2025 Meal Planners!

[Citygirlrurallife]

Here it is - all welcome, long termers and newbies, I imagine this week is leftovers leftovers leftovers and kicking off from Thursday onwards.

ive gone back to Oddbox and our deliveries now come on Friday nights so I’m going to try to force my brain to meal plan Thursday-Thursday and have delivery on Thursdays to make it happen. Won’t happen this week but hopefully from next

Trying to use things up this week before we go away for half term:

Mon: Mediterranean veg bake (peppers/aubergine/tomato/potato), meatballs

Tues: lemon and almond pilaf, pan fried salmon, green salad

Weds: sausage, red onion and kale skillet, garlic bread

Thurs: carrot and coconut dhal, rice, pickles, samosas from the freezer

Fri: a proper labour of love long-simmered ragu with pappardelle, and therefore perfect for Valentines!!

@Sgtmajormummy shortbread went down a treat, thankyou!

a rare one off night on my own calls for hummus and crisps and cucumber. Or if I want proper food I tend to roast veggies and tofu and slather it in lemon and tahini

Can you order takeout for your night alone? I get yo sushi and eat all the good things when I’m alone, nobody else eats it!

I’m introducing themed nights from this week on to see if I can get the kids to try more interesting things.

Monday- Feta Pasta

Tuesday- MEXICAN NIGHT Pulled bbq chicken soft tacos, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream and skin on fries

Wednesday- Gammon, new potatoes, mixed veg

Thursday- GREEK NIGHT chicken souvlaki skewers, pitta breads, tzatziki, halloumi and oregano chips

Friday- Pesto Pasta and corn on the cob

Saturday- Make your own pizza

Sunday- INDIAN NIGHT chicken korma, chicken tikka masala, lentil daal, saag paneer, spiced roasted chickpeas, naan breads, poppadoms and pilau rice

Completely forgot to post my meal plan yesterday; distracted by watching an employment tribunal.

Monday: Quiche and salad
Tuesday: Sea bass
Wednesday: Turkey breast with garlic cheese and prosciutto
Thursday: Scallops in mushroom and sun dried tomato sauce
Friday: Fajita
Saturday: Kedgeree
Sunday: Shepherds pie

Although we still have the chicken fried rice to eat, I'm doing an order today as we're out of all the basics and I'm in town tonight so I've ordered burgers for DH to make for them.

So... current rough plan but only until early next week and/or with some flexibility

Chicken fried rice
Pork mince and noodle stir fry
Fish with veg and wedges
Fish cakes
Steak - valentines treat!
Pork Schnitzel

Mines is done for next week.

Friday- I have ordered lots of bits from a Scottish butchers to make my OH a full Scottish breakfast for his Valentine's dinner. ( Not at all romantic but it's his favourite. He's been a bit homesick and I'll never turn down some lorne sausage!)
Saturday - Singapore chow mein
Sunday - Chicken supreme with rice and broccoli
Monday - Grinder dense bean salad
Tuesday - Home alone so I'll have creamy garlic mushrooms on toast
Wednesday - Curried cauliflower soup
Thursday - Chicken gyros bowls

DC1 has decided to come here next weekend so my meal plan has been shuffled.
As a cheap and easy stopgap I made spicy sausage, red lentils (15 minutes) and leftover rice all mixed with butter at the end.
Talk about delicious! I had seconds and then brought the pot to my place to scrape out the remainder. I know the “complete protein” thing is a myth but the flavours came together so well.
Maybe the butter had something to do with it…

Done for the week
Friday: mushroom stroganoff
Saturday: caprese foccacia Toasties
Sunday: Cajun red beans and rice
Monday: Pasta with homemade pesto and green veg
Tuesday: Kung pao mushrooms
Wednesday; leftovers
Thursday: tofu tikka masala

DH got caught up in public sector strikes here so no flights today (he's rebooked for tomorrow so pizza then).

But yesterday was a bad day at work so making risotto and stirring all the while was beyond me - I made a mushrooms, bacon and white wine/cream sauce with fresh pasta.

And today is equally bad so this morning, I pulled out a dinner from freezer (sweet'n'sour chicken with loads of veg and noodles) to reheat in the wok.

We're going out for a nice lunch with wine on Saturday- so I'll take out the lamb joint for Sunday. And nibbly bits for Saturday (cheese and crackers possibly).

Back home from in-laws tomorrow and looking forward to our shiny new bathroom! Also looking forward to not having to eat MiL's food. I don't want to be ungrateful; she's a lovely and wonderful person and I'm grateful to them for putting us up for the last 3 nights but cooking is not an important thing in her life and we've had a procession of breaded or battered chicken pieces with chips and baked beans. I'm ready for a vegetable and ideally a bit of spice!

