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Reverse Meal Planning
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Freezer dive last night yielded chicken and curry sauce; larder produced potatoes, onions and rice; fridge gave us an orange and green pepper. Everything but the rice went into the slow cooker, rice went into its own cooker later. Frangent korma and rice produced, a fraction of the cost of takeaway!
The same dive gave us a pack of pork mince and the last of the cooking chorizo, so the OH will be producing Spanish style meatballs, along with roasted veg and wedges left from earlier this week should be a tasty dinner once I'm home from the commute.4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)New projection - 14 YEARS 10 MONTHS LEFT OF 20 YEARS (reduced by 15 mths)Psst...I may have started a diary!3 -
Yum to both of those meals @rtandon27 we had left over fish stew and rice from the freezer courtesy of @EssexHebridean which was delicious again!Follow here for the daily life of an ADHD mum with 2 children and a new mortgage to pay
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6570879/life-in-our-forever-family-home-and-the-mortgage-that-came-with-it#latest4 -
LO shortcrust pastry from the other day went to cover some cooked mince from the freezer to turn it into an easy pie for tea. The cooked bacon bits also in the fridge, LO's from a flan I made on Monday went as a garnish on top of some squash and parsnip soup made yesterday, the rest was frozen.
That leaves just Greek yogurt, 2 pots of unopened cream, and cheese in the fridge as LOs.
I don't count the vegetables, fruit, milk, butter and opened jars as LOs, however the fridge now has space and looks a lot less chaotic.
I must make a food plan for the next few days based around the food in the freezers. I need to start with the one in the kitchen under the fridge where I tend to dump all the part used/open packets plus odds and ends. I noticed some sweetcorn in the bottom of a drawer minus its packet today so it's time to have a good sort out.4 -
Fortunately I managed to stretch the ragu I made to have spag bol with DS for his birthday, and for DH and I to have leftovers, the following night. Last night he was out for the day-into the evening, and I had been at the County Show, so I fried some chipolatas from the freezer, zapped a potato and had these with some salad. Simple, satisfying and yummy. My kind of minimum fuss grub.
I need to shop soon as a few things are almost gone. And I should make soup... in fact, I'm going to do that now!Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here4 -
I had to process some carrots that has got damp in the bottom of the veg box (maybe a bit frozen? - they looked a bit translucent) so I made a quick soup with an onion and some chopped up courgette that I had to rescue from mouldy patches (on the edge of collapse. I used lazy chilli and it is a particularly seedy, rather than flaky pot - my word it was hotter than normal. I had to mitigate with a squirt of ketchup and then told DH to add a ladle of milk to 5 of soup, and a swirl of cream or yogurt on top to take some out - it worked and is a lovely creamy tasting mix!Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here5 -
That's a championship concoction SL
I've just wrangled some odds and sods into a Japanese style rice and egg bowl with some crunchy veg and surimi sticks - I'd bought the Krab on a whim and have yet to convince OH that it is just pollock with a bit of pink food colouring!
Too many utoob videos about Japanese bowl 🥣 food may have left their mark.4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)New projection - 14 YEARS 10 MONTHS LEFT OF 20 YEARS (reduced by 15 mths)Psst...I may have started a diary!4 -
Suffolk_lass said:I had to process some carrots that has got damp in the bottom of the veg box (maybe a bit frozen? - they looked a bit translucent) so I made a quick soup with an onion and some chopped up courgette that I had to rescue from mouldy patches (on the edge of collapse. I used lazy chilli and it is a particularly seedy, rather than flaky pot - my word it was hotter than normal. I had to mitigate with a squirt of ketchup and then told DH to add a ladle of milk to 5 of soup, and a swirl of cream or yogurt on top to take some out - it worked and is a lovely creamy tasting mix!
The bit and bob soups are always the best.
I've started on the freezer under the fridge and retrieved some shortcrust pastry. a small pheasant casserole with looks like LO's, half an elephant garlic which is supposed to be quite mild but doesn't smell like it is. some cubes of green Thai sauce, obviously from an opened jar and frozen in an ice cube tray. and half a tub of ice-cream. Now to turn it into tea.
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Reverse engineered some 'posh' bacon cheese sliders using up freezer ingredients and fridge staples! (Bacon rashers came from some cooking bacon packs that we at long last have sourced and chopped the remainer down in 100g pots for the freezer.) Dessert was nectarine & banana with peach yogurt. We have a fridge full of yellow stickered bits and I've still not done the weekly meal plan as we were suitably distracted enjoying outside summmer sunshine activities - LOL4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)New projection - 14 YEARS 10 MONTHS LEFT OF 20 YEARS (reduced by 15 mths)Psst...I may have started a diary!3
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DH and I tossed a coin to see who went to the party (invitation we had accepted) and he lost and went. He was very unimpressed with the catering (which explains the evidence of snackage this morning). I had soup and pudding and could not wait for him to get home so I could go to bed - shattered!
This morning I am baking bread and have just made my version of my Mum's old recipe for Butternut Fingers - I increased the flour, fat, eggs, milk and fruit and nuts by 50% or more and left the sugar the same - it now comfortably makes 24 portions, and doesn't lose out for the extra sultanas, cherries and nuts I add!Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here4 -
Suffolk Lass
Butternut fingers - sounds intriguing. any chance of the recipe?5
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