Help me shake up my meal rota!

englishrose19

Hi everyone,

My name is Hannah, I'm 20 and I'm a final year student! I have lived away from home for the three years I've been at uni; in halls, student housing and now this year with my boyfriend.

I really enjoy cooking and I've always helped my Mum at home and tried to experiment with different meals (we don't eat frozen food other than the occasional pizza or fish & chips).

I generally think we eat a decent range of food/meats (see below) but I'd love to hear what you guys eat!

Details: 2 adults aged 20 and 23, he doesn't like: coriander, omelette and cous cous and I don't like quite a few veggies (but willing to try more again).

Meals currently:
Pork, sweet potato or potato chips (homemade), green beans and homemade apple sauce
Spag bol/ chilli
Curried chicken kebabs with peppers, toms, red onions served with rice & salad
Pork stroganoff (this turned my boyfriend into a green pepper lover!)
Spicy lamb meatballs
Salmon
Cajun chicken & pasta
Risotto

Willing to try anything as long as it's not too expensive!

Thanks everyone & enjoy your day :T:T

shimmigirl

we like lasagne, fajitas / enchildas, ham, egg and chips. What about Jacket potato with various toppings for an easy night(thinking tuna, cheese, beans save a portion of curry / spag bol / chilli)

redfox

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Fire_Fox

Nothing wrong with frozen food, it can be as healthy as fresh. Frozen veggies, chicken livers, berries, rhubarb, fish and other seafood are all super convenient.

Consider more oily fish and less meat: sardines, trout and mackerel are generally much cheaper per kilo than salmon. Stir fries are easy healthy dishes and so many different vegetables lend themselves well, I tend to use a red, yellow and green plus anything else I fancy. Most of my stir fries are fish or seafood - sauce I have Thai curry with a jar paste or Chinese-ish soy sauce/ lime/ sweetener/ chilli.

Vegetable, bean/ lentils and coconut curries are brilliant for getting in more veggies without munching through a plain side dish. Also can be super cheap especially if you buy frozen or fresh root veggies: red onion, carrot, sweet potato, peppers, aubergine, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and green beans all work. Then add any of canned tomatoes, block creamed coconut, canned chick peas or kidney beans, dried red or yellow lentils, dried spice blends (check out Asian grocers/ World Foods section of supermarket).

You might try organ meats: chicken livers are cheap, very nutritious and not too strong flavoured so easy to work with. I often 'hide' them in Bolognese sauce (cheaper than lean mince!), but small pieces pan fried with bacon, mushrooms, red onion and garlic, then dressed with avocado and balsamic vinegar is good and I am pretty fussy. Serve with other pan fried veggies or a huge salad depending what you have in the fridge.

Lastly not sure how much mineral and fibre rich foods you are eating - beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and wholegrains. Many people eat white rice and white pasta so miss out on nutrients, potatoes are not a particularly good source of minerals. You might consider some vegetarian meals with nuts, seeds and dairy (do you get the recommended three servings a day?) for protein.

Honey_Bear

We roast a chicken once a week and eat it hot with roast parsnips and potatoes, broccoli and another veg - last night it was carrot, but we ring the changes. Tonight, we'll have cold chicken with the left over roast veg stir-fried in a tiny bit of oil and a crushed clove of garlic, and another freshly cooked veg, spinach as it happens tonight. While I'm making that, I'll strip the rest of the meat off the chicken and boil up the carcass for stock. Later in the week, that stock will be used to cook a risotto, into which will go an onion (fried, with another clove of garlic) and any veg that's around - frozen peas as a permanent standby, usually, but I try to ensure there's at least a couple of others in there as well. We ring the changes by having roast lamb or whatever's in season. On Saturdays it is always pizza with a green salad and a tomato salad and a film.

That leaves three nights a week, every week, that we can get playful with other food. Freezer standbys are chipolatas, fish fingers or salmon, but I've made a couple of quiches lately because I had to use up flour and spread that lodgers had left behind. They're amazing when you make them yourself! Nothing like the watery muck from the supermarkets. OH likes doing making stir-frys with lots of veg and noodles, and I like pasta with pesto and tomatoes and not much else when he's away overnight.

jackyann

Instead of chicken, think about slow-roasting / pot roasting cheaper joints: my faves are brisket of beef & pork belly. Makes a lovely "roast" and left overs can be rissoled, stir-fried, bunged into risotto along with veggies etc.
Also, rather dearer, but wonderful, is gammon in Coke, always goes well, and you can spin the left-overs out for ages.
Depending on where you live, look out for pheasant as well - we get a brace for a fiver (though the season is over, some butchers will have them in the freezer) and the carcas makes wonderful stock
Fish pie or kedgeree
a cheap version of cassoulet with pork belly & sausages (sometimes I put left-overs in as well

floss2

Ham hock done in a slow cooker is fab;
Try sausages & green lentils (cook them well otherwise they're hard to digest );
Tomato or mushroom or leek & bacon risotto
Leek & bacon suet puddings are scrummy (recipe on here in the Recipe section)
Bacon ribs cooked in home made BBQ sauce with rice or jacket spuds
Belly pork strips, slow roasted with mash & veg
Thai green curry - fish or chicken/turkey
If we have roast chicken, I always save some cooked meat to make chicken biryani - its scrummy, and really easy, and makes enough for 2 meals for 2 if you have naan & chutneys too.
Aubergine stew - it doesn't taste like aubergines, honest!

