Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.

[Ninkanink]

Thought I’d start a thread for everyone to post their tips and ideas on how best to use foodstuffs. Hoping it could be an easy guide as well for those who maybe aren’t so used to home cooking or using leftover foods, or understanding how best to utilise everything you have, expiry dates etc.

We have always been very conscious of food waste so we plan very carefully to use every scrap of food, it’s not hard, it’s just a skill one develops.

I’ll post some of my favourite leftover/using up bits meals and menus here and if anyone else wants to as well, please do!

@Ninkanink aubergine cassoulet sounds good. I have 2 aubergines to use up....do you have a recipe?

the mince not the mice. I don't think we have quite got to that point yet 😂

Don't knock it till you've tried it.

I can see us now, 6 months down the line, salivating and eagerly anticipating the moment when our Whole Roast Mouse with Mildew Stuffing has finished cooking over the single candle flame . . .

Thanks for the love! 😊 and thanks also to everyone who’s contributing to this thread with questions/answers/recipes.

🌷and 🧁 and ☕️ for all!

There’s no danger of my running off to insta-land - I like it here with the vipers...👍

@SQuueze i was going to use this one, with a couple of adaptions:

notesonaspanishvalley.com/2017/10/22/a-cassoulet-of-aubergines/

It’s been postponed though as my DH made a special request for spaghetti tonight. So I’ll roast the aubergine instead as it really needs to be used today.

@SchadenfreudePersonified Now that’s an interesting proposition! I worry that it would be too sticky, though...It’s like fruit sweeties in a bottle. 🤢

I hope that one good thing which happens as a result of COVID19 is the rediscovery of cookery skills - not one to make pretty dishes for dinner parties, but the basic understanding of ingredients and how to plan and use them efficiently.

That would be brilliant!

I've been picking up tips from this thread (and finding recipes elsewhere) and I was just thinking - we've never eaten so well!

Ok I made the ratatouille. I have a stupidly tiny amount of counter space which made it a little tricky but if I can manage it anyone can!

It was a mish mash of different recipes and tips from you guys. Posting this as much as a reminder for myself as you.

Ingredients:

1 medium aubergine
2 courgettes
2 bell peppers
20 cherry tomatoes
3 large shallots
3 cloves garlic
Dried basil and oregano
10mls white vinegar
2 pinches sugar
Generous splash Henderson's relish
Olive oil (sorry don't know how much)
Occasional splash boiled water (to save using loads of oil)

Heat a large pan that has a lid with a little oil but low-Med heat, I made the mistake initially of using a med-high heat as I do for stir fries but this is a slow dish

Dice the aubergine and courgettes into approx 1.5cm cubes add to pan to sauté for at least 5 mins

Dice peppers approx same size and add to pan.

Peel and thinly slice shallots (I'm not a big onion fan others may prefer chunkier slicing) and peel garlic

Remove cooked veggies from pan and set aside (to save on washing up I used the tubs I was going to be storing it all in)

Add a little more oil, sauté crushed garlic and shallots - don't let them burn like I did and had to start this part again!

Once these are translucent add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and splash of water then herbs.

Simmer for a few mins

Add the other veggies and mix in well

Another splash water, Henderson's relish and let simmer for 30 mins.

Serve/store

I had with some buttery cous cous last night and froze 2 small portions which I'll use as a sauce for pasta or similar and 2 refrigerated which I may use as quick light meals on their own, see how I feel.

It was lovely but it's not a strongly flavoured dish, aside from not liking spicy I generally like quite strong flavours. If I make it again I think I'll make up some stock for the liquid and add more herbs - learning curve. I'm not used to making quantities of this size these days and probably was overly cautious on the herbs, I may well add more herbs and Henderson's relish when I'm reheating the stored portions.

But it's a good dish for using up those veggies and I'm sure it's very nutritious too.

Definitely. I’m loving properly thinking about meals so nothing gets wasted and making the most of what’s available.

We have a cauliflower that is starting to look tired so I am going to roast it with curry spices tonight.

@Chaz definitely one of my most favourite ways to have cauliflower (and broccoli). I add a good squeeze of lemon too!

We have lots of lemons as DH swears by lemon and ginger to ward off all illnesses, consequently he has gone into overdrive at the moment.

@Graphista your ratatouille sounds and looks great!

I love having leftover portions for easy lunches - can’t remember if you’ve said whether or not you like eggs, but I like a portion of ratatouille with fresh chilli or chilli flakes added (definitely not a must if you prefer it not too hot), into a small gratin dish, heat for 10-15 minutes depending on how liquid it is, then make a bit of a well and crack an egg into it. Heat for another 5-15 min or so depending on whether you like your eggs soft or cooked right through. Garnish with fresh coriander or parsley (or both!) and some thinly sliced spring onion.

Or I do a sort of veg moussaka - layer potatoes underneath, ratatouille in the middle, with an extra sprinkle of oregano, and a small portion of cheese sauce on top.

You can also have it cold with mozzarella and fresh basil.

@SixSquad - you can definitely use those odds and ends for soup. I usually chop up a large onion and add a couple of sticks of celery as well as broccoli stalks etc. Chuck all the veg in a pan together and soften in a little oil. (Quicker if you put the lid on the pan.) Add some herbs (or a spoon of pesto) and cover with veg stock. Simmer for 30 minutes and I usually then whizz with a stick blender until smooth as DC don't like "lumpy" soup.

