I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

bramble1

spent £50.65 this week!! But, alot of that was cleaning products, which i won't need again for a good few months.

So really going to try not to shop again till next weekend and will make do with what we've got in the cupboards.

kezlehan

I restocked our freezer in the past few days.
I bought a huge box of mushrooms for £1.29 I think it was, for a kg from mr m. Used a quarter in a bolognese last night and froze the rest.
Also chopped up leftover celery and froze that too.
Had leftover soup, one portion of homemade carrot and coriander, and 2 portions of a homemade spicy tomato soup, so put those in the freezer today.
Bought 24 frozen Yorkshire puddings from mr m today for 70p I think. They are in bags of 12 for 35p if I remember rightly.
Got 2 bags of quorn fillets for £3 from farm foods.
Got a 2.25kg bag of frozen chips from mr m for £1.25 ish.
And got a bag of 5 frozen fish fillets from mr m for around £1.70 and they're decent sized too.
Pretty happy with our stocked freezer.
Having fish, frozen veg and parsley sauce tonight.
Tomorrow I will cook quorn fillets in tinned chopped tomatoes, adding some basil and other herbs, and serve with frozen veg and Yorkshire puds, and pour remaining sauce over the top.

So our freezer now has loads of frozen veggies such as mushrooms, green beans, peppers, diced onions, sliced carrots, peas and celery.
12 quorn fillets.
400g quorn mince.
8 frozen fish fillets.
Frozen chips.
24 Yorkshire puds.
2 portions of homemade spicy tomato soup and 1 portion of homemade carrot and coriander soup.

Not too bad but need to make a batch of homemade tomato soup to freeze to use throughout the week.
I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten, but thought I'd post anyway.

bramble1

today ive used 2 wraps from the freezer, filled with reduced quorn i got for 19p (pup had the 1/2 the packet too) The freezer is chocka, so will work this week to get the stores down.

Kirri

Evening all, I can't keep up with all the posts on here when I go out!

Cherrypies, I love the sound of the beans and soup recipes, have bookmarked both for future use.

Lynsey, I use the Baking Mad site, have had a few freebies from there too in the post, yeast, sugar and milk.

hilstep, I'd be interested to hear more about your budgeting, what sort of meals and food do you eat for that, sounds very cheap for 6 months?? Do you buy fresh food on top?

littlewillow, that is good price for a greengrocer, the supermarkets are not really cheaper once you start investigating other places to shop I find. I've been pleasantly surprised.


Today:

Breakfast - 2 tiny drop scones and a slice of chocolate cake :eek:

Lunch - very, very late lunch of bread, cheese and more cake after walking MILES... went to the farmer's market for cheese and veg, then the nursery with the chickens to get eggs then to the farm shop as well for more veg and treat of bread - all in the snow, they are all quite a way apart, stunning scenery across the fields and woods - was walking for around 4 hours though!! Spent quite a bit too...

Not having dinner, had some fruit though and might have another slice of bread and cheese if I get hungry later on.

littlewillow

Evening all just had some of my cupboard casserole. Baked beans, kidney beans, butterbeans, sliced onion, diced carrots, small chunks of potato, half a tin of plum tomatos, meatfree meatballs, some meat free mince to bulk it a little, the last of my homemade veggie stock and some paprika. Made enough for 3 servings so thats another 2 meals in the freezer

Kirri, yes exactly - the grocers near me is great as they have "cheap" "standard" and "organic" sections in the little store and always have great bulk deals too Sounds like a lovely walk in the snow - I hope you were wrapped up!

Kirri

I had 6 layers on!!

It's nice to support the smaller businesses too. I also find that the farm shop and the market stall are both selling clementines with leaves on as standard, whereas the supermarkets are boxing these (Asda and Morrisons do) as 'Best' and charging a lot more. The items seem fresher than the supermarkets too.


Spend so far this month £40.69, how did that happen, I've bought no meals :eek:

Lynsey

I've been naughty today, very naughty.
Popped out tonight as the weather has turned very mild. Went to Sainsbury's and loads of stuff reduced, but I was selective.

2 x chicken lattice @ 99p each = £1.98
1 x spring rolls @ 49p
2 x bags of apples @19p = 38p
1 x yoghurt = 9p
Total spend = £2.94

On to Morries and loads of bread and pies, again selective and actually put some pies back!!

1 pack turkey and bacon slices (2 slices) @ 29p
1 sunflower and honey star bread @ 25p
1 date and walnut bread @ 25p
1 pack of pick and mix rolls (6 in pack) @ 19p
1 organic loaf @ 15p
1 pack of cream scones again @ 59p (half price offer)
Total spend = £1.72

Total spend today = £11.64 (highest daily spend of year so far) and by far the highest weekly spend @ £27.05!

