Going self catering for a week - come over here and help me with my meal plan please.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

There will be 4 of us, DH, me, DS7 and DD3.8 and we'll be in a small caravan with a cooker, sink and fridge.

Really can't think of anything.

depends what you normally like, but i would do some of these

bangers, beans and mash

pasta and peas, with a jar of tomato sauce and lots of cheese, with salad

pea, mushroom, spring onion and broad bean risotto

big fry up/breakfasty meal

hearty soup (bung any veg in with stock cubes ) serve with lots of crusty bread

veggie chilli or curry with rice / fish fingers for the kids if they dont like

take away fish and chips!

any good?

Very good ashamed, think they will go down a treat. More suggestions till welcome though.

I'm planning to stock up on M&S meals for 2 x2 That means DH & I get to share 2 bottles of wine per night and we all get to eat something a bit special because we're on holiday, but cheaper than eating out.

Or maybe I'll use some of ashamed's suggestions, on alternate nights and we'll have to make do with one bottle per night!

Good idea Create. Must admit that Fish and Chips was the first thing I put on the list .

Any more suggestions?

omelette
pancakes (sweet & savoury)
fishcakes
Ainsley's couscous is good to accompany lots of stuff
fresh pasta parcels
fish pie
or try some of the "top 5s" here www.bbcgoodfood.com/

we have chilli with nachos, bolognaise&pasta (obviously you can convert bolognaise to chilli by adding a tin of kidney beans), sausages and baked beans, pizza, soups,spanish omlette ready made lasagne/canelloni, salads to accompany, fruit for pudding mostly.
try to make it easy on yourself by buying some pre-prepared stuff as there won't be tonnes of space, and you want to relax on holiday (unless cooking is your thing of course!).

i also buy my seasoning as sachets of 'bolognaise sauce' etc - not very 'homecooking' i know, but it saves having to cart 10 little bags of herbs with you. you can experiment to find the ones you like beforehand as well.

A friend just asked me for some camping food suggestions - some of them might be useful? Here's what I sent her.

• salads are great, esp ones with one cooked ingredient so it feels like more of a meal. Eg chicken ceasar salad, puy lentils with tomatoes and feta, salade nicoise with boiled eggs and green beans

• do things before you leave (unless you've already left?) and freeze, so they can defrost en route. Meat things need to be eaten first obv. A big thing of bolognese is good -add frozen spinach if you find that eating enough veg is tricky while camping. Also a ton of roast veg (courgettes, aubergines, red onions, tomatoes) can be eaten in stages with the lentils and feta, or with couscous (and chilli sauce), or as a pasta sauce with parmesan. Roast butternut squash is good with anything porky, eg sausages, or pasta with sage and Parmesan, or the puy lentil salad above.

• cooked breakfasts are compulsory. Do extra sausages to have cold for lunch with mustard (and butternut squash) later, or crispy bacon to put into a spinach and avocado salad.

• takeaway pizza / curry / baked potatoes

• baked beans on toast

• soup, done ahead and frozen, or just bought. Have with nice bread and cheese.

• steak and salad (spinach and blue cheese, with a little raw red onion), or anything else easy to fry, eg fish fillets or lamb steaks (have with Greek salad). You could also try a packet of the poshest instant mashed potato you can find.

• those tiny new potatoes go well with, for example, mayo for a potato salad, or into the salade nicoise, or with slivers of bacon and spring onion with vinaigrette. Of course you can also have them as a side dish for a bit of protein - they are really nice crushed with a fork and drizzled with olive oil and salt. If you are doing them for supper do extra and use them the next day. Actually in general that's a really helpful way of planning meals, around leftovers.

• fish stew is really easy and delicious. You need a fishmonger probably. Just fry some anchovies in olive oil with some orange peel and thyme, then add a tin of tomatoes and white wine, then a selection of fish (tell them it's for a stew and get them to chop it up). Takes about 10 minutes. Alternatively, garlic prawns - fry butter with a dash of olive oil to stop it from burning, add bag of frozen prawns, then some garlic and parsley. Serve with lemon and bread.

-biscuits to go with your tea, and a teapot to save you from constantly having to boil water.

Just bumping in case there are any more suggestions....

DS has just asked for Lamb Chops one night so that's another on the list.