FairyPrincessk

As another student couple looking in--it seems like you don't have many beans or pulses.

I'd suggest a few lentil dishes to start--

try this:
http://www.scalingbackblog.com/savory-bites/16117996741/

or
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/333614/red-lentil-chickpea-and-chilli-soup

both of which are tasty!

I'd also suggest you try a few recipes for blackbeans. My own recipe consists of an onion, 6 or so cloves of garlic, fried with a touch of oil with some pork or pancetta cubes, add in cumin, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, a bit of wine/sherry if I have it, a bit of vinegar--any sort will do and three or so tins of black beans. Served with rice it is delicious and should make a few leftovers.

You might also consider some warm salads--we're on a kick with this one at the moment:
http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2012/06/07/minted-orzo-salad-with-chickpeas-and-feta/#.USNW6x3KFsU

Although I try to use brown rice instead of the Orzo.

We also love this one:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-roasted-eggplant-salad-with-smoked-almonds-goat-cheese-164756

Although I don't think I've ever put the nuts in.

Warm salads like this tend to call for vinegars that you may not have, but they're usually around £1 a bottle and will last for some time for spicing things up.

Bottleofrum

Sounds good, Just one thing to throw in that I enjoy, Is a Corned beef PIE.

Corned beef.

Potato - Parboiled

Shortcrust or puff pastry

1 onion

Gravy

And anything else you want to throw in. Simple and tasty.

englishrose19

shimmigirl wrote: »

we like lasagne, fajitas / enchildas, ham, egg and chips. What about Jacket potato with various toppings for an easy night(thinking tuna, cheese, beans save a portion of curry / spag bol / chilli)

Hi Shimmigirl, I will defo do jacket potatoes! Something my Mum likes, especially in the summer. Chilli jacket potato and salad sounds tasty.

Honey_Bear wrote: »

We roast a chicken once a week and eat it hot with roast parsnips and potatoes, broccoli and another veg - last night it was carrot, but we ring the changes. Tonight, we'll have cold chicken with the left over roast veg stir-fried in a tiny bit of oil and a crushed clove of garlic, and another freshly cooked veg, spinach as it happens tonight. While I'm making that, I'll strip the rest of the meat off the chicken and boil up the carcass for stock. Later in the week, that stock will be used to cook a risotto, into which will go an onion (fried, with another clove of garlic) and any veg that's around - frozen peas as a permanent standby, usually, but I try to ensure there's at least a couple of others in there as well. We ring the changes by having roast lamb or whatever's in season. On Saturdays it is always pizza with a green salad and a tomato salad and a film.

That leaves three nights a week, every week, that we can get playful with other food. Freezer standbys are chipolatas, fish fingers or salmon, but I've made a couple of quiches lately because I had to use up flour and spread that lodgers had left behind. They're amazing when you make them yourself! Nothing like the watery muck from the supermarkets. OH likes doing making stir-frys with lots of veg and noodles, and I like pasta with pesto and tomatoes and not much else when he's away overnight.

I actually suggested quiche to my OH the other night and he declined (I think it's the egg thing). I do sometimes roast a chicken on Sunday and use the leftovers throughout the week it's just the main issue we have is space. We only have a tiny (and I mean tiny) fridge with one of those freezer compartments at the top. Having a chicken in the fridge takes up a third of the space but I will have to buy one again soon!

englishrose19

jackyann wrote: »

Instead of chicken, think about slow-roasting / pot roasting cheaper joints: my faves are brisket of beef & pork belly. Makes a lovely "roast" and left overs can be rissoled, stir-fried, bunged into risotto along with veggies etc.
Also, rather dearer, but wonderful, is gammon in Coke, always goes well, and you can spin the left-overs out for ages.
Depending on where you live, look out for pheasant as well - we get a brace for a fiver (though the season is over, some butchers will have them in the freezer) and the carcas makes wonderful stock
Fish pie or kedgeree
a cheap version of cassoulet with pork belly & sausages (sometimes I put left-overs in as well

Mmm pork belly! I've heard about gammon in coke but i've always been too scared to try in, might have to though! I actually eat a lot of pheasant, I'm a farmer's daughter so it's been something I've grown up with. Can't beat a pheasant casserole! My OH loves fish but I'm not so keen, I think I will have to try kedgeree, it doesn't seem that bad! :rotfl: