The all new using what you have from your Freezer, Cupboard or Shed (Barn)

Cherryfudge

While on the subject of unlabelled freezer contents, I once shared some soup from my freezer with a colleague, only to discover it was chicken stock. Bless her, we are still friends.

Today I made pineapple upside down cake and forgot I'd used up all the glace cherries. However, I had some stem ginger, so that worked well in the syrup. It also used up that jar of ginger and the eggs and made further inroads into flour and margarine.

RHemmings

I'm way behind on everything, being busy with 'life' including a house purchase theoretically exchanging contracts today and completing on Monday. 

Unfortunately, some fresh food in my fridge is going to waste. Hopefully this evening I will be able to cook meals for freezing using long-term-storage pasta and rice (not the same frozen meal), etc. I bought some new products from Aldi, but the ones I've tried so far (vegan) ham slices and salmon, I don't like them at all. 

In the past week I have obtained an allotment, and have to start working on that. I am expecting that in the future I will have allotment produce to process. I'm expecting that these will fill the entire freezer with frozen meals, all going well. 

carinjo

Good luck with the house buying @RHemmings! There an allotment group on this forum too. Lots of friendly folks happy to share knowledge and tips. Called The ups and downs and inside outs of growing your own...
Today is finishing the rest of the stuffed cabbage

Cherryfudge

Exciting times, @RHemmings! I hope the house purchase goes nice and smoothly. And have you been waiting long for an allotment? The list here is ridiculous: the Council is in the process of releasing some new ones but when I put my name down, no one got back to me. In the meantime I acknowledge I'm not good at growing veg so I'm practising in a small way at home.

Today I'm going to make a slow cooker casserole of the rest of the sausages, which should make quite a few portions. DH and I are both out around tea time so I'll leave it in the slow cooker for him. When we had the first sausages from this package, I didn't like them, so I might quietly make something else for myself, and spare casserole portions can go in the freezer.

I also have the rest of the pineapple slices to use up but again, I'll probably have a share then tell DH the rest is for him.

Lunch today will involve finishing up some pate and some more cake. Not the best balanced meal, even with pineapple, though all the major food groups are in there somewhere.

Cairnpapple

Got the small freezer defrosted, yessss. Of course to do that, the big freezer is now absolutely rammed full and completely disorganised, so that's the next project. At least the big freezer has frost free so just needs a clean every now and again. 

Taking out some gravy to have with tonight's roast chicken, and pork to make curry (if I can find them).

RHemmings

Great work on defrosting the freezer @Cairnpapple. Sounds like good progress @Cherryfudge - I really like pineapple and must buy some fresh. Thanks for the advice @carinjo - the people at the allotment advised me to start slow and build up. 

I feel a bit guilty about posting here when I'm a bit too busy to really read everything properly. Completion on the house tomorrow, all going well. 

While after coming back from overseas I hadn't been making good progress on clearing out stuff, I have recently. In the past two days I used up the last rice in the house apart from some sushi rice. I think I'm going to have to restock rice. Unfortunately I forgot the rice and it overcooked. Fortunately it's brown rice and will probably be ... edible still. I cooked up some red lentils from the long-term store to go with it. For the lentil mix I also used ginger powder that's been sitting around forever, so a good chip away at the glut of ingredients. Hmm... I think I will try to wait until I've moved house before restocking rice. Maybe. It would help me use up lentils and mung beans if I had some rice. 

I also cooked some of the excess pasta, and it's frozen already. I will add grated 'cheese' to it today, and that's six frozen lunches in the freezer made from 'cupboard' ingredients, to be eaten for lunch. I find that these frozen meals never just stick around, so once long term ingredients are used to make them, I consider that 'job done'. 

Today I hope to make some bao buns. And, if I can find enough plastic boxes, I might make another batch of pasta 
 
 - 

Cairnpapple

Good luck with the house completion @RHemmings

Carcass from last night's roast chicken is in the slow cooker for stock with some wilty celery and a leek that was on its way out, plus garlic, carrots and herbs. Planning a pea soup with the stock, will chuck in some mushrooms and a broccoli stalk and some more of the excess celery. Chicken leftovers and pork curry should see us through the first half of the week. Then maybe another slow cooker risotto at the back half of the week to continue to chip away at the expired rice. Has anyone here tried making arancini balls?

Cherryfudge

I love seeing what others have and what is made with it - we are all so varied, it widens my horizons.

I haven't tried making arancini balls, but if you find a good recipe, I'd be interested @Cairnpapple .  

@RHemmings, I hope all goes well with the move!

Our dinner today is a couple of portions of the sausage casserole from the other day.

Tink_04

Payday is 31st so January has been Loooonnng! All bills are paid it’s just waiting on the food shop (I allocate £400 a months on payday). 

This month we have been eating all the randoms from left over Christmas food ( I still have turkey and gammon slides in the freezer - and some stuffing), I have not replenished the snack box even though it’s only the ‘not favourite’ snacks left, I have made jelly and fruit and angel delight that I had in the cupboard as some extra dessert/snack food. 

The fridge is looking pretty bare but the freezer is keeping us going, I’ve took soup out and 1/2 a pie that was frozen, used the last mince to make a huge pan of bolognaise, will split it and make a lasagna for another night.

Things I want to use up that I’ve found, are 

Crossoients & crumpets, might see if we have some jam and might do a picky supper with these. I’m going to keep going through and hopefully fit all of my odd bits in one drawer so I can use these first. 

Tink

Cherryfudge

I've had to throw out milk and yogurt that had gone off. I can't remember if I've admitted we now have a big bag of oven chips, so very little freezer room, but slightly more as I remembered to defrost one of the little tubs of houmous that's been in there a very long time. I ate it with a carrot from a very large bagful...

I've tidied the emergency food cupboard, and for any emergency requiring fruit teas or crispbreads, it's doing nicely. I've not needed the tealights and matches in there (yet) but most of the stuff has a reasonable turnover. Exceptions include bottled plums, meringues and olives, though I know they will get eaten one day.