meal planning - where do i start?

tootoo

thank you....I've been and written it all down, so here goes!
Freezer:
Home made ragu x 2
Home made gravy x2
Pork Belly slices (enough for 2 people)
Mince x 5
Bacon x 3 packs
Sausages x 4
Pork Loin Chops x 2 portions
Steak x 1 person (for hubby, I don't like steak!)
Chicken x 6
Garlic Bread
Few homefries
Bread rolls x 10
Wraps x 4
Bread x 1 brown x1 white

Cupboard:
Peach halves
Curry sauce
Potato bake sauce (no idea why I bought the above 3!)
Spaghetti Hoops
Beans
Chicken Soup
Cstard
Tin tomatoes x 3
Kidney Beans x 1
Passata
pasta
lasagne sheets
rice
noodles
Yeast sachets x 7
Bread flour
Self raising
Plain flour
Supernoodles x 2
Caster sugar
Sultanas
Dark brown sugar
Chocolate chips (also have muffin cases & normal cases)
Lots of oils, herbs and spices
Fridge:
Potatoes
Peppers
Onion
Garlic Ginger
Green beans
carrots
Mushrooms
Eggs
cheese
mozzarella (using tonight)
Marg & butter
Oranges
Apples
Grapes
Bananas (lots of these!)

Hubby has a packed lunch every day too.
Sorry if this goes on! Any help would be gratefullt appreciated!
Tootoo xx

jackieglasgow

Tootoo I thought this might be of use to you, I think its a great, simple way of doing a menu plan.

bluebag wrote: »

I am quite a good cook( even if I say so myself) but since becoming ill I find cooking stressful at times.
I found a meal plan really de-stressed the whole thing, I knew what we were having each night and what exactly to defost. I shop online and I know exactly what to get.

I use frozen veg as I find it convenient and requires no preparation, frozen chopped onions being my favorite no prep.no stress food.

I used dried herbs and spices and garlic powder in huge amounts.

My meal plan runs kind of ;

MON curry, rice naan bread and chutney, I do a different curry each week using chicken thighs and own brand curry sauce.

TUE chicken breast in any one of 10 different easy homemade sauces with baked potato and salad.

WED Braised steak in slow cooker with mixed beans and veg, I do double and use it the next week in pasties or a pie. I serve that with mash gravy and two vegetables.

THURS Own brand fish fillets with oven chips and mushy peas, I do some local shopping on this day so add in a fresh crusty loaf for the very neccesary chip butties. I alternate this with home made soup and a pud or a fry up, both of which I have the lovely crusty bread with too.

FRI Spag bol, chilli. shepherds pie. I do double of the chilli and spag bol, using them on saturday chilli for stuffed peppers or the spag bol for lasagna.

SAT.. see fri

SUN Roast.

I make a whole weeks sandwiches at a session for packed lunches and any leftovers from meals are eaten as snacks or at home lunches.

Hope it gives you some ideas, it works for me, the thing I can't get my head round is the family still haven't cottoned on to the simple system and never seem bored with it either.

rachbc

My meal plan goes

Sun raost/ big family meal - if leftover these are for tues
Mon meatfree monday - currently experiementing with this and finding recipes my fam like
Tues left overs
Wed - freezer meal as busy eve
Thurs - try something new or family fav
Fri - too tired to cook stand by meal
Sat - date night dinner for dh and I, sometihng quick for the kids

I have a range of recipes for each section I draw on

so my too tired to cook meals are hm burgers, thai curry with chciken or prawns, keema, pasta with bacon and tom

date night tends to be a curry, or steak if the whoopsie gods have been kind, or some nice grilled seafood. kids get leftovers from earlier in the week or fish fingers, hm pizza etc

family favs are meatballs, spag bol, teriaki chicken, stir frys, fajitas, sausages etc etc -often make enough to freeze for another time

I find that by having a structure it helps me without getting too repetitive - ohh is wed must be spag bol. Its very flexible though!!

lauracusack

I'm trying to meal plan for next month and I really need to come up with something cheap. Like, super cheap. I'm talking around £40 for the month, excluding drinks. What I have so far is tallying up to about £80. I really want to go cheaper! I'm getting married in feb and need to secure the venue and buy other stuff...

