Meal planning, sharing recipes and ideas to make the weekly budget go further.

Today: a bougie brunch of vef, salad and steak pita for my daughter and I.
Tea was just me, ao I made chicken noodles and stir fry. Loads left for my son's lunch tomorrow.
Picked up somw reduced price sausages and bagels for the freezer too.

Hello! After a glorious wedding away we are back.
I thought i would be placing a food order yesterday, but it turns out yhe "kids' (18 and 19) have their own plans again, so just winging it on the food front.

Sunday evening we picked up some filled pasta, sauce, garlic bread and salad from waitrose at a service station. £9

Monday - oldest son visited for tea. He's mid house renovation and living off microwave meals. He requested lots of veg. So, salad, roasted vegetables, a hand full of oven chips and some chicken. Lunch yesterday was a salad with cottage cheese and some bread from the freezer. (Only recent photo).
Today it's me and my daughter for brunch. I'm thinking yogurt and "tutti frutti'. I remember having this in Holland when I was 12 and only just got around to.looking up how to make it. 36 years later. Haha.
I think just me for tea, will let you know what weird stuffing choose.

Just a few photos today.

'Eggs and tomatoes' as requested by my daughter.

Roast chicken with roast potatoes, cabbage and cheesy green veg.

Cheese toasty with a fig from my mums garden.

We've not spent much this at all, but the fridge, freezer and cupboard are pretty bare now. A wedding away tomorrow/sunday, so will order some food to arrive Monday.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

I made a sort of loaf (nut roast style, no nuts).from it. I'll portion and freezenit so my husband can have it when we have chicken. Otherwise, it's would have been used in something else!

Rubbish photos today, but 1st for brunch, a bit of tea from yesterday, served with cous cous. Cous cous left for tomorrow.

Tea was lentil and chickpea with peppers and halloumi, rice ans homemade flat breads. Followed by date and walnut slice.

Plenty of dahl left for another day.

I'm sure your family suffers greatly like mine does too, @Londonmummy66

In other news, today I've made a lentil dahl, a lentil, leek and mushroom roast and a date and walnut slice. Pictures to follow.

I was inspired to come back after reading a few threads where people are spending £1000 plus a month on food. It blew my mind.
Plus someone mentioned they were glad they weren't eating at mone because I stretch 500g beef mince to feed everyone twice (8 portions). More fool them, I say.

Thank you! It's good to be back and the pudding was very nice indeed. Helped by the fact that I had some Longley Farm cream and cream cheese, so v fancy.

Tonight I made wraps and chips for tea - i had all the filling without the wrap!

I made a sort of refried bean idea but frying 1 onion, garlic, spices, a grated carrot, 1/2 a tin of tomatoes and black beans.

Served with some beef mince -saved from a mince and potato dish last week - which i added red pepper, the rest of the tomatoes and a tin of white beans. Along with chilli.

Add yogurt, cheese, salad and some home made oven chips.

There were just 2 of us tonight, sk u made extra wraps for husband and sons lunch tomorrow with the beans, I will have the beef.

Whilst the chips were in the oven I cooked some chicken breasts off, tomorrow I'm planning on dahl with chicken for those who want it. I've also got a load of weetabix crumbs that I plan on using in a lentil and veg bake. I found they make a good substitute for bread crumbs.

Would love to hear what everyone else is cooking.

It's been a busy weekend with everyone here there and everywhere. It's getting increasingly difficult to keep track of what I spend. Some weeks I just need a few bits from the local shop to top uo, others a full shop.

Just a couple of ideas today. 1st - halloumi curry. We prefer halloumi to paneer, sorry! I fried onions, garlic, half a red pepper, a block of halloumi with spices. Added in a tin of tomatoes and then some cream that needed using. Served with rice (cooked in veg stock) with peas and a bit of naan.

2nd - using up the remaining cream i made a sort of cranachan/cheese cake cross. I heated up some frozen cherries, whilst they were cooking I added some oats and cinnamon to a dry pan to toast. In a bowl I mixed double cream with some cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla. Assemble in layers.

As usual, no measurements - just go by eye and taste.

