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

We are out of all the basics so was doing a small shop... when I realised that yes, I have meals planned for today and tomorrow but then I'm out again. I'm clearly screwing up my planning schedule as it's feeling never ending right now and as I'm doing a shop, it's crazy not to do also meal plan at least a few days out. Sigh.

So....

Leftover from earlier in the week meal plan - fish cakes and bobotie.

Then I'm adding
Gnocchi again - this time with peas, spinach, fresh pesto and creme fraiche (if DD and DH don't finish the bacon beforehand, I'll add the last few slices).

Stuffed mushrooms - with peppers and halloumi, and garlic bread on side
Aubergine and lamb curry using the last of the leftover Christmas lamb in the freezer.

Gah, half term was an amalgamation of takeaways, chips , and toast!! So until Friday I am cooking and eating ALL the healthy things and then Friday we’re getting gousto!
Mon- mushroom, white wine and spinach risotto
Tues- aubergine, cherry tomato and feta pasta
Weds- chickpea and butternut squash curry
Thurs- pork steaks with garlic mash and broccoli

On Saturday, I did roast chicken, potatoes and veg for dd and I.

On Sunday, I roasted a piece of cod, sweet potatoes, steamed baby potatoes and wilted spinach (with an added chicken breast for dd as well as her cod).

Last night I was out at a work dinner.

Tonight, I plan to use the leftover roast chicken to make chick and mushroom vol au vents.

Tomorrow will be pizza to use the last base and sauce, probably pepperoni.

Thursday chicken vadagam curry I think, or fresh pasta with roasted veggies.

And probably the other option for easy dinner Friday - or maybe I'll defrost a steak or do a stir fry with prawns.

Cod turned out really well roasted, just with a sprinkling of Oil & Vinegar's lemon and herb dry rub on it.

We're going ahead with our meal plan, yesterday DH was out with DD so DS and I had baked beans and jacket potatoes (DH doesn't like baked beans and DD doesn't like jacket potatoes!).
Today it's turkey burgers, and tomorrow a new chicken and gnocchi or possibly orzo (can't remember which!) recipe.

Tonight - leek topped shepherds pie
Wed - mango chicken, rice and salad
Thurs - spaghetti and meatballs
Fri - Chinese pork bao buns
Sat - lamb, aubergine and halloumi Stew

More red meat than I'd like but it'll do.

I've meal planned for a long time and rarely throw food away but I do struggle with keeping the menu varied and exciting.

Tonight-Asian turkey meatballs in teriyaki sauce with veggie noodles

W-halibut with lemon butter sauce,asparagus and baby potatoes

T- spaghetti bolognaise

F-middle eastern lamb shoulder with pitta ,salad,dips

S- leek and potato soup and sourdough bread

S-warm salad with mixed leaves etc,roasted peppers and sweet potatoes,falafel and houmous topped with feta and seeds

This week we’ve:
Moroccan lamb meatballs with homemade flatbread
Pasta arrabiata
Omelette and chips
Gammon with cauliflower cheese
Salmon risotto
Pizza
Some sort of roast on Sunday as I haven’t done one for a while.

Very busy and thus uninspired this week

Friday: pizza
Saturday; out
Sunday: nachos
Monday: spicy chickpea melt (like spicy tuna melt but with chickpeas)
Tuesday; lentil spag bog
Wednesday; pie and peas
Thursday: butter paneer

The cheese was gone off so pizza will be over the weekend instead.

I did salmon, wilted spinach, and home-fries (leftover steamed baby potatoes, sliced and fried) instead yesterday.

I will probably just do hummus, cheese 'n'ctackers tonight, as I had a pasta lunch with colleagues.

And I have a small bit of lamb to slow roast tomorrow...for a well earned treat.

I am very, very uninspired this week, so fed up of it all so another boring one based on the freezer contents.

Friday - Small bowl of noodle soup. Kung pao chicken, stir fried veg and rice. Maybe a few cheeky prawn crackers. (Usually we'd have a takeaway on payday but this is an attempt at being healthier)
Saturday - Beef & mushroom stroganoff with cauliflower rice for me/Tagliatelle for others and broccoli 🥦
Sunday - Chicken chasseur with mash and greens.
Monday- Fajita halloumi traybake with cowboy caviar and guacamole
Tuesday - Spicy Miso mushroom risotto
Wednesday - Philly cheese steak ciabattas (with loads of mushrooms), spicy corn on the cob, pickles and a side salad. Will cook some onion rings from the freezer for others. (I'll skip the ciabatta)
Thursday - Lasagne, salad, coleslaw and garlic bread.

