Getting started

EmptyPurse

I've got three weeks to go until payday and I'm utterly broke already. As I spend vast amounts of money on food this month I thought I might be able to economise by planning ahead and using up my leftovers. I'm a reasonable cook with a large storecupboard but I don't cook 'proper' meals very often because I don't know what to make unless I'm doing something specific from a cookbook. I only need to cook meals for myself Monday-Friday (I usually spend weekends at my boyfriend's), plus I guess it would be good to start doing a few packed lunches too!

Has anyone got the time to give me a bit of advice about where to start? If it helps, this is what I've got in stock at the moment:

Fridge
Leftover lamb from a roast I did at the weekend (probably 3-4 servings)
1 portion HM Thai green curry (leftovers!)
Packed smoked salmon (2 servings?)
4 eggs
1/2 pt double cream (why on earth did I buy that???!)
Plenty of cheese (oops. I went a bit mad at the Farmer's Market. There's a garlic one, a hard goat's cheese, cheddar and some English camonbert that won't mature for ages).
1 cucumber
a few random sugar snap peas
fresh rosemary
greek yoghurt
all sorts of jars of stuff - fresh mustard, mayonnaise etc

Freezer
4 chicken breasts
large lump of random, unlabelled meat (casserole steak?!)
veg - peas, sweetcorn, 1 portion tinned tomatoes
a whole salmon (yes, really! It's rather large....)
2 tuna steaks
small whole trout
2 kidneys
a few chipolatas

Think that's pretty much it. The storecupboard has all the usual stuff - flour, pasta, rice, tinned toms, anchovies, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, endless tins of beans (flageolet, canellini, kidney etc - I think they must have been on special offer at some stage). I've also got a couple of onions and a large (jacket) potato.

Can I survive on that for three weeks? I suppose I'll have to buy a bit of fresh fruit & veg but I don't want to buy anything else if possible. I don't mind making bread one evening for sandwiches or rolls (I've got yeast, although it's fairly old). Is this Mission Impossible?

Penelope_Penguin

Couple of ideas:

Smoked salmon quiche (with the double cream). You can then cut that and freeze individual portions; I put greasproof paper sheets between each piece

Cook the whole salmon - have some as it is with salad and potatoes/bread/pasta, then make some of the rest into a pasta sauce with cream (this can also make a bake). You can then freeze it cooked in more manageable portions

Lamb hash; chop the lamb finely, mix with chopped fried onion and chopped boiled potatoes, then fry lightly until piping hot. Serve with Worcs sauce and a fried egg.

If you're not sure about the yeast, add a bit with some sugar to warm water. If it doesn't froth within 15mins it's past it and you need to invest in some more.

HTH, Penny. x

squeaky

Hi

If you look in the thread linked below you'll find most of your foodstuffs listed with all sorts of threads and recipes available to pick from...

The Complete Cooking Collection

Also in that same collection - listed under "lunch" are zillions of ideas for packed lunches that will surely tempt you

newlywed

If you have a microwave at work you can always just "save" a smaller portion from your dinner the night before

Lunch today is a bit of shep pie (from saturday) tomorrow's lunch is a bit of pasta from sunday

purpleivy

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Couple of ideas:

Smoked salmon quiche (with the double cream). You can then cut that and freeze individual portions; I put greasproof paper sheets between each piece

Cook the whole salmon - have some as it is with salad and potatoes/bread/pasta, then make some of the rest into a pasta sauce with cream (this can also make a bake). You can then freeze it cooked in more manageable portions

Lamb hash; chop the lamb finely, mix with chopped fried onion and chopped boiled potatoes, then fry lightly until piping hot. Serve with Worcs sauce and a fried egg.

If you're not sure about the yeast, add a bit with some sugar to warm water. If it doesn't froth within 15mins it's past it and you need to invest in some more.

HTH, Penny. x

If you decide the yeast is iffy, then you can make tortilla wraps if you have a heavy frying pan or a griddle. 350g flour, 2 tbspoil, herbs if you like them, 1 tsp salt. Mix to a dough with water and knead till smooth, roll out very thinly... I use a 60g lump and roll to about 8-9" across. Cook on hot pan or griddle, 30-40 secs first side and 10-15 for the 2nd.

purpleivy

.... also have you examined other areas of your budget. In these circs, people often recommend the use of a spending diary to focus the mind.

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

Right, here goes!

3 weeks of cooking for one Monday to Friday – as newlywed has already suggested, trying making a little extra when cooking your evening meal and keep some for lunch the next day – admittedly in many cases it does help if you have access to a microwave at lunchtimes!


