trying to do the weekly food shop but completely lacking any inspiration for this weeks menu..:(

[SarahL2]

Tried doing the online food order today but just cannot come up with anything for the menu that hasn't been done in this house a million times before.

It's actually quite depressing me now

Dh is useless. Says he doesn't remember anything we eat and therefore cannot suggest anything. What does that say about my cooking!!!

Any suggestions for some interesting (and preferably low fat - I'm trying to lose a stone) meals that would also work for a 2 year old would be very much appreciated.

Please help me!

I try and do:

one or two red meat dishes
one fish dish
one pasta dish
one or two veggie dishes
(and we have takeaway one night)

Pasta dish can, of course, be meat or veggie.

I also try and keep costs down, so cheaper cuts of meat.

Mince - shepherd's pie, bolognese, chilli (sometimes with wraps, yoghurt and grated cheese instead of rice), meat balls with tomato sauce and pasta

Stewing steak - beef casserole, made with onions, carrots and any other veg, served with mash or rice

Roast chicken - occasionally, because I will only buy free range and it's not cheap! Either traditional roast, or served with roast vegetables

Salad - a series of different dishes, usually tomatoes and mozzarella, stuffed hard boiled eggs, home made coleslaw, green bean salad with shallots/onions, thinly sliced mixed peppers, pan fried and served with balsamic vinegar, green salad, puy lentil salad, french bread

Salmon - fillets marinated with sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic, served with stir fried veg and noodles

Risotto - asparagus risotto with salad

Belly pork - in one piece, skin off, sprinkled with zest of lemon/lime, chilli flakes, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, then rolled up, tied, and slow roasted for 2-3 hours, or, cooked in a piece in a Chinese style. First cooked in boiling water for 10 minutes, then fried, skin side down till golden for 10-15 minutes, then poached for 3 hours in a mixture of soy sauce, dry sherry, spring onions and ginger. Beautifully tender and flavoursome. Served with boiled rice and stir fried veg

Veggie - vegetable curry with naan bread and poppadoms and rice - either boiled or pilau, ccauliflower cheese, mixed veg in cheese sauce, griddled aubergine and courgettes, layered with tomato sauce and mozzarella, baked in the oven.

Is that enough to start with?!

Thread in chat about this here - Lots of good ideas!

i do a roast chicken with yorkshires and veg

then soup from the carcass with pasta or bread the next night

also a stir fry or pie etc from the left over chicken

meatballs in a tomato sauce with rice

goulash or casserole

picnic tea - sandwiches, carrot sticks, cheese, grapes, yoghurt etc

something like a tortilla or frittata

chicken and/or veg fajitas

These are some of our favourites:

roast chicken thighs with lemon and green olives
green veg and parmesan frittata
beef burgers with trimmings and wedges (I like guacamole on mine)
stir-fry with salmon and brown rice
egg-fried tofu with broccoli and sesame seeds
prawn, spinach and tomato curry (using tandoori paste); or chickpea, butternut, spinach and coconut curry (using Thai green curry paste)
roast organic chicken, then leftovers make tarragon chicken with cream, tarragon and dijon mustard; then stock for risotto or soup
home-made pizza
bolognese / chilli / cottage pie (using beef mince)
baked potatoes with cottage cheese
sausages and roast squash (and / or lentils)
lentil salad (puy lentils, tomatoes, feta, roast butternut, parsley)
ricotta pancakes - savoury with spinach, peas and crumbled bacon, or sweet with blueberries / maple syrup and so on

hope that helps?

Also - spaghetti puttanesca - delicious and mostly from the back of the cupboard

I always have prawns in the freezer as you can make so much from them including prawn curry, prawns marinated and grilled then chucked into salad, prawn pasta, prawn sandwich.

Other things we eat a fair bit of:

• hot smoked salmon fillets seared in a hot pan and served with a simple salad with apples (I like pink lady) and served with a horseradish, lime and caper mayo
• chorizo and chickpea stew (boil tinned chickpeas until soft, add tinned toms, juice & zest of lemon and blitz/mash so some of chickpeas are mushed and some still whole. Grill chorizo pieces and scatter over stew with chopped coriander)
• lamb chops, spread with a paste of anchovy, caper, garlic and rosemary and grilled, served with a salad of butter beans, wilted spinach, red onion, feta, toms and parsley
• fist burritos (marinade strips of white fish in a mix of paprika, cumin, olive oil, chilli. Serve with tortillas, little gem leaves, a salad of cucumber, cherry toms, spring onion, coriander, chilli, lime juice and a little sugar, coriander and lime mayo)
• pesto chicken sandwich (griddle chick breast, cut into strips and mix with mayo and fesh pesto, spread onto crusty bread and add chopped red onion, avocado and pea shoot leaves)
• sausage pasta (skin sausages and fry meat with fennel seeds, glass white wine, garlic, parsley and toss in with fusili)
• steak, sweet potato chips, grilled mush and toms and wilted spinach
• fish in bag (white fish fillet in a bag of foil with coconout milk, lime chilli, cherry toms, coriander, suger snap peas and mange tout, cook in over until fish cooked through and serve with rice)

That's it for now. There's lots more - I also make a great puttanesca with fresh tuna etc.

I'm hungry now after reading all that!

Ooh also lamb tagine is good. Marinade lamb chunks in Ras al Hanout (sp) spice with some olive oil, cumin, lemon juice & zest. Then brown off lamb, add marinade, tinned toms, chopped dates & apricots to pan and leave for ages on a low heat so sauce really thickens and goes dark. Serve with couscous with some herbs and you can also serve with a red onion and pomegranate relish (marinade red onion in lime and pomegranate juice for half and hour, pour away juice and add onion to pomegranate seeds, and chopped coriander.

Also another great easy one is to roast a whole chicken, cut that up skin and all, and add with the juices into some pasta (penne is good), add capers and parsley and serve. Is yummy and dead easy.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

Definitely got a few good ideas for this week now

Got to avoid the ones with chilli in them though cause if I eat it, my face swells up!!

Check out Allegra McEvedy's recipes in the Guardian. She's amazing. Just skip the chilli!

You can skip chilli in any of my recipes too.

Thankyou guys