How to avoid being bored with food - monthly menu ideas?

thriftwizard

Cooking's one of the most rewarding skills you can learn, in more ways than one! So good on you. Don't be intimidated by all the TV chef shows, it's not rocket science & it gets better (& more fun) as you go along. Stir-fry is a great idea - you can knock up a complete meal in less time, and with a lot less money, than something ready-made - so a wok is a good investment.

Kitchenbunny

You can use those part-baked baguettes as the base for pizzas quite happily. I've successfully used crumpets, p/b baguettes, sub rolls and naan breads as pizza bases Then just add a bit of passata with herbs in, top with cheese, bits of bacon and veg and bake for about 20 minutes (put the part baked baguettes in the oven while it's warming up to get a little crispy).

Take your time - you'll learn.

KB xx

CT19720

BlushingRose wrote: »

see, you've lost me already lol

I cheat when doing HM pizza and use a naam bread as the base, either mini or normal size. Don't have the time to make dough, so this is my compromise, and just add the toppings and cheese. Usual on offer or reduced at tescos.

lostinrates

BlushingRose wrote: »

Here's what I've got so far on my list that is starting to feel boring. (I'm not a cook, I need to learn!)


raviloi on toast
jacket potato with sausages
corned beef hash (this is a new idea, never cooked yet)
spag bol
omlette
fish fingers with pots and peas
roast something with pots and veg
soup and toast
cold roast and veg


Started to feel that those meals, over 4 weeks would start to be boring.

Here is what strikes me about your list. Nothing you are making is seasonal. Now, those thiongs are poular year round because they are flaxible and loved, but seasonal stays interesting because you don't get to eat it all year round.

What about adding some seasonal winter veg to your menus.....roast root veg with your roast meat instead of conventional. Roast potatos and carrots....jazz up the roast veg, maybe with a little thyme and honey. Have season winter cabbage along side it, or brussel sprouts cooked with lardons and pine nuts.

Masher root veg, with your sauasagesand again i think red cabbage is made for having with sausages, we have no carbs with them usually.


Winter veg can also be great over pasta, whole grain is best for the diet conscious.

January is marmalade making month...oranges, what about a seville orange sauce for chicken, or even some duck legs?

Oriental food always feels right to me in january and february....healthy after the indulgance of the previous months, and fresh but hot.....stirfries, noodle soups.

Why not try different fish with different sauces instead of your fish fingers?

Keep an eye on what is seasonal and ring the changes interspersed with your favourites.

Need2bthrifty

Im a bit like kitschkitty, and tend to try and plan a variation of meals over the course of the week - Meat based x 2, Fish based x 2, Pasta based x 1, Rice based x 1 and Vegetarian x 1 (but these can vary depending on money and what I have in stock)

Meat based could be anything from beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, liver, sausages, corned beef, bacon, gammon, and of course the most versatile being mince.

Fish based including seafood =, fresh, frozen, tinned. So one night I might have fresh fish and on the other tinned (salmon/tuna) or smoked – salmon/haddock/mackerel

Pasta = list could be endless
Rice = list could be endless
Vegetarian = could be a vegetable based dish, cheese, eggs, lentil based, beans/chickpeas.

For example my two week menu might include
M – HM Cheese & Onion Quiche
T – Grilled Gammon/Bacon steak
W – Mushroom Stroganoff
Th – Spaghetti Bolognaise
F – Stir fried rice – vegetable or include prawns/chicken/bacon whatever I have
S – Scampi
S – Roast Chicken

M – Prawn & Pea Risotto
T – HM Chicken Pie
W – Bean or Lentil Casserole
Th – Lasagne, layered with either roasted veg, bolognaise or chicken in a tomato sauce.
F – Sausage & mash
S – Smoked Haddock
S – Roast Pork

The threads - Grocery challenge, What are you making for dinner and Menu plans for week ….. all have great ideas, but I also search on the interweb, using one specific ingredient to look for something different to try.

Good luck and have fun.

RAS

BlushingRose wrote: »

Here's what I've got so far on my list that is starting to feel boring. (I'm not a cook, I need to learn!)

raviloi on toast
jacket potato with sausages
corned beef hash (this is a new idea, never cooked yet)
spag bol
omlette
fish fingers with pots and peas
roast something with pots and veg
soup and toast
cold roast and veg

Started to feel that those meals, over 4 weeks would start to be boring.

Are you making the spag bol from scratch of buying it in?

I am going to give you a few basics, but warn you that I almost never use a set of scales.

Basic white sauce

1 rounded tablespoon flour, 25g of butter or margerine (if you use stork cut it into 8 equal pieces). Milk and whatever other fluid you have around (stock, canned veg juices etc)

Heat the fat until it melts, add the flour and stir together with a wooden spoon until the mixture looks dry. if it looks oily after two minutes, raise the heat a bit because youi need the starch grains to burst. Take off the heat whilst you take the lid off the liquid. Put back on the heat, pour in about 2 tablespoons of liquid, stir briskly over the heat (it will look revolting and lumpy to start with), keep stirring until the mixture is smooth.

