Cooking for one

PasturesNew

Nelski wrote: »

.... a bag of "new" potatoes to cook before they officially die (another great purchase over Christmas ...seemed like a good idea at the time)

Green bags, green bags, green bags....

About 12-13 December I bought a 2.5Kg bag of spuds and thought that was it for Xmas dinner; then I noticed they were going a bit manky, so (about 22nd Dec) bought another/new bag and popped the first lot into a green bag in the cupboard ... expecting them to get so rank even a tramp wouldn't want them.

Surprisingly, the minute they went into the green bag their deterioration and sprouting ceased ... and they're still very edible.

I only bought a pack of green bags because they were £1 and I thought I'd try them - never expected them to actually work, but they did.

Nelski wrote: »

Not sure what will be accompanying one of the portion of the potatoes today but I do know that there will be stock for the freezer again which is frustrating but its that or waste.

Random potatoes, for me, often get turned into cheesy mash - no need to bake/finish ... just nuke, mix with cheese, scoff. Beans optional.... although that does mean opening a new tin, so it generates a leftover

Nelski

PasturesNew wrote: »

Green bags, green bags, green bags....

About 12-13 December I bought a 2.5Kg bag of spuds and thought that was it for Xmas dinner; then I noticed they were going a bit manky, so (about 22nd Dec) bought another/new bag and popped the first lot into a green bag in the cupboard ... expecting them to get so rank even a tramp wouldn't want them.

Surprisingly, the minute they went into the green bag their deterioration and sprouting ceased ... and they're still very edible.

I only bought a pack of green bags because they were £1 and I thought I'd try them - never expected them to actually work, but they did.



Random potatoes, for me, often get turned into cheesy mash - no need to bake/finish ... just nuke, mix with cheese, scoff. Beans optional.... although that does mean opening a new tin, so it generates a leftover

Where did you get them from PN? Ill look out for some :):)

and yes i love potatoes (could never be a no carb girl) so random use of them works for me and in fact potatoes cheese and beans could well be tonights gastronomic goody

PasturesNew

Nelski wrote: »

Where did you get them from PN? Ill look out for some :):)

It'll have been a random market stall, or a £1 shop, or a Home Bargains/similar. Definitely not a supermarket and definitely NOT Lakeland (who will stiff you for about £7 for a pack!!).

The cardboard sleeve contained a selection of reusable bags, of differing sizes. I just opened the spud plastic bag and tipped the spuds in, then rolled the sides down and chucked the whole bag with the top open into the cupboard - so the spuds had some chance of "drying out" a bit as they get a bit damp in plastic bags. A couple of days later I just unrolled the sides and then folded the top of the bag over .... and that was it. I knew they were there, I was putting off looking at them again, expecting a mess.... they're still edible ... I expect I'll finish them by the end of next week now.

I just checked what I've got. JML, as seen on TV, 15 bags in the pack.
These ones, not available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Home-Garden/Jml-JML-Keep-Fresh-Bags/B001PPDARE

meg72

PasturesNew wrote: »

It'll have been a random market stall, or a £1 shop, or a Home Bargains/similar. Definitely not a supermarket and definitely NOT Lakeland (who will stiff you for about £7 for a pack!!).

The cardboard sleeve contained a selection of reusable bags, of differing sizes. I just opened the spud plastic bag and tipped the spuds in, then rolled the sides down and chucked the whole bag with the top open into the cupboard - so the spuds had some chance of "drying out" a bit as they get a bit damp in plastic bags. A couple of days later I just unrolled the sides and then folded the top of the bag over .... and that was it. I knew they were there, I was putting off looking at them again, expecting a mess.... they're still edible ... I expect I'll finish them by the end of next week now.

I just checked what I've got. JML, as seen on TV, 15 bags in the pack.
These ones, not available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Home-Garden/Jml-JML-Keep-Fresh-Bags/B001PPDARE

I have been using these green bags for some time, got mine in poundland. Don't really understand how they were but by heck they DO. At Xmas took advantage of the cheap veg and packed some up in the green bags for my DD. She is so impressed she requests that I get her some. None in Poundland so found these on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-Sealapack-12-Fruit-Vegetable-Bags-Fresher-4-Longer-2-Different-Sized-bags-/132033249996?hash=item1ebdcb82cc:g:f94AAOSwJ7RYT~uM

have ordered these for her, Dearer but as they are reusable still well worth it.

