Reverse Meal Planning

MissRikkiC

Love that you’re managed to get the items you’d have other thrown away into your meals @QueenJess and @otb666

I picked a bit of rhubarb from the garden pots yesterday as I think I’d been under watering them (still learning!) and they were looking a bit sad and chucked them in a jam jar with some sugar and the remains of a bottle of gin! Apparently it’ll be ready in about 4 weeks so I’m looking forward to that. 

Sticking to the meal plan this week, we had a guest for dinner last night so made stir fry as planned but with breaded tofu instead of chicken.

I’ve shared on a burger thread but also after a few people had mentioned Buddha bowls I made one tonight and it was amazing. It used up the last bit of feta cheese, a handful of cherry toms and some tahini from a jar in the fridge plus half a lemon which was on its way out and pea shoots from the garden. Bloody lovely! Picture here too because it was so colourful! 

ruby_eskimo

I love a good bowl @MissRikkiC to use stuff up and get a large amount of veg into one meal.

Tonight we're having fajita bowls which will use up some onions and a pepper from the fridge along with some chicken thighs from the freezer and some salad leaves etc.  Think DH will also finish off the last of the homemade pickled jalapenos too.

EssexHebridean

Roast lamb breast for us today - I’ll get a stuffing made shortly - it’ll be apricot, garlic, herbs and a bit of finely chopped leek today I think. There will be leftovers from that to use with couscous and roast veg later in the week too. 

Had to switch out the smoked mackerel I’d planned with a salad for tomorrow as Al’s didn’t have anything other than the piri piri one and T’s only had enormous packs with more than we’d use. I’ll hard boil some eggs later and that will sort the salad protein requirement - might fry off a bit of bacon to chop and sprinkle across as well. 

Freezer Tetris had to happen yesterday as I found a 33p YS’d loaf - I wasn’t leaving that one behind! Just managed to squeeze it in, although how I’ll get the remainder of this weeks made one in as well I currently have NO idea! 😂

QueenJess

I emptied out the veg at the bottom of the fridge earlier and tried to use up as much of it as possible.  I am roasting a big batch of carrots, turnips, onion and parsnips with the dinner.

For lunch we had leek, cheese, pea and asparagus orzotto. Dinner is roast beef (cooked in a previous week from the freezer), some of the roasted veg (will save some for tomorrow), roast potatoes and hm Yorkshire puds. Pudding will be rhubarb and apple crumble with ice cream.

We have all been valiantly trying to use up the 5 tubs of ice cream I seem to have in my freezer. I used up one, but then I found another one in the freezer. Friday I dug to the bottom to get some burgers out and found another ice cream again. So apparently they are breeding in there?! 🤷‍♀️

We also had a tasting session earlier with the kids snacks to see which ones they like and which ones they don’t and reallocated them accordingly. We have a few to use up that we won’t buy again.

Suffolk_lass

I found a pair of duck breasts in the freezer and defrosted them so we will be having one duck breast between us with veg and then stir-fry tomorrow

MissRikkiC

Homemade pizzas Friday with the last of the mortadella from the freezer and mozzarella and a few other bits from the fridge. 

Saturday we took my LO to the farm so took a picnic and catered for ourselves and 2 others but glad it was all from home and not purchased. 

We bought some bbq things as the weather was lush so not at all reverse planning but then today had pork and apple sauce baps which was using up a half joint of pork, stewed apples I’d made for toddler friendly flapjacks and the leftover rolls from yesterday. 

There are sausages uncooked left from the bbq which can go in the freezer and a few chicken kebabs (cooked) so that will go for lunch with the remaining potato salad and boiled eggs. 

Need to stock take tomorrow and work out a plan for the week as we’re over on the GC, baby is due imminently and there is a lot of stuff to get used! 

Suffolk_lass

Epic fail! Opened the pack of duck breasts and they looked too small to share so I pan fried them on their skin for a few minutes before popping them in the oven to finish. The (Jersey Royal; yum) potatoes took longer to cook than expected and I had to put them back on for a few minutes, and the homegrown asparagus was over cooked. Carrots and HG chard were OK as was the sauce with a splodge of red wine added, with a teaspoon of bramble and raspberry jelly. It was fine, but just out of timing and twice as much meat as we would normally eat.

I have a very easy option for stir-fry tonight, but with frozen prawns and using dried egg-noodles

ruby_eskimo

So many good options going on here.  We have the last of the freezer chili for dinner tonight with jacket potatoes.  We're going away over the weekend so using a lot of stuff up over the rest of the week which was good for the shopping this week where I think we only spent £14 to top up on some things.

QueenJess

Trying to use up more of the freezer before I get a massive bulk shop from A*di on Wednesday (some of which will need squeezing in there). I can’t put that off any longer as the kids are going to run out of pasta and rice cakes 😱😂

So today is just me for lunch, so a cup a soup type thing (needs using up, but there’s about 70 portions to go 😂) followed by a pitta bread (there’s so much bread in the freezer 😬) with some of the wild garlic pesto I made last week, cheese and salad leaves. Satsumas for after as they need to go too.

Dinner is the last of the chicken thighs defrosted from the freezer, with the last of the veg I roasted yesterday, supplemented by cauliflower and suet balls all made in the slow cooker. Pudding is the last of the rhubarb and apple crumble with some of the never ending ice cream.

Suffolk_lass

Got a pair of chicken thighs out of the freezer for this evening. Not sure what I will do yet but I might curry them. DH might make easy flatbreads to have with it or I have some cooked brown rice in the freezer too. 

That way it can sit in a slow cooker and just be ready when we are (it was almost 21.00 last night after I finished in the greenhouse).

Or I might just grill them with salad or veg!