missuscluck Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Not sure if this should be in this part of the forum or not but here goes... I have got two days off work. YAY! As I know how to enjoy myself I am planning a trip to the supermarket tommorrow. BOO! Does anyone else out there in omlet land get really fed up with deciding what everyone in their family is going to eat for the next 7 days. I am not feeling inspired this evening. I HATE shopping at the super market and buy meat at the butchers and then brave the super market for stuff to go with it. Hence my reluctance means that it is a once a week effort so a list is needed to prevent further trips. SO... I always sit down and think of something to eat for each night for the next 7 days and do it in one go. I am REALLY fed up with this. I ask my family for suggestions, the best they come up with is Pizza. Indeed thay would eat Pizza every night if they could. Perhaps I should try it. So, come on you lot inspire me, what are you all having to eat this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I became so fed-up with thinking and cooking that, when I had a serious knee injury and was laid up in plaster, I stopped cooking much - luckily my OH likes cooking and uses it as a stress buster, so he took over. I have started cooking again now and we share it throughout the week and we do about half of the meals each. Something I have done though is to list all the usual things we cook on a regular basis. I added things to it as and when I remembered them and now have an impressive list of meals to refer to when my mind goes blank! (which is a frequent occurrence ) Tonight we're having Sausage Hotpot - which is using all the leftovers from Bonfire Night party - cold sliced sausages, caramelised onions, some sticky ribs sauce I made and half a can of sweetcorn - I've added a can of baked beans, 2 cans of tomatoes and some diced fried potatoes. all to be cooked up and served with leftover Rosemary Focaccia Bread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Funnily enough we had pizza tonight as i was stuck at work til 5.15 then stuck in the traffic on the way home We had spag bol last night and plan to have gnocchi with mascarpone, spinach & pine nuts tomorrow - delish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I hate shopping too. We were away at the weekend (when I usually brave the supermarket) so had to go after a very long day at work last night. Grr Anyway hope this gives you some inspiration (all home made apart from the takeaway): Last Night - Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Ham & Salad Tonight - Lasagne with new potatoes & salad Tomorrow - At a family birthday dinner (could be good, could be bad ) Thursday - Beef Casserole with new potatoes & carrots Friday - Sausage & Mash with veges Saturday - Indian Takeaway (cos I deserve one night off) Sunday - Roast Beef Dinner with all the trimmings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Last night Dijon chicken, tonight eggy bread (late from work and tired), pasta with pesto and salad tomorrow I expect, then I run out of steam - I will look and see whatis in the freezer (sausages I think). I hate suoermarket shopping. Fortunately there is only me to disappoint when the cupboards are bare (there are always omelettes!! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I'm having this menu every day Breakfast - Hot chocolate shake Breaktime snack - Cranberry & rasberry bar alternate days Nut crunch bar Lunctime - Vegitable soup with a savoury drink sachet for flavour Evening meal - Hot chocolate shake I've just sat down with my evening meal - having it on the sofa tonight, not fussed about the table. And yes I am losing weight and no I'm not finding it hard. I havn't had any real food for 8 weeks now! And I think it may be Easter before I do. BUT it sure makes shopping easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Missuscluck, have you tried ordering online? Simplifies the whole process, and you can save yourself loads of time, also once you've done it a couple of times you have a ready-made list. Monday: Cauliflower cheese Tonight: cottage pie - or maybe spag. bol, haven't decided yet but I cooked up a double portion of mince & onions last night and froze one, saved the other to eat tonight Weds: going to a work do, I'll eat there Thurs: Jacket potato and cottage cheese Fri: Potato wedges and a sort of frittata/tortilla type thing to use up some eggs Sat: Takeaway! I haven't had one for weeks, a friend is coming over to celebrate the anniversary of moving into this house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 If it wasnt for my other half I would eat so much nice stuff, I would buy things I havent tried before and experiment and have things like soup and home made bread and vegitarian stuff etc and just a mixture of pick and eat foods like a buffett. But he eats soooo much, he needs large quantities of meat or fish or he moans, and wants a 'proper' meat potato veg dinner each night, and eats loads of food for lunch etc to, means a lot fo the food shopping budget goes on trying to fill his cavernous belly (its like a black hole, I dont know where it goes) means the food I cook is so boring most of the time. Although last night I did sausage meat and leeks in mustard sauce with great big individual potato and onion rosti's on top, that was nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 AS we have had young ones flown the nest for a while we are down to two and the secret I have found is cook double and freeze half. So I cook 2 lbs mince = basic mince and freeze - can then be used for all sorts of things from spag bol to shepherds pie and I make my own pizza dough and pizzas (breadmaker) and freeze it too. Hence a visit to butcher once in a blue moon and the supermarket every 2 - 3 weeks if I can last - local milk every week and freeze milk too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missuscluck Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 Thanks guys. Lesley: I have always ment to do that list of 'things we have eaten' It is one of my great ideas never got round to. Sausage hot pot is on this weeks menu. Emma: Pizza is on the list. lol Gnocchi, good idea, havent had that in ages. Jue: Lasagne, thats always a good one with a nice salad. Chicken Licken: I love pesto but the kids are not keen. Me and mrcluck have it on the sly if the kids have had an early tea. Penginmad: Oooh dear, been there done that, not for me at the mo. I have made friends with my fat for the time being. I have been on every diet plan known to man. Yours sounds a bit harsh. You must be a very determined lady. Olly: I have considerd the on line shopping scenario many times. I feel a bit lazy doing it. I think I feel its my duty to punish myself on a weekly basis. The Frittata is on the list Cats cube: Ooh you have a 'real man' then! Havent done potato and onion rostis for ages. They go on the list. Keep them comming. Im starting that big long list suggested by Lesley to stick on my fridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 We both love to cook, and we also cook twice what we need and freeze half so there is always frozen food in the freezer. So we regularly make, Irish stew, Hot Pot, Chili Con Carne, Cassoulet, sweet and sour pork, Lasagne, Cannelloni, Spanish Omelets, French Onion Soup, Cauliflower Cheese, Meat Balls, Baked Mackerel, Baked Salmon and on and on. Some of the above can be made without meat, and we add veggies or salad as we wish. Somebody said they freeze milk I didn't think you 'could' freeze milk, am I wrong, can you freeze semi skimmed Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I got a recipe off the forum this very night! http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14504&highlight=sausage I used xScrunchee's recipe (thank you - it was lovely!) but as it was one of those "oh no, it's teatime in an hour what shall we have?" meals, I didn't have any tinned potatoes or mushrooms so used fresh. A splash of Reggae Reggae sauce (from that guy off Dragon's Den) made it nicely spicy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I'm not one for meal plans - life's too short, but with just Rosie and I (and occasionally Phil) to cater for, I do tend to think abotu the week ahead over the weekend. I work full-time, so need to make sure that I can cater for Rosie's packed lunches, my cooked lunches, Rosie's suppers and my evening snack. Most of it is prepared from scratch and kept in the fridge until needed. When I have time, I batch cook at weekends and put it in the freezer, but it's only a tiny one under the fridge, so not much room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I quite enjoy food shopping and i am the most un-domesticated person out of all my friends (house is always a bit of a tip!) but theres summat about having lots of nice food in the cupboard and plenty of food for the pets that gives me a satisfied feeling. For inspiration - recent meals (at work and at home - the work ones are the more fancy sounding ones cos i can't cook 'dinner' type food - and by fancy i mean macaroni cheese!) Macaroni cheese! (Yum! Haven't had it for ages and had it at school today! Lovely!) Sausage, potatoes and runner beans Bacon and eggs Pizza Salmon with rice and veg Fishfingers I also made these white chocolate heavens that were recomended in my 'hens in the garden, eggs in the kitchen' book as we had guests last night but they were to frozen when i got them out and noone could eat them! I had to defrost them in the microwave! Am just about to make bread... (and no, i don't have a bread maker - revnev can claim that he's making bread, but unless he kneads it by hand rather then puts it in a machine its all a con! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I freeze milk! Semi-skimmed and it's fine, but it does take a long time to thaw. I feel I've got shopping sorted out now. I have a weekly veg box from Riverford, delivered to my door. I also have 8 litres of their milk, 3 of which I freeze for Tuesday and Wednesday. I have a meat box from DevonRose delivered every 4 weeks. I do a Sainsbury order for everything else once a month. I nearly always have everything I need all month. I make my own bread, so it's packets of flour rather than loaves. I make my own yoghurt too, so that doesn't go off (with Moo Milk - organic long-life). The only thing I can't buy enough of is fruit and I re-stock half-way through the month. I try to plan meals weekly just to avoid that 'what shall I cook?' moment and hour before dinner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 We freeze milk all the time - semi and full fat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Quick question (so i don't have to phone my mum! ) can you freeze egg whites? My pudding i made sunday evening had 3 egg yolks in it and i have no idea what to do with the whites (they have been sitting in a mug in the fridge for a day and a half?) Can you freeze them and would the ones from sunday still be ok to freeze? (i know, showing my ignorance!