OUR FAMILY MEAL PLAN WEEK BEGINNING 02/04/2018 - £72

It's school holidays for the next two weeks. My children are off for a total of 17 days, that's quite a long time which will be challenging for all of us and our budget.  I've spent about £10 more than normal on our shopping this week, some items will of course be useful next week such as the bread flour.

I'm trying to make sure we have filling meals to cut down on snacking and ensure our tums are fuller for longer. Hopefully it will also mean that we will have sufficient supplies to last the week, no matter who calls in for a feed visit. Most of the lunches can be easily expanded should unexpected guests arrive. 

As usual I am baking our bread, this week I will also be baking bagels, English muffins and fruit bread. This saves us loads as all of those baked goods would cost rather a lot from the supermarket. Because I'll be baking quite often and the lunches are fairly substantial I've kept the dinners fairly low faff and simple.

Breakfasts will be porridge or overnight oats with homemade apple and berry compote.  On the weekend I'll do pancakes and perhaps crumpets.

Lunches

Quesadillas (We will have these twice this week)

10 tortillas, wholemeal wraps or burritos
1 can whole kernel corn
2 tins chilli beans
1 cup grated cheese
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 spring onion, chopped

Preheat a non-stick frying pan or sandwich press.

Top five of the tortillas with the chilli beans, corn (drained), chopped tomato, spring onion and grated cheese. Cover with remaining tortillas (to make a tortilla sandwich).

Spray frying pan with a little oil. Cook tortillas one at a time in frying pan. Cook on one side for 2 or 3 minutes, then turn with a spatula and cook the other side for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until fillings are hot and cheese has melted. Repeat with other tortillas.

Allow to cool for a few minutes. Cut each tortilla into four wedges (or smaller pieces for smaller kids). Eat and enjoy!

Vegetable and Egg Bake

1 potato, cubed and cooked
1 small sweet potato, cubed and cooked
1 cup baby spinach leaves or kale
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 onion, finely chopped
3 free range eggs
180ml milk
2 Tblsp plain flour
½ cup cheese
pinch salt
couple of grinds of pepper
¼ cup cheese, extra

Put all the vegetables in a large bowl. Combine the eggs, milk, flour, cheese, pepper and salt. Beat until thoroughly combined. Gently stir into the vegetables, being careful not to bash about the cooked potato and sweet potato too much. Tip the mixture into a lightly greased 23cm pyrex dish or lined cake tin.

Bake in the oven at 180°C for 40 minutes, then sprinkle with the extra cheese and put under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve immediately.

Baked Potatoes with Baked Beans and Cheese

Storecupboard Hotpot

½ Tbsp oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp flour
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
1 tin (425g) beans, drained (e.g. mixed beans, butter beans, haricot beans or chickpeas)
1 large tin (400g) sweetcorn, drained
1 pepper, diced (red, orange or yellow)

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and sweat the onions until soft and transparent. Add the diced pepper and mushrooms and cook gently until softened.

Sprinkle in the flour stir for 1-2 minutes before adding the drained tins of tomatoes, beans and sweetcorn. Cook for another 5 minutes until everything is well heated through and the stew thickens slightly then serve.  I'll be serving this with wholemeal bread rolls.

Root Vegetable Soup (we'll have this twice)

1 onion, diced
1 Tblsp oil, butter or margarine
1 potato, peeled and diced
4 cups chopped vegetables (or a mixture of vegetables)
500ml vegetable stock

1 tsp dried mixed herbs
salt and pepper

Saute chopped onion in oil in a large saucepan until soft but not browned. Add around 4 cups of peeled chopped vegetables and the chopped potato. The starchiness of the potato improves the overall texture of the soup.

Gently cook the vegetables in the saucepan with the lid on for about 5 minutes over a moderate heat, then add water, stock or a combination of both to just cover the vegetables.

Simmer with the lid on until the veges are very soft, then process using a stick blender until smooth. Add extra liquid to adjust the consistency of the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Dinners

Roast Lamb with all the trimmings (Easter Monday)

Leftover Lamb Shepherds Pie

Leftover Roast Lamb Soup

Homemade Fish and Chips

Mixed Vegetable and Pearl Barley Risotto (2 nights)

Chicken Casserole

Shopping List

39 items: £72.17

Tins, Jars and Cooking

1x   ASDA Baked Beans, Reduced Sugar and Salt (4x410g)          98p

2x   ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g)                         58p

1x   ASDA Butter Beans in Water (400g)                                      45p

3x   ASDA Smartprice Sweetcorn in Water (326g)                         £1.05

1x   ASDA Chick Peas in Water (400g)                                         33p

4x   ASDA Chilli Beans in Chilli Sauce (390g)                               £2.60

Frozen

3x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                             £2.46

1x   ASDA Frozen for Freshness Berry Medley (1Kg)                    £2.75

1x   ASDA White Fish Fillets (540g)                                             £2.50

1x   ASDA Chicken Thighs (1.1Kg)                                              £2.50

Dairy and Eggs

3x   ASDA British Whole Milk 6 Pints (3.41L)                                £4.44

1x   ASDA Free Range Medium Eggs (12)                                    £1.65

1x   ASDA Smartprice Mature White Cheddar (830g)                    £3.69

Packets and Cereals

2x   ASDA Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                                £1.38

1x   ASDA Wholemeal Bread Flour (1.5Kg)                                   69p

1x   Allinson Easy Bake Yeast (100g)                                           98p

1x   ASDA Good and Balanced Pearl Barley (500g)                       55p

2x   ASDA Scottish Porridge Oats (1Kg)                                       £1.98

Fruit and Vegetables

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection  Sliced Curly Kale (200g)            65p

2x   ASDA Grower's Selection British Spring Greens (500g)          40p

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Salad Tomatoes (750g)                  £1.25

25   ASDA Grower's Selection Bananas                                        £3.00

24   ASDA Grower's Selection Royal Gala Apples                         £4.56

3x   ASDA Grower's Selection Carrots (1Kg)                                60p

1     ASDA Grower's Selection Butternut Squash (1.3Kg)               97.3p

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Celery                                           55p

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Garlic Loose                                  25p

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Spring Onions                                55p

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Sweet Potatoes (1Kg)                    £1.20

2x   ASDA Extra Special Buttery Marabel Baking Potatoes (2Kg)  £2.00

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Oranges Extra Juicy (2Kg)             £2.00

2x   ASDA Grower's Selection Pears (1.2Kg)                                £4.00

2x   ASDA Grower's Selection British Parsnips (500g)                  40p

3x   ASDA Grower's Selection Plums (750g)                                 £4.20

1x   ASDA Grower's Selection Extra Trimmed Leeks (550g)          20p

1x   ASDA Farm Stores Brown Onions (1Kg)                                59p

1x   ASDA Farm Stores Mixed Peppers (3)                                   99p

Meat, Fish and Poultry

1     ASDA Butcher's Selection Half Lamb Leg                         £10.60

Bakery

3x   ASDA Mexican Style Wholemeal Tortillas (8)                         £2.25

We purchased our groceries online from Asda, via My Supermarket for delivery on 31/03/18.  Our shopping cost £72.17, had we shopped elsewhere our items would've cost:

£83.28 from Lidl

£86.42 from Tesco

£87.35 from Morrisons

£91.98 from Sainsbury's

My lovely blogging buddy Ciara from My Fussy Eater has created a fab Meal Planning Facebook Group so we can inspire each other. She also has a book coming out in April which you can pre-order here. 

And Katykicker, and Naomi from The Organised Life Project have a Meal Planning Linky full of fabulous Meal Planning posts with lots of tasty ideas.