We have a fab sunny Bank Holiday to start the week this week. We'll be spending rather a lot of that day at our newly acquired shared allotment. This means that a picnic lunch and dinner are in order. The warm and sunny weather is most welcome and has made us all feel much happier. We've been planting seedlings and sowing seeds in our back garden and also the communal garden I share with another friend and her family. Lots of gardening and growing to be done!
The rest of the week should be fairly straight forward. I'm out 3 evenings this week, once for a meeting and twice working so will need to have low faff dinners that can be prepared in advance for those nights. We'll be having lots of salads, despite the weather cooling down slightly, our back garden is providing us with loads of salad greens at the moment so we are making the most of the fresh and free food. I have included the cost of salad greens in the meal plan because not everyone has salad in their back garden. I have of course also included the cost of flour and yeast for making our bread and tortillas this week. I will probably make at least one Ciabatta for us to snack on whilst gardening.
Should the weather be suitable we're hoping to visit the allotment on the weekend so those evening meals need to be both low faff and portable. Luckily the allotment is 5 minutes walk from our house so we can easily wander home for a pit stop or to gather refreshments.
Breakfasts will be cereal with a piece of fruit for afters. My daughters will be having school dinners as it is a short week and my husband and I will have leftovers for our lunches.
As usual I used My Supermarket to compare the cost of my shopping, which cost £53.98 from Asda on 05/05/2013. Had I shopped elsewhere my groceries would've cost £60.57 from Tesco and £70.59 from Sainsbury's.
Mini Frittatas with Salad Greens and Potato Salad
Beef Koftas with Salads
500g minced beef
1 onion, finely diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
pinch of salt
a few grinds of black pepper
250g couscous
500ml hot vegetable stock
shredded lettuce
2 carrots, sliced into batons
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
5 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Put the beef into a mixing bowl with the onion, cumin, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Wet your hands and shape the mixture into 6 long sausage shapes around soaked wooden skewers. Place on a foil lined oven tray and grill for approximately 10 - 15 minutes until cooked through.
Put the couscous into a large mixing bowl and cover with the hot stock. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for 10 minutes then stir the couscous with a fork to fluff up the grains. Serve the koftas with the couscous and salads.
Fish with Warm Vegetable Salad
500g fish fillets
For the salad:
1 onion, cut into wedges
3 courgettes, thickly sliced
5 ripe tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
2 Tblsp olive oil
1 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained - you could use lentils or other tinned pulses
For the dressing:
3 Tblsp olive oil
3 Tblsp lemon juice
1 Tblsp fresh chives, finely chopped
1 Tblsp fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
Preheat your oven to 220C/200C Fan. Put all the vegetables in to a roasting tin, sprinkle over the sliced garlic. Drizzle over the olive oil and toss the vegetables to ensure they have a light coating of oil. Roast for about half an hour or until the vegetables are tender.
Put the ingredients for the dressing into a jar, put the lid on then shake to thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
One the vegetables are tender add the chickpeas, pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Set aside for the flavours to develop whilst you cook the fish. Bake the fish fillets at 200C for about 10 - 12 minutes until cooked then serve with the salad.
Honey Soy Chicken with Steamed Vegetables and Rice
6 chicken portions, I usually use drumsticks
2 Tblsp soy sauce
1 Tblsp honey
1 tsp tomato paste
1 Tblsp oil
1 Tblsp mustard, I usually use Dijon mustard
Make a few slashes into each chicken portion. This will help the marinade penetrate the chicken and also help it cook faster.
Mix together all the marinade ingredients, pour over the chicken and make sure the chicken is thoroughly coated. Leave to marinate for half an hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan. Put the chicken into a roasting dish and bake for 35 - 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. We'll be having ours with rice and steamed vegetables.
