Meal plan w/c 30 March 09

Not a great to start to the week really. I came back from my weekend away with a cold which has proceeded to get worse all week. Unfortunately its not a "stay in bed" cold, its just a "struggle through the day feeling off colour" kind of cold followed by doing nothing in the evening to recover. Anyway, so the only exercise I've done so far this week was a 20 minute exercise bike session on Tuesday night which I wish I hadn't bothered with because it made me feel worse. Plus I've eaten too much this week because I've been lying around in the evenings and not been able to distract myself.

Then on Monday evening the dishwasher broke. I wasn't impressed. We have quite a small kitchen so if you don't keep on top of things there is nowhere to do anything. As it happens its quite an old dishwasher and we were planning to get a new one anyway over Easter, but hey that means I'm stuck with washing up for two weeks so meals will now be simple and use as few pots as possible!

Mon 30 - spicy chicken and apricot stew with rice and steamed veg

Tue 31 - chorizo, aduki bean and vegetable stew with a small handful of bulgur wheat chucked in

Wed 1 - fray bentos chicken and mushroom pie with steamed veg

Thu 2 - freezer meal, so either frozen pizza and salad, or frozen chicken thing with oven chips and baked beans

Fri 3 - bolognese, baked potato and steamed veg, if my cold is up to it

Sat 4 - hopefully something in the slow cooker, I have a packet of diced lamb in the freezer so maybe a lamb casserole or hotpot

Sun 5 - homemade pizza

Meal Plan w/c 16 Mar 09

I've been off work this week and had a week off at home so have not been in my usual routine. Whilst it hasn't been the most relaxing week off I've caught up on some jobs, seen a few people I haven't seen for ages, and enjoyed the sunniest week since last summer!

Mon 16 - pub meal: lamb and mint pie, chips and veg, followed by orange and lemon zest sponge pudding

Tue 17 - chicken casserole ready meal with steamed veg

Wed 18 - carvery with grandparents for lunch, prawn salad for dinner

Thu 19 - salmon and vegetable stirfry with a chilli stirfry sauce

Fri 20 - chicken rarebit, mash, steamed veg

Sat 21 - bernard matthews turkey breast roast with roast potatoes and parsnips, and steamed veg

Sun 22 - homemade pizza

Meal plan w/c 9 March 2009

I'm a bit behind and unorganised again this week. I did however have a root through the freezer to see exactly what lurks in the bottom. An interesting display of frozen peas, pastry flakes and ice crystals mainly. I did however discover that what I thought was frozen black bean sauce was actually frozen stewed mashed prunes (low fat butter substitute for cake!), and there are several tubs of freezer burned unidentified goodness knows what to look forward to.

Mon 9 - salmon with creme fraiche and mustard sauce, mash and steamed veg

Tue 10 - fish pie and steamed veg - if I may say so it was one of my best fish pies ever!

Wed 11 - vegetable frittata

Thu 12 - cheese and tomato toastie and salad (had a very late lunch due to a meeting at work, got home late and wasn't in the mood for cooking)

Fri 13 - morrocan lamb steaks with mash, fried parsnips and steamed veg

Sat 14 - haven't decided yet, possibly some of the spicy chicken wings I found in the freezer that never got bbq'd last summer, with some homemade chips

Sun 15 - homemade pizza

Recipe: Turkey and Asparagus Pie

In my opinion, this is one of the best ways of using up cold turkey or chicken. The quantities are not exact as its a bit of a bung it all together recipe - the only important thing is to get the consistency of the turkey mixture right. Too sloppy and your pastry will submerge whilst in the oven. Not enough moisture and it will dry up in the oven.

