Don't Throw Food Away Challenge 2012

Firemunchkin

I might have already failed this challenge for the month but that doesn't mean I'm not still trying to minimise the waste! We've had portions of leek & potato soup and seafood pie in the fridge all week, so instead of cooking more last night we had the soup and we'll finish off the pie today at lunch. Our efforts recently mean we shouldn't need to do any grocery shopping this week - giving us £50 towards a night out this weekend!

I didn't end up making that quiche with the LO broccoli, and now it's shrivelled right up, but I had already bought the goats cheese. So we'll be making a goats cheese and tomato tart this weekend with the cherry tomatoes that are too soft for a salad.

I've put the broccoli in a pot in the freezer ready for a veg stock, together with half a bag of salad that I just couldn't eat all of before it went, and the LO of a red cabbage & carrot salad. I have a question for whoever makes LO veg stock - will this lot work? Roughly how much veg do I need to make a stock?

I had put some cashew nuts in the red cabbage & carrot salad and I fished them out - they've been coloured and infused a bit by the salad itself, but I'm wondering if I could do something else with them - any ideas?

Yorkielass

flis21 wrote: »

Hey all,

Just wondering if I can pick your brains, I have a load of potatos that are sprouting / past there best. Wondering what the best thing to do with them is. Can I make a load of mash and freeze it? If so what's the best way to defrost / heat it up after? If not has anyone else got any ideas how I can use all these up without chucking them!

Thanks,
Flis x

We always make too much mash when we make a cottage pie etc, then freeze the extra portion and eat it later with other meals. I cook it from frozen in the microwave and sometimes add a little bit of butter - depends on the original quality of potatoes I think!

Kylieminoag

Firemunchkin wrote: »

I had put some cashew nuts in the red cabbage & carrot salad and I fished them out - they've been coloured and infused a bit by the salad itself, but I'm wondering if I could do something else with them - any ideas?

How about roasting them briefly and adding them to a creamy curry like a korma?

HTH:)

Frugalista

JARUS wrote: »

SERVES 2-3
PREP 15MINS
COOK 15MINS

INGREDIENTS
2TBSP OIL
1 EGG, BEATEN WITH 2TBSP WATER
1 ONION, CHOPPED
2 GARLIC CLOVES CHOPPED
1 HEAPED TBSP CURRY POWDER
2 TBSP TOMATO KETCHUP
85G/30Z FROZEN PEAS
250G/90Z LEFTOVER CHICKEN OR PORK SHREDDED INTO STRIPS
GOOD SPLASH SOY SAUCE

METHOD

1 HEAT HALF THE OIL IN A PAN. POUR IN BEATEN EGG SWIRL AROUND THE PAN AND LEAVE TO SET FOR 1 MINUTE. FLIP LIKE A PANCAKE AND LET IT COOK ON OTHER SIDE. TIP ONTO PLATE.
2 HEAT THE REMAINING OIL IN SAME PAN. TIP IN ONION AND COOK 3-4 MINUTES, THEN STIR IN GARLIC, CURRY POWDER AND KETCHUP. STIR IN PEAS FOR 2 MINS, THE TIP IN RICE, COOKED MEAT AND 100ML WATER. COOK FOR 5-6 MINUTES STIRRING UNTIL PIPING HOT.
3 SHRED THE OMELETTE INTO STRIPS AND STIR INTO RICE WITH SOME SOY SAUCE.

ENJOY

I ACTUALLY BOUGHT A PACK OF COOKED VALUE TIKKA CHICKEN FROM MR T'S - this added to the spiciness and we ahad it with salad, yoghurt and mango chutney-yum yum

bon appetit xx

Thanks for the recipe - but where is the rice??? :huh::huh::huh::huh: How much do we put in and is it already cooked/uncooked?

Thanks in advance.

squeaky

I reckon that would be cooked rice - made up from approx 50g (2oz) of dried rice per person.

emmaa2231

Hi - hoping for some advice on using up apple compote?? I bought a large amount thinking it would be something more like the filling for apple pie - it's actually like apple sauce except a darker colour than the usual creamy coloured apple sauce. I don't want to throw it - do you think it would freeze and does anyone have any ideas on how i might be able to use it up? Thanks in advance.

DawnW

emmaa2231 wrote: »

Hi - hoping for some advice on using up apple compote?? I bought a large amount thinking it would be something more like the filling for apple pie - it's actually like apple sauce except a darker colour than the usual creamy coloured apple sauce. I don't want to throw it - do you think it would freeze and does anyone have any ideas on how i might be able to use it up? Thanks in advance.

You could perhaps bake a sponge mixture on top of it, to make a sort of baked apple sponge pudding? I have done this with apple sauce or stewed apples that have gone to mush, and it worked ok, in fact it was very enthusiastically received if I remember rightly!

VfM4meplse

DawnW wrote: »

You could perhaps bake a sponge mixture on top of it, to make a sort of baked apple sponge pudding? I have done this with apple sauce or stewed apples that have gone to mush, and it worked ok, in fact it was very enthusiastically received if I remember rightly!

Or alternatively bake a cake and use a tablespoon of the compote to replace every egg? It should add to the moistness of the cake.

Otherwise I would probably finish it off over several days by heating a small portion and drizzling with a tiny amount of cream.

Unfortunately I seem to be wasting a lot more than usual this month. I dragged 2 panini out of the freezer and they just weren't fit for consumption so went straight in the bin. Lesson - reduced bakery goods in polythene bags don't survive the freezer although those in sealed packets do.

flis21

Thanks for the advice guys, am gonna make half the bag of potatos into mash and half into wedges and freeze them in portion sizes. Thanks for all the advice.
Flis x

Firemunchkin

Whilst struggling for ideas for dinner, I decided to throw together some bits that needed using up: a leek, two soft tomatoes, a handful of spinach and some thyme - together with strips of chicken breast and half a round of goats cheese crumbled on top of pasta. Nothing like the recipe said but it was yummy nonetheless!

I was also really pleased with how I saved some sunflower oil from a dinner two nights ago: we had made chicken nuggets (DELICIOUS) and of course that requires a fair bit of oil but I didn't want to just chuck it all away afterwards. So, I took an old pair of tights (which I've been using to make lavender bags, but that's another forum thread) and cut a 10cm chunk out of the leg and then another cut to make it a single flat piece of fabric. I then lined a funnel with the fabric and placed it in the neck of an old plastic bottle and slowly poured the used oil in. It dripped nicely into the bottle leaving behind the used breadcrumbs. The LO oil is now perfectly clear and great for reusing (probably only with chicken though!) :A

I saved the ends of the leeks and some other veg choppings (incl tomato) from dinner too - can I put these into the veg stock? I also have the LO broccoli, salad leaves and cabbage/carrot salad in the freezer for this - would be great if someone could let me know if all this together would work as I have never made a veg stock before.