Beef Wraps with Sweet Potato Wedges
5 tortillas
5 Tblsp natural yoghurt
2 Tblsp fresh herbs, roughly chopped
400g stir fry beef, cooked
1/2 cucumber, cut into sticks
shredded lettuce
2 carrots, grated
Lay out the tortillas. Mix the yoghurt and herbs together then spread evenly over the tortillas. Divide the chicken, sweetcorn, cucumber, lettuce and carrot between the tortillas. Fold each one and wrap the bottom half of each with baking paper to hold it together.
Sausages with Store Cupboard Salad
Quesadillas with salads, including leftover Store Cupboard Salad
8 tortillas, wholemeal wraps or burritos (Store bought or homemade)
2 tins chilli beans
1 cup grated cheese
1 spring onion, white and green parts chopped
A couple of large handfuls of grated cheese
Preheat a non-stick frying pan or sandwich press. Top four of the tortillas with the chilli beans, drained sweetcorn, chopped tomatoes, spring onion and grated cheese. Cover with remaining tortillas to make a tortilla sandwiches.
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 and cook the other side for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until the fillings are hot and the cheese has melted. Repeat with the other three tortillas. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Serve with salad.
Shopping List
36 items:
£53.98
Packets and
Cereals
1x ASDA Smartprice Cornflakes (750g) 46p
1x ASDA Smartprice Crispy Rice Cereal (440g) 77p
1x Asda Wholefoods Strong White Bread Flour
(1.5Kg) 80p
1x ASDA Wholemeal Bread Flour (1.5Kg) £1.26
1x ASDA Easy Cook Long Grain Brown Rice (1Kg) £1.78
1x ASDA Wholefoods Cous Cous (500g) 75p
1x Asda Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 per
pack - 42g) 65p
Frozen
1x ASDA Chosen by You Freshly Frozen Mixed
Vegetables (1Kg) £1.00
1x ASDA Whitefish Fillets (500g) £2.00
Tins, Jars and
Cooking
2x ASDA Chosen by You Chilli Beans (290g) 96p
1x ASDA Smartprice Mayonnaise (500ml) 42p
1x ASDA Chick Peas in Water (400g) 62p
1x ASDA Chosen by You Green Lentils in Water
(400g) 62p
1x ASDA Mexican Style Bean Mix in Water
(400g) 62p
Dairy and
Eggs
4x ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints
(2.27L) £4.00
1x ASDA Smartprice Low Fat Natural Yogurt
(500g) 45p
1x The Lake District Cheese Co. Mature
Cheddar (2x350g) £4.00
2x Suffolk Farm Medium Free Range Eggs (6) £2.00
Meat, Fish and
Poultry
1x ASDA Extra Special Pork Sausages (6 per
pack - 454g) £2.50
1x ASDA Butcher's Selection Unsmoked Back
Bacon (300g) £2.00
1x ASDA Butcher's Selection British Beef
Mince (500g) £2.00
1x ASDA Butcher's Selection Beef Stir Fry
(400g) £3.50
1x ASDA Butcher's Selection Chicken
Drumsticks (1.1Kg) £3.50
Fruit and
Vegetables
20 ASDA Smartprice Apples by Weight (100g) £2.36
20 ASDA Bananas by Weight (100g) £1.36
1x ASDA Lemons Loose 27p
10 ASDA Carrots by Weight (100g) 80p
1x ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg) £1.90
15 ASDA Tomatoes by Weight (100g) £2.99
7 ASDA Sweet Potatoes by Weight (100g) 89.6p
2x ASDA Whole Cucumber £1.00
3x ASDA Round Lettuce £1.71
1x ASDA Garlic Loose 30p
1x ASDA Courgettes (3) £1.00
1x ASDA Spring Onions 74p
1x ASDA Juicing Oranges (1.6Kg) £2.00
Prices and
special offers reflect those of the online grocery website My Supermarket, and
are correct as of 5th May 2013.
Prices may vary in different instore locations.
Don't forget to check out the linky on At Home With Mrs M for more meal plans.
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