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

Oh, I have so many! Tomato puree is one of them.... I use it to add to the flavour of sauce bases as chopped tomatoes/pasatta can be a bit bland. I also use it on pizzas, in casseroles and stews, as the base for a topping on meats & fish...toasted sandwiches...the list goes on.

Another hero of mine is lentils, beans or even Quinoa... they all help food go further by bulking out dishes, saving me money and making them hearty, healthy and tasty too. They also get used quite a lot in the kid craft activities!!! (kidney bean and lentil shaker, anyone?!)

Other heroes in my food cupboard double up as brilliant cleaning products too... white vinegar is great for all round cleaning, lemon juice freshens up my fridge and microwave, olive oil polishes up my bannisters and wooden furniture a treat and baking powder sprinkled on mattresses and then vacuumed off, gets rid of smell and dust mites.

Since everybody else has said tinned tomatoes, onions and eggs, I'll go for Dijon mustard, which we use to boost sausage casserole, to flavour the batter in toad in the hole, and to make mustard cream sauce for pork steaks.

Id also go for chorizo, which makes a great storecupboard supper with scrambled eggs or chickpeas and tomatoes, for Pataks Balti paste, which makes an excellent kedgeree or instant curry, and for the tiny alphabet pasta shapes that I used to rely on when the DC were toddlers because they cooked so quickly (Tesco don't sell them but they totally should).

Chopped tinned tomato's - perfect for Chilli , Bolognese, sausage casserole, soups too :)

Red Kidney Beans can be added to spag bowl, chilli, burrito's etc to bulk them out or added to salads, hotpots, curries - very versitile

tinned tomatoes, I make spaghetti bolognese, chilli and stews among other things. They are also great for making soup

Cans of tuna!
I use it to make:
a.) tuna pasta bake
b.) tuna cheese melt (on ciabatta or baguette is best)
c.) tuna, mayo and sweetcorn on jacket potato :)

Definitely tinned chopped toms here - they go in chilli, bolognaise, curry, pizza topping (although passata's better for that as there are less lumps) and more things I can't think of right now.

Chickpeas - added to currys, Spanish chorizo stew and a fresh salad with cucumber and feta! Or just as finger food for the kids!

Cereal - a healthy filling option if someone needs an in between meal.

For me it's dried pasta, if I have that I can rustle up a meal in no time. Either a Bolognese, or maybe stir in some sweet chilli and chicken, or particular favourite in our house, a large bowl of pasta, mayo, tuna and sweetcorn. Definitely my store cupboard hero!

tuna

in salad

in baked potatoes

on toast or sandwiches

in pasta

My store cupboard hero is undoubtedly Tesco Sultanas. No fat, salt, flavourings or other additives make them an outstanding superfood, they're perfect straight out of the pack when little ones (and older ones too!) need a healthy snack.
They also make a scrumptious sultana cake that's superb all year round, and they're an ideal addition to curries too where they add a tasty zing.
Sultanans are also a hit with garden birds in winter where they offer a tasty bite, and make an interesting sight for the children.
All in all everyone, (even the wildlife) eat happy on sultanas

Dried pasta. Kids love it, its quick, easy and can be used in many things. I add to soup to bulk it up, plain, with a sauce.... I could go on...

For me my store cupboard hero has to be tinned tomatoes.

I add them to pasta for a quick meal, or to rice if someone is feeling poorly.

I add a tin to a casserole dish full of meat to give it flavour and keep it juicy.

I have it with a full english breakfast or even just on top of toast.

Definitely my hero, simply because of how versatile they are.

corned beef- sandwiches,corned beef hash, corned beef, eggs on toast great easy meals

Mine has to be sweet Potato i use it to make -
Sweet Potato, Carrot, Tomatos and Ginger Soup.
Roasted in oven
Or mash Sweet Potato mmm that is the best with dinner

tuna, I use it to make tuna pasta, pizza and jacket spud filling

Tinned tomatoes are my store cupboard staple. With pasta you have a pasta bake, with a couple of sausages and some veg you can make sausage casserole and blended with basil and simmered down a little you can make a lovely tomato soup or sauce .

Tinned mackerel in tomato sauce.

-i make a spicy stew by frying onions, garlic, a green chilli & peppers. I add a tin of mackerel, tinned tomatoes, a squeeze of honey & season. Eat with rice and so much better than it sounds!

-Mash on toast with spinach/rocket/avocado on top.

-Fry garlic in a frying pan with some dried herbs.Add the tin of mackerel & heat. Cook some spaghetti, drain and add to the fish & garlic until it coats the spaghetti. Grate some parmesan on top if you fancy it.

Olive oil for salads and cooking, rice for curries and stir fry and garlic for everything

tinned Tomatoes

like them on toast, with a fry up, spaghetti bolognaise, paella, lots .....

Chillis, tinned tomatoes and pasta, can always add either to casseroles/slow cooked dishes, make a quick chuck it all together pasta dish, use tinned tomatoes/chilli for a chilli con carne. Also a big fan of garlic and onions, never without them.

apart from my spice rack my store cupboard hero is tinned tomatoes as they are very versatile. I can use them as they come to accompany a fried breakfast, as a base for soup, to make home made ketchup, a sauce for pasta, in casseroles, in bologneses, chilli's and currys and then in what is our favourite budget meal - eggs in purgatory - YUM

Tomato soup is our necessary store cupboard item, it is great on it's own for warming comfort.
We use it as a base for a pasta sauce with peppers, cream, onions and herbs and in our Mediterranean sausage/chicken and veg casserole (with a little wine too)

Tins of sardines in tomato sauce. My daughter loves this with pasta and whatever green veg I have in. Healthy and quick to make!