Use-it-up experiments

Bogof_Babe

How about we compare notes on unorthodox things we've done with leftovers or short-dated food, that has turned out edible? :j

I have a pack of sachets of Uncle Bens boil in the bag rice (plain white) that should have been used last month, so I've just boiled one and mixed it with a small amount (about half oz) grated cheese, a shake each of curry powder, garlic granules and celery salt, and had it with bread and butter for lunch. Cost about 30p all told I guess.

It was surprisingly tasty, and I'll have it again each day until the rice is all finished! :beer:

vanoonoo

I used to be a nanny to two children in london and I came back from my weekend off to find the parents hadnt been shopping and hadnt left any money in the house purse. and I had to hungry children and a hungry me to feed!

in the freezer were two beefburgers and some frozen chips

in the larder fridge was an onion and some eggs

in the cupboard were some baked beans, some tinned toms and some mixed herbs

and seriously - very little else knocking around apart from some crisps and fruit and yogurts.

I made hamburger soup - I cant remember the exact order of events but I think it was dry frying the onion then the burgers then breaking the burgers up, adding the chips then the beans and toms and herbs and some water and poaching an egg in the liquid and serving the whole lot with crisps on top from memory.

it was surprisingly good unlike the job and the employers.

Nile

I can just picture Vanoonoo as Mary Poppins. Did you leave when the wind changed direction?;)

vanoonoo

they caught me kissing the chimney sweep

Ticklemouse

I had a use up tea tonight. In my fridge was a bowl of pureed meat/veg/beans from the cottage pie I did, ready for DS2 to eat but he won't. Also, 1 sausage in tomato/onion/mushroom sauce from HM sausy casserole. And then the remains of last night's tea - again tomato/onion/mushroom base with 1/2 pork steak. Cut meat into small chunks, bunged all in together cooked well and served with wholewheat spaghetti. Told kids it was sausage spaghetti in tomato sauce and told Mr TM that it was nice, even if it wasn't, so kids would eat it.:D

Now, considering my lot don't even like wholewheat spaghetti, everyone ate it all :j - well, DS1 found a stray mushroom which daddy had to eat, but surprisingly it tasted quite nice.

Have half a chicken to use up in tomorrow's tea....;)

Edit to say that in my pre-MSE days, most of this, not being portion sized or having been pureed, would probably have sat in the fridge until I decided that having undergone various mutations, it really wasn't fit for human consumption and would therefore have been consigned to the bin.

MATH

We also had use-up tea (sounds so much nicer than eat it before it can kill ya meal) which is what my lot call these carefully planned use by conscious meals.:o

ENTREE

Stir fried onion, potato and fish finger cubes on a bed of left-over salad tossed with half a box of long forgotten cous cous.

FROM THE DESSERT TROLLY

Two half jars of Christmas Mince Meat encased in a succulent suet crust case found lurking in the freezer. Served with lashings of custard made with just about to turn milk.

I'm unsure of the total cost cos store cupboard items bought with pre-decimal coinage I count as free;) :eek:

Mads13

Hi All

Tonight we had curry & rice made from:

Left Over Roast Chicken (Sunday-About 8 small bits)
Balti Curry Paste(1tsp)-10pence
Tin of Mixed Beans in tom sauce-14pence Asda
Tin Value Chopped Toms-13pence Tesco
1/2 bag value rice-21p
Handful Frozen Value Peas & Sweetcorn-10pence

Total 68pence for 2 good portions and have enough left for snack later or on spud tomorrow!

Mads13

Pooky

Last nights delights....

Jacket pots left from (I can't actually remember when but they looked ok) some mash left from sunday and the crusty end bit of cheese. All mushed up and put back in the skins and heated up.

Some wholewheat pitta breads that were lurking at the back of the freezer and were beginning to look dodgy with 2 chicken breasts, some frozen peppers, a slightly soft onion and the remains of a packet of fjita seasoning.

Fried the chicken and onion and peppers, added the seasoning and shoved delicately into pitta pockets.

Verdict: Tastiest meal in ages!! :j

culpepper

saturday I came home to find all had eaten so got a margarine tub of spaghetti from the freezer(left over from a meal months ago),added a little pot of chicken soup from the drinkpac freebies and sprinkled dried (soya)bacon pieces in from a bottle of them that I bought for camping (nobody likes em but me).Voila,chicken and bacon noodles for one:)

moggins

Tonights teas was whatever I could find in the fridge that was usable, so I cooked up some pasta, made a sauce from half a can of Campbells condensed mushroom soup, sour cream, single cream, leftover peas and half a pack of smoked salmon trimmings. It was lovely!

in_my_wellies

I work in an area where there are lots of Asian shops selling huge sacks of rice. One day I went with my friend to buy a sack of Basmati. (There were about 15 types to choose from so I was confused.) She said I should buy two sacks for two different purposes. I said I would not use all that before the sell by date. Everyone laughed! Very emarrassing!! What had I said??
It turns out they will not use 'new' rice. It is much better if kept under the stairs for at least one year. When a young couple set up home they buy two or three bags, one to use and others to keep. After that the new bag is always put away and an old bag brought out.
So never have worries about using old rice.