Store cupboard challenge

lucysmam

Would have been back earlier but lo being a monster :mad:

Right I have the following

Cupboards:
bag plain flour
bag sr flour & the ends of one of each
several angel delights for the lo
stir fry sauce
1/3 jar of curry paste
lentils
pearl barley
chick peas
golden syrup
caster sugar
rice
pasta
beans x4
tinned toms x3
assorted herbs (no spices though for some reason )
couple of tins of value soup
stock cubes (chicken, veg and beef)
tin of chilli beans
tin of tuna
picallili
probably a few other things too but have lost my list :rolleyes:

In the freezer

500g mince
1 whole chicken
about 5 chicken breasts
3 fish fillets
2 small pies
2 chicken kievs
bacon
nearly a full bag sausages
fishcakes
stew
mixed veg
sweetcorn
pitta breads
stock from last chicken
gammon steak x1
frying steak x4 pieces

& some odds and ends of meals which have either been frozen for the lo or for nights I can't be arsed to cook

From reading a few other threads, there should be plenty there to feed us for three weeks! Thing is, my brain has frozen & I could only think of 16 meals to get us out of this lot which seems ridiculous considering I was soooo impressed reading about the woman who fed her family for £20 for a month & Weezl managing to feed herself and her dh on 50p per day!!!!

Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved, so I can properly plan for the next 3 weeks without worrying :beer:

lucysmam

I ought to say as well, I don't need to do brekky out of this lot as we all have cereal and I have loads of that & the only one of us who actually eats lunch is the lo & that's normally a something on toast kind of meal or pasta with tomatoey sauce or what we had the night before

rosieben

well, here's my 2 penn'orth

mince – bulk this out with lots of lentils and should make several days’ meals, suggest any of – chilli, bolognese, curry, rissoles, meatloaf

whole chicken = rubber chicken = 1 x roast meal, 1 x curry or casserole, enough meat for pie (with sweetcorn) + stock for soup or stew

chicken breasts = could make this into 3 meals if you pad out with veg - maybe pasta, curry with rice, casserole, or just roast one each and use the third for a pie or stirfry

bacon = use with pasta or rice or make a bacon and egg pie

nearly a full bag sausages – sausage toad, sausage casserole, sausage and onions, or just bangers and mash – not sure how many sausages in your bag?

fishcakes = with mash peas and parsley sauce
stew
3 fish fillets
2 small pies
2 chicken kievs
gammon steak
frying steak x4 pieces

not sure about the size of the gammon or frying steak but if they’re small you could use this in a quiche, pasta dish or risotto?

I reckon this gives you 21 or 22 meals. (I’m not sure how little your lo is, but I'm assuming doesn't need a full portion.)

Could you use some of the odds and ends of meals for a ‘lucky dip’ night or two (24).

There’s always jacket potatoes, egg and chips and other lighter meals to fall back on if need be (26).

You don't mention cheese but there are loads of recipes on here for cheese and potato pie – delicious with beans and very filling (27).

I’m sure you’ll get loads of other ideas.

might also be worth a read through the storecupboard challenge thread or the meal plan thread posted each week

elona

Don't forget things like home made yorkies filled with gravy and veg, home made pancakes stuffed with cheese and onion or fruit or ice cream.

With some pastry you could make a huge flan, just using some eggs, milk,onions bit of cheese, bacon or veg -whatever you have.

When I am in rush and DD does not fancy the main meal I will make french toast, a hot BLT or an omelette for her. She feels special and it costs very little.

GrillMonkey

Go to the supermarkets late when you go out to spend your £10ish. You find many yellow label goods that go out of date on that day which will be priced much cheaper. Put these in the freezer for a later date.

lucysmam

Brilliant, I now have a list & extras as snacks without spending the tenner except on a few bits. & I will have a good rummage in the reduced section of Sainsburys on Friday.

Thanks for your help

shopaholictiedtheknot

gingernutbizkit wrote: »

That tray of ham and jar of pickle made 18 sandwiches that I have bunged in the freezer for my wife's packed lunches

I think that I should be able to make my store cupboard stretch quite far.... although we are quite low on meat so will have to eek that out a bit.

Day 4 Main meal - sausage and tomato pasta with fresh hm bread..... if i can find an easy bread roll recipe that is!

might make some choc brownies for afters...... very money saving but not very waist watching!

OOh never thought about freezing sandwiches, do they come out ok?

p00

I've bought a BM now but only have a bag of SR flour and a bag of plain. Will it make a difference to the bread if I use that instead of the 'strong white flour' it says in the recipe book?

xp00

lucysmam

Been reading through this for the past couple of hours, there are some fab recipes which I'm going to try out with what I have in I think. Everone's so creative with food, wish I didn't actually have to have a written recipe to refer to sometimes but am hopeless at cooking otherwise!

p00, I've used plain flour before & bread has always turned out ok when I've had to resort to it

Pink.

Hi lucysmam,

The regulars in the Storecupboard challenge might be able to give you some ideas so I've added your thread to it to keep the replies together.

Pink