That said, I'm being my own worst enemy with my weekend plans which aren't very veggie-focused 😆

Tomorrow: Treating ourselves to a Waitrose Valentine's deal - arancini, steak, green veg medley (yay!) and lemon tart.
Sunday: Jambalaya (need to use chicken and chorizo but I'll also go heavy on the celery and peppers)
Monday: Chorizo broccoli pasta
Tuesday & Wednesday: Big pot of lentil and root veg soup with nice bread
Thursday: Ratatouille with grains
Friday: Stir-fried vegetables and noodles with hoisin. Ideally I'd like to add some protein when I make this kind of noodle dish but trying to avoid more meat and I can't get family members to eat tofu or any mean substitutes like quorn etc. Any thoughts? Sometimes I make omelette strips but I don't really like the eggy taste with the sweetness of hoisin (works well with spicy options though) it would be good to have other options.

Excited about the tagline this week. New recipe to try

Paneer chunks?

What types of tofu have you tried? I could never get tofu right until i realised there are many types of tofu. For the stir fry type where you want soft in the middle and crunchy/chewy outside then it’s the extra firm tofu you need and lots of pressing to get water out.

Or maybe turkey?

It’s not your usual meat. Quite cheap. Very healthy. Supports British.

Oh, I'm quite familiar with tofu but just can't get others here to give it a go - no matter how it is prepared. Turkey is an excellent cheap choice for this type of thing and is probably where I'll go - I really try to reduce meat in all forms as much as possible though.

Seafood is also out due to allergies and DH won't touch any other fish unless beer-battered, deep fried and drenched in salt and vinegar.

@HalloumiFries it's not exactly HIGH protein - but peanuts on top?!

Your MIL comment made me laugh, if only because it could be me! I occassionally get asked if DH cooks and when I say no, in my circles, it's pretty much considered a sign of a terrible man, anti feminist etc. I have taken to pointing out that NO one in his family cook. Not his mum, not his sister, not his brother etc. I mean, his sister does a bit of basic cooking to stay alive but she's terrible at it and it's all terribly bland and boring. Even spaghetti bolognaise - she is completely blown away by my very normal, not terribly exciting bolognaise! His mum meanwhile, lives on convenience food in one form or another - the air fryer has basically become her all time favourite kitchen appliciance.

At least DH does the bulk of the tidying up and day to day cleaning, laundry, school runs, piano practice, any and all late night pick ups. Because even if he did cook - it would be like his family and thank you, but no!

I like cashew nuts in a stir fry as an easy protein addition

@HalloumiFries i feel your pain as I have a DD who will only eat protein from animals!!

you could true tempeh instead, the texture is so different to tofu so it might pass muster. The other truck I do is just to grate tofu or tempeh or seitan into food - works well in a stir fry as everything is all mixed together anyway

haven’t done the week’s plan yet as we have another teen staying for half term and I’m working most nights so it’s all probably going to be easy and bland tbh

BUT I have friends over for dinner tonight and brunch tomorrow have had fun with those plans

TONIGHT
Starter: home made flatbreads, split pea purée, burnt aubergine, tomato and tahini dip
Main: spiced mushroom pilaf, burnt honey butternut squash, fennel and courgette salad with preserved lemon dressing
Friend is bringing dessert

TOMORROW:
shakshuka, tomato and chickpea bread, spiced saucy fava beans, olives from the market today

my kids are not invited

@Citygirlrurallife That sounds absolutely divine 😍 Can I come???

I have tried grating and crumbling tofu which went down well until I stumbled on one question too many and suddenly it was unpalatable. I've never tried tempeh - had assumed it would be too similar to tofu but maybe I need to experiment.

As a short term.plan though - nuts are a great shout!

Tonight- smoky bean stew with jacket potatoes
Tomorrow - tomato soup with cheese toasties
Monday - Spanakopita lasagne
Tuesday - paneer tikka
Wed - chickpea tagine
Thursday - halloumi souvlaki
Friday - dan dan noodles

This sounds great. Can I move in for a week?!

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Thanks, I've got half term off so thought I'd spend a bit more time in the kitchen.

Can I have the spanakopita lasagne recipe please? Sounds divine

Seconded

First meal plan in a while, trying to get more organised as feel I am spending so much going to the supermarket every day.

Sunday: Melting middle fishcakes with loads of greens (craving them!) and poached egg
Monday: Korean-Style Yang-Nyum Fried Chicken (was a Gousto recipe that we love)
Tuesday: Roast broccoli & sesame ramen noodle bowls with gyoza
Wednesday: Firecracker chicken breast wraps (I'm out for dinner, this will be DH)
Thursday: Salmon & Creamy Chilli Pesto Penne
Friday: Butter chicken and turmeric chips
Saturday: Lasagne and salad
Sunday: Roast dinner (thinking about lamb but £££)

I'm making a lentil and vegetable lasagne today. We're out for a pub lunch tomorrow, so tea will probably be cheese and crackers or an omelette.

Tuesday will probably be pasta pesto with salad and feta, because I'm fancying it.

Then we're away for a few days.