Meal Planning Monday

Meal Planning Monday #13

July 9, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

It's been a few weeks since I joined in with Meal Planning Monday but this week I'm back!

Sunday: We were a bit full after lunch so we decided to finish off the stash of cheeses in the fridge.
Monday: Quorn & salad wraps with pommels frites
Tuesday: I'm off to Yeo Valley for the day so it will be whatever leftovers I can find in the freezer!
Wednesday: A long work day so Mr. TBaM will be cooking cheese souffle (Asda), salad and baby new potatoes in butter and herbs (Aldi)
Thursday: Work again so pizza and chips
Friday: Mediterranean vegetables with rice, and grilled halloumi
Saturday: Chinese of course! We're trying to cut down to once a fortnight, not good for our waistlines, hearts or wallets to have it once a week!

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I'm joining in with Mrs. M's Meal Planning Monday

Meal Planning Monday #13

June 18, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 11 Comments

It's been a few weeks since I've taken part in this linky (because of The Boy's birthday and our holiday the week before) and for the few weeks before that I'd been lacking enthusiasm. That ended up costing us money and wasting food. Not good, not acceptable and a complete lack of effort on my part. This month is completely manic financially: our holiday, The Boy's birthday and Britmums. I need to utilise the food in the cupboards and freezer, not buy any more!

Sunday: red onion & cheese plait, buttered carrots & roast Charlotte potatoes (with skins). The two dads (mine and The Boy's) will be having slow-cooked brisket in beer, mango chutney and mustard.
Monday: slow-cooked 'pulled' vegetables in wraps, ranch salad and onion rings.
Tuesday: Mediterranean vegetables with rice and grilled halloumi.
Wednesday: (work day) Primaverdi pasta. (Mr. TBaM is reading this wondering what it is: slice courgettes and half a leek, and lightly stirfry. Add half a tub of Elmlea and a handful of parmesan, along with a grind of black pepper. Cook the pasta in hot water for three minutes, strain and transfer to pan. Mix and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan. Ta!)
Thursday: Quattro formaggi pizza and wedges.
Friday: Britmums Live.
Saturday: Britmums Live.

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I'm linking this up to Mrs. M's Meal Planning Monday

Meal Planning Monday #12

May 28, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 10 Comments

It wasn't until I read Kate's Meal Planning Monday earlier that I realised I'm going on holiday next week. It sounds a bizarre thing to think of from reading her post, but we are staying on the same resort next week and she prompted my brain into gear. Our week's holiday in Devon seems to have caught me unawares and I'm left with a fridge and freezer full of food that I need to try and use up. Admittedly I don't need to eat up the freezer food but I am in a pickle because I had a delivery from a PR earlier:I'm going to be trying some lunchtimes recipes with The Boy to engage him into his mealtimes more, and while I anticipated a sample from them, I didn't expect four loaves and four packs of rolls! Therefore I need to find space in my freezer because we won't eat them all in time and I'm not wasting food.

So this week I need to use food up!

Sunday: It was my mum's birthday so we had a small clear out of the freezer (nowhere near enough) and the fridge.
Monday: Pizza, salad and wedges.
Tuesday: Vegetable fajitas with smoky quorn chunks. (I finally remembered to add it to the planner!)
Wednesday: Chicken pie/vegetable frittata, salad and wedges.
Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs.
Friday: Leftover vegetables (I anticipate leeks, mushrooms, peppers and courgettes) in risotto.
Saturday: Chinese.

As Kate points out, there won't be a plan from me next week as I'll be enjoying (hopefully) sunny Devon.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's.

Meal Planning Monday #11

May 21, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

It's National Vegetarian Week this week, and because of this you'll find no omnivore meals on my menu planner. I know that there's not usually a huge amount, but Mr. TheBoyandMe can have a meat-free week and like it!

