January 2014 Grocery Challenge

XSpender - I've added your Chicken and Leek Gratin recipe to the index (sounds yum!)

Here's the Hot & Sour Lentil Soup recipe now it's up on the blog - it's soooo good! AND at only 19p per portion, a pretty frugal healthy lunch too.

A great use for any homemade chicken (or turkey ) stock you have lying about too.

Hot & Sour Lentil Soup (serves 6 at 19p per portion)

• 250g red lentils 50p (£3.98 for 2kg)
• 100g frozen spinach or a couple of good handfuls fresh 13p (£1.25 for 1kg)
• 2 small onions, chopped 5p (98p for 2kg)
• 1.8 litres chicken or veg stock (I used 2 litres homemade chicken stock and it was too watery until reduced, so I’d add less next time – counting as free)
• Large thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated 10p (30p per 100g)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed 8p (£1 for 4 bulbs)
• 2-4 dried red chillies (or use crushed flakes – start with 1-2tsp and work from there, depending on your heat tolerance), 3p
• Juice of one lemon 26p (£1.29 for 5)
• 1/2 tbsp veg oil or fat of choice, 1p (£2 for 2 litres Crisp & Dry)
• In your pressure cooker or large pot, heat the oil and add the onions on a medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, until soft, then add the dried chilli, ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for a minute, then add the hot stock and lentils.

Put the lid on your pressure cooker, seal and bring to pressure. Cook for five minutes then use the quick release method to open the lid (if you don’t have a pressure cooker, just simmer on the hob until the lentils are done.

Mash the lentils with a potato masher or blend slightly with a hand blender (you don’t have to but I like the texture when it’s slightly mashed). Add the fresh or frozen spinach and cook until defrosted/wilted down. Add the lemon juice and season well, particularly with black pepper.

Serve with bread for lunch or as a starter.



I'll add to the index too

Another NSD for us yesterday. OH did a long shift at work and he was based at a supermarket and he managed not to buy anything :j Apparently 2 of his co-workers were shocked when he got out his hm sandwiches instead of buying his lunch there, I don't think they're very MSE! OH is at another supermarket today, I made him sandwiches yesterday so hopefully he's remembered them and taken enough food with him that he won't buy anything again.

morning all

kayester, i use photobucket, i copy the photos from my memory card onto photo bucket and then copy them across from there to here if that makes sense. not sure how you'd do it off a phone im not that techy sorry.

hoping for an NSD
doing jacket pots for lunch then martial arts club starts again tonight so will be late meal for us, think ill do veggie burgers with portobella mushrooms topped with stilton and beef toms.
got pizza in to do DSs early tea

Weekend away wasn't too bad - no food spend, but diesel cost a fortune! Broke my flask on the outwards journey and justified a new purchase instead of buying tea at the service station on the way home.


Spent yesterday organising and cooking - home made lemon curd, pineapple upside down cake, HM bread and Bean Chilli. Only problem is, its all been eaten, and I have to start again today!!


Did do a shop in L!dl ready for children back to school - my children adore and consume LOADS of cereal. Sig updated, and it seems to be well ahead of this months budget. Got a £50 milk bill to pay though . I know I could get my weekly 12 ltrs of milk cheaper, but I do feel quite good using our local milk lady (and it stops me going into the shops and impulse purchasing!!).


Should be a NSD today and I'm aiming for the rest of the week too as we have a load of Christmas stuff to use up and 2 full freezers. I'll get a freezer inventory done this week to help with next weeks menu planning. :j