Don't Throw Food Away Challenge 2012

skyeceilo

I'm not a big lover of trifle but may try it. i've still got a chocolate custard from when they were 10p in tescos and got some double cream in the freezer. Just need to buy a jelly and some oranges so at least i get some of my 5 a day :rotfl:

starbee

I've found an excellent alternative to fresh mushrooms - a huge jar a dried woodland mushrooms. Now I don't like the taste of mushrooms, but use them to bulk out loads of meals, such as curry, chilli, cottage pie, beef in beer, etc. But I always found a few left, and slimy mushrooms really are one of the few things I can't bring myself to try in rework into something! One day in Costco I spotted a huge jar, 500g, of dried woodland mushrooms for, I think 9.99. Bit of an investment, but with value fresh mushrooms coming in at 1.50 for a large tub, thought them worth a try. They're really good, even for a mushroom hater! I snip into small pieces then cover with boiling water & leave for ten minutes if they're going into something with sauce, and apparenty they're also nice when used whole to make mushrooms on toast. I like the fact that they're just waiting to be used & not going off! An investment I'd recommend if you have costco access!

Oscar_the_Pug

Thanks Starbee - I do like mushrooms and usually bring some back from Italy every year, but a tenner for half a kilo is a billy bargain!

Adela31

Hello lovely people, I have a quetion if I may, a) do some freezers "burn" worse than others? (I just got a new freezer and I swear I am getting more freezer burned food) and b) is it still ok to eat it in like, stews or slow cooked

I will be very upset if I cant stock up on a couple of packets and mince and chicken in this freezer if its going to burn them all ((

Turkishdreamer

Doing quite well with my first declared month on the challenge, until today anyway.

Used some leftover pastry to make a mincemeat (sweet from jar) open tart and used left over scraps to make mini treacle tarts with some bread crumbs from the crust end of homemade loaf. 1/3rd of mincemeat tart and 1 mini treacle tart got pushed to back of fridge.

Estimate 20p total, as mincemeat was only 10p and only used about 1/3rd of the jar. So 16.5p for the bread, syrup and pastry. So much for using up leftovers!

Also OH wanted 2 slices of ham on the bone 2 weeks ago, reduced to 78p. He obviiously ate 1 1/2 slices, as found the remaining 1/2 slice at back of fridge behind the tarts!!! So I will have to declare another 20p.

Oh well, not too bad for a first month. Off to update signature.

squeaky

Adela31 wrote: »

Hello lovely people, I have a quetion if I may, a) do some freezers "burn" worse than others? (I just got a new freezer and I swear I am getting more freezer burned food) and b) is it still ok to eat it in like, stews or slow cooked

I will be very upset if I cant stock up on a couple of packets and mince and chicken in this freezer if its going to burn them all ((

two things spring immediately to mind - wrapping needs to be air tight, and the lower the temperature the more risk of freezer burn.

Just cut off any burnt areas (they'll be 'orrible and dry) and the rest should be fine


see: wiki on freezer burn

Kylieminoag

Oscar_the_Pug wrote: »

Hi KylieMinoag - these are a good way to use up chillis (assuming you don't want to freeze them): http://jamesbonfieldrecipes.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/creole-style-chilli-tomato-sauce/ and http://jamesbonfieldrecipes.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/piri-piri-sauce/

I get requests to make the creole one and it keeps for ages.

Thanks Oscar the Pug

I opened the first bottle of the creole one tonight for with our potato wedges yum yum! and quite pokey! :eek: and it was dead easy to make - I made 3 big bottles with my 50pence worth of whoopsied chillies! Better than tabsoxo and a bargain!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Thanks alot:beer:
x
H

destroyerofdebt2011

Oh NO didnt noticed the pears on the turn... i seem to be letting my fruit new years resolution slip 1 gone to the bin for being mouldy and like liquid... there really was no saving that mush!

5p added

squeaky

You might remember that I used it some marmalade when I made a batch of buns a few days ago. So yesterday, since I was cooking for guests, I started a batch to use up the lemon curd that I had made within a day or two of the orange stuff... and it had gone off! Bummer. About 25p.

That brings me up to £1.05 for the month so far.

Firemunchkin

Annoyed - OH took a portion of Irish stew out of the freezer and forgot to take it into work for his lunch, 3 days later and it's no longer safe to eat so in the bin it goes. Thankfully we got 6 portions out of that stew so only 75p on to my balance for the month bringing me up to: £2.25.

On the plus side though, my butternut squash which I've had for weeks was still perfect for a risotto last night, also used some old shallots, frozen rosemary, HM veg stock and reduced bacon that I'd frozen. Today I shall make a chicken & ham stew using some reduced ham chunks and the celery, carrots and cabbage which are almost past it, together with HM stock.