Our Family Meal Plan for This Week 21/05 - £62

Our Meal Plan this week is pretty unadventurous and simple as I've a hectic week and need low faff options for dinner. I’ve gone for simple baking and lunches I can make in advance as well.

Breakfasts will be cereal and milk or toast with a piece of fruit for afters. We’ll have boiled eggs and soldiers once or twice this week too. Breakfast on the weekend will be the same, however one breakfast on the weekend will be pancakes.

I will probably bake more than the Baked Treats mentioned in the Meal Plan, there are enough ingredients for me to do so.  I shall amend this post if I do bake more goodies this week but considering it will be a really hectic week, I shall be struggling to fit all the baking in that I need to do without doing loads of extra baking.

The cost of the 47 items needed for our Meal Plan this week was £62.43 from Asda and they were delivered today, 20/05/2012.  I used My Supermaket to compare prices, as usual, and my shopping would've cost £78.13 at Sainsbury's and £79.13 at Tesco.

Dinners

Macaroni Cheese - Monday

I make my own cheese sauce using a roux base and add mixed vegetables to the pasta during the last few minutes of cooking time.  Our Macaroni Cheese usually has plenty of vegetables with the pasta in a rich cheddar cheese sauce.


Toad in the Hole - Tuesday

8 sausages
2 onions, quartered
2 Tblsp olive oil
150g plain flour
2 tsp mustard
2 eggs
300ml milk

Preheat your oven to 200C.  Put the sausages and onion wedges in an ovenproof baking dish. Drizzle over the oil and cook for 20 minutes.

While the sausages are cooking, put the flour and mustard powder in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the eggs and milk to make a batter. Take the sausages out of the oven and pour the batter into the dish. Put back into the oven and cook for about 30-40 minutes until the batter is crisp and golden.  I usually serve this with mixed vegetables and gravy.


Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce - Wednesday


Tuna Burgers - Thursday

2 x 410g tins chickpeas , drained and rinsed
400g tins tuna n spring water, drained
2 Tblsp chopped fresh coriander
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chilli powder (use more or less to your taste)
2 Tblsp plain flour
1 - 2 Tblsp oil

Tip the chickpeas into a bowl and mash them so that they break down but still keep some texture. Flake in the tuna along with the onion, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, chilli and fresh coriander. Mix everything together well and then season the mixture to taste. Using your hands shape the mixture into 6 burgers using your hands. Dust the burgers with flour.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a moderate heat. Cook the burgers for 5-6 minutes, turning over after 3 minutes. Serve in buns with salad leaves, mayo, tomato slices and a little more fresh coriander if you like.


Bangers and Mash with Vegetables - Friday

Grilled sausages served with mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes and homemade tomato relish.  Simple but delicious!


Mince and Lentil Onepot – Saturday and Sunday

Lunches

All packed lunches will include crudités (carrot sticks, celery sticks and cucumber sticks) with herbed yoghurt dip and a piece or two of fruit. There will of course be a small baked treat included too. The bulk of the packed lunches this week will contain a calzone (recipe below) or Savoury Scone Swirls.

Mince and Vegetable Calzone

250g beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 peppers, diced (any colour will do)
200g mushrooms, finely sliced
4 Tblsp tomato paste
125ml boiling water
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tblsp fresh chives, finely chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Dough:
1  x 7g packet instant yeast
1 Tblsp sugar
150ml - 200ml lukewarm water
3 cups bread or plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed herbs

Make the dough first so it has time to rise whilst you make the filling. Mix the yeast, sugar and water together then add the flour, salt, a couple of hearty grinds of pepper and mixed herbs.  Mix the ingredients together well, and add more warm water or flour if necessary, until the dough mixture forms a large ball.

Knead the dough gently until it is elastic and smooth.  Grease a bowl with a little oil, put the dough into the bowl and turn it n the oil.  Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in a warm place to rise for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 190C/170 Fan.

Now make the filling.  In a frying pan over a moderate heat, saute the onion, peppers, mushrooms until the peppers and onion start to soften then add the minced beef.  Brown the mince well, breaking it up as it cooks.  Add the tomato paste, water and chives then simmer gently for 10–15 minutes. Remove the filling fron the heat.

To make calzone, take a small piece of dough and roll it out into a small circle shape. Put a large spoonful of mince mixture on one side of circle, leaving a 1cm clear edge. Top with a tablespoon of grated cheddar cheese.  Fold the empty side over the filling to make a crescent shape then pinch the edges together to seal the calzone.  Repeat until all the dough and filling has been used.  I can usually get about 18 - 20 small calzone from this recipe. 

