Meal Plan 25/5

Ohhh the sunshine has been a little bit magical this past week hasn’t it? Everything feels a little bit more managable and happy with sunshine, don’t you think? It’s made me want to buy a million pretty dresses though, so I’m having to resist that urge since my food bill has doubled in lockdown – anyone else?

I know I’m buying a few more snacks, but honestly not THAT much – I think it boils down to the fact that I am hideous at maths and when I’ve done my “normal” weekly shop, I forget to add up the little “pop” to the shop moments where I spend spend spend. That’s the problem. I do think some of the supermakets have increased/changed pricing as well, especially on luxury items – I noticed my multi-buy offer savings on my last bill were £3.50 whereas normally they would be much more. Ultimately, I blame it on having to buy a full week’s shop in one go!

Anyway, let’s have a look at last week:

• Monday :: Mac n Cheese – you know what I wasn’t impressed with this. I realised I hadn’t picked up any long life milk on our shop, and since I’m buying for my mum as well I could only get 3 4-pinters which is hardly enough for my coffee consumption, let alone the kids breakfasts and everything else. SO I used the evaporated milk I had in the cupboard and whilst this is more how the classic American Mac n Cheese would taste, I wasn’t a big fan, though it’s not a dish I rave for anyway.
• Tuesday :: One Pan Balsamic chicken – We had fish and chips instead as I was shooting a foodie brand collab. It was DELISH.
• Wednesday :: Frittata – the frittata itself might have been lush, but one was NOT enough on it’s own for all of us. I did a really pathetic little salad to go with it and it was all round a disappointing dinner! Maybe make it as a part of a picnic next time!
• Thursday :: Stir fried chicken – Another one we didn’t have – I ended up cooking a chicken kiev as part of a collab that came up last minute and it was amazing. Fresh, homemade garlic butter is a game changer.
• Friday :: Chicken Tinga taco boats – I couldn’t find any taco boats at the supermarket which was so frustrating because I was really excited for this one. I used the stir fry recipe from the night before and, as predicted, the broccoli and veg was cause for much complaint!
• Saturday :: Pizza night – Hooray for pizza night!
• Sunday :: Filled Yorkshire pudding – It suddenly occurred to me that I wouldn’t actually be able to make a giant yorkshire pudding to fill for everyone because I didn’t have enough pans! So I made toad in the hole instead.

Shall we have a look forward then?

Monday :: Creamy Chicken and mushroom stuffed peppers

These look and sound amazing – I found the recipe on pinterest for “frugal meals” but to be honest I’m not sure how “frugal” this one is, it sounds really yummy though and I know the boys enjoy stuffed peppers. Recipe is from Foodie Crush.

Tuesday :: Cuban Picadillo

From The Salty Marshmallow, this one sounds really interesting and I think I have most of the ingredients already!

Wednesday :: Aloha Chicken

I really love the sound of this and I think it will be a winner, perhaps one of those dishes that we can mark down as something we didn’t think the kids would eat. Rice bakes are always a win because they are so simple, and when they are dump and bake ones it’s even better! This is from The Seasoned Mom.

Thursday :: Italian Sausage with Aubergine parmesan

So I have a couple of delicious portions of Aubergine parmesan in the freezer, just waiting to be served up with something yum, so I’ve found this recipe for Italian sausage that I think will be really popular AND it is recommended to accompany aubergine parmesan. Huzzah! The recipe is by Sparkles of Yum.

Friday :: Takeaway

Most of them are open again now and the truth is I am done with cooking!

Saturday :: Bang Bang fish taco

I’m actually going to grab some bits and bobs to go with this like some mexican rice to have on the side and some tortillas with chips ‘n’ dips. This is from Taste and see.

Sunday :: N’duja pasta

I’m going to buy some Sacla n’duja pesto and just stir it into my pasta with some mushrooms and peppers chopped up finely. It’s delicious and it’s so easy to do!