Store cupboard challenge

Butterfly_Brain

Toonie wrote: »

Sorry in advance for long post!

Due to a few unexpected bills and the local council messing up our housing benefit since April we have very little to spend on food this month (I just got paid today, but will need most of the money for bills this month and the beginning of October).

I do have £50 in 10ps and 20ps that I can take down to the bank and change for proper money so will be able to buy some essentials. I need to plan for until 20th October which is when I'm paid next, so essentially a month. Breakfasts are covered by what we have in stock, so I need 15 lunches (plus 10 more for BF) and 25 dinners for me and partner (I get lunch provided at work and normally have a hot meal, so just have a snack supper in the evening-egg/beans on toast, crackers, cheese and fruit etc).

At the moment we have in

Freezer
375g rolled puff pastry
5 part baked rolls
1 part baked baguette
1 pack shortcrust pastry
1 pack of 5 pitta

1 butter
Apple strudle
2 tomato sauces for pasta
Trex-half

2 pork steaks
2x300g pork mince = make burgers with apple sauce or meatballs serve with pasta and tomato sauce, or add to pittas
1 pack sandwich ham = wrap around leeks and serve with cheese sauce
2x300g beef mince = Spag Bol, cottage pie or make a mince and veg pie using the pastry
6 rashers bacon = Bacon cakes or fritters or make a fritatta
8 fishfingers

Sweetcorn-one portion left
Peas-half bag
Spinach-half bag
Green beans-half bag
Forest fruits-200g
2 blocks apple sauce
2 blocks stewed plum

Larder
3 tins baked beans
Tomato soupx2
3 tins peeled toms
2 tins chopped toms
2 tin sweetcorn
1 tin corned beef = corned beef pasties or hash
3 tins pears
1 tin mandarins
1 small tin pineapple

Bran flakes-1kg
Weetabix-24 biscuits
Oats-1kg

Rice 500g
Pasta shells 1kg
Noodles-1 whole pack-4 portions
Couscous
Red lentils-500g = lentil flan or bacon and lentil soup
Broth mix

Icing sugar
Glace cherries
4 bags sugar
Honey
Mixed peel
Sultanas

Fridge
Butter
Eggs-2
Spuds-1kg charlotte potatoes
Cheddar
Milk

So far my shopping list looks like this and comes to £14 on mysupermarket with Sainsbury which is for replacing things I've run out of (or nearly have).
Eggs-15
Potatoes 2.5kg
Frozen Peas
Frozen sweetcorn
Carrots-1kg
Baked beans-4
Self raising flour-1.5kg
Plain flour-1.5kg
Tea
Butter
Milk-2 pints
Stork

I'll need to buy more milk and possibly more fruit and veggies, though will use tinned, dried and frozen to begin with. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to best use what I've got and what I might need which will help. (Oh, partner will eat pretty much anything, I can't eat onion, garlic, mushrooms, seafood and most fruits unless cooked).

Buy a chicken and see the rubber chicken thread, you can make 3 meals easily out of one chicken.
8 sausages can easily spread out to four meals for two people if sliced and served with pasta, or make a cowboy stew with a tin of baked beans and a couple of rashers of bacon.
Buy a sack of potatoes they are filling - jackets, mash, chips, base for fish cakes,rostis and of course roasties.
Bake some cakes and biscuits so you have a little treat
see this thread - it can be done!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1129333&highlight=mbaz

Penelope_Penguin

I'm needing to clear some room in my freezer, in anticipation or lots of Gloucester Old Spot pork before the end of the year :j I'm going to post my list here, so encourage me to use it up This is what I have for starters

Freezer

Vegetables and fruit – spinach, peas, sweetcorn kernels, HG sweetcorn cobs, beetroot, parsnips, apples, plums (whole and stewed), rhubarb, damsons, cherries, blueberries, summer fruits, tomatoes (green and red), gooseberries, brambles, aubergine, sweated onions, courgettes

Fish – pollock, salmon (fillets and smaller pieces for fish pie), prawns

Meat – stewing steak, HM sausages (pork, pork & pigeon, pork &apple), chicken carcases to make into stock once the Rayburn is in again, sausage skins

Prepared meals – rissoles, pizza, chilli, bolognaise, aubergine and tomato pasta sauce, cheese sauce

Home Baking – plum crumble slices, croissants (to make into a type of bread and butter pudding), tortillas, bread rolls, naan bread, mince pies, sultana muffins (bit stale to eat fresh - to make into a pudding), puff pastry, pitta, filo pastry, breakfast muffins

Dairy – yogurt (HM – to restart my HM yogurt as needed), clotted cream, milk on the turn to make into cheese sauce, Camembert

Bajan seasoning (for jerk chicken – will keep until next summer), sliced bread (for children to prepare their own toasted sandwiches), Ben and Jerry’s, quorn pieces, HM apple juice

Winged_one

I am going to try those cranberry cookies, as I have ALL of the ingredients lurking (well, some more lurking than others!!) in the cupboards, and they sound delish!

I'm also trying to use things up out of the freezer, as I have lots of bits of things from the garden and I started freezing nuts (for baking with) to store them better, but that takes quite a bit of room (I have a reasonably small freezer - would LOVE a chest one).

Ooops, Hi everyone, mind if I join in?
Wings

Olliebeak

Cranberry Cookies sound delicious - wonder if I could do them with all ordinary flour as I haven't got any rice flour .

Chris25

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Meat – , HM sausages (, pork & pigeon,),

never, ever, ever heard of these before - PP, I'm intrigued to know how you came up with the idea of combining those flavours

Winged_one wrote: »

Ooops, Hi everyone, mind if I join in?
Wings

Hello wings, nice to meet you :wave:

Penelope_Penguin

Chris25 wrote: »

never, ever, ever heard of these before - PP, I'm intrigued to know how you came up with the idea of combining those flavours

DH has access to as much pigeon (and rabbit) as he can bag We thought of combining the fatty belly pork with lean pigeon breast, and the sausage was born :T They're delicious, flavoured with juniper, and you really can't tell they have pigeon in. Thrifty, too :money:

Penny. x

thriftlady_2

Olliebeak wrote: »

Cranberry Cookies sound delicious - wonder if I could do them with all ordinary flour as I haven't got any rice flour .

Bet you can, or if you have any cornflour would be a good substitute.

Chris25

bluestarrz wrote: »

Flaxseeds

!

I put flax seeds out for the birds and even they wouldn't eat them despite being an ingredient in some bird mixes:D

Olliebeak

thriftlady wrote: »

Bet you can, or if you have any cornflour would be a good substitute.

Thanks for that,thriftlady - never having bought rice flour, I don't have a clue what it is/used for :rotfl:. Now cornflour, I do understand . Strangely enough, I've got dried cranberries in - but not sure why :rolleyes:.

Chris25

Olliebeak wrote: »

- never having bought rice flour, I don't have a clue what it is/used for :rotfl:
.
. Strangely enough, I've got dried cranberries in - but not sure why :rolleyes:.

you can substitute a couiple of tablespoons of flour for rice flour in shortbread recipes - makes them a bit more grainy/crumbly.

I've got dried cranberries too - snack packs were being given out by some ladies in the street a couple of weeks ago. One lady was very pleasant and gave me 2 extra packs for my mum when i mentioned that she's just started drinking cranberry & raspberry juice.