Monday, April 7, 2014

Meal Planning Mondays April 7th - 13th


Last week I went a little crazy with food shopping! It was a combination of re-stocking things I was out of, hosting Cook Club and some definite impulsive buys that I didn't need but couldn't resist! Needless to say the budget's not looking great until the middle of the month, so this week's Meal Planning Mondays is all about using what I have! That's right - other than essentials like milk, fresh fruit and vegetables I am not allowed to buy anything else. To be honest it should be easy as I am a complete food hoarder and have enough food in our home to rival a small grocery store!

The Vietnamese Pork Noodle Soup on Monday is perfect for using up vegetables left over from Cook Club including Bok Choy, Bean Sprouts and Green Beans. All I need to do is defrost some Pork from the freezer and it will be the perfect start to the week. Tuesday's Spanish Tortilla is based on the fact that I always have Eggs and Potatoes in the house and it's a quick and easy meal that we all love and will provide plenty of leftovers for packed lunches the next day. Wednesday's meal is courtesy of Jamie Oliver and with lots of peppers, spring onions and fresh herbs in the house it is the perfect dinner to have midweek. Again the freezer will help me out with the Chicken as I have lots and I always have plenty of couscous and other grains on hand. With 3 pots of Greek Yogurt in the fridge I am good to go! Thursday and Scott will be home late so it will be a simple pasta dish for Ben and I....I'll update once I have decided if it will be our classic Tomato Pasta or something a little different and of course I'll need to see how the contents of the fridge are doing! (Update: I decided to make a Hearty Pasta Soup from BBC GoodFood - link below- which looks delicious and I know I have all of the ingredients for!) Friday is a Gorgeous Fish Stew taken from The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food & Lose Weight which I am really excited for! The fish and seafood are all in the freezer just waiting to be gently cooked in a mildly spiced tomato sauce. Thankfully for me I also have a French baguette tucked away in the freezer which will be perfect for the crostini. The weekend is definitely going to a bit more challenging as I generally like to take more time over dinner and either make a roast, slowly cook a stew or of course opt for the bbq or smoker so it will be a case of raiding the freezer again to see what I can come up with!

So there you have it - a week (almost!) of meals and an attempt to spend as little money as possible! How many days could you cook for you and your family based on just what you have in your house? Why not try it out and let me know how you get on! Have a great week!


Monday April 7th - Sunday 13th 

                                  Monday  -     Vietnamese Pork Noodle Soup ( From Kitchen by Nigella Lawson)
                                  Tuesday -      Spanish Tortilla with Roasted Red Peppers and a Green Salad
                                  Wednesday - Gorgeous Greek Chicken with Herby Vegetable Couscous &Tzatiki
                                  Thursday -     Hearty Pasta Soup
                                  Friday -         Gorgeous Fish Stew with Crostini (from the Hairy Dieters)
                                  Saturday -     Friend over for dinner: Chicken Panang with Steamed Bok Choy &                                                             Jasmine Rice
                                  Sunday -       TBD

  As always don't forget you can add links to your Weekly Meal Plans in the comments section below.   

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