Store cupboard challenge

barneydee_2

In the sainsburys magazine this month is a lovely chick pea soup by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall so will be making this to make a dent in the amount of chick peas I've got
Dee x

kneil77

Hi all, can I join this challenge please? Think it's a great idea, I am really trying to be frugal this year as I want to pay off some debt and also save fr a holiday. Being part of a family of five, we spend lots of money on food and to be honest it's probably the biggest thing we waist money on! I don't get paid until next week so am really trying to hold out to payday before going for a food shop. Found some great ideas on here to use up stuff in cupboards!
Tomorrow I am going to try the tuna pasta bake :T

Effyb4

I like using tins of chickpeas by making falafel or veggie burgers.

kneil77

Hi all, I made the tuna pasta bake today. I used the last of a few bags of pasta I found in the cupboard, tin of sweetcorn and x2 tuna tins. I made a cheese sauce using some of the cheeses that were left from Christmas - one had caramelised onions in it so it gave a nice twist to the cheese sauce ,

I have set myself a limit of £50 per week on a food shop so going to make the most of what is in freezer and cupboards. I did my online shop for next week using a £15off voucher I found so with that and a few other vouchers it came in at £49.82 so I am happy with that :T. My shopping is not being delivered until Tuesday night so have to see what else I can rustle up

Hope everyone else is doing ok.?

WantToBeSE

I use chickpeas to make these: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5605/falafel-burgers


Also to make hummus, chickpea and chorizo curry, add them to salads, add them to chilli etc.

kneil77

I use chick peas in sweet potato curry - it's a family favourite .

Last night I made a mixed bean chilli and used chickpeas in that too so I added those to kidney beans and butter beans with a tin of tomatoes and onions, chilli powder, garlic - made a nice change.

Tonight I found a pack of pearl barley I must have boughtbit when I was going through a healthy eating / loosing weight period but didn't know what to do with it - so tonight I made a pearl barely pilaf - it was really tasty I added onions, garlic to the pearl barley added curry powder, turmeric and all spice. Then added chicken stock and some mixed veg from the freezer.

My shopping arrives tonight but have kept within my limit so will continue to use up what I already have too.

superrhinos

Another idea with be Jack Monroe's peach and chickpea curry (much nicer than it sounds).

http://agirlcalledjack.com/2014/09/02/jardaloo-ma-murghi-curry-with-apricots-22p/

nkomp18

Hi everyone.

I stumbled upon this thread and I thought I should add my 5 pence.

My situation is such that I am not struggling with money but with weight, so I started cooking after years of eating out in order to control what I eat, since I cannot trust anyone but myself, not even store bought meals (most of which have the nutritional labels wrong).

I therefore don't mind splashing out on expensive ingredients or organic foods but what I discovered was that even when I splash out on ingredients, I end up saving an absolute fortune because certain foods last forever and are ironically healthier and lighter when prepared at home.

For example:

I bought 10 Kgr bag of Basmati rice. Currently there's a deal for one for £8.50 here .
I steam 60 grams of it and that makes a pretty huge portion because it puffs up (only 250 cal) and if you do the math it turns out that each portion costs 5p.
I often steam larger quantities and it keeps very well in the fridge for 2 days, so it only needs a minute in the microwave and it's ready.

In a similar fashion, I make my own pita bread using just flour, water and a bit of olive oil and it turns out very yummy and fluffy. 100 g of flour makes 4 of these so again, insanely cheap.

I server the rice or pita bread with either a bean stew, or lentil stew, or veg curry, vegan burgers and sauce and whole bunch of other stuff that cost very little if bought properly so I estimate that a light meal for me never costs more than £1 and it's healthy and above all I have lost tremendous amount of weight without ever feeling hungry.

So that was my tip and hope it helps someone.

asparagus1968

ooh, could you give me the recipe for the pitas please? sounds fab.


I always thought you couldn't re-heat rice!! I must have wasted £££s

Bartelmy

Pleased with the one I came up with the other night.

Nacho Mac & Cheese

4 Cups of Pasta

Roux Sauce

- made with butter, flour, salt and pepper, milk that needed using, and some bits of cheese we had left. And some water to make the milk go a bit further.

Mix pasta with sauce, add a squidge of tomato puree.

Cover with leftover tortilla chips and some more cheese. Sprinkle with taco spice (cumin, pepper, oregano, chilli).

Bake for 20 minutes.

Served with leftover salsa that was living in the freezer and the greens that needed eating up.

I think I'm going to have to make this again. Maybe with some jalapenos on the top and some guacamole and sour cream on the side!