Please help with meals...hard times

carlymummy

Hi everyone firstly I am sorry I don't post as much as I maybe should but I am a long time lurker of the OS board. Also apologies for my long and rambly post I am worried and can't think straight at the moment.
We are a family of 5 myself, DH and DS4, DS9 DS12. We always find managing on such a tight budget hard (in IVA also) but especially so as DH has just been moved onto monthly pay from weekly which has completely thrown us, our mortgage etc leaves the bank tomorrow and child benefit doesn't go in until next Thurs so we literally have about £15 to last until then. DH wage will not go in until 23rd August!!! So the child benefit won't last long either.
I have just gone through my fridge/freezer and cupboards if any of you have any suggestions of how I can spin this out into meals for us for at least 2 weeks I would be eternally grateful and any suggestions of what to buy with the small amount we have to spend for topping up ingredients.
Fridge
1/2 tube of tomato puree
4 pint semi skimmed milk approx.
1/2 tub spreadable butter and 1/2 tub stork, 1/2 block lard
2 small red onions
1 pack of peppers (red, green, yellow)
1/2 bag new potatoes
small pack of cherries
5 carrots
Freezer
Frozen veg sweetcorn, broccoli, peas, green beans all half full bags approx.
1 pack of basics white fish fillets skinless boneless approx. 6 fillets
2 boxes basics fishfingers
1 pack Richmond thin 12 sausages
6 baps
2 small naans in pack
1 pack YS bagels
4 YS wholemeal loaves
Store Cupboard
I have herbs and spices, yeast, baking powder, bicarb, all flours although half full inc strong white for pizza/bread, stock cubes chicken and veg
3 tin baked beans
2 tins spag hoops
1 tin hotdogs
2 tin chopped tomatoes
choc spread
1 tin potatoes
1 tin pears and 1 tin mandarins
1 tin evaporated milk
1/2 pack rice
2 bags penne pasta
1 pack dried spaghetti and 1/2 pack lasagne sheets
1 pack instant noodles
porridge oats approx. 1kg
golden syrup 1/2 jar
1/2 box of shreddies and 1/2 pack of bran flakes
1/2 box of breadcrumbs

I normally shop at Aldi, I enjoy to cook and normally cook from scratch. We don't eat much meat usually buy a small chicken for a roast and then strip remaining and use it in a pie etc.
I was thinking of buying milk and eggs to top up but also need toiletries and toilet roll?!
Please help if you can.
Thank you in advance :A

Edited to add I also have potatoes growing but they aren't ready yet I'm pretty sure as they haven't flowered and my onions bolted

BitterAndTwisted

I'm sorry that I can't help you with recipes atm as that's not really my forte. Have you had a look at the cheap-family-recipes.org website?

As to your husband's income: do you mean that he's changed jobs or that his employer has moved him to monthly pay? When I got moved to monthly pay (a very long time ago, before The Flood) our employer made short-term loans available, payable over two, maybe three months, to get us over the hump. Is there anything like that available to your OH?

Own_My_Own

On this site you add all the food you have and it gives you meals to make out of them.

http://www.supercook.com/

HTH OMO

Eta you can also put- cook with food I have - in google and other similar site will come up.

carlymummy

Hiya yes I have had a quick look on that website before I have it bookmarked actually. No DH went for a promotion at work to a supervisor which he got but it meant moving from weekly to monthly pay he got the job. Once he gets paid we are hoping to be a little better off although we will no longer get help with NHS prescriptions etc or council tax benefit and IVA will obviously want a cut of the larger wage swings and roundabouts I suppose but we are 3 years into the IVA now so counting down. Thank you for your help

carlymummy

Own_My_Own wrote: »

On this site you add all the food you have and it gives you meals to make out of them.

http://www.supercook.com/

HTH OMO

Eta you can also put- cook with food I have - in google and other similar site will come up.

Brilliant thanks having a look now

notanewuser

Potato plants don't "flower" as such. The leaves turn yellow and wilt at which point you harvest the potatoes. Ours aren't far from being ready - perhaps a week or so.

carlymummy

notanewuser wrote: »

Potato plants don't "flower" as such. The leaves turn yellow and wilt at which point you harvest the potatoes. Ours aren't far from being ready - perhaps a week or so.

Oh thank you mine did last year have a 'flower' on them but will maybe pull one up and check then I am not that knowledgeable on gardening I try

FairyPrincessk

I'm not as good as some, but I can think of about 8 meals--

For these you would need to buy cheese, a chicken, possibly some spuds, some eggs

1. Fish pie with your fillets and some mash (might be enough for two meals not sure)
2, 3Fish fingers with new pots and veg x2 meals (might be short on spuds--depends?)
4, 5. Sausage and pasta bake x 2 meals--chop sausages small, bulk out with pasta--not the healthiest but will be fine for a couple of weeks.
6. Pizza, just cheese and tomato
7. Roast chicken with yorkshire puds and veg. I know it isn't traditional but it will fill it out without having to buy more spuds.
8. Chicken and noodle soup (use chicken carcass and remaining meat, add some frozen veg and a bit of the pasta.

Its hard to know if some of these will be filling you up, so just some rough ideas. Definitely porridge for breakfast, and things on toast/jacket spuds for lunch!

carlymummy

Thank you so much FairyPrincessk I had just written myself a list after my DH managed to calm me down with caffeine, good old cuppa tea and we had written down eggs, cheese, potatoes and milk That is ever so helpful for the meal suggestions thank you again

jpscloud

When did you plant your spuds? If they've had around three months and the tops are fully grown, I'd have a rummage and see what you have there. It's called "furtling" by the way, looking to see how much your potatoes have grown... I just love that term!

New potatoes are such a treat, my mum and I ate a small bowlful (boiled and cooled) just like apples yesterday! They'll really cheer you up while you are going through the hard times waiting for the money to come in.

Edit: not very old style, but the cheap supermarket instant noodles are great comfort food - kids usually love them too.

carlymummy

jpscloud wrote: »

When did you plant your spuds? If they've had around three months and the tops are fully grown, I'd have a rummage and see what you have there. It's called "furtling" by the way, looking to see how much your potatoes have grown... I just love that term!

New potatoes are such a treat, my mum and I ate a small bowlful (boiled and cooled) just like apples yesterday! They'll really cheer you up while you are going through the hard times waiting for the money to go in.

Thank you for that.
Furtling - my fave new word
I shall go and 'furtle' around my potato plants in the pouring rain and see if they are big enough to eat, some of them have sprouted up from last years compost that was tipped onto an unloved flower bed