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.

OP this is my meal plan for 3 weeks (hope you can read it), I'm on my own. It's printed out and put on my fridge.I don't always stick to it but when I make/eat something I tick it off.

I find it helpful to put notes about defrosting or other prep such as marinading. Where there is something like HD p15 that is the recipe book I'm using eg Hairy Dieters (HD) and the page number for the recipe.

I try to plan using let overs so if I have a roast dinner then the following day I will use the left over meat for sandwiches.

Curry and rice means I will use left over rice to make rice balls.

If I make something like a shepherds pie I will make enough for 4 people and put three portions in the freezer.

As there are only 2 adults you could easily make a shepherd's pie with a single extra portion. Or meatballs or lasagna etc.

I also use mysupermarket.com and have my shopping delivered, it avoids me thinking, 'oh that looks nice, I'll buy that'.

sashh the prep part of your meal plan is genius! Hope you don’t mind me nicking it

Haike baked for 13 mins with pesto tomato basil & mozzarella salt & paprika served with croutons.

Chicken sliced ad boiled for 4 minutes with microwave rice and I buy the curry sauce in the Chinese for two pounds this takes 5 mins to make

Check what you've got in the cupboard in terms of staples like herbs, spices, cooking oils, passata, tinned tomatoes, beans etc. Also rice, pasta, couscous, noodles. If you've run low then stock up when you do your big shop.

I find having these things in means we're always able to plan for leftovers. Actually I often cook extra of some things one day to be used in a different meal the next. For example if I make salmon, roast veg and baby potatoes today then leftover/extra roast veg can be used with pasta or couscous tomorrow. Or I might do extra veg and potato which could be used to in a frittata tomorrow. It requires a little bit of planning but means we don't waste food and we get a couple of nights a week where the evening meal requires minimal prep.

Roasted veg, chicken thighs with herbs and garlic, basmati rice

Homemade lasagne

Homemade chicken curry

Homemade cottage pie

Roast lamb , chicken, beef or pork dinner

Sausages, mash , red wine gravy with red onions
Veg

Homemade chicken Kiev with wedges and salad

Homemade quiche with sweet potato wedges

Pasta with pesto and roast chicken , garlic bread

Homemade meatballs with pasta in a tomato based sauce

Salmon with pesto , new potatoes , veg or salmon

Fishfingers or chicken burgers and chips not homemade 😂😂

WhiteCoyote

Of course not, nothing worse than thinking you have planned a meal and then finding half is still frozen.

There is also a second sheet I use for making my shopping list. And I have a list of fridge and freezer contents I tick off when I use something.

I have long suspected I'm on the ASD spectrum.

This week we've had -
Homemade carrot & coriander soup
Pesto crusted cod with garlic potatoes and veg
Veggie lentil moussaka
Seafood paella
Egg, sausage, beans and potato croquettes (gotta love a beige oven meal!)
Tikka masala with rice, naan & poppadoms.

I check what's on offer in Lidl and what we already have in the fridge and freezer, then plan meals around it. The internet is your friend! I'm always googling for recipes to use up what we have.

I love these threads sashh you are so organised. I need to learn how to get to that level of planning.

I go through phases of being really good with planning/cooking then I have a few weeks of being crap, shopping daily and cooking too many of the same meals.

At the moment I'm cooking a lot of tagines, curries, and kebabs we have in pitta breads with salad.
I'm also teaching DS1 13 how to cook, so things like chilli con carne, bolognese and lasagne which are what I started off cooking.

1. Smoked haddock, new potatoes, spinach and Home made hollandaise.
2. Spaghetti bolognese
3. Spinach and ricotta cannelloni (with leftover spaghetti bolognese on top)
4. Jools Oliver smokey sausage and bean casserole
5. Mushroom risotto
6. Ocado hot dog macaroni and cheese
7. Homemade Singapore noodles (I think I use a recipe on the Waitrose site)
8. Roast lamb breast

That's this week. I sit down with a couple of recipe books and I like the Jamie Oliver website, Ocado recipes and Waitrose. I meal plan and work from a list. Ocado order their receipt by use by date so that makes it easy to pick what to eat when.

The book of the ITV series "feed your family for a fiver" is good, my meals tend to go over cost wise as I buy higher welfare meat but their recipes are quite simple and very tasty, their sweet and sour recipe is lush!

Tonight we're having a tray bake comprising chicken thighs, peppers, tomatoes, red onion and half a chorizo ring. Will perk it up with some paprika and thyme and prob serve with basmati rice. Super easy!

@sashh I think I love you, I'm actually going to copy your spreadsheet. I love spreadsheets, hate running out of things!

