My first attempt at a meal plan - help me improve!

thriftlady_2

sali_mali wrote:

Thank for all the replies! No I'm not a veggie, but meat is so expensive!

Pork sausages are a lot cheaper than quorn sausages


Make vegetable gratins topped with mash or breadcrumbs (use your crusts up). Simply cook your veg - broccoli and mushroom is a good combination. Make a cheese sauce, pour over veg in a shallow baking dish. top with mash or crumbs, bake in the oven for half an hour. Instead of crumbs you could make a topping out of cubes of bread tossed in a little oil and garlic - crouton topping
Other ideas;
Veg and pulse curries, egg curry, thick veg soups with barley and lentils/beans, hummus and pitta with veg sticks, bean/chickpea and veg stews, lentil shepherd's pie/bolognese, potato, bacon and onion hotpot, cheese and potato pie

HTH

beachbeth

sali_mali wrote:

What mashed potato dishes can I do minus fish or meat? Actually, I do fancy making a shepherds pie but I don't know where to start if someone can help there?

This is what I make for 3 of us, so of course you can halve it or make the whole amount and freeze half.

Chop a small to medium onion and fry in a small amount of oil (I use olive). Add 500g lean minced beef and fry, breaking up with a fork until it is no longer pink. Dissolve half a beef stock cube in approx 800ml boiling water and add this. Peel and either chop or slice 1-2 carrots. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 mins - 1 hour, until the carrots are soft.

Add frozen peas and bring back to the boil. Tip out most of the water and either leave to cool for about 10 minutes or add a little cold water. Mix gravy powder in a little water (you will only need about 2 dessert spoons) and add this, bringing back to the boil. You could mix in gravy granules instead if you prefer. (It needs to be quite thick so that the potato will sit on top.)

Put in one large serving dish or 2-3 small ones, top with mashed potato and grated cheese and heat under a grill until the cheese is slightly brown and bubbling. Yum!

beachbeth

Another recipe for mince (we are having it today). Bolognese Sauce. You can have it with spaghetti (or any pasta shape!) or you can make it into lasagne.

Serves 4 so make it and freeze some or reduce the ingredients.

25g butter
1 tbs olive oil
100g lean ham, finely chopped (I have left this out and it still tastes nice)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, scraped and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
250g lean minced beef
125g chicken livers, finely chopped (you can leave this out too if you prefer)
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
150g red wine
250g beef stock
1 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
½ tsp salt
4 grindings black pepper

Heat the butter and oil in a pan and add in the ham, onion, carrot and celery and cook until they begin to brown. Add the mince and cook this until the meat is brown. Now add the chicken livers, tomatoes, tomato puree, wine, stock, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 1 hour. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Chipps

sali_mali wrote:

What mashed potato dishes can I do minus fish or meat? Actually, I do fancy making a shepherds pie but I don't know where to start if someone can help there?

Cheese & Potato pie. Mashed potato (with some grated cheese mixed in is best, but not essential), layered alternately with baked beans, fried onion, corned beef is also an option (though not meatless!!!) The top layer should be mash, with some grated cheese sprinkled on top. Cook for about 20 - 30 minutes until heated through. The temperature is not desperately important, probably about 180 degrees C, but if you are cooking it along with something else that needs a different temperature just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Shepherds pie is easy, too. Brown mince & onions, add stock (oxo-type cube or bovril & boiling water) Simmer for about 30 mins. You can add things like grated or chopped carrot (for chopped carrot, add at the browning stage) or mixed herbs, etc. Extra flavouring can come from things like worcester sauce, or I have added brown sauce. Experiment! (just add a little of any strong flavours at a time though!!!) Top with mashed potato & put in the oven long enough to be really heated through & to brown the top.
If you make enough mince, you can serve it another day as Savoury Mince, with other vegetables. Or even add some tomato puree & basil or italian seasoning & it becomes bolognaise sauce!!!

Have fun!

sali_mali

Thankyou for all of your ideas, I will definately try the vegetable gratin, cheese and mash pie and shepherds pie. I didn't know real sausages were less expensive! Seems on my next shopping list, brocolli, mince and sausages will be a feature :think:

I'm looking forwards to tonight's experiment!

sali_mali

Ooh, I meant to ask what I can do with with my many many onions, somehow incorporating them into the meals I've already planned in OP? I don't really like them in mash, I was thinking maybe hash browns (do they have onions in them?) or some sort of potato... thing? Like the tuna potato fish cakes mentioned up there ^ I've got about 8 to get rid of!

Edit to say sorry for being a pain!

newlywed

If you have a freezer you can chop them all up and freeze them ready for when you want to cook with them?

I always add onions to omlette. Or you can slice them and fry them to go with your sausages, or else add them to gravy.