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Our latest weekly meal plan is all about HANDS OFF cooking. That means 5 recipes that can be left alone to do their thing in the oven, hob or slow cooker after a little prep.
As always, we’re keeping everything to a budget and making sure we have plenty of nutrition, variety and simple ingredients – not to mention flavours everyone will love.
This week’s meal plan is all about hands off cooking, which leaves us time to get on with other things, the amount of hands off time does vary from recipe to recipe – for example, one pasta dish needs 15-20 minutes bubbling on the hob, while a stew can be left alone for 6 hours.
Use these timings wisely according to your schedule at home. I love to come home to a full slow cooked dinner that I just need to spoon out if I know I’ll be home late, for example. On the other hand, I love to make my one-pan meals when I’ve got jobs I can be getting on with around the kitchen while they’re cooking. Win-win!
Disclaimer: while I am calling these meals ‘hands-off’, most of them will still require the odd stir now and then!
I’ll be sharing this meal plan on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, so watch out for the videos so you can cook along.
For reference, I shopped for this Meal Plan in February 2023 at Aldi and it cost £34.27.
Why use a meal plan?
⭐️ Knowing exactly what food to buy avoids food waste and saves you money.
⭐️ Having a plan for dinner avoids the mental load of “what’s for dinner?” question every night.
The printable shopping list can be found here.
You can find more Meal Plans here:
Meal Plan 17 – Family favourites
Meal Plan 16 – 30-minute feasts
Meal Plan 15 – More 30-minute dinners
Some tips:
➡️ Check for any items on the shopping list that you already have in your cupboard.
➡️ Maybe think about doubling up and freezing a recipe or two where the recipes are suitable, so save cooking another day or for the weekend.
➡️ Remove ingredients for any meals that you don’t want to cook.
➡️ The shopping list includes the cheapest version of each ingredient. Obviously if you want to buy lower fat mince or free range etc, that’s personal choice.
➡️ All of the recipes are to serve 4, so if you’re cooking for 2, simply halve the ingredients.
The recipes:
Dinner 1
⭐️ A brand new pie recipe for you – think we’ve nailed the shortcuts with this one!
⭐️ Serve with mash and peas. FYI: Potatoes and peas are on the shopping list and can double up with Dinner 4 sides.
⭐️ Minimal prep over the course of about an hour’s cooking time.
Chicken & Ham Pie {Easiest Ever One Pan!}
Dinner 2
⭐️ This recipe actually serves 6 people so you’ll have a couple of portions left over for lunches or to freeze for another day.
⭐️ A perfect ‘dump bag’ recipe to make ahead for extra convenience.
⭐️ Can be left for 4-6 hours to cook.
Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Vegan Stew {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Dinner 3
⭐️ Loads of flavour and ready in under 40 minutes, all in one pan.
⭐️ Mix and match the veggies up if you have anything to use up in the fridge.
⭐️ Can be left to bubble away on its own for about 15-20 minutes.
Dirty Rice {Cajun Style Beef One Pot}
Dinner 4
⭐️ Not completely hands-off but very little prep!
⭐️ A really simple fish dish – perfect for beginners.
⭐️ Serve with frozen peas and Homemade Oven Chips (potatoes are on the shopping list if you’re using it).
Homemade Salmon Fish Fingers
Dinner 5
⭐️ One-pot pastas are so easy but have great results.
⭐️ Leave to cook on the hob for 15 minutes.
⭐️ If you’re using the shopping list, the recipe uses parmesan but we have used grated mozzarella to save buying two types of cheese!
Creamy Sausage Pasta
Quick reminder, the printable shopping list can be found here.
If you’ve found this useful, let’s be friends on Instagram @tamingtwins
