Saving money on food

 As we did so well with getting all those meat and fish bargains the other evening, we decided to go to the supermarket again the following evening, to see if we could get anything else.  I'd rearranged some of the things in the big utility room freezer, freeing up a little space, and there was a fair bit of space in the kitchen freezer.

We didn't do as well as the night before, no joints or chickens reduced, but still got some good bargains.  I bought several packs of sausages, 2 large steak pies, 2 packs of lambs liver and 2 packs of steak mince, all reduced to half price.  Also got a few other things we needed, like husband's decaf teabags and my Redbush tea.  And husband had been given a voucher with his fuel purchase, so I got another £4.50 off the bill, luckily.  So now, with all the things we got this week, along with what's in the freezers already, we've got enough meat and fish to last for months.  We already had a large turkey crown, 2 pork joints, a large duck, lots of chicken breasts and thighs, 2 packs of beef mince, 1 pork mince, a gammon joint and several packs of bacon in the freezer.  Oh, and some trout fillets, salmon steaks and some smoked haddock.

Husband is happy to continue doing the shopping on his own, and I'm happy to let him.  I have to write a list for him, he wouldn't manage without it, but the good thing (in terms of money saving) is that he sticks to the list rigidly and doesn't buy anything else, whereas I often see other things whilst I'm in the shop and think 'oh right, I'll have that as well'.  He normally goes shopping in the mornings, but has said he doesn't mind going in the evenings.....going then, it's possible he may be able to get a few more reduced things.

Several of the joints and birds in the freezer are large ones, which will do us for lots of meals.  I'll make sure I stretch the meat out as far as possible, leftovers after cooking will immediately be turned into another meal, or chopped/sliced and frozen.  All bones will be boiled for stock.  I am pretty good at making meals out of leftovers, stretching meat, and using small amounts of meat.....in stir fries, risottos, quiches, soups, e.g.  We will also continue our regime of having a few meat-free meals each week.

Each time I defrost a joint or bird, I'll make it a challenge to see how many meals I can make out of it.  I'll start with the turkey crown which we'll be having on Sunday, the packaging states it serves 8-10 - I'm quite sure I can get more than that out of it, including making stock from the bones to make soup.

We're not going to grow as much produce here in our home garden next year, as we're planning on spending a lot of time at the caravan, so won't be here to water it and don't want to have to keep asking neighbours.  We will be coming home for a few days here and there, to collect post, do washing, that sort of thing.  So we might grow some potatoes, or other things that don't need much maintenance.  Obviously we've got apples, pears, strawberries and blueberries in the garden, along with asparagus.  However, we will grow some tomatoes, salad leaves, radishes and spring onions and perhaps a courgette or 2 in pots in the van garden, just enough for our needs.