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

On Wednesday DD comes out of her 3-month vegetarian regime. She’s stuck to it diligently but (probably due to the amount of cheese she’s consumed and an aversion to eggs) it hasn’t been the effortless weight loss and skin health panacea she expected.
In the last three months I’ve learned some new recipes and that meat isn’t the only flavour enhancer.

Sat: Minestrone and toasted sandwiches.
Sun: Pizza and salad.
Mon: Spanish omelette with grilled peppers.
Tues: Poké bowl with salmon/tofu.
Wed: Steak and chips!!!!
Thurs: Tuna mixed salad.
Fri: Pork and mushroom stroganoff.

It's just dp and I next week and things are crazy-busy for me at work, so we're keeping it simple:

Monday - a ploughman's, followed by apple and plum crumble and custard (bought crumble mix - so shoot me!)

Tues - stir fried vege with Itsu gyoza and Tilda microwave rice

Weds - jacket spuds with Higgidy quiche and salad

Thurs - tortellini and fresh pesto (not homemade)

Tonight - Cajun bean stew with cornbread dumplings
M - hasselback halloumi traybake
T - harissa shakshuka
W - peanut butter ramen
Th - enchiladas
F - katsu fish burgers

Some changes here -
the ploughman's has changed to avocado and chilli on sourdough
the quiche has changed to cauliflower cheese
the pesto has changed to tortellini in tomato sauce, with wilted spinach

This week was turned on its head by DD travels, and being here when not expected and then not returning when I had expected her back. So my cod got thrown out (defrosted), I have extra chicken mince in the freezer to use. And I am finding ways to use up much more leftover roast chicken than planned…

Friday…chicken and mushrooms in creamy sauce over rice
Saturday I did a steak, some fried mushrooms and 2 leftover steamed baby potatoes with a mushroom sauce
Sunday roast chicken with roast potatoes, honey roasted carrots and lemony courgette.
Yesterday spaghetti Bol (that I’d used half a bottle of wine in whole slow cooking for 4 hours on Sunday - 4 portions frozen for later 😃)
Tonight lemony chicken risotto (leftover roast chicken, stock from the carcass and veg skins on Sunday)
Tomorrow I am out for a work dinner
Thursday is HM pepperoni pizza or salmon, steamed potatoes and wilted spinach
Friday (DH not travelling as DD has medical appointment at home so he’s flying straight home from work trip near me 😭) probably Mac’n’cheese from freezer as an oven bake or battered fish fillet and oven chips (with peas and tartare sauce)

I have a lot of travel this month myself, and a fuller freezer than planned due to shenanigans with travel plans by others…so the plan is to only buy milk and fruit weekly, cream in 3 weeks, and mushrooms in 2 weeks, and mostly eat from freezer, before a full refill of fridge and cleaning products in 4 weeks (when DH is coming for a week 😁🤪)

I've been AWOL because MN is just becoming so annoying and slow with all the ads, does my head in.

This week has been and is (having to pivot every day thanks to a job being thrown in at the last min and constantly changing thanks to the celebrity's schedule)

Monday: beetroot and lentil bourginon
Tuesday: crispy tempeh with sesame spinach and miso butter cabbage wedges
Wednesday: veggie chilli with sweet potato wedges
Thursday: I'm out for work so pasta pesto for the others
Friday: DS and I are out at the theatre so we'll probably get some street food in London, DH and DD are having steak and chips
Saturday: leftover veggie chilli but probably with rice
Sunday: got a lot of yellow sticker fish and mussels so might make a chioppino with the last of our tomatoes

We’re on this menu:

Wed: pasta puttanesca and green salad
Thurs: fish pie and broccoli
Fri: chilli with rice and sides
Sat: halloumi burgers, sweet potato chips with homemade coleslaw
Sun: boeuf bourguignon with greens and something from the freezer for the pescatarian
Mon: salmon traybake
Tues: meat or veg lasagne (loads of portions of both in the freezer from my batch cooking a few weeks ago) plus some green veg or salad

Not much to plan this week as we're just back from a holiday and have MiL's birthday on Friday, so it's just a few days for now and then will start a proper plan again next week:

Tonight: Butterbean, leek, spinach and pea stew with poached egg.
Tomorrow: Chicken schnitzel with potato wedges, carrots, green beans and peas
Friday: Out for Chinese for MiL's birthday
Saturday: Braised chicken legs with bacon, leeks and mushrooms, mash and green beans
Sunday & Monday: Roast vegetable lasagne.

