Asking for your meal plans when not on a tight budget

[ontheup23]

Hiya

Looking for meal plans and ideas for the week when we are not on a particularly tight budget

Appreciate this is very lucky

Don't want to be roasted

Thank you

Pleaaaaseee
If I make garlic and herb chicken another time I fear my kids will throw it at me

Tonights
Homemade tomato sauce( courgette, pepper, tomato sauce blitzed) and pasta
last night
piqana steak with carrot apple salad, corn on the cob, rice (kid’s request)
wed
Harira soup made with lamb neck, red lentils, chick peas and med veg
tues
rice and dhal
mon
filled pasta and pesto - late in

I don’t meal plan apart from nights we have clubs/all running in late

Our typical go-to meals are:
lasagne,
carbonara,
homemade pizza,
homemade steak pie/chicken and veg pie,
Yeungs curry (tastes just like curry from the Chinese take away, just a packet mix but add chunky onion, mushroom, peas, chicken etc.)
Chicken Kiev or garlic butter chicken mixed with pasta (might want to swerve that one as it's close to your usual haha)
Cumberland sausage/gammon, new potatoes, mushy peas and egg.
Chicken, bacon, sweetcorn, mayo mixed and put into a baguette.
Chicken and veg soup.
Tatie Pot.
Tatie Ash.
Shepherds pie/mince and dumplings/Yorkshire puddings.
Homemade cheeseburgers (we usually mush black pudding into the mince for extra iron/flavour!)
Tikka/korma from a jar, we always have the rice in that goes in the microwave for 2 mins, VeeTee brand or similar. We add our own spice etc to jazz it up abit.
Sausage, mash, Yorkshire puddings with gravy and veg.
Cheese mash, beans and fish fingers. An egg goes nice too!
Full English but not fried.
Chicken and salad wraps.
Chicken burgers with grated carrot under the cheese, with spicy mayo.
Homemade chicken nuggets from chicken breast and panko breadcrumbs, in the ninja.
Sweet and Sour chicken from jar/tub/packet. Add extra peppers/pineapple, etc. VeeTee rice again.

That's all I can think of, maybe not the healthiest but thought I'd put a few ideas out there and to bump your post up 😁

Try Gousto/hello fresh for a few weeks.

Last week we had

Posh burgers,fries and corn in the cob (cheese, bacon, lettuce tomatoes, gherkins kids do their own toppings)
Fajitas and spicy rice
Chilli, rice pittas and tortilla chips
Spaghetti carbonara/tomato and pancetta and garlic bread
Irish stew with red cabbage and bread rolls
Make your own pizza
Roast beef and all the trimmings

I’m not sure if I meal plan tbh, or do I? I think about what we’re eating when I do my food order but doesn’t everyone?

An average week will look like this ..

Salmon fillet, steamed veg, new potatoes

Linguine with king prawns, garlic, chilli,
Parmesan and cherry tomatoes

Sea bass with steamed veg - I cook shallots, new potatoes and a bit of chorizo with herbs in the oven and then put the fish in skin side up for the last ten mins

Some sort of Chinese dish - stir fry usually with a homemade sauce

Steak with garlic mushrooms and blue cheese with half a baked potato

Delia’s lentil moussaka

Delia’s black bean chilli

Pizza, Waitrose No 1 is my favourite and salad

Roast chicken but I rarely do a full roast dinner, prefer something like a risotto and spinach with it and then I make chicken noodle soup.

Soup or chowder with homemade bread.

In the winter I batch cook coq au vin, lambs liver and bacon in red wine, cottage pie, pasta bake with a cheese sauce, cauliflower and truffle. I like Jamie Oliver’s lasagna with the roasted spiced squash recipe - that gets batch cooked/frozen too.

Sounds good written down but I’m bored of our food at home, was only saying the other day that I need to shake it up.

Dinner tonight is a couple of huge sausages that have been languishing in the freezer, pork, truffle and something I can’t remember. I’ve cut them up and wrapped them in bacon (needed using up) and they’re in a baking dish with carrots, garlic, thyme, cherry tomatoes and par boiled new potatoes. I go to the gym on Friday and this can just be shoved in the oven an hour before I get home. I’ll add some green veg.

Fish from the proper fishmonger, meat and veg from the farm shop. Quite simple recipes. When the produce is great it doesn’t need a lot of fancying up.

Such great ideas thank you so much

I don't meal plan at all I just buy what I like and then make something but my mental health has been bad and I have struggled coming up with ideas, thank you very much

We’re not on a particularly ‘tight’ budget but don’t go over the top either.
Here’s my menu for the next 8 nights.

