Reverse Meal Planning

Sayschezza

If I buy pizza I always doctor it with extra cheese/olives etc. Costs a fortune though which is why I normally make my own.

rtandon27

Oh Pyxis - what a shame the pizza was so disappointing😔😢
Can I make a suggestion for a cheat's fakeaway? 
We keep a couple of  plain readymade cheese and sauce pizzas in the freezer along with a couple of packs of pepperoni and cubed ham (veggie or otherwise).  In the storecupboard - tinned sliced mushrooms, marinated olives, jarred artichoke, eggplant, sun-dried tomato & pineapple chunks (forgive me - I come from across the pond!) Mix and match the toppings, using fresh onions, mushrooms & peppers if we happen to have any in. Top with a handful of grated cheese from the freezer & a sprinkle of Italian herbs if I remember.  Takes 10 mins to assemble & then bung in the oven for 10 mins. (Extra toppings from tins go into the freezer for next time.)
Fakeaway in less time than delivery! & works out to about £4 to make!

-taff

If you don't have bread flour, some supermarkets do an easy pizza base packet of flour and stuff, which usually will make two medium size pizzas. Easy enough then to chuck a bit of tomato sauce on them, some cheese and whatever toppings you prefer.

Suffolk_lass

Or you could buy a couple of frozen (or some do freshly assembled) pizza from the SM - we bought two frozen ones last Friday and will be having one tonight shared between three of us - naturally some extra bits will be added. DH chose Morries "the best" - They were some £ off for two but even so, it always feels like a lot for posh cheese on toast. If (rarely) we fancy one, DH usually makes the good old Jamie flat breads and we might have two each, topped with favourite stuff. My ten minute tomato base makes them tasty, whatever we put on top.

How disappointing for you though. I hope you can liven yours up a bit

ajmoney

When you guys aren't meal planning from your cupboards where do you get your inspiration from?  My meals are starting to look very similar.

joedenise

@ajmoney I use loads of different recipe books which I've collected over the years.  Some I've bought, some I've been given so there's a good variety.  There are also loads of recipes online - I like the BBC Good Food website and also the Delicious magazine one.  Both have loads of recipes.

Alternatively just google a main ingredient - ie chicken recipes, beef recipes; you'll get lots of websites popping up.

Baileys_Babe

ajmoney said:

When you guys aren't meal planning from your cupboards where do you get your inspiration from?  My meals are starting to look very similar.

I keep a list of the meals we gave had, including those out of the home. I also have a collection of recipe books which I go through from time to time - I make a list of recipes that appeal along with the location, I  borrow books from the library, I browse online, I'm on the mailing list for a couple of cooking blogs. I also ask friends and family for ideas if we are getting trapped in the same few meals.

ajmoney

Thanks guys.  A few years ago when I discovered the good food website I don't think I ate the same meal for about 3 months but I seem to have lost enthusiasm for trying different things, it gets a bit tedious cooking for one!  I will have a look through my cookery books and see if I can find some inspiration.

Brambling

ajmoney - TV cookery shows can be good for source of inspiration, I rarely cook what the chef does but it's great for getting ideas about flavour combinations.  I understand about cooking for one so usually look for something i like enough to have at least a couple of days running or freezes well.  I also try to find recipes which use similar ingredients so i can use up that half tin of chick peas etc without the food becoming too boring.

greenbee

@ajmoney - there's a cooking for one thread on here where people talk about what they're cooking. I'm personally going through a salad-and-traybake phase. Lunch is lettuce from the garden and whatever I can find to liven it up (including protein of some kind, usually tuna/eggs/ham/cheese/tofu) and then after work I bung a load of veg in a roasting tin and shove it in the oven with fish/chicken/whatever on top. I got a lot of inspiration from the 'Roasting Tin' books by Rukmini Iyer and her chicken with fennel & lemon is one of my favourites (so is auberine/BNS/halloumi/mint). Any leftovers are usually a good bet to go with lettuce the following day!