This week

Friday: veggie Philly cheesesteak (made with mushrooms not fake meat)
Saturday: Rasta Pasta
Sunday: Thai green curry
Monday: veggie chow mein
Tuesday: Cajun dirty rice
Wednesday: chilli
Thursday: veggie sausage and mash

I’ve just started the weekly, ‘Nag DP until he engages with the thinking’ process.

So far he wants to make African sweet potato/peanut butter stew (or rather, I have told him he wants to make it) and I have chosen pasta puttanesca.

The boys are away this weekend so DD and I are planning burgers out tonight before we go see LIfe of a Showgirl! And then we'll play tomorrow by ear. I'll do a proper shop for Sunday/Monday and plan then.

I have realised I am now thinking about bloody christmas though. We're at my sister so that's fine, but I am probably going to have to plan something with in laws separately. They're a nightmare so I need it to be something i can prep in advance, that doesn't matter if they turn up early/late/on time or if they bring rnadom extra people. We did slow cooked shoulder of lamb with a mediterranean vibe last year - salads, dips, flatbreads - and it was brilliant. Can't be pork.

Is it bad if I just do a similar lamb thing again? Turn it into a tradition!?

Full - if fairly unexciting - plan now sorted for the week ahead. Apols for a bit of repetition from original post.

Saturday: Braised chicken legs with bacon, leeks and mushrooms, mash and green beans
Sunday & Monday: Roast vegetable lasagna
Tuesday: Veggie chilli
Wed & Thurs: Big pot of lentil soup with bacon or egg rolls
Friday: Roast veg gnocchi bake

sat - spaghetti bolognaise
sun - out for lunch at friends home
Mon-pumpkin and spinach lasagne with salad
tues-smash burgers with wedges and coleslaw
wed-roast chicken,cabbage and crushed new potatoes
thurs- chicken,butter beans,pumpkin and sage traybake
fri- chicken stir fry with noodles and tenderloin broccoli

Tonight - sweet potato falafel
Tomorrow - Ratatouille lasagne
M - eating out
T - chickpea and butternut korma
W - pea and pesto gnocchi
Th - butterbean and root veg crumble
F - hoisin salmon traybake

@Forgottenmyphone the crumble sounds lovely - provided it is a creamy one and not a tinned tomato one: I have issues with tinned tomatoes!

Opted for:
Monday - roasted cauliflower and spinach cheese and jacket spuds - a repeat from last week as we enjoyed it so much

Tuesday - veggie sausages and a load of vege in giant Yorkies

Weds - sweet potato, spinach and peanut butter stew

Thurs = paneer and chickpea curry with naan

Tonight or tomorrow will be creamy mushroom pasta: it might have to wait until tomorrow as I'm already sleepy, so tonight might be takeaway

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie It’s not creamy, sorry. I use a tomato and herb pasta sauce (far superior to tinned tomatoes!)

Haven't posted ours in months but trying to get back into a routine as my shopping spends have shot up since I've not been planning!

We're full of the cold so lots of spicy/soupy things and all a bit samey when I look at it written down.

