Please give me your meal plans

[newrecruit]

We have a new term resolution to eat together as a family. Partly to cut down on work (cooking twice) and to broaden kids' range.

Currently it seems a never ending cycle of spag Bol, chicken fajitas, pasta with pesto and Chilli.

Give me some suggestions.

Is it worth getting a slow cooker?

Oooh following if you don't mind!
We're looking for inspiration too. Currently, due to fussy eaters (DC and DH!) and milk & nut allergies, we only have a few dishes we all eat. Need easy/quick to prepare ideas.

We would add to your list:

Fish pie (make 3 at a time and put two in the freezer)
Curry
Pad Thai or a stir fry dish
Fish (normally salmon or trout fillet) with salad or vegetables
Schnitzel (chicken or pork squashed, breadcrumbed and fried)
Toad in the hole

We try have a mix of stuff that's quick to cook (either fresh or made and frozen) and stuff that needs preparing early with time to simmer, but I'm on maternity leave so can often get dinner started in the afternoon.

Slow cookers are great, as you can have your main but sorted and have more time to play about. I have a meal planning template that is roughly:

• roast dinner

-cooked breakfast for dinner ( could be English, Mexican, Indian etc) -a slow cooker meal ( on a busy night)

• an international meal ( usually Friday)
• pasta or pizza
• kid's choice
• steak night

I choose the week's meals sand write them on individual post it notes which I put on the calendar and take off as we eat them. Anything popular gets put back onto the calendar in a few weeks time.

I have various fussy/ ethical considerations so often have 3 pans with roughly the same meal going on - one might have chilli, one have veggie chilli and one chilli without spice. If you do them all at the same time it's less work. I try to double up at least once a week. Slow cooker and pasta night tend to be on the busier evenings.

This weeks meal plan chez pp is

Today- Pork and apple casserole in slow cooker- it was supposed to be next week but we decided to go out and it was easiest
Tomorrow- patatas bravas and fried honeyed chorizo
Tuesday- carrot and cumin soup in slow cooker
Wednesday - courgette and aubergines parmigiana with salad
Thursday- egg mayo jacket pot ( in work)
Friday- black pudding and sausages hot pot ( in slow cooker overnight to take to work )
Sat- as above in work, pea and ham soup with bacon butties when home

Obv I am in favour of the slow cooker but I'd like to mention the above plan was made last week- when it was cold and rainy bloody weather

Mac and cheese can make night before and bake
Tuna pasta
Omelette
Slow cooker roast chicken
Slow cooker Ragu- can freeze and use for lasagne etc

Watching for ideas.

This week we're having:

Sticky Asian chicken and rice
Quiche and salad
Roast sausages and root veg
Pork stirfry
Mushroom stroganoff

Other thing we have regularly:

Spicy prawn noodle soup
Thai beef salad
Stuffed peppers
Mince, cabbage and noodle stirfry
Spanish chicken and rice one pot
Sausage and bean casserole
Steak, salad and sweet potato chips
Salmon and Asian veg baked in foil

Pregnant pause - can I ask how you make your patatas bravas and honeyed chorizo please? It sounds delicious!!

I too am intrigued by honeyed chorizo!

(Will attempt to add some ideas once DCs are in bed)

Today we had Roast chicken, roast potatoes and honey glazed carrots.

Mon: Fish with mash and peas
Tue: Lamb steak, pasta, pesto, salad
Wed: Veg curry
Thurs: Fish pie
Fri: Jacket potato with beans, cheese or tuna

I have one veggie to accommodate, but apart from fish pie (when she'll have a veggie ready meal) she will eat what we have minus meat.

This week we've got
Lasagne,
Chicken Chow Mein,
Butternut squash soup,
Bubble and squeak burger type things with bacon and poached egg,
Steak and ale plate pie with sweet pot mash and green beans,
Macc and cheese made with a tin of toms and some spinach added,
Toad in the hole with mash, carrots and peas.

We also like turkey and apricot burgers, sausage plait, lobby in the slow cooker, bobotie and yellow rice, biryani.

I look on bbc good food lots, if you read the reviews you can't really go wrong

This week we are having

Fried eggs with bubble and squeak
Roast chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips and greens.
Pizza
Felafel
Cod with ratatouille
Beef and mushroom stew with 3 root mash.

Oh, and celeriac and apple soup.

Here's ours for first two weeks of term. Started meal planning last year and its saved so much hassle.

