[blackbird]

Since leaving my husband I've been very lazy in preparing meals but now I need to budget and be more organised, I'm about to go do my shopping and need to have some meals and snack ideas planned, also my son is starting school this coming term, what is a good weekly lunch plan for school?

All ideas and advice very welcome!

[gina70]

I work full-time and need to be organised. To help with this:

School lunches: I have just made a dozen ham and cheese sandwiches and froze. Also a dozen bacon and cheese pizza muffins and froze.

Snacks: cheese and crackers, fruit, rice crackers, pretzels, rice cakes, muesli bars, vegetable sticks.

I have meal planned for the whole term (10 weeks) My first weeks plan is:

Monday: frozen meal (see below)
Tuesday: frozen meal
Wednesday: subway
Thursday: something with pre-cooked chicken
Friday: Chicken and chips
Saturday: mums house for roast
Sunday: pizza
(easy week planned as it is the first week back to work/school)

Today I have made 16 meals and froze. They included bolognase, porcupines, creamy chicken casserole. I am still to roast a chicken and make a sausage dish today.

I have also frozen a few smaller portions of the above for my lunches.

Tomorrow I will make a fried rice for my lunches and cut up vegie sticks for a few days.

[blackbird]

Wow that's a great idea, thank you

[lisacat]

My menu for the next week is

Rack of lamb roast
Sweet & sour pork
Fish & veg
lasagna
Steak & veg
Chicken Alfredo
Chicken, chorizo & potato bake

My lunches are left overs except the days we have meat & veg I will have soup or toasted sandwich.
I don't have children but it may help for dinner ideas.

[~~mumsie~~]

This week's plan is:

- Home made pie + baked potatoes and steamed veg
- home made gourmet mac and cheese
- salt n pepper pork with Asian greens, mushrooms with a honey and oyster sauce on rice
- pork chipolatas and mash (DD's fave, mine, not so much!)
- chicken fajita potatoes (make chicken fajitas with capsicum and mushrooms as normal, add some grated cheese at the end and melt through. Instead of tortillas, put the mix over the top of a cut open jacket potato
- ravioli with a tomato-based sauce and garlic bread.

I will do the pie and mac n cheese tonight and tomorrow night, as they both take a few hours to make. All of the other meals can be made in under 45 mins, so can be done when I get home from work.