those of you who shop for food monthly, could I pick your brains for a mo please

[lucysmam]

I am debating whether this would be easier than fortnightly or not.

Could I be nosey and ask roughly what you spend on a big shop if you don't mind?

And what sort of quantities of beans/tinned toms/flour/eggs you get through?

And if you have any tips I would be grateful

TIA

I use pre-made stuff instead of making my own after my last few attempts were just plain old horrid

Delia's recipe for pastry - honestly cannot go wrong (she does say use all lard, but I prefer half and half).

It is a recipe for pastry that she uses for cornish pasties.

lol bella, my last attempt was half and half that MIL told me to try. It sort of kept falling to bits as I attempted to roll it out. So I rang her & she said refrigerate before rolling so I did that & then it was too rock solid for doing anything with.

So I gave up. Easier to make everything else from scratch and allow myself that one cheat than struggle with it

You're welcome to come & make me some if you want to?

Maybe I should start a new thread for this but...
one thing I am rubbish at is buying meat. I buy sausages, mince (make burgers) and whole hams. I can also pluck and gut a chicken but I have no idea about cuts of meat, whats good for use in what and whats good value.
I wish there was an easy way of learning. Do you have any tips?
Will definitely try and use that pastry. I try and use up all left over ham and chicken so that would be nice in a pie.
I've tried buying ready pastry before but as I dont meal plan I have to prompt myself to use it in time. Making my own would be more flexible.

Turkey legs are large enough to feed us 3 (they're quite a bit bigger than chicken legs) & value ones are only about £1.29 or so. Spot on as a cheap roast IMO.

Stewing steak has loads of uses I found out off here the other week. Not very good at links but will have a ferret in a mo to see if I can do one for you. I pay about £5 for 2.2lb (1kg I think) which will split into 3 good enough sized portions to do us 3 meals.

Mince, try market or farm shops. Or look out for it on bogof (Asda have 500g packs for £1 at the mo if any use to you)

I don't know a lot really, just what I've found works. Long way to go before I'm nearly as experienced as some on here who are a complete mine of usefull info about stuff like this

you can freeze ready made pastry My oh doesn't yet know it's not home-made & long will it stay that way

I go to Costco in school holidays, so about every 6-8 weeks.

I buy all my detergents and canned foods then.

I do buy a lot of bread for eating straightaway, and meat for fridge and freezer. Things like bacon and cheese lasts a good few weeks.

I do most of my shopping at Sainsbury's 1 or 2 times per week, as well as sending slaves children out to buy bread and milk whenever we need it.

I usually spend between £300 and £400 a go.

There are 8 of us plus dog in our household.

stewing steak thread if any use bronze

See knowing 'I pay about £5 for 2.2lb ' is useful. Thank you.
We have plenty of chicken in the freezer and several I haven't sorted out yet (lucky things) and also some quail but it is nice to have things that arent poultry.

x post
fab thanks. Will go and peruse.

yay!! it worked for once

I'd love to have that much space Squeaky, only got enough for a month after a juggle of kithen cupboards though. That's good going for 8 IMO, very impressed!

Do you meal plan for what you're buying or just get it and see?

I buy brisket of beef (cheaper cut), but a good sized piece, last one cost around £10.50, I did in the slow cooker, with some water, and sliced onions, this did for two dinners, there are 4 of us and 3 days sandwiches for DH.

I made up my gravy with the liquid in the slow cooker after I had taken the meat out.

I put loads of things in the shed, such as trays of dog food and tinned tomatoes, and bring them in when needed.

I don't meal plan. I know I should, but haven't managed in 22 years of marriage so don't expect to acquire this skill now.

Apart from buying from Costco, I do only top up from Sainsbury's what we need for the immediate future. I hate throwing things out. We have a very fortunate compost heap, and I am determined to stop feeding it so liberally!

lucysmam - hey does not matter if the pastry falls apart - just patch it up.

I used to buy some stuff in bulk from suma but have found it too expensive recently.
Squeakypop your post has prompted me to think again and I've found a bookers near us. Now got to fid a way to get a membership. hmm
I like to buy things like flour by the sack. things I know will get used a lot.
Just been looking at slowcookers. We've never been a stew and the like kind of family but I may need to change that so we can carry on eating. Can't afford one now but I could get one for under a tenner any reccomendations on type/brand/quantity it'll hold?

I'm getting an Asda Smart Price one next week, holds 4l and is £7.something. The haven't got them in stock online though so would have to take a trip to store to get one

It only has 2 settings iirc but would do fine for us.

Never had one before to compare it to though, so am probably not the best person to advise on this

I am going to bulk buy bread flour the next time I go to Costco. I actually enjoy making bread and pizza bases, and hate when I can't find any bread flour in the cupboard.

I enjoy making bread, we rarely have pizzas though as they got so expensive in the shops. How do you make the bases Squeaky?

My pizza base recipe is really easy.

I use 5 cups bread flour, a spoonful of sugar and salt, a packet of yeast, 2 eggs, and enough water to make a dough.

I've only used eggs in my dough for a short time and I am total convert.

Never heard of using eggs before, why do you put them in?

Is it literally cups you put in? How much is that in say grams?

a cup is 8 fluid ounces

cheers Squeaky, I will give that a go when I get my shopping delivered at the weekend