Flying gleefully into 2009 - One Fresians adventures in debt-busting

mooomin

Primula wrote: »

I'm very intrigued what's it like - it it different to Lidl even?

Lidl was odd enough for me as they put things through the checkout so quickly! In Lidl though they let you pack as they go. In Aldi you have to put your stuff on the conveyor belt thing, park your trolley at the end beside the assistant (Designated trolley spot with it drawn on the floor etc for the terminally stupid!) and as they "bleep" it, you put it into the trolley without packing it - you then take the trolley out of the way of other shoppers to bag up your goods.

It's odd. The fruit and veg was good though from what I could see and someone on another thread has recommended their Benefit cereal as a cheap alternative to Special K, so I'm off there again tomorrow to get the last of the 49p grapes and some cereal!

mooomin

flying_fresian wrote: »

I need a plan of action:

[strike]Clean shower[/strike] Done, and the rest of the bathroom looked mucky so I cleaned it to match!
[strike]Do dishes[/strike]
Tidy living room
Dust living room
Encourage Mr Fresian to hoover living room
Head to Aldi for more cheap fruit & veg before the Super 6 changes to things I don't eat
[strike]Go to the movies[/strike]
[strike]Do at least three loads of washing this weekend[/strike] Third load will be done tomorrow - no space to hang up any more at the moment!

Well, I'm not doing too badly this weekend with my list of things to do. I have done lots of dishes so I can start cooking nice and early tomorrow morning - the dreaded venison!

I finally remembered to eat the fishcakes from the freezer, so have only missed one day of my meal plan for this week so far. Woo! I need to do an inventory of the freezer and cupboards and plan my shopping and meals for next week too. I saw a tip from the OS board (I think) where someone has a storecupboard and only has one of each thing and one spare, so that when they use it (e.g. tin of beans) they then add it to their list. It means that they are never buying more than they need. I really like this idea, as I know that I am a Guilty Hoarder. I still have way too many beans for example!!

I may well post a very boring inventory of the cupboards soon, but seeing things on here does help to motivate me

kissjenn

Being a child of parents who grew up during the war I've had stockpiling ingrained...I'm finding it a very hard beast to tame just in case we're invaded next week - and then you'll all be very sorry you didn't have enough beans to last til Christmas (the voices in my head scare me sometimes:rotfl:)

Plus the fact

Small Boy is Pike
Grandad is Jonesy
OH is Fraser
and they have the cheek to say I'm Captain Mainwaring!!

mooomin

You there, what's your name?

Don't tell him Pike

Hehe.

*toddles off to do mammoth inventory posting*

mooomin

Inventory time! I have tried to split into sensible categories, and will be taping this to my cupboard once I print it on Monday morning. So, on with the show:

Freezer

I have a drawer of space This will be filled with any whoopsies which I encounter through the next week or two. At present I have:

Lump of gammon x 1
Mince (4-500g portions) x 5
Stewing beef x 1
Peas x tiny amount, must buy more
Frozen veg x tiny amount, must buy more
Home made soup - 1xpea and ham, 1xchicken broth
Chili x 3 portions
Sausages (4 of) x 1
Sausages (8 of) x 2
Bacon (Flipping huge packet, need to try and saw it into small portions) x 1
Peppers, chopped x 3
Chicken breast (2 per pack) x 5
4xwholemeal rolls
Breaded cod pieces

Cereal

Approx 1kg of muesli for Mr Fresian
Special K x 1 for me, been told to try Aldi version by OSer
1 x Frosties
1/2 box Bran Flakes
1 box of Benefit (Aldi Special K)

Cannot live without caffeine

Teabags x 3ish packs. Won't run out soon
Coffee x 2 jars of Gold Blend + emergency jar of sh*t coffee

*****

Scary amount of canned goods to follow....

mooomin

Storecupboard essentials

1/2 box porridge oats
2/3 bag red lentils (500g)
Olive oil
Salt
Ketchup
Brown sauce
Cornflour
Tinned tomatoes x 5
Tinned kidney beans x 6
Tinned sweetcorn x 4
Tinned butter beans x 3
Tinned cannelini beans x 2
Chicken gravy granules x 1
Beef gravy granules x 1
1/3 bag plain flour
1/2 bag of broth mix
Stock cubes - beef, chicken, veg, lamb
1kg pasta
Rice - long grain
Tomato puree
Garlic puree
Brown sugar
Noodles
Tortilla wraps x 1 packet

