Budget Pantry Challange

Yeah, I don't know what's up with the HBHW one.  It was working this AM. 

It's ok, Moggs, I'll try again later.

Tonight I made a broccoli and carrot side with Spicy Honey-Kissed Chicken (from JuneHawk's blog). I had a lot of chicken because the breasts I bought were huge. It smelled like a curry while it was cooking, so I divvied up the portions for us and told DB that if he doesn't eat the leftover chicken that I would find a way to make a curry sauce and use the leftover chicken for a curry. He got really excited when he was smelling the chicken and it worked! He still felt hungry after eating, although I thought it was loads of food, so I told him to have a dessert. Next time, I'll just make another veg or rice to go with it, I guess. DB said that the chicken was most like a Korma curry, so I'm going to look up recipes for that and work it in sometime.

My local library does have How to Cook Everything so I'll check that out soon too. 

I've been afraid to try chili and don't really know if I like it or not. We both do love things with garlic in them and I use onion powder a lot too. I love stir fry but don't ever cook it. I do already have some teriyaki and soy sauce, no peanut oil or water chestnuts though. I'll look up some recipes and would gladly accept some if people want to share.

I'll give you my recipe for chili when I PM you.  And the stir-fry one as well.  I love water chestnuts but my hubby doesn't so we don't use them.  You can use peanut, sesame or even olive oil in the stir-fry, it doesn't really matter.  It's just that the nut oils can give a more stir-fry like taste but I don't really notice it with all the other seasonings and sauce etc. covering it up.

I'd never heard of putting veg in a pasta sauce. I have a load of carrots and spaghetti is on the plan for this week, so I could give that a go.

It's a good way to stretch your sauce.  Mushrooms are excellent.  Carrots, too--I love them in anything.  A super easy thing I do is grate a courgette (zuchinni) into the sauce and cook it up.  Because it's grated it will cook up quickly and adds bulk and flavor and texture.

What vegetables and fruit freeze well and how do you freeze it and defrost it so it tastes good? I tried to freeze some vegetables, but it didn't work out very well and it all tasted like crap when I cooked it.   

Did you over cook the veggies before you froze them?  Just sort of steam them. You can always cook them a bit more when you are re-heating them.  I've never had veggies not taste wonderful after being frozen.  Sometimes carrots get a little bit mushier especially if they were cooked a bit too much the first time.

Applesauce freezes really well.  And berries.  Frozen fruit is good to add to oatmeal or put into smoothies.

Right now I"m having a problem where I made turkey stock and froze some in ice cube trays but I can't get it out. Any suggestions?

Maybe sit the tray in a pan of very hot water til the cubes come a bit loose and then remove the ones you need?  Or just bash all the cubes out and take the ones you need and put the rest back in the freezer in a plastic bag?

I think that along with menu planning, I'm going to start having to set some aside before serving dinner, last night I made enough for two meals and it was all gone. DB's family has never done leftovers, so he feels like it all has to be eaten.

Are soups and casseroles the best way to use up leftovers?

Or just freeze them as is for a quick lunch on the weekend when you may not want to cook.  My husband often takes leftovers to work for lunch and it saves him spending money on a sandwich.

Andee, I'm PMing you.

OK! 

I make a big pot of spaghetti sauce (or at least I did when I had freezer space) and I  use 1 lb of ground beef, celery, carrots, mushrooms, onions and garlic - zucchini if it's in season.  I just grate the carrots and zucchini.  Lots of herbs and enough tomatoes to fill the pot, some tomato paste and let simmer for a good while.  That's good for at least 5-6 meals and is generally my fast meal as I can defrost/heat the sauce in the microwave while the water for the pasta is boiling.   

for chili, I use at least three different kinds of beans (usually kidney, chick and random choice) and lots of them, a pound of gr. beef, celery, mushrooms, frozen corn, peppers (of whatever colour) and tomatoes.  It makes a big pot that is enough for at least 3 good meals for my family of 4 that includes an active teenage boy.

