Making the most indeed....

[shirlthegirl43]

If you find couscous too plain done as per packet instructions, try making up chicken or vegetable stock with a cube and using that for the liquid. A hint of flavour makes it much more enjoyable.

We love chicken couscous with one of those lovely 'upper crust' chicken and asparagus pies and frozen peas (instant dinner) when I can't be bothered cooking properly.

[bazzaboy]

mash on toast for breakfast on a Sunday.........

Cripes Z, clearly you should be writing the book....! But "Mash on toast"??? Almost sounds edible. (Stand by for a torrent of letters claiming mash on toast has been their fave food since childhood....) So tell me more please, do you fry it, bake it, spread it on cold like marmalade? b.

[zazen999]

Cripes Z, clearly you should be writing the book....! But "Mash on toast"??? Almost sounds edible. (Stand by for a torrent of letters claiming mash on toast has been their fave food since childhood....) So tell me more please, do you fry it, bake it, spread it on cold like marmalade? b.

Mush it up [it tends to solidify overnight] add seasonings and some cheese lumps, and spread it onto toast that has been grilled on one side [spread it on the un-grilled side], and put back under the grill. When cheese melts, it is done. Take out and serve with ketchup/brown sauce/chutney/pickle and obviously you'll have made a hot coffee whilst it was under, won't you?

I'm the only one in our house that likes this - thank goodness.

Tonight's dinner is fish and chips - well, OH is having chips and fish cakes, DSD is having chips and fish fingers [another packet used up] and I am having chips with jalapeno houmus. He's at the chippy now.

[vikkib]

This sounds like a good plan!

We don't have much cupboard space either - one double, wall mounted, kitchen cupboard that we use for dry food storage - and I try and have a proper clear out every couple of months. It's over due now and I should definitely try and use some of the stuff up!

I'm not too bad with chucking stuff any more away as a few months ago I started doing a weekly main meal plan.

Plus I do my shopping weekly and I do it on line so I make a habit of checking what's in the basket and working out if I have too many 'main meal' ingredients. I make a list of things we run out of during the week and also a list of the major things we haven't run out (loo roll, washing powder etc.) so I'm not tempted to wonder if we've run... can't be bothered to go and check... so buy an extra one anyway!

I also NEVER look at the special offers! I just use my 'favourites' list and if it's on special offer that's great... if not that's fine! I used to buy so much stuff we'd never use because it was on special offer!

It sounds extreme but it works for me... it's the only way I can manage it! I still can't explain the anomalies like using two loafs of bread in one week and two slices the next but we're getting better!

Could well be tinned sardines and cherry tomatoes (from the garden!) on toast this evening as I've left it so late... so much for the cottage pie and the main meal plan!

[bobleponge]

I'm assuming as I still see you posting from time to time that you and Mr Z havent yet died of starvation?
Cupboards any emptier?

I sort of do this as I disappear off every month, so always need to be reasonably careful with what I buy. Like you, I hate chucking food away cos its gone off, so do try and shop sensibly.
Cupboards are still pretty stuffed though. May have to do a clear out when I get home this time.

[zazen999]

Yup; we ate well last week and used up quite a few things that were just hanging about.......and Mr Z went shopping last night and the stuff he brought back was drink based and his lunch box based; he tried to tell me he we needed peppers but we are now using the ones that we've grown [mostly thanks to Mr Piglet W], and I think alot of the nuts will be going into granola bars later today.

[bazzaboy]

"mash on toast"

Mush it up [it tends to solidify overnight] add seasonings and some cheese lumps, and spread it onto toast that has been grilled on one side [spread it on the un-grilled side], and put back under the grill. When cheese melts, it is done. Take out and serve with ketchup/brown sauce/chutney/pickle and obviously you'll have made a hot coffee whilst it was under, won't you?

I'm the only one in our house that likes this - thank goodness.

Thanks, Z, that doesn't sound quite as gross as I was imagining and a bit healthier than fried pots with fried bread etc - I'll give it a try and report back!
b.

[womble]

Thanks, Z, that doesn't sound quite as gross as I was imagining and a bit healthier than fried pots with fried bread etc - I'll give it a try and report back!
b.