Feeling just tired and uninspired to be honest but it’s a slow week at work next week so I have more time than normal and I’m away the following week when it will be easy beige food. Haven’t assigned days yet but I think I’ll do some of the following:

down and dirty Cajun rice and beans
sushi rice into onigiri and stuffed tofu boats with Asian cucumber salad
mole of some description
Anna Jones saag aloo pie

My fridge has broken (freezer is OK) and I’m trying to plan a week without it until the new one arrives. There’s going to be a lot of buying and eating on the same day and I can use a cool bag with freezer blocks for small amounts of perishables. Veg can be kept in a cold place but our house is very warm so no fresh fish or meat for any length of time.

I’m thinking

Corned beef hash and other tinned protein (Spam fritters!?)
Egg dishes like shakshuka, egg fried rice, Carbonara.
Pasta, gnocchi with readymade sauces.
Sandwiches and wraps galore
Frozen ready meals.

Or just a week of takeaways…
Any suggestions would be welcome!

If your freeze is ok then you should be fine for a week! Frozen meat is pretty good now, so frozen sliced chicken, frozen peas, soy sauce and microwave rice = chicken fried rice.

The Aberdeen Angus beef burgers (frozen) in Tesco are 98% beef and taste good! Can do open burger bowls or buns and chips.

Frozen mince in Tesco is the same as fresh so can do ragu, bolognese or dirty rice with frozen and store cupboard ingredients.

There are some lovely frozen fish fillets (I like the young’s gousto ones) with crushed tinned potatoes and frozen veg.

Stir fry with a bag of frozen stirfry veg and a sauce, dried noodles or rice

Frozen butternut squash chunks, chickpeas and frozen spinach is a really great curry- with naan and pilau rice 🤤

Its milk and cheese that I’d suffer most without, but you’ll just have to put that in a cool bag or just forego the cheese and use uht small carton milks

Another uninspired one here too, I think it's a long winter blues thing, I need some sun now or even just less cold would help.
Over the next week we will have:
Tofu fajitas
Veggie burgers with wedges
Harissa salmon with couscous
Gnocchi with some sort of roasted squash and red onion concoction
Risotto, possibly bns to use up the rest of it from the gnocchi

Miso mushroom risotto sounds lovely! Can I have a recipe please?

@Sgtmajormummy how about risotto? Use veg that doesn’t go in the fridge so you don’t need to shop that day (butternut squash, dried mushrooms)

I forgot it’s pancake day on Tuesday! So obviously socca or buckwheat pancakes followed by proper pancakes

fajita beef casserole - I can't find the post with this on it but does anyone know how to make this? TIA

I make fish cakes as per a jamie oliver recipe for tin raid fish cards- tinned tuna, tinned sweetcorn, tinned potatoes etc. Could be a good one? Or tuna jacket potatoes.

How fo you feel about beans? Lots of ways to do with fewer fresh i gradients. Or buy a chorizo ring - coolish place is fine, doesn't need full refrigeration, and use to make some kind of shakshuka or bran stew? Or i do chorizo and aubergine and tomato (tinned) and chilli as a pasta a lot as its DS' favourite.

Just did my order for tomorrow. So...

Miso grilled salmon with greens and noodles
Steak fajitas
Lasagna - doing a bulk cook of both veg and meat options as have people over tomorrow so it will be both on table tomorrow, then portions in freezer for later!
Sausage gnocchi again (ds begging! 🤣🤣)
Sweet and sour chicken
Haven't specifically planned beyond the end of the week but hopefully something veggie as I notice this is quite meat heavy. Have also remembered I have to est the bacon I defrosted but then didn't use so might have to shuffle things.

Tonight - Philadelphia macaroni cheese
Tomorrow - mushroom bourguignon
M - sesame broccoli stir fry
T - margherita style risotto
W - Swedish meatballs, mash, peas and gravy
T - fishless finger tacos
F - fridge-raid frittata

@lastqueenofscotlandagain it's this recipe. I will use normal Parmesan though, I haven't made it myself before but my friend cooked it for a dinner party and it was gorgeous.

Not in any particular order except for Tuesday:

Vietnamese curry (Spice Tailor sauce) with tofu, baby corn, mange tout plus rice

Mushroom and spinach pancakes followed by pancakes with lemon juice

Fishcakes for dp/Higgidy cheese and broccoli pie for me, with green beans and new potatoes

leek and potato bake with the rest of the green beans

Here’s my no-fridge menu for the week, including Pancake day and a family birthday.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I've checked my cupboards and done a food shop:

Tonight: proper pepperoni pizza
Tomorrow: chicken tikka masala (HM)
Mon: chorizo potatoes
Tuesday: pumpkin and Gorgonzola pasta
Wed: prawn stir fry
Thursday: steak and mushrooms
Friday: Greek night