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

carinjo

Out: yesterday: chicken goyza, noodles, thai veg stirfry mix, similar dish we had on ms C's birthday thursday. 
Today: frankfurters, chopped cabbage, spicy taco mix beans tin, alternative huevo's rancheros for brunch. 
In:0

Nelliegrace

From the freezer.
A small pack of beef mince for dinner tonight with mushrooms and lots of vegetables.
A yellow-stickered boned, rolled breast of lamb for a pot roast tomorrow.

I used powdered milk for a rice and raisin pudding, from store cupboard ingredients, in the slow cooker yesterday. I cooked a covered bowl of baked egg custard at the same time.
I bought a stock of large tubs of Marvel dried milk, half price at £1 from Home Bargains when the price of milk was going up. I saw them at £5 in Sainsbury’s today, for 2.75L worth of dried milk!

I have a stored butternut squash to make soup. Lots of stored apples in the cold garage, need sorting again and using. 

I need to make space in the freezer, so I shall be using up fruit from last year.
There may be half price lamb joints again this Easter. 

Cherryfudge

Hope you continue to feel better @carinjo, I see what you mean that it's as well you didn't hold out for going on holiday. You might as well recover your energy and save the holiday for when you can really enjoy it (have you planned another?) 

We are just home from overeating for nearly a week. Italian food, so my excuse is that most of it was super-healthy as well as delicious. Why, though, do they have cake for breakfast? It was a good excuse to enter into the culture and have cake too, of course, but the trouble is I had English-style breakfast as well, in case the cake burnt off by mid-morning and left me hungry. We also found a local supermarket which was great - no room in the luggage to take food home or I would have cake (again), pasta and various things I didn't get the opportunity to try. Note to self: take a bigger case next time.

Now we're home, it's time to look at fridge and freezer contents again. Without checking, I know there's plenty of fish, some hummus, at least a meal's worth of roasted vegetables and lots of last year's blackberries and raspberries.

carinjo

Glad you had a good time @Cherryfudge. @Nelliegrace, both L1dl and A1d1 have their leaflets online already, don't know how to post links, sorry. My sister pointed out the side of salmon at A1d1, double the price per kg than whole lamb! I'm holding out for the salmon from M0rris0ns, our fishmonger brilliant in preparing it. 

Cherryfudge

Talking of salmon, I did an evening raid on L!dl yesterday and they had a bag of salmon fillets at 1/3rd off! We had a couple for lunch with the remains of the roast veg that I'd frozen, some couscous and some roasted cherry tomatoes. DH threw the veg, salmon and extra tomatoes all in together and it was loverly.

I couldn't get a medium-sized milk in L!dl (1 pint or 6 pint were all that was left) so I headed over the road and got some at T3sco, where I discovered they had punnets of plum cherry tomatoes marked down to 20p! Hence the tomatoes in our dinner. Also other veg at a fraction of the usual price, so we are quite well off for them:

in: salmon fillets, asparagus, thyme plant, mixed chillies, avocadoes (all reduced), aubergine (on offer), red onions, a few non-store items.

Out: 2 salmon fillets, roast veg. 

JIL

I bought 43 oranges for £1. I have made a litre of orange juice with 14 of them and very impressed at the lovely taste.

I used up a tin of condensed milk and some whole milk to make a slow cooker rice pudding.


A question, I have 8 cartons of chopped tomatoes in the cupboard. BBe of August 22. 
I bought them for 10 for a pound.  I really wouldn't think twice about using them if they were tins but these are in the packs.
I could apply the look and sniff, but what would others do.
Edited to add a photo.

carinjo

I would think they will be fine to use. If you worried about getting through 8 cartons soon-ish, can always use them in a dish and then freeze, but think they will last for a bit. A quick g00gle search and i found people freeze the whole carton (tetrapak), lifting the side flaps to help with expansion, but haven't tried it myself.
Can freeze the oranges whole too btw, can make marmalade or drizzle loaf when you get time then. 
Got a L1dl £1.75 fruit and veg box today, haven't seen one in ages. So tomorrow is prep, cook and freeze etc.

Cherryfudge

@JIL, I would apply the smell/look/taste test too. I googled how long tetra packs are safe for and here's what came top of the list - you clearly aren't the first with cartons of tomatoes!

How long after best by date do tetra pack stored food last? : preppers (reddit.com)

JIL

Thanks for the replies, just to add I have absolutely no room in my freezer for anything. I never knew they were called tetra packs.

I will open a couple of them and make some tomato soup.  I actually bought the tomatoes from the same place as the oranges, ( I wont mention the 24 small jars of Mary Berry jam, I bought for £3)

Cherryfudge

Ha, I never have space either! I'm thankful it's that way not the opposite but it can make things a bit tricky.

The jam sounds good.