2023 meal planning thread

[Lastqueenofscotland2]

Very much looking forward to getting back on the bandwagon and not eating another Pringle for 11 months.

Tomorrow: Tuscan gnocchi
Saturday: pizza take out
Sunday: enchilada bake
Monday: Jambalaya
Tuesday: Thai peanut noodles
Wednesday: friend is cooking
Thursday: mushroom stroganoff

Change of plan Chez Biddy.

Teen dd has food poisoning. DH has flu. I am fine but DH cannot travel and we can't leave DD in charge of DDog and house on her own the first time like this.

So having packed them both off back to bed (dd got the spare bed first - she's normally in the attic), I am going to the supermarket at silly o'clock on a bank holiday for supplies for DH and I.

I expect it will be light meals today, lots of flat 7up, and time to cook relaxed meals the rest of the week. (And I am getting a nice pastry straight from an oven for myself when I get home!).

@BiddyPop sorry to hear of your family illnesses. Flat lemonade takes me back a bit, it was my Nan’s cure all (now I fancy a homemade jam tart)

I sort of stuck to plan last week, derailed slightly by illness and a takeaway kebab.
This week looks like:
Quiche and salad
Pea, leek and pearl barley soup
Frozen pizzas
Vegan butternut squash Mac and cheese
Cottage pie from freezer with green beans and cavolo nero
Chilli and rice from the freezer

We are back from holiday today so I'm back on it!! The family have been complaining about the rigidity of a daily plan so instead we came up with 14 meals and got all the ingredients delivered this morning and we will pick a meal each morning and take whatever meat we need out of the freezer.

On our list we have:
Tandoori chicken skewers with peppers and red onions with homemade flatbreads and salad and raita (tonight)
Garlic roasted chicken thighs with spicy rice and salad
Roast lamb, minted new potatoes and green veg medley
Steak pie and mash
Chinese takeaway
BBQ (probs Thursday as weather looks good)
Make your own pizza
Cheese and bacon burgers and sweet potato wedges
Jacket potatoes with various fillings
Homemade fish and chips
BBQ slow cooked pork with flatbreads and salad
Nando's style spatchcock chicken various accompaniments
Sausages and mash
Chicken fajitas

We have been away so way too many burgers/pizzas/chicken nuggets (one mushroom dish for me which was nice!) So need to up nutritional value AND go a bit cheaper for a bit. Current plan is:

Tonight: Aubergine and tomato sauce with pasta. Might add some chorizo as I think there's a half ring knocking about in the fridge.

tomorrow: Roasted cauliflower (and probably aubergine as I think we have too many for our pasta) with a satay sauce and rice

Thursday: everyone is out except DS so he'll have a lasagna from fridge or a ready meal.

Friday: I'm going to try one of those chicken tray bakes where you cook the rice in the dish as well, and the veggies too. I've found one quite good looking recipe but might see what other options are out there.

Saturday: TBC but I'm leaning towards jacket potatoes with tuna and cream cheese and a big salad on the side.

Tomorrow: bit up in the air! Likely just go out
Saturday: pasta with mushroom and spinach in white wine sauce
Sunday: mattar paneer
Monday: Tuscan white bean stew and sourdough
Tuesday: miso and gochujang stirfry
Wednesday: chilli (we’ve got about 2tonnes of it in the freezer to use up.
Thursday: Chickpea tagine with pitta

Today: Spinach and chickpea curry
Tomorrow: Jambalya
Sunday: Chicken kebabs, greek salad, pitta bread and tzatziki
Monday: Dolmades with leftover greek salad and tzatziki
Tuesday: Greek salad pasta
Wednesday: out at a gig
Thursday: Baked potatoes with veggie chili from freezer
Friday: gnocchi bake with roasted veggies

I'd love to hear these gnocchi recipes - the kids like it as an alternative to pasta, but I have only cooked one recipe, a chorizo and mozzarella bake that I find a bit stodgy.

Didn't do too badly last week, went out for pizza last night and we ended up going out for a curry on Wednesday to celebrate the start of a last minute couple of days off. Made the Ottolenghi salad for lunch yesterday instead.

The cavolo nero pasta was surprisingly delicious considering it was literally black kale and extra virgin olive oil.

