The I will MEAL PLAN and not change my mind thread.....

sonastin

I am so stuck for ideas this week - I've got a complete mental block on what to put on the plan. I've gone a wee bit over my grocery budget for Jan so I don't want to go shopping for any extras but I think I might have to. Otherwise, its going to be a very piggy week!

What we've got in to eat this week:
leftover roast pork (having that with bubble & squeak tonight- not sure if it will stretch to something else tomorrow)
pork steaks (in freezer)
pork medallions (in freezer)
bratwurst (in fridge)
pork mince (in freezer - enough for 2 nights' meals coz I forgot to split it before freezing)
sausages (in freezer)
lamb mince (in freezer)
1 x freezer surprise, 2 x lasagne, 1 x chicken stew (getting better at labelling!

Veg-wise, we have onions, mushrooms, courgette, butternut squash, carrot, swede, celery, sprouts, red pepper, yellow pepper, potatoes.

Store cupboard wise there are plenty of staples - pasta, rice, cous cous, tinned toms, various tinned beans, suet, flour, passata, herbs, spice, etc.

So there is plenty there to make meals for the rest of the week but I'm really not able to make my mind up about what to make.

If you can see some obvious recipes out of that lot, would you mind sharing please? I could REALLY use the inspiration!

TIA

Nancy888

sonastin wrote: »

I am so stuck for ideas this week - I've got a complete mental block on what to put on the plan. I've gone a wee bit over my grocery budget for Jan so I don't want to go shopping for any extras but I think I might have to. Otherwise, its going to be a very piggy week!

If you can see some obvious recipes out of that lot, would you mind sharing please? I could REALLY use the inspiration!

TIA

Hi...how many people are you cooking for?

sonastin

Nancy888 wrote: »

Hi...how many people are you cooking for?

Just 2 adults - me and OH. Still struggling for inspiration but I can confirm that the leftover pork won't stretch any further... but it was delicious cold tonight with the bubble&squeak!

Nancy888

A bit early for my usual inspiration to strike me but could you make burgers out of the pork mince and then re-freeze half of them once cooked? You could bulk them out with some of the veggies grated into them

Sausage and mash and veggies spring to mind.

We have pork steaks cooked under the grill and then topped with a dollop of apple sauce and a slice of blue cheese and grilled a final time to melt it all together.

Sausages can also be used with the pasta and tinned toms - either sliced into the sauce once cooked or taken out of their skins and crumbled up and cooked (resembles mince done this way)

Lamb mince cooked off with nice spices and stuffed into the peppers (not very good with lamb as we don't eat it but assume its interchangeable with beef or pork mince recipes )

The tinned beans, squash, onions and courgette (maybe even the celery) sounds like a veggie curry with the right spices.

Pork medallions can be fried off into a !!!!!ash (sp?) type of meal and served with the rice (I use bbcgoodfood for recipe ideas)

Running out of steam now - but hope this helps a bit. Looking at what you have I'm sure it will last you through this week and maybe into next,,,good luck

Chris25

I've just complimented someone on the food & groceries board about how well they've done with their meal planning & it's inspired me to have another go & try not to get thwarted this time - but i will start next week.

I shall plan a bit more at the end of the week as I already have an inventory of freezer & half the pantry, will finish that off forst 7 hopefully I shall join you on Sunday or Monday

sonastin

Thanks for the help - its more inspiration than I've had all weekend! Here goes (making this up on the spot from my desk at work - need to transfer to blackboard in the kitchen when I get home!)

[STRIKE]
Sun - roast pork, trimmings
Mon - LO pork, bubble & squeak[/STRIKE]
Tue - bratwurst, chips, spinach, beetroot, coleslaw (last 3 were forgotten about but need to be eaten tonight!)
Wed - sausage pasta bake
Thu - pork steak, roast butternut squash, roast spuds, maybe another veg too
Fri - veggie curry/chilli/spicy casserole concoction type effort. Maybe with a bit of pork mince chucked in if I'm feeling like OH deserves a carnivore meal!
Sat - pork&sage burgers, chips, whatever veg is left that needs using up unless i've used it all in which case I can go to the SM again anyway because we'll be in Feb by then!

Nancy888

sonastin wrote: »

Thanks for the help - its more inspiration than I've had all weekend! Here goes (making this up on the spot from my desk at work - need to transfer to blackboard in the kitchen when I get home!)

No problem - I may ask for you to return the favour when I'm faced with a cupboard full of random pasta shapes and not an ounce of inspiration :beer:

winniepooh

stuck to the meal plan last week :j

Heres the new one

Friday - mince and sweet potatoe pie and veg
Saturday - hm pizza and chips
Sunday - hubby cooking road and im making dessert. this week its gooey chocolate pots.
Monday - slow cooker sausage casserole
Tuesday - frittata, hm chips and salad
Wednesday - old style beef stew, mash and veg
Thursday - ratatouille with ricotta dumplings.

im making extras of sausage with mustard rolls and butterscotch cookies

WantToBeSE

ARGH, i have totally fallen off the wagon AGAIN!

Rainbow82

meal planning is still going well but seems like i forgot to post last weeks plan which resulted in 2! days of off plan meals oops, so back on the wagon, this time with a monthly plan.

thurs 31st - egg, HM wedges, beans
friday 1st - pita pizza and sweetcorn
sat 2nd - cheesy potato bake
sun 3rd - quorn pie and veggies
mon 4th - veggie stirfry
tue 5th - chilli (FR) and rice
wed 6th - carrot soup (FR)
thur 7th - crustless veggie quiche
fri 8th - mushroom stroganoff
sat 9th - fricasee
sun 10th - filled yorkshire
mon 11th - veggie stirfry
tues 12th - bolognese (FR)/pancakes
wed 13th - fanta quorn with pineapple chunks and rice
thur 14th - salmon, veggies and new potatoes
fri 15th - HM Pizza
sat 16th - sausage casserole
sun 17th - roast dinner
mon 18th - sausage egg wedges and sweetcorn
tue 19th - chilli (FR) and jackets
wed 20th - tofu with honey soy and ginger noodles
thur 21st - veggie stew (FR)
fri 22nd - wraps with smoky chilli mushrooms (FR)
sat 23rd - HM pizza
sun 24th - filled yorkie
mon 25th - fajitas
tue 26th - pasta
wed 27th - couscous and roasted veg
thur 28th - HM Korma (think this is what is in the unlabelled box lol, could be a surprise thogh)

A couple of days are likely to be changed if there are no special offers on veggie sausages before 16th feb, likely to become risotto or pasta or quorn nuggets, wedges and sweetcorn if i can find cheap potatoes.

really need to stick to meal plan this month as the car needs new calipers and its overheating so food budget has been slashed to £20 this month for the two of us. luckily we have a fair bit in cupboards. and freezer.