Meal Plan Monday

With food prices skyrocketing, its difficult to keep a handle on grocery shopping. To be frugal and ensure that you can feed your family nutritious, yet inexpensive meals, planning is essential.

With only a limited amount of money coming in each month, I have to stick to a strict budget. I tend to do one 'big' shop a month. Then I buy fresh fruit and veg from markets or car boots and milk and other perishables from local shops when needed. I always have a list. Admittedly when I am out and about, I sometimes find bargains that I haven't accounted for, but these can usually be frozen and go towards next months plan or, this months plan can be tweaked to incorporate them.

I use all my leftovers, nothing goes to waste. For example, for dinner on Saturday we had roast chicken. The leftover meat was stripped off ready to use in tonight's meal and the carcass, as we speak is simmering away in the kitchen, with some veg, to make a lovely homemade stock. The cottage smells lovely. The leftover carrots and broccoli from Saturday will also be used tonight. Then the mash leftover from making tonight's pie will be mixed with the remainder of the carrots and to nights cabbage to make bubble and squeak for tomorrow.

My meal planning isn't rigid though. Sometimes things come up unexpectedly and swift changes are needed, so I always keep a spare shepherds pie or bolognese in the freezer as a standby. Or, I swap and change the order of the weekly meals

Weekly Plan - 3 December 2012


Monday            Potato Topped Chicken and Broccoli pie, Cabbage

Tuesday            Beef Casserole, Bubble and Squeak

Wednesday      Pasta and Sausage Bake, Green Salad

Thursday         Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon, Jacket Potato

Friday              Homemade Smoked Haddock Fishcakes. Veg

Saturday          Vegetable Risotto

Sunday            Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Potatoes and Veg