Store cupboard challenge

BigMummaF

It's been a bit difficult to cater this week, what with poorly peeps at different stages of Lurge...last night one was 'fairly', another 'not too much' & the third 'no thanks' so I hunted around & just did tri-colour pasta [been saving it for something like this coz it looks pretty ] with a tin of toms mushed about & good sprinkle of black pepper, topped with grated cheese & served--no oven/grill/casserole dish--nuffink
Needless to say all three ate it & it will be on the menu again but in much larger quantities.
I was convinced there was a cottage pie base in the freezer--might well still be cuz some labels have *cough* fallen off--but I couldn't find it. Tonight's gorden [STRIKE]benn[/STRIKE]blow-out will therefore be One portion of pork casserole heated through & served with jacket spuds & green veg, followed by a tiddly rhubarb crumble for those who eat it.
Yep! My freezer does have a back to it after all

Cat_Addict

Love that post Mumma!

We have just been to a Sunday market and bought fresh veg and lots of meat which we've put into meal sized portions. I've sorted the freezer out and the storecupboard is stocked and organised. Looking forward to eating healthier and nicer and cost cutting at the same time )

fedupandskint

Pink-winged wrote: »

I cooked a gammon from the freezer yesterday (it's been in there for eight months ) and served it with baby potatoes, cabbage, peas and a cheese sauce which got rid of a bag of some sad looking grated cheese at the bottom of the freezer. I added in some chopped carrots, onions and leeks to give the gammon flavour and used that as a base for soup for tonights tea. I had planned on making lentil soup but got carried away and threw in barley, split peas, red lentils and green lentils, ,a bit of seasoning and some chopped up leftover ham. It was lovely and both boys have asked for some in a flask for lunch tomorrow.

I think the freezer is going down a bit but I still have my 'bargain habit' and seem to be filling it almost as fast as I empty it. Tonights haul included organic chicken breasts reduced to 30p for two...I bought four packs. I also managed to pick up lots of fresh fruit and veg including baby corn and aparagus packs for 20p which will be used over the weekend, fresh pineapple snack packs to go into the lunches tomorrow, two avocado pears for me as nobody else likes them, some chestnuts, some plums, a cucumber and some baby courgettes that I have no idea how to use? They really are quite small....about the size of a middle finger. Do any of you know if they're best used whole or chopped up/sliced as with normal courgettes?

Pink

Just use them as normal courgettes in pasta, stri fry fry or I think you could steam them for a few mins quite successfully but they're just the same as the big mamma ones just weeny!

This is weird, I had no idea what this thread meant (new to all of this but loving it!), it is exactly what I had to do last week as ran out of cash. Managed tho and had nice meals all week. Used up frozen fish languishing in the freezer for 11mths. Just the haddock to finish of this week. Prawn stir fry with veg in fridge, rice noodles, frozen haddock and tomato and olive sauce batch cooked in freezer, more frozen fish with JP and peas. Last night made rice pudding just had to but some whole milk. It's the first weekend in I don't know how long I haven't been to Mr S. Today made flapjacks and that great hobnob recipe with storecupboard ingredients. I'm slowly realising what I don't need and how I can manage already.

Anyway the point is I have a frozen bacon joint in the freezer from last Xmas and I don't know what to do with it when it defrosts, any ideas anyone?? All greatfully received, plus now fully signed up member of the storecupboard challenge - will see if can do another week.

catznine

I've made a real dent in the dried fruit stores! Yesterday I made the mincemeat (double quantity) and today put the dried fruit into soak (contreau & orange juice) ready to make the Christmas cake up tomorrow. Just the Christmas puds to mix up now.

The only thing I had to buy was a small bottle of barley wine for the puds (Delia recipe) everything else was in the larder:j

I made up some remoska flapjacks yesterday and have had to break into my last bag of dem sugar, but they are worth it.

HariboJunkie

Sorry I haven't been posting folks but I am still trying to deplete my stores.

I'm facing two major problems though.

1... Every time I clear a drawer in the freezer for Christmas, I find lots of yellow stickered food with which to fill it up again.:o

2... OH sees the weekends as his opportunity to go wild in the aisles and seriously overspends on Saturday's evening meal. :rolleyes: I am persuading him to at least cook double though so half the chinese he made this week has gone into the freezer for another night.

My tins and jars are reducing all the time but this makes me a bit twitchy and I've been running out of things like coffee and plain flour which doesn't usually happen.

I'll persevere though but I'm just a but more half hearted than some of you.

nich29580

Did anyone see This morning earlier, their chef was showing you how to make homemade hampers at the fraction of storebought ones and i though this would be right up some MSCers street so thought i would post the link. I might even try and make a mini one myself

http://www.itv.com/Lifestyle/Food/ThisMorning/Recipes/Homemadehamper/default.html

Hope you all have a good day

**purpleprincess**

My fridge looks so empty!!

Worked out a meal plan from what we had in and only had to buy eggs, milk, cheese, bananas and bin bags today!!

Larger total in signature due to approved food order!!! I know I am meant to using stuff up but it's all stuff that we will use and it will last! Aiming to just spend a tenner a week on food, aiming for a £60 food budget! (Am I convincing you or me??!!! :rotfl: )

purpleivy

thriftlady wrote: »

I have lots of single servings of main dishes,luckily mine are labelled (after the time I thought I was defrosting gravy and it turned out to be butterscotch sauce-they look identical:rotfl: ).Every now and then I pull out all these single servings,defrost them and we have a freezer buffet.The kids choose whatever they want be it a dab of each or just one thing,and I add baked spuds or rice or lots of bread.It's essentially a free meal that you don't even have to cook.

Had some fun reading this thread. The above reminded me (like the kids would never let me forget anyway) about the time I made a queen of puds for visitors. All the while I was aware that I could get the odd whiff of garlic, but knew I hadn't used it for that lunch...or had I? I eventually traced it to the queen of puddings, must have been the breadcrumbs from the freezer - but made with garlic bread LOL! I've never made QOP since.

mardatha

I want to last until around next Thurs without getting any food. :rolleyes: ..
We eat porridge for breakfast & HM soup for lunch, so need only main meals. Freezer has -
loads of mince ;
loads of bacon ;
some chicken portions ;
some fish fingers ;
Plus pasta, tomatoes, frozen veg, potatoes, carrots, onions, eggs, flour.
Suggestions anybody ? (No curries, no spices, no beans .)

D&DD

Hi Mardatha how about

Shepherds pie
Steamed Bacon and leek (or onion) pudding
Macaroni (pasta) chicken
HM burgers
Chicken pot pies
Omlettes
Hash browns with egg and bacon mmm


I am failing dismally at making any holes...the bag of shopping came from my parents today and crammed the few little spaces I'd made..
I also filled the space in my bedroom with 2 boxes of Daz (90 washes for £7) from Asda..