JANUARY PANTRY CHALLENGE

purpleivy

Is anyone else doing a January Pantry Challenge? 

Another year has gone by and I've started my January Pantry Challenge again. Inspired by the vlogger Three Rivers Homestead on Youtube.  You can set your own rules, but the general idea is to use what you already have in your pantry/freezer and to find where the gaps are in your storecupboards.  

My rules are as always to find ways of using what I already have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards. I can buy  fresh fruit and veg if there isn't a solution to hand, same with dairy and eggs.  

It's been going well so far.  I've been tempted by a couple of special YS offers at the One Stop.  I had no mince in the freezer and no chicken and some deals were there I couldn't walk buy.  Food like this is allowed to be frozen or made into something and frozen, but not used until the end of the challenge. As we are usually away for a couple of weeks in January I choose to go into February and see how I get on.  

Black_Saturn

I have started my stock-take - listed everything in the fridge and freezers - but have another four cupboards to sort through (1 large, 1 regular and two single cupboards). There are a lot of dried goods which need using, and although I have made some sort of dent since last year, I need to make more of an effort to reduce what we have.

Brie

we've started in a small way.  well preserved things that were purchased in France in August are starting to make their way into the kitchen from the fridge (not on their own of course!)  Confit that is best before March etc.  We do have some raclette cheese we need to think about - I think some is still in date but another is BBD April 2023 and has only stayed there as it's cheese so not technically fresh really.  

We also need to make a decision tomorrow about the left over Christmas turkey and ham. I've got a gut feeling (quite literally) that it should be binned as it's just been in the fridge, not frozen.  Think OH's kidney failure last year was due to food poisoning and frankly neither of us want to go through that again.  

There's quite a bit of good hearty things in the freezer - oxtail, merquez, chunks of squash and peppers ready for roasting or being made into soup.  Salmon for either my breakfast or dinner.  Sausages and bacon.  Lots in the cupboard as well that will make a meal

tryingtoavoiddebt

This is my plan for my day off this week! Really keen to use up what I have and save as much money as I can this month. Good luck!x

cheerfulness4

I'm in for this one.  Quite well stocked up and want to use things I have before laying out too much of my precious budget on more.  

Have started this week really with leek and potato soup and today Lentil and Bacon soup using ingredients that I've had a while in the freezer etc and some of the cheap veg for 8p. 

Plenty of soup for lunch tomorrow and we're planning on making a quiche lorraine to use up some bacon and cheese from the freezer.

purpleivy

How are you all doing? Lovely to hear from you all. Has anyone seen Three Rivers Homestead who started this challenge?  

I still have half a freezer to inventory, plus dry goods.  Not too bad on dry goods from memory, as I see them more often than what's at the bottom of the chest freezer. 

I got plum tomatoes out that hub had filed in there last summer and made them into tomato chutney.  Reduced price mince has been made into bol and is ready for the freezer. Won't eat that till my challenge is over. I put some HM tomato sauce from the freezer in the place of a couple of cans of tomato. 

I just tidied away the end of a tub of ice cream. At the beginning of Christmas week I had 5 started tubs of icecream and until tonight none of them had got finished!  

My reduced price chicken from the one stop has been cooked and will be stripped tomorrow. Did the first lot yesterday.  Would like to make soup, but it's a question of if I can find anything in the freezer to make it with!  

Doing well with fridge stuff too, used the tub of herrings we got for Christmas cold spread in a potato salad, end of the mayo. Husband will have the end of the salami tomorrow. Still got some odds and end of cheese. 

I'm giving away 3 cans of grapefruit to the foodbank as we can't eat it anymore due to different meds. 

I'm pleased with how I'm doing.  Need a plan for tomorrow though. Going to MIL for Sunday Dinner but need a lunch plan. 

seehar

hello! very long time lurker on this forum (like 15 years lurking around, lol) but i thought i'd finally post 

I way overspent at xmas/new years so need to spend hardly anything in January so am doing the Pantry Challenge! I have a big freezer full of stuff, and a decent enough dry goods store, so hoping it will be okay. It's for two adults.

