What are you cooking for dinner? #3

[petitspois]

I’m so impressed by all these. I’ve got so much to learn when it comes to cooking so this is major inspiration!

I can never seem to get my act together and actually have the right ingredients and quantities in the fridge to make anything a bit different, especially as I live alone (and am scared to spend lots on the food shop in case I waste it). Without wishing to thread hijack, has anyone ever seen or used an online tool to tell you what to buy and help plan a week’s worth of recipes? Or is it going to be more trial and error, realistically?

Once you get your ‘store cupboard’ of herbs, spices, pasta... etc then it’s an issue of shopping for the extras such as meat and fish plus any specific veg and so on. If you make too much of something you can normally freeze it.

 

[Tilly3]

Favourite day of the week for me, I do NOT cook on Saturday’s!! I will peruse all the take away menus then decide who’s going to pick it up!!

 

[Macmama]

I’m so impressed by all these. I’ve got so much to learn when it comes to cooking so this is major inspiration!

I can never seem to get my act together and actually have the right ingredients and quantities in the fridge to make anything a bit different, especially as I live alone (and am scared to spend lots on the food shop in case I waste it). Without wishing to thread hijack, has anyone ever seen or used an online tool to tell you what to buy and help plan a week’s worth of recipes? Or is it going to be more trial and error, realistically?

Going to sound a bit daft by saying we do the following with the kids but in all honesty, it saves my sanity.

I've got a folder of meals that are kid approved, around the same timescale to make, all on an individual A5 piece of card with ingredients and recipe. We try something, we like it, it goes in the folder. I take a photo of it for our younger two so they can actually remember what it was (and it stops "but it's got X in it, I don't like it because yes, you do, you ate it last time) and that goes in with the card. I always have 'spares' in the freezer i.e. homemade soup, meatloaf, lasagna, metaballs, home made pasta sauce etc so that I can throw something together if we try a new recipe and it isn't great.

Long winded explanation there, but what I meant to say was that it is my saviour during the week because I know I can pull any five of the above out and go and buy. They're all gathered from websites, traditional recipes, family friends, Insta etc but all that matters is it's what we like. Having your own collection of 'go to' recipes for when you're not inspired will save you a lot of time and help you be organised. It makes being organised so much easier because it stops you trawling BBC Good Food for 'simple midweek recipe' or 'quick dinner ideas' when you're not in the mood. I sit on a Sunday and have a browse for trying something new, grab recipes and write out our list, and then go and shop and it's done for the week. Having a stocked cupboard with staples and a good spice rack/seasoning variety will make your life a lot easier too, as will batch cooking if you can.

 

[LucilleBluth]

Thank you so much @Macmama! Hugely appreciate this. I’m going to try and build up a similar list!

For the shop, do you literally get ingredients per meal, or think more about the combination of meals across a week?

 

[JOHN1967]

What is the oldest thing in your freezer/deep freezer.

A few years ago, I was helping my mum defrost their chest freezer, and near the bottom was some beef dated 15 years ago. Needless to say we had a laugh and chucked it.

 

[Bubble10]

No cooking for me this evening, we are heading out soon to our local hotel for dinner. It’s the first time this year we have eaten out and I’m so excited.

 

[265]

Spaghetti Bolognese, using a coleman's packet mix for a change.

 

[Mycuppatea]

It's my son's birthday and he's chosen mega burgers - home made burgers and ALL the extras, so big you can barely eat them because a human mouth can't open far enough.

 

[rivermonster]

Store cupboard Chilli and Brown Rice plus some veg. Put the equivalent of 2 cups beans and lentils in pot and will see how long it lasts. Will freeze if I get fed up with it.

 

[Noseybatch]

Fajitas

 

[prinnygrace]

Chicken and pesto pizza

Fajitas

I don’t think there’s been a day on this thread where someone hasn’t had fajitas

 

[Boredofthegram]

we’ve gone crazy and had a roast on a Saturday

 

[memoii11]

Chicken with a cheese sauce, asparagus, green beans, broccoli and roast potatoes.

 

[MrsSoprano]

Tacos

 

[265]

Today it's Roast Beef with all the trimmings.

 

[Macmama]

Thank you so much @Macmama! Hugely appreciate this. I’m going to try and build up a similar list!

For the shop, do you literally get ingredients per meal, or think more about the combination of meals across a week?

You’re welcome - I hope it works for you! I try to think about buying for more than one meal (and making sure dates will let things last for using for more than one meal) to save money. If I do have spare, I tend to batch cook either what I’m making anyway or a ‘leftovers’ meal to try and avoid waste. My midweek meals are deliberately uncomplicated though to try and avoid a recipe list the length of my arm.

Sunday roast for us today!

 

[bolimepipi]

we have leftovers from ramen, soup and lentils ^^ but all i can think about is an avocado egg toast

 

[Noseybatch]

Roast chicken dinner

 

[prinnygrace]

Always get so jealous of everyone posting about roast dinners on a Sunday! Always seems too much effort to make one just for myself I batch made a cottage pie a while ago so have a portion left in the freezer. That with some extra veg on the side tonight.

 

[265]

New Thread people

What are you cooking for dinner? #4

Carrying on from #3 - https://tattle.life/threads/what-are-you-cooking-for-dinner-3.8969/page-50

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