Making Do

I've paid an extra chunk off the mortgage this month, trying to pay it down so we owe as little as possible once the house is sold. This means we'll have most of the sale price to invest in our new property and will need to borrow only a small extra amount to fund it. We have a really low interest rate at the moment that tracks at only 0.79% above the bank of England base rate. It was negotiated some time ago for a fee of £100 which has been well worth the money in saved interest payments over the years. Any borrowing on a new mortgage is bound to be at a higher rate (we've been quoted at around 2.5% fixed for 5 years) so it makes sense to pay more off at our current lower rate so we won't need to borrow so much at the higher rate. 

In light of the extra payment I'm trying to spend as little as possible on food (especially main meals) over the next 2 weeks (until DH's next pay day). In my freezer I have the following -

2 x 500g beef mince

1 x 500g  pork mince

1 tray of 6 Brains faggots

1 x 500g pork sausagemeat

2 x 300g packs and 1 x 500g pack of Quorn chicken-style pieces

1 x 300g Quorn mince

1 x 250g tub chicken livers

I also have frozen veg, fruit, bread etc.plus puff and shortcrust pastry

In the fridge I have cheddar, smoked pork sausage, 100g bacon rashers and eggs, and in the cupboards I have such things as tinned beans (baked, blackeye, kidney), tuna, tomatoes, sauce sachets and jars, pasta, rice and couscous etc. etc.

So, lots of stuff to get creative with. I know I'll need to stock up next month but if I can stretch this out for the next 2 weeks - or longer - then I can hopefully pay another chunk off the mortgage next month too, despite it being Xmas.

I will make probably a large pie with the sausagemeat, maybe even stretch it to 2 pies or a pie and some pasties or sausage rolls. 

The pork mince combined with one pack of the minced beef will make a meatloaf and some meatballs to have in a pasta sauce. 

The other beef mince combined with a tin of kidney beans and a jar of sauce from AF will make a chilli  to serve over nachos with salad veg. 

One pack of Quorn pieces will mix with a condensed mushroom soup, onion, garlic, wholegrain mustard and white wine to be served over rice or couscous.

The Quorn mince will mix with baked beans, onion, garlic and herbs to make Slimming World beany mince served with baked or mashed potatoes.

The cheese, eggs and bacon can make a quiche using a carton of UHT cream from AF, served with chips or salad.

The smoked sausage will be put in a macaroni cheese.

Today I've made a sweet and sour stir fry with 1/2 of a second pack of pork mince, veg from the freezer and fridge, Aldi ready to wok noodles and a sachet of sauce from AF. The other half of the pack will be combined with a tin of mixed beans and some dried chilli mix to make a 'white' chilli for tomorrow. 

That leaves 2 more packs of Quorn pieces, the chicken livers and the faggots. Not to mention the tuna. 

There's certainly enough there for 2 weeks plus there are other vegetarian meals I can make including a lovely vegan curry recipe, a savoury crumble, cowboy beans, Hoppin' John...

...maybe I can stretch it to 3 weeks at least. 

I will obviously need to buy fresh salad veg, maybe potatoes for baking (I use Aldi frozen mash instead of fresh...it's only 59p a pack) and there'll be stuff like cereal, fruit, bread etc for breakfasts and lunches but I have quite a lot of that too. My biggest issue is DS2 who has a bottomless stomach and will raid my stocks to make his lunches. I often go to make a meal and find all my chips or pasta have gone. I've asked him to let me know when he uses something up...but...

Anyway, none of the above meals are set in stone or in any particular order except tomorrow's pork chilli. It depends on what we fancy, or how busy I am, but I'm really hoping not to have to buy any extra meat or vegetarian options.

if you have any other suggestions for my ingredients please let me know.

Hope you've all had a good weekend. Love, Helen xx