the obligatory kebab on the way home:D
A wedding outfit can be found in a charity shop for very reasonable cost, plus you're doing something nice by contributing IYSWIM...& you really would be surprised at just who does shop in these places;) You can always use "ethics" & "social responsibility" till you feel comfortable about using these wonderful goldmines regularly:p
As for Grandad....perhaps some home cooking? A cake, some Twinks, a quiche if he lives on his own? Or what about some seedlings to nuture so he has something to focus on to take his mind off his ailments....Having said that, the best prezzie is probably your Time:o ...could you perhaps take him on a little drive & have a cuppa somewhere, out of a flask over-looking a wonderful view & nibbling on a Twink:rotfl:

MRSMCAWBER

Morning all

Mumzyof2... don't get upset about going over your budget.. just try and go onto "damage limitation" I bet there are things you have paid for that will be used next month ....:D

Well day 12 of my NSDs in a row .... think i have made up for spending €42 on stockpiling cheese for the next few months :T

Well i have asked hubby what he would like as a special birthday meal for his B-day tomorrow.... and ..*drumroll please*.. he has asked for jacket potato, cottage cheese n salad :rotfl: even though we are having that today .... eeeeeee my hubby is easy to please :j . He said that i could put the most complicated expensive meal in front of him and he would enjoy it -but still think "hmmm I'd rather have jacket n cottage cheese salad":rotfl: .... luckily its one of my faves too.... so jacket n cottage salad it is

All the supermarket special offers leaflets came today..so i will be scanning them later..although i have allready spoted Maxwell House.... on for €3.33 a 200g jar now hubby normall has Nescafe at neary €6 a jar :eek: ..but he has had this before and said he will happily swap :dance: ..so i think this month i may have to get 10 jars ..... it seems to be working well at the moment... this month it was 14x400g blocks of cheddar.... next month coffee... so it all balances out -and saves a fortune in the long run :j I saved €42 on the cheese as i normally pay €6 a block and this was €2.99 and much stronger -so we use less

Going to make some baguettes today i think then thats the bread made for the lunches out of the way...then think im going to crack on with the x stitching and knitting :T

Pip squeak.... im just waiting for my broad beans to finish fattening up..so i might give that recipe a go thankyou

right i had better get off..have a great day everyone:D

lainz

Hello everyone :beer:

Well mine and the cats budget are blown out of the water, but I can't fit anymore in the cupboard or freezer (although there is space in the fridge :rotfl: ) and as there's been specials on what the cat will eat I've stocked up - so she has enough food to last the majority of next month :rolleyes: .

I knew I'd go over budget as I had a moc so I stocked up on some goodies, but I have f & v in and milk, so I don't need anything else and I need to stay away from the supermarkets (I am getting better - we 'wander' round morrisons at lunchtime from work - and I can come out empty handed as whoopsies are rubbish at lunchtime - 20p off :cool: )

Must get off of here and do some useful stuff like bake cakes! also I must pick up my x-stitch again which has been abandoned for a while.

Only 5 days to payday :rotfl:

greent

fluffysox wrote: »

thanks very much to greent for bread recipe- it worked:j - it looks like actual bread!

Grocery spends this week: NSDs on Mon, Tues, & Weds. Thursday spent 65p in school canteen on carton of milk and a oatmeal and raisin cookie- these are freshly cooked in school. (my fave type of cookie if anyone has a recipe please post)

Glad the bread worked out:D

Have you tried asking the school canteen staff for the recipe for the cookies? - I did/ do this for anything my DC are particularly fond of and they're always v helpful -but you do need to scale back the recipe somewhat if they give you their proportions, otherwise you'll be baking enough cookies for a school!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: ....yum, not a bad idea!!