Typical dinners in our house (excluding the usual spag bol/chilli/shepherd's pie stuff)

salmon baked with soy, ginger and sweet chilli, served with stir fry baby corn, sugar snaps, carrots, spring onions, red peppers and bok choi with noodles or rice

hairy bikers beef curry with rice or naan

chicken pieces cooked with fresh rosemary and thyme, lemon wedges, garlic, olives and baby tomatoes, served with salad or steamed veg and new potatoes baked in their skins or hot crusty bread

Jerk chicken with rice and peas

burritos/tacos etc with home made guacamole, chicken breast chunks cooked in paprika and garlic, loads of salad stuff and maybe some brown rice with black or turtle beans

chick pea, chorizo, butternut squash and red pepper risotto bake with steamed greens or salad

home made quiche with salad

home made chicken and leek or beef and mushroom pie with mash and steamed veg

home made pizzas with crudites

pasta carbonara and leaf salad

home made burgers with loads of salad/crudites and brioche buns or matchstick oven chips or home made sweet potato wedges

leg of lamb slow roasted with middle eastern spices (ras el hanout, cumin seeds, rose petals etc), served with spiced pilaf rice and veg

trad uk lamb with rosemary and garlic, new potatoes and lightly boiled veg

cod or hake baked with a herb, olive and sun dried timato crust, with roasted new potatoes in their skins and steamed broccoli, chard, romanesco

This week we have had-
Roast beef
Jacket potatoes with chilli
Spag bol
Chicken stir fry
Tuna pasta bake
Slow cooked beef stew
Sausage and mash
I shop in Aldi. I switched from Asda a few weeks ago and am definitely seeing a difference in the cost of my food shop. Feel a bit stuck in a rut with what we have though so taking some ideas from this thread!

Last night we had gammon with mash, sweet potatoes, carrots, mangetout, broccoli and kale
Friday we had lamb joint with mushrooms stuffed with rice and asparagus
Thursday Mediterranean veg tray bake with pork chops
Wednesday chicken thighs and drumsticks with a layered veg dish of leeks mushrooms and courgettes
Tuesday we had bacon, sausage, fried egg, beans and mushrooms
Monday was pizza and salad with home made coleslaw
We eat based on what I source on the reduced counter very very cheaply
Some nights could just as easily be steak or a stir fry
Don’t have a set pattern, although has to be healthy as dieting, and quick to cook as frequently work late or go to gym on way home

Notso

My amount of planning is offset by depression and in a different way arthritis which means I cannot always cook so don't be too impressed. I find it's a type of therapy to plan and shop and it forces me to do things like eat fruit.

Doris ....
This thread is making me feel a) inadequate b) hungry. But it's interesting and enough to make me pull my socks up. For about 3 days. By Thursday I'll be in the kitchen weeping ...

Doris, could you let us have your swan recipes?

I want one of these
www.appliancecity.co.uk/samsung/fridges-and-freezers/rf56m9540sr/product-25084?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuMrWgJe82gIVirTtCh0xrAf9EAQYAiABEgLm0fD_BwE

Doris, could you let us have your swan recipes?

Swan recipe. You'll need
1 swan - dressed
1 brick
A big pot
water

Place the swan in the pot with the brick and the water. Boil for 8 hours. Dispose of the swan and eat the brick

I get a chicken and do a roast dinner one day, then chuck the rest in a curry. Turkey spag bol, chilli con carne, salmon risotto and sausage casserole are some of our family favourites.

So glad I did this thread. Thanks all who posted, although I admit there is some dishes I've never ever heard off.

Although funnily enough we've did try that exact Swan recipe, currently having it 4 times a week hence this thread

I am veggie. Main meals I make are:
Veg fajitas (sometimes add quorn in) or tacos
Spag Bol with falafels for meatballs, quorn mince and veggies
Butternut spinach curry and rice
Bean and vegetable chilli and rice
Vegetable pasta bake
Veg omelette
Tagliatelle with cream and veggies
Sunday roast sometimes
Stir fry
Pizza most Fridays

I spent £55 between Aldi and Lidl on Thursday, and we’ve had so far:

Thursday: hunters chicken with couscous and roasted veg.
Friday: ds at his dads so I had a ready meal of chicken saag and cauliflower rice.
Saturday: ham and pineapple pizza made on wholemeal wraps with butternut squash fries and salad.
Today: roast chicken dinner.
Monday: leftover chicken with onions, garden peas and mayflower curry sauce with cauliflower rice for me and naan bread for ds.
Tuesday: baked cod in lemon juice and garlic with roasted cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, coleslaw and jacked potato.
Wednesday: toad in the hole with mash, veg and gravy.

We also like pasta dishes - macaroni cheese with gammon and carrots, tomato based pasta bake with chopped up sausages, bolognese and tuna pasta bake.

I started cooking from scratch more and getting the DC to help. Things we make now are:-

Spaghetti Carbonara
Thai Green Curry (mild one) with stir fried veg and noodles
Moroccan Honey Chicken (quick and easy and only 6 ingredients) with cous cous
Beef in ale stew (slow cooked for 4-5 hours)
Pesto pasta with lots of veg mixed in
Homemade tomato and basil soup with cheese toasties
Roast dinner

Our go to meals are

Indian chicken curry
Thai green or red chicken curry
Beef stir fry

My favourite night is a little bit of everything. Slice of cheese, pickles. Beetroot, salad, boiled egg, branston pickle, coleslaw, potato salad etc. It's a good meal to use up leftovers and open jars/ tubs too