Tonight - Satay chicken brothy rice bowls topped with tsb and crispy kale.
Tomorrow - Spicy lentil and butternut squash soup with cheese and kimchi toasties.
Monday - Chilli con carne loaded jackets with guacamole and salad.
Tuesday - Sausage and mash with carrots, cabbage, peas and onion gravy. Possibly in a giant Yorkshire pudding if I CBA. Have some lovely Cumberland rings in the freezer I'll be using!
Wednesday- Minestrone soup with cheesy garlic toasties
Thursday - Nigellas Korean keema with rice and crispy chilli fried eggs.
Friday - Creamy chicken potato topped pie with whatever veg arrives in the veg box!

I really wish I could cope better with such things - it would make my life so much easier!

I haven't posted for a while, and not 100% on this week's, but at the moment it is:

Tonight: Cod with butter bean/potato colcannon, peas and carrots

Tuesday: Minced beef with fenugreek and spinach curry, maybe a chickpea curry too

Wednesday: Spicy bacon and beans

Thursday: Melted leeks with white beans, polenta and hazelnuts - not sure if I will be faffed. Might do some kind of leeky pasta instead.

Friday - off on holiday! I have got a, few easy things in for my son to cook while we are away.

Writing it down there are quite a lot of beans on the menu! But they have been accumulating in the cupboard.

Tonight - chicken ala king
Tues: hot honey halloumi and chargrilled greens on flatbread
We: Chicken schnitzel
Thu: lamb and aubergine curry

I can't face planning further ahead than that currently so it will have to do. I am starting WLI tomorrow or Wednesday so also interested if this changes things.

after a nightmare week last week back to some normalcy this week:

Monday: african peanut stew
Tuesday: bolognese/veggie chilli
Wednesday: chioppino
Thursday: Kedgeree
Friday: my parents are coming for an early dinner so need to plan/decide that

I did roast chicken thighs on Friday, I can’t remember Saturday, and chicken and mushrooms in white wine/cream sauce cooked in slow cooker on Sunday.
Monday was half a duck breast and potatoes and honey roasted carrots.
Tuesday a sort-of Spanish omelette with smoked salmon, peas, half a shallot and fresh mozarella (I’d had a big lunch out).
Tonight I had planned Italian sausages, roasted veg in a tomato sauce and pasta. But I am now working very late so may defrost and reheat a lamb bhuna instead as I type the urgent reports.

Tomorrow I am theoretically out for dinner.
Friday will be either the Italian sausages meal or battered fish and oven chips between finishing work and going to a concert.

I have a steak in the freezer that I might use on Saturday, and possibly some salmon on Sunday. I am away 3 nights next week so will be doing freezer meals defrosted for the other 2.

Early planning this week.

Saturday: Burnt aubergine chilli
Sunday: Butternut and pancetta risotto
Monday: Pasta with butternut and crispy red onions
Tuesday: Tuscan bean stew
Wednesday: Minestrone
Thursday: Pulled pork (from freezer) fajitas
Friday: Only me at home so I'm going to try making Korean-style rice noodles with scrambled tofu. (DH won't touch tofu and he, along with other family members have the coriander gene. I love it, and since I'm buying a bunch to garnish my noodles, I can also scatter it over my portion of fajitas too).

So far -
tomorrow - will grab something easy: probably jacket spuds with cheese/coleslaw and salad

Sunday - out for a vegetarian pub roast

Monday - bought Jamaican style veggie pasties, with rice and peas and mango salsa

Tuesday - dp is going to try a recipe from the World Food Cafe book, for Cuban black beans. We'll have them with rice, and deconstructed guacamole.

Weds - veggie sausage casserole with hassle back potatoes

Thurs - still looking for inspiration

I'll be very late back from work on Friday, so I might just grab some veggie sushi from the station on my way home

I'm having the same lunch on repeat at the moment, at work - brie, walnuts, dates, grapes, celery and Nairns oat cakes.

Tonight - roast cauliflower biryani
Tomorrow - cauli cheese and garlic bread
M - spinach and ricotta filo pie
T - teriyaki tuna burgers
W - butternut parmigiana
Th - Tuscan bean stew
F - taco stuffed peppers