Not Shopping

 

Stoptober for me means not shopping, not spending, using up what I have and making the most of everything I own.  Whether it be food, toiletries, clothes or anything else that I already own.

 

It's making me think long and hard about what I have and what I actually need.  I know for a fact I don't need a lot of what I have, but some of it I've worked long and hard for, some of it I love and there are some things that will never leave me.

 

I find it easy to let most things go, but I hold on to others more tightly.

 

I could sweep the surfaces of the ornaments and knick knacks we have if I had to, but most of what we have left are things we have bought together or are things bought with love by family members for us.  For now these stay, although I have a sneaky plan that will move them away from our shelves and surfaces but keep them within our ownership.

 

 

The easy part of Stoptober for me is the food. 

 

I have no urge to rush out and buy anything, the ten pounds that I placed in my purse last Wednesday is still there, not burning a hole just sitting patiently waiting.  There will be a couple of things that we will need for next weekend but I intend to see how long I can leave it there for now. 

 

In the spirit of using things up before they went off I decided to roast the oldest of the peppers that were sat in the fridge salad drawer, they were joined by a large onion, the last of the fresh Garlic, a carton of chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of dried chilli flakes, a couple of sprigs of Rosemary from the tin bath Herb Garden and a good glug of olive oil.

 

An hour of roasting gave me the dish of veggies that is the top picture.  Served straight away with a fish portion that came from the freezer and a couple of tablespoons of Cous Cous from my Approved Food giant jar it made a lovely flavoursome meal. 

 

The next night I cooked up some of the pasta I bought last week, cooking enough for me and a tub full to go in the fridge for the dogs to have with their dinners for a couple of nights.  My share was stirred into a portion of the roasted veggies, sprinkled with some cheese and popped into the oven for twenty minutes.  Simple and very tasty.

 

The next night another couple of spoonfuls of the roasted veggies were stirred into two beaten eggs, a dash of Parmesan style cheese and half a salmon portion, and then tipped into a ready made quiche base, sprinkled with some more grated cheese from the freezer this cooked in just over half an hour.  It gave us a large portion each of quiche to have with some salad and then a further portion for me last night to have with Caesar Salad, while Lovely Hubby had his salad with a big juicy steak.

 

There is still half a tub of roasted veggies left so I am trying to think of something different to have using it for tonight and tomorrow.  By adding it to different things it completely changes the taste of the meals I can have, but having that flavoursome base in the fridge ready to use is a wonderful way of getting me thinking about what to use it for next.

 

I also have half a slice of steak, some mushrooms and some onions over from Lovely Hubby's tea last night but that is a no brainer, my man likes a good pie ...... so that is what I will make for him with them .... maybe turning some of the roasted veggies into a pie filling for me too.

 

What would you do with half a tub of lovely tomatoey roasted vegetables?

 

Sue xx