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

Topher

Well I thought I was being really clever picking up some bargain top brand curry dishes from the Company Shop (99p each) when I went there for essentials. (I’m working my way through my freezer and stores at the moment so it was supposed to be a treat, saving me from scratch cooking for an evening). Compared to the stuff I’ve been making at home they seemed really gloopy from their added thickeners, and not particularly complex flavoured. Honestly, they were from one of the more expensive Food Hall brands. I now intend to recreate those curries myself from scratch with what I have but without the gloopiness  and ingredients that sound more like my childhood chemistry set than food. 

Frugalistamama

Cooked some freezer chicken and made a sort of mexican stew adding two tins of beans and tinned tomatoes lurking in the cupboard. I mashed one tin of beans so it made a nice thick sauce. Had it with rice one night and tortillas the next night. I still have some leftovers for my lunch next week. It was a good use up recipe.

I've got a big sack of potatoes which I need to be using up during October. 

Still haven't made the Dahl!! But I have no spinach now! I've got some leftover veg in the freezer I think I'll be making some soup today.

suzeesu2000

Used some cooked chicken out of freezer and some veg which really needed using, to make chicken and veg soup. Had small mug with dinner and have 2 mugs left. Was very nice.

andybear09

Hi, new to this board, been lurking for a while, but too shy to post!
I was recently given a slow cooker for my birthday, so I decided to use up a load of veg from my fridge that would have gone off (I live alone and throw out far too much food, so changing that) 
I am currently cooking up a batch of vegetarian chilli, which I will freeze and then use it either with pasta or rice or even as a sauce with meatballs. I am going to add a bit of cheese that I recently won from a Godminister competition, smells really nice and I feel so pleased with myself lol.

greent

Pulled a 750gm pack of 5% steak mince (bought on YS back in March) from the freezer and made chilli with some past their best peppers from the fridge, a great big chunk of grated courgette (from July 2020!! 😱😳) and other veggies plus an ood tin of tomatoes.  Made a vast amount - will eat it a couple of times this week and then portion up and freeze..... (sigh this is part of my problem!)

Made a crumble with some slightly ood smug 'butter' that I got for free and apples and rhubarb from the garden - the fruit was sweetened with some free OJ (lidl app) and sachets of granulated sweetener and sugar collected from DH's hotel stays.

Sent DS2 back to uni with some freezer items, so have some space to put more of the fruit mountain in.....

Watty1

I need to start planning and using up again.  I've let it slide but I now need to winter plan which means the mass of stuff in the cupboard needs using up and I need to make at least two weeks of meals to go in the freezer for "snow" which may or may not come but if it does then I get snowed in.

so back on use up. The packet of beluga lentils is being turned into a pasta sauce for tonight.

greent

I'm off work feeling rough with covid so have made a pan of soup - from the freezer I used half a bag of diced carrot from Jan 2023(!), the remains of a bag of diced onions, a handful of smoked bacon lardons and then the end of a bag of red lentils from the pantry. Had a very small bowl for lunch and will portion the rest for work lunches next week.

I do have 2 bags of salad leaves in the fridge that need using ASAP- they were bought for lunches this week but I've been too rough to eat much. I might finish one off for dinner tonight - at least I'll feel like I've eaten kind of nutritiously today (had an overripe banana for breakfast - have another one on the side but taste buds currently say it's horrible, so may peel and freeze it)

Cherryfudge

I'm soaking yellow split peas (BB 2018!) for a curry and will use up the sweet potatoes at the same time.

For lunch I finished the mayo and some tuna, but those will be replaced.

Yesterday I used my 'free veg' coupon from L1dl to buy a big bag of potatoes. We don't eat potatoes very often! However, a nice baked potato on a cold lunchtime... that sounds like a plan. Also diced and roasted in spices, which I did recently and it made a good change.

I've also made a cuppa using a stray chamomile tea bag that's been cluttering the place up, and last night I used long life milk (admittedly OOD), some of the three opened packets of plain flour and a couple of eggs to make toad in the hole with some half price sausages.

I'm counting that all as progress - including the tea bag.  

greent

Cherryfudge said:

I'm counting that all as progress - including the tea bag.  

As they say, every little helps! 😜

Cherryfudge

I made the curry but ran out of time to eat any before work! I have a feeling it's going to be too hot for me though I reduced the spices. We will have it for lunch tomorrow.

Instead of a 'proper' meal tonight I've just finished up some leftovers: roast veg, fried onions and yogurt with greengage jam. I can see the rosehips that I was going to turn into a syrup have started to go off: I just ran out of time and energy for that project. There are also a few greengages in the fridge that have gone beyond use, sadly - thought I worked very hard to process as many as possible and gave lots away too! I will just have to add them to the compost and draw a line under that.

I've brought in my tiny harvest of garlic - all 40g of it! I think I'll try again with 'proper' garlic rather than just the odds and ends of cloves that were drying up in the fridge, but although these were tiny, it's hardly their fault as I planted them at the wrong time. They are wonderfully juicy compared to shop-bought.

We are having family over on Sunday so I've a couple of days to tidy out the fridge and restock for a bun fight!