It sounds pretty yucky to me! I would eat it though, waste not want not, but I'm sure it would be improved with some baked beans on the top.

Interesting thread, I do the same sort of thing all the while, announce it on the Monday and give up on the Friday.

Why don't you make your own oven chips out of potatoes?

[zazen999]

It sounds pretty yucky to me! I would eat it though, waste not want not, but I'm sure it would be improved with some baked beans on the top.

Interesting thread, I do the same sort of thing all the while, announce it on the Monday and give up on the Friday.

Why don't you make your own oven chips out of potatoes?

We usually do; but after the day I had yesterday I wasn't cooking for anybody....

I personally love chucking a home grown tomato into the mash on toast mix...

[SarzWix]

I'm not doing too badly on this either
So far I've used up;
From the freezer - chicken pieces, frying steaks, several small bags of frozen fruit, and leftover moussaka.
From the cupboard - brown rice, wholegrain couscous, a couple of part bags of bread flour and a couple of small bits of cooking chocolate (not big enough for much, but chopped it up into biscuits, yummy!)

[Twinsane]

Tomorrow, I'm making pastry to make an apple pie from some of the stewed apple from above. I might make some spicy potato pies as well; if I have enough pastry left over.

Whats the spicy potato pie? I've done a forum search but got over 500 message I noticed it had only searched for potato so I put pie instead and it came back with 0 lol

[zazen999]

It's just what I would usually put into samosas but into shortcrust pasty instead.

http://www.food-india.com/recipe/R026_050/R032.htm or a variation as I never weigh this stuff out.....

I'm doing well, apart from feeling like shite this weekend.....we are down to 4 tins in the tin cupboard; 2 of baked beans, one of sweetcorn and one of butter beans. I feel a curry coming on.

We also used up 2 half used packets of sausages in the freezer; and more courgettes. And we are totally out of noodles, crackers, bread, pitta breads. And are making inroads into the packets of nuts by way of some hob nobs that I substituted the oats for nuts; and forgot to put the baking powder in so they turned out like garibaldis - which we were quite happy with.

Gotta do a small shop today for basics.

Had to laugh when the OH asked again why we were drying all our beans instead of freezing them.......when we have very little freezer space.......baby steps, baby steps.

[Twinsane]

Thanks, I'll try that later this week.

ooh nooo... you mentioned hobnobs again! Better get the oats out

[Sue]

Hi
For over a year now I've been trying to live a seasonal, locally and home based diet and as I've gradually built up my cookery repertoire have been getting rid of food that "doesn't" fit and nearly all prepared food went too. Put it all in a big pile on the counter and have gradually made inroads.

It does make cooking and shopping a lot easier. I decided that as I wasn't that keen on Eastern food then all the accoutrements for them could go ie soya sauce, spices etc. But love Italian food and can grow the ingredients so keep spaghetti, pesto and so on. Apart from the fridge and the freezers - filled with allotment produce am now down to 2 shelves in the kitchen for food stocks.

My favourite time of year is when I'm clearing the freezers out in Feb-April ready for the next influx of goodies. Love the challenge of coming up with recipes to use up everything that's still left. And the rule is you have to use everything and if you don't like it then you have to think of some transforming recipes. My swiss chard gratin comes to mind. Pretty horrible but with the addition of mashed potatoes made some acceptable potato cakes.

Sue

[zazen999]

I have to clear the cupboards now as the amount of jars that are filling up with jams, jellies, chutneys and [soon] pickles will displace the food that has been sitting there all summer.

I've made huge inroads these last 2 weeks; I've even run out of twirly pasta which is a staple and gets dragged out every 3-4 days. I've also got out all the frozen fruit and made 4 decent sized jars of mixed fruit jelly. Just got to finish off some nearly empty jars in the fridge and fill them with pickled chillis......... And I've now got loads of space in the cupboards and drawers to store them. So, whilst I still haven't made couscous....I'm nearly there.

Just need to find Manda's thread about purple jalapenos as I'm using the same method and I'm sure she posted it last year........somewhere on here.