2024 meal planning

[Lastqueenofscotland2]

Anyone else starting to think about getting their arses back in gear?!
Mine for the next week
Tomorrow: baked Camembert with nice bread (not quite over Christmas yet!)
Saturday: Thai green veggie curry
Sunday: NYE - will be sitting in with a dog terrified of fire works, might just order a pizza
Monday: Tuscan bean stew and sourdough
Tuesday: west African peanut stew
Wednesday: some sort of pie with all the leftover veg
Thursday: gochujang tofu

I am loving the mango salsa idea. I do a really nice chickpea and pepper curry that needs something a bit sweet with it, I'm thinking the mango salsa might be a win next time I make it.

Tonight is cottage pie (all those potatoes still need to be eaten and I didn't do the batch cooking over the weekend).
The rest of the week is a bit vague but I have ingredients in for:

Spatchcock roast chicken Nando's style with flatbreads and charred corn. Might buy some cabbage and do a slaw after another thread reminded me we haven't had that for a while!

Aubergine and tomato and chilli pasta

Paella

Then probably a leak and bacon tart and/or schnitzel with veg depending on how the week plays out.

@SpaceOP Yes, it would be lovely with a curry. I also sometimes do just fresh mango mixed with mango chutney, lime or lemon juice and a bit of chopped fresh mint with a curry.

Your chickpea and pepper curry sounds great - is it a recipe or a chuck it in the pan thing?

Mine for the week
Tomorrow: work thing so will have a huge late lunch there so probably just a few snacks for the drive home
Saturday: veggie chilli pie with wedges
Sunday: tofu massaman
Monday: leek and potato soup with sourdough
Tuesday: veggie sausage gnocchi
Wednesday; out
Thursday; veggie sloppy joes

Today: Takeaway
Friday: Carbonara
Saturday: meal out
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Sizzling Steak Stirfry
Tuesday: Chicken Tortilla Risotto
Wednesday: Red Thai Chicken Curry

I don’t plan a whole week as such, just time my shopping around my day(s) off.

tonight - duck stir fry maybe some dumplings too
friday - breaded chicken steak (M&S) with spicy tomato sauce, gnocchi, green beans
saturday - the rest of the breaded chicken in wraps with halloumi and red pepper salsa
sunday - rack of lamb, garlic mash, cauliflower cheese, roast carrots
monday - paneer curry, rice, onion bhajis

tuesday is my day off so will shop for the rest of the week from there

Please may you share the recipe for your tofu massaman @Lastqueenofscotland2 ?

Friday: Take out
Saturday: homemade pizza and chips
Sunday: Roast dinner
Monday: leftover roast dinner in giant Yorkshire puds
Tuseday: Spaghetti bolognese
Wednesday: lentil and bacon soup with crusty bread
Thursday: Lamb meatballs, baby corn, brocoli, and sweet potato mash

It’s very lazy and not very authentic 🫣 our local Chinese food store does Thai curry pastes free of shrimp paste, so I use that, add some curry power, extra garlic and chilli, sesame oil, soy sauce and vegan fish sauce, and a big hit of lime juice right at the end

Things didn't go entirely according to plan this week so some things from last week ar back on the menu for this week.

Today: cheese fondue
Rest of the next few days....

Sweet pepper and chickpea curry with @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie mango salsa
The spatchcock chicken and pitas we didn't have last week
Pork mince and veggie stir fry with noodles
"No cook" spinach and ricotta pasta (with added smoked salmon for DH/DS)
Some kind of crumbed, easily cooked in the air-fryer, fish with veg and potatoes for Tuesday/Wednesday when we all eat at different times .

Tonight - Veggie chilli jacket potatos with homemade pico de gallo and guacamole, topped with cheese & sour cream.
Saturday - Slow cooked beef & mushroom Chinese curry with rice and veggie spring rolls (I cheat and use the Goldfish curry paste and the spring rolls are frozen)
Sunday - Trying a new recipe, One Pot Creamy Baked Risotto with Lemon Pepper Chicken
Monday - Mixed pakoras (chicken, mushroom, mixed vegetable) with spiced onions, poppadoms, kachumber salad, raita and wraps.
Tuesday - Omelettes, chips and beans
Wednesday - Minced beef hotpot.
Thursday - Probably leftover hotpot or soup using up what's in the fridge.

I do the exact same mango salsa recipe but with tinned pineapple! It's amazing

@Lastqueenofscotland2 You might have just changed my life. I've not veggie but have a shellfish allergy. I've never really considered that veggie fish sauce might exist. Will head to a Chinese supermarket soon to investigate this and also shrimp-free pastes.

My weekend plans have changed a bit, which will also influence the week ahead:

Tomorrow: Picnic tea
Sunday: Out with friends
Monday - depends on leftovers from tomorrow's picnic. At the very least, there will be quiche.
Tuesday: Veggie chilli
Wednesday: Spaghetti with creamy mushroom sauce
Thursday: Turkey chow-mein
Friday: Veggie gnocchi bake
Saturday: Jambalaya
Sunday: Sirloin steaks, wedges, mushrooms and onions.

Tonight: red pepper and olive hash

Tomorrow: hosting some family and friends so doing a bit of a Middle Eastern feast from Nistisima and OTK - spiced kidney beans with walnuts and coriander, spiced melting courgettes, braised fennel with saffron, burnt aubergine with tahini, za’atar salmon and DH is going to attempt making pita. Will prob have crudités and Muhammara to nibble on before hand

Monday: mushroom and butternut squash mole with Mexican rice

Tuesday: crispy tofu and broccoli pad thai

Wednesday: out

Thursday: lemon risotto

Friday: pizza

edited cos I changed my mind about Thursday

I do find it a struggle to meal plan because of my fussy kids who get bored of things. I have a few guarantees that they will go for and I am currently trying to meal plan for the week ahead.

