January 2012 Grocery Challenge

Suffolk_lass · 5 January 2012 at 9:03PM

Sadly, there is no need to audit my garage freezer - we know it is still full of stone fruit (plums, damsons and hedgerow greengages) from the bumper summer of 2011. I just have to save up enough jam-jars up to be able to resume making jam to make room in the freezer for other stuff. I know it was empty immediately before this because I had to throw everything in it away when we returned from hols (left TDS in control of house and cats) and found some over-enthusiastic fridge door slamming after beer removal had caused a pressure-waft, opening the freezer drawer and defrostng everything...:sad:

Still, as I say to my friend with the superclean house, "there's more to life than polishing lightbulbs and counting stuff you've already got

NSD Today though!

njk1012 · 5 January 2012 at 9:11PM

wasn't really expecting to spend today, however a friend offered me a lift to do a whoopsy hunt. Spent £6.12 total but am quite chuffed as I managed to pick up the following:

5 x tubs of coleslaw at 1p each
6pts of milk
2 x blackcurrant squash
2 x packs of laughing cow cheese triangles
7 x Danish pastries
5 x unwaxed lemons
2 x egg fried rice
4 x pork pies
1 x pack BM cooked ham
2 x quorn peppered steaks
4 x apple dohnuts
5 x cherry scones
1 x tub chicken pasta salad

So glad I tagged along now. Total updated and still doing well I think.

piggeh · 5 January 2012 at 9:24PM

Anyone know a simple chilli recipe? I found one with the following (but lost it again!)

Minced Beef
Chopped Chilli
Chopped tinned tomatoes

that was about it. Oh, and jacket potatoes

Really dont feel like taking ages cooking, just comething easy which I can use for work as well. Might go with this and add an onion and garlic?

medsdemon · 5 January 2012 at 9:28PM

Evening all. Just on to update this weeks spends. £12.28 on Monday, £5.00 on Tuesday and £9.98 on wednesday all at MrS's. Toilet rolls, milk, whoopsies, coffee and suchlike. Plus 68p on bananas by OH whilst being starving at work meanwhile I on the otherhand equally starving plumped for chips from the local chippy at £1.30...absolutely shocking:o.

I am thinking of doing a big online shop since I got a voucher for £15 off a £75 shop to top up cupboards and freezer but I'm unsure as I like to choose my own fruit and veg so I will have to still go to A*di to get that.

Had a lovely casserole tonight made from LO chicken, stuffing and roast potatoes from xmas dinner. We're getting really low on stuff now but OH out for dinner tomorrow night and DD and I might just have a pizza or lasagne from the freezer so will put off shopping till sunday/monday.

NSD today.

angelatgraceland · 5 January 2012 at 9:28PM

dreamyd wrote: »

Hi, can I join? My average grocery spend is about £250/month (for two of us plus garden tiger) I tend to go mad with the yellow labels and the whoopsies, so we've now got two freezers fairly stuffed. Can you put me down for £200? Thanks.

Hi you are already with us simply by posting! Repost with your £200 budget highlighted in Red in big numbers if you can and it will get spotted by Helen Jelly and put down on the budgets with "us regulars" at the start of the thread. To do this, click on "go advanced" and you should see how you can highlight and enlarge text/change colours etc. Good luck with your challenge-it is very addictive! I think its my 4th year of doing it!

bupster · 5 January 2012 at 9:34PM

Piggeh, I do one onion, some garlic, a beef stock cube or two, half a pack of minced beef, a can of kidney beans, a can of tomatoes, a teaspoon of chopped chilli, and a teaspoon of hot chocolate or cocoa, plus a squeeze of tomato puree. I sweat the onion and garlic, add the meat and brown it (not grey, mind, brown - it'll shrink like anything but the flavour's loads better), then bung in the rest

and simmer until it's gloopy. Anything up to an hour. I'm not a precise cook - can you tell? :rotfl:

ANOTHER spend tonight - had to go to Sainsbobs for milk - added whoopsied multiseed bread and a pack of 8 corned beef slices for a total of £3.67. I do like my corned beef

. Must stop spending though, the milk I needed but that was it.

stardrops42 · 5 January 2012 at 9:37PM

piggeh wrote: »

Anyone know a simple chilli recipe? I found one with the following (but lost it again!)

Minced Beef
Chopped Chilli
Chopped tinned tomatoes

that was about it. Oh, and jacket potatoes

Really dont feel like taking ages cooking, just comething easy which I can use for work as well. Might go with this and add an onion and garlic?

minced beef
chopped onion
1tsp garlic paste or 1 clove
tin chopped toms
tin baked beans
chilli powder
black pepper

valerie57 · 5 January 2012 at 9:40PM

Just popped on to update spends. 2.89 on milk and veg. Made two panfuls of soup yesterday and portioned up for the freezer. They will do nicely for lunches. One was broccoli and stilton, made with a small amount of left over stilton. It is scrummy and I intend from now on to freeze broccoli stalks just for this soup. The other is root vegetables and lentils and was made with the stock from cooking our Christmas ham. I have been freezing the pieces of rind from parmesan cheese (from when you buy it in the piece) for some time as I had read that you could add it to minestrone type soup to improve the flavour. That worked really well. I put two rinds in and it made the soup base delicious. You remove the rind before eating.
Good luck to those giving up smoking. In particular Aberdeensaver; it must have been difficult going to the unexpected funeral but you can get back on track. It is worth it.

angelatgraceland · 5 January 2012 at 9:44PM

Had a spend in Coop on tuesday and got 2 boxes of faggots-Dd loves them and they are reduced to 72p for a box of 4. 2 loaves of their cheapest bread, some Rappor coffee,youhurt and a pack of white fish(frozen)for £2.03 per pack. I used the whole packet of fish to make a fish pie with a tin of mushroom soup, half a tin of value sweetcorn, 2 onions, a little cornflour and some mashed potatoes topped with cheese. This was enough for 6 people and didn't really need any veg with it-lovely all on its own. Total of £6.94 spent in Coop. Got a till spit for £6 off of £60 so I will try to use that before it runs out on the 10th-I must put a not on my phone for that so it beeps on the day!;)Hoping to use it on Sunday though then I have a week before A$da. I also have an evoucher from A$da for a free delivery so I've got that booked in for the 15th.
Missed my bank appointment today because I was too engrossed with sorting out DH who I had to take to hospital again last night.I must have a go at tidying up the freezer and running it down a bit. I am ordering some Quorn from A$da which is on offer at just £1 per bag so I need a little space. I also want to top up with bread before February as that is always the worst month weatherwise.

stardrops42 · 5 January 2012 at 9:45PM

Small spend for me today, ran out of bread so had to call in the corner shop. Got 2 loaves of Hovis for £2 so not to bad, will update my total:D

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January 2012 Grocery Challenge

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