Need help making the food I have last two weeks

[MrsGeologist]

We are a bit skint and the food we have has to last two adults and two children until the end of the month.
I can do top up shop, but only of stuff like bread, milk and butter and maybe some tinned veg.

I have: 10 pork chops (not a sodding clue what to do with these)
Two small pieces of beef for roasting (would only do one roast each with no leftovers)
12 sausages
2.5 kg potatoes
2.5 kg rice
About 1.5 kg of pasta
800g cheddar
6tins of tomatoes
Various tins of beans (borlotti, canellini etc.)
Frozen Sweetcorn
Frozen peas
Frozen peppers
Frozen leeks
Four eggs
500g of oats
Oh and 2kg of red lentils

Even just a few meal ideas would be great, especially ideas to make the meat last as long as possible.
Sorry it's a bit cheeky but I'm moping and just can't think of anything to cook. I bow to the wisdom of MNers.

Do you own a food processor? Just thinking you could mince the joints and chops they'd stretch more that way.

That's a fantasic idea :) I have a blender, would that do or would I get a meat smoothie?

I would cut the pork chops up and casserole them - maybe add in some of those beans and a tin of tomatoes. Cook it all up at once, save one portion and freeze the rest immediately so people don't have seconds!

By portion I mean enough for the family not just one person!

Bean chili (using tins of beans, chopped toms, frozen peppers). Serve with rice or potatoes

Veggie crumble. Make a cheese sauce for the frozen veg and do a crumbly oaty topping. Could even add some beans to it.

Make dhal with the lentils, or soup. Thick lentil soup with cheese on toast is very filling.

Sorry, I have no ideas about the meat as I'm veggie!

Good plan. I also thought I could get two casseroles out of the sausages, but I might save some for toad in the hole if I can make the casserole from the pork. I never usually buy pork but there was an offer on at the market for loads of meat for £30 and they were in the bundle.

Veggie is good. If I do have a spare couple of quid, I'll be getting vegetables.

I forgot to mention that I have carrots too. I can make carrot and lentil soup :)

I'd chop up the joints rather than risk the blender - I've never tried because I thought beef smoothie like you! but then yes, chilli, bolognese, cottage pie, maybe use red lentils to bulk out further, lots beans as well.

Spanish omelette with spuds and veg - may need more eggs.

pasta bake, make white sauce, add lots veg, little cheese/breadcrumbs on top.

soup. lentil, veg and bean soup. never tried it, but again a sprinkling of cheese on top always helps

veg Risotto. lots of chicken stock and Lea & perrins helps flavour. so does cheese ... I think there's a theme to my recipes

Pulsing the meat in the blender might WOR, maybe try with a single pork chop first if that goes to mush its still good for meatballs. If that doesn't work put the beef in the freezer then when its almost frozen slice it as you'll get much thinner slices which you could dice by hand.

We had ohilidephia cheese steak flatbreads this week which were lovely just a. basic flat bread which are easy to make topped with garlic thin sliced cooked beef and onions topped with cheese. Really lovely and very filling.

Skin your sausages and mush the meat into the bottom of a casserole then cook off top with beans then a layer of cheesy mash. Bake until golden. simple cheap and tasty kids love it.

Macaroni cheese, egg fried rice with thinly sliced pork chop and peas, Cowboy pie with all the beans,falafel with the chickpeas and homemade naan bread.

Red lentil cottage pie (using also carrots, onions and potatoes)

This recipe for the lentils is quite basic and inexpensive

education.scholastic.co.uk/content/16140

pork chops : fry to colour. then soften onion in same pan. add BBQ sauce (I make one from sugar, tomato puree, vinegar, spices, water, cornflour to thicken) and return chops. cover then bake for 30 mins. serve with baked spuds. cooked chops and sauce freeze well.

My ds loves sausage pasta. Just chop a couple up, throw in a tin of toms and some beans or veg. Few herbs or whatever you like to season with and its suprisingly nice.

Rice with lentils mixed in and pork chops. Could use tin toms to make a sauce?

Veggi pasta bake. Lots of melted cheese ontop.