Mon: Thai red chicken curry and rice
Tue: Stir fried prawns & veg w/ egg fried rice (made from leftover rice)
Wed: Chickpea & sweet potato tagine with cous cous, flatbreads and salad
Thu: Salmon Nicoise salad
Fri: Pizza (homemade-ish! Buy the base and kids do toppings), salad and

corn on the cob
Sat: Spanish omelette & salad
Sun: Jerk chicken, rice, plantain

Mon: Spicy fried rice (using leftover chicken and rice, and some veg)
Tue: Roasted veggie Lasagne
Wed: Veggie chilli with rice
Thu: Spaghetti and meatballs
Fri: Fish and chips (sort of homemade, dust fish fillets in spicy flour and fry/potato wedges) and peas
Sat: Veggie curry, rice and chapati
Sun: Roast chicken and trimmings

Here's ours for the next 2 weeks:

Mon: Roast chicken, roast potatoes, marrowfat peas, carrots, gravy
Tues: Chicken & broccoli bake with roast carrots
Wed: same as Tues
Thurs: I have to work late so Dh & dd will go for a pizza, not sure about me
Fri: Ham & cheese omelette with homemade wedges & salad
Sat: chilli con carne with guacamole, sour cream, cheddar & rice
Sun: same as Sat

Mon: fish pie with peas
Tues: left over fish pie
Wed: high tea- sausage, bacon, egg, beans & oven chips
Thurs: chicken & veg curry with rice, poppadoms and chutney
Fri: same as thurs
sat: smoked haddock and broccoli risotto
sun: mini-burgers with brioche buns, cheese and bacon, baked potato & salad

The weather is still a bit warm at present (according to my DH!) but stew is great for family meals together.

• Lamb stew (can make it the day before, simmer the meat till tender use cheap cuts of lamb like cheap end of neck, or other stewing cuts, leave to cool overnight, the fat will rise & solidify & you can skim it off & take out the bones etc & leave just the stock & meat in the pot, add potatoes, carrots, green veg etc to cook until tender). Good with dumplings as well. If you're worried about leaving it overnight, you can cool it more quickly: making sure it's in a stainless steel pan, fill your sink no more than half full of cold water. Place the pan into the sink, the pan should ideally be just on the point of (but not quite starting to) float. It will cool quite quickly & can be placed in the fridge a couple of hours later. If necessary change the water in the sink after an hour or so.

• Sausage, pork & bean stew - soak & boil some mixed dried beans till nearly tender, according to pack instructions. Add a bay leaf & some mixed herbs. In another pan, fry a sliced onion & add to the beans, then in the pan you used for the onions, brown sausages & cubed pork & add to the beans. Deglaze the pan & add the juice to the beans. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes/some tomato puree/passata if liked. Add whatever other veg you like. Simmer till done. Stir frequently as beans tend to stick to the bottom when they are cooked.

Both these could be done in a slow cooker or a pan in the oven if you don't want to worry about having to stir it too often.

We're in a similar rut of recycling the same things over and over again.

This week it's:
Today - vegetable soup, nice bread, blackberry crumble and custard
Monday - Thai vege and tofu curry and rice
Then over the week we will have some of the following, depending on what we end up fancying:
veggie lasagne and salad
veggie burgers, homemade spiced wedges and salad
omelettes and salad
egg and chips
veggie sausage casserole and hassleback potatoes
veggie chilli
veggie curry

Tonight had sausage. Mash, carrots and green beans.

From tomorrow;
Gnocchi and pesto with mozzarella and baby tomatoes
Veggie chilli and rice
Frittata and salad
Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese
Egg and chips- for a quick, cheap tea.
Pizza, garlic bread and salad.

We have roughly the same things rotated. I love frittata and omlettes, could eat them every night.

We have wraps often too. Just a pile of wraps with bits to add....hot tomato sauce, cold meat slices, hummus, cheese etc. sometimes Falafal.

These are all marvellous, thank you.

I agree, stews etc will be better when the weather gets colder.

Celeriac & apple soup sounds Delish

Get a slow cooker. You can do roasts in one. Just put the meat in and switch on.

Pot roast - cheap(er) cut of meat such as brisket, a stock cube, veg of choice, salt and pepper, boiling water.

Lightly dust the meat with flour and put it in to the slow cooker. Pack the veg round, I use potatoes, carrots, parsnips and possibly kidney beans depending on my mood.

Make stock with a cube and pour over - complete meal to come home to.

Honey chorizo- slice and fry chorizo ( whatever type you favour) after five minutes add a garlic clove- crushed but not peeled, add 4 table spoons of sherry vinegar and 3 tablespoons if runny honey- 5 minutes later you will have chorizo coated in a sweet sticky glaze. Delicious - I'm sure there are far more sophisticated recipes, but that's what I do.

Patatas bravas- cube and boil your potatoes for about 8 mins- then coat in favourite fat ( I use goose but oil would be fine) with s and p and roast until a bit crispy. Meanwhile make spicy sauce with garlic, tomatoes, mild chillis and hot smoked paprika. Coat tats in sauce and that's it. Again it's not authentic and I'm confident they don't traditionally roast the tats, but I like the slight crunchy bits on the potatoes, with the soft sauce I think the texture is better than just boiled.