Reverse Meal Planning

EssexHebridean

Liver dug out of the freezer and left to defrost in the fridge ready for tomorrow. Tonight will be the rest of the batch cooked pasta bake from the weekend with some more random veg - probably stir-fried pak choi (lurking in the fridge from the veg box) the other half of the punnet of mushrooms, and some frozen sliced peppers I think. 

Last nights omelettes were lovely - and I'm delighted to say the lettuce was still beautifully crisp and fresh! 

ruby_eskimo

Well convinced DH to have a rogue omelet for breakfast this morning to take care of the eggs we needed to use up before going away - he usually has cereal during the week and eggs at the weekend.  Will have some bread leftover but just going to bung that in the freezer this evening.  

All other perishables are being used for dinner tonight to make homemade pizzas with some dough we froze a while back - it's looking nice and puffy where it's defrosting right now.

Martinxu

Leftover chicken pie and cheese pizza from last night, today's staple. I don't have a microwave, but I do have a convection oven which is a good alternative to the microwave.

I usually use it to cook or reheat food, it has a secondary cooking effect and saves me money.

Add some beans and I'm enjoying the flavor it brings.

zafiro1984

Yesterday, I lit the woodburner and made a huge pan of soup from all the carcasses of turkeys and chickens in the freezer. All the bendy veggies from the fridge plus some frozen leeks went in it, and bits and pieces of herbs/spices/pulses which I already had. It simmered most of the day. 
We had some of it for tea last night with bread rolls. Froze the remainder for another day. it tasted rather good. MrZ requested I made more of it but I pointed out that there was no recipe so I couldn't repeat it.
I must have had my thinking hat on (an unusual happening) as I melted some HM rhubarb and ginger jam left in the bottom of the jar and poured it over cheapish vanilla ice cream for afters.

QueenJess

So much reverse meal planning today to use up old stuff that I hardly know where to start!

Lunch was OOD pasta with red pesto and sun dried toms to be used up from the fridge and mushrooms going over the edge.

Chocolate brownies made to use up OOD flour, eggs and some beetroot that’s going soft. Rest of the beetroot, old sprouting onions, bendy carrots and half a butternut squash roasted at the same time for lunches next week (will combine with harrisa paste, chickpeas and cous cous.

Bottom of the fridge veg cut up for slow cooker chicken thigh casserole for dinner tomorrow including more bendy carrots, butternut squash, end of an old cabbage, 2x broccoli stalks and an old leek. Will make some OOD suet balls to go with it. Trying hard to throw nothing away!

joedenise

Was going to make a vegetable biryani for dinner tonight but as we had rice last night DH didn't really want it again so I decided it would be something with pasta.  Found a Tom Kerridge one pot recipe on a leaflet I'd picked up in M&S Food Hall which uses things I have in the cupboard, fridge and freezer.  So tonight it's going to be a bacon, tomato & pasta one pot dish.  Should have broccoli in it but I haven't got any so will substitute some frozen green veg - probably green beans and Brussels and possibly a handful of peas.

The pasta is actually cooked in the tin of chopped tomatoes and some veg stock.  Never cooked it like this before so hopefully it'll work OK.  The recipe says cooking it like this means the pasta absorbs the other flavours.

EssexHebridean

Yep - I know a good few people who cook their pasta in its sauce these days - as long as there is enough liquid it should work fine! Makes sense rather than using another pan and another ring. 

QueenJess I LOVE beetroot brownies!

My entire meal plan this week is pretty much of the reverse/use-up persuasion! I really want to start making some proper impact on the freezer again as that opens up opportunity for better use of batch cooking, so the first step is to deal with eating some of what is in there. I now have a proper list, and a meal plan covering this week and next where almost all the main components of meals are from the freezer. Once it's thinned down a bit I also want to stock up on frozen veg too so we have a better range in. that will probably be a task for an Al's shop at some stage. 

We will start tonight with smoked salmon pasta using one of the tubs of salmon we brought back from the Hebrides - that also uses some HM pesto, a tub of roast toms and peppers and some of the soft cheese which has been lurking in the fridge. the salmon & cream cheese also double up to make a lunch as well as there is enough to do a filled roll each which makes it rather more economic. 

CCW007

Plans are afoot re food storage!  Need to rearrange the garage (chest freezer and upright freezer in there - to get rid of upright freezer) and our American fridge freezer needs to go and be replaced by a regular (as wide as possible) fridge freezer which will have less freezer space.

So much food to be used up!  Started today by making broccoli and stilton soup for lunch (head of broccoli, celery sticks and bunch of spring onions used from fridge).  Dinner for me will be sausage casserole (two veggie sausages out of freezer, butternut squash and other veggies).

Will sit down with OH tonight and work out a plan for rest of week.

joedenise

Have just done menu plan for next month up until we go on holiday and main meals will all come from freezers for the main part (meat/fish) or from cupboards (pulses/beans).

Tonight will be a fish pie using up bits of various fish from the freezer, a cheese sauce (from packet) and topped with mash.  Will serve with some frozen veg.

joedenise

Change to the menu plan already!  There is plenty of fish pie left over so will have that for lunch today instead of the planned stuffed peppers.  They can wait until tomorrow!  

Tomorrow's lunch was supposed to be a vegetable pasta dish from the freezer so that can stay there until another day!  It all helps to spread the cost.