Frugal Foodies, thread 2! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.

[Ninkanink]

Hey everyone!

1st thread is here

Hope that link worked! I’ve never done it that way before...

💐 and 🍰 and ☕️ to all!

Thanks @weedsneeds1 - looks delicious but I don't have clams or noilly pratt hanging around....

I've found a Hairy Bikers spanish style recipe online which will also use up the rather sad end of chorizo in the fridge so I'm goint to give that a go later. Watch this space......

I’ve found my people!! Shamelessly place marking. We’re in the US so will be buying slightly different things and on a different timeline and attempting to go two weeks without a shop. We ran out of fresh fruit ages ago though so the kids are on smoothies now.

@Weedsnseeds1 but aerosol from what?! 

Loving all the cat pics, no pets myself as it wouldn't be fair to them and I'm not really up to looking after them, plus I'm more a dog person as had dogs growing up but love all animals.

@PurpleDaisies the yogurt cake recipe I normally get fruit corner style yogurts but last time I got a 4 pack of Greek yogurt to have with the jam. That work? Also what size eggs? I usually get medium.

@cricketmum84 I'm not big on Easter being a very much lapsed Catholic, I'll message mum to say happy Easter as it matters to her but as it's just me that'll be it.

I'm planning cooking a sausage casserole to refrigerate tomorrow to use up carrots and other veggies thinking cooking will extend their "life" (am I right weeds ?) can't freeze no room in freezer, although could maybe pull out a chicken casserole or ratatouille to eat Monday and freeze a sausage casserole to make for some variety?

And a mushroom stroganoff to use up mushrooms and pot of creme fraiche.

@babbi I'm actually spending more at the moment to get deliveries of non food items but it will balance out I hope when things calm a bit and I plan on ordering larger quantities of the non food to stock up (preps got depleted) and only fresh on the food side.

I may even only get delivery every 10 days or so.

graphista it’s a really forgiving recipe. It doesn’t matter whether your eggs are medium or large. Greek yogurt would definitely work if it’s full fat.

Any kind of aerosol Graphista as long as you wash it first, the one in thd photo was from furniture polish, but aerosol cans are all about the same size.
Root veg keeps pretty well, but anything that goes soft like peppers, tomatoes etc. will keep a bit longer cooked, if they look as if they ard about to go, as it destroys the enzymes.
I was assuming you may have to improvised a little Londonmummy66 😁

Hey all! 💐 just popping in quickly as busy just now but I miss you all and will come back later to read properly.

Had a ploughman’s and ale earlier, inspired by @weeds. Was very good, it’s actually a favourite summer lunch of mine. Okay so it wasn’t quite as fancy as we usually like to make it, but it was still a treat. Cheese, ham, chutney, gherkins, pickled onions, salad with cucumber and tomato, and a freshly baked wholewheat part-baked baguette.

Tonight we’re having pasta with a minced pork and beef sauce out of the freezer. I’m going to add a courgette and some olives, I think.

@PurpleDaisies thanks yes I think full fat.

weeds it's carrot batons which don't last long unfortunately but I can't stand and peel carrots so it's easier for me to get prepped ones. Usually I scoff em before they're out of date/off though I'm just struggling with all the fresh food!

Rose and pistachio cheesecake

@Weedsnseeds1 wow!!!!

Oooh, that looks fabulous. I love both rosewater and pistachios.

I hope it tastes as good as it looks, because there's an awful lot of it!
I made the soft cheese too ( sorry to sound a bit boasty, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out)

Can I join in? I usually find cooking a huge chore - I dash in from work and have to produce a meal for everyone and I hate it. One small advantage of the current situation is that I have a little more time to plan and a better idea of what we have now I have been through all the cupboards and the freezer.
Today was Singapore fried rice using all the odds and ends of veg. The DC have all gone to their dad’s for the week so I’m going to try and avoid buying any food until next weekend. There is veg and fruit in the freezer so I think it should be ok and I would like to get through some of the half empty jars of randomness in the fridge. I reckon tomorrow I can make the Ottolenghi salmon and spinach with tahini recipe which is odd because in normal times I am always missing a key ingredient when I want to do one of his recipes. But two weeks in self isolation followed by three weeks in lockdown and I can in fact put the whole thing together and use some of the three jars of sumac I seem to have in the cupboard.

Happy Easter everyone! Lots' of chocolate here

@furby - the okonomiyaki was lovely! I got the recipe from an old waitrose magazine, but it is also online here - I don't add potato(Isn't in my recipe) or the squid/prawns, and make it in 2 pancakes (serves 2). It's actaully really filling - we had it with some salad leaves and it was enough.

It's nice to have the time to Potter and experiment, isn't it, Tolstoy?

@Weedsnseeds1 - can I come for lunch that cheesecake looks fantastic!

Well the overwhelming verdict in the london household is that cod goes with neither cabbage or beans - it was truly not nice - a pity as Hairy Bikers are usually quite good on the flavour front.

Breakfast here was hot cross buns with a side of mini eggs. DH and both DC bought me easter eggs so I am going to be really huge by the time lockdown ends. Just as well it is going to be cooler tomorrow as I really need a run.

The major trauma is that DH and the DC decided to do coloured eggs while my back was turned and have boiled every single one - so no home made cake for them for some time.

Put them in the stocks and pelt them with boiled eggs Londonmummy66, it's the only way they will learn!

Omg @Londonmummy66 I’d actually be really cross if my DH had done that...hopefully you’re a more patient person than I am! I’m having to talk myself down from being ridiculously angry on your behalf! 😆

@Weedsnseeds1 just checking, would you be happy to write out a basic guide for shelf-life, expiry and other useful knowledge on food safety? I could go back and look through thread 1 but it would take me such a long time because of my processing issues and I might miss stuff - the links were easier because I didn’t have to read too much, i could just look out for the blue of the links. If you’re okay to do that at some point when you have time it would be much appreciated!

Well he did bring me hot cross buns and mini eggs for breakfast in bed so I suppose he should be forgiven. The eggs were pure white ones so they do look rather pretty its just that the dye leaches through the shell so when I turn them into egg mayo (what else can you do with hardboiled eggs?) it will look rather odd - something about eating green and blue tinged egg mayo that rather turns my stomach.

Aww bless him, and he was doing a nice thing with the children too. I couldn’t stay cross either.

I made paper decorative eggs this year as I couldn’t face using any real eggs; we’ve had such a shortage with not going out. Finally found some now and no way are any of them getting used unless it’s for top favourite eggy things! 😆

Will do, Ninkanink

Leftover couscous, tuna and "stuff" salad.

Happy Easter everyone! Quick question, I’ve gotten some beef out the freezer so we can have a roast, wondering if I need to cook it all today or if I can roast half and then use half tomorrow to make a stir fry? It’s quite a big joint for two of us. But if it’s better to cook it all today then I will and will just think of something more interesting to do with the leftovers.

I usually find a big joint cooks better than a small one, but there is no reason you couldn't cut it in half.
What cut is it though? Some of the roasting cuts might be a bit tough in a stir fry

Thank you @Weeds! 💐 and 🥂 for you. In future threads (if we get that far), I’ll put recipes and food safety guidelines in the OP for easy reference.