I have a banking spreadsheet on my laptop, with one worksheet of it listing all the prices of my usual stuff listed from my receipts, (bit sad I know!) helps me plan , juggle meals tok fit that weeks budget etc
Order the meals correctly, to allow your leftovers to be used next day etc, or freeze straight after leftovers have cooled down, so they are not wasted in the fridge. I save all extra cooked veg in bags for Devons meals.
We have the following menu most weeks
mixed veg Soup (eg carrots, sweet pot, parsnip, and half pack bacon) - own chicken stock, from boiling chicken carcass)
Sunday meat pie (home madestew from value beaf and any veg), plus brought puff pastry to make a pie
(cook double if sale offer meat going out of date, and freeze a portion to make another pie next week)
Spag bol - again cook double for next week, using mushrooms, onions and or aubergine to bulk up mince!!) You can then use this for shepherds pie with mash (add some gravey into mix before going into oven to make more meaty)
kids have home made maccaroni cheese and we have jacket pot and beans (kids hate them!)
Stirfry with any misc left over meat , frozen in freezer at different times, you can make a chinease sauce with very little really, any brown suger (for the sweet bit), bit of white wine vinegar (for the sour bit), bit of chinease five spice , pinapple if you have some, soy sauce. If you have noodles as well , (hard ones boil in 4 mins!), drain and add soy sauce and splash sesame oil, and they taste just like takeaway ones!!
chicken thigh fillets are cheep, make homemade chicken nuggets, with your own bread crumbs from old bread (grind in mini chopper and freeze)
If you have a freezer , it will be your best freind