This week:

Tonight - Swedish meatballs (Quorn/beef), new potatoes, caraway cabbage, quick pickled cucumber

Sunday - Lamb chops/something veggie, glazed radishes, new potatoes en papillote, green beans, maybe carrots

Monday - macaroni and broccoli cheese, optional bacon

Tuesday - Padron pepper and smoky BBQ corn fajitas

Wednesday - beef mince, fenugreek, spinach curry. Going to attempt a Quorn mince version too

Thursday - Pink beetroot pasta (super quick if you have cooked beetroot and use ready made pesto)

Friday - Beef stroganoff (but with frying steak)

I'm not generally a fan of gnocchi, but this is nice:

Oil in a big roasting pan

Packet of gnocchi on one side (the stuff that's designed to be pan fried)

Load of chunky vege on the other - I usually use red onions, mixed peppers and mushrooms, but you could put courgettes/aubergine/cherry tomatoes in

On top of the vege, put a block of feta - sprinkle herbs over the feta and then drizzle it with honey

roast then mix it all together

Not pretty, but certainly tasty

The gnocchi recipe I use most often is this:

Big pan of roasting veggies in the oven (red onions, peppers, courgettes, cherry tomatoes). Meanwhile make a creamy, cheesy tomato sauce (simmer a can of chopped tomatoes, seasonings and herbs of your choice, with a big spoonful of cream cheese mixed in at the end).
Towards the end of the veg cooking time, empty your pack of gnocchi into a bowl of just boiled water and let it sit for five minutes. Don't boil the gnocchi - just let them hydrate. Stir spinach (fresh or frozen) through the creamy tomato sauce on a low heat until wilted.

Drain the gnocchi and mix this into the roasting pan with the veggies and the sauce. Top with grated cheese and bake for a further 20 minutes.

I also sometimes throw in a handful of olives if I have them hanging around.

This is adapted from a recipe in an asda magazine a few years ago. I think that recommended a jarred tomato and mascapone sauce but I tend to make my own version.

There's also a really nice crispy gnocchi with squash recipe in one of the roasting tin books (Green, I think). I'll try to look that out later.

Today-Curry ,rice and naan bread

Hake fillets with garlic butter,samphire,green beans and new potatoes

Pork saltimbocca with salad and herby roasted potato cubes

Homemade basil pesto pasta with tenderstem broccoli and peas
(Basil in garden has gone to seed so needs using up in a pesto)

Chicken,lemon and herb kebabs with herby couscous and roasted veg

Sweet potato falafel wraps with houmous,salad etc

Gyozas ,edamame beans and grilled courgettes with lime and chilli

Out for Sunday lunch at dd2 and girlfriend's

Tomorrow: mushroom and leek pies
Saturday: Veggie paella
Sunday: out for a pub meal
Monday: west African peanut stew
Tuesday: kung pao tofu
Wednesday: veggie burgers
Thursday: dahl and naan

Thanks for the gnocchi recipes! I do have the Green Roasting tin and not enjoyed it so far but I will try this recipe.

Ended up being invited to PiLs one night this week and had also completely forgotten about a friend's birthday dinner in a restaurant tonight to the veggie chilli and gnocchi bake will be moved to this week.

Saturday - Tuscan bean casserole
Sunday - spaghetti carbonara
Monday - Chorizo, butter bean and kale casserole
Tuesday - lentil soup with bacon rolls
Wednesday - lentil soup with egg rolls
Thursday - veggie chilli with baked potatoes
Friday - Roast veg gnocchi bake.

Getting back to normality again and trying to get back to more basics rather than convenience for our health.

Tonight: tuna steak, steamed brocolli or French beans.
Tomorrow: piri piri chicken with roasted peppers and tomatoes, baby potatoes
Sunday: a proper chicken curry (I have a few Green Saffron spice mixes I can choose from) and possibly HM naans if I get organised

Not worrying about next week yet as DH back to work on Monday and I will have peace to plan and implement - I want to go through the freezer and clear out less useful things and hopefully do some batch cook nights to fill space before I go back to work the following week.

I roasted a chicken yesterday and then made stock from the carcass. Today I'll use that stock and the rest of the chicken for a pea and chicken risotto.
Tomorrow - spaghetti and meatballs.
Wednesday - aubergine, tomato, chilli and feta on pasta
Thursday - might be out
Friday - tbd but I'm leaning towards curry or stir fry. Will depend on what I find leftover in the fridge/freezer/cupboard.