1) Tuna steak – we like tuna steaks fried for 2 mins each side in a little oil, and then just before serving add a little garlic butter and some capers. Alternatively you could just fry the tuna and squeeze some lime over
2) Shepherd’s pie using left over lamb
3) Smoked salmon quiche
4) Dig that mystery meat out of the freezer – see if you can turn it into a casserole/stew – trying adding some of those tins of beans to bulk it out a bit, some other veg, herbs, tinned tomatoes, even a wee bit of chilli if like me you’re not the greatest fan of the “traditional style” casserole or stew”
5) Chipolatas, homemade potato wedges (I just cut potatoes into wedges, add a little sunflower oil + paprika + dried/fresh rosemary + dried oregano + black pepper, then toss together and bung in oven until crispy)…how about using some more of those beans to make your own baked beans?
6) Liberate the salmon from the freezer – poach it and have some cold with new potatoes and salad (including some cucumber )
7) Sausage (chipolata) and pea risotto – this is basically an Ainsley recipe that I’ve adapted/adopted depending on which way you look at it – My way - grill sausages then add to sliced onion and garlic which have been fried in a pot…add frozen peas, uncooked rice, some dried herbs and some chilli, some chicken stock and some Worcestershire sauce, then simmer until rice is cooked. Very tasty!
8) Left over Thai curry (presumably this is ready to eat unless you want/need to add one of those chicken breasts?
9) Grilled trout – not a fan myself but my Mum grills hers with flaked almonds and serves with new potatoes and veg
10) Salmon pasta bake – how about taking some of that poached salmon and some of that cream (maybe add some cooked fried onion for extra flavour?) and some herbs and adding to cooked pasta. Pop into an ovenproof dish and add some grated cheddar on top and then whack in the oven for a bit. (Just realised after typing this that something similar has already been suggested, sorry!)
11) Tuna steak – how about making a salad nicoise with this – cook tuna and then leave to cool, then make a salad with the usual suspects of lettuce, egg, anchovies, new potatoes, green beans, tomato etc and add a dressing – can be one of those all in one meals!
12) Lamb curry, rice (using some of that leftover lamb again)
13) Pasta with chicken and melted garlic cheese – stir-fry a chicken breast while some pasta is cooking, when both are cooked mix together along with some of that garlic cheese you bought at the farmers’ market
14) Goat’s cheese salad – maybe some goat’s cheese that has been roasted/grilled, some salad leaves, a chopped up pear and some dressing…serve with bread or new potatoes? Have to admit that as much as I love cheese, I cannot get into goat’s cheese…But that camembert waiting to ripen…*drools*
15) Chicken and veg stir-fry with rice/noodles

As you can see, I haven’t accounted for everything in your fridge/freezer, plus things like the casserole and the quiche will make more than one portion, so there should be plenty of options for lunch too.

The above is all just a suggestion to try and help you get through those three weeks without a big shop! J

HTH!

EmptyPurse

Gosh, you've all come up with some brilliant ideas. Thank you so much!

Having read through everyone's suggestions I think I probably have enough food to keep myself going for the next two months at least! And I bet I would have gone to the supermarket and done a monster-sized shop this evening if I hadn't posted here - I'm hopeless

One quick question about the shepherd's pie that someone suggested: how do you make it with pre-cooked meat? I'm probably being really thick here but a)I haven't made it for years and b)I thought it had to be minced meat. Will it work if I chop it up really small? And can I freeze a few portions?

HM baked beans is another thing I've not tried before. Has anyone got a recipe, please?

Penelope_Penguin

EmptyPurse wrote: »

HM baked beans is another thing I've not tried before. Has anyone got a recipe, please?

This is the one I use.

Penny. x

ubamother

I don't like mince, so always make shepherd's pie with cooked lamb after a roast. I boil the potatoes first, and mash when cooked. I gently sweat onions, carrots, celery, swede (or frankly, whatever you've got) in some oil until half cooked. I then mix in some flour - tablespoon or so, and stir round on a low heat for a few mins, then add hot stock and whatever flavourings I've got - these can include anything from mint sauce, to ketchup, mustard, thyme, balsamic vinegar. If I'm cooking straight away, I add the meat slices, chopped a bit, put in a dish, add the mash on top and cook. If I'm going to cook it later, I let the veg and gravy mix go cold, then add the meat, and make up with the cold mash on top and chill or freeze. Have no measurements for this - sorry!

EmptyPurse

Reheated the Thai curry yesterday for supper and then made the quiche ready for packed lunches and freezing. Only trouble is that I forgot to bring my lunch with me today! Is anyone else as hopeless as me?!

Am going to try the shepherd's pie tonight with a side serving of HM beans. That'll take care of most of the stuff in the fridge, then I can start defrosting things and trying some of the other suggestions here. I thought I might stuff the salmon with the fresh rosemary and then poach it with a bouquet garni - do you think that would work ok? Would you add any other herbs?

found a very large piece of foccaccia in my bread bin last night - I'd totally forgotten I bought it at the weekend! How long does foccaccia stay fresh? Can I freeze it like normal bread? And what else can I do with it, apart from serving it with soup? It's far too large for one person!