Woe is me ... Must feed us all for $200/wk!

-fritters! use leftover meat and veg or just can of corn....they go along way and everyone seems to love em'
-burgers! add grated veg to stretch further.
-asian noodle type salad....lots of veg
you get the idea....

PLease direct me to the 25 doller a week thread too pl!

-fritters! use leftover meat and veg or just can of corn.they go along way and everyone seems to love em'
-burgers! add grated veg to stretch further.
-asian noodle type salad.lots of veg
you get the idea.

bumping for pheebs.

I made a double batch of spag bol last night. Usually my husband piles his plate with lots and lots of the mince mixture (leaving not very much!) So last night I filled 3 margarine containers with mince, put all the spagetti into a big bowl, poured over the mince that I had leftover and mixed it all together. He never said a word and I've got 3 spare meals in the freezer now :)

Oh I hear you about husbands.I have one that does the same.Last night I made Pasta and Meat sauce.Enough for 4 of us plus 2 lunches I thought.Husband served himself (must stop that) and went to watch tv.Kids and I sat down to eat and found enough pasta for 1 1/2 serves and 2 tablesp of mince sauce left...Needless to say I investigated.I told the kids to go in with their forks and eat from his plate.Short version - Big fight.Point made.Will be serving up in future and if he doesnt like it too bad.I am sick of going without so the kids can get food.I might add they are teens.We too are on a budget of $175 a week for everything.Most weeks I manage, but this week we ran out of bread and the milk was watered down to make it last. Uh hum I didnt say that did I. We did have 2 cans of baked beans over, and a tin of fish however, so I felt we were on the winning side. I hate budgeting.....

If you haven't already done it, ninascraft, I suggest you have a family meeting ASAP on the subject of budgeting and get everyone involved.I used to absolutely loathe it but eventually came to enjoy ( if that's the right word ) the challenge of feeding the family well on a limited amount of money and even having some left over at the end of the week for a small treat ( usually ice cream ). It is also a good idea to take your "other half" on a tour of the supermarket for a reality check. Maybe your teenagers could take turn at working out how the week's grocery budget is to be spent and even be responsible for cooking dinner once a week. Any budgetingand cooking skills theyacquire now will be very useful later.

Hi, dont knowif you have uncle bill's in your apart of the country, but they are alot cheaper for cleaning prouducts. here is there email address ubclub.co.nz. they do have great special on all sorts of stuff. take care and all the best

no....dont take them to the supermarket LOL then they find out youve been lying to them lol, Ill let you in on a little secret OUR supermarket doesn't stock the icecream slices that are indivuadually wrapped and cost $8 per packet of 10, I have been buying the tip top 1 litre ($3.20 i know i know but its our treat once in a while)opening it and cutting it and them placing two slices in a glad type bag and just using a frozen bag when we need a treat. that has worked fine until the xmas holidays when hubby came with me to do the shopping and bugger me guess what he found, so i was quick to reply I marched up to a poor innocent check out girl ( luckily she knew me and i was nooding and winking at her so she probably thought i had had an attack of idiotism), BUT i said Thank you so much for getting these in I have been adsking for such a long time, she replied no problem ( she prob had no idea what I was talking about but it helped the situation I was in), and now to pay me back for being such a bulls**t artist Guess what I have to buy because we now know the supermarket does stock them, so in all counts leave the husband at home.....

Bumping up for new ideas.

I made a double batch of spag bol last night. Usually my husband piles his plate with lots and lots of the mince mixture (leaving not very much!) So last night I filled 3 margarine containers with mince, put all the spagetti into a big bowl, poured over the mince that I had leftover and mixed it all together. He never said a word and I've got 3 spare meals in the freezer now :)

Oh I hear you about husbands.I have one that does the same.Last night I made Pasta and Meat sauce.Enough for 4 of us plus 2 lunches I thought.Husband served himself (must stop that) and went to watch tv.Kids and I sat down to eat and found enough pasta for 1 1/2 serves and 2 tablesp of mince sauce left.Needless to say I investigated.I told the kids to go in with their forks and eat from his plate.Short version - Big fight.Point made.Will be serving up in future and if he doesnt like it too bad.I am sick of going without so the kids can get food.I might add they are teens.We too are on a budget of $175 a week for everything.Most weeks I manage, but this week we ran out of bread and the milk was watered down to make it last. Uh hum I didnt say that did I. We did have 2 cans of baked beans over, and a tin of fish however, so I felt we were on the winning side. I hate budgeting.

