Family of 5 'shop from home'food storage challenge...

rhonda_jean

This is a fabulous thread full of interesting and useful information. I love the recipes and will certainly use some of them. Thank you to all the contributors here.

I have three places to store food in my home. The food I'm using, any open packet, is put in the pantry. The food for future use, all those things I've bought on special and the sauces, chutneys and jams I make from my backyard produce, are in the stockpile cupboard. I also have a freezer full of flour, pasta, fruit juice from our fruit trees, nuts, lentils, rice etc. This is my dry goods store. We don't eat meat. I haven't had any wastage due to weevils or pantry moths since I started my dry goods freezer. Here's a photo of it.

We supplement the food in the cupboard with food grown in the back yard. Out there we have aquaponics fish in a large tank. The fish will be eaten when they're large enough. We also have chickens and get fresh eggs every day, and we have a large organic vegetable garden and lots of fruit.

This is the stockpile cupboard.

This is one of those things where you start off slow and as you add to it, you develop a really good resource for your home that not only saves you money, but also time, because you're not at the supermarket every day.

donnajt

Fantastic post Rhonda Jean - thank you - have inspired me to take some pics of my kitchen (I promise to include a fridge one too!)

I have also done an inventory of my freezer and cupboards - it's amazing what you discover isn't it

Morwenna - the A1 sauces comes in loads of different varieties but apparently it's a bit like a ketchup/brown sauce concoction, I used all Value stuff - mustard, ketchup, brown sauce and a bit of hamburger relish - mixed it all up to taste and added it - in another recipe I have for meatloaf you mix mustard/ketchup/brown sugar for a bbq sauce. My meatloaves were a tad wet when they went into the oven so next time I will add some extra oats.

Made a great big batch of cherry bakewells last night but they went wrong my scales are def broken - must get new ones, they are edible but I certainly wouldn't share them out like last time - they do look cute because I used pink icing for valentine's day

OH is cooking spicy pasta tonight (mozzeralla, feta, sundried toms, chili, red onion, lemon juice, basil) it's our fav and OH's signature dish

DD and I are having cheesy-bean pies for lunch (posh beans on toast) - my favourite childhoon recipe -

bread (staler the better) buttered, crusts removed,
use bread to line dish, york pud tray or muffin tray buttered side down
spread baked beans on top and sprinkling of cheese
top pie with more buttered bread (crusts removed) buttered side up
sprinkle with a bit more cheese
pop in oven for approx 20 mins - delicious

DD&D glad things are getting better for you

Thanks for the sauce recipes - I am with you on the ketchup the smell is awful, I will only have it on sausage sandwiches and chips, but DD and OH love the stuff

Happy Valentines to you all, donna x:beer:

donnajt

Ladies have kitchen pics ready - how do I post them?

donnajt

can't figure out how to post pics direct so have added link

trying to insert link instead:
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh84/donnajt/Kitchen%20Feb%202008/

all the chocolate on top of one of the cupboards is Xmas presents - I manage a Sheltered Housing Scheme - over 100 tenants so that means a whole load of choc at xmas - I promise I have given over half of it away already

ENJOY!

purpleivy

Nice kitchen layout DOnna, looks like the busy place we all seem to inhabit! Not just my cupboards that are stuffed then!

donnajt

Thank you purpleivy - must admit most of the cupboards have food stuffed into them - was embarrassed to show the rest LOL!

I love spending time in my kitchen, I often consider moving out dining table and putting a sofa and coffee table in there instead

minimooch

morwenna wrote: »

donnajt - what did you use for the steak sauce in the meatloaves please? I was all set to do them, but couldn't decide what to substitute...

I am a complete brown sauce addict (HP for preference) but in the US they dont have it, and the closest thing I could find was steak sauce. So brown sauce might be a good substitute

minimooch

RavyLesley - thanks for the sauce recipes, I wonder if tinned tomatoes would substitute? I might have to try an afternoon trip to the market and see what can get.
D&DD - pleased to hear things are moving in the right direction, good luck with the EEG on friday

FZwanab

donnajt wrote: »

can't figure out how to post pics direct so have added link

trying to insert link instead:
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh84/donnajt/Kitchen%20Feb%202008/

all the chocolate on top of one of the cupboards is Xmas presents - I manage a Sheltered Housing Scheme - over 100 tenants so that means a whole load of choc at xmas - I promise I have given over half of it away already

ENJOY!

What a fab kitchen konnajt, it really looks great, am jealous. Realise am not normal, have to give kitchen a good clean out now to keep up with your tidy kitchen. Cupboards are a mess too with stuff thrown in any old way. Thanks for the motivation, will get started asap. Also, I wouldn't be able to live with choc in my kitchen, it would be gone very fast, you must have great will power or dislike chocolate. Thanks for going to the trouble of posting the pics.

dizzypink

Hi there, just been catching up on all the wonderful recipes you guys have posted. Think this thread is GGGreat!!!!! Been baking so much I broke my hand mixer yesterday.
I have now been experimenting with new ideas...bit of an addict to those jaffa type cakes....just hate the price:mad:

I have managed the make an orangey topping that works brill:j . Now need to work on a fatless type bottom..( oops or is that just mine LOL )

Any ideas??