I really need you help with food!

minjara

Hi there. This is my first time writing on this board after months of reading but I have hit my own money dilemma. I'm sure with what I have in I will be able to make it stretch but I need ideas how. I have the cooker, microwave, slow cooker, steamer, juicer and blender at my disposal, and this is what is in the house:

1 x whole med chicken, 11 x chicken fillets, 7 x salmon fillets, 2 x 500g pork mince, 5 x fish fillets, bag of mixed veg, bag of diced onion, bag of spinach, half tub of mint ice cream, 12 richmond sausages, 1 x cheese and tomato quiche, 1 x loaf of bread, 10 bananas, 6 x fajitas, 10 x tacos, 2 x baked beans, 1 x kidney beans, 5 x cans sliced carrots, 3 x cans new potatoes, 1 x packet of bulgar wheat, 1 x packet dried red lentils, 1 x packet quinoa, white rice, spaghetti, penne pasta, pesto, mustard, packet of chicken roll, 8 yogurts, cornflour, dumpling mix, brown sugar, caster sugar, flour and probably a couple of other things i've forgotten.

I need as many meals as possible WITHOUT using tomato unless its a dribble as my partner is allergic to them. I have about £10 left for things too but need as many meals as poss out of what is there. All ideas will be great!!!

thanks

Lauren

Bargain_Rzl

Hi Lauren,

How many people are you feeding, and how many days/weeks does it all (the food and the £10) need to last?

minjara

Us being me and my partner, and I need to do 3 weeks.

HariboJunkie

minjara wrote: »

Hi there. This is my first time writing on this board after months of reading but I have hit my own money dilemma. I'm sure with what I have in I will be able to make it stretch but I need ideas how. I have the cooker, microwave, slow cooker, steamer, juicer and blender at my disposal, and this is what is in the house:

1 x whole med chicken, 11 x chicken fillets, 7 x salmon fillets, 2 x 500g pork mince, 5 x fish fillets, bag of mixed veg, bag of diced onion, bag of spinach, half tub of mint ice cream, 12 richmond sausages, 1 x cheese and tomato quiche, 1 x loaf of bread, 10 bananas, 6 x fajitas, 10 x tacos, 2 x baked beans, 1 x kidney beans, 5 x cans sliced carrots, 3 x cans new potatoes, 1 x packet of bulgar wheat, 1 x packet dried red lentils, 1 x packet quinoa, white rice, spaghetti, penne pasta, pesto, mustard, packet of chicken roll, 8 yogurts, cornflour, dumpling mix, brown sugar, caster sugar, flour and probably a couple of other things i've forgotten.

I need as many meals as possible WITHOUT using tomato unless its a dribble as my partner is allergic to them. I have about £10 left for things too but need as many meals as poss out of what is there. All ideas will be great!!!

thanks

Lauren

You have plenty of staples but are short on fruit, veg and bread.

I would cook the chicken have it with the potatoes, carrots and spinach.
Leftover chicken make into rissotto with the rice and boil the bones for stock. You could then use that to make chicken noodle soup with some of the spaghetti.
With the chicken breasts I would use the pesto to stuff a couple of them for one meal, fry another one and use it with the rest of the rice for Chicken fried rice. The rest can be fried up with the onions and any spices you have to make lots of basic fajitas and tacos.
Slow cook the sausages with the baked beans and kidney beans and some of the tinned carrots for a sausage casserole. Add the lentils some of the dumplings to make it last 3 nights.
One packet of pork mince for meatballs with the penne pasta.
The other packet of porlk could be turned into burgers.
Not sure what fish fillets they are but you could have a couple of meals of kedgeree with the rice and/or quinoa if you bought eggs.
The quiche speaks for itself served with the mixed veg and new potatoes.
The salmon fillets could make at least 4 meals as fishcakes if you buy some spuds.
With the addition of eggs you can make some banana bread for a treat.

I make that at least 18 meals. Obviously you will need more bread and I would advise late night trips to Tesco for 10p bargain bread for your breakfasts and lunches. If you only take milk in your coffee consider buying milk powder. I would buy plenty of eggs if you can get them cheaply and a big bag of vaule spuds.

Good luck.

Poet_2

you could make some nice fishcakes; make some bread crumbs in your food processor, mash the potatoes, add the cooked fish, season it and bind it all together with a beaten egg. Form into balls then press down to make a patti and shallow fry in a little oil. Serve with your mixed veg.

I make really delish tuna fish cakes by blending up tins of cannellini beans or chick peas, mixing with bread crumbs, a tin of (dolphin friendly tuna) a dollop of chutney and an egg to bind. Potato would work in place of the beans though. Lovely as a snack with a nice chilli dipping sauce too.

try browning your sausages (cut them into bite size pieces to make them go further) chuck them in a big pan with your onions, lentils, baked beans, kidney beans, some chicken stock and season. Voila, sausage and bean casserole- serve with the potatoes, pasta or bulgar wheat.

make a seasoned flour with cornflour, salt, pepper, chilli powder, garlic etc. Coat your chicken fillets in beaten egg then dip in the seasoned flour and fry. Serve with spinach and potatoes?