@Ninkanink thank you. And thanks for the ideas to use the ratatouille.

I was in a serious food rut before this happened it's good to be eating more variety although it's a challenge cooking again (ocd causes many issues here as well as the lack of energy/motivation/appetite)

Although appetite being stimulated too which is a good thing.

I do like eggs so I may well try that dish, at the moment eggs ok date wise so kinda trying to save them? Or more accurately focus on using stuff close to date/needing used.

Tonight is either going to be mushroom stroganoff or omelette not decided yet need to check the potential ingredients first and decide what needs using first.

I like moussaka too and I have plenty grated cheese in (I went a bit mad ordering this, have one pouch in freezer and one in fridge)

I find it very hard to plan at the moment as no telling until on the day what I'll actually receive in a delivery.

Just a note on the soups/stock everyone's talking about, bear in mind if you're including alliums (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots etc) that if stored in fridge they can "turn" quite quickly and go rancid.

I once had this happen with soup I'd made and honestly it stank out the whole kitchen for ages especially the fridge and ruined a flask I had just bought. I wouldn't recommend storing a soup/stock of this type in the fridge more than 2 days and even frozen I wouldn't use past about 2 months - just my experience.

Not sure what's in alliums that makes this happen but I just remember talking to mum about it, I said a soup but didn't mentions ingredients straight away and she asked if there were onions or garlic in it and when I said yes she said that they don't keep well.

@Weedsnseeds1 are you able to say why this is? What it is in these foods that makes it spoil?

We had roast chicken yesterday, I picked off all the meat today then made stock. When it was done I added it to some onions, potatoes and veg with some curry powder and some other seasonings then added rice and lentils, so good! Had it with some broccoli and some of the chicken. I made loads tho so will have to freeze some and will still have enough for a few meals over the next couple of days.

Tonight’s dinner. Spaghetti with a Sicilian sauce, and roasted aubergine on the side.

We use half a tin of anchovies each time; I’m sure it’s a little bit renegade, but I just wrap the tin itself in foil and freeze. Hasn’t harmed us yet...🤞

Didn’t have quite enough spaghetti for a filling meal so I baked the last 2 part baked mini crusty rolls (we had the other 4 for lunch today), perfect for mopping up the last of the sauce.

We always save half of the sauce for another meal, usually baked fish.

I’m currently sipping my share of the very last bit of red wine. Cheers everyone! 🍷

Hi, I haven't posted before but I've very much enjoyed lurking and learnt a lot of new tips.

I was wondering if anyone knew what we could do with spare buttercream? Can I freeze it? We accidentally made more than we needed too but I really don't want to waste what's left as we don't have any icing sugar left t make any more next time we bake.

Thanks very much

This evening’s effort using up an ancient bag of polenta. It was very yummy and I’m chilling the leftovers so I can fry them up as polenta chips tomorrow.
Sausage meatballs with bean stew and polenta (recipe inspired by the one provided by @Xiaoxiong - thank you!). The kids didn’t fancy the polenta but I had some cooked pasta in the fridge that wanted using up so they had it with that.
Next on my list are parsnips and pearl barley (not necessarily together!) also am much awaiting some new weighing scales so I can bake again, the old ones just broke on me! I’ve had to stash two bananas in the freezer today to save them.

Lots of yummy looking meals have been added here! Glad the ratatouille went well @Graphista

@cornflakecrispie My baking buddy assured me that buttercream freezes well for 3 months so no need to waste it, definitely worth saving.

Forgot picture!

After my comment to you Furble I clearly had cornmeal on my mind - so tonught was cornbread topped with feta and chili, to go alongside an impromptu stew of black beans, fresh chorizo, green peppers and tomatoes.

Thanks furble!

Great pics from everyone. I had a simple omelette tonight as eggs were the thing that most needed using.

Buttercream - I'm not a baker that uses this much but I've friends who bake cakes semi-professionally and I know they freeze on occasion so seems to be ok

Lots of exciting looking cooking today, particularly that cornbread.

I haven’t been feeling well (not covid) so it was frozen pizza with leftover roast root veg from yesterday. Much nicer than it sounds!

The box I had yesterday included some shin of beef so had a beef stew and will freeze half of it to have next week.

I cut into what I thought was a swede to put in the stew to discover that it was a beetroot. I wrapped in foil and roasted in the bottom of the oven whilst the stew was cooking. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do with it now? I heard beetroot went well with feta and I have some of that but no idea how to make it into a meal.

Graphista ratatouille looks great.!
Been working away for 2 days so tonight was potato wedges and a rather sad pizza from the depths of the freezer that I perked up with bacon, olives and pepperdew peppers.
However, the lovely factory I was auditing gave me 15 litres of assorted luxury ice cream, so I have wedged some in my freezer and given the rest to next door, who have children.

@Londonmummy66 I usually make beetroot into chocolate cake or brownies but failing that it also goes nicely in risotto? Or you can whizz it up with some cream cheese to make a lovely pink pasta sauce!

Weeds very jealous of your ice cream - it's one of the few things that DTS1 loves to eat - but the freezer cabinet was almost empty when DP went shopping at the weekend