JANUARY PANTRY CHALLENGE

AnotherNewDay

Still working my way through pantry/stores cupboards to audit contents, but have finished with fridge and freezer. Confident I won't need to shop until end of the month at least...although I may have to make  some bread and be careful with using the soya milk I have remaining. Which is good as I have also signed up to the January No Food Shopping Challenge.

Brie

Had purchased a couple of sides of salmon from Taxco before Christmas.  Had eaten all of one and had half of the other cut into portions in the freezer.  Now I love a bit of salmon for breakfast so OH was having kippers and I said to get out a bit of salmon for me.  I should have been more specific and said get out ONE piece because he got out the bag of frozen stuff and so I was forced to cook it all this morning.  Ate one piece (with fried left over potatoes from dinner last night) and have bundled the rest into the fridge.  I might pop it in the freezer now that it's been cooked as I won't have the chance to eat it in the next couple of days.  Ah well - it's a small space cleared out.....

Meanwhile I'm not doing well with the soup cupboard.  Food bank was inundated with contributions before Christmas when the burglary hit the press.  Unfortunately some of the food is not appropriate to give out.  This included an expensive tin of French onion and red wine soup so I've taken that home with me. 

Rules are no alcohol, no nuts and everything well within date.  We've a huge box of things that fall outside those rules so the volunteers are allowed to tidy those away.  A small perk for working very hard in an unheated old chapel!!

cheerfulness4

Just had to do a small shop today as still eating from the stocks mainly at present.

Today we are having jacket potatoes with the cheap 8p bags we bought at the end of last year.  There were some great sized potatoes in there and we've still got lots left so we'll have some super frugal dinners in the future.

Have spotted some coconut in the bakery stocks so feel a lovely cake coming on!  Its amazing what we've saved not buying treats and baking all the goodies and it's been so much nicer.

Brie

Being bad in some ways.....off to check out a fishmonger that I've just discovered not too far from us.  Usually just does wholesale but is open retail for 2 short days a week. 

once we see if we get anything then we can look at what rice in the cupboard might do or potatoes and veg in the freezer.

purpleivy

Really enjoyed the challenge so far but lost posting the last couple of days we were home. Hub carved off the rest of the ham and sawed the bones so they would fit in the instant pot. Made some very very concentrated stock that will go in soups etc over the next couple of months. Pea and ham to start with. 

The apples with raisins and chia that I cooked got partly eaten and a tub frozen. Some more soup made and frozen and did a quick audit of the ready meals before leaving home. That has come away with me so I can make a meal plan for our return. My parents will be coming for 5 days so can plan for that too. 

I find it hard operating in a holiday apartment and never known why, but I think that the reason is because we are an ingredients household and eat few convenience food it feels like we have nothing in. I do t want to go and get big packs of things!

Brie

purpleivy said:

I find it hard operating in a holiday apartment and never known why, but I think that the reason is because we are an ingredients household and eat few convenience food it feels like we have nothing in. I do t want to go and get big packs of things!

we always find we need to pack a big bag of essentials which is fine when we're driving to wherever.  last place we were challenged as there was only 1 fry pan and it was difficult to cook both sausages and eggs!!  OH thinks I'm mad when I start packing things like a pepper mill but then is happy that he doesn't end up needing to depend on someone's old pre ground pepper that might have no flavour at all.  

JIL

I have a little box we take with us when we go self catering. Salt sachets, pepper, mayo, brown sauce, tea bags, wooden spoons, forks, a corkscrew, a small sharp knife, folded up tin foil and some plastic bags. 

I also menu plan for when we go, using stuff from home. Simple food such as jacket potatoes, tuna pasta bake, couscous and halloumi. Fishcakes and baked beans. Sausages etc. I often get stuff out of the freezer and it goes in the cool bag and keeps the butter and milk cold.
I also take stuff with us that may not get eaten at home, but if theres no choice, then it invariably does get eaten.
I also take along any tin foil containers I may have, they are great for cooking sausages, pasta bakes etc.

I do enjoy eating out and we always have a treat night, whilst away, but doing it more eating in and using up means we can have more holidays.

cheerfulness4

We always take a sharp knife, a non-stick baking sheet and our own salt and pepper because I worry how long theirs has been in. I remember once taking our breadmaker because my dad loved it and wanted to wake to fresh bread every day of the holidays!

Got out a bag of diced pork from the freezer that has been there longer than I can even remember.  That's going to be turned into sweet and sour pork with rice for dinner tonight.  DH found two bags of filleted chicken thighs down the bottom for the chest freezer under a load of other things so that's a real bonus.  I fancy a chicken stew and dumplings  in a few days time with one of those. 

Definitely making roads through this freezer now and easily enough things to keep us going for the rest of this month, if not half of next.

cheerfulness4

Found the recipe on the GC Recipe collection for Lemon curd cake which will nicely take care of an opened jar of lemon curd that's been sitting in the fridge for a while.  That will fill the cake tin for the next few days without any outlay.

Brie

wondering how to make last night's Burns dinner left overs into a sufficient supper for tonight.  Think there's enough haggis etc left for 1.  Suggested to OH that I do myself a jacket potato and he said "oh and what?  get a steak to go with it?"  Seems a good idea to me!!!