Whilst on ebay I noticed they also do this kind of bag for cheese so am considering trying them

caronc

I'm loving all the input to this thread and all the differing views and experiences, I'm not sure "food overspill" is purely a single household's issue but do get the repetitive food "fed-upness" especially if you haven't got a freezer or only a wee one,
Sitesafe my son had a similiar predicament to you re no freezer having recently moved to a shared house upon starting his first "proper" job after graduating. For Christmas I bought him a table-top freezer which he now has in his room and finding it a god send. Would something like this be an idea for you? It wasn't hugely expensive and I'm sure second hand ones might be about much cheaper.
Redlady thanks for the micro mugs link - interesting
Tonight I'm planning on having HM pizza with the base made from a mix of yoghurt and self raising flour. Last night I reduced a tin of toms with onion, garlic and oregano to top it. It hasn't made a huge amount so not much food spillover, probably enough for 2 pizzas or a pizza and a pasta dish. The dough should make enough for 2 pizza bases for me but equally the second could be a naan type bread to ring the changes. I'll freeze the left over sauce and dough but both would keep for a good few days in the fridge and could be fairly versatile in what they are used for.
Last of the root veg soup just scoffed for lunch

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

Last night I reduced a tin of toms with onion, garlic and oregano to top it. It hasn't made a huge amount so not much food spillover, probably enough for 2 pizzas or a pizza and a pasta dish.

I use naan breads (vacuum packs of 2, so you have a long time to decide when to use them), but then you need to use the 2nd one within 2-3 days.

I knock up a quick base from: Spoon of tomato ketchup or chutney (depends what you've got), tiny splash of oil, random sprinkle of oregano, stir. Job done without reducing any tomatoes

I do that on the basis I've always got ketchup in and will sometimes have a jar of chilli/tomato chutney that will need eating somehow..... so that gets rid of a couple of spoons of it. If I've used ketchup and want it to be spicier, I'll toss some chilli powder in the mix too. If I've thought it through a bit, I'll make that 1-2 hours before I need it, so it's got time to blend the flavours together a bit and soften up the dry oregano.

I love vacuum pack breads. Pitta, part-baked baguettes, naans, .... although once opened it is a commitment to then finish the rest soonish. Usual lifespan of that bread is 2 months ... but you can leave them at least another month... I know, I often do it.

PasturesNew

Today I've eaten: Bombay spuds from the freezer that was taking up too much room, so I defrosted that expecting to eat it yesterday but didn't fancy it. Nothing else, just a portion of bombay spuds.

Mid afternoon snackette: Xmas leftovers of crackers and cheese and a spoon of branston. I will never eat crackers ever again because they just break up in your hand and make a farquin mess... but I do still have 1/3rd of that packet to go.

Tea will be: Half a can of creamed rice and a spoon of dark brown sugar; can opened yesterday, so might as well eat it today or I'll stop fancying it.

I've frozen some lovely fruit juice into four small lollies.... so the freezer's full again. It was a 1 litre carton, so difficult to drink all of that once opened.... because they're very high calorie, so I begrudge "wasting" calories on drinks when they are more usefully spent eating pies.

caronc

Thanks PN - yes I love vacuum pack bread too and do use naans as an occaisional pizza base do like HM tomato sauce on top though as find ketchup too sweet for me. Making from scratch tonight as I have yoghurt to use up so thought I'd give it a try. It was no hassle making the sauce it burbled away as I was cooking my chop last night and took two minutes to prep and I know I'll use the spare sauce up.

PasturesNew

Quorn is good for quick knock up stuff - frozen bags of it. I made this the other day as I had some peppers/tomatoes to use up.

Quorn, manky tomatoes, manky peppers (that's the last of those!), 1/4 of a frozen/chopped onion I'd put in the freezer.... and some cooked basmati + chilli.

https://postimg.cc/image/a46rozbft/

Farway

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've always got cheapo instant mash in the cupboards, so I don't have to buy whole bags of spuds.

When you read the label it says something like "99% potato"...

All I do is tip some (by eye) into a jug, grab a fork and poke it into a tub of marg to get "a knob of marg" and then I add boiling water.... the trick with instant mash is to not put too much water in, water in, stir it all around, dribble more water in until it looks about right.

For taste/texture it'll never be "like real/proper mash made with actual spuds", but it's probably better than a lot of frozen mashes and it's definitely a lot better than the "... and mash ready meal for one" dishes I've eaten.

As an easy to store, doesn't go out of date, use on demand, solution it's definitely got its place.

Worth trying.

I went over to instant mash a bit back, and make it much as PN does, by eye, blob of this, splash of that. I have sunk as low as Smart Price, and know what? Tastes same as the stuff those Martians make, especially with brown sauce and a shrunken slurry filled FB pie