Talk to Tesco about your store cupboard hero and your top three ways to use it - you could win a £200 Tesco voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

We've been asked by Tesco to find out about Mumsnetters' store cupboard heroes.

Here’s what Tesco say, “The Tesco Eat Happy Project is our long-term commitment to help children have a healthier and happier relationship with their food. We’ve got lots of recipes for healthy, tasty dishes that we think they’ll love – especially if they help you prepare them. But we’re keen to hear your recipe ideas too.”

So, what is your store cupboard hero and what are your top 3 ways to use it? Perhaps you always keep pesto in your cupboard, to stir into pasta, pep up a risotto or spread onto pastry to make a savoury puff? Or maybe you like to have lentils in stock, to add to soup, bulk out a stew or make a warm winter salad with?

Whatever your store cupboard hero is, Tesco would love to hear about it!

Everyone who adds their comments to the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Tesco voucher.

Please note that any comments posted on this thread may be used by Tesco in further marketing material (anonymously, of course).

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Chopped tomatoes are an absolute staple! They are the base for so many meals, pasta sauce, chili, a hearty minestrone.

Canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Canned beans and chickpeas. Mixed herbs. I never allow myself to run out.

Baked beans - the healthy ones. (Low salt etc)

On toast
On a jacket potato
On my plate next to some bacon and an egg

Ps, I'm not a student and love fresh healthy light modern food but I've always had a can of beans in the cupboard not the actual same can iyswim

Tinned tomatoes definitely. To use as part of a quick pasta sauce with garlic and chilli. As a base for curry. And I love them on toast with Worcester sauce.

Another vote for chopped tomatoes!

Great to use as a pasta sauce base or to make an easy chicken dish, and of course in my chilli or lasagne.

I think eggs is my staple, I don't like them on their own but use them for things such as cakes, toad in the hole and breadcrumbs.

Tinned toms. Soup, bolognese, pasta sauce and a million other things
Also, honey. Great for part of a marinade, buns, sooth sore throat, sandwiches and much more.
Tuna. Sandwiches, pasta bake, salad etc.

Basic, cheap tinned chickpeas.

1. Whizzed up with lemon, garlic and tahini for quick hummus for dipping/spreading in sandwiches
2. Chunkily mashed with onion, lots of green herbs and flour for falafel, good for stuffing in kebab bread with a fried egg and salad
3. Stirring into Moroccan-style squash stew with lentils and store cupboard spices.

Easy protein too for us veggies.

Not technically store cupboard but I ALWAYS have frozen chopped onion in my freezer. I can throw it in the pan and whip up a quick dinner like stroganoff, add to the slow cooker for spag bol or casserole or even base my soups and stews with it. Indispensable! I've discovered chilling onions is one thing I cannot do with a one year old!

For us, it would be a bag of lentils. If you get a big bag, it can last for ages and comes in handy for all kinds of dishes.
Bulking out homemade soups
Adding to bolognese sauce for a lentil bolognese instead of meat
stews
dhals

Also rice - great for going with chillis, curries, or risottos

Tomato purée....always make sure there is loads of it in the cupboards - my top three uses are:

1. Added to Tomato ragu base for bolognese, lasagne etc.
2. Also in cottage pies - top meal in our house.
3. With mixed herbs and cheese in pizza toasted sandwiches...YUM!

A can of ratatouille!

1. As an instant side dish
2. As a base for an East slow cooker casserole, just add meat and maybe curry paste
3. Added to turkey mince and pasta for a lower fat meaty pasta bake.

Eggs.
I use them for breakfasts:
Scrambled/fried on toast
Lunches:
Poached/boiled/omelettes
And baking:
Cakes/muffins/meringues

We get through dozens per month!

Tinned tomatoes- I use 5-6 tins a week

Also, onions, I use one of the value bags a week!

Wine!!

I use it in my spag bol, pies, stews etc. A glass of it with my meal makes the food feel that little bit more luxurious too! Providing it's not every day of course!

Tomatoes, spices, pasta
I cook the Italian way and make a sugo in a Sunday with tinned tomatoes and chopped mushrooms, onions, peppers. This lasts me until Thursday - I add various bits to it to
Make spag Bol (with quorn), chilli, Spanish chicken (add paprika), curry ... What us left gets blitzed for soup.

Ground almonds

1 Home made marzipan - delicious
2 Low fat, high protein cake
3 Add a spoonful to porridge, lovely!

Has to be peanut butter.

It's so versatile! Spread on toast for the kids for breakfast, spread on celery for me for a healthy snack, use it both savoury - to make satay sauce - or sweet - peanut butter and banana cheesecake or really tasty cookies as a treat!
We've always got a jar in the cupboard and one in the fridge.

couscous - its quick and easy to make and tastes great though still plain enough that you can jazz it up several notches (to outright delicious) with just about anything. we use it at least once or twice a week

• mixed with roasted veg medley like aubergine, onions courgette, peppers, tomato (first chop 'em small, drizzle with olive oil)
• as an accompaniment for yummy juicy stews or even baked/grilled fish (2 options there )
• in a salad with eg something leafy, red/spring onions, tuna

Tinned chopped tomatoes for me too

They got thrown into spaghetti bolognese, chilli, casseroles, lasagne and pretty much anything else.

Also eggs are handy for a quick filling meal.
Breakfast - dippy eggs with soldiers
Lunch - fried egg sandwich or scrambled egg on toast
Dinner - omelette

My gf hates this because it's not exactly gourmet cuisine, but I keep tinned potatoes for emergencies (power cuts, poverty etc) and I make bombay potatoes with them or potato salad or you can also deep-fry them. They're so quick because they don't need to be cooked and very cheap.

Definitely canned fruits like mandarin oranges or mango. We use them in muffins, American pancakes and just as a snack (especially for my toddler)

Tinned tomatoes here too! I always make sure I have a tin in the cupboard. I use them for sausage casserole, topping for pizza, bolognaise and more

OXO cubes - quick and easy soup, stew, coating for meat

adds flavour to a dull meal

I love using those little stock pots and herb pots - maybe a bit expensive but they are a quick way of adding so much flavour to a dish. Perfect for family cooking.