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

Me again! I've just taken delivery of Dinner by Meera Soda, and can see several recipes from it coming up in the near future. It's a lovely book.

I have just put the tortilla in the fridge! Delicious!

I have had shopping deliveries the last three weeks, and I am delighted to have a nice, clear fridge each time to pack away the food! Meal planning is something I’ve always done in fits and starts, but had got into a horrible rut of buying and wasting loads of food, and having a fridge full of half finished things getting bad. Not any more! I’ve finally grown up! 😜

Today was sausage, mash, vegetables and Yorkshire puddings
Tomorrow: out for dinner
Tuesday: spaghetti bolognese
Wednesday: ratatouille
Thursday: a recipe for sticky chicken chilli stir fry with chicken mince that I found in the Tesco magazine; it might be disgusting but looks ok, easy and cheap anyway!
Friday: chicken fajitas
Saturday: jacket potatoes and all the toppings

Saturday I did a chick sweet'n'sour with loads of veg and noodles.

Yesterday was rotisserie chicken and a massive salad.

I have a bunch of leftover rotisserie chicken to use up as DD has left this morning. So I defrosted some stock to make a chicken risotto tonight, and will do something else with pasta (and mushrooms maybe) tomorrow with the rest. And make space in the freezer for more raw chicken breasts and a pack of turkey she bought but didn't cook (I can use those) and a chicken/protein ready meal (she'll have that on another visit).

Wednesday I am out at an event so will have lots of nibbles there, and probably chips en route home or cheese and crackers when I get it.

I have a pasta bake for Thursday.

Friday will be my nice steak. With mushrooms, fried onions and roast baby potatoes.

And as I am away the following Monday/tuesday, I will need to do an "empty the fridge" job for Saturday and Sunday dinners.

Tonight - Chipotle sweet potato & black bean stew with cheesey dumplings
Tomorrow - Cajun tofu scramble
Wed - Shakshuka
Thur - burgers
Friday - spicy peanut noodles
Saturday - Fajita stuffed peppers
Sunday - mushroom stroganoff pie

amazing menu - do you have a recipe for the stew and do you top your pie with pastry or potato?

Our simpler meals tend to be "fish and a carb and a veg" style which I get bored of but the others all eat, I change it up with shaking some kind of seasoning over it, usually japanese or mexican or korean or greek/med style. I do totally understand what you mean about easy go-to's

Send us your favourite looking recipes from Dinner!

This week I'm having a freezer clear-out as there are too many half-empty bags of veg and random beige foods and I want more space for food I can stick in the microwave on days when I'm too tired to cook, and also fish.

@Citygirlrurallife
this is the recipe for the stew www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chipotle-sweet-potato-black-bean-stew-cheddar-dumplings and I top the pie with sour cream and paprika mash.

Shopping has just been delivered so here's this week's plan:

Monday lamb curry
Tuesday smoked fish rarebit
Wednesday sausages with cauliflower cheese
Thursday fishcakes and peas
Friday turkey fajita (from freezer)
Saturday chicken goujons and salad
Sunday sea bass

Breakfasts are usually eggs of some kind, pancakes, or fruit and yoghurt.

Last week went to plan apart from Saturday when we went to the pub so we had the gammon on Sunday and the scallops stayed in the freezer.

Tuscan chicken and linguine

Spinach and feta pastry parcels,crispy rosemary potatoes,winter coleslaw and salad

Jacket potato,beans and cheese

Beef stir fry with noodles and satay sauce

Sausages,mash,cabbage,and onion gravy

On holiday for two weeks 🎉🎉🎉🎉

@Citygirlrurallife I find the sort of meal you describe quite difficult because I don’t eat fish or meat and don’t much like vegetarian alternatives of the kind you can just grab from the fridge or freezer and stick in the oven with a pan of potatoes. The only thing I’d really have like that is a Higgidy quiche or maybe a vegan Pukka pie. They definitely do the job on evenings when I’m low on energy and enthusiasm!

I wonder if any of the ‘Dinner’ recipes are online. Let me have a Quick Look now.

Lots on this link, but none of the ones I’ve bookmarked!
www.theguardian.com/food/article/2024/jul/27/meera-sodha-exclusive-vegan-recipes

I’ve bookmarked the Iraqi white bean stew in this link and ds wants to do the buttered rice and eggs (which I think sounds revolting!).
thehappyfoodie.co.uk/articles/meera-sodha-easy-vegan-and-vegetarian-dinners/

And I really fancy this - love butter beans!
www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jul/18/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-butter-beans-with-salsa-verde

I’m vegan so totally understand where you’re coming from (fish is for the other members of the family!) I always fry up some pre-marinated tofu slabs usuallt

stir fry is always my quick and easy go ti

Tofu with a carb and vege could be so good (rice, stir fried asparagus, chilli and soy) - or so bad (tofu, mash, broccoli)!!!

I’ve done balsamic glazed tempeh steaks with mash and broccoli before!

I made aubergine schnitzels a while ago. I wonder if that would work with tofu? We don't eat much tofu - I like the silken one dropped into a thai style noodle soup at the last minute or with miso soup at lunch sometimes, but maybe I should explore more.

Yum this looks like a good week my kids would even eat most of this. Thanks!

What is winter coleslaw though?

@wombpaloumbpa

It's normal homemade coleslaw ( red cabbage,red onion and carrots this time as using stuff up ) with apple grated into it too and chopped dried cranberries
It's delicious!

This weeks took forever and doesn't look that exciting

Friday; mushroom "bacon" BLTs,
Saturday: veggie sausage pasta
Sunday: cauliflower and chickpea curry
Monday: roast veg, chickpea and feta salad with nice bread
Tuesday; peanut noodles
Wednesday: out
Thursday: crispy potato taco bowls

Oooh yum! Thanks. Have a great holiday!