How to Meal plan When You Have No Ideas!  

Jane it is so interesting to see how people from different countries cook. (We are from the USA). Thank you for sharing ❤

Excellent slides, Jane. I rotate the refrigerator's freezer stash when I have plans to "feed the freezer" with my garden produce. I just used up the winter's homemade soups, making room for spring rhubarb. The discounted chicken breast will be gone sooner than the late-summer harvest, so I'll slide reusable freezer packs in as placeholders.

This will be so useful in the future. I love videos that i can reference when my mind can't think of anything different for meals. I thank you and Mike for sharing so much of your time and knowledge. Hugs from Ohio!

Thank you for a very thoughtful and informative video Jane! It’s obvious that you spend a lot of time and effort on your videos and it shows! I appreciate it!

Lots of great ideas Jane, just remembered ive got some Ikea meatballs in the freezer and a bag of white fish. x

Again I love the slideshow presentation. I found that I can easily refer back to your ideas when the material is so well organized in this manner. Thanks for the great ideas and some of which I had forgotten about. Looking forward to your next presentation.

Wonderful ideas! A great American favorite is loaded nachos. Cook up some minced beef and your favorite beans (black beans, chilli beans or refried beans). Place the beef and beans over tortilla chips (either purchased or homemade. Top with any or all of the following: finely diced onions, jalapeño or chilli peppers to your desired spice level, sliced/diced black olives, and top with shredded chedder or Mexican blend cheese. Broil until heated through and the cheese is bubbly and melted. Top with sour cream, guacamole (or diced/smash avacado) and salsa (chopped tomatoes, finely diced onions, and peppers). Can be served as a meal or an appetizer. Another popular iten is a homemade McDonald's Big Mac Bowl. Similar to your bowl, cookup minced beef or burger patties. In a bowl, shred up lettuce of your choice, top with minced beef, "special sauce" (mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle relish and a dash of Worstershire sauce), diced onions, sliced pickles, mustard, shredded cheese. Finally I love "breakfast for dinner". Cook up eggs as you like them, your favorite breakfast meat (bacon or sausage), hash brown potatoes and toast or pancakes.

The different breakdowns were wonderful. A lot of great ideas. Thank you for doing all of that work for the video.

I have so much stock piled food; protiens, ,patsa,grains/rice,beans, canned vegetables and tomatoes. I have found I only need to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. Everything has been purchased at a discount. It feels good to know you have enough. I've been able to save for lifes challenges(car repair, removal of a tree, etc). Thanks for sharing the meal ideas. I'm also experimenting making international foods, homemade tikki masala (sauce from scratch), hummus, falafel. Its great fun.

Sometimes you just get stuck on what to make so it's good to look at someone elses meal plan to get ideas, thanks! Making a crust-less broccoli cheese quiche tonight.

👏🏾👏🏾this gives me new ideas planing for a meal knowing you have all of the ingredients is major for me the problem I had was not having the basics in the house or even putting things like extra sauce in the freezer because of that I would run to the grocery more often and pick up extra unnecessary stuff 🤷🏽‍♀️why I don’t know but I’m getting better and better each month 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾so once agin thanks my friend 🙏🏾

On rare occasion we have a roast . Any leftover cooked meat is thinly sliced into small pieces, leftover over veg and roasted veg incl roast potatoes also cut into small pieces,. All added into a pie dish, then I add, depending on type of meat ,place small spoonfuls of sauce -around the pie dish for lamb-mint sauce or redcurrant jelly, beef-cream of horseradish sauce,pork - apple sauce, chicken - red currant jelly. Turkey - cranberry sauce.If you have leftover dauphinoise potatoes or cauliflower cheese place small spoonfuls around the pie dish. Then pour over your leftover gravy. Place a thin layer of either ready made rough puff or flakey pastry on top of the pie dish and seal edges. Brush the pastry with either beaten egg or milk and place in a preheated oven 180 degrees fan oven in the middle of the oven for approx 40-45 mins . If pastry is browning to quickly place a square piece of greaseproof paper on top until pastry is golden brown on top. Make sure centre of the contents of the pie is very hot, 70degrees + with a cooking thermometer before eating. Sometimes I will make the pie without cooking it and place in freezer as a ready meal to cook off for impromptu entertaining meal.

