Favourite Meat Free Meal - Trying to decrease shopping £

[NigellaEllaElla]

What meat free meal goes down best in your house, preferably with veggies in it?

Am trying to cut down on amount of meat I buy but buy better quality locally sourced meat instead, but don't want to increase shopping budget.

I already churn out veggie lasagne most weeks so looking for some fresh ideas. Husband is a meat lover and DC are 6, 3 and 2 so nothing too spicy please.

Thanks.

Is pasta OK. If yes, pasta with mushrooms, broccoli, garlic, parmesan and cream, It looks a bit grey/brown, but it's YUM.

Oh, and cous cous with cucumber, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, peppers, sweetcorn, peas (anything you have in the fridge, in other words) is a nice meat-free change. Then there's risotto with any of mushrooms, asparagus, onions, broad beans.... Or baked potato or baked sweet potato with baked beans and cheese and salad.

I do roast Mediterranean veg (peppers, onions, courgettes) with Halloumi cut into chunks. We usually have it with pasta but could do it with couscous or another grain. Also made a pasta salad last week which was basically Greek salad with fusilli pasta - I really like this one.

Caramelised onion quiche, aubergine parmigiana, falafels. You can also stretch meat further, for instance by bulking mince out with lentils and extra veg or add a little bit of big flavoured meat like chorizo or bacon to pasta or risotto.

Falafels are something I have always seen on New York street corners but never tried or have no idea how to make them. Will investigate. Thanks.

Butternut squash & sweet corn risotto
Jacket potato with tuna & sweet corn
Pasta bake with mushroom, courgette and .... More sweet corn!
Veg soup & crusty bread
Falafel & salad in Pitta bread
Spainish omelette

I recommend reading the Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall recipe book called "Veg Everyday" - or you can see some of the recipes here:

www.rivercottage.net/users/River%20Cottage%20Veg%20Every%20Day!/

I've made about 10 things from the book and they have all been delicious, even meat lover DP thought they were great!

Nigella's Mushroom stroganoff.

Omelette
macaroni cheese - love it with peas.
Pasta, with mushroom and cream sauce. Fry mushrooms until lovely and juicy in a touch of olive oil. pour in single cream. Add freshly ground black pepper.
Jacket potato with cheese or coleslaw or beans.
Cheese toasties (add onion or tomato)

Pitta houmous and holumi

Spinach and ricotta canneloni with tomato sauce, yum.

We're veggie. Regular meals are:
Stir fry with cashew nuts and noodles
Omlette with homemade potato wedges
Pasta with homemade tomato sauce (lots of veg cooked into the sauce)
Lots of curries! I keep them mild for DS but he really loves spinach and chickpea curry. Pea and paneer is a big hit too. I also do kebabs sometimes with paneer, or halloumi.

I made the lemon and fennel pasta from the Hugh F-W book last week and it was really lovely. Not too much faff either!

We're veggie too.Recent family favourites include this vegetarian paella and jerk style chickpeas
My 2 year old enjoyed both of them so they should hopefully go down well with your family.

I agree with others that the HFW book is a good start.

Cauliflower macaroni cheese
Anything with mushrooms-risotto,pasta with mushroom sauce,bread with mushrooms and cheese from the oven

Chick pea & brown rice bake:

Equal quantities of cooked brown rice & cooked chickpeas (canned are fine). Mash the chickpeas a bit to break them up. To the chickpeas & rice add sauted onion & garlic & grated raw carrot and/or courgette & 1 egg to bind.

Grated cheese on top & bake for half an hour at 180C.

If you want you can tart it up with herbs & serve with a tomato sauce.

Huevos Rancheros. Make a red ragu sauce with all the veg in it - aubegine, pepper and tinned toms/pasata etc in a deep frying pan. Crack an egg per person in the sauce and put a lid on it. The egg will poach. We put grated cheese on the egg and eat with crusty bread/wraps and chilli sauce for the adults.
Do you eat fish? I make the same ragu and add a tin of small sardines (work with me here) and mush it up. Cook pasta. When the pasta is nearly done add 1/3 tub of basics philly to the red sauce. It tastes expensive and yummy. One of my kid's favorite cheap dinners.