Store cupboard challenge

mlz1413

miss_shillingworth wrote: »

.
I have lots of tinned tomatoes, add to anything to bulk out, pastas, stews, any mince dish, chicken casseroles, use for a cooked breakfast at the weekend
baked beans,
tinned salmon, posh fish cakes
tinned sardines, try this from the new river cottage series
http://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/sardine-bake/
dried beans, bean chilli, added to sausage casserole,
green lentils, lots of indian food use these, also can be used to pack out stews and mince dishes, stuff aubergines or butternut squashes
pasta, endless uses, pasta salads for lunches, use with l/f cheese for macaroni cheese
couscous, i love serving morrocan chicken on a bed of cous cous, also for lunch try stirring in lemon juice, garlic, harissa paste, salt &papper, then add cumin seeds, pine nuts (if you have them) cubed beetroot and rocket leaves.
cheese,
eggs,
Granose soya mince (not tried this yet but bought it because low fat and low cost), use to make a bolognese and then stuff a marrow with it and bake for 30 mins.
various frozen veg.
and some frozen lower fat minced beef. savoury mince, burgers, meatballs, lasanga

I'm out of ideas for lower calorie recipes- low fat bolognese/chilli; bean pasta; beans on toast/potato; lentil curry; salmon pasta; omelette' I love veggie moussaka (low fat) and I've found a microwave recipe for ratatouille which is brilliant BUT the ingredients are costly (strong cheese, aubergines, fresh tomatoes).
Any ingenious ideas PLEASE?

You could try your ratatouille with the cheese you have & tinned toms it may not taste as good but you are more likely to make a healthy meal you enjoy.

Lazy_Liz

Baked beans can be used to make a casoulet style meal. Put sausages, chops or belly prok or lamb breast in an oven proof dish and cook on high for fifteen or so minutes. Soften an onion in oil and add lots of thyme (fresh or dired) put the onion in with the meat and add a can of beans. Sprinkle over a geenrous covering of breadcrumbs mixed with graeted cheese. Bake for ten mins until brown and crispy

For ratatoulie wait for late summer lots of Aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes around then. Corugetters are easy to grow if you have a bit of garden, I grow mine on the top of the compost heap.

miss_shillingworth

Thanks for the suggestions about new ideas/recipes. You are cleverer than I am, that's for sure. I had never even contemplated stuffing a marrow but it's going to be tried - it might feed a few mouths too. I have never considered bulking out food with tomatoes although I have used lentils in place of mince but not mixed in with it. Sausages are not something I avoid but I do avoid the cheapest because I think they are full of rubbish - I buy the 'finest' type which can be a bit pricey. I remember my childhood when my mum used to economise in the week cooking spaghetti with chopped potatoes in tomato puree sauce (spaghetti and macaroni were about the only pasta types you coould get those days and my mum is Italian so she used it a lot!) and chipolatas and mash with cabbage/peas/runner beans.Dad grew some of his own veg, including potatoes. Saturdays we often had oxtail stew. On Sundays we'd have a roast (usually chicken) followed by home made jam tart and Bird's custard. Baked rice pudding sometimes and the occasional Green's Caramel.
OnFridays we'd have liver. Breakfast was usually porridge (with milk) or boiled egg and toast. Sometimes we'd have cheese on toast. there was a bowl of fruit to which we could help ourselves and we did have sweets and biscuits. Mum made Viota fairy cakes with bright red and green glace cherries on top. I remember the occasional Vesta curry too.
I would almost eat like that again much of the time if it wasn't so calorie-laden and if I ignored the '5-a-day' advice. I now hate liver and when I discovered as a child that oxtail really was the tail, I went off that too. There are substitutes i could find, i'm sure. I could relieve the boredom by adding some other type of meal midweek. But it wouldn't work healthwise now, would it? I don't know that it would be cheaper either.

life_in_termoil

Housing benefits are still assessing my claim so I will have to pay the whole amount of my rent out of my wages on Friday along with all my DDs for the month. This leaves me with £56 till the 13th April (unless HB pull their finger out and get it sorted, its been ongoing for 2 months now so im hoping I will get some backdated soon) Also had to take the dog to the vets and that set me back £41

I need ideas for school pack lunches and evening meals that can mostly be nuked in the microwave as I work from 3 - 10 most evenings.

9 tins baked beans
4 tins hot dogs
6 tins spaghetti hoops
6 tins tomatoes
2 tins mac cheese
4 cartons passata
3 tins kidney beans
7 tins mushy peas
3 jars sweet n sour sauce
2 jars bolognese sauce
2 jars mild curry
sage and onion stuffing mix
half bag SR flour
half bag Plain four
2 packs naan bread mix
3 kilos pasta swirls
red green and yellow pepper
1 1/2 kilos carrots
4 onions
10 eggs
1 kilo cheese
2 tubs cheese spread
1 pack mushrooms
garlic
1 swede
margarine
small amount of oil
half a pack of ham
1/2 a cucumber
1/2 bag of mixed salad
6 tomatoes
salt, pepper, most herbs and spices baking powder etc
dried milk powder
yeast
sultanas
4 lemons
6 bananas
6 pears
6 apples
1 packet shortcrust pastry mix
half a sack of spuds (but theyre only small none suitable for baking)
1 pack butter
2 packs lard
1 1/2 litres of milk!!
granulated sugar
soft brown sugar
6 packets chicken flavour noodles!
FROZEN
4 bread
900g chargrilled chicken mini fillets
15 spicy chicken portions
15 fish fingers
1 kilo sweercorn
1 kilo peas
1 kilo broc and cauli mix
3 kilos diced chicken breast
10 chicken burgers
2 kilo chicken breast
1 pack braising steak
15 sausages
1 pack puff pastry
1/2 bag prawns

So any ideas what I can do with that lot please? Also lunch box ideas that dont involve crisps and chocolate biscuits as I really dont want to buy any as they are so expensive. I have a co op, fruit n veg shop and butchers within walking distance as I dont want to waste what little petrol ive got in the car as I need it for morning school run.

Thanks in advance

Forgot to say that this is for 4 of us (myself and 3 teenage dustbins)

Rowan9

I'm just 'in' quickly this morning, so don't have time to stop but wanted to welcome you and say that I know you'll get loads of support here!

life_in_termoil

Just logged onto topcash back and requested a payout of £23.33
Money in purse £13.00

Total now £92 hummm

life_in_termoil

£92 woop woop im not as skint as I thought I was. Just need to be abit creative and try not to go anywhere near a shop (which is a shame as I work in a petrol station with lots of temptations!)

miecherox

Morning life in termoil, I'm sorry things are stressful for you at the moment. I'm not very god at long term meal planning as such but I can see at a glance you've got a good list of staples there. And at least a few quid in your purse.

I'm sure others will be more helpful but if things are tough I sit down and write as many meals as I can think of from what I've got often I end up with about 20 odd! I then only buy what what is needed for those and nothing else. I then score each meal off every time we eat it so I know what's left.

Good Luckx x x x

life_in_termoil

just found all my receipts from crap bought at work so will hand these in to get my 20% discount back. (this comes as a voucher to use in the shop or for petrol but could come in handy for milk. Will add it all up in a min and see how much my receipts are worth.

life_in_termoil

haha should get £11.48 back from work

Total now £103.48