Spanish type omelete with potato perrpers leeks etc.

do you need to keep cheese for sandwiches?

i would buy a few more eggs and some veg with any remaining money, you probably have enough potatoes. rice, pasta to last

sausages 3 x sausage casserole/ pasta only one sausage each but could add extra pork chop with loads of veg
pork chop 2 meals with 2 left over unless your kids are small and they could share one
beef 2 meals so that is 7 meals so need 6 veggie dinners out of rest to last until 30th
1, lentil shepherds pie
2, roast veg pasta

1. spanish omelette/ tortilla

4, mixed bean casserole 5, veg crumble with oaty topping (unless all used for porridge)

1. macaroni cheese

pork chops nice grilled with bit of paprika, also if have couple of apples to make sauce or just fry slices,
thinly slice potatoes and later in dish and cook slowly with stock ( a cheaper and just as tasty sort of potato dauphinoise

i meant later in dish

Thank you everyone it's a real help. I'm usually on the ball with meal planning, but I just couldn't think of anything.

Make a cassoulet thing with 6 sausages, two tins of beans and a tin of tomatoes (add water/ stock and herbs etc.) This in my family is a meal in itself, but if you have flour and yeast you could bake a loaf to go with. I chop the sausages so that there are equal amounts for everyone.

Make a pork and cheese sauce for pasta, chop three pork choose into cubes, fry in butter, with the leeks and make a cheese sauce alongside. mix in cooked pasta for a meal children love.

use another three chops, again chopped into cubes and fried with some veg and an egg to make pork fried rice.

You now have four chops left to grill and serve with veg, gravy and Yorkshires (im hoping you have flour, and can use two eggs for the Yorkshires)

a red lentil Bolognese works well to use more pasta.

Make another pasta dish by chopping three sausages and fry and add chopped tomatoes to make a sauce to stir into the pasta.

the last three sausages can be used in a toad in the hole, if you cut them in half lengthways when you lay them in the batter. Bulk up with plenty of veg.

A lentil dhal.

A tomato , ir veg risotto with the rice.

Butterbean and cheese burgers if you have butterbeans.

A chachuka type thing with the peppers and another tin of tomatoes, but you would need more eggs.

Chop a beef into small cubes for a chilli or cottage pie.

IMO a beef roast is always nice to have when you're cutting back so I would use the other in a roast dinner. But you could chop it and make a stew with oat and cheese dumplings.

A vegetable or bean bake with an oat crumble topping- either white sauce I
Or another of your tomatoes for this.

Red lentil and chickpea soup is very nice and filling.

At this time of year we have soup followed by pudding a lot. Mostly because we have fruit trees inthe graden and need to use up the apples and plums! If you know of any friends who have a glut of fruit to get rid of, then you can make lots of filling puddings like apple crumble which means you can have smaller main courses, and not feel like you are missing out.

pregnantpause's suggestions are great.

Thank you again for taking the time to help me. I'll try the lentil and chickpea soup. I find I buy chickpeas and never know what to do with them.

I make sausage pilaf it is very filling and cheap.

In a non stick frying pan
Fry 1 onion
Add 2 mugs of rice for 4 people
Add 400ml of chicken or veg stock

While the rice is absorbing the stock

Cook 2/3 sausages and slice

Cook any frozen veg you have

When liquid all absorbed mix sausages

When you use your potatoes keep the peelings to make a treat for the children.

To make potato crisps, you will need potato peelings from washed potatoes, 2 tablespoons of cooking oils, salt.
Wash your peelings well with cold water and dry them on a paper towel. Coat the potato slices with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place the potato chips on a baking tray and bake until they are golden brown and crispy. Take them out of the oven, let them cool off and serve.

Thanks wine, my DCs do love crisps (perhaps more than they should) I'll give it a bash :)

I made pork chops in a sauce yesterday. Fry the chops and put aside to keep warm. In same pan, fry leeks, garlic and chopped bacon. Add white wine if you have, then cream and/or stock and/or mustard. Thicken with cornflour if necessary. Add back in the chops and coat in sauce. Serve with rice.