Put the calzone onto lined baking trays. Brush with a little oil and bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until they are golden and crispy.

Baked Treats

Cornflake and Sultana Cookies

125g butter at room temperature, diced
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1 Tblsp milk
1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup sultanas

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two large flat baking trays with non-stick paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the milk and mix until the dough just comes together. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the cornflakes and sutanas, and mix until well combined.

Roll the mixture into balls, I usually use 1 Tblsp at a time. Put onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Allow room for the cookies to spread. Flatten the cookies slightly with a floured fork. Bake for 12-14 minutes until light golden. Remove from the oven and stand for 5 minutes on the baking trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


Banana and Date Loaf

Homemade Muesli Bars

1 x 397g tin of condensed milk
500g muesli
100g mixed dried fruit

Preheat your oven to 130C/Gas Mark 1/2 and lightly oil a large baking tin. Mine measures 23cm x 33cm x 4cm.

Mix the dry ingredients and fruit together until well combined. Warm the condensed milk in a pan then mix with all the other ingredients and use a spatula to make sure everything is well coated.

Press the mixture into the tin and level the surface. The mixture is really sticky so you might want to wet your hands or lightly oil them so that you don't end up a sticky mess.

Bake the muesli bars for 1 hour then set aside for 15 minutes to cool slightly. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container.

Shopping List

Cost of 47 items was £62.43 from Asda Online Shopping, delivered 20/05/2012.

Packets and Cereals
1x ASDA Smartprice Cornflakes (750g) 46p
1x ASDA Smartprice Crispy Rice Cereal (440g) 70p
1x ASDA Smartprice Swiss Style Muesli (1Kg) 98p
1x ASDA Smartprice Spaghetti (500g) 24p
2x Asda Wholefoods Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg) £1.20
1x ASDA Wholemeal Bread Flour (1.5Kg) £1.28
1x ASDA Smartprice White Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg) 52p
1x Silver Spoon Granulated Sugar (500g) 61p
1x ASDA Smartprice Pasta Shapes (500g) 30p
1x Asda Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per pack - 42g) 64p

Tins, Jars and Cooking
1x Heinz Baked Beanz in Tomato Sauce (4x415g) £1.50
3x ASDA Tuna Chunks in Spring Water (185g) £2.85
1x ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g) 31p
1x ASDA Smartprice Mayonnaise (500ml) 48p
2x ASDA Chick Peas in Water (400g) £1.40
2x ASDA Chosen by You Green Lentils in Water (400g) 94p
1x ASDA Double Concentrated Tomato Puree (200g) 48p
1x ASDA Extra Special Passata Chunky (700g) £1.28

Frozen
3x ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg) £2.25

Dairy and Eggs
6x ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L) £6.00 any 2 FOR £2.00
1x Stork (500g) £1.09
1x Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk (397g) £1.00
2x ASDA Smartprice Low Fat Natural Yogurt (500g) £1.10
1x ASDA Free Range Mixed Weight Eggs (15) £3.09
1x ASDA English Medium Cheddar (400g) £2.00 any 2 FOR £4.00
1x ASDA Chosen by You English Mature Cheddar (400g) £2.00 any 2 FOR £4.00

Fruit and Vegetables
1x ASDA Chosen by You Pitted Dried Dates (500g) £1.20
1x ASDA Smartprice Sultanas (500g) 84p
20 ASDA Smartprice Apples by Weight (100g) £2.00
20 ASDA Bananas by Weight (100g) £1.36
10 ASDA Carrots by Weight (100g) 78p
3 ASDA Courgettes by Weight (100g) 54p
1x ASDA Smartprice Mushrooms (750g) £1.18
10 ASDA Onions by Weight (100g) 76p
2x ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg) £2.00 2 FOR £2.00
5 ASDA Tomatoes by Weight (100g) 99.5p
2x ASDA Whole Cucumber £1.00
1x ASDA British Iceberg Lettuce Loose 50p
2x ASDA Celery £1.00
2x ASDA Garlic Loose 60p
1x ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g) £1.50
2x ASDA Mandarins (700g) £2.00 any 2 FOR £2.00
1x ASDA Unwaxed Lemons (5) £1.00

Meat, Fish and Poultry
2x ASDA Chosen by You Pork Sausages (8 per pack - 454g) £2.00
1x ASDA British Lean Beef Steak Mince (500g) £3.29 any 2 FOR £6.00
1x ASDA British Turkey Mince (450g) £1.98
1x ASDA British Beef Mince (250g) £1.20