First question - I was saving veg scraps in the freezer to make veg soup/stock, but they have got freezer burn, do you think they'd still be okay to use?

purpleivy

seehar said:

hello! very long time lurker on this forum (like 15 years lurking around, lol) but i thought i'd finally post 

I way overspent at xmas/new years so need to spend hardly anything in January so am doing the Pantry Challenge! I have a big freezer full of stuff, and a decent enough dry goods store, so hoping it will be okay. It's for two adults.

First question - I was saving veg scraps in the freezer to make veg soup/stock, but they have got freezer burn, do you think they'd still be okay to use?

I'm sure they will be fine to use.  I have had some silicone ziplok pouches for a while that I use for portions of stuff, but recently got some really big ones too. I have started a bag for this purpose.  I have also cooked up a whole bag of pinto beans (that's another story!) and put them in one, so that I can pull what I need.  Last summer I was freezer diving and found (well, I knew it was there really!) a bag of redcurrants that came from my parents previous garden.  So at least 8 years old.  I didn't know what to do with them. I tasted one. Was OK. Was having a UPF removal kick and made some rhubarb and redcurrant cordial.  It was fine.  Found a bottle in the freezer last night so have got that on the go. Will save buying something.  

If you want a bargain....I went looking for pinto beans to cook for the freezer.  Open to other suggestions, but at present I put in stews, curry etc and also make refried beans. The cheapest i found were on Amazon, £1.90 for a 500g. Morrisons brand.  So I ordered 2.  When they came it was two BOXES of 5 x 500g!  Total £3.80.  I checked the ad and it was 500g x 5 for £1.90.  I couldn't believe my luck. I see a lot of Pinto Beans in my future.

I have cooked a bag for my son.    He has my bulk purchase nature and early in the time they were in their house he was making teriyaki sauce, was disgusted by the price of soy/mirin and whatever else he uses, so went to the Chinese suppliers and got a 20 litre bulk purchase of each. They live in his shed and he tops up.  I will do a deal with him and take some empty bottles!

Here's the link, though it seems they are on back order at present. I have told a couple of groups about it so word must be spreading! 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08WB2LFWC?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder_k0_1_11&amp=&crid=1BTEMAAM6CWJX&amp=&sprefix=pinto+beans

WickedLady4

I think this is a great idea and will be joining in.

We have a fully stocked freezer so should only need milk, fruit and veg. I get a lot of fruit and veg from being a member of our weekly Community Larder but it is always random items. We never know beforehand what is going to arrive. I volunteer there so help to unload and set out the stock then, when we're set up and ready, we can chose our items to take away.

Today we'll be eating left over curry and poppadoms plus some of the chocolate pudding from yesterday.

purpleivy

I love this and I know you will keep me on track.  I have had a few 'Too Good To Go' bags but that fell apart as the freezer was too full!  I find that the best plan for me is where possible to make food up into an edible form in the freezer as it's more likely to get used. That is apart from the copious quantities of tomato/courgette/onion ratty that I have in there. But that's more bc I haven't been in the habit of using it.  

The mince I got went in as bolognese, the last lot as chilli.  The mince that went in as mince several months ago is still there and not been pulled out!  The chicken from last two days now been stripped and will vacuum seal this ready to make chicken pie for my parents when I see them.  

I had a good morning, apart from getting the chicken stripped, I wanted the first stock to go in as soup. More likely to get used.  I have a lovely recipe my aunt tried on us. I had the last bag of chopped courgettes from the freezer ,the end of a bag of peas and the last bag of green french beans. Won't notice that when whizzed.  I want to save my onions and not get any more before we go away, even though being fresh veg I'm 'allowed'.  I have the end of a Costco box of dried onions that I keep for a no onion situation so chucked some of them in. 

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/food/recipes/soups-stews-curries/courgette-pea-and-basil-soup

What can I do with the broad beans in the freezer?  A bit past prime really. I really prefer them fresh.

WickedLady4

@purpleivy. Maybe look up some sort of broad bean hummus or dip recipe?