Everything is on the rise!

Well as the picture below shows you - everything is going up but food is as always an important measure of inflation.
So I begin my posting with leftovers. I know a lot of people who say they don't like them or worse yet don't even know what to do with their leftovers and goodness no - throw them OUT! What a waste! Honestly, it should be a crime to throw out food - which is something that as a nation we should be ashamed of!

As I said in my previous posting I try to eke out the most that I can from something I buy. I especially do this with any bones from my meat joints as goodness knows you paid for that bone - you should get your money's worth. The dinner I made with my left over leg of lamb was a Lamb and Barley soup/stew. I cut up my meat and the left over potatoes that were roasted. I also added a few carrots that I chopped up. I then put into the pan the bone along with an onion which I then sweated down for a bit (about 3-5 minutes). I then added that lovely bowl of gravy that I cleaned from the pan when I originally roasted the lamb.
Once the bone left behind it's flavour (after about 20 minutes) I fished that out and then added some barley and left that simmer for about 45 minutes. I then added my chopped up meat and veg to the pan and left that for another 30 minutes or so. By this time the barley was tender and the other items soft and ready to be consumed.
It cost me originally £6.80 and that would be a very expensive meal for two people. But since I made this meal that means it cost me £6.80 divided by 2 which equals £3.40 per meal or £1.70 per person. Yes, I know that doesn't count the other items in the meal but I tend to base my meals around the main ingredient - the other items I have on hand and would do.

But in fact this meal leftover made me dinner for two and lunch for two days at work so now we are talking even less. However, I will keep to the cost of a per meal basis but this is how you have to think of things when shopping. I had the initial layout of cost for the meat but it brought me a load of meals that made it very thrifty.

I must admit that when I cook I always think of things to bring in for my lunch. In the winter I hate having anything cold - it's already cold who wants that again for a meal? If I'm making something that includes rice - I usually cook another 2 ounces of it for my lunch so that I can just re-heat it and away I go. Same with soup or pasta or something similar. As I have said before you only have to begin to get into the habit for it to then just become a regular thing and not something that you think about. In the summer or warmer months where I don't eat sandwiches (never really been a sandwich person!) I make salads and have that or tabouleh which just gets better over time sitting in the fridge.

So the next time you have a roast - think what else can I make with this and try it. It's all in the mind and just waiting to come out with your imagination - so just let it! Enjoy.