GT

OrkneyStar

Well yesterday was a nice NSD- spent the day indoors, relocated fridge/freezer to back porch so we can get the table in the kitchen. Now we can sit and eat and DS's high chair is next to the table. Sore arms today though after all that moving furniture! Not sure how to go for next months budget but as I said I think I will go back up a bit again. The freezer and the cupboards are well stocked but we do go through a lot of fruit and veg (although will use some frozen veg) and also I think we will be upping DS's milk as he is gradually weaned off bf. Also, until Tesco comes, we get none of the milk deals I hear you all talking about. We pay approx 80-90p for 1L, £1.29 for 2L or £1.89 for 3L of milk :eek: , however at the moment I stick to 1 or 2L's as we just don't use enough to merit 3L before it goes off. I struggle with the taste of milk tbh and the thought of freezing/defrosting makes me retch! DH does not fancy freezing it either. Also we cannot really dilute as DS needs it full strength. Also there is a distinct lack of whoopsies- if only we could get meat and stuff for the prices some people quote on here! :mad: Hmmm this sounds like an excuse to spend more, but it is really not, I will set the budget a little lower than maybe would be nice, but also have to be realistic- I think anything less than £175 is just too low for us, but don't want to go beyond £300. Also July is a 5 week month so we will have to allow for that too! Will be back on soon to list our July budget and confirm June as our July starts on Thursday (used to get paid on last Thur of month and so from habit the new month always starts there lol).
Bye for now and well done everyone. :T

LearningToSave.

i see several of you mentioning making a millies cookies recipie......can anyone point me in the direction please???? we love these type of cookies but very rarely have them as they are so expensive.

findingmyfeet

hi all,
annelouise- thanks for the quiche advice going to try it out.
bigmammaF - some great suggestions you gave to mrs toast. Im still learning to think 'outside the box' so to speak. they seem so easy and simple when someone else suggests them.

Well lots of shopping this week- Netto £35.00 exactly, home bargins £16.25 ( loo rolls on offer £2.49 for 12 nouvelle) and then £35.62 in asda to get many quorn and veggie stuff. off now to decide what to do with pork chops for lunch -- need to pep them up a bit any suggestions ?

cherie1122

Hi, Learning to Save - Here's the recipe for the cookies. I've started saving them in word files so I can find them easily again.

[FONT=&quot]MILLIES COOKIES[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]3oz butter
3oz granulated sugar
3oz brown sugar (can just use all white granulated, works just fine)
vanilla essence
1 egg
6oz s/r flour
pinch salt
4oz choc chips

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Preheat oven to 180c.
Mix all ingredients together. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Put spoonfuls on greaseproof paper and cook for 11 mins precisely.

Cookies should still be soft when they come out of the oven, they will harden a bit. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Peel off greaseproof when they cool.

[/FONT]

Moniker

Hello Peeps - I'm back! Have been without my PC for a whole week as it crashed last Sunday and OH has spent the week trying to fix it without having to reinstall Windows. It is now almost back to normal - phew! I have been really busy at work and not able to 'pop in' to keep up with the posts - so sorry if I've missed anything important and hugs to all who need them!

Have just updated my sig and have just about £54 to last till 3rd July when my new month starts. I was fairly confident of doing this because we were supposed to be going away to visit relatives next weekend but now my OH says we may have to cancel as he has to work. I have been steadily working my way through the freezer and haven't had to buy any meat at all this week, but I will have to top up next weekend. Hm...we will have to see. At least I finish work on Friday for the summer (no, I am not a teacher) and will be at home and able to make everything from scratch. We may be surviving on beans on toats and omlettes!

I had a NSD yesterday and stayed in and did the house through. I also made a big batch of Twinks to take into work on my last day - I think I had better take copies of the recipe too!

Well MIL is coming to lunch so I had better get of my butt and get on with it. We are having roast lamb and roast potatoes with broccoli, cauli and carrots, and rhubarb sponge with hm custard - MIL loves custard and it's her recipe I use so I am on a winner there!

Have a great day everyone and I will try and keep up this week.

Love M