I know I am always going on about meal planning. Truly, if I don’t do a meal plan for the week, it all goes to pot. We end up eating omelettes and things on toast rather than perfectly good food that is sitting in the fridge or freezer. But I can’t be bothered with cooking at the moment and it all seems a bit of a faff. Anyone else get that feeling?
However, my ‘can’t be bothered’ moments are exactly when meal planning is most helpful. If I spend 15 minutes making a meal plan and shopping list it actually saves me time. I can then spend more time doing the things that I can be bothered to do!
We have the bank holiday weekend coming up and the weather looks promising. We are likely to be out and about having fun, or working in the garden. I really don’t want to spend more time that I have to in the kitchen. Mr S is allergic to cooking so he can do the washing up!
This week’s ‘can’t be bothered’ meal plan
Friday:
Garlic mushroom Quorn steaks with vegetables (these were on offer a while back).
Saturday:
Spaghetti Bolognese and salad. I will have home made ratatouille as the veggie option. Mr S won’t mind if I use a jar of sauce for the Bolognese. Remember, it is my ‘can’t be bothered’ plan!
Sunday:
Pork chops/nut cutlet with more ratatouille. I will make a big panful to spread over two meals and save time. I bought the nut cutlets from Asda – they are really nice!
Monday:
Lamb chops (yellow stickered in Asda and frozen) and another nut cutlet for me, with roast potatoes and veg.
Tuesday:
Omelettes and salad/veg plus baked sweet potatoes. Work is likely to be busy after the bank holiday so opting for a super easy dinner.
Wednesday:
Chicken drumsticks with a Nando’s rub. I will have another garlic mushroom Quorn thingy. Whatever salad and veg needs using most.
Thursday:
We will be treating ourselves to a Toby carvery with my daughter to celebrate her new job. I hear they do a nice range of vegetarian and vegan options now.
So, there you have it. My ‘can’t be bothered’ meal plan. What are you cooking (or not) this week?
This week I am linking up with Katy Kicker and the Organised Life Project. If you want more ideas on meal planning and saving money, take a look at their blogs. For more of my tips on meal planning, try this post.
Julia says
My can’t be bothered to cook days generally mean everyone either makes themselves something (usually a pizza or something nukeable out of the freezer) or they take themselves to the chippy!
Otherwise, if want something really simple it has to be BCS & chips – brown crispy stuff that you can just throw into the oven for half an hour, such as breaded chicken burgers, breaded fish, breaded kievs – you get the idea!
The added bonus is it’s the one meal everyone will eat because different preferences can just go in with the rest!
Gillian says
Can i come round to yours for meals please?! I’m a fully time-served member of the ‘can’t-be-bothered-cooking’ club! Earlier this week I made a HUGE casserole of what was left in the fridge – mainly cauliflower, bacon, sping onions with a jarred sauce. So far this has been eaten with cheese & baked potato; roast potatoes & salad leaves; haddock & leaves; tonight last serving will be topped with cheese & spinach leaves. Normally I love cooking from scratch but just not this week… must be something in the air…
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Me too! I love cooking when I have the time and energy but I am going with it. Less stress
Margaret Powling says
I enjoy cooking, even after almost 54 years of marriage, but there are days when one is really too tired to faff-with-food from scratch (and we don’t have takeaways/carry-outs, or convenience foods – these are acceptable if you are a working person, but I’ve no excuse only idleness not too cook from scratch!) I rely on meals I have already made and put in the 2nd freezer. In there right now I have chicken casseroles, chicken curries, various soups, sausage casseroles, etc. OK, I have to remember to get something out early morning so that it will de-frost ready to re-heat for our main meal of the day, as I don’t have a microwave (by choice) which will defrost something quickly, but having things made and in the freezer is a good way of taking care of the can’t-be-bothered days.
We also enjoy omelettes, any kind of salad (a chicken Caesar salad is quick and easy to make), bacon & tomatoes on toast, scrambled eggs, all these are so easy and yet so nourishing. ) Most things combined with a salad make a tasty meal and if you have a baguette or crusty loaf of some kind in the freezer, so much the better. Chunky hot soup is also lovely, even in spring. And fruit is always good for a dessert. I’ve stewed some Bramley apples this morning and I have crumble topping (home-made, not packet-instant) in a container the fridge, so that is a lovely dessert for our supper tonight after a mushroom omelette with salad.)
Margaret P
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Nothing like a bit of batch cooking. I just had a yummy veg curry for my lunch that was cooked in bulk and frozen
Margaret Powling says
Yes, we love veggie curry, too!
Margaret P
Tuppenny says
I am very lucky as Mr2p does the bulk of our cooking. He’s good at knocking up a tasty stir fry in record time. Left to me, it will be something out of the freezer from a previous batch cooking session or scrambled eggs on toast.
I would like to get more organised in this area so will make an effort for next week. I like the idea of a ‘can’t be bothered’ meal plan!
ratnamurti says
I need to follow a plan, Jane. Good reminder. My can’t be bothered meal is a tin of brown lentils, drained, curry powder and other spices added, and whatever tail end vegetables are available from fridge. Yum.
Margie From Toronto says
I usually have a good idea by Sunday night as to what I’ll have for most of the week. At the moment I’m trying to use up a lot of things from the freezer – especially items already cooked.
I give myself a break from a lot of cooking in the summer – June through August as it gets too hot to put the oven on. It tends to be a lot of rotisserie chicken bought already prepared, cold meats, cheese & eggs. By September I’m looking forward to cooking again. If there is a need to cook I try to do it early in the morning before it heats up and I try to cook a big batch at a time.
Saturday: cold chicken (already cooked) with salad
Sunday: cooking a batch of pork chops in tomato sauce – will do 2 meals
Monday: repeat of Sunday
Tuesday: a serving of sausage casserole from the freezer
Wednesday: salad with hard boiled egg & cheese
Thursday: making clam chowder – half the fixings already in the freezer with buns
Friday: eating out with friends
I also roast a few different veggies and prepare raw veggies for the fridge so that I can mix and match all week. I’m on a low carb diet (Dr.’s orders) so I eat a lot of salads and veg. I tend to eat yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit for breakfasts – with an occasional break for a cooked meal and my main meal is eaten about mid-afternoon most days. If I’m hungry in the evening it’s usually an apple & cheese or raw veggies with hummus.
If I get fed up with it all there is always soup or scrambled eggs. I keep a decent pantry so there is always something on hand.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
That all sounds really organised. Love the sound of the clam chowder
Katy Stevens says
Sounds like this is a lovely meal plan considering you can’t be bothered! Thanks for linking up x