Done my budget and break down so far is:

week 1 = £10.64
week 2 = £9.84
week 3 = £12.32
week 4 = £13.33
week 5 = £14.56
week 6 = £27.05

Total to date = £87.74 - still less than £15.00 weekly average - so good, but an upward trend, probably because Xmas stock has almost vanished.

This week was very high above the rest, but I did spend £5.28 on some garlic olive oil.

Good news is I need virtually nothing next week.
Can I spend less than £20.00??

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased overall and well on target.
Meat stash reduced this week and get rid of some old stuff next week.

Time for a little drink.

Lynsey

abitofhelp

Morning. I would really love to join this challenge please. i am now unable to resist a yellow sticker and freezers and pantry are now bulging. Planning on joining the grocery challenge in a couple of weeks also. i have read through the thread and it looks great fun. i think i have some pizza cheese in the fridge somewhere if i can find it i will make some pizza dough. that will use up a bit of the flour & yeast stash. i have made a huge batch of pasta sauce to get rid of some veg. the topping will be bacon and mushrooms. turkey for lunch (a joint out of the freezer) & yellow sticker veg. i have a cooked chicken to joint and the bones will be going into slow cooker for stock for soup, which we can have for lunch tomorrow. ( or tonight if i cant find cheese). Thankyou for this thread, enjoy your day everyone.

littlewillow

Lynsey, you can be very naughty one day...the trick is whether you can be angel-like other days after Well done on putting some pies back...that is something I am slowly learning to do, be selective...don't EVER go shopping when you're hungry

Welcome abitofhelp it is great fun and everyone is very helpful and have great tips I did a similar thing with pasta sauce the other day I have little round pots with a portion each in the freezer waiting for me. Its very nice, especially in these colder months, not having to go out to get some really tasty food

Today is museli, toast with spaghetti or something similar and I suppose I better start making a dent in my unexpected collection of fish fillets. I think I'll make a (what my nan used to call) mingle in a roasting dish, little potato chunks and whatever veg I have roaming around. Yum yum

I hope everyone has a nice Sunday

pixnmix_2

I love this thread. So many good tips and inspiration to keep me going using up my freezer stash!
I have now after a few weeks of doing the freezer challenge, emptied a drawer of my upright freezer and worked out a menu to use what's left up. The empty drawer, and hopefully 2 more will be stocked with whoopsies and deals at the end of the month (bread will be in it for now cos it's more economical to run if the freezer is full apparantly) which i won't touch until I use up the rest. This challenge has saved me a fortune in food shopping so far and I've still got loads of meals left.
Top Shelf
Pork shanks x 2 Yorkshire pudding x 12
Garlic baguette x 2 Cooked prawns – 1 bag
Ice lollies x 2 Sausage rolls x 1
Beef burgers x 4
2nd Shelf
Sausages – half bag Lemon sole fillets x 5
Turkey goujons – 1 pack (serves 2) Prawns uncooked x half bag
Sausagemeat x 2 rolls Dumplings x 4
Lamb chop x 1 Chicken in white wine x 1
3rd Shelf
Pork strips for 2 Stewing beef x 1 pack
Prawns uncooked x 1 bag Sirloin steak x 1
Beef burgers x 5 Pork casserole x 2 portions
Lasagne x 1 portion Turkey breast steaks x 464g
Sage & Onion chicken chunks Pork loin steak x 500g
Lemon sole with ginger & lime x 2 1 beef burger
2 salmon fillets x 2 packs Pork casserole x 1 portion
5 cooked chicken drumsticks
4th Shelf
IS NOW EMPTY!! J
Meals out of the Freezer
Lunch
Beefburger baps (serves 3-4)
Sausage roll & beans (serves 1)
Sage & onion chicken chunks with salad (serves 2)
Chicken drumsticks with salad (serves 3)
Dinner
Pork roast dinner and 4 yorkshire puddings (serves 2)
Sausage casserole with mash and veg (serves 4-6)
Turkey goujons with salad (serves 2)
Lamb chop with potatoes and peas (serves 1)
Stir fried pork strips with noodles (serves 2)
Beef casserole with dumplings (serves 4)
Lemon sole with ginger and line with salad (serves 2)
Prawn stir fry with noodles (serves 2)
Chicken in white wine with pasta (serves 1)
Sirloin steak with veg and mash (serves 1)
Salmon salad (serves 1)
Pork casserole with rice (serves 3)
Sweet & sour pork with rice (serves 4)
Turkey curry (serves 4)
Beef burgers with spicy tomato and mushroom sauce (serves 4)
Thanks to everyone on here who have helped me with their hints and comments. I'ts good fun all this thrift stuff