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

Porridge.
With fruit.With honey.With cinnamon and raisins.

I love bouillon powder. I have it as a drink, use it in soups and use it to flavour things like quinoa/cous cous etc.

Chickpeas, tinned or dried. I use them for hummus, curry or falafels.

Mine has to be honey, I find it really useful for tonnes of different dishes, both sweet and savoury but use it most often on porridge, in flapjacks and in marinades for meats.

Another one for tinned tomatoes.
Use the cheapo ones for a slow cooker pasta sauce that I batch freeze for dd.
Perfect for curries and a base for all Mexican foods esp. Chilli.
Drained and mixed with dried chilli flakes and onion/ pepper makes a nice salsa type topping for bread. Toast it with cheese. Yum.

Pasta. Whatever I've got to use up in the fridge I can find a way to make it go with pasta! Favourite is with bacon, courgette and pesto.

Penne pasta
Favourite sauce is 4-6 rashers bacon fried till crisp , add diced onion, garlic and chilli then half a finely chopped cabbage. Add some pasta water, handful of hard cheese and a tin of pulses (chickpeas, black eyed beans, white beans). Then stir penne in.

Tinned pulses- add to loads of things

Fennel seeds nice in tomato based/pork dishes
Tarragon nice in creamy chicken/mushroom dishes

Both make a change from the usual oregano/thyme

Natural yoghurt.
Adds a healthy version of soured cream to fajitas, have it with curry, soup and to make a really healthy homemade coleslaw, also as a dressing for felafel and to make tzatziki.

Very rarely have sweet yoghurt though so there is a lot of untapped potential there!

Worcestershire sauce - often add this to sauces that are tomato based and also to the bread for cheese and tomato on toast or cheese and mushroom on toast

Two for me:

Tinned tomatoes! We cook a lot from scratch, so these are great. I can teach my daughter many meals using these.

Butter! Again, we cook from scratch, we use butter not marg or oil. We love butter!

It's really hard to pick just one but probably tinned toms (pasta sauce, veg chilli or sausage casserole), plain flour ( pizza, pancakes or cheese sauce) or chickpeas (curry, pasta sauce or fish stew).

I'm trying to save a bit of cash at the moment by using up the stuff in my cupboard and only buying the stuff in I need for my meal plans but I miss looking at my well stocked cupboard

Chick peas! Wonderful chickpeas!

I make hummous out of them. I use them in a pasta dish. They make a wonderful curry. That's 3 ways but there are many more. ..

Whilst I agree tomato's are a staple favourite and very versatile my favourite has got to be sweetcorn I use it to.

1. bulk out tortilla wraps with chicken/ham & salad for a quick and easy meal. 2)Added to chilli con carne for that dash of colour
2. Add to curries of any strength for that appitising look. Sweetcorn certainly brightens up the plate whatever you are serving.

Green lentils for our family, we use them in lots of recipes. The ones that are all 'round favourites are in a bolognese instead of mince meat, a warm rice, lentil and red onion salad and a fab addition to bulk up a spicy tomato soup, go through silly amounts of them!

Our is canned tuna- so versatile :)

Another vote for anchovies here; they're such a salty moreish punch in a tiny can.

1. In a tomato sauce for pasta with capers and garlic. 2. To jazz up a boring Margarita pizza. 3. My ultimate comfort food: mash with Lurpak and spread onto warmed or toasted chunks of baguette. Fabulous.

Microwave rice. Easiest side when you have forgotten to make anything else, come in a variety of flavours to go with everything. Mix it with chopped chicken, veg, stock and simmer to make paella, on the side of a curry, stuffed in peppers and topped with cheese.

Potatoes. Eggs. Always tasty, inexpensive and can be used for so much. I cook from scratch a lot and these are my staples.

Good quality pasta in various forms, truffle oil, bits of truffle in a jar in oil, dried mushrooms and arborio rice. Can always hustle up a simple but amazingly tasty pasta or risotto.

Condensed chicken soup.

1: Use it as soup - diluted with water as instructed in tin - eat with some crusty bread for dipping or some broken cream crackers for croutons.

2: Chicken Pie - Seal some chopped chicken breast in a pot. Add a tin of condensed chicken soup and 1/2 tin water, add some chopped leeks (or any veg really - so long as they are quick cook or pre cooked). Transfer to baking dish, top with puff pastry and cook in oven until puff pastry is brown and crispy - easy and delicious chicken pie.

3: Chicken 'risotto' rice - add undiluted condensed chicken soup added to plain cooked rice makes a tasty and cheap meal - kind of like a risotto but without all the hard work. A sprinkle of Parmesan on top works well too.

Flour

Use it for pancakes, cheese sauce, bread the list goes on.

Can't live without Worcester sauce here. Have it religiously in Chilli, Shepherds pie and of course with melted cheese on jacket potatoes/toast!! Just yummy.

Tinned Tomatoes have been done to death so instead I'll go for plain flour... Alway handy for making a white sauce, a quick loaf of you've run out of bread (or just prefer home made) or some impromptu pancakes for a decadent breakfast. Just remember to stick it in the freezer for a couple of days or else keep it in an airtight container to keep those pesky weevils at bay!

Porridge oats. Can't start the day without my porridge.

Green Lentils

i use them to bulk out chillis
we love 'shepherdless pie' made with them
i also put them in my slow cooker with lots of veg and tinned tomatoes, it makes a great veggie casserole