home cooking is blowing budget

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there Natzini

If i roast a chicken on sunday, once its gone cold i strip all the meat off and put it in the fridge, and boil the carcass to make stock..i will probably use it by tuesday, but i will also freeze some..wrapped up well....just so we dont have chicken for every meal until its gone...

dronid

For chicken (and I have to say most meat) I would only refrigerate it for 3 days, so cook on Sunday, use by Wednesday. I remove all the flesh from the bones on the first night and then slow cook the carcass overnight. I then have a re-pick at the newly tenderised bits - you can often get quite a bit more off it after this process and some good stock to go with it. The meat from the thigh and leg I normaly freeze in a couple of seperate portions until the Thurday and Friday night when I cook them into something else. Then they can last for up to 3 days. I re-cook chicken but don't re-re-cook it if you see what I mean

So I would roast a chicken - Sunday
I make say a curry on the Wednesday.
I can then reheat the curry once up to Saturday.
That way it's safe to eat all week. If I know I won't cook it before Wed I'll freeze the meat and cook when I want to.

I hope this is clear
:eek::rotfl:

dronid

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

just so we dont have chicken for every meal until its gone...

Looks like we pretty much do the same thing! I'll often freeze off batches of things I cook and then interleave the chicken meals with next weeks and the week afters food.

Just watching Saturday Kitchen while making Kedgeree here.

As for the Chicken breast you mentioned earlier I agree it isn't normally as good once cold, that's why I 'Coronation' it, curry mayo, sliced almonds and some mango chutney on wholemeal rolls or baguette - yummy!:D

beemuzed

I'm passing on all the chicken ideas to DH as he does most of the cooking - we pobably get 3 meals for the two of us from a large chicken so I shall challenge him to stretch it further. Must say we're not good in the portion control dept. - as can be seen from our increasing girth!
With reference to the original post, I'm sure part of it is the increased cost of building up the store-cupboard originally, but once the basics are there then OS is less costly and much better tasting than ready meals - and free of heaven knows what additives!

Tashja

Please can someone post the recipe for Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

I have had a look on the big index but can't find it ???

Thank you

T xx

lil_me

There is one on here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=965154&highlight=chicken+sweetcorn+soup+recipe#post965154

dronid

misspenny wrote: »

we have been trying to cook from scratch more often dp is really getting into baking from home, but this week shopping came to £71 not inculding baby milk which was out of stock so 2 boxes of that would have added £10 to the bill, i thought cooking from scratch would save us money usual spend is £50 max.

what am i doing wrong

Anyway misspenny. I think the consensus is let us know what you're spending on and I think we'll all have a look and give you the benefit of our experience. Also most of the time initial expense is quite high for basics but they then last for ages.

Please do let us know - we're here to help!:D

Jandy123

Hi, we have just started cooking from scratch to a menu, and my weekly shop went up to £81. Used to manage on about £50. However, on looking at the things bought, I reckon I can make double amounts of most of the recipes ( pack sizes seem to have at least twice as much as I needed). So am planning to freeze some. Maybe you can do the same and then your extra spending will have been spread over two or even three weeks for some of the items. Thanks to all for the advice and ideas by the way, I hope I'll soon be ready for the chicken challenge !

Topher

Interesting post.
One tip moved forward from my Gran's wartime cooking, via my Mum, is to serve the original Sunday roast chicken meat alongside sausages, so that you can be a bit meaner with the chicken without people feeling they've had to do without. Then there's enough meat left for the other "leftover" meals.
Like a previous poster we strip the chicken after the meal, bones get boiled (or pressure cooked) with carrot tops, onion skins, and some fresh herbs for soup/stock, the rest of the bird is refrigerated until needed. We consider we're pushing our luck if we leave it as late as Wednesday to eat the refrigerated meat.
T

Topher

... as for the problem of extra cost when cooking from scratch, I bought/borrowed quite a lot of books about saving money, and there are some good threads on here (way back) about peoples favourite books. The main priciple would seem to be coordinating you week's cooking so that meals are kind of integrated (with regards to leftovers, or using cooking time for more than one meal etc.)
I've got scanned copies of a Famly Circle article from the 1980's of Shirley Goode's. If it doesn't breach copyright, and someone can tell me how, I can pass them on on here if you want. The article gives everything, including shopping lists, for a week's coordinated and budgeted meals. (some of it is outdated, but it gives the idea as a starter.)
T