Empty the Storecupboard Challenge: Week 2

It’s the second week of the Empty The Storecupboard challenge. Feel free to join in, you can start doing your own any time you like. It’s very simple and the rules are set out in the first post about the challenge.

Last week I came up with my first set of three recipes to start using up the contents of the food cupboard. You can see them here if you missed them. Since then, I’ve cooked all those dishes, and am pleased to report that it was all edible and in fact rather tasty.

The paprika sauce, butter beans and some of the cous cous were turned into an easy hotpot (pictured above), along with four veggie sausages, two onions, a tablespoon of tomato puree and some cavolo-type kale from my kitchen garden. There was enough left over to fill a couple of baked potatoes two days later too.

We also used up some of the chocolate pudding mix. The first time I made that up, it was okay but a bit bland, which is why it was originally forgotten. This time around, it was punched up a little with some cocoa powder and a spoonful of Cointreau, making a proper chocolate orange dessert that had us looking forward to making the next one.

On Sunday we had one of the veggie chicken-style roasts with one of the packets of stuffing and the half sachet of bread sauce mix. That needed extra roast potatoes, gravy, broccoli and peas to turn it into a meal. There was enough of the veggie roast left over to slice up, heat through with some Tex-Mex spices and throw into flour tortillas with salad for Monday’s dinner.

So the three meals turned into five in the end with some thrifty leftovers work.

This week’s three meals

1. Lazy fish pie. This is going to be made with instant mash on the top, and peas, fish and prawns from the freezer.

2. Chickpea tagine with cous cous. Planning to use up some of the tagine spice and cous cous, plus the can of chickpeas, and adding an onion and whatever we have by way of vegetables from the garden or anything that’s lurking at the bottom of the freezer or vegetable drawer.

3. Vegetable pasta bake. This should use up two portions of spinach pasta with mushroom sauce, and I’ll be adding broccoli and a little cheese, and maybe a crunchy salad.

I’ll be putting a few pictures up on Twitter and Facebook, so look out for the #EmptyTheSC hashtag.

And now, over to you…

If you’re joining in, let us know what you’re doing to use up those older food stocks. Please share your thrifty menu ideas, and any other ways you’re going to be reducing food waste.

Also, I really, really want to know about the strangest things that you find at the back of your own food cupboards, so please leave a comment. There might have to be a prize for the best one – the weirder the better!

Alternatively, you could share some pictures of what you’re cooking up (tag it with #EmptyTheSC so it’s easy to find), and any clever recipes you invent.

What are you doing to prevent food waste? What are you looking forward to cooking up?