To ask what you make for dinners

[Chocolateanddiamonds]

Recently saw a thread on there about how much is spent on the monthly food shop. It made me have a look at mines and it made me ill. I haven't been doing a big shop as such lately so lots of little ones which is clearly isn't working.
I'm currently pregnant and been off alot of smells and foods lately but it's much better now. What I'm off is spending over £400 a month on food for dh, 1yo and myself.

Tomorrow I will be doing a "big" shop and fill the freezer etc but can't think of a good range of meals.
I'm bored of spag bol, sheppards pie etc and in dire need of inspiration.

Great idea OP I’m always looking for new menu ideas. This was our menu last week.

Sunday - slow roast shoulder of lamb, roasted carrots and onions, roast potatoes, steamed veg

Monday - bubble & squeak (using left over roast potatoes & green steamed veg) with poached egg

Tuesday - flat breads, lamb & salad (using leftover lamb, roasted carrots & onions)

Wednesday - veggie moussaka with salad

Thursday - salmon fillets with stir fry vegetables

Friday - chicken katsu curry & rice

Saturday - roasted chicken legs, sweet potato wedges, home made coleslaw.

I’m a big fan of gousto, I was in a massive rut! Last night we had Asian fried chicken with homemade chips and reddish slaw- I would of just had cottage pie if it was down to me! Even if you don’t subscribe, it’s quite good to look at the recipes for and idea or 2!

Anyone else read these threads and think Food Tech/Cookery/Domestic Science/Home Economics must be a complete waste of curriculum time, effort and funding ?

Spent £47 which will last a week for DH and I. Dinners with it are:

Chicken and mushroom risotto
Cottage pie (leftovers another night)
Pizza, homemade chips and salad
Sausage, mash and veg
Haddock and cheddar fish cakes (admittedly probably homemade chips again)

We eat 5 fruit and veg a day so I buy melon, strawberries, bananas, salad etc but all out veg is frozen. I even cheated and bought diced onion, so good!

Spent £47 which will last a week for DH and I. Dinners with it are:

Chicken and mushroom risotto
Cottage pie (leftovers another night)
Pizza, homemade chips and salad
Sausage, mash and veg
Haddock and cheddar fish cakes (admittedly probably homemade chips again)

We eat 5 fruit and veg a day so I buy melon, strawberries, bananas, salad etc but all out veg is frozen. I even cheated and bought diced onion, so good!

I do a twice weekly Tesco shop and spend £20-30 per shop. Feeds 2 adults and a 1 year old very comfortably. I usually have the leftovers for my lunch. Here’s what we’ve had in the past week:

Lamb, spinach and sweet potato curry
Leek and mushroom risotto
Spag Bol bulked out with chopped carrots and butternut squash (trust me it works)
Tomato, feta and chicken omelettes with salad
Pork belly strips slow cooked on top of roasting veg (divine)
Salmon with roasting veg and asparagus
Tonight is treat night so it’s Tesco’s own brand pizzas - I add goats cheese on mine

As our money is tight I do a rough meal plan, then get the meat all reduced and add it into the meal plan. It’s why I can do it so cheap but I’ve got the luxury of working part time so I can go at the right time of day.

Vege Vietnamese rice
Pad Thai
Ratatouille
Vege chilli
Chicken katsu
Steak and chips
Roast shoulder of lamb with potato dauphinois
spiralized vegetable salad with walnuts and goats cheese

This last week...
Sunday: roast chicken and all the trimmings
Monday: chicken & broccoli bake with rice (using chicken leftovers)
Tuesday: chicken, bacon & mushroom risotto (using chicken leftovers)
Wednesday: gammon, fries & peas
Thursday: meatball pasta bake and garlic bread
Friday: sausage sandwiches and fries
Saturday: chicken and veg stir fry with noodles

Chilli/nachoes/rice
Cheesy pesto pasta bake
Home made kebabs/burgers
Fajitas
Lasagna
Tray bakes
Jacket potatoes
Roast
Soup
Stir fry
Salad
Spanish omelette
Pizza and salad
Slow cooked pork or brisket
Pasta with tomato/pancetta
Meatballs

This week we've had
Chicken korma onion bhajis poppadoms
Garlic and herb chicken thighs with potato dauphinose
Roast chicken
Sweet and sour chicken
Beef stir fry and noodles
Macaroni cheese

My two week meal plan, (it included nappies, toothpaste and shampoo). All I need to buy as my weekly top up shop is eggs, bread and milk.