Ground beef is very versatile and one of our favorite ingredients. We use it for chili, dirty rice, burritos, meatballs, Salisbury noodles, Sloppy Joes, Bolognese sauce with spaghetti, tacos, and lasagna to mention just a few. And of course, meatloaf and mashed potatoes is definitely a comfort food meal at its best.

There is some great ideas- something I recently started adding was Indian dal and curries. So cheap and so easy to make and my kids love it

Think i am going to borrow your idea of making a list of easy meals! So when i have a 'cba' day i can find something quick and easy to do! Great idea - thank you!

Jane those are wonderful meal ideas! You could use some of the minced beef to make mini meatloaves. Can freeze the excess. Bread or cracker crumbs, minced beef, onion, green pepper, ketchup or BBQ Sauce, egg as binder. Your Mom is right. Can do many things with minced beef/ground beef. Can fry with onion in skillet and create a gravy which you can then serve over toast.

Mr.Bean photo is fabulous

Some brilliant recipes there Jane. 😀. Yes, minced beef is so versatile and goes a long way. Lardons too are handy. Yes anything cooked in bacon fat always tastes that bit better. My nan used to strain leftover bacon fat and pour a little into the chip pan. That was in the days when many people used lard. Not very healthy, but her chips tasted like no others. 😋 😆 I sometimes use sausages in a dinner like any other meat. Thank you so much for sharing this. You've got me thinking now. 😀

6 p.m. Something I have long done is occasionally use ground beef and ground pork/sausage interchangeably, such as pork burgers rather than beef burgers, or sausage meatloaf rather than ground beef meatloaf. Can give a new taste to an everyday recipe😊

Love all the meal ideas 💡.

Very easy to follow video😊. Lots of great DIY meal ideas. I use diced bacon to spice up vegetable soup 🍜 and if the soup is extra thick, then a dollop is used on pasta 🍝 with a little cheese 🧀 Thank you Jane and Mike for another informative video ✔️🇦🇺

What an amazing video with lots of yummy ideas. Thank you Jane and Mike. Have a great weekend❤️

Thanks for the update on your meal plan ideas, Jane! Since I’ve been keeping a regular freezer inventory, it has really helped to save money and cut down on waste. Loved seeing the puppies at the end❤ of the

I do all the same things you do, Jane!

Hi there from N. Idaho USA. We made sausage and shrimp gumbo tonight for dinner. I was unloading the fridge and freezer of things needing used and I saw we had everything I needed to put this easy one pot meal together. Onions, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, cajun seasoning, chicken broth, a pound of spicy sausage and 12 ounces of medium sized shrimp. We served it over white rice in a bowl and topped it with green onions Yum. I looked up my recipe on Pinterest. There was a few to choose from. My family said they would love to have it again. Easy clean up too.

Fabulous content Jane. I use mince meat to fill pitta breads and tacos! You are so right. It’s all about planning and knowing what you have in your freezer and your pantry ❤

Thank you frugal queen 👸 and king 🤴 ❤ for sharing .my lovely frugal chef from France 🇫🇷 👌 😍 😋lov your meals great ideas .great meal planning 😋 and great meals wow 👌 amazing 🍳 🇨🇰 👨‍🍳 🍳 🇨🇰 👨‍🍳 🥂🍷🍸🍹💜💙💛❤

Thank you for the great video, Jane. Having tinned fish is definitely a wise idea. I just made tuna pasta salad yesterday. Have an amazing weekend!

Thank you for sharing! On my list are stuffed peppers with ground meat, stuffed zuchinni boats, turkish meat pie, and meatball soup.

Wow, how detailed you are. Thanks for all those meals ideas.

Thank you for sharing. Just cleaned out our freezer and you have given me new ideas on how to use up my meat before our next meat order comes in. 👏👏

Great video! ❤

Really helpful video and have picked up some new meal ideas! I have six children, so planning and stretching and getting good deals is so important! My children's favourite mince recipe is keema curry and leftovers can be made into a keema cottage pie with sweet potato, sour cream and chive topping.x

Thanks for the inspiration; I am in the midst of cleaning out my freezers and taking inventory. I am trying to make space for the produce I will be getting from my garden this summer. Another good video and thanks for sharing. Merci!