You could do a sort of bubble and squeak too with your spinach, potatoes and sausages and have that with some veg or the baked beans.

with your pork mince I'd make spagetti and meatballs but if your OH doesn't like tomato you could mix the mince up with some herbs and spices and whatever things you have in the cupboard to flavour the mince. Then squish the seasoned mince onto some skeweres and grill them. When done, serve them in the pitta bread, like a homemade kebab with some salad and chilli sauce?

or fry the mince off, add some onion, tin of baked beans, tin of kidney beans, season and serve in your taco shells?

chicken stew and dumplings? brown the chicken, chuck in some onions, vegetables, potatoes, chicken stock, let cook through in the slow cooker maybe and towards the end, thicken with a bit of cornflour if needed and bung some dumplings in. serve with spinach and carrots?

Poet_2

p.s.

egg fried rice is dead easy and tasty too. must be cold cooked rice. fry in some oil with some onions for a few mins, add soy sauce if you have some, make a well in the centre and chuck in some seasoned beaten egg, when the egg has just started to cook, stir it into the rice. You could eat it on its own or have it with fried chicken (as mentioned above) or even the sausages. I chuck all sorts into my fried rice.

Poet_2

pps

savoury rice is easy too, you could make a huge batch of it to have with other meals as it's lovely cold too.

fry some onion, peppers and mushrooms till soft, add boiling water, a stock cube or two and the right amount of rice for the amount of water. Simmer til the rice has absorbed the stock and season to taste.

pretz_2

Rite i have it but you will need to buy a few bits. i take it as you have baked beans you OH can eat these?

well here goes

Whole medium chicken

Roast the chicken as normal and serve the breast meat with potatos, carrots and yorkshire puddings (you will need eggs and milk for the yorkshires).

then with the thighs make a chicken and spinach pasta bake

then with the carcass and extra meat thats left on the carcass make a simple stock, then strain and save half the stock for later, with the leftover stock and chicken meat make a cheats rissotto with the white rice and some onion.

Chicken fillets

chicken and veg pie with potatos (make the pastry and use half of the left over stock and some cornflour to make the gravy for the pie) 2 fillets

chicken and pesto pasta 2 fillets

roast chicken with pots and mixed veg 2 fillets

chicken casserole with dumplings (use the last half of stock and some more mixed veg or carrots and cornflour to thicken) 3 fillets

chicken with sweet onions and quinoa 2 fillets

Salmon Fillets

fishcakes with mixed veg 2 fillets

steamed salmon with pots and peas 4 fillets

Pork Mince

meatloaf with chips 1 pack

mince and dumplings 1 pack

Fish fillets

fish pie and peas 2 fillets and 1 salmon fillet

Steamed fish with pots and peas 3 fillets

Sausages

toad in the hole with pots and carrots 4 sausages

sausages with pots and peas 4 sausages

sausage casserole and dumplings 4 sausages

then a few meals with whats left

quiche with potatos

beans on toast

liver casserole with mash

to do this you will need to buy

milk 4 pints £1.53 full fat so water down 1/3 so you end up with 6 pints of semi-skimmed milk

15xeggs £1.50 these are value eggs but when needs must there just as good and with any left over eggs use to make scrambled eggs on toast, fried egg butties and omlettes which can be served for lunch and dinner

cheese small block £1.50 this is also value

potatos 5kg £2.39 with the left over potatos you can use to make jackets and if you mash and add some cheese shove under the grill and you have cheese and potato pie yum

bread 30p this is value bread but is fine for toast and such

porridge 58p this is value make it with half milk half water with half a sliced bannana makes a great breakfast

liver 36p use pigs liver it is the cheapest and makes a great cheap dinner IF you like it

Peas 86p these are value but peas are peas right

this shopping list does add up to £9.02
i know its cutting it close and that there isn't any lunches or breakfast there, but there are a few options above. PM me if you want any recipes.

Im sure someone else with have some advise as well.

good luck.

pretz
xx

sorry everyone for the long post

Poet_2

pretz wrote: »

...
15xeggs £1.50 these are value eggs but when needs must there just as good and with any left over eggs use to make scrambled eggs on toast, fried egg butties and omlettes which can be served for lunch and dinner

....

please don't buy battery/caged eggs. We have rescued battery chickens ourselves and it's a cruel and miserable existance they led til they came to us.

Look on the whoops shelves for bargains, try to shop in the evening to get cheap bread and look out for reduced fruit and veg bargains to save the pennies but pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't contribute to the suffering of these poor girls

minjara

Thanks for the suggestions I'll take whats there on board. Dont worry we dont get these eggs we go next up to barn eggs.