Reverse Meal Planning

rtandon27

@EssexHebridean - that's for those ideas EH - will definitely keep in mind next time the veg box births one for us   In the past I've hidden grilled slices in a grilled vegetable strata stack, but with OH doing almost all the cooking these days, it's harder to do the hidden vegetable trick - lol

Last night's dinner another repeat favourite - pork shoulder steaks with cavalo nero mash, steamed carrots and the loveliest red current gravy.  All ingredients from the freezer, veg box & stores. Replacement steaks were missing from this week's grocery order so will try again next week, or route through MrS on the way home one day next week to pick some up.

It's a WFH day today, so got to have hobbit-style breakfasts. - yes that is plural -  First breakfast was 1/2 sweet cheese pastry & Second breakfast leftover taco mince from earlier in the week in 1/2 pita with some salsa and cheese.  Always amazed at how far the taco mince goes, we never finish it on the night we make it!

CCW007

Lunch was a random mix of LO soup (half a bowl) and a pack of savoury rice for me and noodles for OH - using up packets which were OOD.  Burger night tonight using up two buns out of the freezer. 

Got what I think is a haunch of venison out of the chest freezer - if it is venison it is ancient and may be better suited to the dogs!!

Chest freezer is officially full again as we had a delivery of the dogs' raw food (hence taking the venison out to make space!)

joedenise

Making Fakeaway KFC tonight using chicken thighs from the freezer.  Will serve with home made chips, corn on the cob (also from freezer) and beans.

ruby_eskimo

Used up a bunch of veggies from the fridge for lunch in a rice bowl and added a couple of veggie burgers from the freezer for some protein - was very yummy and avoided food waste 👍

Dinner tonight is homemade fake donner kebab with some flatbreads for DH and a pile of salad, again using up the last of the "bits" that are leftover from lunches this week.

EssexHebridean

CCW007 said:

Lunch was a random mix of LO soup (half a bowl) and a pack of savoury rice for me and noodles for OH - using up packets which were OOD.  Burger night tonight using up two buns out of the freezer. 

Got what I think is a haunch of venison out of the chest freezer - if it is venison it is ancient and may be better suited to the dogs!!

Chest freezer is officially full again as we had a delivery of the dogs' raw food (hence taking the venison out to make space!)

Friends of ours unearthed an elderly joint of venison from their freezer a while ago - he bunged it in the slow cooker for absolutely ages with a bottle of red wine and some stock and it turned out absolutely incredible - he reckoned the nicest he’d ever done. They reckoned it must have been in there years too. 

We’re having burgers tomorrow to get a couple of burgers and attendant buns out of the freezer! 

No meal planning here today as the second of our Confuzzled dot com D0min0s vouchers is being used. It’ll give us a free pizza and we will order a couple of sides - nice! The only planning will come in the decision about toppings! 😂

candylucy

Hi everyone, can I join in please? Seem to have loads of stuff hanging around in the cupboards, fridge and freezer so I’m hoping this challenge will help me use it up and start being more creative with recipes! 

DH is on lates today so I made him loaded potatoes in the slow cooker using a bag of new potatoes which have been sitting in the fridge since August (!), some leftover bacon and spring onions amongst other bits. 

For my dinner I batch cooked a chilli con carne using a pack of beef mince from the freezer and made a quick pico de gallo to go with it using some of the last summer harvest cherry tomatoes and spring onions. Was lush and have 3 big portions of chilli leftover which will be used when we’re next on lates (we’re both shift workers). 

I used half a packet of Mexican rice so have saved the rest and DH will have tomorrow on lates with one of the leftover portions of chilli. Ill probably make a version of Jamie Oliver’s Hangover Noodles to use up some of the veg in the fridge along with one of the eggs which needs using up. 

Sunday night I’m thinking of making a Moroccan tagine using some diced beef which has been in the freezer for a while along with some cous cous.

Suffolk_lass

I've got two and a bit packs of defrosted soup I thought was squash but turns out to be (possibly) turkey so I will be working these into the lunch menu for the next week! I also still have two generous portions of the chilli I made last week I used a pack of beef shin so there are some lovely big meaty lumps (DH loves that). Two portions left the house with DS on Wednesday so it will have done 8 portions by the time it has gone.

I also need to make a small chicken something too - thinking stir-fry might be a good way of stretching out the remaining carrots, but pie is always popular here. We have already had roast and curry.

I also made a really big stock-pot full of spicy courgette soup that was sold at the Village bonfire night on the field, last night. It seemed to go down well, only pot scrapings came home. (Someone else stands and serves it as I am here with our terrified cat. It's only once a year and she soon gets over it).

I also put a load of dried fruit in a bowl and soaked it/washed it yesterday afternoon. Drained it and then added brandy ready to make 3 small C-cakes at some point before the fruits ferment. I might make another batch as I have plenty of dried fruit. 

joedenise

Using up some mince from the freezer tonight to make a lasagne.  Will use a cheats cheese sauce made using cottage cheese, some parmasan & an egg - not tried this recipe before but hope it will work as it is very low calorie without the butter and flour!

Lunch will be stuffed peppers to use up a couple of peppers from last week's shop which need using up.

Primrose

I love a really "cheesy" sauce made from a good matured cheddar but as that,s becoming increasingly expensive these days ,  boosting a cheaper milder cheese flavour with a dollop of dry mustard powder can help give it an extra kick 

EssexHebridean

@candylucy Welcome - looking at that post you’ll fit in well! (Loaded potatoes sound lush!)

SL good work on that soup, and poor puss-cat, so many folk last night with frightened pets and guessing tonight will be the same. 

I find the offers in either the shop of co-operation or the one beginning with T on Wyke Farms cheese to be pretty good - the former sometimes does 2 for £5, the latter now often has a CCDeal price available and those offers both usually include their “vintage” cheddar which is lovely. For a cheese sauce I also like a good grate of nutmeg - really complements the cheesiness! 

Burgers and buns are out of the freezer here ready for tonight - I’ll look at buying a dip of some sort I think, although might yet just make houmous. Hoping to see off the fishfingers at lunchtime too, although not completely sure how many are in the box.