For you menu planning lovers!

troubledmummy

Hiya

I have built up a lot of food but have a terrible habit of buying more when I don't really need to. It's also a psychological need to keep buying in order to make sure the fridge and cupboards are full What I want to do is use up what I already have and then get into the habit of meal planning and only buying what I need to. If I list what I have can I please have some help maximising what I already have so I can get the most meals out of what I have already bought, thanks. It's to feed two adults and a toddler dinners and lunches for one adult and toddler. Thank you

strong white flour
strong wholemeal
fondant sugar
100g granulated sugar
plain flour
self raising flour
baking powder
bicarb
cocoa powder
golden syrup
easy-bake yeast
barbecue sauce
500g braising steak
4 lamb steaks
2 beef frying steaks
3 large chicken breasts
8 cumberland sausages
5kg white potatoes
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 courgettes
bag of onions
bunch of carrots
bag of kale
two bunches of broccoli
approx 300g sunflower spread
3 apples
4 pears
7 bananas
oats
barley flakes
brown rice
veg, chicken and beef stock
little bit of couscous
red lentils
dried cannelini beans
frozen carrots
frozen mixed veg
frozen mashed potato
frozen spinach
chorizo
3 packs dried spaghetti
4 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tins of carrots
lemon marinade
miso paste
worcestershire sauce
soya sauce
tin of corned beef
coconut milk
coconut cream
sachets of honey and mustard stir fry sauce
gravy granules
dumpling mix
stuffing mix
tin of pinto beans
punnet of mushrooms
tomato puree
2 tins of tuna
large jar original Ragu
tin of custard
baked beans
tinned spaghetti
plain wholemeal flour
500g fusilli

Thanks for any help you can give

troubledmummy

I also have a bit of sunflower oil and a jar of coconut oil

CCP

I've fallen out the habit of meal-planning recently so this is a good exercise for me! A few first thoughts:

• sausage casserole (sausages, veg, maybe some beans or lentils, in a sauce made from your stock, with dumplings made from the mix)
• tuna pasta bake (tuna, pasta, pasta sauce)
• chicken in honey-mustard with pasta (one of my favourites - it's nice for lunch the next day, too)
• homemade pizza
• stirfry with rice (beef, chicken or veg are all nice)
• corned beef hash
• quick roast dinner (lamb or chicken, stuffing, roast root veg, gravy)
• if you've got any spices the coconut milk could be turned into a nice Thai-style curry - it doesn't have to be spicy, so your LO can eat it
• if the bananas are over-ripe, how about banana bread?

I'm sure I'll think of others, as will other people!

madnotstupid

ok - the main meals I can see are -

Goulash, with the braising beef and tinned tomatoes - 500g ought to do you twice, so make a big pot and freeze half. maybe add a bit off crisply fried chorizo near the end if you think it needs a boost. With Spuds and/or Dumplings

Lamb steaks stir-fried with broccoli and mushrooms, in honey and mustard sauce, with brown rice.

Frying steak and pinto beans Fajitas, with peppers and mushrooms in BBQ sauce with HM wraps

Stovies with frozen mash and corned beef

Spaghetti marinara - tuna and ragu sauce

lemon chicken using 1 and a half chicken breasts

crispy chicken goujons in breadcumbs with the rest of the chicken

Sausages, chips baked beans

Red lentil soup with as many veggies as you like - grating the stalks of broccoli, carrots, onions

Minestrone Soup - Tinned tomatoes, whatever veg, cannelini beans. Serve with Fusilli pasta to make it a main meal.

You seem to have plenty flour but no eggs - so you could do bread or wraps fruit crumble maybe. Soup and a hot pudding makes a filling enough meal.

CCP

Sorry to divert slightly from your thread, OP, but:

madnotstupid wrote: »

Red lentil soup with as many veggies as you like - grating the stalks of broccoli, carrots, onions

Why had I never thought of that as a way of using tough broccoli stalks? Thanks, madnotstupid! :T

troubledmummy

Brilliant thank you!! Got several meal ideas from each of you

This, though, had me salivating, sounds lush and I am going to make it tomorrow, or tonight if the lamb steak defrosts in time

Lamb steaks stir-fried with broccoli and mushrooms, in honey and mustard sauce, with brown rice.

Not got any eggs, can pick a half dozen up though, but apart from fresh milk as needed I really want to, well need to, not spend anything for at least a week. Then I can buy a few things to supplement what I have to run my store cupboard down and then start meal planning so I don't end up with full cupboards but no idea of how to get my money's worth from everything I've bought