oh I am just so sick of all food

[misshardbroom]

I've got a family of 5 to feed, limited budget (haven't we all?), WOHM some of the week, SAHM the rest... so I really do try to menu plan and just cook one thing each day that everyone can / will eat.

Problem is I've got to the stage where I am so sick to death of food. We seem to eat virtually the same meals every week. I just want to eat meals that I haven't planned, bought, prepared and cooked myself.

The only thing I can summon up any enthusiasm for is the menu from the Chinese / Indian / pizza place, which is hardly healthy or economical.

Tonight we're having egg and chips. Whoopeee-farking-do.

Please give me advice, meal suggestions or a kick up the bum, I don't mind which so long as it works.

[littleboyblue]

I love egg and chips.
We had pork stir-fry. Was very nice, the first time I'd cooked it.
I'm just starting to get into cooking proper meals (and getting ds1 off the fishfingers every night), and I do find it a bit tough to think of something different every night. I'm putting together my own little cookbook/recipe folder and am aiming for a monthly meal planner
I found some great stuff on the recipe page on here and so far have been quite simple to cook.
What I'd suggest is, stick to your normal meals, but aim to cook something different 1 day a week. This will give you plenty of time to look through recipe books, websites and whatever else and you'd slowly be able to build up to things that are a bit more exciting.
This is what I'm doing and I find I get quite excited to see the family's reaction to something I have made a special effort for.
HTH

[BottySpottom]

Me too.

We eat roasted chicken joints
Roast pork chops
pasta and pesto
risotto
Burgers
Sausages and yorkshire pud/gravy
Roast potatoes and topping
Tuna mayo on baked potatoes or rice
A kind of potato dauphinoise with bacon and onion (Waitrose recipe - see site)

My children hate anything that is mixed together, like lasagne.

The Book People currently have a good Good Housekeeping cookbook with easy meals for a family for under £5 (the book is only £5 too). They looked really simple and quite nice old fashioned recipes that children would like.

[BottySpottom]

Actually this is the link to the actual book

[littleboyblue]

That book looks really good. Thanks for the link Botty

[BottySpottom]

That's OK . I've just got it and it appeals to even my limited culinary patience!

[callaird]

When you make something for dinner, make double and freeze one. Ok so you will still have made it but not that day!

In the freezer we have:-

Lasagne (bolognese/lentil/Tuna and sweetcorn/vegetable)
Bolognese sauce (I chop up loads of veg in the food processor so you're not stood around chopping for ages, everyone gets the benefit of veg without it tasting of it!)
Chilli (again with the veg, usually more veg than meat!)
Shepherds pie.
Lamb hot pot.
Beef Stroganoff.
Chicken curry.
Sausage, mash and gravy. (Made like a shepherds pie.)
Fish pie.
Salmon fishcakes.
Crab fishcakes.
Kedgeree.
Spaghetti primavera.

I also keep a stash of mash and boiled rice in the freezer too incase I can't even be bothered to cook that to go with one of the meals!!

[misshardbroom]

I think the freezing ahead thing is going to be key for me. I've really hit the wall with it since I went back to work.

Think I'm going to push on through until the end of term and then do some serious cooking for the freezer in the holidays (thank the Lord for term-time only employment!!)

[misshardbroom]

oh, and callaird, how do you reheat your frozen rice?

[MrsMattie]

I'd eat egg and chiops every night fi I could .

Our family favourites (I am also getting a bit sick of them, though!):

Salmon Teriyaki style with steamed greens & egg noodles,

Salmon chargrilled or barbecued with chunks of red onion, mixed peppers & courgettes, served with baked potato & soured cream & corn on the cob.

Garlic roast chicken with lemon & garlic potato wedges & steamed green veg/big green salad.

Chicken breasts marinated in a mixture of yoghurt & Indian spices (curry powder, cumin etc) or yoghrut & cajun spices (the yoghurt makes the chicken really tender and the marinade flavour mild).

Tuna steaks with salsa verde.

Homemade burgers with potato wedges & salad.

Fish (cod, haddock, lemon sole) in breacrums with chips & peas.

Fajitas - chicken, salmon or prawn.

King prawn/chicken stirfry with noodles or rice.

Thai red or green curry (chicken, fish or vegetarian)

Omelettes with chips & salad

Pizza & salad

Homemade meatballs with spaghetti

Prawn linguine.

Pasta bakes of various descriptions.

[sazzerbear]

Have you tried "4 Ingredients" cookbook? It's fab, clue's in the title, very easy and quick meals. I know how you feel, I struggle to menu plan, didn't have the same problem when I had more time and bigger budget (oh that was pre kids!)

[callaird]

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins. So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

This is from the food standards agency. It's not how you reheat the rice, it's how you cook and cool it in the first place.

I cook the rice, drain it, put it into a bowl of cold water, drain and cool a couple more times, put desired amount into freezer bags and into the freezer as quick as possible.

I get it out the night before I want to use it (if I remember) then put into pan of boiling water for a couple of mins. If I forget to get it out, put it in a pan of boiling water for about 5 mins, but this does tend to over cook it, if you think you will need to reheat from frozen then I would suggest you don't fully cook it in the first place.

[titferbrains]

not sure if this is appropriate, but how old are yr kids ? if they are old enough can you summon energy to have fun meal planning day where they get to pick something at the supermarket, or pick a jamie ministry of food recipe or something so they are involved, and can make you feel more inspired? I plan to get my kid cooking as early as poss, the main reason I had her was so that I didn't have to cook dinner for the rest of my life!!

Nigella's How to Eat has a lot of lovely tips and thoughts about cooking for different moods, about what to keep in the freezer etc and also a whole section on recipes for kids - it really is her best book I think.

Also have you tried the kitchen revolution book? I've ordered my copy from amazon today after getting 2 fines from the library while I hogged it/got inspired. Includes a full year of planned meals with shopping lists. go to website for examples.

[JetLi]

Shamelessly posted this on another thread 5 minutes ago, but this is a firm favourite in our house at the moment.
Chop a chorizo sausage into chunks. Fry until crispy in a pot with a little oil and then remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. Add diced potato to the pot (smaller dice cooks quicker), water and a pork or ham stock cube. Add shredded savoy cabbage or spring cabbage to the pot. Add smoked paprika to tase (start with a teaspoon). Cook until the potatoes are soft. Add the chorizo back to the pot and heat through. Serve with crusty bread.
You can peel the potatoes or not - doesn't really matter. Sometimes I squish some of the potatoes at the end to thicken the soup up a bit. I have left the chorizo in the pot throughout, but it goes a bit of an odd spongy texture, so it sounds a bit anal to take it out but I prefer it that way to be honest