This is why we plan our meals...

The lack of a meal planning post on a Monday indicated a lack of, well, meal planning on my part which in turn has led to a series of rather thrown together (albeit nice) suppers and culminated in a meal out last night (if Gourmet Burger Kitchen can be considered "out"...I suppose it is, in that it is outside of the house)   Which was rather foolish since we're trying to save money at the moment and I weigh in on a Thursday.  And also because I try to limit eating out to really special places these days, and whenever I go somewhere less than special I feel vaguely cheated because I probably could have cooked whatever I'm eating myself and had it while wearing my pyjamas and watching NCIS rather than having to pretend to be civilised.  Anyway, D told me sternly (well, he said it in an email so he didn't use a specific tone although I imagined him saying it with a stern voice and slightly furrowed brow) to get back to it and achieve some "consistency" with regards food shopping and the cooking thereof.

(As an aside I still managed to lose half a pound at weigh in - hurrah - and GBK was...underwhelming really.  I mean, nice enough burgers and I loved the fact that the skinny fries were actually matchstick fries, oh, and the garlic mayo was good.  But it was pricey in a sneaky way which I didn't like - charging extra for a dill pickle in the cheeseburger for example, when to have a cheeseburger without a dill pickle is sacrilege as far as I'm concerned).

Anyway, let's talk meal planning.  There is still a decent amount in our freezer, so most of the meals this week are based around ingredients that we already have.  Oh, and the cunning amongst you will notice that there are nine meals listed, so this meal plan, taking into account there is likely to be at least one night out thrown into the mix, should see us through until the end of next week. 

• Roasted chicken thighs with mashed swede, Parmesan parsnips, roast potatoes and Brussel sprouts with bacon and chestnut butter.  Two of the sides are trial runs for Christmas dinner.
• Bolognese pasta bake - bumped from last week.  What is it about poor old Bolognese that it always gets bumped with me?  The sauce is already made though, so this will be a good one for a night when I just.  Can't.  Be.  Bothered.
• Mackerel fillets with harissa and coriander couscous.
• Lamb seekh burgers with cumin carrot slaw and potato wedges
• Shepherd's Pie (I have a lot of lamb mince to use up...)
• Egg, chips and beans - another one for a lazy evening
• Bacon and broad bean risotto
• Bangers and mash with red onion gravy
• Nigel Slater's mild and fruity salmon curry with naan bread

So, should keep us going for a while.  Potato seems to be featuring quite heavily, but it is a potatoey time of year.  I might make the wedges sweet potato and add parnsip to the Shepherd's Pie topping just for a but of variation.

As always, head over to Mrs M's blog for more meal planning fun.