You can also make soups with the same ingredients - just change your seasonings.  Have beef, chicken, veg stock on hand - I use the Knorr liquid concentrate.  You can make soups out of just about anything.  Barley is probably my most favourite soup filler.  It is cheap and holds its form really well - doesn't get soggy like pasta or rice - and freezes well.  It's also good for pilafs.

Another good tip for bread is you can make your own.  Use a small amount of yeast, mix it up and let it sit  in the bread pan overnight for a long slow rise.  Bake up in the morning and you have fantastic bread.  You don't have to knead it for a long time either because the yeast does the work for you.  You can make buns as well with that method. Just form the buns in the morning, let them sit for a bit and then bake.   

My favourite no work meal is cheap cuts of meat in the slow cooker.  i buy whole chickens when they're on sale and throw them in with potatoes, onions, carrots (or whatever else i have on hand.)  Same for beef brisket. 

I always keep potatoes, onions, garlic and a good supply of seasonings and herbs on hand.  I like frozen veg like peas, corn and beans.  You can freeze them yourself by blanching - tossing them into boiling water for a few minutes and then plunging them in ice-cold water to stop the cooking process.  Then the veg aren't soggy and you can cook them up pretty quickly just by steaming. 

Apples freeze well in any form.  I make applesauce or peel and cut the apples for apple crisps or pies.

Sorry if this has been said before, but if you're cooking veggies, the notion that fresh veggies are always more nutritious than canned or frozen isn't always a correct one.  Frozen or canned vegetables are usually processed at the peak of their ripeness near where they are harvested.  Even in season, you don't always get produce that is local, fresh, or ripened properly.

Don't get me wrong, I love fresh produce, and I prefer most veggies raw.  When you are trying to save money and are going to process the veggies anyway, unless you are getting local in season produce, you are probably not getting the best in terms of minerals and vitamins.  Money might be spent better elsewhere.  Be aware, however, canned and some frozen will be higher in sodium.

Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine.  My mother in law insists on buying mostly fresh, rinsing them like 100 times and cooking them to a mush.  Then she insists on serving us at least 3 veggies each meal (with that powdered gravy crap on top) in addition to potatoes (which are served with almost every meal including pasta).  She then complains that the food bill is £170 a week. 

Thanks everyone, I'm at work so I'll look over the posts more carefully later.

I didn't cook the veg before putting it in the freezer. Is that why I had a problem? I had bought a stir fry mix bag of vegetables and knew they were going bad so just stuck them in.

My parents always would cook canned vegetables, or even fresh ones, until they were mush I finally got my mom to leave some carrots raw for me when she made them!

Any good recipes for a curry sauce to use up the leftover chicken from last night?

I'll have to look into the frozen vegetables. DB grew up with having some sort of veg with every meal, no matter what it was, so I'm trying to get more into our meals. Like I said, I grew up on Stouffers, Encor, and Hamburger Helper with just breads or pastas as side dishes usually, so I'm trying to learn. 

PM ing you my curry recipe.  It will cost a lot at first to buy all the spices, but they will last for months, so for furture curries you just need the meat/veg.

Vicky

Like I said, I grew up on Stouffers, Encor, and Hamburger Helper with just breads or pastas as side dishes usually, so I'm trying to learn. 

i can't imagine growing up on that kind of stuff (all processed; no veg?), but i truly admire you for wanting to learn and break away from that kind of food.  Well done, you! 

Like I said, I grew up on Stouffers, Encor, and Hamburger Helper with just breads or pastas as side dishes usually, so I'm trying to learn. 

That sounds like when my dad had to cook.  I still have nightmares about Hamburger Helper's.  I learned a few basic things to do with a few basic meats and have expanded from there.  My veggies also came from cans.  Fresh vegetables have been difficult for me to master.

