Lurking at the Reduced to Clear Shelf and a Haggis Toastie Recipe

Sunday 22 February 2015
I love the thrill of finding a real bargain in the reduced to clear section at the supermarket. I always stop for a rummage to see what goodies can be had. A mere 10p or 20p off isn't for me. I'm after a proper substantial reduction. But even then it has to be something that I will actually use. I haven't managed to work out what's the best time for price cuts, sometimes I'm lucky, sometimes I'm not. I haven't got it down to a fine art by any means. Bakery products often provide good pickings and I've got a huge chest freezer in my garage which means I can take full advantage. The haul below on the left cost the grand total of £1.30 for 12 tattie scones, 32 Butteries, 24 pancakes and 36 rolls.
In general I'm on the lookout for something that I have a use for immediately, something that can be frozen or something that I can use to make a dish which can then be frozen or lastly fruit and veg to feed Binky & Bugsy our Guinea Pigs! It's a false economy buying something that you're not going to be able to use no matter how cheap it is. Fruit that's on the turn is great for crumbles, preserving, juicing and smoothies, prepacked and prepared veggies make very short work of soup. Chilli's go straight in the freezer and get used from frozen. Herbs can also be frozen as is, chopped up in ice cubes or made into herb butter. Most things can be frozen or turned in to something that can be frozen. Just double check the labels if there's the possibility that something may previously have been frozen. Even then not all is lost as you can cook it and then freeze it.
I've got lots of bargain smoked salmon in the freezer at the moment. I split the giant packs into smaller portions and they will be perfect for sandwiches, salads, mixed through pasta and in decadent scrambled egg breakfasts. The huge ham has been earmarked to be cooked in Ginger Beer and reduced to clear "keep me" bananas soon turn yellow just like their sticker. 12p Shiitake Mushrooms on toast prove most palatable. 

5p reduced to clear Mincemeat post Christmas was just too good a deal to turn down. It has a Best Before date of Aug '15 but I reckon it will be good years beyond that. I put out an appeal on Twitter for ideas to use it and got plenty. Mincemeat Toasties, Mincemeat Pudding, Mincemeat and Apple Strudel, Stuffed Apples, Fruit Loaf, Mincemeat & Apple Shortcake Slice and how could I forget my own Mincemeat Muffins Recipe. Masterchef finalist Brian McLeish suggested Mincemeat Bread & Butter Pudding and Keep Calm and Fanny On extolled the virtues of Fanny Craddock's Mincemeat Omelette. Clearly it is much more versatile than purely for Christmas Pies. To use up half a jar I went for Dom at Belleau Kitchen's Mince Pie FlapJacks. They were gone in a flash.
Mincemeat Flapkacks
I took inspiration from Deeny's to use up one of the bargain post Burns Night Haggis from a yellow sticky haul. We are big Haggis fans and this makes a fab variation from the usual Neeps & Tatties on the side. For further recipes see my Burns Night Recipe Roundup with Haggis Puddocks in the Hole, Haggis Oatcakes and Haggis Tattie Scones. These Toasties are also my entry for this month's Tea Time Treats where the theme is Toast, on Toast or Toasties. 
Haggis Toastie

HAGGIS TOASTIES
Serves 4

8 Slices Wholegrain/Granary Bread
454g Haggis
Mature Scottish Cheddar Cheese
English Mustard
Chilli Jam
Rocket

Pop your Toastie maker on to heat.
Remove the haggis from its casing, roughly chop and warm through in the microwave.
For each toastie spread one slice of bread with English mustard topped with haggis and the other with sliced cheese, chilli jam and a handful of rocket.
Sandwich together and pop them in your toastie maker for a couple of minutes until nicely browned and the cheese is melted.

Haggis Toastie

Are you stalker of the yellow labels? I'd love to hear about any fantastic bargains that you've bagged or any top tips regarding when to grab the best deals and how to make the most of what you find. 




#CookBlogShare
Casa Costello

31 comments

  1. So, did you make the Mincemeat Omelette??! My local supermarket is rubbish for reductions, I spotted fresh spinch the other day, going out of date that day, reduced from £1.30 to £1.21 - wow! I'm envious of your bargains, and also the fab things you do with them!