Fri - Pan fried 5 spice salmon, noodles and stir fried veg
Sat - griddled pork chops, chunky chips and homemade coleslaw/rocket, red onion and tomato salad
Sun - roast chicken with all the trimmings
Mon - gammon steak, fried egg and bubble and squeak patties
Tues - Beef stew and dumplings
Wed - venison meatballs in roasted tomato/veg sauce and spaghetti
Thurs - lamb koftas, pittas, salad
Friday - something with prawns - possibly a curry

Our typical meal plan from tomorrow and the week ahead is:

Sat Slow cooker Chicken korma and veg curry, basmati rice and naan bread.

Sun Apricot Chicken tray bake , roast potatoes, green beans and carrots

Mon (Meat free) Cheese, onion and spinach pie

Tue - Cod , chorizo and tomato parcels with home made sweet potato wedges and broccoli

Wed - Mushroom and mince ragu with pasta, salad and garlic bread

Thurs- Mushroom, veg and mince chilli con carne with rice

Fri Odds and ends noodle stir fry- using up all left over veg and meat.

Brunch always on Sunday- usually consists of bacon, home made pancakes, granola, yoghurt and my favourite home made banana bread and whipped date butter.

Lunches tend to be home made soup in the soup maker , sour dough etc or cold meats and salad.

Twice a month on a Saturday we usually have a take away.

Kleftiko: I use the Rick Stein recipe using a whole leg or shoulder of lamb and it delicious for every day, smart enough for guests and the leftover meat and sauce in flatbreads the next day is just as good.

Mixed chopped salad with whatever fish or meat we fancy.

You said you are eating too much garlic and herb chicken:
Roast chicken portions with stuffing balls, roast potatoes and veg.
Stuffed chicken breast, breaded or wrapped in streaky bacon or Parma ham.
Barbecue style chicken and ribs, served with corn on the cob, onion rings, wedges and coleslaw (chunky).
Tandoori chicken, with salad, raita and flatbreads.
Katsu chicken
Souvlaki
'Spanish chicken' basically chicken cooked in a sauce of sweet red peppers, onions, garlic and thyme with paprika Sweet and smoked), thicker with cooked red lentils.

Curry (ies) - We usually have a mixture so we can try different things: I batch cook for the freezer to save work n a weeknight.
Stir fry
Beef with black bean sauce
Bourgignon
Goulash
Chops (pork or lamb)
Falikal (Norwegian dish of lamb and cabbage cooked slowly with peppercorns) served with flatbreads or melba toast.
Gammon with spiced cabbage
Risotto
Carbonara
Vongole
Bolognese
Lasagne
Primavera
Arrabiata, with or without prawns or chicken
Orzotto
Roasts
Toad in the hole
Steak

I don't think that the most expensive dishes are necessarily the best. As long as the ingredients are ok and you avoid UPFs.
Dhal for example is very inexpensive but is absolutely delicious and a real comfort food.

I've been making a big batch of pizza dough at the start of the week then that's dinner sorted for a few days. it tastes best on day 3 but can eat from the day its made. I top with scala tomato/basil/aubergine pesto and then whatever veggies I fancy and galbani mozzarella for cooking. for dessert I make a cake at the start of the week or buy in macarons or dessert from somewhere.

I also have fish couple of times a week. salmon mostly (boring I know), pan roasted and served with couscous made with ras el hanout, cumin, chilli flakes, saffron, fresh herbs, lemon zest and plenty of evoo. sauted or steamed seasonal veg with lemon juice and butter/evoo on the side. have been having a lot of asparagus, courgettes and peas this summer. other times I serve the fish with veggie fried rice (trick is to use day old rice).

gochujang noodles is a favourite. thick udon noodles stir fried with cooked beef mince, king prawns, veggies is choice and drenched in a sauce made with gochujang paste, cornflour, light soya sauce and sugar thinned out with a little water.

thai curries are pretty easy if you use a premade paste. I use one from mythaicurry. no preservatives. my fav is one green curry with monkfish, aubergine and green beans but really good with chicken thighs, prawns or tofu.

Japanese curries are also very easy and so so moreish.

being bengali I make a lot of South Asian food too.

I find the BBC goodfood what to eat this season helpful too.

photos attached of what I ate this week...