If you haven't already done it, ninascraft, I suggest you have a family meeting ASAP on the subject of budgeting and get everyone involved.I used to absolutely loathe it but eventually came to enjoy ( if that's the right word ) the challenge of feeding the family well on a limited amount of money and even having some left over at the end of the week for a small treat ( usually ice cream ). It is also a good idea to take your "other half" on a tour of the supermarket for a reality check. Maybe your teenagers could take turn at working out how the week's grocery budget is to be spent and even be responsible for cooking dinner once a week. Any budgetingand cooking skills theyacquire now will be very useful later.

Hi, dont knowif you have uncle bill's in your apart of the country, but they are alot cheaper for cleaning prouducts. here is there email address ubclub.co.nz. they do have great special on all sorts of stuff. take care and all the best

no.dont take them to the supermarket LOL then they find out youve been lying to them lol, Ill let you in on a little secret OUR supermarket doesn't stock the icecream slices that are indivuadually wrapped and cost $8 per packet of 10( well so I have been saying), I have been buying the tip top 1 litre ($3.20 i know i know but its our treat once in a whilebetween two pink wafer biscuits, just like Nana used to make )opening it and cutting it and them placing two slices in a glad type bag and just using a frozen bag when we need a treat. that has worked fine until the xmas holidays when hubby came with me to do the shopping and bugger me guess what he found, so i was quick to reply I marched up to a poor innocent check out girl ( luckily she knew me and i was nooding and winking at her so she probably thought i had had an attack of idiotism), BUT i said Thank you so much for getting these in I have been adsking for such a long time, she replied no problem ( she prob had no idea what I was talking about but it helped the situation I was in), and now to pay me back for being such a bulls**t artist Guess what I have to buy because we now know the supermarket does stock them, so in all counts leave the husband at home.

The $40 dollar a week menu
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

And again - too good to lose.

That gave me a chuckle kob. Thanks. And yes, I have a DH that will pick after dinner at any left over meat - even though he's not hungry. I put it into a container when finished serving so it's out of sight out of mind.

Dig up half your lawn and grow your own veges. Make everyone put some time and effort into it as well as you so that you get a good reult. You will save squillions and feed your family much more healthily to boot.

I think that you will find by adding lentils and pulses into your stews and soups, you can 'extend' them.Add less meat and more of the pulses - its bound to be healthier anyway!

I agree with poppy adding lentils to a stock pot of stewing beef - just a little is needed ($5 pack) and 3 cups of water - let it cook add some oyster sauce 2 tablespoons (I got a massive bottleof this from the Asian shop for $3- great for flavouring up all kinds of dishes) or teaspoon of marmite or soy sauce or bistro gravy mix or noodles beef soup sachet (you get the drift - just something to add flavour) thicken it up with cornflour and water and there is a tonne of "gravy" in the pot to spoon over pasta/rice/ potatoes or roast/boiled veg mix and you have a meal to fed 4 adults and left overs.Toast some reduced to clear yesterdays buns, sprinkle with cheese and finely chopped onions---YUMMMOps you can always add a couple of cans of baked beans (or plain tinnedbeans) to stews the flavour mixes in and beans add more fibre.

My husband just bought frozen pork shoulder from the mad butcher for $3.99/kg.Slow roasted it on very low heat for 8 hours, then while still hot, shredded the meat off the bones, put it in a loaf tin and put some cans on top to weigh it down.Result after the night in the fridge - a loaf of pressed roast pork - perfect to slice thinly for the weeks sandwhiches - and tastes delicious. Even the super fussy 16 yr old ( won't eat any meat with chewy or chunky bits ) LOVED it!And at $3.99/kg - Cheaper than luncheon!

Bumping up again

Just wanted to say to darlingmole, you have done an amazing job!We have two adults (my and my hubby - I'm BFing still so i need a fair bit of food) a toddler and a baby - and I have a budget of $100 a week for us (including some nappies and formula (for top ups) ).Its bloody hard, but you do what you can ay.We have meat maybe once or twice a week, as rice and pasta are cheaper.Both kids are in cloth nappies to save some money, and mr 2yr old is in a cheap disp for night time.

thanks to all those who have put in their ideas in here, im finding them v helpful :)

Have no choice in this matter, simpley must grin and bear it.Trouble is there's 9 of us and meal planning is my only strategy.Anyone else in my boat and got any useful tips!I've got a vege garden but nothings growing at the moment .