Early Autumn Family Menus - €100 budget per week

Early Autumn is upon us, and the children are going back to school.
Here are some tips to get you started as the seasons begin to change; and to help with organisation and timing for busy families.
Drawing  lots of inspiriation from the wonderful italian kitchen , which encourages seasonal eating using lots of tasty herbs and less salt.


As always on a budget of €100 per week  for a family of four, purchasing the majority of ingredients
from Aldi and Lidl.  Bring tasty lunches to work (which saves a small fortune!)

The shopping list is at the end of the post.
Enjoy!


 Saturday
Lunch  Carrot and orange soup with baguette and ham ( make enough to last for Monday)
Dinner   Homemade Pizza - artichoke and chard/spinach with ricotta, salami with mozzarella and tomato

To do
3pm - Make pizza dough (supervalu now sells a great Italian 00 flour  for €1.59)

Sunday
Lunch Picnic- see Picnic posting
Dinner - Seasonal lamb stew with mashed potatoes

To do
Make lamb stew in the morning.
Make carrot dip for lunch/snack at work (see carrot dip posting)

Monday
Lunch - leftover lamb stew for children/ carrot and orange soup and fruit
packed lunch - bluecheese and onion chutney sandwhiches/carrot dip with oatcakes
Dinner Lemon and bay roast chicken with green beans and couscous with fruit and yoghurt

To do
Make chicken stock with left over chicken carcass
Make double tomato sauce for tuesday evening and lasagne on friday, and prepare aubergines for bake.

Tuesday
Lunch - roast chicken sandwiches and fruit
packed lunch - Roast chicken sandwiches/carrot dip with pitta bread
Dinner - Aubergine and rigatoni bake with raspberries and yoghurt

To do
Prepare pork for wednesday - roast almonds, chop proscuitto, garlic and grate lemon.
Cook rice
Make spinach and rosemary soup

Wednesday
Lunch leftover Bake for children/ spinach and rosemary soupwith fruit
packed lunch: Blue cheese and red onion marmalade sandwiches/carrot dip
Dinner: Italian style pork stuffed with toasted almonds, proscuitto,garlic and great lemon, with rice


To do
Make pistachio pesto
120 g shelled pistachio nuts
50g fresh basil
30g fresh flat leaf parsley
200ml extra virgin olive oil
Put pistachios in a small saucepan. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and boil for 10secs.
Skin the pistachios, and put in a food processor. Add the basil and parsely to the pistachios.
Process whilst adding the oil through the funnel. place in fridge until needed

Thursday
Lunch  Leftover pork/spinach and rosemary soup
Packed lunch Aldi's french Torchon ham with mustard in bread
Dinner Courgette in a pistachio pesto with spaghetti

Prepare lasagne (cook off mince, add tomato sauce and soak lasagne sheets - put in dish)

Friday
Lunch -leftover spaghetti/soup
Dinner - Lasagne al forno with salad

Shopping List
Fruit and Vegetables
4 Courgettes
2 Aubergines
Green beans
1 bag of onions
1 bag of carrots
1 Bag of potatoes
1 bag of spinach spinach
lettuce
1 jar of artichokes (Aldi - €1.59)
1 jar of Brettone onions (Aldi - antipasti section)
2 tins of  plum tomatoes
tomato paste
1 bag of lemons
1 bag of bananas
1 bag of apples
Frozen raspberries (Lidl €2.99 for 500g) 
 Herbs and spices
Garlic
Basil
Parsley
Oregano
Rosemary

Bread
3 pans of bread
2 baguettes
wholegrain pitta bread

Dried goods
1 packet of lasagne sheets
1 packet of spaghetti
1 packet of Pistachio nuts
Plain flour/00 Italian flour if possible.
Couscous (Aldi's is good)
flaked almonds
Rigatoni pasta/penne
Scottish rough oatcakes (Lidl)

Meat
1 chicken
1 5 pack of pork
1  4 pack of lamb chops
1 packet of salami
1 packet of proscuitto

Dairy
Blue cheese
Grana Padona cheese (Lidl €2.99). Just like Parmesan, but  nearly a Euro cheaper and what
all the italians use!
2 3 litres of milk
1 block of butter
1 tub of Ricotta (Aldi's is very good)
Grated Mozzarella cheese
Lidl's big tub of Greek yoghurt