Current rotation:

Salmon Donburi
Prawn Pad Thai
Chicken Bibimbap
Chicken Ramen
Thai green curry with either prawns or chicken
Pizza and salad
Filled pasta and salad
Prawn & chilli linguine

Lots of good ideas in the Waitrose magazine and weekly free newspaper.
I make feta and tomato muffins which freeze really well and ideal with soup.
smoky tomato and black bean soup.
chicken noodle soup with stock made from roast carcass
paella rice with chorizo , tomatoes and prawns
home made pizza
beef goulash
bacon and onion tart
lamb casserole with onions, carrots, apricots, tinned tomatoes and plenty of smoked paprika, garlic and coriander
chicken curry made with chicken thighs and homemade flatbread

think about what we’re eating when I do my food order but doesn’t everyone? No I top up all the staples, make sure I have some meat or fish in, that between the garden and the shop I have a good supply of veg. Then I have the wherewithal to cook whatever I fancy each night (subject to keeping an eye on whether any veg/fruit are getting near the end of their lifespan)

Oh 😂, I get a Waitrose or Ocado order once a week and I never ever do a top up shop. Partly time, partly I don’t need anything, partly I hate food shopping.

We don't really meal plan, I never know what I want until the day. I do a lot of exercise and eat a lot of protein, mostly chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon and prawns. Things we'd have often are:

Roast chicken with roast dinner accompaniments/salad/home made warm potato salad/green vegetables
Tuscan chicken
Flatbreads with chicken, feta and salad or with halloumi
Orzo with either chicken or prawns, sun dried tomatoes and spinach
Paella with chicken and prawns, and/or chorizo
Meatballs made with turkey mince with a Spanish-style tomato sauce
Turkey bolognaise
Lamb or chicken tagine
Venison steaks with vegetables or a venison casserole
Steak with warm potato salad or sweet potato wedges
Roast beef with trimmings

Home made burgers with sweet potato fries
Salmon in various ways with rice and vegetables, I like teriyaki style
Tuna steaks with spicy rice and vegetables
Seafood pasta
Thai curry with chicken or prawns
Pizzas made in the Ooni (DP likes making pizza dough and makes batches to freeze)
Salads with couscous, torn mozzarella, feta, apricots, pomegranate seeds etc.
Chicken fajitas
Prawn, chilli and garlic linguini

This week we have eaten:
Roast lamb, with lots of veg, for Sunday lunch
Monday dinner: Pork tenderloin, spinach and chorizo paella, with green salad, (DS bought a ridiculous quantity of tenderloin last week)
Tuesday dinner: remains of lamb joint, cooked as shepherd's pie with middle eastern spices, more salad
Wednesday: Quinoa tabbouleh with spatchcocked chicken (leftover chicken was made into soup for DH's lunch for two days)
Thursday: Spanish omelette with tomato salad
Friday: Spaghetti Puttanesca with tuna

Tomorrow: we are eating out at a new place where the chef is the person who was a tutor at the cooking school DS trained and I have done courses.

There's a small piece of beef for Sunday, with veg I haven't bought yet.

On Monday we have overnight guests who haven't visited for yonks (but life time friends) for whom we shall be serving serrano ham with figs followed by lamb shoulder shanks in black bean and chili sauce, Asian slaw (maybe mashed spuds if it's a cold day) and a cheese board.

Tuesday will be any leftover beef turned into a Thai beef salad.

Will eat dinner at your house any time @Vetoncall !

Just DH and myself, and I don't make a meal plan each week either. I do have a few meals using leftovers though.

Roast chicken for dinner. Next day its sandwiches, chicken caesar salad, chicken pasta bake or Chinese sweetcorn and chicken soup

Roast pork (or chicken) for dinner, then the next day, I turn it into this delicious curry https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/thai-pork-peanut-curry

For a veggie option I like this too: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/satay-sweet-potato-curry

Shakshuka. I often add a tin of chickpeas and some chorizo for extra flavour. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/shakshuka

Pork chops which have been marinating in soy sauce, lime juice, honey, fresh garlic and olive oil. Served with a salsa or apple sauce and various veg. Salmon also works in the same marinade, but I only leave it 1-2hrs, not all day like the pork.

I've recently discovered brined chicken. It really adds flavour to the flesh and takes it to the next level: https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-brine-recipe/

Cod/haddock or a white fish in a dish- in a bowl mix golden breadcrumbs and/or panko breadcrumbs, grated cheddar and/or parmesan, grated lemon rind, garlic powder (optional), mix and sprinkle over the fish. Grill until cooked

Also various pastas, norma, sarde, cabonara, puttanesca, bolognese and this green spaghetti https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/super-green-spaghetti/

Hmm we don’t meal plan, just grab what I like the look of in M&S but generally kids meals looks like

roast chicken and vege
pie made with leftover chicken
salmon filet and rice and vege
burgers wedges and vege
vege pasta dish
spag Bol
chicken noodle stir fry
steak and new potatoes
fish pie
tuna pasta bake

Add hake to your fish buying @SM4713 . It's nicer than cod or haddock and often a little cheaper.

Had Sicilian pesto pasta with lamb cutlets last night

I shop daily