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

Cairnpapple

Glad you're doing better @carinjo.

I make stock in the slow cooker which the internet suggests costs 36p of energy for 8 hours - even if that's now 50p it compares well with £2.25 for a 500ml can of Potts stock as I'd get over a litre of good quality stock from a carcass. 

Cherryfudge

Good to hear you're back on your feet, @carinjo! Do be sure you're okay, though - if you were bedridden a couple of days ago, could you not take another day off before the weekend to give yourself time to get stronger? Mind you, for all I know your job is mattress testing and you want nothing more than to be on your feet.

I haven't done any pricing on cooking stock but I'd imagine a slow cooker would be a good way to go.

London_1

Cherryfudge glad you liked the veggie chilli, I throw anything into my slow cooker when I'm doing it as it really does help to use up odds and ends, especially veg thats past its best .

I like mine quite spicy, so perhaps tend to chuck too much stuff in ,but I go on the premise that you can make it hotter as you go along (which I do), if too hot then a diced potato or some plain yogurt will cool it down a bit

 I have a whole shelf in one of my kitchen cupboards that is just for spices and sauces and nothing else . I found that even a decent squirt of chilli stuff from the tube helps along with the rest

I have always got a tube of Stonewall chilli puree,s and Stonewall garlic puree in the cupboard to add a decent dollop to almost anything in my slow cooker, thats apart from the jar of Lazy garlic and sweet chilli sauces.

I have always enjoyed spicy flavoursome food When I was going through chemo back in 2007 it was dreadful because I could only eat 'beige food' with little or no spices otherwise it made me quite poorly. But I've made up for it since once I was well

I always use my slow cooker for cooking a whole chicken and the residue liquid I drain off into a pyrex jug and once cool skm the fat off for using to cook roasties and the jelly stock underneath goes into a soup bag and frozen to be used to make stock for soups casseroles etc , its definitely zero waste in my kitchen . I love my slow cooker its just so cheap to run and helps no end when batch cooking chillis or chicken or casseroles. A piece of what we used to call 'boiling bacon ' now gammon or ham done in the slow cooker with a cup or so of full fat cola and the outside coated with honey cooked in the slow cooker then cooled once cooked give the most delicious moist sliced meat I slice it up and portion and freeze as there is only me to cook for. odd bits left over that can't be sliced will either go into an omelette or to make a nice quiche with some sliced tomatoes on top I usually have some slice mushroom stalks in the freezer that end up in a quiche as well or a little thinly slice left over bit of leek to add a bit of onion flavour. The green bits from the tops of spring onions can be chopped small and frozen  in an ice cube tray with a little water to be chucked into a casserole as well. Nothing ever get wasted in my kitchen if its edible it gets eaten the result of a canny little scots Mum and rationing and post war austerity has helped me streeetched food  over the years  

JackieO xx

Cairnpapple

We've got red lentil and mandarin curry bubbling on the hob this morning which has finally finished the very old red lentils. I still have a whole bag of green lentils dated 2021 though, so if anyone has any recommendations (especially vegan) then I'm all ears! My IBS won't tolerate lentils at the moment so this will do a few lunches for spouse, who likes to have one vegan meal a day. 

2 portions keema curry out of the freezer for dinner (yes we could easily eat nothing but curries in this house).

carinjo

Cairnpapple said:

Glad you're doing better @carinjo.

I make stock in the slow cooker which the internet suggests costs 36p of energy for 8 hours - even if that's now 50p it compares well with £2.25 for a 500ml can of Potts stock as I'd get over a litre of good quality stock from a carcass. 

Slowcooker! Of course! Duh. Talking about curries and bland food, ms c struggling with her tummy, probably due to the curries i've been making due to taste buds on the blink when i was sick. She was on a white food diet a few years ago, so we going to try that for a bit again. Already got ingredients for chicken and red gooseberry tagine, but it can be frozen. 
@Cairnpapple, i am taking @london_1's veggies, adding green lentils and suggesting batch cooking vegan cottage pie that you can portion and freeze too. 

Cairnpapple

Vegan cottage pie is a great idea @carinjo, might try that when we've eaten down the freezer enough to get some Tupperware back. 

carinjo

Cairnpapple said:

Vegan cottage pie is a great idea @carinjo, might try that when we've eaten down the freezer enough to get some Tupperware back. 

You can do both the veggie mix and the mash in flat ziplock bags and put together as needed. Takes up less space.

carinjo

Well, J@mie 0liver knows what he's doing! 

London_1

Sausage, mash and baked beans for dinner tonight. Mash and sausages from freezer ,beans from tin in cupboard.
 I only use half a tin the other half go into a lidded box for probably cheese on toast with beans for lunch tomorrow as I go to DDs late afternoon for dinner in the evening.

Just made a pint of custard and its cooling I shall have some with a bit of sponge cake after dinner tonight once col it will go in the fridge to be used as and when over the next couple of days. Still not been to a supermarket yet this month so using up what I have in store

I shall make some sausage rolls to take with me tomorrow to DDs also some melting moments biscuits as she has three of her sons home this weekend and they like some HM stuff from their Nanny

JackieO xx 

Pollie

If you don't want baked beans tomorrow, they freeze well.