Sunday: The freezer is full of God knows what, so we need to start eating that up!
Monday: Pizza (caramelised red onion, spinach and blue cheese) and salad.
Tuesday: Mediterranean vegetables and rice, with grilled halloumi
Wednesday: Sticky Sausage Stew. I keep putting this on my planner and I keep failing to cook it which is daft because it's gorgeous.
Thursday: Chinese (earlier than normal)
Friday: Quorn Lasagne
Saturday: LONDON BABY! (More about that later!)

And I still haven't planned in fajitas, which is ridiculous because we both love them. Next week! Maybe…

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I'm linking this up to Mrs. M's Meal Planning Monday

Meal Planning Monday #10

May 14, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 4 Comments

I'm a bit over food at the moment. With the ongoing battles with The Boy and his being awkward at mealtimes, I really can't muster the enthusiasm to cook. This week's plan is a little boring and bland as a result but hey-ho.

Sunday: blue cheese and asparagus tartlets, with tomato and basil rice.
Monday: Mediterranean vegetables and rice, with halloumi (recipe to follow).
Tuesday: Pizza and wedges.
Wednesday: Vegetable and cheese pasties, salad and wedges.
Thursday: Sticky Sausage Stew (slow cooker)
Friday: Chinese!
Saturday: Spring Greens Risotto – asparagus, broccoli, peas, courgettes with blue cheese.

Hardly going to set the world alight but I've done it. Hopefully next week I'll feel more with it to enjoy planning.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's

Meal Planning Monday #9

May 7, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

We've had an impromptu visit to family this weekend (but still managed to have a Chinese on Saturday night) and so for once I'm actually planning on a Monday, as opposed to a Sunday when I normally do it.

My plan this week involves using up food already in the house because we're running out of freezer/cupboard space and that's ridiculous. We've also got the BT phone bill due next week, and The Boy's birthday plus a holiday and Britmums Live next month, so I'm now on an economy drive. Nothing apart from bread and milk will be purchased this week!

Sunday: away
Monday: Quorn escalope with gruyere cheese/chicken and mushroom pie (freezer food), potato wedges and peas.
Tuesday: Meatballs and spaghetti (yes I know I've missed out the 'a' in spaghetti).
Wednesday (late work night): Cheese & vegetable pasties, potato wedges and salad.
Thursday:Pasta and vegetable salad.
Friday: Chinese! (Of course!)
Saturday: Risotto and ciabatta bread (mix in cupboard). I think I'm going to do a primaverdi and parmesan version to try and welcome in Spring and Summer. I may even partake of Pimm's alongside it.

There you go, hardly inspiring but it will work for me.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's

Meal Planning Monday #7

April 23, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

Last week's meal plan by and large was stuck to with the exception of Saturday night's Chinese takeaway. We decided to go into Cardiff during the late afternoon and buy an iPad (as you do) and took our Tesco vouchers with us so we could have a meal at Pizza Express afterwards. Therefore, I moved the Chinese to Sunday because we don't like to miss it!

Sunday: Chinese (home-made deep-fried tofu/takeaway chicken balls, sweet and sour sauce, crispy seaweed, egg fried rice, spring rolls and chips. Because I'm Welsh and that's how we roll around here!)
Monday: Dauphinoise potatoes, blue cheese and asparagus tartlets and salad.
Tuesday: freezer left-over Pizza Hut pizza and spicy potato wedges
Wednesday: Pasta and salad
Thursday: slow-cooked vegetable pasta (not tried this before, it will be a cheese/cream based pasta because I dislike tomato sauces on pasta)
Friday: Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne (my brother, the chef, was supposed to be coming over last Friday and I cooked this for him, but mid-afternoon he had to cancel. He's coming this Friday instead so I shall cook it again)
Saturday: Mango and coconut paneer

Quite a few repetitive meals in this week's plan that make up our staple diet, but after two weeks off work for Easter and working an extra day due to INSET, I know I'm going to be knackered and need easy food. I'll get back on track with my imagination next week!

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's

Meal Planning Monday #6

April 16, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 7 Comments

I'm slacking off, I abandoned the stir-fry last week (because I realised fajitas and Chinese combined with that were too similar), and we had Pizza Hut instead. But I figure that for the most part I'm sticking to the plan, and I'm wasting less food and saving money so that's always a good thing. Our diet is more nutritious and balanced, and we're getting great use out of the slow cooker.

