Our Family Meal Plan For This Week 11/03/2013 - £59

We have another busy week this week and the weather is going to be very cold.  We had one glorious warm and sunny day last week that was a tantalising glimpse of spring.  However the polar blast has returned, I do truly loathe the British winter at times.  I think having my Mum moan about how hot and humid it has been in NZ hasn't helped either.

My girls will be having school dinners this week, much to their annoyance, but it means they get a hot meal in the middle of the day and saves me the faff of organising their lunches during a manic week.  Weekend lunches will be twice baked potatoes and pizza to use up any leftover vegetables at the end of the week.

Breakfasts will be porridge with homemade apple and berry compote and there will of course be fruit for afters too.  After school snacks will be fruit and yoghurt or soup from the freezer.

Our dinners are comforting, filling, packed full of vegetables, and easy to whip up - perfect for a busy and wintry week.  The cost of my shopping was £59.01 from Asda on 10/03/2013.  I used My Supermarket to compare the cost of my shopping elsewhere and my items would've cost £67.82 from Tesco and £73.94 from Sainsbury's.  

Dinners

Chilli Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

12 tortilla wraps

1 cup grated cheese

2 x 290g tins chilli beans

Preheat a frying pan, and put one large tortilla into it.  Quickly spread the tortilla with a couple of spoonfuls of chilli beans and some grated cheese.  Top with a tortilla and cook until bottom tortilla is light brown and crispy.  Carefully turn the quesadilla over and cook until second side is light brown and crispy.  Remove from the pan, cut into wedges and serve with a side salad or cooked vegetables.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Sweet Potato Casserole

8 chicken drumsticks, skin removed

600g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp paprika

500g tomato passata

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

500g frozen mixed vegetables

400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Preheat your slow cooker whilst you get the ingredients ready.  To remove the skin from the chicken pieces I cut around the bone end then use a paper towel to help grip the skin and pull it off.  Put the chicken, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, paprika, passata and dried mixed herbs into the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 7 hours.  Add the chickpeas and frozen mixed vegetables, stir to combine then cook for a further hour on low.

If you don't have a slow cooker, put all of the ingredients into a lidded casserole dish and cook in a preheated oven at 180C for 60 to 75 minutes.

Lentil and squash curry

1 onion peeled, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp oil

2 cups green lentils

500g butternut squash, peeled and diced

2 Tblsp curry powder

1½ tsp ground cumin

1 ½ litres vegetable stock

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and garlic, cooking gently until the garlic is tender and the onion becomes transparent.

Add the spices to the pan, cook for a minute or so until fragrant.  Add the stock and lentils, bring mixture to the boil then add the prepared butternut squash.  Simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and the vegetables are tender, this should take about 25-35 minutes. Season to taste and serve with rice and steamed greens.

Chorizo frittata

8 free range eggs

2 large potatoes

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

2 Tblsp oil

1 bunch spring onions, sliced

200g Chorizo, cubed

Scrub the potatoes, cut into 1 inch/2.5cm dice cubes and boil in salted water until just cooked then drain well.  Put the chorizo into a large frying pan over a moderate heat, fry until the oil starts to run then add the potato cubes, frozen vegetables and onion.  Cook until the chorizo is crispy, the onions have softened and the frozen vegetables have heated through.

Break the eggs into a bowl, add salt and pepper then whisk together before  pouring into the frying pan. Add the remaining oil to the pan and then pour in the egg mixture.

Reduce the heat to low and cook gently for about 5-10 minutes.  Whilst the frittata is cooking heat the grill of your oven.  When the frittata is set around the edges put the frying pan under the grill.  Be very careful not to melt the handle of your frying pan.  Grill the frittata until the top is set and light golden.  We have ours with salad or steamed greens. 

Sausage Flan

500 grams Cumberland sausage meat

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 spring onions, sliced

2 potatoes, grated

1 eating apple, grated

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

4 free range eggs, beaten

Preheat your oven to 180C.

With wet hands, line a 23cm diameter loose bottom flan dish with the sausage meat.

