Dh and I did a month's food shopping today and spent ...

[Miaou]

£98.05

Beat that!!

lol!!!

MrMiaou says can you post your recipe for sweet potato soup? It'd be lovely to get some more recipes contributed on here

So nice to hear people are being inspired - it's nice to be able to give something back to MNers!!

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Fascinating thread. Interesting to read other people's tips. I am in the fortunate position to not have to be so tight with my budget (£60/week) but still have to keep an eye on it. I know that my biggest expense in that is on drinks - juice, squash, wine, soda water etc - can be a quarter of my budget gone.

Yup, it's the little "extras" that bump up the cost, isn't it? I know if we bought juice/biscuits/snacks we could easily double our weekly bill - fortunately they are things that it is easy to manage without when you are struggling financially, yet still eat a good balanced diet and not go hungry

I tried to start a freezable recipe thread about a week ago - maybe less, but all most people wrote were, "soup", "chilli" etc. Which is fine as I can make my own versions but would like to know the finer stuff. So have returned to a recipe book.

But here's my Sweet Potato soup:
Tsp oil or butter
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 onion
1 bay leaf (removebefore blending)
1 medium-large potato
6 medium Sweet potatos
2 pts chicken stock
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg

serves 4-6

Hope you like it!

I would love biscuit recipes, please (lemon ones sound good) And a flapjack recipe if you have one. Would like to try this with the kids on Sunday as dh will be out. Simple recipes are best for me

Agree some sort of award is in order. Yuo have both been so helpful (unlike some other food type threads ).

Can I also ask (approximately) where you live?

Mercy - the shortbread is incredibly simple. Will try to remember to post tomorrow. But am off to bed tonight. 37 wks PG tomorrow - hope the veins are up to a stint in the kitchen

Hi Mercy

I'm sure Miaou will pick up on this later today with biscuit recipes. I'm just heading off to Glasgow for the weekend to help a friend move house.

We live in a wee place called Lochaline. You're challenge for the weekend if to find out where that is. Just to give you a clue I'll be heading south to Glasgow

aha, so this is where MrMiaou was a 4am - lol!!

OK - recipes. I have two biscuit recipe books which I work from because they are simple to use - my watchword too, Mercy!! Once is the Be-ro Home Recipes book - a little slim book that I keep in my utensil drawer. It is sold in Morrisons with all the baking stuff and if anyone wants a copy I will send you one - it's not expensive

The other book I use is the WI Book of Biscuits by Jill Brand. I am not and have never been a member of the WI!!! I sent off for this book from an offer on the back of some porridge oats years ago - I'll have a look later and see if it's still available.

OK - Flapjack.

8oz marg
8oz golden syrup (about 8 tbsp I think)
4oz demerara sugar (works perfectly well with ordinary sugar though)
4oz raisins (if you want them in)
16oz oats

In a saucepan gently melt the marg, syrup and sugar. Stir in raisins and oats. Press into a shallow rectangular tin. Bake at 180c, 335F, Gas 4, Fan oven 160c, for 20-30 mins until golden brown.

Cut into squares whilst still in the tin then leave to cool slightly before turning out onto wire rack.

I'll post this then add the lemon crescents ...hold on ...

This recipe is really quick and easy because the mixture doesn't need rolling and cutting

Lemon Fork Biscuits

6oz butter, softened (I use marg instead and it's fine)
3oz caster sugar (I use granulated if I haven't got caster suger )
grated zest of one lemon
8oz self-raising flour

Cream together sugar, butter and lemon zest then mix in the flour. Form to a soft dough with hands.

Place walnut sized pieces of the dough onto well-greased baking trays allowing room for spreading. Dip a fork in a little cold water and flatten the bicsuits.

Bake at 180c, 355F, Gas 4, fan oven 160c, for 15-20 mins until pale golden. Put on cooling rack.

This recipe works just as well with an orange too and makes about 24 biscuits.

Ooh, and thanks for the sweet potato soup recipe, will try that!

