June 2008 Grocery Challenge

Flylady_Flower

Hi all,
went shopping today (wow, yesterday now:p ). and got:

• 2 x 6 pints of full fat milk for £3 (put a 1/3rd from each into another bottle and topped all up with water to get semi-skimmed - total 18 pints for £3:D ) now nicely tucked away in freezer for in the week.
• 2 x flora buttery as it was half price (84p),
• 24 tesco toilet rolls for £6.99 (29p per roll),
• 60 x tesco dishwasher tablets (£6.49)
• large bag value spuds (£1.76)
• 2 x strong white bread flour (48p for 1.5kg)
• 1.5ltrs value squash
• 2.85kg Surf washing powder - on special!
• Eggs, Ham, tea, sugar, and some other odds & sods
• and a BEAUTIFUL piece of topside which was £10.80 whopsied down to £5.40 - so cut it into 2 joints and is now frozen.

Total spend £4.71 in aldi and £43.25 in tesco's. + an in-car charger for hubby as his broken - got that on the market for £4.99 (just hope it works now:rolleyes: )
Total spend £52.95 so was quite pleased with that, as should last all week:o (do need some fruit though:rotfl: )

Just a quick question though. I usually use ariel washing tablets as very convenient although not very cost effective. I know you can add washing soda to your wash to make it clean better and go further, but how much per wash (standard sort of size, not heavily soiled) would you use in with the soap powder?

Hubby gets paid weekly on a Friday and I have just sorted out this weeks budgets for us both to stick to. He is always saying that I spend too much, but because of the grocery challenge, I have been keeping tabs on what goes where and proved that it's not me....:p

Only last week, he spent £150 on two pairs of glasses plus £130 on a motorbike test:eek:, this week, we worked out an allowance of £50 as his going out money and he has spent £95 since Friday....:eek:

Because he had the money seperate this time, I think it's made him sit back and think about things a bit more, so a good outcome from it at least. Plus, he has had overtime for the last 3 sundays, which is why we could get the glasses and the bike test, but as I said to him, if we keep spending everytime we get some extra money, we'll never be able to do anything decent. He is now thinking of ways to keep his spending in order (no Maccy D breakfasts for a start!) and has really noticed that I have been trying to cut back, so I think he feels a bit guilty.

One good think is he should be getting a tax rebate, and if he gets what he wants, he is going to get a motorbike and that will save LOADS on journeys to work, etc, as fuel is soooo disgustingly high at the moment, although I really don't like motorbikes and it does worry me.

Anyway, slightly off track there. am now very tired and am going to bed. have a good day everyone,
Den x

kbl

Le_Foot wrote: »

Don't forget you are on the 'Old Style' website. Why don't you have a go at making bread by hand. The only extra time needed is the 10 min. kneading time..otherwise it takes no longer than a BM...do have a go...you might just enjoy the sense of satisfaction it gives (and get rid of a few 'aggressions' on the dough

hey there, me again, wanted to ask, is there some reason nobody uses self raising flour? The reason I'm asking is my lovely sister, for reasons unknown to everyone but herself, has gifted me 9 bags of the stuff :eek: . Turns out she was in the local cash and carry, saw these on offer and thought she would use them (as you do. She doesn't bake, or even cook that much at home, but she loves a bargain :rotfl: ). After a couple of months lying in the back of her cupboard, she has now (this evening!!) offloaded them onto me! Are they still all right to use, and if so, do I wing it with the recipes? Any cookbook I've looked at involves yeast? HELP!!!!!

kbl

angelnikki wrote: »

Chilli makes 3 meals for 3

500g mince(I use beef steak mince which I buy on 2 for £4)
2 grated carrots
2 handfuls of oats
2 tins chopped tomatoes
tin of baked beans (my mum always used to add these)
tin of kidney beans (drained)
tomato puree
squirt of ketchup
Chilli powder

Sometimes I add mushrooms or peppers too if I have them.

You could also add a couple of handfuls of red split lentils to spag bol/chilli to s-t-r-e-e-t-c-h it further. I never do because they take 30-40 mins to cook and I like to have dinner done in 20mins as I cant stand for too long.



