Making food go as far as possible

I am trying to make food go as far as possible at the moment.  A lot of my supplies in my kitchen cupboards are running low and I don’t want to spend any money or use any of my stash (food that I store for later or in case SHT).  Today I had the oven on as I was making bread for the week and some cupcakes as presents. I decided to use the last of my wholemeal flour and make 8oz of pastry and to see how much food I could make from it.

I love a challenge and it keeps me frugal. 8oz of pastry is 8oz of flour with 4oz of fat (rub the fat into the flour with the finger tips and add water to make a dough).  I usually use 20z of butter and 2oz of lard (but any fat can be used) as that makes a nice crisp pastry. Today I only had 1oz of butter left in the fridge as I always freeze butter that I make to extend it’s life .  I therefore made the pastry with 3oz lard and 1oz butter (which actually works out cheaper and tasted just as nice).

In the fridge I also had 1 egg, a quarter of a pint of milk, 2oz of cheese, some blackberry and apple compote (made from foraged fruit and sugar), half a jar of home made rhubarb and ginger jam, half an onion, 2 cherry tomatoes, and half a serving of curry.  Out of these things, and the 8oz pastry, I managed to make 3 desserts and 2 savoury lunches for two people to eat this week.

This is what I made

2 pies filled with the compote.  I made faces with the top of the pastry to give them a Halloween look.  The pies were big enough to share for a meal. We will serve them with ice cream or custard.

2 curry pasties.  We can either serve these with chips and vegetables as a main meal or use them for lunch or for a picnic for a day out.  I always make sure that I have a pasty of some kind in the freezer or fridge.  Any left overs can be stretched by making them into a pasty.  They are filling and tasty.

2 quiches. I filled the quiches with the cooked onion and the grated cheese.  I then added some milk to the beaten egg, seasoned with salt and pepper and poured it on top.  I decorated with the sliced tomatoes. These are individual quiches and only big enough for one person.  We can use them as part of a meal with salad, or use them as a snack for lunch or late breakfast.  I like them served with beans.

A large jam tart. I part cooked the pastry case and then added the jam and some pastry decoration on top.  The tart is big enough to share with custard or on it’s own.  As a child one of the only cakes and pastries that we were served was jam tarts and so for years I did not make them or eat them as an adult.  Now we eat them quite a lot as they taste delicious made with home made jam.  Some times I put meringue on top of lemon tarts so that they are like mini lemon meringues.  Today I decided to put a frog on top of the tart to use up the last of the pastry.  I hate any waste.

What do you make with your pastry?  Do you stretch it out and make lots of meals?