Not what I expected but very useful. I will be watching this video over and over.

Hi Jane! Love this video! Something I did to stretch meat was make mash. My parents immigrated from the Netherlands to Canada in the’50s. Meat, veggies and potatoes were standard meals. I would mash the potatoes with the vegetables, cut up the meat in small pieces and fold it in. Add a little of the fat and you have a tasty meal. It works especially well with vegetables like cabbage, sauerkraut, kale etc. you could stir a sautéed onion in as well. Wonderful way to stretch the budget.

Fantastic! Thank you for sharing Jane Mike and Puppies.

We truly do have our individual take on meal planning. I did a video on a perpetual meal plan last week, it works well with my lifestyle and preference. Creating those meals makes me happy (they were all my pictures- not pinterest- perhaps I should start putting my creation on my pinterest board ). It's always lovely to see your video. Thank you for sharing! * Just resubscribed to your channel with the correct account 🥰

Thank you for listing some of the meals you make. You gave me a lot more ideas to make our meals more interesting.

Hear her to the good old roast meal.

Thanks Jane and Mike, another really good one. Freezer inventory about to be renewed here. Does anyone cook up larger quantities of pulses and freeze them so they are ready at short notice? One of my mum's staples was known as 'stretch pie', where a little bit of meat and a lot of available veggies got used up and a tasty meal provided. I always try to stretch meat as far as possible, given its high cost and environmental impact, so often take something like a sausage casserole recipe and double the quantity of vegetables to make the meat go further. Being a lazy cook and cooking for one, I prefer batch cooking so there is always something easy. That way, when I finish work, there is always something quick and easy to eat, or I might just be tempted to run round to the chippy.

Great ideas, I'll be coming back to this video

So many excellent ideas, thank you. The men in my house really enjoy a keema - minced beef usually, or minced lamb when on offer (hardly ever!) It's quite spicy, plus I usually add peas and cubed potatoes and it helps it go further. Recently, I've been cooking frozen fish in a tomato/pizza-styie sauce that I make, which is cheap and goes down well with my teen son as he loves Italian flavours. I sometimes make pulled or BBQ pork with pork shoulder steaks, still relatively cheap to buy, and can sit in the slow cooker all day when we're busy (cricket season starting, so many hours training or watching my son play).

Wonderful! Thank you!

Some great ideas as I am working down my deep freezers before restocking so I don’t lose and precious food !!

Thank you for. Sharing ❤

Fabulous recipe ideas. With the ground beef we do tacos, or enchiladas, or add them to beans and make a burrito, or meatloaf. I have recently tried fish tacos and loved them too. The bacon/lardons we will make German potato salad(potato, onions,chopped bacon, then a vinegar mixture is stirred into it just before it gets served. Today I roasted sausages with potato chunks and onions in my solar oven. I too bought a large quantity of assorted sausages on sale some months ago and I am trying to get creative with recipes. Last week it was weenies and baked beans, also cooked in our solar oven. We too are doing a couple of meat free meals a week. We also do meat(lite) meals. Which is less meat, more vegetables, and rice or beans. Beans are featured 2-3 times a week.

Jane and Mike thank you for An amazing video as always ❤

Thank you for sharing! What a great idea to make lists by protein source! Brilliant!

Thank you Jane for sharing ! Very useful added english cooking at french cooking.

Chicken and egg dumplings (one or two eggs, fold in flour to make a sticky dough, add a little cream if necessary, no leavening) drop into chicken broth to cook. We call them rock dumplings. Chicken and biscuit dumplings. Place hot chicken and broth in casserole dish. Gently place homemade biscuits on top. Bake until biscuits are cooked and browned. These dumplings are very light.

Thanks for all the new idea. All the best from Ont. Can.

You're an excellent planner!

Jane i made a taco bar with taco lentils .great hit cheese tomatoes avacado jalapino slices lettus on flour or corn tortias.