Meatballs makes 3 meals for 3 (or 2 greedy meals) - usually 40-45 small meatballs

500g mince (I use pork mince @ £1.48- I used to use turkey mince but its gone up to £1.79)
breadcrumbs pre-soaked in some milk (I use 3 slices of bread ripped up and then made into breadcrumbs with my hand blender)
some finely diced onion (optional)
herbs of your choice - I normally use oregano/ mixed herbs
squirt of ketchup to help bind.

Mix up the mixture really well with your hands. Then wet your hands with cold water when forming the meatballs as this stops them sticking. You could use flour instead as some people do but I find water works better. I use a carton of passata with some tomato puree,a squirt of ketchup and some herbs for the sauce.

I freeze the meatballs on a baking tray and then put in a freezer bag once frozen and make the tomato sauce fresh for each meal as it only takes a couple of mins to heat.

You could add a grated apple to the pork meatballs/ chopped dried apricots if using lamb mince (which I buy when 2 for £3) to add a bit more flavour and to stretch further.

Nikki
x

thank you so much!! Haven't had a chance to get on the computer for a few days, so only just seen your reply, will def have a go at these over the next month, thanks again.

jessie18

Hello everyone, hope you are all o.k. well i failed miserably last month, but i did go away for the week so i know thats why i totally lost track:mad:

Hi mrs m could you please put me down for £300 for june please x.

Shall be watching the pennies a lot more this month, as my hours are going down at work next month so need to be a bit more careful. Hope you all have a really good month, and thanks again for all the lovely recipes x

Kaz2904

Just lost my whole post. Summary:
Asda unnecessary shop £43 (kids £6) no Mr M voucher Grr.
Fish pie tea tomorrow. No space in fridge or freezer.
Left courgettes out tonight by accident and hope slugs haven't demolished when I get home in morning.
All seedlings died yesterday by being fried in their propagator trays. Boo hoo.

mumzyof2

Iam having a NSD today ont he grocery front, Hope everyone is ok and sleepying..grr kids!

Keeping_Positive

Darn kettle broke yesterday so OH got a £10 cheapie from Tescos they dont do the £5 in store apparently?

That and £2 on frozen raspberries to make some yummy muffins is another £12 down. OH took £20 out my account wheres the £8???

mandy_moo_1

denisefowler wrote: »

Just a quick question though. I usually use ariel washing tablets as very convenient although not very cost effective. I know you can add washing soda to your wash to make it clean better and go further, but how much per wash (standard sort of size, not heavily soiled) would you use in with the soap powder?

hi denise,

are you using one tablet anyway? if i was you, i would add a tablespoon of washing soda to it, as i use 2tbsp wash powder and 1 tbsp soda crystals when i do the washing.............and a slap on the wrist for you :D washing powder is L-O-A-D-S cheaper than the tablets, and will save you money!!

well, my BM has just finished its dough-making, so i'm gonna have yet another go at making the loaf in the oven!!

hope you all have a good day xx

mumzyof2

Could anyone tell me what washing soda is? Is there a link to one someone else uses? Is it right i would use 2 tbs of soap powder and 1 tbs of washin soda? Is washing soda same as soda crystals? What are soda crystals? How much are they?

Sorry for all the questions!

Flylady_Flower

mandy_moo_1 wrote: »

hi denise,

are you using one tablet anyway? if i was you, i would add a tablespoon of washing soda to it, as i use 2tbsp wash powder and 1 tbsp soda crystals when i do the washing.............and a slap on the wrist for you :D washing powder is L-O-A-D-S cheaper than the tablets, and will save you money!!

well, my BM has just finished its dough-making, so i'm gonna have yet another go at making the loaf in the oven!!

hope you all have a good day xx

ha ha, thank you and slap on wrist has been administered...

Sorry, didn't explain myself properly. I DID use tablets, and am just finishing using them up but have now brought some washing powder, hence the reason as to how much do you use.

You have explained this very well, thank you, which is a good thing, as I'm scared to ask again:o , hehe, only joking, thanks for that, and good luck with the loaf...