Hello! How are you all? It seems batch cookingbis somewhat less appealing during the summer months!
I'm still here, feeding the family for ad little as possible. Life has changed a bit, I'm currently not working so I have time yo scour the local shops for bargains. The 2 kids who are.at home are very independent, eating atbwork or out and about, so it's guess work who will be eating with us.
The food bill fluctuates wildly - this week it was just under £80. Things i plan on making:

Gammon - cooked in used some for a salad with new potatoes tonight. Some left for sandwiches and some cubed for a bulgur wheat risotto.woth leeks and mushrooms.

Left over new potatoes to be made into a brunch with tomatoes/eggs. Left over salad for lunches.

Roast chicken - last night we had a roast. Leftover chicken frozen for a future use.

Bean chilli with rice.

Tomato pasta

Minced Beef (from the freezer). Made half of it with peas and potatoes last week. Will add beans to make into tacos.

Dahl. Got some curry in the freezer, will make a pick and mix curry night. Will also make potatoes with spinach.

Pictured- some salads, roast, eggs on toast. My son is gym.mad,can you guess his plate?

Let me know what you've all been making!

Some things we ate this week - I attempted onion bhaji, they weren't perfect, but have potential. Followed by dahl. Vegetable pasta bake with samphire. Eggs and tomato on toast, tonight we had a freezer tea. Wraps with various fillings, home made chips topped with black beans.

Other things included mushrooms on toast and a feta salad and rhubarb rice pudding.

Not sure what the weekend will bring.

The offending cornbread made it to the bin, I just couldnt fix it!

Some things we've eaten of late... quinoa abd feta salad, a fruit crumble, lemon and red fruit drizzle cake, coriander curry, coconut rice pudding with mango, bean burgers with sweet potatoes.

This week - red onion and feta pie, lentil dahl with onion bahjees, cheesy pasta and vegetable bake and then we will see!

Last night's tea - sausage, leek and cabbage pan lasagne. Tonight - bean chilli, cornbread, sweet potato fries, salad, yogurt.

The cornbread was a total disaster, so now o need to work out what to do with a pan of dry Polenta. Other than that, everything else was delicious.

Tomorrow - I think feta and red onion pie with veg and new potatoes. Friday everyone is out. Saturday curry, sunday gammon roast.

Still got to make the courgette muffins and a lemon cake - the one I made on sunday has only juat been finished.

So, if anyone had any bright ideas for the offending cornbread, let me know! Thanks

Spme thongs we have eaten over the weekend.

Marinara style baguettes made from 'bake at home'baguette, reduced price pork/beef mince, tomato sauce, lettuce and cheese. Served with homemade chips.

Yesterday was chicken roast and a salted caramel and chocolate sponge. Plenty left of both for today.

Shopping arriving tomorrow, I'm planning on making a cornbread to serve with bean chilli, feta and red onion pie, sausage and leek pan lasagne, curry, roast gammon.

Lunches will be salads or sandwiches: ham, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese

Cake - i think a lemon and berry one

Breakfasts - courgette muffins, yogurt, cereal, toast

Some great recipes, thank you! Will definitely try the muffins. And probably the ox cheek. I like it, but fir aomw reason my family don't like.the idea. I just wont tell them what it is!

Today - some oven bottom muffins led to a mcmuffin style brunch, no photos. Tea was tomato risotto with a kale and sausage topper for the hysband and I. Risotto hating daughter had cous cous and salad with chicken. Made enough so she can have left overs with eggs tomorrow for lunch. Husband and I will have risotto with eggs. Don had been away all week with college, back tomorrow, so expect to see more protein!

You're welcome x

People, I made such a good tea tinight that I had to share!

Crunchy roasted new potatoes with zesty yogurt, courgette, steak and a herby dressing.

Easy, but yum!

Boil new potatoes whilst heating oven. In the meantime, thinly slice courgettes ready for frying. Once potatoes are boiled, drain and transfer to roasting tin. Crushe slightly, add oil, salt and pepper. Roast until crispy.
Fry your courgettes, whilst they're cooking add lime zest and juice, salt and pepper, sumac and mint leaves to greek yogurt. Place on plate. Make a herby dressing with thinly sliced garlic, acid (I used lemon and lime juice), oil, seasoning. I then used a bunch of coriander and a bunch of parsley. Mix.

Once courgettes are cooked, fry your steak. Leave to rest whilst you pile potatoes on to the yogurt, add some of the herbs and the courgettes. Add the steak (sliced) and the rest of the herbs.

Soooooooo good.