Does anyone mind sharing approximate budgets that are reasonable for 2 people and foods that can be budget stretchers? We don't want to feel like we're not eating well, but we do want to watch the money.

I spend about £70 a week for 2 people, but that includes dog food, cleaning/laundry stuff, a few beers, etc.

Good budget stretchers can be things like big pots of chilli which can be stretched a bit further by serving over rice (your British boyfriend will be familiar with having rice with his chilli).  I make a really good 'white chilli' that is so easy and a nice change from the 'bowl of red' most people think of when they think of chilli... 

Chop an onion, a few cloves of garlic, and a couple of green chillis... saute in olive oil until the onion is soft.  Then add a pound of minced (ground) chicken or pork... cook that, and then add 1 or 2 cans of pinto beans or black eyed peas (or both)... including all the juice from the can.

Heat that all together, and then pour in green salsa or taco sauce.   I use about 2 cups, depending on how much chilli i'm making.  Just keep tasting it till it's as spicy as you like it.    Salt & pepper to taste (garlic salt, if you like!)  Just keep tasting it along the way till it tastes good.   Add water (or chicken stock or veg stock) if it's too thick.  Or if it's too thin, add flour or cornflour to thicken it.   I sometimes put in a small can of corn, or fresh veg like courgette/ zucchini, green beans, peas, etc.

If you serve it over rice, it will make at least 2 meals for each of you... maybe more.   You can double this 'recipe' and freeze it for future use.   If there's a bit left that's not enough for a whole meal, i'd put it inside omelettes or spoon it over baked potatoes.

It really is good! 

i can't imagine growing up on that kind of stuff (all processed; no veg?), but i truly admire you for wanting to learn and break away from that kind of food.  Well done, you! 

Thanks!

Pretty close to..we would occasionally have a "homecooked" meal like meatloaf, or veg with the meal, but any veg we had was out of a can and cooked so long that it was limp and gross. I really never knew that some things could be made at home without a box, it just never occurred to me. 

That sounds like when my dad had to cook.  I still have nightmares about Hamburger Helper's.  I learned a few basic things to do with a few basic meats and have expanded from there.  My veggies also came from cans.  Fresh vegetables have been difficult for me to master.

My mom is a bad cook and we actually ate a lot better with that stuff than we might have without it, my dad cooks well, just doesn't like to do it often. I know that veggies are important to get in, and that DB is right for wanting to have them at each meal, I just am having trouble remembering and retraining my mind. To me, certain meals just don't go with veg. We never really had salads either, so I have to make a point to think of doing that sometimes.

Thanks for the chili recipe, Q-G. I've never really had chili at all before, but I'm trying to do new things and will give that one a go. 

Bit of setback with meal planning, I opened up the chicken wings to do my aunt's teriyaki chicken recipe, but the wings were bad, I could smell it as soon as I started to open the package. I just got a bad pack, I'm always careful with meat and the sell by date on it is tomorrow. On to plan B!

I remember in England in the 80's veg was always cooked until it was grey and tasteless...it wasn't just your family!

Vicky

Grey and tasteless...isn't that just stereotypical English food?   

I'm still trying to figure out different cooking times for vegetables. I don't know how long they should cook so I end up having some that are cooked too long and some that are just right or only slightly overdone.

Disclaimer: My comment above is meant as a joke, I am in no way trying to make generalizations, just a joke. I happen to enjoy some English foods and even like some English versions of foods more than I like the US. 

Grey and tasteless...isn't that just stereotypical English food?   

Grrrrrr!

Disclaimer: My comment above is meant as a joke, I am in no way trying to make generalizations, just a joke. I happen to enjoy some English foods and even like some English versions of foods more than I like the US. 

No, too late, I will now fight you.

 

 

Vicky

Grrrrrr!

No, too late, I will now fight you.

 

 

Vicky

Good thing I already got your curry recipe! *runs fast with recipe safely hidden*