Meal Planning Monday 14th January

I've been planning to join in with Meal Planning Monday since FOREVER. Well, since I started this blog last spring, which is much the same thing. And today there is a shiny new badge and everything over at At Home With Mrs M so it seem the perfect day to get started.

We're trying to eat at least one vegetarian  main meal a week as one of our New Year Resolutions, and so  far we are averaging two a week, so I've included two in my plan. My husband likes cooking but doesn't get much chance during the week - by the time he gets home from work he is far too tired, as one of the symptoms of his fibromyalgia is extreme exhaustion. So I've left one meal unplanned, for him to decide what he feels like cooking on the day. I've put it into Saturday's slot, but the weekend meals may get switched around at short notice.

As I'm diabetic, I don't plan desserts. There are always fruit and cheese in the house, and my husband is still finishing the Christmas choccies, but there were some oranges in the fruit box this week so I might make an orange sugar-free jelly with orange segments in it for a refreshing change to eat after a couple of dinners.

So here we go with my first Meal Planning Monday:

Monday  red  bean and rosemary risotto adapted from a recipe on Taste the Goode Life  - the blog of the lovely Shirley Goode who some of you might remember from her superb budget-stretching books and TV shows in the 1980s.  Adapted because the tin I thought contained Borlotti beans actually is yet another tin of red kidney beans. I seem to buy them obsessively! Anyway, with this we'll have some salad from the garden and a fennel, orange and chicory salad.

Tuesday roast lamb - I have a piece of butterflied  leg in the fridge - with roast potatoes, glazed (using Sweet Success syrup) turnips and brussels tops if there are any left in the garden, otherwise cabbage.

Wednesday red cooked beef with star anise from an ancient Kenneth Lo book, with a stir fry of Chinese leaves and carrots.

Thursday Chickpea patties with beetroot raita from Nigel Slater's Tender volume 1 served with sweet potato wedges and any salads we have left.

Friday Beef Rendang with Sayur Lodeh and rice. Two favourite dishes from our years of living in Asia. I'll tell you more about them after the event.

Saturday left open for Mark to decide what to cook

Sunday  it depends what we have left in the fridge and whether we've been shopping, but I have some chorizo in the freezer that's earmarked for a sort-of-paella, so unless there's a change of plan, that's what we'll have.