Meal planning, sharing recipes and ideas to make the weekly budget go further.

[Seaside3]

Ok, snappy title, I know.

Having recently loved a thread where the op bemoaning the price of minced beef, (i didn't love that) and seeing how helpful people were, I decided to start my own thread.

We are a large family, but currently just 4 of us live at home. 2 adults, 2 teens who eat adult portions.

I aim to spend around £70 on average a week, we do eat out a couple of times a week, but £70 should roughly cover it.

New shop arriving tomorrow, hoping it will cover the week.

To start though, tonight we had Asian style pork, rice and garlic broccoli.

Asian pork - minced pork, onion, grated garlic and ginger, Chinese five spice, carrot, courgette broccoli stem, sweetcorn, peas, dark soy, chilli flakes Fry, add a little water if required.

Garlic and ginger broccoli... fried sliced garlic and root ginger, red onion, broccoli florets. Added a couple of splashes of water, soy and a sprinkle of sugar. Would have used honey, but didn't have any. Fresh coriander leaves.

Basmati rice

Added a fried egg.

Served 4 for dinner, 2 extra servings for lunches.

Would love to hear others go to family meals.

Ooh! Stealing some of these.

Steal away, I only stole them from Instagram in the first place.

I’m joining this thread as my batch cooking has collapsed since Xmas.

We've got to make a serious dent in the freezer before any batch cooking! I am trying to include at least one freezer item in most meals, but it's still too full to top up with lasagna 😭

Welcome! I hope you find some inspiration. I'm not doing great at batch coolinh since Christmas either, but somehow the freezer has refilled with home made food. It's surprising how quickly it refills by just making some soups and extra portions when cooking.

We are on freezer food for the next few days. I wish it were lasagne.

Tonight it Moroccan style beef with roast new potatoes cabbage and peas.

Tomorrow sausage and mash casserole from the freezer, with extra vegetables.

Friday i think homemade falafel.

Beef from tonight. It was good.

Sounds good. Today's freezer retrieval is chicken, so I'm doing pan fried gnocchi and chicken alfredo with it. Tomorrow is burgers from the freezer, home made pork, black pudding and haggis.

Slowly but surely I will create space.

Shopping delivery today, came in at a massive £104. However, I did get vitamins for husband and I, we both need vitamin D, and I need iron plus others.

Left overs from the freezer last night, tonight I made falafels from a Jamie Oliver recipe. Served with salad, tzatiki, fried courgettes and wedges. Very nice.

This week I've got the following planned...

Artichoke and white bean soup
roasted tomato soup

Shawarma chicken
Coconut beef
Bacon and onion mac n cheese
Lemony veg and orzo bake
Sticky soy chicken
Something from.the freezer
Dahl

I've also got a kind of trifle planned

Breakfasts will be porridge, weetabix

Weekend brunch omelette

Determined to get back in this. Learned how to make instant porridge to take to work - it’s just oats in the blender and milk powder radical I know but it’s a start.

I’ve whacked some bolognaise in the slow cooker that will be about 6 portions.

later while the roast is on I’m making chicken pie filling to freeze with condensed soup kids love it but making the pie from scratch is a pain in the arse so I’m freezing the filling. The pastry bit is much quicker.

The porridge sounds good! I didn't think about milk powder.

Bolognaise and our fillings are great things to have in the freezer.

Yesterday I made mac and cheese with bacon and caramelised onions. S2eved with salad. Left overs for lunches today. Dinner tonight was boiled new potatoes, steamed cabbage (steamed over the potatoes) and beef casserole from the freezer.

I'm still here. Today I did my first proper batch cook of the year. Not loads, but I'm happy with what i did do.

I made a veg and bean chilli, will serve with rice, guacamole, cheese, yogurt.

Also made a lentil and chickpea dahl.

There's enough for left overs from both.

Also made spicy beetroot and parsnips soup with carrot, nigella seed and feta fritters for lunch, 1 portion left.

Tea was gammon, roast veg, mash, cauliflower cheese with a cheesy parsley sauce, cabbage.

Left overs for bubble and squeak, ham sandwiches.

Also roasted 2 chicken breasts and boiled eggs, for salads/sandwiches/snacks.

Freezer is nicely stocked.

Shopping arrived today, £80. I'm hoping i can miss a big shop next week as everything is well stocked.

Photos from past meals, including a mince and rice traybake, pork noodles, artichoke and courgette soup, and a cake from a left over jar of mince meat.

Last night's veg and bean chilli, with added chicken for those who wanted it.

Today for brunch I used left over gammon and made baked eggs, recipe here. No cream so subbed with milk. Still delicious.

Tea was steak with homemade parmesan fries, green sauce, salad and red cabbage coleslaw. So good.

The rest of the week, lentil dahl wednesday, will.add paneer. Thursday veg pasta. Freezer pot luck on Friday, same for the weekend.

Probably place an order to arrive over the weekend, fingers crossed it will be less than the last two weeks.

Soup, salad, porridge, cake today.

Roast veg and bean soup
Corn, miso and chilli soup

Mango and peanut salad with dressing

Porridge with added everything for fibre

Tres leche cake

Boiled eggs

Dinner tonight was pork with shallots and apple, mixed root vegetable mash, peas. Followed by the cake. Left over onion sauce for pancakes tomorrow.