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I have a HUGE file with heaps of recipes in it,ripped out from magazines,some of which I cook all the time,soe of which I just want to try . I just go through it every sunday, & make a menu list for mon - thur, then of friday I do the weekends list & shop. Then I go to Riverford, & see whats in their boxes,& try to work that in too. This week looks like this - MONDAY - Sticky sausages,oven chips & salad TUESDAY - Prawns Creole & rice WEDNESDAY - Veggie casserole & herby dumplings THURSDAY - Monzarellis Burgers, Ciabatta & salad (they are gorgeous home made sausagemeat burgers with pine nuts & sun dried toms) I have tried to do a whole week at once, but prefer to split it this way,as the ingredients are fresher & my brain doesn't hurt so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Yes Helen, egg whites freeze really well, just put them in a food bag and bung them in the freezer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 No room in my freezer for milk I get bottles of organic milk from a local herd when I can (the big, old fashioned bottles too ), but I don't often see them around. I am goign to switch my milk supplier though and get my organic milk from the milkman rather than the supermarket, that way it will be delivered 3x a week and I won't have big plastic bottles clogging up my fridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfrock Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Monday night - was tired from an over active weekend so we had tacos with turkey mince (I am allergic to anything from a cow - normally use lamb mince, but only had turkey in the freezer), salad and coleslaw Last night - roast chicken, with roast carrots, spuds and parsnips, cauli and broccoli - to make up for no Sunday roast this weekend tonight - always has to be a quick meal as Andy has to be at TA early, so it is eggs and kabanos (a childhood favourite) or omelet and salad Thursday - probably jacket spuds with tuna and mixed bean salad -(another regular) Friday - my night out at my best mate's house, so I leave Andy to fend for himself if he isn't away with the TA) Saturday - whatever we fancy when we go food shopping Sunday - normally either a roast or something slow cooked, or a slow cooked roast. The leftovers normally then become Monday's dinner. I hate planning ahead. I do drive past the supermarket on my way home if I have been in the office that day, but going in there just delays getting home by at least 30 minutes Now that the colder weather is here, the slow cooker will be being used more than it isn't. I find it an absolute godsend. Another staple is wholemeal pasta with Sacla Aubergine pesto (delicious and the only one that is dairy free) with pan fried courgettes and crispy bacon. All my veg go in the steamer - easy. Often I shall do the same basics, but do Andy grilled meat and I'll have grilled fish. I tend to ignore the spuds or rice and just pile up on the veg, but make sure Andy has everything as he is in a physical job Oh and corn on the cob with nearly everything until it goes out of season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 We've started doing something in our family which we heard about on a radio programme - Each week the children (6 & have to chose a meal which they will cook. They do all the prep and cooking (with dad watching very closely!) This week the 6 yr old cooked fish/ meatballs with rice, carrots and broccoli - the 8 yr old cooked rissotto. we're hoping that this wll help them to understand how much work goes into preparing a meal, so they don't moan so much when they don't really like something we have cooked! We've also just got a slow cooker, which is fantastic because you can just prepare everything in the morning/ night before, pop it on in the morning and forget about it. Our last effort was tuna stew (using frozen tuna steaks - they are much cheaper than fresh) We try to organise what we are having during the week before we go shopping as we live 6 miles away from the nearest town and try not to go in too often. We have a white board on the fridge which we add ideas to during the week and jot down things we are just about to run out of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) Oh I meant to say - If people want pizza all the time - make them make it from fresh. Dough doesnt' take that long to make, but it might put them off their moaning! Edited November 7, 2007 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 We have pizza parties to satisfy the pizza craving! Make a huge batch of pizza dough and get out all the baking trays, lump of dough on each tray and the children pummel it into shape then add their own toppings. Interesting trying to work out whose is whose when they come out of the oven though. Any leftover cooked pizza goes into the freezer for use in lunchboxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I do that too Snowy! Actuaaly when my daughter goes to her friends' houses, I still have to provide pizza dough! They love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
