I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

Kirri

Cheapish dinner tonight:

Griddled pan full of yellow beetroot, onion and courgette (all from the allotment) and cooked up some puy lentils in a oil/mustard/garlic (allotment)/parsley (allotment)/white wine vinegar dressing. Added in some griddled haloumi but didn't really need to add that.

Billie-jo

Starting off on the right foot and used a tin of OOD pears up in a crumble for tea, we had it with ice cream. Really nice.
1 tin less :j

Maisie_M

Saturday
Southern Fried chicken, Garlic Mushrooms, onion rings from the freezer and mozerella sticks from the fridge use by date 29th so decided to have an American night lol.

Sunday
Lasagna - home made spag bol from freezer. White sauce from ingredients in house and bought some lasagna sheets as had run out.

Monday
Roast duck from freezer, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli and beetroot from garden, along with some baby corn from fridge which was needing used up.

Now need to think about tomorrow. Have planned to have curry, risotto and fish pie this week but not sure which to have tomorrow.

Florenceem

In to freezer - nothing.
Out of freezer - cherry muffin + 1 slice HM Syrup cake.
Busy day - electrician here + I was stripping wallpaper.
Dinner was poached eggs, smoked bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms + buttered warm granary french stick.

jemb

joedenise wrote: »

Wish I could get tinned chickpeas for 25p a tin!

Denise

4 for £1 Eastend brand in Tesco and Asda

Jelly_Biactol

Kirri wrote: »

I will have a nose of that book on Amazon when it's out too, sounds interesting.. I've been cooking with a lot more pulses this year and am enjoying that type of cooking!

It's worth a look, when it comes out in September. I've been fortunate enough to have had sight of an advance copy:) and can recommend it, even at £25. Lots of useful tips on preparing and cooking pulses, and 180 recipes (mostly veggie, but not all). Here's a sample recipe....



Three-Bean Chilli with Bulgur Wheat

from Pulse by Jenny Chandler
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pulse-Recipes-Chickpeas-Lentils-Vegetarians/dp/1862059861

"Bulgur wheat is an inspired addition to a meat-free chilli, giving fabulous texture while combining with the beans to create a complete protein. The idea comes from Mollie Katzen, the American doyenne of vegetarian food writing, whose Moosewood Cookbook has sold millions of copies. The bean mix is up to you. If you are cooking from scratch, you probably won’t get around to preparing three types, but you need about 800 g/1 lb 12 oz of cooked beans in total. There’s no point in making a small pot of chilli, it tastes even better after a couple of days in the fridge or you could freeze any leftovers."

Serves 6–8

6 tbsp olive oil
2 aubergines (eggplants), cut into large dice
2 onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2.5-cm/1-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely diced
1 tbsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground (or ground cumin)
1–2 tbsp chilli powder
450 g/1 lb squash or pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into large dice
2 x 400 g/14 oz cans of chopped tomatoes
300 ml/10 fl oz/11/4 cups vegetable stock or water
50 g/13/4 oz bulgur wheat
400 g/14 oz can of black turtle beans
400 g/14 oz can of red kidney beans
400 g/14 oz can of pinto beans
salt
Tabasco sauce or chopped fresh chill (optional)
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large cast-iron casserole or heavy-bottomed saucepan, and cook half of the aubergine until really soft and translucent. Set aside and cook the remaining aubergine in the same way. Set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and cook the onions until golden.
Throw in the garlic, ginger, cumin and as much chilli as you dare, keeping in mind that heat is the very essence of this dish. Stir for a couple of minutes over the heat – the chilli will probably leave you gasping for breath – and then add the pumpkin and the cooked aubergine. Once the vegetables are well coated in the spicy juices, add the tomatoes and stock and then simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add the bulgur and the beans and leave to bubble away for about 10 minutes, until the wheat has plumped up and become tender. Taste and season with salt and more chilli (I’d opt for Tabasco or fresh chillies at this stage), if you were too cautious earlier on.
Add the lime juice and coriander just before serving.

How about?
... serving with warmed corn tortillas, sour cream and guacamole.
... feeding a crowd with baked potatoes and grated Wensleydale or other mild cheese.
... adding some freshly steamed vegetables such as courgettes, green beans, broccoli or kale just before serving. (If you cook them with the beans, you will have a soggy mess when reheating leftovers.)

joedenise

jemb wrote: »

4 for £1 Eastend brand in Tesco and Asda

Thanks, but they don't do the Eastend brand in my Tesco. Don't get to Asda very often but will look next time I'm there, although it doesn't stock half the stuff that seems to be available on line - glad I don't do on-line shopping!

Denise

joedenise

Have decided I must join in the challenge next month as I now have 3 freezers of food to use up (1 fridge/freezer; 1 small under counter freezer & 1 small chest freezer - only the fridge/freezer is in the kitchen the other 2 are outside in a cupboard).

Hoping the weather will be a bit better tomorrow so that I can get out there and do an inventory of those 2 freezers. Need to defrost the small upright so will be do that at the same time. The inside freezer isn't such a problem as I know what's in that one - mainly veg, butchers sausages, a couple of veg curries, a couple of chillis - well there's 8 meals already - apart from the carbs.

Denise

cheerfulness4

Over weekend OUT of freezer: Large beef joint, 2 chicken breasts, few Brussels, cauli,

IN to freezer: Sliced roasted beef, 5 YS flavoured chicken drumsticks.

Having Herb crusted chicken breast again tonight.
Might make a cake for the tin but feel so tired today. (and lazy:p)

Fruittea

Hello everyone

I hope you don't mind me popping in. I've made some jam from a gift of gooseberries but it seems a bit runny - more like jelly. It tastes really nice but as I need to give some back (to the person who gave me the berries) I'd like it to be just right.

Would anyone know if I should open all the jars - pop it back in the saucepan and boil it again, or would that spoil the lot or do you think the consistency of jelly is ok.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have.