Learning to be frugal in the kitchen

MartagonLilies

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and all the extra tips and ideas :grinheart

I ended up putting aside a portion of the mince mixture, and making some spaghetti on Sunday for DC2. The rest of us had the cottage pie.

Today I was supposed to make chicken wraps. I ended up not feeling too well though, and so am currently sat in bed, in fresh pjs. I've just woken from a nap, and feel quite run down.
Luckily, the two younger ones had school dinners today and DC2 has had pizza at a party this afternoon. DH made a cheese for DC3 and she had an Apple and a rock cake she'd made at school with it.
They're in bed now, so It's just me, DH and DC1 that need to eat.

My worry when this happens is the food in the fridge. I really don't want to end up throwing it all away That's what usually happens.

maddiemay

MartagonLilies wrote: »

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and all the extra tips and ideas :grinheart

I ended up putting aside a portion of the mince mixture, and making some spaghetti on Sunday for DC2. The rest of us had the cottage pie.

Today I was supposed to make chicken wraps. I ended up not feeling too well though, and so am currently sat in bed, in fresh pjs. I've just woken from a nap, and feel quite run down.
Luckily, the two younger ones had school dinners today and DC2 has had pizza at a party this afternoon. DH made a cheese for DC3 and she had an Apple and a rock cake she'd made at school with it.
They're in bed now, so It's just me, DH and DC1 that need to eat.

My worry when this happens is the food in the fridge. I really don't want to end up throwing it all away That's what usually happens.

What is in the fridge that might go off? and has anything that might spoil been previously frozen? perhaps we can come up with some ideas:D

MartagonLilies

OK, I've had a look through in my fridge, and listed what we have in there.

Veg: Kale, spring onion, peppers, cucumber,salad leaves, leeks, spinach, pea pods, asparagus, green beans, radishes, chilli,celery, broccoli & cauliflower florets, mushrooms (chestnut & closed cup)
Meat: ham slices, chicken breasts, streaky bacon, pepperoni.
Fruit: strawberries, pomegranate seeds, mango, pineapple.
Dairy: almond milk, semi skimmed, cheese (cheddar/ cream / goat / parmesan) greek yogurt, coconut yogurt

We also have jams / spreads / butter / pickles in the fridge.

PollyWollyDoodle

Well there's obviously lots of salad there, I assume some of that is for sandwiches/pack-ups? However to me there's a chicken stir-fry (spring onion, peppers, pea pods and possibly a few other veg and not much chicken), a broccoli-and-pasta bake, and a mushroom risotto possibly also with asparagus.

I'm going to be honest and say that if you're aiming to be frugal, there is some pricy stuff in your list - asparagus, mango, pineapple, pomegranate seeds. I'm not criticising your choices, it's lovely to have a variety of different foods especially if you have a picky eater in the family, but if I wanted to save money I'd be buying seasonal veg (OK, I know asparagus is in season but it's expensive!) and maybe frozen fruit to supplement bananas and apples.

maddiemay

A varied array of items there, agree a yummy stir fry and a bake with the broccoli and pasta using up some of that cheese. I use LF cream cheese in sauces and quiches as well as on crackers, sandwiches etc.

I think you need to try and work out (if that is possible) on average how many days you are unable to cook and have to leave it to others, obvs it will be an average as for many of us these days can just strike out of the blue.

You then have an idea of what meals you might be able to prepare using such a lovely range of ingredients, and which of them if any others might use. Then try and make a meal plan to include a lot less variety for a while (kale and spinach? - one or the other, 1 hard cheese, 1 soft cheese perhaps, if the ham, pepperoni and bacon are not planned for pack ups, incorporate some into a bake such as above. Bacon, jacket potato and beans could be another easy meal for you or your OH. Perhaps try and keep it more simple when shopping while you are not well.

For your poorly days if you can manage to heat and serve yourself try making batches of soup with assorted veg and stock cubes and taking from the freezer, this along with crackers/bread and a little cheese is tasty and nourishing.

Sorry to waffle on, another thought - many of us old stylers would drag out any veg likely to perish and chop it, bag and bung into the freezer ready to make soup, almost anything goes (except for me parsnips:()

[Deleted User]

Tinned fruit too has the advantage of being in relatively small and usable quantities and will keep for a very long time without going 'off' in the way fresh fruit does. Would you be able to adapt your usual recipes to using tins rather than fresh? and would your picky ones be able to tolerate the change of texture? tins don't cost electricity to store so would save you pennies in the long run.

suki1964

MartagonLilies wrote: »

OK, I've had a look through in my fridge, and listed what we have in there.

Veg: Kale, spring onion, peppers, cucumber,salad leaves, leeks, spinach, pea pods, asparagus, green beans, radishes, chilli,celery, broccoli & cauliflower florets, mushrooms (chestnut & closed cup)
Meat: ham slices, chicken breasts, streaky bacon, pepperoni.
Fruit: strawberries, pomegranate seeds, mango, pineapple.
Dairy: almond milk, semi skimmed, cheese (cheddar/ cream / goat / parmesan) greek yogurt, coconut yogurt

We also have jams / spreads / butter / pickles in the fridge.

I would chop the bacon and dry fry till crisp and then stir into a macaroni cheese ( any pasta shapes will do ) and serve with some salad veg ( thats a 20 min meal )

Or make a broccoli/cauliflower bake - heres a simple recipe you can adapt to use what you have https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/cheese-and-broccoli-bake/ ( use the stalks, just boil them before adding the florets )

I do like a pie and my favourite is Jamies leek and Turkey piehttps://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/turkey-recipes/turkey-and-sweet-leek-pie/

Only I use what I have - in this case chicken ( id poach the chicken first ) and I don't add chestnuts and if Ive no puff pastry in the freezer I make short crust or even suet and if all else fails, sliced potatoes over the top ( and I rarely if ever use the creme freche - its not needed)

Cant help with Kale as I think its horrible but the mushrooms and spinach , with a tin of chick peas shout out curry to me

MartagonLilies

Thanks again for all the replies.
No, I don't have any freezer space. My freezer is so full, I just don't know what to do with all the food! I think I mentioned before, it's a mix of food that I'd planned for, then got too tired, so it for put on the backburner, ended up the freezer and there it stayed:o

I agree that my list has a lot of slightly more 'luxury' items, although I did get them from Aldi:D Could probably change it up though.

Tinned and frozen veg and fruit is a good idea - I do have a lot of pre frozen in the freezer already, just sitting there:(,

The meal suggestions are lovely, thank you. I just don't have the first clue how to go about them unfortunately. I can't seem to look at what I have, and think ooh, I'll knock up such and such dish.
All my ingredients are bought for recipes, and if not used in them, they end up wasted:o I bet we have enough to last until our next payday, just we'll end up buying more, and this is the problem. We desperately need to save money on this department, I just have no clue. I'm trying to learn, as I'm incompetent in this area!

mardatha

Well it's not an ornament lol it is for eating - so once a day take something out of the freezer, and the next day eatit! sorted :D

maddiemay

When you say bought to make recipes do you mean something you have seen on TV/Internet/Book/Magazine or things that you have made before and pretty much know how to cook?

Somehow we need to help you take this food from freezer/fridge etc and give you confidence to prepare and serve it.

How do you shop, in person/internet? and how do you decide what to buy?

Lastly for today (enough homework:rotfl:) what has been eaten for main meals from Sunday until last night, might give us some clues to help.:D