This weeks plan:
Today i made 3 soups -
roasted tomato with white beans
Sweet potato, coconut and peanut
Leek

Chicken, broccoli and cheddar casserole with mash, Yorkshire pudding and roast veg for tea.

Apple, pearl and raspberry coconut crumble with custard

Rest of the week -

Teas

Halloumi with roast veg pitta and sweet potato fries
Beef meatballs with pasta
Chicken curry and rice
Bean chilli with wedges
Peanut and corn noodles

Lunches

Baked potatoes with beans/cottage cheese cheese
Soups
Wraps with coronation chickpeas/eggs/cottage cheese

Breakfast

Porridge/toast/weetabix

Cake

Carrot

Leek soup (like French onion, but with leek) and cheese toasties with onion chutney for lunch.

Tea was homemade sweet potato fries, roasted med veg (from a packet), halloumi with spicy sauce. All baked in the oven. Beetroot, pickled red onion, homemade hummus, a sort of salsa. Greek yogurt, Wholemeal pitta.

Today - porridge with oats, oatbran, chia, flax, sultanas, prunes, grated pear, cinnamon, milk. Made plenty so leftovers for the next couple of days at work.

Lunch - wholemeal pitta, pickled onions, spinach, beetroot, tomato.

Dinner- wholewheat pasta, bolognese (loads of veg)

Cake - made a delicious carrot cake.

Made a roast dinner tonight, husband hasn't touched chicken since a bout of food poisoning at Christmas.

So I made a lentil loaf for him, served 1 portion, froze 3 for future chicken free dinners.

Roughly based the recipe on this.

However, i fried a leek, assessed miso paste and a veg stock cube. Then two tins of drained lentils, grated parsnip and carrot in, added sweetcorn. No breadcrumbs, so used the crumbs from the weetabix box. Added an egg, grated cheddar and cooked it all down a bit. Transferred to a baking tray, more cheese, baked for about 30 minutes.

Also made these muffins, made an icing from icing sugar and lime juice with toasted coconut.

Last night's new potatoes became todays chips with oregano and lemon zest. Veg pie with white beans and feta, broccoli for tea.
Lunch was corn and miso soup from the freezer, with cheese toasties.
Breakfast was porridge.

Tomorrow we will have beef casserole, made on sunday, with cous cous and veg. Half the beef is in the freezer for another day.

Thursday will be curry, friday as yet to decide.

Photos - yesterday's roast, todays pie.

Morrocan beef with giant cous cous tonight. Added broccoli, peas, sweetcorn, apricot, chickpeas and almonds to the cous cous. Served 4, with 1 serving left for lunch tomorrow. Beef casserole had plenty of carrots, prunes and borlotti beans.

Next week i have beef cheesy wraps planned with beef from the freezer.

Beef and blackbean sauce

Miso chicken with brown rice

These lentils

A riff on this salad

Tomato soup
Corn soup

This loaf cake

Home made rice pudding

Roast gammon (half price at Tesco), root vegetable mash, red cabbage ans peas this Sunday.

Today, pea, butterbean and ham soup with cottage cheese and gherkin toast.

Chickpea, kale and green lentil dahl with brown rice for tea.

Honeynut cornflake tea loaf.

Rice pudding, some served with rhubarb and toasted coconut for dessert.

Tuesday: ham, veg ans cheese pasta

Wednesday: morrocan beef feom last week, topped with root veg mash from Sunday.

Thursday: wraps with freezer left overs, potato wedges, salad

Friday: undecided

Today - beetroot and black bean soup, served with a sprinkle always if blue cheese.

Tea was wholemeal pasta with ham and vegetables in a cheese sauce.

Photos feom last few days.

@Seaside3 thank you for such a great thread, I stumbled upon it by accident but have taken so many ideas from it! 🙂
Have you always been interested in cooking? Do you use anything in particular for your freezer storage or just any old tubs?
I am trying to find inspiration to be more organised when it comes to meal planning and prepping as a new job comes with a longer commute not leaving faffing about time or time for dashes to the shops either!

Thanks! I have always liked eating.. i think I've just developed as I go along, and as money is tight but we want a healthier lifestyle it became more if an interest.

My daughter did tell me today she was really grateful that we eat a wide variety of food, it helps her in a job on a fancy pub. And my 2nd son told ne he had taught his friend how to make stew as his friend (25) couldn't cook. I've never really taught my kids, but they're always about chatting, asking, watching.

For the freezer, I use anything. It's just a small one, so whatever fits.

Todays food - blue cheese, walnut and pear salad with sultanas and dates.

Sausage and mash casserole, which i altered from the original. Tidays had white beans, carrots and mucmshrooms added. I also poached some pears, made rice pudding and the sweetcorn soup, which is a family favourite. Oh, and bolognese too, 1/2 in the freezer, the rest for tomorrow's tea.

Rest of the week - wednesday - spaghetti bolognese
Thursday- halloumi or chicken katsu curry
Friday - something from the freezer, if the shopping doesnt arrive in time!

Somethings we ate last week: cornflake coated halloumi or chicken with tomato sauce, new potatoes and broccoli.
Yesterday fennel, miso and crispy bean salad.
This m9rning, Turkish eggs with yogurt and asparagus.
Tonight, roast gammon with kale mash, roast veg and (not pictured) a cherry sauce.

For the week ahead: cottage pie with last weeks mince (been in freezer) and today's mash.

Coriander chicken or paneer.

Cauliflower, leek and macaroni cheese bake

Gammon with sweet potato fries, veg