Reverse Meal Planning

MissRikkiC

I love that that meal was cheaper than purchasing it in the city RT but really, you might not have actually purchased it in the city because of the cost so it was just more expensive that you’d planned for home cooked meals; which happens to us often and it’s so annoying! 

We used up the left over dauphinois potatoes and a beef joint oven tray bake thing I got from the Coop YS haul in December. It actually was delicious! A half head of broccoli to go with it and the stalk skinned and chopped for the freezer soup bag. 

Said freezer soup bag is actually getting rather full so I’ll get that out today as well as a portion of stock from Christmas ham/turkey and make a soup.

I’ve also got out of the freezer some of the sandwich ham previously mentioned and we’re having easy pasta pesto with chicken tonight. It would be without the chicken if I was having it my way, but my OH said ‘is there no protein with it’ - it will use half a tub of cream cheese and the last bit of cheap Pesto. 

The children will probably have freezer easy stuff with beans or peas. I can tell they’ve been off school/nursery a while as I’m struggling to think of meals that I know they will eat without repeating. 

Yesterday I made them sausage meat balls, the only ingredients were sausages (meat out of the skins) and a sprinkle of stuffing mix to bind and they both said it was ‘yucky’. They are the stuffing at Christmas and loved it and have sausages at least once a week, I was just trying to make them something different. Hmph

EssexHebridean

Last night's tea was the planned picky bits - cheese, plus some leftover dip finished with breadsticks, a jar of cornichons finished, and a pot of smoked salmon pate bought from the fish man at the farmer's market (nice, but not as nice as the stuff we get in the Hebrides, or make from the salmon we get there) as well. I did a treaty pudding of chocolate pannetone eggy bread which also used up one egg, some of the cream and a blob of creme fraiche as well. 

I did a freezer dive for the curried parsnip soup which we had for lunch yesterday - and taking that out of the freezer made room to get the tubs of turkey stock in there, barring one which I will be using for a risotto tonight...and that in turn will also use a tub of the turkey meat, too, so another win there! Some random bits of veg will be going into that as well. 

As things stand I rather think tomorrow night will be a return to picky pits - I got a bargain pack of italian style cured meat in Al's the other day, that will need using, there will be some pate as well, and of course we always have cheese, crackers etc!  I'm also currently thinking I may have a bowl of salad for lunch tomorrow as there are still salady bits to use as well - hopefully they will still be OK by tomorrow! I have a feeling I have a single egg to use, so that will work with that too as long as I remember to hard boil it tomorrow morning. 

I confess I am looking forward to some more straightforward food now going forwards - and definitely a bit more veg!  

redofromstart

I made the chorizo soup for DS1 which he inhaled last night.  I used the cherries to make a small jar of cherry syrup which can be drizzled on things. I had cheese, ham and the last of the pickled onions. 

Spotty bananas and soft blueberries to use, but I do not want to add to the freezer. I thought about making banana bread but only I like it so I decide to cobble together some banana and blueberry muffins instead.  

Might do a pea and ham risotto tonight.

rtandon27

Brunch today was super simple but tasty - folded omlets with tomatoes/rocket/spring onion and some smoked xmas cheese along with a MrL sandwich thin heated in the toaster.  OH has an aversion to tomatoes so had mushrooms in his.  Other than the cheese, which we will not be replacing, it was made from ingredients we regularly stock in the house.  Each breakfast, including coffee was about 70p a head.   Very reasonable indeed, given that the cheap café I walk by every morning on the way to work is charging 10 quid for the same fare (...and the coffee is not even bottomless as is common across the pond!)

@MissRikkiC - 😂😂 your comment did give a a good giggle!  I know my reasoning seems a bit odd, but the only other place I ever have ramen soup here in the UK is near the office during a working lunch so that is why I use it as my reference point!  I'm very fond of a bowl of ramen in the dark days of winter so have often suggested it for work meeting lunches as it is about half the price of set menus in the area!  In my head I thought that the cost of the ingredients was much lower than I priced out, so was feeling annoyed about the 75% mark up!  It was only yesterday that I realized just how much the ingredients actually cost that I realized 50% mark up was not that bad! ...but yes you are correct when pointing out how inadvertently we can put up the cost of a home-cooked meal without intending too!

@EssexHebridean - we too are just about done with pickety bit meals - I'd love a good hearty plate of chicken and veg atm, which I'm hoping OH will agree to and I can fish out of the freezer for dinner tonight.  I'm sure he will want to steam some spuds as well - and I'm not adverse as long as mine turn up on the plate mashed!

number_23

Today I have compiled an inventory of everything we have in the chest freezer, fridge, kitchen freezer, and cupboards. I have quite a lot remaining from Xmas as we didn’t overindulge, though we do have a lot of ‘freezer tea’ items which won’t really fit in with our plan to eat more healthily but I plan to reduce portion size and add veg and salads to meals to bulk. 

Tonight we are having spinach cannelloni made with mince beef (the ingredients have made 4 portions, two we will either have over the weekend or will freeze for later in the month). Tomorrow is jacket potatoes. 

I’m embracing the challenge but under no illusion that this is going to work out quite difficult towards the end. Going to look back through the comments to see what you have all made and write up a list of possible meals. Any useful hints and tips welcome 🤗 

HNY

Update, and questions;

I’ve spent the last almost 3 hours reading posts on this thread. Unfortunately I have some questions please…

Defrosted bread / buns aren’t very nice, what am I doing wrong? 

Is there anything that you can’t freeze? 