Wow Great ideas Miaou , thanks .
Keep the recipes coming and updates on how the budget is going

miaou, this really is insipring, and you're doing exaclty what i'm aiming for our shopping for 2 weeks was £50 so getting there (but that didn't incude any cleaning stuff/baby bits )

anyhow can I just ask how long do you guys spend preparing things? and also do you cook everything in bulk on a weekend?

deffo gonna do some lemon buscuits and put them in my cookie boxes for xmas presseis for the GP's

Hmm, MrMiaou does most of the cooking (though I am in charge whilst he is away this weekend - argh!).

Generally speaking, he makes meals when they are needed, but as we perhaps make double and freeze half, then only every other meal needs preparing, IYSWIM.

I've got yukky morning sickness atm so MrMiaou made a stew last night then put it in the fridge for me to heat up for Sunday lunch. We will be having sandwiches for lunch today and pasta with a tomato sauce for tea. On Sunday teatime if I feel up to it I will make scones for tea - cheese ones, followed by sweet ones.

Good idea munz, they are so easy to make

ooh they sound nice as well - I think u need to lend me your DH to have a word with my DH! lol.

nuty - I noticed you were after a slow cooker - have you got a pressure cooker/crock pot for the top? that's how i've gone back to doing my stews/soups.

also don't know how you guys do your dumplings, but I do mine v v cheap -

2.5 spoons of suet (the normal brekkie sized ones)
4 spoons of flour
and a bit of salt.

gotta say it thou, this week I used half of that recipe as that much makes 4 and it was only for me and DH, anyhow half it and you make 2 decent sized or 4 small sized dumplings, for the larger amout you'd get 6 normal sized I'd say easy/2 larger then smaller ones for the children.

definatly insipring.

You can add sage to your dumplings to give a bit more flavour too

Shortbread:

4oz Plain flour
2oz Corn flour
2oz Caster sugar
4oz Butter (much better than stork - in this particuar recipie)

sift flours together then add sugar and butter and rubb together. Keep rubbing untill gone through the b'breadcrumb stage' and becomes like pastry.

Roll out on floured surface - your supposed to be able to get it into a 20cm circle - but it walways braks on me so I cut out about 24-26 small biscuit shapes.

Cook gas mark 3 for 30-35 minutes. If colour changes they are a little over cooked - you need them to remain pale.

Big hit with DD who has helped herself to about 3 since they came out of the oven about 10 minutes ago. Hope her daddy gets home soon or there'll be none left for him, let alone her GP's when they visit tomorrow .

have done enough standing for now but will tackle the banana cake later

do you do your own jam tarts miaou?

will add the herbs to tomorrows dinner

Yup - do you want a recipe for those?

Haven't done any for a while actually - I ought to make some!

yes please, I know theyr'e only 38p for 6 but DH has 2 at a time so they don't last long enough!

okey doke:

Shortcrust pastry (I am crap at pastry but have never had a problem with this recipe). The secret is to keep it as cold as possible.

8oz plain flour
pinch salt
2oz lard
2oz marg
cold water to mix (about 2 tbsp)
1oz caster sugar

Mix flour and salt in a basin, rub in fats. Use a knife to cut and stir, then mix with cold water to form a dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface, knead lightly, then roll out.

Cut into rounds with a cutter and put into greased patty tins. Put a little jam or lemon curd in each one. You only need the tiniest bit - it's really easy to overfill them! Bake for 15 mins on 200c, 400F, Gas mark 6.

That is enough to make 24 tarts

thanks that will see him on for a while!

Ok lunch today was ham sandwiches followed by a piece of fruit each - 20p cost per person - therefore 80p for lunch as dh is away.

Tea is tuna pasta bake:

1/2 large tin tuna - 50p
1 packet pasta - 20p (only needed half but cooked the whole packet by mistake )
flour, marg and 1/2 pt milk for the sauce - 20p
100g cheese (75g in the sauce, 25g topping) - about 80p I guess
sweetcorn leftover from a previous meal - about 5p

£1.75 total