About us:
There's just me and my fiance. He works five days a week and takes lunch fro home. I'm starting college, but will only need to take lunch in twice week. We're vegetarian.

Some ideas I was planning to make...
Chickpea loaf
Bean casserole
Lentil and bean chilli
Tarka dhal, rice and onion bhajis
Spicy lentil soup
Pasta Arrabiata
Pasta w/ lentil ragu
Lasagne (white sauce and lentil ragu)
Veggie Shepherd's pie

I thought these recipes were cheap but clearly not cheap enough! :wall:

If you have any recipe suggestions or price cutting ideas they'd be much appreciated. If you could price your recipes that'd be great too. I already buy all value ingredients and buy pulses dried.

Tink_04

Pasta pasta pasta!!! thats our cheap meal and can be done so may ways - i do try not to have it more than twice a week tho so OH doesnt get bored - soup is great and works great for lunches too if oh has a flask? Can i as what you put in your veggie shep pie? were trying to cut down on meat as its so expensive and im after a few good veggi dishes to cook.

Im sure others will be round in a moment with lots of ideas i just didnt want to read and run

Allegra

www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk

A lot of the recipes similar to the ones on your mealplan, but done as cheaply as they could possibly be, with shopping lists and everything. Good luck !

lauracusack

Tink_04 wrote: »

Pasta pasta pasta!!! thats our cheap meal and can be done so may ways - i do try not to have it more than twice a week tho so OH doesnt get bored - soup is great and works great for lunches too if oh has a flask? Can i as what you put in your veggie shep pie? were trying to cut down on meat as its so expensive and im after a few good veggi dishes to cook.

Im sure others will be round in a moment with lots of ideas i just didnt want to read and run

I think I eat a bit much pasta...Tried my wedding dress on the other day and couldn't zip it up oh well! But seriously, I think pasta's great. What types do you usually make? The three (if you count lasagne) I've mentioned above are pretty much all we have.

The shepherd's pie I make is pretty much http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10035/golden-veggie-shepherds-pie, but I use more cheese and tend to have red lentils with it rather than the puy ones. I also omit the mushrooms if I don't have them lying around. Oh and season it really well! Also nice with sweet potato topping.

lauracusack

Allegra wrote: »

www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk

A lot of the recipes similar to the ones on your mealplan, but done as cheaply as they could possibly be, with shopping lists and everything. Good luck !

This site looks pretty good, can't believe I've never found it with my constant googling addiction...:o

spike7451

I just made this Cheese,Onion & Tomato Tart.Dead simple.

You need;
1 pack Jus Roll pastry
Grated cheese
Salt & Pepper

Per person;
Teaspoon Tomato Puree
1/2 Tomato,thinly sliced & skinned,pips removed
1/2 mushroom,thinly sliced
1 spring onion,thinly sliced

Take one of the sheets of pastry,cut in half & unroll.curl up the edges to form a border & !!!!! the base.Brush the base with tomato puree & layer with the tomato,mushroom & spring onion,season to taste then sprinkle on the cheese.brush the edges with milk & bake until golden.Serve with a salad as a main meal or as a cold lunch.You could also put some chopped ham or bacon in as well.

From a pack of 2 pastry sheets you can get 4 tarts.

lauracusack

spike7451 wrote: »

I just made this Cheese,Onion & Tomato Tart.Dead simple.

You need;
1 pack Jus Roll pastry
Grated cheese
Salt & Pepper

Per person;
Teaspoon Tomato Puree
1/2 Tomato,thinly sliced & skinned,pips removed
1/2 mushroom,thinly sliced
1 spring onion,thinly sliced

Take one of the sheets of pastry,cut in half & unroll.curl up the edges to form a border & !!!!! the base.Brush the base with tomato puree & layer with the tomato,mushroom & spring onion,season to taste then sprinkle on the cheese.brush the edges with milk & bake until golden.Serve with a salad as a main meal or as a cold lunch.You could also put some chopped ham or bacon in as well.

From a pack of 2 pastry sheets you can get 4 tarts.

sounds good although it doesn't sound like much puree? I :heart2: puff pastry especially jus roll. I couldn't believe how good it was when I first tried it as I'm the first to admit I'm a bit of a snob about 'pre-made' food.