This week

Butternut squash stew
Cottage pie
Prawn and chorizo pasta
Fish finger sandwiches and fries
Homemade pizzas
Peri peri whole chicken with salad
Toad in the hole

Mon - tomato,avocado and basil on sourdough toast

Tuesday- falafel,houmous ,salads and roasted vegetables with flatbread

Wednesday- jacket potatoes with tuna,sweetcorn and red onions

Thursday- fish goujons,chips and beans

Friday- away for the weekend

Initial menu here:
Mon: Lamb burgers, salad
Tues: Chicken fajitas
Wed: I'm planning a curry night (and lots of leftovers for freezer) - chicken vadagam, lamb rogan josh, Bombay potatoes, naan, and possibly a cauliflower dish or a prawn curry.

I'll think about the rest of the week later on.

I’m feeling VERY uninspired this week.
Tomorrow: lentil sloppy joes
Saturday: roasted red pepper pasta with tenderstem
Sunday: meatball subs
Monday: Sausage and white bean stew
Tuesday: Thai noodle soup
Wednesday: chilli
Thursday: tomato soup and sourdough

Ended up doing a large batch of chicken tikka masala instead last night and HM naans and pilau rice. Even dd wanted some!

Tonight will be a shepherds pie (using a meat mix made previously and frozen).

Debating a smoked fish pie for 1 and chicken and mushroom pie for the other tomorrow (again using freezer contents), but DH May raise eyebrows at that as I am still on holidays (and if not tomorrow, that will be a dinner next week).

MiL ended up in hospital last week - all OK but ended up having to feed FiL which meant deviating from the plan

Saturday - Tuscan bean casserole ✅️
Sunday - spaghetti carbonara ✅️
Monday - Chorizo, butter bean and kale casserole✅️
Tuesday - lentil soup with bacon rolls❌️ Pork chops with new potatoes and roast veg
Wednesday - lentil soup with egg rolls ❌️ pasta bake with salad
Thursday - veggie chilli with baked potatoes ❌️ l/o pasta
Friday - Roast veg gnocchi bake. ❌️ Chinese takeaway

Which means this week will be:

Today - roast veg gnocchi bake
Tomorrow- Tapas feast for friends (ibericos platter, ensaladilla, patatas bravas, albondigas, chorizo in red wine, garlic mushrooms with ham)
Monday- expecting l/o tapas. Will find something in freezer to bulk out if necessary.
Tues - veggie chilli
Wed - spinach and ricotta tortellini with creamy pesto sauce and salad
Thurs - stuffed peppers with salad
Friday- spaghetti with pesto and green beans.

@HalloumiFries sorry to hear that but glad all okay.

We've got
Today: quiche and salad
Tomorrow: not sure as we have to work around football/swimming etc
Friday: paella
Saturday: Chinese style fried chicken.

One of the 2 leftover portions of my chicken tikka masala always defrosted and eaten roughly 5 hours after it was frozen last week! The joys of teens! (A nice joy though as she usually won't eat food I've cooked anymore).

Friday was an Italian takeaway
Saturday roast duck breasts with potato croquettes and French beans done in the air fryer (huge success!)
Sunday was lamb chops, roasted baby potatoes, roasted tomatoes and garlic with balsamic, and roasted courgettes with a lemon crumb. (Courgettes all for me as everyone else hates them 😁)
Mon was salmon, boiled potatoes, steamed brocolli and hollandaise.
Tues was supposed to be leftover potatoes with chicken Kiev but I couldn't face real food and teen had used up the potatoes. So I had soup, DH had takeaway chips

Tonight we're having the kievs and cauliflower cheese.
Tomorrow is meatballs with roasted med veggies and tomato sauce on pasta
And I think I'll have enough beans to do another air fryer batch this week - yum!

Hope the MIL is on the mend hallumi!

Feeling much more inspired this week

Friday: Enchilada Rice bake
Saturday: at a gig so will grab cheesy chips or a pizza… or both!
Sunday: matar paneer
Monday: chickpea and sweet potato tagine
Tuesday: honey chilli tofu
Wednesday; maybe at a friends?
Thursday: green curry stir fried noodles and veg