Resourceful Cook Mealplan

Last week I thought I would try something a little different, and try out a mealplan website. Resourceful Cook allows you to pick how many people you want to plan for, and then you can choose from a few weekly plans, and customise a few of the meal options.

I decided to choose their 'Frugal Favourites' for two, as it included some items I already had in the cupboard and I like to cook enough for two and have the leftovers for my lunch the following day. As I sometimes deviate from the plan though, I switched the customisable options to 'for one', that way I knew I had some leeway if I had something else for lunch or dinner one day.

Choosing the plan was easy enough, and it was cool that I could switch between options. The meals that I settled on are the following:

Chilli Con Carne (for two)

Spaghetti Bolognese (for two)
Sweet & Sour Pork (for two)
Italian Pork & Bean Stew (for two)
Stir-fried Chicken & Veg (for one)
Chicken Tagine with Couscous (for one)
Easy Tuna Pasta (for two)

The site provides you with a shopping list and estimated prices, and off I went to the shop. When I got there, I found that the shop was doing a meat deal, so I decided to get frying steak instead of chicken, which made my mince and pork cheaper.

The first meal I made was the Tagine.

I substituted beef for the chicken, and used some flavoured couscous that I already have in the cupboard. In place of 'mixed spices' (what does that even mean?) I used cinnamon, paprika, ground coriander and allspice. The recipes on the site are obviously written to assume that you only have basic herbs and spices, if any at all. I know they are an expensive investment, but I think they make a big difference. I also had an open pack of cashew nuts, so I added a handful of those too. The resulting meal was delicious, but obviously quite different from the recipe. lol.

The next night, I made Bolognese.

I borrowed some courgette and red pepper from the stir fry recipe, but otherwise followed the recipe, and it was nice enough, but not as delicious as my usual bolognese. 

[I had bought some half-bake ciabattas and decided, as I had a friend coming over for dinner, to make garlic bread by mushing butter, minced garlic and a small amount of pesto sauce together to make a garlic butter. I cut the ciabattas in half, spread the butter thickly on each half and then baked as per the instructions of the bread. I also made a mozerella and tomato salad with pine nuts (which I had in the cupboard) and pesto. Not a part of the meal plan, but just something to make dinner a bit more exciting for my guest.]

The next night, was the stir fry, using beef instead of chicken, and with added cashews and only 1/3 red pepper and 1/3 courgette as I lent some to the bolognese. This meal didn't provide any carbs, so I had mine with brown rice, which I had in the cupboard, but I thought it was odd that it didn't include this.

The following night I made Chilli Con Carne.

I couldn't believe that the recipe had no cumin in it, which is, in my opinion the signature flavour of the dish. So I included cumin and paprika as well as chilli. I didn't have the soured cream, as I'm not a fan, so I just had it with brown rice.

Then I took a break from the meal plan for a couple of days, as I was hosting a meal for my church group, and then going out for dinner with my brother. 

Picking it up again, I made the Tuna pasta. Or rather... I didn't. Because I realised, looking at the recipe that it wasn't a pasta bake and it had tomatoes in it.. and what I really fancied was lovely cheesy comfort food. So instead, I made a Tuna Pasta bake by making a white sauce, mixing that with a tin of tuna and a tin of sweetcorn and topping it with cheese and crushed up cheese-flavoured crisps, which I had left over from hosting my church group, then baked it. The crushed crisps give it a lovely crispy topping, which is really yummy.

Next, I made the Sweet & Sour.

I have to admit that whereas I am normally a big ambassador of making things from scratch, sweet and sour is one of those things I just normally buy a jar of. I mainly followed the recipe, except I added less of everything sauce-wise, as there just seemed to be such large quantities there. I substituted some of the sugar for honey too and used the last of the cashews. This turned out really yummy, definitely something I will make again.

Finally, the Pork & Bean Stew.
Besides using chicken stock instead of vegetable, I followed this recipe exactly. It was delicious, and something I've never made or even tried before. Again, though, a lack of carbs.. I suppose it's meant to be eaten with bread?

In summary, I think this proves that I cannot follow recipes without changing things lol. The resulting meals were delicious, but as I changed things up, I can't really judge if the recipes themselves are any good. It was nice to have the initial planning done for me though with a shopping list to work from and I tried a couple of new things I haven't made before which is good. I think I'll definitely use this site again, when I get into a making-the-same-things rut, but I will go into it expecting to adapt the recipes.