By this time it will be really stiff and your arm will ache. Keep adding more liquid in small quantities and stirring to smooth out the lumps, then add more liquid until the mixture looks like double cream. Now turn the heat up a bit to cook the starch, stirring occasionally to stop it burning on the bottom of the pan. Do not leave alone as it likes boiling over and making a mess of your cooker.

Takes about 5 minutes and you can use it to make loads of things. If you put it in a container and cover the surface with cling-film, you can even freeze portions for later.

You can flavour the sauce with cheese, nutmeg, mushrooms

Add bits of ham or chicken (and the juice from a roast instead of some of the liquid) with mushrooms and corn and you have a pasta sauce or a filling for baked potatoes.

Take you spag sauce and layer, lasagna sheets, white sauce with a little nutmeg if you like and spag sauce, top with a little cheese and bake for lasagna.

Just add cheese, let it melt and add pasta for macaroni cheese.

Basic batter

One egg, one heaped tablespoon of flour and liquid. You can use a bit of stock or other liquid but milk is better.

Put the egg and flour in a bowl (one pint at least) and mix with a fork until really smooth. Add a few spoons of milk, keep whisking until it is really smooth, then add more milk/water/stock if you are making them savoury. You want it to be like single cream for most dishes.

Heat a deep dish in the oven with some fat and a sausage or two per person until it is smoky. Tip in the batter and put it straight back in the oven - toad in the hole.

Just make pancakes. You can fill them with left over pasta sauce, wrapping them up and baking them, or spagbol sauce and bake them or some cooked veggies mixed with either cheese or a little white sauce.

The sweet version of toad in the hole is clafoutis. Add a teaspoon of sugar to the batter and use butter in the dish in the oven with cherries, pears in chunks, apricots and bake.

For breakfast or tea, add a half teaspoon of baking powder to the flour before you add the egg and reduce the milk so that you have a thick batter.

Heat a frying pan with a little butter or oil (almost just a wipe) then pour one tablespoon of batter into the pan. When the top is bubbling, turn over with a spatula and cook the other side. You may be able to cook 3-5 on your pan. You now have scotch pancakes for tea, or to go with fried bacon for breakfast.

rachbc

I do a monthly plan and try not to make the same meal twice...I sit with my cookbooks and spend a good few hours choose new recipes to try. A few family favs are always requested by the kids and hubby - spag bol, meatballs, steak pie, toad in the hole. We tend to have mince once a week, chicken once a week, a roast plus left overs, a veg night and a often at least 1 egg based meal as we have chickens so plenty off eggs.

Each week I then meal plan brekkies and lunches too

keys_2

BlushingRose wrote: »

see, you've lost me already lol

For a quick easy fix on this and a simple way {if you don't want to make dough} -or pushed for time .
Buy cibatta bread -{ sometimes on whoopsies to in SM's late in the day }You can freeze these also:o

• Cut them in half { so you have a bottom and a top }
• add either tinned toms or tomato paste in a tube
• then add your own topping - cheese , cooked ham , pepperoni , onions , peppers , cooked chicken etc onto the top
• place in the middle of the oven gas mark 180-190 for around 8 mins
• cool for 5 mins and eat

This way you can make different ones with left over toppings and as many as you want .

Or purchase a pizza base from supermarkets then you can check calories etc :cool:


Tonight I had HM salmon with toast and cauliflower cheese , which you can add salad to if you liked

SpottedLeopard_2

Liked the idea of using sweet potato and cooking more with seasonal veg, will start doing this myself more I hope!

OP, you could try jazzing things up with flavours to 'lift' dishes. Eg.
- add paprika to wraps
- shephard's pie tastes nice with a squeeze of ketchup in and Worcester sauce
- maybe a little bit of low-fat cheese on top of things, pasta or potato-topped pies etc
- include herbs with sausage and mash, or make the mash with fresh crushed garlic in
- grate fresh root ginger over oriental stir fries
- squeeze fresh lemon juice over risottos
- I like jacket potatoes with grated cheese, coleslaw and grated apple, seeds on top and maybe a boiled egg on the side.
- olive oil and a bit of chilli powder on top of omlette. That can be made a main meal if you put rice (I'd use brown for texture) with it
- spoonful of plain yoghurt goes well with some rice/vegetable dishes
- lots of ground pepper on everything as pepper enhances a dish's flavours - the king of spices!
- grow fresh herbs in a windowbox / pots to always have to hand?

If you vary textures and combine flavours, that might help things seem more varied? I know it costs a bit to buy seasonings at the start, but they last a long time and good-quality ones can help jazz up basic dishes. And sorry if these combinations seem a bit odd - personal taste I guess!

lizzyb1812

Two things - why are you planning for a month? I think most people plan for a week at a time. And what did you used to eat that wasn't samey and boring? Try to write down a week's meals that you would have if you weren't going to menu plan - I bet it's not really that exotic and exciting.

Starting to menu plan can seem like fastening yourself into a straightjacket - it's Tuesday so the menu says it's stew but you don't fancy it. Some get round this by planning seven lunches and dinners but having them when they want, not on a particular day.

Why are you menu planning? For financial reasons? In that case you may have to accept that financial gain might come with having to compromise on choice.

Try to plan for a week to start with, look at the ideas and resources already offered and take it from there. None of us got it completely right first time you know.