Meal Plan with what's in my cupboard

Bookgirl517

Hello!

I am a long time lurker and new poster here. I am in a bit of a tight spot money wise for the next week, it's just me to feed and I have plenty in stock. I am usually good at meal planning but I have no choice this week but to eat what I plan and usually that's where I go wrong as I don't fancy what I have planned. I have done a stock take of my cupboard/fridge/freezer, if I posted what I have could anyone help with suggestions to keep things interesting? Thanks xx

Little_Vics

I'm sure people will come up with all kinds of suggestions, so post your list!

Bookgirl517

Ok! I have:

3 chicken breast portions (frozen)
1 small steak (frozen)
1 salmon fillet (frozen)
1 bag of Quorn sausages (frozen)

bag of frozen veg
bag of frozen stir fry veg

pasta sauce
pesto
soy sauce
fish sauce
dried herbs
curry powder
paprika
oil
harissa
balsamic
mustard
jam
flour
butter

wholemeal pasta
brown rice
noodles

oats
5 packets of alpen porridge
half box of wholegrain cereal

4 yogurts
babybell cheese
1 small individual pate

1 small wholemeal loaf
wraps (frozen)

Sausage casserole packet mix

Bookgirl517

oh, and 2 tins of soup and a big tin of the heinz 5 beans in tom sauce :-)

lightisfading

Just a few ideas, I'm no expert though!

Salmon fillet - wrap it up in a parcel with some herbs/chilli etc and oven bake/steam, serve with veg and rice.

Steak - thin slice, stir fry (a splash each of vinegar, soy sauce, honey and a spot of chilli, sample and amend to taste is a good start if you want 'sauce', but even just some soy sauce would work) with whatever suitable veg you have, with noodles.

Something different for the sausages if you can get some spuds - fry some sliced onions til soft, add sliced sausages and cook til brown, in an ovenproof dish mix the onions and sausages with beans, I like a splash of worcestershire or bbq sauce to liven it up (paprika probably good too), top with mashed potato and cheese if you have it and brown off.

Otherwise make a nice sausage casserole with rice. Either should make several portions.

Chicken - slice up and cook in a pan, mix in pesto and cooked pasta.

Another one for those sausages - slice them up and fry off with paprika and chilli before adding to pasta sauce + pasta.

I rarely stick to recipes so just mess about with seasonings etc if you don't have something.

lightisfading

Okay with what you have, if you can afford it, I would buy milk, potatoes, some eggs (scramble or pancakes for something different for breakfast/lunch), bananas are stupidly cheap if you buy them loose at tesco and are filling and healthy and add some interested to cereal, and maybe some chilli flakes since reviewing the above I am apparently obsessed with chilli at the moment

Milk: around £1
Potatoes: around £1
Eggs: £1.50
Bananas: 70p for 4 or 5
Chilli flakes: £1

None of this really essential, but would give you a bit of variety.

winniepooh

god I love these threads you a lot are just amazing at this

maman

An obvious one is stir fry with the beef, veg and noodles or rice.

If you get the steak out of the freezer (or one of the chicken breasts) and leave it at room temperature for a short while (probably about 15 mins in today's weather:rotfl:) you'll be able to slice it very thinly while it's almost still frozen. Depending on how much veg you've got you can make about 3 stir fries from this with a bit of soy.

You could make a roast dinner from one of the chicken breasts if you buy potatoes. Roast a portion with potatoes and eat with your mixed veg. Or, if you buy some onions you could make a chicken casserole with some herbs. I'd buy a few carrots too as you can add these to stir fry, roast dinner or casserole. If you haven't got any stock cubes, I use the 15p basic ones from Sainsbury's. Add potatoes to the casserole or leave out and you've got the option of having it with rice or noodles. If you dice the chicken it would help stretch it. You could do a curry with diced chicken & onion if you buy a tub of passata or tin of toms(about 30p in Aldi or Lidl).

I'm sure ideas will keep coming. As you're only cooking for one then lots of these things will make extra portions that you can freeze as HM ready meals.

Billie-jo

Bag of quorn sausages-
Toad in the hole make smaller ones and some can be frozen for another day.
Sausage casserole using the casserole mix and some of the frozen veg.

Steak - slice thinly and use in stir fry with the rest of frozen stir fry mix - have with noodles or rice

1 chicken breast stuff with some chopped baby bell cheese, sprinkle of herbs, serve with some noodles
2nd chicken breast make a curry. Add onions and any veg, some stock and curry powder serve with rice
3rd Chicken breast cut into strips fry and use in wraps, perhaps add mushrooms & onions and tin tomato place in the wrap top with some grated cheese and put in oven for a while.
or make some pastry with the flour and use 2 breast in a chicken pie with some of the large tin of 5 types of beans. Cut into slices and freeze some

Pate - toast some of the bread and have as a lunch

Salmon fillet - mix with some mashed potato add some dried herbs and or paprika and make fish cakes

Pesto- use with the pasta and if there are any sausages left cook , slice and add these to it. If not just have pasta and pesto

Pasta sauce have with the pasta.

Soy sauce - use a drop in the fish cakes and stir frys

Oil for cooking anything in

Fish sauce - use with fish cakes

Jam, flour & butter - make a cake victoria sandwich perhaps or small cup cakes and fill with jam or use with the oats and make some flap jacks or similar

2 tins soup - lunch

5 beans in Tom sauce - use in a bean casserole or add some to the sausage casserole and use rest in the wraps omitting the tinned tomatoes.