£95 worth of 'free' food

Yep, that's right.  I redeemed my nectar points in a massive shop this morning.  I have been saving them all year.  I had a list and I stuck to it (more or less).  The main items on it were meat and freezer stuff.  I took aaaages to work out the best meat deals but think I got my money's worth.

I also got some chips (McCains original straight cut chips are GF, not all of them are!), 2 packs of Genius chicken pies (4 pies in total), 2 packs of fish fingers (20 fingers) and some pigs in blankets (20) for OH's son.  Chips, pies and fish fingers are a real treat for us now so stocking up with gluten and diary free stuff can be expensive.

I also picked up stuff like extra cheeses and more eggs than I would normally use in a week so I can batch bake plus a few other 'treats' for the holiday period.  I also got some other store cupboard items that are pricey.

So, here's the breakdown:

4 x 660g packs of chicken thighs and drumsticks @ £1.50 = £6
4 x 750g packs of 10% fat minced beef @ 3.50 = £14
3 x 450g packs of lean diced beef @ 3 for £10
3 x 250g packs of turkey breast strips @ £2.10 = £6.30
2 x 1kg bag preserving sugar @ £2.20 = £4.40
2 x bottles Tamari @ £2.60 = £5.20
4 x bottles cooking wine @ £1.02 = £4.08
2 x bags chips @ 2.50 = £5
2 x packs chicken pies @ 3.50 = £7
2 x fish fingers @ £2.50 = £5
4 x pastrami @ £2 = £8
15 eggs = £2
Dried sage= £1.65
Sage and thyme seasoning = £1
6 pack of San Pellegrino water = £5.50
Cheddar cheese = £4
Goats cheese = £3.40
Ribena = £2
Tortilla chips = 50p

Grand total £95.03

So far I've simply baked all the chicken pieces, cooked half of the minced beef with onions/carrots, put the diced beef into the slow cooker with carrots/onions and 1 of the wee bottles of cooking red wine and the turkey strips are marinating in the fridge with the juice of a lemon and a packet of fajita seasoning.

Later I'll be making some quiches and mini egg muffins to put in the freezer for the Teenager (that's why I bought 30 eggs!!!)

 

Last week I bought these veg in Morrisons in their 3 for £1.50 deal.  The sprouts are already prepped, blanched and frozen for Christmas day (they'll be served with chestnuts from my storecupboard). The carrots are in the beef stew and minced beef dishes as above.  The cabbage will be shredded and stir fried and some made into bubble and squeak.

 

Actually rather chuffed with myself!! And it proves that planning is the key to saving money.  I really must make more of an effort.