Meal planning - suggestions please!

[BecauseImWorthIt]

Since we no longer have a nanny, as dcs are too old now, we all eat dinner together every evening. This has become an enjoyable occasion for us all.

I cook from scratch every day, but as I work full time (and often am away so have to cook ahead and also make sure things are available in the freezer for those occasions) the time available for me is often limited. I'm finding it becoming a more stressful rather than enjoyable thing because of this.

I'm also finding that my repertoire of meals is boring.

I've decided to try a bit of meal planning to make things a bit less stressful, and would appreciate some suggestions for the following things that I buy regularly:

chicken breasts
pork fillet
pork chops
beef mince

My current repertoire is:

chicken - wrapped in pancetta with mozzarella and oven baked, or just pan fried with lemon juice

pork fillet 0 sliced thinly, marinated in garlic and ginger, and stir fried with noodles and some kind of appropriate veg

pork chops - marinated in BBQ sauce/Worcestershire sauce and baked in the oven till sauce is sticky

beef mince - usual bolognese, chilli, shepherd's pie, meat balls in tomato sauce

We don't have fish very often, because ds1 really, realy doesn't like it, but suggestions for meals with salmon, cod/haddock would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the inspiration!

[ELR]

a quick hich you can just stick in oven when you get in is
chicken thighs, roasted veg and potatoes
get large roast tin chuck in
one chunky sliced red pepper
one chunky sliced yellow pepper
one red onion cut into wedges
one bulb garlic seperated into cloves
chicken thighs or legs skin on
some fresh thyme, salt and pepper
small bag of new potatoes

put olive oil on it give a good mix, keep covered in fridge till you get home then stick oven on 200 and cook for about 45 mins

[choosyfloosy]

Haddock? Kedgeree worth a try at least once. This is my very unkedgereeeish but sometimes childfriendly version. Uses loads of pans unfortunately though if you're organised you can steam the fish over the rice).

1/4 of a mug of rice per person (1/2 a mug each if greedy or hungry)
half a tomato per person
undyed haddock - 1/2 a fillet each?
parsley - few sprigs is fine
1 egg per person

Cook rice (my version: 1 measure rice, 2 x water, cover with well-fitting lid, bring to boil, cook on minimum possible heat 12 mins, turn up heat for a few secs then turn off heat completely for 12 mins. Do not remove lid at any point).

In the meantime, cut tomatoes into quarters, steam or poach haddock (poach: cover with mixture of water and milk and cook over medium heat until cooked through), hardboil eggs and chop parsley.

Flake fish off skin, slice eggs and mix all together.

[ELR]

an even quicker version
cooked boiled brown rice
cooked chopped boiled eggs
sliced tomatoes
sliced spring onion
flaked ready cooked smoked peppered mackral
chuck it all in a big bowl and mix
i usually warm the fish in the microwave for a feww mins and also it is best when the eggs an rice are still warm from cooking but just as nice cold

[ELR]

everything i make is usually stuff thrown together in a hurry not because i havent got the time but because i usually just make stuff on spur of moment quickly

[mummydoit]

Make a sauce with lemon juice, sherry, soy sauce, honey, ginger and cornflour. Slice and fry either chicken or pork, add the sauce, add some chopped spring onions and serve with noodles.

Fry chicken with small pieces of bacon and some chopped leeks and mushrooms. Add a can of condensed mushroom soup. Serve with pasta, rice or potatoes.

Fill your chicken with cream cheese and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and wrap in pancetta. Nice served with sweet potato wedges and savoy cabbage, fried with a bit of lemon juice and garlic.

Would you DS eat fish if it were in fishcakes? They're really easy to make - mashed potatoe, flaked fish, dipped in egg and coated in breadcrumbs. I often add spring onion or dill.

[BecauseImWorthIt]

Any more?