Reverse Meal Planning

Suffolk_lass

It might have to be a curry tonight - lots of (Crown Prince) squash to use and I have a pack of chick peas lurking in the bottom drawer of the freezer. Got a cut sweet potato and another aubergine to use. Must have soup for lunch. Seem to have fallen out of the habit and it is made and in the fridge!

joedenise

Have taken a bag of pasta and mixed veg in a pizza sauce from the freezer plus a bag of extra sauce so going to bung it all in the oven topped with grated cheese to do a pasta bake.

Prawns and smoked salmon also been taken from freezer to defrost for lunch with some of the salad from the fridge.  

ruby_eskimo

@rtandon27 it's loosely based on a Kimchi Jigae but subbing in the fish instead of tofu really;  chucked the frozen fish in the oven to cook, chopped an onion and a clove of garlic and lightly fried for a couple of minutes, added in half a cougette, couple of tablespoons of kimchi along with some of the kimchi brine and let it cook down for a few minutes until it's bubbling.  Added water to cover and left to simmer until the fish was done.  Broke the fish into chunks and added to the "stew", along with a pinch of salt and some lemon juice (I used the bottled stuff so a couple of splashes of that).  Let it simmer for a few more minutes and then serve with rice. I've seen similar recipes using tinned tuna or sardines too but really you could use pretty much anything - I find Korean dishes lend themselves well to using up pretty much anything you have.  Having the leftovers for lunch today and I can't wait!  Also must make some more kimchi at the weekend.

Dinner tonight is going to be leftover vegetable dhansak from monday - it made about 6 portions and I only had room in the freezer for 2 of them 😏

greent

Lunch yesterday was leftover-leftover chicken saag but there was only about 2 tbsp of it, so added some sad dried out mushrooms from the fridge and leftover chickpeas and a squidge of some weird longlife chickpea/ potato curry from a bag that Sainz had at 25p to clear (sadly only the one left when I got to the shelf) and some leftover rice/ quinoa mix. Got rid of some tubs from the fridge Today will be the remaining contents of the longlife packet chickpea/ potato curry that I have already bulked out with some frozen spinach, lots of mushrooms and the remaining tbsp of leftover chickpeas and added a couple of spoons of leftover rice from the freezer - now a decent sized portion for me (Am aiming for just 2 meals a day and exercise most days this week in order to lose the weight I regained in last fortnight)

I fancied corned beef hash tonight (we have lots of potatoes and onions to use) but DH isn't keen, so I'm not sure as yet what to do instead. I may marinade some chicken in peri peri and serve with corn on cob (from freezer), salad and flatbreads (from freezer - were an 0lio pickup in Jan) - in fact, that seems like a good idea, as I know it will finish off the dregs of a bottle of peri peri hanging around in the fridge And will not mention it to him beforehand! (he is actually 'out' today at work in the 'real' office for a face to face (distanced!) meeting!) Sorted!  

rtandon27

@ruby_eskimo - thanks ever so much for the recipe/method - I'll definitely give it a go the next time we have fish in the freezer!  I ended up using ours baked in a mushroom sauce with breadcrumbs on top & served with spinach rice - super easy & low effort

@greent - my OH feels exactly the same way about corned beef hash & I have such a craving that I may have to make it for myself!

I decided to give our organic veg box a miss this week, as there have been far too many substandard items the past few weeks & I'm not happy with the effort to get a refund each time.  Their customer service is excellent and they never quibble but I do expect everything to arrive in a state where it is edible and sadly have been let down badly for several weeks.  This week I put an order in to our local independent pub, who have set up a grocery delivery system in conjunction with the local suppliers they use when they are regularly open for business.  Was sent an amazing quality box of winter veg & another of salad veg - nothing organic & much of it imported, but the quality is absolutely excellent and quantities more than generous so now we'll need to get creative with it!  Hopefully everything will taste as good as it looks

Suffolk_lass

Still working our way through the fruit and veg top up that DH got at last Friday's market. I made a cashew nut vegetable curry which we had with a garlic flatbread I found in the produce freezer (bought but not used for Christmas). With milk coming this Friday that will be it for us  with lots of leftovers to use up now

ruby_eskimo

@rtandon27 oohh your fish dish sounds good too, might have to give that a go!  My parents have been getting a veg delivery from a wholesale catering supplier for the last year too and they really rate it for good quality produce.

We have a leek to use in the fridge and I want something comforting for dinner, so macaroni cheese with leek it is tonight!

rtandon27

ast night we had roast spatchc0ck chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots & broc.  The chicken, carrots & broc all from the pub grocery delivery.  The pre-marinated & prepped chicken was an easy/lazy cook and delicious - the broccoli very fresh crisp & tasty - the carrots were a bit meh, not nearly as tasty as the organic ones.

Lunch today will consist of various leftovers lurking in the fridge - a bit of a smorgasbord - fish & rice from tuesday, chicken from yesterday, parsnip tart from Monday some salad leaves & cucumber on the side.

Primrose

I love many of these "bits and pieces" meals.  Quite part from using up leftovers they often end up having the feel of being wildly extravagant and served from a buffet well beyond their original origins !   An accompanying glass of wine often helps to preserve the illusion ! 

rtandon27

Primrose said:

...An accompanying glass of wine often helps to preserve the illusion ! 

LOL - given my back to back z00m work meetings this afternoon, I'll have to pass on the wine 🤣...but will definitely take note the next time we do this style of meal for dinner!