Just like an earlier commenter, I will be watching this video over and over for ideas as to how to use my stockpile. Jane, you have everything so organized. It inspires me to try to do the same. Thanks! Diane in NC

Definitely need to try the sausage & liver meatballs…I have a huge pack of liver in the freezer right now! We have been doing a lot of taco Tuesdays lately, making up some black beans to stretch the minced beef taco meat. Could be taco salad, or loaded nachos too…

I use ground (minced) beef & sausage meat in spaghetti, tacos, & homemade pizza.

Love your thumbnail!

I am a bit strange in that I make a monthly meal plan following on sale items I could have bought months ago. I buy on sale and add to my freezer but I might not use the meats for a couple of months. Thank heavens for my FoodSaver.

Lots of inspiration here, thanks. Supper today will be similar to your lardon, cabbage, potato meal. We like it with a dab of vinegar mixed in, and either pork chops or sausages on the side.

What a great video, thank you! I’m just awful at meal planning. Writing down an inventory of freezer, pantry and fridge contents-brilliant!

As always another great video

Love this new format for this type of video

Thanks for all your great meal suggestions.

My go-to canned fish meal is tuna and tomato spaghetti. It has many of the ingredients and a lot of the flavor of pasta puttanesca without the expense. Search for tuna and tomato spaghetti Leanne Brown

Chicken breast In parchment paper with onion green abd red peppers Make a package for each. Bake..it's lovely.

👍👍👍

Keema curry or mince & tatties with some of the mince.

I don't know where my mother got this recipe, but it's been one of my favourites for 60+ years as well as being cheap and easy to make. It's a version of macaroni and cheese only instead of making a cheese sauce, you layer cooked macaroni, tinned (diced) tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese in a casserole dish. Repeat the layers once. Top with bread or cracker crumbs and dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. I THINK that's 180 degrees celsius?? Sorry, I forgot to say to sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on each tomato layer.

A vegetarian dish I like which is quick is asparagus omelette with Romano cheese. Chop up the asparagus into small bits and one can also add other veggies such as onion or mushroom and cook in a pan. For one person beat up three eggs with a dash of milk and pour into a pan. While the egg is still moist/liquidy on the top add grated Romano cheese then when melted add the asparagus and any other veggies to half the omelette. Quick and easy.

If you have peppers u can make stuffed peppers with the mince or even by crumbling the burger meat u do have or a combination of the beef and sausage meat. I like to make my red peppers with a stuffing of minced meat some breadcrumbs or oatmeal and egg and some herbs and spice s ( ie parsley, garlic, celery salt and pepper) to extend it. Sometime if I have just a bit of caramelized onions left that need using up I add to the stuffing and if I have a zucchini that is starting to look safe I will scoop out some other flesh add it to my stuffing and stuff the zucchini also. I put it all on a casserole dish with some potatoes and onions to roast. It’s great! You can also repurpose the burgers my crumbling them and making any dish that uses mince or cook them and make burger bowls like you mentioned or even some meat pies. For the salmon you can also use it to make a fish pie. With tinned tuna I like to use it to make a quick pasta I caramelize some onions then add a few cherry tomatoes if I have them, some pepper sliced up, some canned or jarred artichokes if you have and like them , some black olives then a bit of white wine and then the tuna just to warm it a bit I then add my pasta to it ( use something like penne or other short pasta) making sure I add a couple of spoonfuls of the pasta water mix it up and plate it. It does not freeze well however but I have eaten the leftovers cold like a pasta salad!

Some great ideas as always Jane. I remember seeing you make your trays of faggots in gravy, which looked amazing. Thank you both once again for a great video. Jane in Torquay 💖x

Bacon clanger suet pudding, or pasties Sausage or meatballs chunks on skewers/kebabs...

I also follow Sam, at "it doesn't taste like chicken" She has great meat free /vegan recipes and ideas. Canadian gal.

I make curried sausages. Chow mien mince.

what is Ikea meatballs?

I would eat everything on your meat free list, but unfortunately my hubby is a very picky eater and has a huge list of things he simply will not eat, including rice, pasta, most vegetables, cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, cream or tomato based sauces, in fact no sauce except bisto gravy, no curry, no chilli, and on and on it goes,