I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

miss_emmajane

Posted yesterday saying we were going to have pesto pasta for tea but I changed my mind and made two big batches of lentil cottage pie - first time I have made it, and it was because we had no veggie mince in. Well ... I won't be buying the veggie mince again, it is so much nicer (cheaper and healthier) with the lentils, I couldn't believe it. We had a big one for tea and there are now six individual portioned ones in the freezer for when I start at work again next week

Out for breakfast today: 2x bread for toast, 2x egg + 1x apple + last of stilton for an omelette for OH. Not sure what we're having for lunch as we've had a late breakfast but for tea we're going to use the last jarred curry sauce with the last of a packet of chicken breasts from the freezer and last two naan breads from the freezer

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far.

Kirri

^ Ooh do you have the recipe for the lentil cottage pie??

Lipstick, it was a totally bizarre result, I thought James or Brendan for sure!

Smegcat - and to think I moaned and was terrified of my much more minor hospital visit, hope he gets on ok in there, sounds like quite a lot going on..

RS, B&W, EmmaJane - good to see more clearing out stocks, feel like I have some company

I've still not been shopping again, just the tiny f&v spend once since xmas eve still. No plans for more shopping though have run out of fruit again so will have to go probably Tuesday as am in midst of major flat repairs and won't get out till then. I've still hardly cooked since xmas as had so much stuff in fridge to use up.

Edwardia

My veggie mother has decided to go organic on fruit and veg so she has me check prices at ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury's, her local supermarkets.

For 99% of organic fruit and veg ASDA is cheapest but I've never seen much in store. Organic lemons though were 1.87 in ASDA compared to 1.50 at Sainsbury's and Tesco :eek:

I noticed ASDA does an organic watercress, spinach and rocket salad 80g for £1 and a couple of bags of that would be a good base for an organic soup. I've got frozen org spinach, YS watercress to use up and wild rocket so may have a go today and see what it tastes like.

Ocado delivery this morning and Oral-B mouthwash 50% offer was sold out so I got Listerine 50% off instead as a sub. Ocado has some DIY offers on atm eg five Draper paintbrushes 4.99

OH put an extra £300 in my account yesterday for food as a reward because I bought all the Christmas food out of weekly budget except for the fresh stuff delivered Christmas Eve (£82)

Should I use that as a budget for re-filling the freezer ? I can get 10% off Laverstoke Park Farm stuff as a Friend of the Soil Association I think. www.laverstokepark.co.uk Sainsbury's is doing 3 packs organic diced beef for £10 as well. I don't think it would cover a year at organic prices but maybe 6 months ?

It has to be for food OH sez but anyone got any other ideas ?

PS: yes am well aware we are lucky, but 1995-1999 we were eating soya mince five nights a week.

zafiro1984

Just working my way through a sack of onions, grown in the summer as one or two have decided to go soft and I'm trying to rescue as many as possible. Sweating them in olive oil so they turn sweet and then freezing them in single portions for the bases of 'French pizzas'.
Must find a recipe for chutney and marmalade as there is only so many toppings I can stand. I probably havn't got all the other ingredients for chutney and marmalade and I so don't want to go shopping.

Tea - I've found a portion of plain cooked vegs in the freezer, it's carrots, leek, swede, & celery as far as I can see so will make soup for me, may make it thicker with some pulses, sugar free jelly afterwards. DH, again from freezer some cooked braising steak, so will do mash and green beans for him, followed by profiterols - bargain half price.

Half hour later - back after seeing a fox heading in the direction of the chickens. Dogs gave chase and the electric fence did it's job. Just hope it heads off in the direction of DH as he'll finish it off. Chickens look ok, no obvious casulties. - phew

Welsh_Poppy

Zafira

if you have room in freezer I chop mine and freeze in 1 onion portions I still have around 20 onions in freezer.

OOh lucky on the chickens!!

I have spent money the first of 2013 and i never go to ASDA but one was near where we were and I was impressed with organic fruit and veg and other things but was good spent £10 and £12 in Tesco but got a huge tub of vanish£6 and a tin starch which lasts ages.

Dinner will be Noodles and meatloaf and salad...meatloaf HM from freezer.

Kitty_Ears

So, my meat from the butcher was so salty. I had to throw away the rice! I'm planning to use this in salads rather than eat it in a main meal. Any idea why it would be so salty? Is it the stock?

Lynsey

Evening all, just a little shopping today and 5.56 spent and got a few reduced items, naan breads (7p each for pizza bases), bashed tin of hot dog (10p) and some sausages for 63p (having tomorrow with mash, veg and onion gravy). Bought reduced stuff for neighbour friend also. Froze 1 pack of sausages and naan breads, but all freezer drawers open easily.

Trying for 3 NSD's next week, starting tomorrow.

Kitty_Ears - probably the stock. Chicken shouldn't be salty.

2013 spends so far = £11.17

Lynsey

genuineplacebo

Hi Everyone,

I have been lurking on and off this board for quite a while but have made it part of my 2013 resolutions to start living out the freezer and cupboards! I have started phase 1 tonight of doing an inventory of the kitchen freezer and also the freezer in the shed. This was the contents (roughly)...

45 portions of home made ready meals
4 joints of meat (5, but I'm cooking one tomorrow)
1kg of unidentified meat
1.5kg fish
1.5kg pork
1.1kg turkey
5kg chicken
Enough 'main' items for 17 meals
Varying frozen veg

We usually eat mainly frozen veg so I am going to try and only buy fruit and veg when we need it.

Tomorrow I will be doing an inventory of the cupboards and our stockpile in the shed.

Happy to be joining you all! This is going to save me a fortune this year!

:T

katskorner

Hello!!!

Bargains...... took the kids on a 'midnight walk' at 7pm (DS3 is four, he doesn't know the difference lol) to Mr T for finger rolls so we could have a midnight feast of hotdogs...

got chicken breast in breadcrumbs x 8 for £2.50 and 4 x chicken escalopes for £2.00. Ok so it seems not mega bargains as only 50% off... but total shop came to £11.07 and actually paid just £2.10 thanks to the coupons.... and a sympathetic till op lol!!

quite a good start financially to the new year so far on groceries at least.. ok so had MOT, broken shower that cost over £300 squids to sort, impending car tax at £185, hubby's car tax at £250.... oooohh

Frogletina

I did an inventory of my food this week. I have over £300 of food in my fridge, freezer and cupboards which I feel is far too much considering I have been trying to run my stocks down for a while.

For the last 3 months I have been writing down all the food I buy and crossing it off when it has been eaten. All food in stock I have been writing down as stock but now it also is written down with the best before dates.

Hopefully this will lead to me not over buying food and also eating what I have bought in a timely fashion with less wastage

frogletina