Spring Cleaning the Freezers - 52 days on £70

Suffolk_lass

Leek, cauliflower and sad fridge veg au gratin? - it would need one small purchase - definitely worth £3 for 500g of Morries extra mature cheddar - then grate the lot and freeze 400g of it in portions.

Slice your leeks (2 for 3/4 people) into disks the thickness of two pound coins - put them in your stove-top/oven-proof dish and steam them with the lid on in a little butter and a dash of oil to stop them burning. Make your cheese sauce while adding sad fridge veg to the leeks - maybe add a veg stock thing or similar, with a little water and separately steam either some frozen or fresh cauliflower and/or broccoli - just until the cheese sauce is made - you can thicken with corn starch mixed in water rather than flour or use one of your unusual flours for a bit of je ne sais quoi. Mix some grated cheese into the sauce, leaving a bit to sprinkle over the top, then mix it with all the veg in with the leeks, pour it back into the pan you made it in, put the steamed broccoli/cauli in the oven-proof dish and pour the sauce with leeks over. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and a little salt then in the top of the oven on about 200c for 22 minutes it will brown on top.

Pennies to make and you will still have 400g of cheese in your freezer!

What did you think of the BNS & Chickpea curry btw?

XSpender

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Leek, cauliflower and sad fridge veg au gratin? - it would need one small purchase - definitely worth £3 for 500g of Morries extra mature cheddar - then grate the lot and freeze 400g of it in portions.

Slice your leeks (2 for 3/4 people) into disks the thickness of two pound coins - put them in your stove-top/oven-proof dish and steam them with the lid on in a little butter and a dash of oil to stop them burning. Make your cheese sauce while adding sad fridge veg to the leeks - maybe add a veg stock thing or similar, with a little water and separately steam either some frozen or fresh cauliflower and/or broccoli - just until the cheese sauce is made - you can thicken with corn starch mixed in water rather than flour or use one of your unusual flours for a bit of je ne sais quoi. Mix some grated cheese into the sauce, leaving a bit to sprinkle over the top, then mix it with all the veg in with the leeks, pour it back into the pan you made it in, put the steamed broccoli/cauli in the oven-proof dish and pour the sauce with leeks over. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and a little salt then in the top of the oven on about 200c for 22 minutes it will brown on top.

Pennies to make and you will still have 400g of cheese in your freezer!

What did you think of the BNS & Chickpea curry btw?

I have cheese that I bought with my meal allowance from work

DH has taken a portion of the curry for lunch today and a naan out of the freezer so we will see what the verdict is. It smelt lovely when I was cooking it but I made it for DH so it is too hot for me.

Cherryfudge

G/f is unfairly expensive isn't it? I know it costs more to produce (machinery has to be cleaned of gluten, fields have to be checked for rogue grains) but still it is a big hike in prices for something that is essential for some people's health.

I know leeks are on offer in Mr T at the moment but don't know how their prices compare with elsewhere.

XSpender

Suffolk lass - DH said the curry was beautiful

Well, it looks like the £70 part of my challenge isn't going to happen. DH went for some beer last night (which isn't included in this challenge) at the c0op and bought me a GF pizza, some ys bread rolls, burgers (which we have in the freezer) and one of their £5 deals which included a family sized chicken pie, a bag of oven chips, a bag of carrot and swede mash, a jam roly poly and a tub of ice-cream (which we already have in the freezer) at least the meal for my Mum coming at the end of March is sorted. This left me about

DH has also signed up to a 6 week weight loss plan which follows a set nutrition plan with a lot of exercise. He ideally needs to lose 3 stone, change his diet and cut down on beer and fast food at work. The plan will use up quite a few of the items we have in the freezer and cupboards like the non-gf oats, sunflower seeds, chicken, salmon, frozen broccoli and green beans, rice cakes, vac packed beetroot, red onions, rice, peanut butter and nuts.

It will require some yogurt, salad stuff and some fish both fresh and tinned. I have missed the fresh yogurt and salad stuff since we ran out. I will do some of the same meals as DH e.g. chicken salad, chicken with rice or sweet potatoes and green veg. The plan will probably save us money over all because we have so many of the items already in and DH wont be drinking beer and we won't be buying rubbish.

I will continue with the challenge of using up my freezers and spending as little as possible but the £70 is no longer possible.

Suffolk_lass

Sorry to hear about your budget. Just think of that as a one-off and put that money in a separate compartment - I have never 'seen' you be so frugal and inventive - really positive money-saving. I think you should certainly continue with accounting for the use-ups of your stores.

So glad your DH enjoyed the curry, it was my invention - no recipe. I've been making it for a few years now as we grow butternut squash and onions

XSpender

More sausages, tinned carrots, some rice, beetroot and burgers used up last night and today. We have added some fat free dairy, salad, frozen veg, tinned tuna, smoked salmon and chicken slices. Most if not all of the new items will be scoffed this week.

There is hardly anything left of the original fridge contents from when I started the challenge. The red onions didn't get used, they were beyond saving which is a shame as I wanted to use them in DH salad.

Tomorrow DH will be on his plan and I will be having similar food but still attacking the freezer and cupboards.

phizzimum

Oh XSpender that’s so frustrating! What was he thinking? Trying to be helpful no doubt!

Well what’s done is done - you might not manage the £70 target but you must have saved loads over the last few weeks. Try not to let yourself fall into the “we might as well forget the budget now” trap. I’m sure you wont.

Suffolk_lass

Next time you have onions that are starting to go over, try peeling and slicing them, then sprinkle with a tiny bit of sugar and sprinkle on some white vinegar. Put them in a plastic box in the fridge and they will preserve for several weeks - with red onions the pickle liquid goes pink and the onions get progressively milder. Lovely with sausages

Cherryfudge

So exasperating about the extra spend but I think Suffolk lass's idea of putting that money in a separate compartment is excellent. I guess the extra food comes in useful to extend supplies in a way, and perhaps DH's new food regime will save money longer term: beer and fast food aren't the cheapest.

Suffolk lass, that's a great tip about the onions, thank you!

I did quite a bit of food shopping today: milk, snacks, pasta sauce etc., in case the weather is too foul to get to the shops for a couple of days. So far we've only had miniscule snowflakes though. I made soup using the mushrooms (bought a big bag for 40p the other day) and a lemon. It was delicious. Other than that I haven't done anything significant to deal with the backlog of food, rather, I've added to it.

XSpender

Nothing crossed off recently but we have made inroads in to the brown and white rice, have been using up frozen veg and berries and I have defrosted some chicken sausages for my lunch as I have a long drive in poor weather this afternoon.

I might do a bit of a freezer sort out at the weekend and organise the drawers better so I don't have to rummage about as much.