Meal Planning Monday - 2 Jan 2012

Welcome to 2012! I am trying to muster up enthusiasm as this time of year generally leaves me feeling a little flat. Following on from my get a grip in January post, here is this week's meal plan. I am cross with Asda as what should have cost £57.24, actually cost £64.44 as they delivered a piece of beef more than twice as large as ordered. It's put me over budget for the week so I will try and claw that back at some point.

• BBQ Chicken fajita layer (only uses half a pack of wraps if I make it like lasagne)
• beef pot roast (using up leftover roasties and Yorkshire puds from freezer)
• meatloaf (using turkey mince as it's cheapest, and left over packet of stuffing)
• sausage casserole
• egg, beans and chips
• beer chicken
• ham and potato casserole (using left over gammon from freezer)

Don't forget to check out the linky on Mrs M's blog for more menu ideas.

2011 round up

What would 31 December be without a little self indulgent introspection?

Great things that have caught my eye and/or changed my life in 2011

1. Isle of Wight - our Easter holiday there is one of my favourite family holidays ever, due in no small part to the glorious weather. The unpredictability of British sunshine really makes it special.
2. Pod camping - 3 days with my boys and friends and something new for all of us
3. Polo - Pimms, sunshine and strong thighs. It's got to be an annual outing
4. SlimPod - it's helping change the way I think about eating, and develop (hopefully lasting) healthier habits.
5. Dubonnet - building a new relationship with an old favourite.
6. Pinterest has changed my life without a doubt. Such a fantastic site with tonnes of interesting and useful links, and a favourite indulgence for time wasting
7. Twitter  - not a new find, but one I've used much better this year and have found some lovely funny people through
8. Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday -  I am so much more organised as a result of this. It's also motivated me to try new recipes and, along with Pinterest, has rejuvenated my pleasure in day to day domestic cooking
9.  Moves Like Jagger- I love this song. Possibly my favourite all year
10. Early starts - it's taken me a while to get into the habit but now I (mostly) love my early morning starts. I am a lark. 

Happy New Year! I hope that 2012 is everything you could wish for. I fully plan on giving it plenty of welly and am looking forward to it immensely.

January Meal Plan

The need to feel in control of meals and money again has led me to meal plan early. My aim for January is to bring each week's shopping in at £60 or less. I know I can do it if I plan and shop sensibly. It certainly can't hurt to try.

My handicaps are 2 fussy child eaters, 1 of whom won't eat potatoes or sauce in any form, and one whose likes and dislikes change on a whim; and a husband who eats a lot, but none of it pasta. On my side are my slow cooker, a love of baking, and a wealth of delicious and inexpensive ideas courtesy of all the lovely recipe bloggers out there.

Here are my 28 meals for January. I figure left overs will take care of the other 3 days. I have listed them vaguely order of shopping rather than order of eating. I have a big freezer so will either cook in advance (eg: beef stew will also be pie filling with a few tweaks), or cut meat into meal size portions and freeze.

I tend to use frozen vegetables in winter as they are cheaper and I can cook them in just the portion sizes I need, so where I have just put something like 'pot roast', it will be pot roast, peas and potatoes for example. I'll still be doing Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday linky each Monday.

1.       BBQ chicken fajita layer

2.       Meatloaf

3.       Fridge fajita

4.       Pot roast

5.       Beef stew

6.       Beef pie

7.       Chicken stew

8.       Chicken pie

9.       Chicken curry

10.   Chinese lemon chicken

11.   Creamy Chicken Casserole*

12.   Beer chicken (chicken pieces cooked in crock pot in beer)

13.   Sausage casserole

14.   Sausage plait

15.   Rissoles

16.   Gammon, chips, peas and egg

17.   Pesto baked potatoes and gammon

18.   Ham and Potato casserole*

19.   Chilli and rice

20.   Chilli fajita layer

21.   Pizza

22.   Make you own wraps

23.   Pulled pork

24.   Egg, beans and chips

25.   Cranberry pork*

26.   Quorn, noodle & veg stir fry

27.   Root vegetable stew*

28.   Fridge fried rice

Meal Planning Monday - 5 December 2011

I am quite pleased with this week's menu as it is really inexpensive and should be tasty. It's not going to win any prizes for excitement, but with the fussy eaters I live with that is not necessarily a bad thing. The kids can help make the doughballs, wraps, biscuits and flapjacks.

Pasta & homemade dough balls
steak pasties
Fajitas (including homemade wraps) with bbq chicken in slow cooker
Vegetable risotto using mixed frozen veg (crockpot or oven baked)
Sausage casserole & potatoes 
Frittata with gammon and peppers
Leftovers

I'll also be giving these Nutella Cookies a whirl, and possibly flapjacks, depending on how long they last.

For more menu plans have a look at the linky on Mrs Ms's blog.