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    1. No I didn't and upon re-reading your post to link up to this I note that you didn't actually eat it all!!!

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  2. Super bargain shop Claire, I do love a yellow sticker. Great toastie recipe, love all the flavours here! Thanks for linking up to #creditrunhmunh:-)

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    1. There's definitely a thrill in finding a proper bargain. Do try the toastie - its fab!

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  3. Wow I love your bargain hunting skills! I love to find a highly reduced dessert (sometimes you can get them for 10p!) as it's a lovely little unexpected treat.

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    1. I'm not much of a desert fan but I keep an eye out for them for the kids. Likewise have has some 10p bargains.

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  4. Ah the yellow stickers. I love that they have started to use them in Marks and Spencer's now, managed to stock up on gluten free goodies last week. Sundays a couple of hours from closing are usually a good place to start in our local supermarket, but increasingly popular

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    1. I couldn't believe when M&S started doing reductions, must admit I haven't seen anything really super cheap these as yet.

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  5. What a fantastic post. I confess I am a yellow sticker addict. I love searching for a bargain. The best one we founds was a load of fresh Cornish sardines from the fish counter reduced to just a few pence. Absolutely nothing wrong with them at all.

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    1. I've had quite a lot of fish counter reductions, especially on whole fish or unusual species. I'll give anything a try!

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  6. We basically live on these bargains at the moment, I don't think we could afford to eat all the fruit/veg that we do without them....

    Our best one recently was a leg of lamb for £1.03 reduced from £9.00

    Bethan, Audacity of Food

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    1. That's a fab bargain! Not sure if many folk like lamb at my local supermarket as it often seems to end up reduced to clear.

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  7. This is a fab post I absolutely love the reduced sections. My favourites are Tesco and M&S, yesterday we went to a farm shop and I bagged some reduced bread, yum.

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    1. Everything tastes so much better when you've not paid full price!

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  8. Great bargain shop! Love the idea of Dom's flapjack!

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    1. The Flapjacks are amazing, my daughter can't get enough of them. Only need half a jar of mincemeat at 2.5p

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  9. Wow, I have never seen such good bargains, although I very rarely get to a supermarket (and if I do it's midweek & middle of the day) as I do most of my food shopping online, we don't live near to a supermarket unfortunately

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    1. I must admit that one of this things I miss when I do an online shop is the ability to rummage for bargains.

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  10. What a fantastic reduce section haul, I'm so jealous!

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    1. Alas I don't get such good deals every time. Keep your eyes peeled, you just never know!

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  11. Love these ideas - I must do this more! And I'm using a great mincemeat biscuit recipe to finish up my homemade jar. Yum.

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    1. Mincemeat Biscuits sound good. Can you share the recipe?

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  12. I always go to the reduced section, I love getting a bargain! I always look out for fish to freeze as I find fresh fish to be more expensive. I love haggis and this looks delicious x #CookBlogShare

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    1. I've had some good deals on fish too. Especially whole ones. Got some bargain Mackerel yesterday that I've popped in the freezer for a later date.

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  13. Brilliant post - I'm so rubbish at the reduced aisle. Love the idea of Haggis toasties - I'm a massive Haggis fan. Thanks loads for joining in with #FoodieFriday x

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    1. The Haggis toasties are indeed fab, much too good to save only for Burns Night.

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  14. One of the things I miss about living near a supermarket is having a good old scrounge at the end of the day. What a loads of bargains you've got, and that haggie toastie - yum! Thanks for sharing with Credit Crunch Munch!

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    1. Can't beat a good old scrounge! One of my best hauls was on Christmas Eve at Asda when bakery and fruit and veg items were down to 1p

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  15. Wonderful savvy shopping (and cooking). My supermarket is totally rubbish at discounts – at least where food in concerned. Love the sound of the Haggis toastie! #CookBlogShare

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    1. Definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time to grab the bargains. Haggis Toastie comes highly recommended even at full price!

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  16. I go to my local Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose weekly, On a Sunday I got close to £200 worth of foods, flowers, etc for less than £20.

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