With the weather improving somewhat, the mood of our meals has lightened to take account of that; a few more Spring like meals on the menu this week. Plus I've been sent some Rachel's Organic yoghurts to try out some of their recipes, so I've planned a few meals based on that.

Sunday: Spring Sausage Stew (done in the slow cooker) and Fruit Cobbler
Monday: Fajitas (wraps that need using up from the end of last week)
Tuesday: Halloumi Salad with Herby Yoghurt Dressing
Wednesday: Pizza Hut pizza and chips (when Mr. TBaM went and bought pizza last week on our cop-out night, they had 2 for 1, so he came home with a spare one which we froze)
Thursday: Dauphinoise potatoes, blue cheese and leek tartlets (based on this recipe)
Friday: Lasagne (leftovers from the freezer, either with quorn or butternut squash and spinach)
Saturday: Chinese (I made deep fried tofu last week and it was gorgeous).

Next week, I think I'm going to have to do some batch-cooking on the Monday and Tuesday for the forthcoming weeks. With the new term starting, I'm bound to be exhausted at first.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's

Meal Planning Monday #5

April 9, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 13 Comments

I only had one blip last week, on Thursday evening after a long day at work at the end of a long half-term I sent Mr. TBaM to the chippy, my heart was not in making something from scratch!

This week's meal planner is obviously reduced due to the Easter weekend.

Sunday: free for Easter festivities.
Monday: travelling back from west Wales so I'll be needing something easy.
Tuesday: fajitas, an easy way to get the veggies in to our diet. It can be a healthy option if I don't cover everything in dips and cheese!
Wednesday: vegetable and cheese pasties, and salad. When I was off on maternity leave, I made pasties all the time, they were such a frugal and relatively healthy (low-fat butter and thin pastry) option for dinner. I'm trying to pinch the pennies for various reasons and need to make a big batch of these.
Thursday: vegetable stirfry. Can you try I'm trying to get more veggies into our diet?
Friday: pasta and salad.
Saturday: Chinese. I made a batch of deep-fried tofu the other week and it lasted for a few meals. I'll be making some more. I've just learnt some nonsense that crispy seaweed is not seaweed? I refuse to believe it, I felt I was getting in touch with my Welsh side and appreciating laverbread.

I need to use the next fortnight off work to batch cook some meals for the freezer, money-saving and far healthier.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's

Meal Planning Monday #4

April 2, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

I only managed to have one fail last week, and that was not my fault. My mum (despite the planner being up which is partly for her when caring for The Boy) gave him Friday's dinner for his lunch instead. I ended up doing butternut squash risotto, this time in the slow cooker. It didn't work out well: one minute it was undercooked massively, the next it was slushy. I've therefore carried the lasagne forward to this week's planner.

As we're approaching Easter weekend, I've planned for Sunday to Thursday and am leaving the actual weekend free. I've got plenty of freezer food which we can have depending upon what we're doing each day, however I also suspect we'll be out and about quite a bit and I've allowed for that.

Sunday: chicken (slow-cooker) or mint, chilli and vegetable loaves, with potato fritters and roasted butternut squash and vegetable salad. (Mum, dad, boy cousin and girl cousin are coming over for dinner, hence the choice)
Monday: pasta and salad (going to try a reduced balsamic vinegar dressing as suggested to me by The Kitchen Mechanic. Incidentally, I will be adding this recipe to next week's planner somewhere!)
Tuesday: Butternut squash and spinach lasagne
Wednesday: Shepherd's pie (freezer left-overs)
Thursday: Mango and coconut paneer
Friday: free
Saturday: free

As I type this up, I've realised that we haven't had fajitas in ages and so they are definitely on the menu for next week. A scrummy way of making sure we have plenty of our five a day.

What are you planning for your family meals this week?

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday over at At Home With Mrs. M.