The food they are guaranteed to gobble up are:

• Bolognaise sauce on whatever pasta with cheese and broccoli.
• Chilli con carne with rice or spuds and lettuce and sweetcorn salad.
• Chicken Katsu curry with rice and salad bits.
• Chicken roast dinner with all the trimmings.
• Baked potatoes with beans and cheese/tuna mayo.

Things they will have occasionally, but are fussy about.

• Pizza.
• Fresh filled pasta
• Home made Indian-style chicken curry - starting by toasting cumin and coriander seeds with rice.

Things I wish I could offer, but I know that it probably won’t get eaten.

• Fish, shellfish, prawns, etc.
• Quinoa, polenta, lentils.
• Stewed meats.
• Bean/pulse- based swaps for the food they love.

Food they used to eat and now refuse to:

• Mashed potatoes- so no sausage and mash or anything.
• Salmon steaks.

I really want to increase the repertoire and want to test them with borscht. Never made it before, but it would be great to have ready when I need to be on a call around dinner time. Any tips on fussy-child friendly borscht welcome.

Tonight - Pasta and meatballs.
Tomorrow - Eating out.
Monday - Fresh pasta - something quick - sauce probably involving spinach.
Tuesday- Borscht with homemade bread.
Wednesday - Chicken katsu curry and rice.
Thursday - Spaghetti bolognaise and veg on the side.
Friday- Possibly trialing something like a mild prawn curry with rice.

If anyone else has fussy-kids faves, I’d love to hear them.

Monday: Veg curry
Tuesday: niçoise salad
Wednesday: melenzana parmigiana
Thursday: Lentil soup and wheaten bread
Friday: fish pie

Next few meals:

Sunday: Chilli cooked in the slow cooker all day
Monday: Jacket potatoes and freezer roulette (variety of leftovers in there)
Tuesday: Sausage casserole
Wednesday: Aubergine and tomato bake
Thursday: Speedy seafood supper

And that's it so far.

@BackCat I have a fussy eater and to be honest I’m sick of having to cater for them in family meals so now I make a separate meal plan for them with their simple boring food which they help prepare and I make what I actually want to eat for the rest of us. To compare with the above meal plan she is having:

saturday: fish fingers, chips, cucumber and celery
sunday: plain salmon, raw fennel, plain giant cous cous
Monday: chicken drumsticks, plain rice, broccoli
Tuesday: deconstructed pad thai
Wednesday: steak, mash, green beans
Thursday: salmon, plain risotto rice, peas
Friday: pizza

Sunday - chilli with rice and tortilla chips
Monday - chilli jacket potatoes with salad
Tuesday - quiche (from Sainsbury’s) with chips and salad
Wednesday - gnocchi with pesto and spinach and peas
Thursday - lemon chicken (also not home made) and rice
Friday - chicken fajitas
Saturday - leek and Parma ham pasta in a creamy sauce

Tonight is pasta with tomatoes, chilli and capers.

Tomorrow is Richmond vegan sausage baps with homemade wedges and salad leaves.

I need to do an order to come on Wednesday but am totally out of inspiration at the moment.

Sorted.

Losing the sausages.

Today is pasta
Tomorrow is macaroni cheese with roasted broccoli
Tuesday is paneer and Puy lentil curry
Weds is risotto
Thursday is vegan Pukka pies with homemade wedges, homemade mashy peas and gravy

Today - sausage casserole (meat and veggie versions)
M - scruffy lasagne from Jamie Oliver
T - Nando's fakeaway
W - jacket potatoes
Th- pasta amatricana
F - Kebab fakeaway
Sa- Pizza
Su - Cottage pie (veggie mince and lentil)

I’ll check the brand name this evening, the vegan paste and fish sauce are the same brand but can’t for the life of me remember the brand name

Just a guess, but I would think you'd get no-shellfish sauces in the kosher /free from sections of a large supermarket, if you're in an area with one?

@hashbrownsandwich your nandos fakeaway - that's sort of what I'm trying to do tonight. I'm spatchcocking the chicken and marinating it with nandos sauce then roast hard and fast? Any tips?

@SpaceOP Sorry I've only just seen your question re the nando fakeaway. I just use a nando marinade. I've found the dry rubs are better, particularly the ones where you get the paper bag to bake them in. I either bake it or grill/bbq it. It's more about the sides from my kids perspective. We do fries, salad, corn on the cob, slaw. Microwave vegetable rice too sometimes. Also throw in some halloumi at times but it gets expensive for 5 of us by that point the way my boys get through cheese!

I also do a nando burger which is the chicken and halloumi in a ciabatta which is spread with garlic butter. It was some internet craze a while back.

@hashbrownsandwich I did it yesterday in the end. Was a bit annoying as my oven wasn't heating up so I used the air fryer ... but I think it's just too small so it didn't cook as quickly as I'd like even though it was spatchcocked.

Having said that, it was delicious. I used the sauce as a marinade. we had charred corn (with lime and paprika) on the side as well as a nice cabbage and carrot slaw! And some pita breads and garlic sauce. DS had 3 pita bread Nando sandwiches, so I guess it was good!?