Put the garlic, spring onion, potato, apple, cheese into a bowl.  Add the beaten egg and combine everything well.

Pour into the sausage meat case then gently tap on the bench to make sure there are no air bubbles in the filling.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling has set in the middle.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew – Saturday then as pasties on Sunday

1 cup pearl barley

1 onion, finely diced

2 sticks celery, finely sliced

3 carrots, finely sliced

2 peppers, deseeded and diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp chilli powder

2 tins red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes

2 dried bay leaves

1 litre vegetable stock

Put all the ingredients into a large slow cooker and stir to combine everything.  Cover and cook on a low for 7 hours. Serve with steamed greens and wholemeal bread rolls.

Shopping List

38 items: £59.01                                                                                          

                                                                                                                       

Packets and Cereals                                                                                

                                                                                                                       

1x   Mornflake Superfast Oats (2Kg)                                             £1.88 

1x   ASDA Smartprice Long Grain Rice (1Kg)                            40p    

1x   Great Scot Pearl Barley (500g)                                               58p    

1x   ASDA Ready to Roll Puff Pastry (500g)                               £1.00 

1x   Great Scot Green Lentils (500g)                                             £1.29 

Dairy and Eggs                                                                                          

                                                                                                                       

5x   ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)              £5.00 

1x   ASDA Free Range Large Eggs (12)                                      £2.78 

2x   Cathedral City Extra Mature Cheddar (350g)                       £4.00 

3x   ASDA Chosen by You Low Fat Yogurt (6x125g)                £3.00 

Tins, Jars and Cooking                                                                           

                                                                                                                       

1x   ASDA Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (4x410g)                £1.24 

2x   Napolina Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice (400g)      £1.00  any 2 FOR £1.00

2x   ASDA Chosen by You Chilli Beans (290g)                         £1.36 

2x   ASDA Smartprice Red Kidney Beans in Water (400g)      54p    

1x   ASDA Chick Peas in Water (400g)                                        70p    

1x   ASDA Smartprice Passata (500g)                                          29p    

Frozen                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                       

2x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                          £1.50 

1x   ASDA Black Forest Fruits (500g)                                           £1.50  was £2.00

Fruit and Vegetables                                                                                

                                                                                                                       

2x   ASDA Spring Greens (500g)                                                  £2.40 

1x   ASDA Salad Tomatoes (750g)                                               £1.00 

20   ASDA Smartprice Apples by Weight (100g)                         £2.36 

20   ASDA Bananas by Weight (100g)                                         £1.36 

5     ASDA Carrots by Weight (100g)                                             45p    

2x   ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg)                                                £3.50  2 FOR £3.50

7     ASDA Butternut Squash by Weight (100g)                          70p    

10   ASDA Sweet Potatoes by Weight (100g)                              £1.28 

1x   ASDA Whole Cucumber                                                         50p    

1x   ASDA Little Gem Lettuce (2)                                                   66.7p  any 3 FOR £2.00

1x   ASDA Celery                                                                             89p    

2x   ASDA Garlic Loose                                                                   60p    

1x   ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g)                                         £1.77 

2x   ASDA Spring Onions                                                               £1.33  any 3 FOR £2.00

1x   ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg)                                £1.16 

Meat, Fish and Poultry                                                                             

                                                                                                                       

1x   ASDA Extra Special Pork Sausages (6 per pack - 454g)   £2.98  any 2 FOR £5.00

1x   ASDA Extra Special Chorizo Casero Sausage (225g)      £2.00 

1x   Banham Poultry Chicken Drumsticks (1Kg)                        £4.00 

Bakery                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                       

2x   ASDA Chosen by You Wholemeal Tortilla Wraps (8)        £2.00  was £1.28

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery website My Supermarket and are correct as of 10th March 2013.
Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

Should you want to discover other fab Meal Plans visit the Meal Planning Monday Linky.

7 comments Budgeting Tips, Chicken, Dinners, Meal Plan, Meatfree Monday, Slow Cooker, Vegetarian