Our Family Meal Plan Week of 18/06 - £62

I'm back to doing a proper Meal Plan this week.  Life is still hectic but I made the time to sort out a decent Meal Plan for my family and they are very relieved.  My 3 girls will be back on packed lunches, after having had school dinners last week, and they are very glad about that!

I will of course be baking all our bread, bagels, rolls, wraps, etc as needed.  There's no treat baking included in this Meal Plan as I'm unsure if I'll have time. Yes I know, tis shocking!  I will probably make some rice pudding for a lunchbox treat or afterschool snack.

Breakfasts will be cereal and milk or toast with a piece of fruit for afters.  Boring, I know, but I won't have time for a banquet each morning.

The cost of our Meal Plan for this week was £62.48 from Asda online shopping delivered on 17/06/2012.  I used Money Supermarket to check how much it would've cost elsewhere and the cost from Tesco would've been £71.32 and from Sainsbury's would've been £76.78.

Dinners

Red Lentil Bolognese

1 cup red lentils, uncooked
2 Tblesp oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 Tblsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Pour in the lentils and stir to ensure they do not stick to the base of the saucepan. Boil the lentils for 8-10 minutes or until soft.

Heat the oil in a medium pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and herbs, then stir in the lentils. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer until flavours develop, around 15 minutes


Roast Chicken With Roast Vegetables


Leftover Chicken Rolls

1 Tblsp oil
2 carrots, cut into very thin strips
1 pepper, cut into very thin strips
6 mushrooms, sliced
3 spring onions, sliced thinly
1 cup bean sprouts
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
4 Tblsp salt-reduced soy sauce
6 free range eggs, beaten

To make filling, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Stir-fry the carrot, mushrooms and pepper for 3-4 minutes. Add the bean sprouts, garlic and five spice powder. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add chicken and soy sauce. Heat through then set aside in a bowl.

Using the same frying pan, pour a little beaten egg into the pan and swirl it around pan to make a thin omelette. Cook until the edges start to turn golden. Carefully flip over the omelette and cook for another 30 seconds.  Slide onto a plate, fill with some of the prepared willing and then roll up.  Repeat until all the egg and filling have been used.


Chicken Fried Rice

4 spring onions, sliced
500g frozen mixed vegetables
4 cups cooked rice (or use microwaveable rice)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 Tblsp salt-reduced soy sauce

Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Spray with oil then fry spring onions for 1-2 minutes. Add frozen vegetables and fry for a couple more minutes until cooked through.

Add rice, chicken and soy sauce to pan and stir to combine. Heat for a few minutes more then serve immediately.


Red Lentil Bake

125g red lentils
2 Tblsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 large courgette, diced
60g rolled oats
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 large free range egg, beaten
100g cheddar cheese, grated

Put the red lentils into a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Bring the lentils to the boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the lentils are soft. You might need to add a little more water. Stir the lentils occasionally to stop them from sticking to the bottom of the pan whilst they cook.

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a moderate heat. Sauté the onion until it has softened. Add the garlic and courgette and cook for 5 minutes before adding the cooked lentils, mixed herbs and rolled oats. Take the frying pan off the heat, then stir through about ¾ of the grated cheese and the beaten egg.

Spoon the mixture into a non-stick baking dish and then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes. I usually serve this with steamed mixed vegetables and either baked potatoes or mash.


Macaroni Cheese


Crustless Salmon Quiche

1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 free range eggs, beaten
500ml milk
75g butter, melted
415g can pink salmon, drained
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp fresh chives, finely sliced

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs milk and butter. Combine to make a batter then stir through the salmon, onion, cheese and chives until they are just combined.

Pour into a large ovenproof dish which has been greased or lined with non-stick baking paper. Cook at 180C for about 45 minutes until the quiche is set. I usually serve mine with salad or steamed mixed vegetables.

Lunches

Weekday lunches will be Calzone from this Meal Plan along with crudites and herbed yoghurt dip.  There will of course be a piece of fruit or two and maybe a homebaked treat if I get time to bake some, otherwise there'll be a small pot of rice pudding.

Weekend lunches will be as follows:

Goats Cheese and Courgette Fritters

4 courgettes, grated
100g feta cheese, crumbled
1 Tblsp finely chopped fresh mint
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 free range eggs
1 onion, finely diced

Squeeze out as much excess moisture from the courgettes as you can. Combine with the feta, mint, breadcrumbs, eggs and onion. Form into 5 large fritters.

Put a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the fritters over a moderately high heat for 2-3 minutes each side, or until golden and cooked through.


Twice Baked Potatoes

Shopping List

39 items: £62.48

Packets and Cereals
1x ASDA Smartprice Porridge Oats (1Kg) 75p
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 Long Grain Rice (1Kg) 40p
1x ASDA Smartprice Pasta Shapes (500g) 30p
1x Great Scot Red Split Lentils (500g) £1.10
1x Asda Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per pack - 42g) 64p
1x Sunnybisk Wheat Biscuits (48 per pack - 864g) £1.78

Tins, Jars and Cooking
1x ASDA Wild Pacific Pink Salmon (418g) £2.17
2x ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g) 62p
1x ASDA Smartprice Mayonnaise (500ml) 48p
1x ASDA Double Concentrated Tomato Puree (200g) 48p

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

Dairy and Eggs
1x ASDA Greek Feta Cheese (200g) £1.50
1x ASDA Smartprice Low Fat Natural Yogurt (500g) 55p
2x ASDA Chosen by You Low Fat Strawberry Yogurt (6x125g) £2.00
1x ASDA Free Range Mixed Weight Eggs (15) £2.50
2x ASDA Chosen by You English Mature Cheddar (400g) £4.00 any 2 FOR £4.00
6x ASDA Fresher for Longer Filtered Semi Skimmed Milk (2L) £6.00

Fruit and Vegetables
1x ASDA Smartprice Pears 90p
1x ASDA Baby Spinach (180g) £1.00
20 ASDA Smartprice Apples by Weight (100g) £2.00
20 ASDA Bananas by Weight (100g) £1.36
20 ASDA Carrots by Weight (100g) £1.56
7 ASDA Courgettes by Weight (100g) £1.26
1x ASDA Smartprice Mushrooms (750g) £1.29
10 ASDA Onions by Weight (100g) 70p
2x ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg) £2.00 2 FOR £2.00
10 ASDA Tomatoes by Weight (100g) £1.99
5 ASDA Sweet Potatoes by Weight (100g) 64p
2x ASDA Whole Cucumber £1.80
2x ASDA Little Gem Lettuce (pack of 2) 88p
1x ASDA Celery 75p
1x ASDA Garlic Loose 30p
1x ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g) £1.65
1x ASDA Spring Onions 61p

Meat, Fish and Poultry
1x ASDA Butcher's Selection British Beef Mince (500g) £2.60
2.5kg ASDA Extra Special British Corn Fed Free Range Whole Chicken £8.95

10 comments Beef, Bread, Chicken, Dinners, Lunches, Meal Plan, Meatfree Monday, Pasta, Rice, Vegetarian