Ingredients:
Cooked turkey for two people
About 5 asparagus spears, chopped into lengths
A few chopped mushrooms
A chopped onion
Some milk
Turkey gravy granules
1 crushed garlic clove
Parsley, sage and thyme
Salt and pepper
1/4 packet of bought puff pastry - basically a square about the size of a pack of playing cards

Method:
In a large saucepan, with some oil spray, fry the onion until golden.
Add the mushroom and the turkey and continue to fry until brown. Add more oil spray if needed.
Add the asparagus and crushed garlic.
Then add the milk to the pan - add enough to cover the mixture in the pan plus a little more.
Thicken the mixture with turkey gravy granules. If you prefer use a stock cube and cornflour.
Add the herbs and seasoning.
Simmer for about 10 minutes.
While it is simmering preheat the oven to 200C.
Get a suitable dish, a deep one is better than a shallow one.
Roll the pastry out to the size of the dish.
Spoon the turkey mixture into the dish and top with the pastry.
Poke a hole in the top of the pastry with a knife and brush the surface with milk.
Cook for 30 minutes in the oven.
While its cooking steam yourself a selection of veggies to go with it.
Sometimes I do a little mashed potato as well.

Menu plan w/c 2 March 09

Mon 2 - tofu and vegetable stirfry, rice noodles

Tue 3 - salmon with garlic butter sauce, roast parsnips, mash, steamed veg

Wed 4 - turkey mince bolognese, baked potato, steamed veg

Thu 5 - frozen pizza and salad

Fri 6 - (Choc Chip's birthday) smoked salmon and avocado salad, steak with pepper sauce, homemade chips, roast parsnip, steamed veg

Sat 7 - ciabatta rolls and vegetable soup for lunch , tea at church in the evening

Sun 8 - homemade pizza

Meal plan w/c 23 Feb 09

Mon 23 - cajun chicken in gravy, mash, steamed veg

Tue 24 - smoked mackerel, bread, salad, lots of pancakes!

Wed 25 - lasagne, steamed veg

Thu 26 - fray bentos steak and ale pie, mash, veg

Fri 27 - something with tofu, going to find a recipe when I get home

Sat 28 - homemade pizza for lunch, tea at church in the evening

Sun 1 - at a friend's house for Sunday lunch, I expect it will be a roast

Recipe: Chicken Rarebit

This is one of my favourite recipes at the moment, its suitable for a mid-week meal, it has only a few ingredients, oh and its full of calcium (er...well cheese anyway):

Chicken Rarebits (serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
olive oil, for greasing
140g coarsely grated cheddar
1 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard
3 tbsps milk
150g cherry tomatoes, on the vine
brocolli and new potatoes, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally so you have two thinner pieces that will cook quicker. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish and arrange the chicken in it in a single layer. Mix the cheese, mustard and milk together, then pile the mixture on top of each piece of chicken.

2. Place the tomatoes all round the chicken. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is golden and the tomatoes are squishy.

3. Serve with the brocolli and new potatoes. Suggest to everyone that they squash the tomatoes on their plates to blend into the cheesy sauce.

Variations:

- Any old tomatoes are fine if you don't have cherry vine ones.
- I prefer to use an oil spray rather than actual oil
- Brocolli and new potatoes are not mandatory, I always just eat a pile of whatever veg is lying around with them!

Enjoy

Menu plan w/c 16 Feb 09

Mon 16 - indian takeaway with friends

Tue 17 - tuna steak with sweet n sour sauce, mash and steamed veg

Wed 18 - chicken in white wine casserole, mash , steamed veg, maybe roast parsnip as I have about 5 parsnips that need eating

Thu 19 - chicken fajitas

Fri 20 - turkey pie, mash (small amount!) and steamed veg

Sat 21 - friends over for lunch which will be soup and sandwiches and stuff, so probably use up some ready meals in the evening, with extra veg on the side

Sun 22 - bring n share lunch at church, have agreed with a friend that I will take microwave rice, as she is doing a slow cooker curry

Meal plan w/c 9 Feb

I'm a bit more organised this week:

Monday: chicken breasts roasted in gravy, mash, steamed veg

Tuesday: salmon fillet in soy mustard sauce, mash, steamed veg

Wednesday: thai green vegetable curry, basmati rice

Thursday: baked pork steak topped with a little stuffing, mash, steamed veg

Friday: (parents coming for weekend) shepherd's pie but with potato slices not mash, steamed veg

Saturday: pub lunch, and then a light tea later

Sunday: some kind of chicken casserole in the slow cooker, maybe with roasties, and steamed veg

Meal Plan w/c 26th Jan

A bit retrospective this week - its been our busiest week of the year at work (and I do mean a rolling year not a calendar year!) so things have been hectic and meals have been what I can be bothered with on the night:

Mon 26 - friend's house - lamb chop with veg and gravy

Tue 27 - bolognese, with baked potato and steamed veg

Wed 28 - Moroccan chicken casserole

Thu 29 - Moroccan coley casserole (with leftovers from last night!)