Herbs/Spices

Chili powder
Basil
Parsley (2 jars)
Steak seasoning
Black pepper
Ground black pepper
Italian seasoning
Mixed herbs
Oregano
Mixed spice
Paprika

Cans and Miscellaneous

Baked beans (Heinz) x 8, other x 3
1 x enchilada kit
Vegetable soup (Tinned) x 4
Tomato & veg pasta sauce x 2
Sage & Onion stuffing
Custard
Tuna x 3
Corned beef
Peanut butter x 2
Tomato soup x 2
Condensed soup - tomato x 3, mushroom x 1

mooomin

Now, there will be a few things that I need to buy for the forthcoming weeks, but I need to get out of the habit of buying loads of things that I won't use for weeks/months!

So, I need to do a meal plan for the next week and also to make a shopping list to ensure that I have everything that I need. I am well-stocked for mince, and have loads of chili in the freezer, so once there is more space I can make bolognaise and shepherd's pie. Any other ideas?

What is missing from my inventory that a good DFW/OS person wouldn't forget? I do also have cheese, eggs etc in my fridge. I found a recipe for a fritatta which I would like to try, and also one for a chicken casserole type adventure. I think I might start off slowly though with only one/two new recipes per week, to minimise the chances of disaster!

Bed now, night all

cw18

flying_fresian wrote: »

What is missing from my inventory that a good DFW/OS person wouldn't forget?

only had a quick glance through your list, but there are a few things I'd never be without (for emergency back-up as much as anything) that aren't on your list. These are

dried onions
instant mash
dried milk
tinned mushrooms (sliced and whole)
tinned pulses
tinned fruit (peaches, pears, mandarins, pineapple)
pack of crispbreads
strong flour and dried yeast (for my bread machine)

and the good old faithful jar of love it/hate it Marmite


plus I often have a lump of cheese in my freezer - that's one thing DS eats in fits and starts, and I've lost count of the times he's finished off what's in the fridge for lunch on the one day I need some for cooking at tea :eek:

My parents also keep a pat of butter (or 3) in their freezer, but I don't use butter and don't think cheap margarine would freeze particulalry well :rolleyes2

taka

flying_fresian wrote: »

What is missing from my inventory that a good DFW/OS person wouldn't forget?

:hello: Ok... how about...

-couscous (often cooks quicker than rice/pasta - good in a rush)
-noodles (for variety and a quick stir fry!)
-soy sauce (for the above stir fry lol)
-tomato puree
-vinegar
-pesto
-sugar - some kind of dark and granulated
-lemons/lemon juice ( I'll buy unwaxed lemons when I see then reduced, use the zest for something and freeze the halfs /quarters for later squeezing or I'll buy lemon juice and freeze what I have left over in an ice cube tray for later use)
-baking stuff - SR flour, baking powder, golden syrup etc
-raisins/sultanas for porridge/snacking/cooking/baking with
-spices - curry powder, corriander, cumin, tumeric, ginger, paprika, chinese 5 spice (I like currys and they're good for to other stuff too eg chin 5 spice or curry powder on hm wedges)
-onions - I buy a big value bag and chop and freeze some in a clickloc type box (if you bag them, double bag them or everything near them can become a bit oniony :eek: ) It means they are ready to go whenever you want them...
-dried soy mince (I'm veggie so use it for chilli etc but it can help stretch the meat version too apparently...)
-chickpeas (I'm a chickpea addict :rotfl:) and other beans eg broadbeans

I also second the breadmaking stuff etc that Cheryll mentioned... and yep I usually have grated cheese in my freezer too!

cw18

taka wrote: »

-dried soy mince (I'm veggie so use it for chilli etc but it can help stretch the meat version too apparently...)

I can vouch for this - I do it all the time

DS hasn't noticed, but I think this is 'cos I use the value frozen mince (only one DS likes) and they turn out pretty much the same consistency. When I use a good quality mince it always 'clumps', so the soya would be easy to spot amongst it.

I'm now using pretty much half-and-half, so for each 150g frozen mince I rehydrate about 50g dried soya (meant to give equivalent of 135g mince) - and by the time I add onions and other ingredients to the pot this will give me 3 portions of a meal as a general rule of thumb.