Also we serve everything with at least half a plate of veggies, or half a plate of salad. Does look quite unhealthy but I promise the meals are balanced (I track my macros) and I’ve lost a stone in 5 weeks.

This week we've had:
Sunday - roast beef with all the trimmings
Monday - chicken with Tuscan sauce
Tuesday - leftover beef and cheese toasties with chips and coleslaw
Wednesday - freezer roulette
Thursday - ginger, soy and honey belly pork strips with jacket potatoes and coleslaw
Friday - cheeky takeaway
Saturday - minted lamb kebabs with salad and tzatsiki

This week
Sunday - roast chicken
Monday - salmon with Tuscan sauce (made double last week and froze the leftovers)
Tuesday - leftover chicken soup
Wednesday - Chinese pork chops with cucumber salad
Thursday - sausage, beans and waffles
We're away Friday and Saturday so nothing planned in then.

Sorry for posting again but that is also 2 weeks of breakfast and packed lunches for 2 adults 5 days a week.

I find these threads really useful for inspiration. I’m terrible at planning!

We shop in Aldi (2 adults + 2 kids )
Homemade veg lasagne
Homemade curry veg with rice
Tomato soup
Moussaka with spring greens and sweet potato wedges
Veg cous cous cod green beans
Homemade pizza with buffalo mozzarella Kalimantan olives capers anchovies salad with rocket avocado tomatoes
Pasta with roast veg
Chicken legs ( my husband and daughter) homemade wedges + greens
Lots of fruit for kids / juices/ smoothie...

We shop in Aldi (2 adults + 2 kids )
Homemade veg lasagne
Homemade curry veg with rice
Tomato soup
Moussaka with spring greens and sweet potato wedges
Veg cous cous cod green beans
Homemade pizza with buffalo mozzarella Kalimantan olives capers anchovies salad with rocket avocado tomatoes
Pasta with roast veg
Chicken legs ( my husband and daughter) homemade wedges + greens
Lots of fruit for kids / juices/ smoothie...

Today: Roast Swan
Monday: Leftover swan risotto
Tuesday: Ortolan
Wednesday: Fugu
Thursday: Surströmming
Friday: Casu marzu
Saturday: Beans on toast

We try to have a few veggie meals which keeps the cost down. So usually vegetable soup and bread one night, omelettes and salad another and baked potato/sweet potato with toppings a third. Quick, cheap and healthy, and requires hardly any prep or thinking.

We usually have a cheap pasta meal as well, which is also sometimes veggie, or uses tinned tuna.

Then we have regular meals that get rotated in:

Chicken or sausage tray bake with root veg
Spatchcocked chicken and salad
Pho or Tom yum soup with prawns
Fajitas or tacos
Stuffed peppers
Steak and mushrooms
Stroganoff
Stir fries
Salmon and steamed Asian greens
Baked chicken thighs done in various ways (Asian marinade, jerk rub, lemon and cream) with rice and peas/beans
Pork chops
Lamb and salad in pitta bread
Felafel wraps

Doris

Chicken katsu wraps. Chicken, onion and peppers cooked in a katsu sauce. Yum.

Batch cook ratatouille, save in zip lock bags, that out freezer to have with meat and potato or cous cous, or add in some mince to make a kind of spaghetti bolognese. I also this week chopped up some chorizo and made a pasta sauce. Can also be blended to make soup.

Go through your cupboards & fridge /freezer & make a list of what you have in.

Then make a meal plan from what you have already and just buy the missing ingredients to complete the meals.

This will help you use up what you've already got, save you money as you already spent £57 yesterday & reduce food waste.

Yesterday I made a ratatouille with onions, garlic, peppers, celery, aubergine, carrots and herbs. You can use whatever you have in the vegetable drawer to use up. I separated it into two saucepans and added a pack of mince to one pan. Once cooked & cooled they were portioned out and frozen.

I always make a biryaani with the remainder of the Sunday roast. It's quick and very tasty as I always have the rice and spices in.

HM Lamb koftas & salad in flatbread wraps
Roasted butternut squash, red peppers & feta on focaccia + salad
HM Thai pork meatballs, veg & noodles
Aldi meat feast pizza (added chilli oil)
Chicken thighs, cauliflower & chorizo & roasted sweet potato wedges
Sea bass & roasted veg couscous
Today’s will be Duck, broccoli & potatoes & hm banana & choc cake.
Mainly Aldi, Waitrose & local market - £100 per week. Family of 4. We eat well since I can cook and like cooking. I don’t buy organic but I do buy fish.