Fri 30 - Asda four cheese pizza

Sat 31 - Roast chicken breast with vegetable gratin

Sun 1 - homemade pizza

Somehow too much pizza always gets into my menus...

Moroccan Chicken

This is one of my favourite recipes at the moment - it's great for cold winter days, really warming, and full of loads of veggies! It's a slow cooker recipe (crock pot for all you Americans!)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 onion thinly sliced
1 crushed garlic clove
2 carrots thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
425g/15oz tin of chickpeas
350g/12oz sweet potatoes cut into cubes
450ml/2 cups chicken stock
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
8 skinned chicken thighs

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add onion and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until beginning to turn golden.

2. Stir in the carrots, then the salt, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and pepper. Add the chickpeas, sweet potatoes, stock and lemon rind. Bring just to the boil and transfer to the slow cooker.

3. Arrange chicken on top of vegetables, pushing it gently into the liquid

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Stir in the lemon juice just before serving.

5. Serve with heaps of fluffy couscous with some fresh mint stirred into it.

(Serves 4)

Other suggestions:

This works well in a normal oven too - follow the recipe as above but place it in a casserole dish instead of the slow cooker. Add some extra liquid so that all the meat and veg is just covered. Cook it for an hour and a half on 180C (350F). You may want to add some cornflour for the last 20-30 minutes to thicken it up a bit.

I've tried the following variations with success:

• tinned green lentils instead of chickpeas
• adding other root vegetables instead of chickpeas, such as potato or parsnip
• you may only need 1 thigh per person if they are big, or chicken breasts work as well
• you may not need the salt depending on how salty your stock is
• BUT don't leave out the sweet potato, its not the same without it

Enjoy!

Meal plan w/c 19 Jan 09

Mon 19 - homemade vegetable soup with bread and butter

Tue 20 - thai green chicken curry, rice, steamed veggies

Wed 21 - frozen chicken bbq pizza (man came to fix boiler, he didn't finish in the kitchen till 9pm!)

Thu 22 - italian baked fish, with baked sweet potato and boiled veggies

Fri 23 - turkey pie, with steamed veggies, and maybe a little mash

Sat 24 - beef pot roast in the slow cooker, roast potatoes and parsnip, steamed veggies

Sun 25 - homemade pizza

Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizza is our Sunday favourite these days, who needs a roast dinner anymore! I just put the dough on (in the breadmaker) before we go to church, then when I get home its all ready! Just let it rise, prepare the toppings, and then I cook it in my special microwave pan, which is designed to make it extra crispy on the bottom!

This one was smoked sausage (reduced fat!), green pepper, mushroom, and some red chilli (but not on my half!). Yes, I only ate half, I have to share it with Choc Chip, although I'm sure I could polish off the lot if it came to it hee hee!

Recipe: Beef Burritos

Beef Burritos - serves 2

Ingredients:
250g lean minced beef
1/2 small chopped onion
1/3 chopped green bell pepper
1 crushed clove of garlic
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and black pepper
4 tbspns salsa
2 tbspns tomato puree
handful grated cheese
some shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large tortilla wraps

Method:
1) In a frying pan brown the onion and green pepper
2) Add the minced beef and cook till brown
3) Stir in the chilli powder, herbs, cumin and salt and pepper
4) After a couple of minutes stir in half the salsa and all the tomato puree
5) Spread lettuce on tortillas
6) Top with the beef mixture
7) Top that with the rest of the salsa and the grated cheese
8) Wrap it up and munch away!

roughly 450-500 calories per person

Meal plan w/c 4 Jan

Meal plan:

• Sun 4th - homemade pizza with sweet chilli turkey topping
• Mon 5th - out (friend's house) - braised lamb with baked potato and veg, sticky toffee pud
• Tue 6th - frozen pizza, mega meat feast
• Wed 7th - moroccan chicken and root veg casserole
• Thu 8th - frittata with extra veg
• Fri 9th - steak with homemade oven chips
• Sat 10th - out (grill bar)