Our Meal Plan for this week - £42

Apologies for posting this Meal Plan late, I worked Sunday night and ran out of time to get everything blogged during the day.  We have a busy week this week, and my youngest turns 7yo so there will be rather a lot of cake and baking to do.

This week I've 2 evening events as well as working 2 nights, I've also got a couple of daytime meetings to attend as well.  Time is short and I need to fit in my usual bread baking and other baking around everything else.  Organisation is the key to maintaining my sanity this week.  

Breakfasts will be porridge with a piece of fruit for afters.  Much to their disgust my 3 daughters will be having school dinners this week.  I told them it will help them appreciate the packed lunches I make. ;o)

Our dinner on Tuesday has been chosen by my youngest as her Birthday Tea, each child gets to pick whatever they like (within reason) for the family dinner on their birthday.  We'll be having Birthday Cake for pudding that night so at least that is easy!

I am using chard, swedes, leeks, beans and potatoes along with broccoli and cabbage from our allotments this week.  It will save us quite a bit and I can harvest the vegetables as and when I need them which means they will be really fresh.  We are so lucky to be able to grow so much of our own food, even though it is hard work and some crops fail sometimes.

Dinners

Root Vegetable Bake

You can use different types of seasonal vegetables depending on what you have available.  You could use sweet potato or butternut squash and courgette instead of carrot and potato.  If you give the carrots and potatoes a good scrub there’s no need to peel them before grating them.

1 tsp oil for greasing

4 large baking potatoes

4 or 5 carrots

2 large onions, peeled and grated or very finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 Tblsp fresh rosemary, or 1 Tblsp dried

2 tsp salt

A few good grinds of black pepper

3 Tblsp oil

2 Tblsp cornflour

4 free range eggs, beaten

100g grated cheddar

Preheat your oven to 180C and grease a round or rectangular baking dish with a teaspoon of oil.  Finely grate the potatoes, carrots and onions.  This is much easier if you have a food processor, we don’t so I grate it all by hand and get my 3 daughters to help.  Line a colander with a clean teatowel and tip in the grated vegetables.  Gather up the edges of the teatowel and squeeze out as much liquid from the vegetables as you can.

Tip the vegetables into a large bowl with the crushed garlic, finely chopped rosemary, salt, pepper and oil.  Mix to combine then add the corn flour and beaten eggs.  Once again mix until well combined.

Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish and lightly press the top to level it.  Bake for approximately an hour or until the mixture is cooked through.  Exact cooking time will vary depending on the size of the dish and which vegetables are used.  Loosely cover the top with foil if it browns too quickly before the dish has cooked through.

Once the dish has cooked, take it out of the oven and sprinkle over the grated cheese.  Bake for a further 5 minutes to melt the cheese.  Cut into squares or slices to serve.  We will be eating ours with steamed rainbow chard from our allotment and some sausages.

Macaroni Cheese with Steamed Greens

Simmered Mince Many Ways - 3 dinners

Bacon and Chard/Spinach Pasta

500g pasta

1 large bunch of spinach or chard, washed and trimmed

225g lean bacon, rind and fat removed then sliced

4 spring onions, sliced

375ml can evaporated milk

3 tsp cornflour

Cook pasta following packet directions adding the spinach or chard for the last couple of minutes of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and chard/spinach well.

Whilst the pasta and greens are cooking, cook the bacon in a frying pan for 4-5 minutes over a medium heat. Add the spring onions and garlic cook for 2 or 3 more minutes.

Combine a little of the evaporated milk with the cornflour.  Add this mixture to the bacon, garlic and onion with the rest of the evaporated milk.  Stir over a medium heat until the mixture thickens.  Add the drained pasta and spinach/chard to the sauce in the pan and stir until heated through.  Serve topped with grated parmesan.

Mixed Vegetable and Pearl Barley Risotto

Shopping List

27 items: £41.73

Packets and Cereals

 1x   Mornflake Superfast Oats (2Kg)                                         £2.08

1x   ASDA Wholefoods Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)          80p

1x   ASDA Wholemeal Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                                £1.26

1x   Asda Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per pack - 42g)       65p

1x   Cook Italian Wholewheat Spaghetti (500g)                           £1.00

1x   Cook Italian Wholewheat Fusilli (500g)                                 £1.00

Frozen

 1x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                         75p

Tins, Jars and Cooking

 2x   ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g)                     68p

1x   ASDA Chosen by You Chilli Beans (290g)                           48p

Dairy and Eggs

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

1x   ASDA Chosen by You Evaporated Milk (410g)                    57p

2x   ASDA Smartprice Cheddar Mature White (385g)                  £4.34

Meat, Fish and Poultry

 1x   ASDA Extra Special Pork Sausages (6 per pack - 454g)      £2.50

2x   ASDA Butcher's Selection British Beef Mince (500g)           £4.00

1x   ASDA Smartprice Smoked Back Bacon (312g)                    £1.70

Fruit and Vegetables

 15   ASDA Bananas (Approx 170g)                                           £1.73

10   ASDA Royal Gala Apples (Approx 160g)                            £2.56

10   ASDA Carrots (Approx 110g)                                             99p

1     ASDA Butternut Squash (Approx 850g)                              72.3p

1     ASDA Sweet Potatoes (Approx 460g)                                58.9p

2x   ASDA Celery                                                                     £1.78

1x   ASDA Garlic Loose                                                           30p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g)                                      £1.68

1x   ASDA Spring Onions                                                         50p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg)                               98p

1x   ASDA Medium Navel Oranges (1Kg)                                   £1.50

2x   ASDA Smartprice Pears (500g)                                          £1.58

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery website My Supermarket, and are correct as of 13^th October 2013.  Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

Check out other Meal Plans over on At Home With Mrs M.