Are farmers markets much more expensive than supermarkets (I understand the quality will be far more superior but need to keep costs low, where possible)

sorry for so many questions, I didn’t learn to cook properly due to parent illness and subsequently loss when I was young. I have always tried but I’m determined to make a difference to our health and budgets this year, so any support is appreciated, thank you 

EssexHebridean

Ok - starting with freezing.

bread should be absolutely fine - how are you freezing it? I usually pop mine in the freezer in the plastic bag it came in if it did, and in one I’ve saved from a previous loaf if it didn’t or is home made. If it’s not sliced, slice before freezing, and gently squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag before popping it in the freezer. 

Milk freezes - skimmed about the best IMO, but whole milk works too, just needs a really good shake once defrosted. You can also freeze leftover cream ready to pop into sauces too.

Veg - green veg generally benefits from a brief blanch in boiling water before freezing. Root veg can be par boiled first, and is then best suited to roasting straight from frozen IMO, although mashed potato freezes well too - just add a knob of butter and a splash of milk when you reheat, and go easy stirring it to avoid glueiness. Things like tomatoes can be chopped and cooked into a sauce and frozen that way, and mushrooms can be roasted or pan fried and then loose frozen ready to throw straight into the pan from frozen.
Fruit - berries and similar will freeze but are then best used in cooked dishes as they lose their structure on defrosting. Pomegranate seeds open freeze brilliantly - freeze on sheets of baking parchment and you can then just tip them into a container ready for use.
Meat - generally the rule is that meat should only ever be frozen once in each state - raw, then cooked. So if you get a joint of beef from the shop and don’t want to use it immediately you can freeze it raw, then take it out and defrost thoroughly before cooking. Once cooked you can then freeze the meat again, but it should for example then be defrosted and cooked into another dish and then frozen again. 

Seafood & fish is a funny one - and you need to check labels for the most part - sometimes fresh stuff has previously been frozen and says not suitable for freezing again, sometimes it still says you can (because of the specific method of freezing used originally) so best to check.

All sorts of home cooked bits will freeze well too - Things like pasta bakes can be made in bulk, assembled and then frozen, then when wanted take them out, defrost in the fridge overnight, and I usually reheat in my combi microwave - sprinkle the top with cheese and breadcrumbs, and blast on combi for 10 minutes. Bubbly hot sauce and a crispy top - magic! Bolognese sauce, chilli, soup of course (a winter staple on this thread!) Just make, portion up and pop in the freezer! 

Farmers markets do tend to be more expensive - if you have a farm shop nearby that might be a good halfway house though particularly for veg? I prefer farmers market meat where I can as we know the suppliers we buy from,:and are confident of their welfare credentials. Chicken and eggs come from the supermarket for me but always feee range.

rtandon27

@number23 - welcome to the thread!

I always go with the general rule that fresh is best, so for instance, I'd rather buy extra MrL cheap pick of the week green beans and trim them up and freeze them than resort to beans from the freezer section of the supermarlet, but in winter when I run out of those, I'd much rather buy the cheap frozen ones than resort to tinned or jarred.  Once you are in a pattern of knowing what is cheap and/or seasonal you can then think of provenance and choose if your budget stretches to farm grown and/or local and/or organic.  My rule of thumb for supermarket organic is that it has to cost the same or less than the conventional stuff.

Also labelling frozen food containers with what it is inside and the date it went into the freezer is sooooooo important & I think many of us on the thread have learned that the hard way (hence the term freezer dive!)  I resort to frog tape and a sharpie as it tends not to come off the containers! It's so important to use the first in first out rule to keep the food in optimal condition.  There have been so many times in the past that I've defrosted what we think is stew or bolognaise and it turns out to be yet another leftover curry!  I always try to freeze either in identically sized plastic tubs which stack really nicely or zip bags frozen flat for cooked liquids & mashed root veg & rice.  The later then stand up in a row once solid.

Our January use it up is going to plan...

Yesterday our 3pm snack was houmous from the fridge, baba ghanoush from a jar and pita from the freezer. A really tasty savory snack and meant we avoided cookies with our tea! - under 1GBP a serving so on track there.  Houmous and pita are usual buys for us so will be replace when needed.

Dinner was home-cooked roasted chicken from the freezer  (bought 2 on yellow sticker), along with the last of the brussels bought pre-xmas from Waitflower, some orange carrots and small potatoes from the bi-weekly veg box.  OH was not feeling up to much cooking so just steamed the veg and served with some butter pats on top.  I also found a jar of cranberry jelly in the stores to serve alongside, which I must have purchased on sale at some point.  Roast dinner on a dime - quick and cheap - about 1.50 a serving.  We'll replace the chicken at some point as a roasted bird is a staple in our house, and the veg as needed, but the jelly will last a while and I have no plans on replacing anytime soon.

Food for the two of us yesterday was under 7 pounds - very reasonable for what we had and well within budget as well.  Adding up costs & figuring out if the items need replacing is truly eye-opening & an added bonus to this reverse plan challenge!

MissRikkiC

Today we used up beef meatballs from the freezer and I made up the soup with veg bits and ham stock. I added yellow split peas and some handfuls of spinach I froze as well. It wasn’t that tasty tbh. I wish I’d have chucked in the Parmesan rind for some cheesiness as there was lots of broccoli stalk in there!

JingsMyBucket

@MissRikkiC oh that’s disappointing. Could you add some Swiss Marigold bouillon powder, if you have any on hand? That stuff is magical sometimes in adding flavour. Also some miso paste may help as well. 

Frugalista

I have been given 2 packs of 12 sage & onion stuffing balls and a pack of sausagemeat - all need using today!  Has anyone got any inspired ideas, please?  I was thinking of some kind of meatloaf or similar, but am open to any other suggestions.