Store cupboard challenge

soulbalm

Through the week I live on my own, although at weekends with my BF. I've been trying to use up store cupboard foods this week, and tonight had a delicious meal with spicy pasta and prawns. All out of the cupboard or freezer. A packet of pasta, one spoon out of a Sacla Stir Through Jar, some lazy chillis and prawns from the freezer. Delicious and really quick too.

I ruined it though by going to the corner shop on the way home to get a small present for a colleague who helped me out today. And I ended up spending £8 mostly on stuff I didn't really need (although I never can resist a Nutrageous Bar). Ah well, I needed the bread.

Olliebeak

Think we all 'slip' a little at times, soulbalm - my OH came in with two pieces of steak, peppers and mushrooms on Tuesday (could have flattened him - but I love steak and we've not had any for about 6 months ). He just got a (very half-hearted) telling off and was shown the contents of the freezers!

What a lovely thought, to go and buy a gift for someone has helped you this week . And for that gesture alone, you deserved your Nutrageous Bar - just don't beat yourself up over it.

Penelope_Penguin

Olliebeak wrote: »

Can I ask a question of you all-knowledgeable folks please - how long can you keep an opened tube of tomato puree for? I'm sure it's supposed to be used immediately :mad: . Can't even remember what I bought it for now but it's had one squeeze out of it. That'll teach me a lesson - maybe I should have frozen it 'ice-cube' style.

I keep mine in the fridge and it lasts for weeks

Welcome soulbalm :beer:

DH is on his way back from China :T :j so I'm cooking his favourite chicken for supper. The baking tins are full, so his hollow legs will be fine for a few days.

Penny. x

thriftlady_2

Morning all,

I'm dying to know what Penny's DH is doing in China -sounds a lot more exciting than Erdington where my OH goes every day.

I tried the recipematcher thingy too. Typed in minced beef, tinned tomatoes and garlic (Bolognese?) and got...baked asparagus!!! To be fair though, there was a long list of other more obvious things and it is fun Thanks Madbat:T

OK, Friday in the storecupboard and we have sausages and the last remaining handful of lentils to use up -posh Puy lentils. I'm going to do a sort of lentilles a la camarguaise courtesy of a recipe posted by Champys (who is very helpful on all things francais;) ).

I'm not sticking to my earlier meal plan at all:rolleyes: I find planning about 3 days at a time better.

Friday -sausages and lentils, mash

Saturday -Beef stew (make double)

Sunday -Chicken breasts with ham, gruyere and cream, sauteed potatoes and veg

Monday -More beef stew

newlywed

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Cook the turkey with some chopped onion and garlic. Add a bit of stock (or water) and thicken that. Add some sweetcorn. Make a suet crust (or dumplings) and bake - turkey pie - one of our favourites :T Chop the potatoes, swede, parsnips into equal sized chunks. Bake in the oven until golden to serve with.

Penny. x

That sounds like a plan. I do a chicken and leek cobbler a bit like that (with leftovers from roast) - that always goes down well (don't have any suet so might make it as a turkey cobbler). Thanks

Pink.

I haven't been posting much this week because dd was home but we have still been eating from the storecupboard. She did put in a special request for roast chicken with homemade stuffing on Wednesday night so I nipped down to the shops on Tuesday night and managed to get a free range one reduced from £7 to £3.49 so not too bad. The breadcrumbs and roast potatoes were from the freezer though.

So this week all I've bought was fresh fruit and veg, milk and a chicken (well two actually) I bought another for the freezer. That's my downfall. I can't resist a bargain and as I work evenings and pass various supermarkets while I'm out and about and I find it hard to stop myself from nipping in to see what they've got in the reduced section. Ds said recently that he loves the weeks that I work. I was a bit taken aback and asked why and he said it was because he loves all the weird and wonderful things I bring home. But when at 9pm they're reduced to 10p it's virtually impossible to resist buying them.

Anyway, I had left planning tea until the last minute yesterday so a quick rummage in the freezer produced a leftover homemade bolognese sauce that was really only enough for three but I also found a readymade smoked tomato pasta sauce that I'd bought for 10p. Bunged them in the saucepan together and used some spaghetti from the storecupboard and hey presto a filling meal for four that we all enjoyed.

Tonight will be sausages (from the freezer) and mash with broccoli, (hg)peas and an onion gravy.

Pink

Olliebeak

newlywed wrote: »

That sounds like a plan. I do a chicken and leek cobbler a bit like that (with leftovers from roast) - that always goes down well (don't have any suet so might make it as a turkey cobbler). Thanks

Hello newlywed - I've never made a cobbler, but it sounds delicious!

Do you just make up a plain scone recipe and then cut out enough rounds to cover the dish of whatever is in the cobbler? Would you use half lard/half margarine for the mixture? Does the filling need to be quite dry (to stop the 'cobbles' from sinking into the gravy and not getting properly cooked)? How long does it need in the oven to make sure that the 'cobbles' are cooked?

I'm really sorry about all the questions - but I'd love to try this out.

Many thanks - Olliebeak

thriftlady_2

I have edited my list to show what has been used. I'm doing well with the meat and fish. I think I will use all the remaining mince (3 lbs) next week to make meat sauce.

I'm feeling quite positive about my weight loss 'project' and have drawn up a new list of storecupoard staples which should help me keep on track. I'm looking forward to restocking -sad what makes me happy isn't it?:D I should be able to combine my love of food and cooking with healthy eating shouldn't I?

Tomorrow I'm using up the braising steak to make a Greekish stifado (tomatoey-winey stew). We'll eat half then have the other half on Monday.


Not sure about lunch tomorrow but soup seems probable -pumpkin or leek and potato.

I shall make our favourite French chocolate dessert which will do us Sat and Sun.

canidothis

I had lo chilli and rice for lunch, which had been in the freezer, however someone at work mentioned that you have to be careful about re-heating rice. I do seem to remember something about lo rice being a bit suspect, what does everyone think? Is it fine just to make sure its heated thoroughly ?

angelnikki

canidothis wrote: »

I had lo chilli and rice for lunch, which had been in the freezer, however someone at work mentioned that you have to be careful about re-heating rice. I do seem to remember something about lo rice being a bit suspect, what does everyone think? Is it fine just to make sure its heated thoroughly ?

"It is true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's piping hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once."

from: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk