Meal Planning Monday - 26th August 2013

Another week gone, the weeks really are flying through and before we know it it'll be the big C word! - Crazy.

Just another quick post this week as the little ones napping and I've got to get some things done whilst she's sleeping or they'll never get done.  We're having a period at the moment where she's back to waking up through the night again.  I"m not sure if it's due to her crawling, climbing and learning so much more every day that she's regressing again throughout the nights or what but it's hard getting up again throughout the night for an hour or more until I can get her back to sleep.  Ulg... lots of caffeine is needed!

So here's what we're having this week: -

Monday - Omelette's & Waffles
Tuesday - Chicken Stir fry & Noodles
Wednesday - Sausage, Beans & Mash
Thursday - Pizza
Friday - Chicken & Meatball Subs & chips
Saturday - BBQ/Stag do
Sunday - My parents/Hubby's parents

I'm going to give it a go making my own pizza dough in order to try and make a bit of a healthier pizza.  It may be a complete disaster but sure, got to give these things a whirl.

I was struggling with Saturday/Sunday as what to have and then was reminded by hubby that I'm down at my mum and dad's on Saturday at a BBQ they're holding (lets hope for some good weather) and he was meant to be joining me but it's his friends stag do that night so he'll be out with his friends instead.  Which also means that on Sunday we'll be having separate lunches as well.  My family live approx 30 miles away so there's not really much point in him travelling down just for lunch and then having two cars driving home again, so we'll both be at our respective parents houses.

On Sunday morning I'm meeting up with some of my friends and their little ones!  A girl who I've known since P2 lives in Scotland now, she's home for a holiday seeing her parents so I'm heading over whilst at home myself to see her and meet her little one.  Her cousin, who also has a little baby is coming over too and her sister as well.  It'll be nice to see everyone again and hopefully get a group picture of us all now with our babies.

Hope everyone has a nice week.  I'm sure some of the schools are back again this week which no doubt parents are glad of!

I'm linking up with Mrs M so why not click on the badge above and check out what everyone else is having this week.

Meal Planning Monday - 19th August 2013

Another Monday rolls round and we're edging closer towards September!  September, where has the year gone so far?  This time last year I was 7 months pregnant and waiting for the arrival of the little one in November and now we're nearly at her first birthday! - Arggg.

Just a quick post before she wakes up.

This week we are having: 

Just noticed I've spelt broccoli wrong in the picture but it's Monday morning and I don't have the heart to do it again!

The baked pasta dish is a freezer batch from the last time I made it..It makes about 5 batches of the sauce and then you just make the pasta each time which is handy!  I must get another batch made soon.

Chicken, Broccoli Pasta (I can't remember what it's actually called), is a recipe my mum found years ago on the side of the Campbell's condensed soup tin.  Basically it's chicken, carrots, broccoli, pasta, condensed chicken soup, milk, stir, simmer and Bob's your Uncle a yummy tasty dish that can be served with crusty bread.

Salted chilli chicken is rather tasty and simple to make too.

I must point out that it looks that we're being rather unhealthy with chips two nights in a row.  We make ours in the actifry, which is meant to be the healthier way to make chips and so therefore it's possible we may have them two nights in a row.  Hubby and I are both trying to be good, cutting down in portion sizes, no cakes, buns and plenty of fruit etc, but were somewhat disappointed when we weighed ourselves at my mums yesterday only to find that there was hardly any progress and we've been doing it for a good 4-6 weeks now.  Bahhhhh.  Hopefully we'll not lose motivation though.

Have a good week!

Meal Planning Monday - 5th August 2013

Morning all, Monday again and into August.  I can't believe that we're closer to this Christmas than we are last Christmas (yes I did just say the C word twice!), over half the year gone and I've really no idea where it has gone to as it's gone by in a flash.  I must be getting older when I'm talking about time passing by so quickly.

Last week is a bit of a blur, we didn't get out much as the little one was wanting to nap and was a little grouchy I think due to teething.  Hopefully we'll get out a little this week just to get a change from the same four walls.  One of my friends is coming up tomorrow with her wee baby girl so will be lovely to see them and have some lunch.  Hoping to get round this week to see another friends new wee baby boy.

Oh!  Also, we go our photos from the photo shoot on Saturday - eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  So excited, I love them but just can't decide now which one to put up on the wall.

I love this one but just one of the photos to choose from

Anyway, on to this weeks meal plan.  Last weeks went pretty much to plan but Saturday went out the window as I forgot to leave the chicken out of the freezer and so we ended up with a chinese instead - whoops!  This weeks meal plan isn't that exciting either but sure!

So this week we are having.....

So what are you all having this week?  Have a good one, whatever you're up to.

I'm linking up with Mrs M so why not click on the badge and find out what everyone is having this week.

Weekly Meal Plan - 29th July 2013

Hope everyone had a good week.  It's terrible, I'm sitting here trying to remember what we actually did last week and I can barely remember!  Memory isn't what it used to be....  The sun dipped in and out and heavy showers came on quickly so we stayed around the house and tried to get some things done.

Hubby and I got to go on Friday night to view the pictures from our photo shoot last Saturday.  I was anxious if they would be any good as it was an exceptionally warm day and the little one hadn't really napped so it was just a bad combination.  I needn't have worried as they were beautiful and of course it made it extremely difficult to decide which ones to pick.  We eventually decided on 9 photos that we're getting on disk so we can get prints, wall art etc ourselves.... I hope it arrives this week as I'm chomping at the bit to see them again.

We stuck to the meal plan last week, although the little one refused a few dinners.  Don't know if she is getting too independent and wants to feed herself all the time and so is refusing when we spoon feed her, but if I leave her to her own devices she doesn't get an awful lot in her belly.

This weeks meals are pretty uninspired, finding it hard to find things that we can all have together without it being repetitive every week.  There's a few meals on the plan that she won't be having and instead will be having Chicken, Vegetables and potatoes, Chicken & Summer vegetables and Tuna Casserole....hopefully they'll all go down ok :s  Any ideas of what to give her would be gratefully received.

This weeks meals are as follows:

The baked pasta dish is a batch I already have in the freezer and am trying to use up before it's been in there a little too long.  By Thursday I was completely uninspired so am just going to stick my head in the freezer and see what there is, there's bound to be something in there that needs used up anyway.  The smoky philly chicken is scrumptious and we haven't had it in a longggg time, so will be good to have a change with it.

I'm linking up with Mrs M, so why not stop by and have a nosey at what everyone else is having this week.

Have a good one :)

Meal Planning Monday - 22nd July 2013

Don't fall off your seat reading this, I am alive and well!!  Yes, it has been a little while since posting anything but I have still been Meal Planning behind the scenes.

Things just got really busy with the little one and with the glorious weather it made it difficult to get the little one to eat, sleep, want to do anything so I just didn't have the time to get blogging.  I also had a wave of what's the point?  Does anyone even read this and is interested whether I'm actually here or not? and so before you know it it's over a month without a single post being written and very few being read.

I still find time very limited to get reading/writing posts, as it is the little one is asleep now but I should really be doing something productive before she wakes up again.  By the time she's settled in bed for night, things are cleared and tidied up, a brew in hand and some chilling time, it's time for bed!  I'm in awe of all you who seem to be so much busier than me and still have time to blog.

Anyway, so we're back (for this week at least) and hopefully I'll get back into the swing of blogging and find time to be able to just share my thoughts if nothing else.

So in my absence on here, we've had some progressions....weaning is still going well and now I'm trying to find meals that we can both have together instead of having to make separate dinners.  Any thoughts on meals that could be made or ideas of lunches would be greatly appreciated as I'm running out of ideas.

Also, about 3 weeks ago JD started crawling forward!  She had reverse gear, side to side and complete about turn but could never seem to get forward.  Now there's no stopping her, it is more like an army crawl but she can fairly shift and now I need eyes everywhere!

On to this weeks Meal Plan....

I'm linking up with Mrs M, so why not click the link and take a look at what everyone else is having this week.

Weekly Meal Plan - 10th June 2013

Last week was beautiful here, we had lovely sunshine nearly every day and pretty warm temperatures...  On Saturday JD and I, along with a friend and her wee boy, took part in a World Record Pram Push attempt for the most prams moving at one time.  We had a gorgeous day for it, almost too warm as we had to walk from the top of Stormont, down to the bottom and back up a hill.  Unfortunately with the good weather I think people didn't turn out for the event and so whilst we didn't break it, we did have a fun morning/afternoon and in total the event raised £15,000 for TinyLife Charity.

Sunday we ditched the meal plan, grabbed a disposable BBQ and headed to Newcastle for the afternoon.  It was lovely just chilling, having our BBQ, letting the little one roll about on the blanket and just having some family time together.  We headed for a walk into the town and then up to see my brother & sister in law and nieces who have a caravan up there.  It was great seeing the cousins play together and they love our little one so much.

So some meals from last week will be reappearing as we didn't have them last week.  The sun has also gone this morning (Tuesday) so there probably won't be any meal changes.  I think our week of sunshine was summer, well it was nice when it lasted.

This week we are having:

Not entirely inspiring but tasty all the same.

I'm linking up with Mrs M so why not click on the badge and see what everyone else is having this week!

Have a good one.

Weekly Meal Plan - 3rd June 2013

It's June, JUNE!  Can you believe it?  Where has 6 months gone?  Dare I say the dreaded words...before we know it it'll be Christmas!  In a few weeks we are about to have the longest day and then slowly creep back into the darker days but yet where has summer been?  I hope it stops hiding and comes out soon!  In saying that we have had a day or two which has been lovely, bright and sunshiny but at the same time it'd be nice if it stuck around for a while longer.

Last weeks meal plan got juggled around a wee bit.  Tuesday I just couldn't be bothered and so we ended up getting pizza (not good for my waistline, hips or jelly bottom - but none the less super tasty!). Another night we swapped and had what we were meant to have on Tuesday.  Saturday we bought chicken and cubed potatoes from the butcher and made our own sweet chilli chicken and on Sunday we had the chilli as we're at my cousins wedding today and will probably get a roast dinner so thought it best not to have two in a row.

This week is looking as follows:

Last week was a bit stressful and well, upsetting for me.  Little JD started screaming the house down at every nap for a couple of days, which isn't like her.  She'd be screaming her wee heart out and it upset me that I didn't know what was wrong and couldn't get her to sleep for ages.  I felt like a bad mummy.  I thought at the start it was teething and she is drooling lots and constantly got her hands in her mouth, but the screaming only happens at nap time (generally).  I'm wondering now is it separation anxiety and that's why she's so upset.  I'm trying to be strong so she won't pick up on it but hate hearing her cry so sore.

Earlier on in the week we managed to get out for a wee date with my friend and her wee boy.  we went to one of the local parks and had a wee bit of fun on the swings and then had a big walk around the park (twice) and then the mummy's got a tea and a bun after! - Well why not!?

I'm linking up with Mrs M (probably on Tuesday after the wedding), why not head over and see what everyone else is having this week.

Have a good one!

Weekly Meal Plan - 27th May 2013

 

Forgive me but there's going to be no flash, jazz or flare to this post! Up until about 10 minutes ago I didn't even know what we were having this week.

I wasn't prepared to have it done at the weekend as he sun was shining on Saturday and we went out for the day to a local farm and then had a big walk around the lake.  

Sunday we were just chilling and visiting family but I couldn't bring myself to think about meals just yet.... On Monday JD and I went down to my mums to see my sister and leave in my brother in laws birthday present so. We were away the whole day.  Today my head isn't working and it's going to be a caffeine fuelled day to get me through.... JD keeps waking up at 5am and having a little chatter for about an hour and then normally falls back to sleep.  This morning she woke at 5am and was up chatting but then started crying so I ended up having to bring her into our bed so as hubby could get some sleep.  She went back over but it was after six she was going to sleep and awake again for 7am!! Shattered.  If anyone has any ideas of how to stop her waking at 5am I'd love to hear them! She's not waking for food she's just chatting and cooing away.

Anyway, the shopping is still to be done but I'm tied to the house as our bath is FINALLY being delivered today.....now to get it installed :s

So this weeks meal plan is as follows;

Monday - Leftover fajitas from Saturday

Tuesday - Tuna pie, baked beans and spuds

Wednesday - Omelettes and chips or hash browns

Thursday - Baked pasta dish

Friday - Burgers and chips

Sat - Chilli

Sun - A roast of some sort

It's somewhat uninspired but anyway it's all my brain can cope with this morning.

Hope everyone had a good week.  I'm linking up with Mrs M so why not head on over and see what everyone else is having this week.

Have a good one :)

Weekly Meal Plan - 13th May 2013

How's everyone this happy Monday? (You can tell I'm off on maternity leave when I'm saying that!)

Last weeks meals went pretty much to plan, however we had a panic for a few days as we thought our freezer was on the blink.  A warning light kept flashing at us which normally suggests the temperature isn't right.  I think the door might have been ever so slightly ajar, but after 24 hours when the light was still flashing it looked like it wasn't going to be good and the freezer full of food was going to have to be quickly eaten.  The strange thing was that the food in the freezer was still frozen, but anything new put in the top drawer didn't seem to be freezing... Very strange! So Saturday's tea was bumped in order to start using up the freezer.

Anyway, thankfully a day or so after the mysterious warning light has now vanished and the food still remains frozen so hopefully there won't be the need for a new freezer after all. (Fingers crossed).  I've taken it as a good opportunity to use up some of the freezer meals I have in there and get it defrosted and hopefully that will make it happy and help it to continue working.

Oh, on other news JD mastered how to roll from her back to her front last week.  As a new mummy of course I was very proud and just think she's amazing.  She's now trying to 'flap', sorry crawl, but it really is more of a flapping her arms and legs and she's getting frustrated that she can't do it. I'm sure that will happen soon enough and then I might cry a little as she's only wee and I want to keep her that way :(

Anyway, enough blethering and on to our meals this week: -

My Mum and Dad are coming up to visit us on Saturday so I'm making the Sweet & Sour Chicken fresh for them.  Hopefully I might get to making a Rhubarb Crunch, but just need to check if we have enough rhubarb in the garden.  If I make it I'll be sure to blog it as it's one of my favourite dishes....layers of yummy rhubarb and creamed rice...mmmmm.....

I feel a little lazy cooking wise with all the meals being from the freezer but hopefully it means that the weekly grocery bill will get a bit of a reprieve too.

I'm also trying to think of different things to give JD for weaning.  I'm trying to put a few flavours together but if you have any suggestions of good recipes or ideas I'm all ears!

What are you having this week?  Hope you have a good one!

As usual I am linking up with At home with Mrs M's #MealPlanningMonday.  Why not click on the badge and have a nosey at what everyone else is having this week.

Weekly Meal Plan - 6th May 2013

Another week gone and another week closer to the first half of the year being gone!  It must be me getting older but I definitely think time is going quicker!

The first half of the week for me was a wipe out, unfortunately I woke up on Monday with a bug but thankfully by Wednesday it had packed it's bags and vacating the building.  I was even more thankful that no one else in the house, especially little JD got it.

We managed to still have all our meals on the meal plan, bar Saturday when we were out and decided to ditch the sweet and sour and get a yummy chicken fillet burger from the chippy instead. (Oh well, can't be good all the time!)

So on to this weeks plan!

As you can see the sweet and sour has made it on to this weeks meal plan as I'd bought all the ingredients in the online shop last week.  Speaking of online shops, I don't know how but every time I shop online and get vegetables I always end up with far more than I wanted.  The first time I did an online shop with Asda I wanted one onion and ended up with a kilo, yes 1 kilo!! of onions.  I had them coming out of my ears!  This time I wanted a small knob of fresh ginger for the sweet and sour, well you can imagine it already.  I've ended up with a couple of huge bits that I have no idea what I'm going to do with!  So any suggestions on what to do with it will be greatly appreciated!!

The baked pasta dish is a tasty little recipe that I found online.  It's great as it makes 5 portions of the sauce which is a handy wee quick dinner when you've it in the freezer, cook up the pasta, top with cheese and pop in the oven - done!

The spicy tuna fish cakes were a real hit the last time I made them and so are featuring again to give us a break from our poultry heavy meals.

The Cajun Chicken Pasta and Chicken & Chorizo Stew are both new recipes so will look forward to trying them out for something different.

I'm linking up with Mrs M for the #Mealplanningmonday so why not head on over and have a jook at what everyone else is having this week!

Have a great week! :)

Spicy Sausage Cassoulet Recipe

This is another recipe my mum used to make us but it is a firm favourite with hubby - he loves it. It's one of those recipes that maybe doesn't look great on a plate or in a bowl but is just so tasty and the leftovers are always great for a lunch or even another dinner.  

The recipe says it serves two but we normally get at least two good dinners out of it and enough for maybe another dinner or a lunch.  I do have a tendency to add a few extra peppers into it but you could do so to taste and if trying to bulk it out add more veg or sausages.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1 Red pepper, chopped
2 Sticks celery, chopped
200g Chopped tomatoes
125ml Chicken stock
2 Tsp Dark soy sauce
2 Tsp Mustard
400g Black eyed beans (I always used baked beans - it tastes yummy)
125g Pork Sausages cooked and chopped into small pieces
2oz Breadcrumbs
1oz Grated Cheese
2 Tbsp Parsley chopped

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a large saucepan/wok.  Ensure the pan you use can be put under the grill and won't melt!

Cook sausages on grill, frying pan, actifry - however you like to cook them.

Add onion, garlic, pepper & celery to the pan and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, stock and soy sauce.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 mins or until sauce begins to thicken.

Chop sausages into small pieces. Add mustard, beans and sausages and cook for further 10 minutes.

Before sauce has thickened

When the sauce had thickened

Mix breadcrumbs, cheese and parsley together and sprinkle over sausage mixture.

Place pan under hot grill for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

All ready to dig in!

Serve with salad/crusty bread.

Tuna Flan Recipe

This is a dish we would often have at home when I lived with my mum and dad.  It's simple and easy and I love it.  Not being a great fan of fish (only eating tuna or salmon out of a tin) this recipe is great for getting some fishiness into you.

Tuna Flan (Partially eaten - whoops, forgot to take photo before dinner!)

The recipe for the pastry is to the tea as its from my mum.  The filling however will be a little haphazard as it's from me and I've a tendency to add a little here and put a little dash here but if you'd like to try making it here we go....

To make the pastry

125g/4oz Stork Margarine

175g/6oz Plain Flour

1 Tbsp Cold Water

Place the flour in a bowl and rub in the margarine until it looks like breadcrumbs, then add the water.  Blend together.  You can add a little more water if needed but don't make it too sticky (strict instructions from my mum!).

Flour surface and roll the pastry out.  Greases the dish you are using with a little butter.  Place the pastry over the dish and pat into dish to fit.  Trim off edges if necessary.  Once the pastry is in position prick it a few times with a knife to ensure it does not bubble.

Place the pastry in the oven 200oC/400oF/Gas Mark 6 for approximately 25 minutes or until lightly brown.

To make the filling

1 Tin Tuna Chunks

Milk

2 Eggs

Frozen Peas

Cheese for topping

Put tuna in bowl and mash with fork until the chunks are broken up.  Add the two eggs and mix.  Add a handful or more of frozen peas (really add as many as you like and as many as you need depending on how big your dish is).  Add a little milk, until it raised by an inch or two.  Mix until peas are separated and everything is combined.  Pour the mixture on to your pastry base.  Top with grated cheese and cook for approximately 20/30 minutes at 200oC until the cheese is golden brown.

Serve with broccoli or any vegetable, baked potato and lashings of HP sauce (OK so the last one is just a personal favourite).

Mum's The Word Weekly Meal Plan - 22nd April 2013

 

 Can you believe it's Monday again? The weeks are just flying by.

Thankfully we got good news about Hubby's car, although there is a fault with the brake sensor (I think that's what it was) the mechanic said that VW are repairing the fault free of charge.  I checked with our VW dealer and it is the case (yippee), so as long as it comes up with the same fault code on their diagnostics we'll not have to pay to get it fixed.  This is just great as when Hubby was googling about it, it could have been £1000 - £1500 to get it repaired - ouch!

I took the little one up to see my Grandma and my mum on Wednesday. My Grandma just turned 90 in January and I think she's brilliant.  She lives in her own wee apartment attached to my Aunt and Uncles house which means she gets her own bit of privacy but the family make dinners for her etc, and it's nice to know that someone's not too far away if anything happened to her.

I got to enjoy some time this weekend catching up with friends and family.  Friday I had a lovely dinner catching up with one of my friends who has a 18 month old boy.  Saturday I got catching up with my best friend that I haven't seen in 7 weeks. We live 30 miles apart, which doesn't sound a lot but she works shifts so it's been hard to get a time that suits us both. It was great just chatting and laughing and of course doing some munching and shopping.

Sunday the lovely Lauren, my cousins wife, was over this week seeing her family and having some chill out time.  Although she was home chilling she kindly met up with the little one and I at her Mother in Law's house (my Auntie). Was lovely seeing them both as we haven't seen them since January at my Gran's birthday.

The little one was unfortunately a little strange at the start but came round pretty quickly and was giving plenty of smiles.  We had a lovely afternoon chatting and playing with the little one. It was  lovely to see her and only wish she was closer so we could see her more.

Some of last weeks meals were a great hit!  The Spanish Chicken was lovely, Sausage Casserole was very tasty (always popular in our house - recipe to follow!), Meatball Sub (a creation out of my head but was super tasty) and the Beef and Bean Burrito, although it did just taste like chilli in a wrap.

Lauren & My Little Princess

Little Princess & Me

This week we only (hopefully) have 5 meals to plan for.  Hubby finishes work on Thursday and starts his new job next Monday, so we're having a celebratory dinner on Thursday.  Friday he's out at his leaving do, so just dinner for me. Saturday we're hoping to have a day out in the town and get dinner out, so seeing if my mum can look after the little one for us.  We'll stay over at theirs on Saturday night so no lunch to make on Sunday!  It'll be good to see them and catch up and for them to see the little one too.

So on to this weeks meal plan!

I'm linking up with Meal Planning Monday over at Mrs M's Page so why not pop on by and nosey at what everyone else is eating this week.

Hope you have a great week.  

Mum's The Word Weekly Meal Plan - 15th April 2013

How has everyones week been?  Our's was one of those weeks that I'm glad to be over.  Not that anything really bad happened but it just seemed to be 'one of those weeks'.

The little one is nearly 5 months old and I've been holding off starting weaning properly as the Health Visitors/Midwives recommend now a days that you wait until 6 months before doing so. Over the past wee while I've given her small bits of mashed up banana which she seems to have enjoyed and hasn't  had any problems with.  

This week I had some apples left, so pureed them and gave her some on Monday...Bedtime that night was awful, I was trying to make dinner, hubby was trying to get her to settle in bed and she was inconsolably crying.  It was terrible, she just about stopped crying for me.  It took us over an hour to get her settled, staying by her cot, trying to rub her hand to console her and get her to go over to sleep (normally she's very good).  Tuesday was no better, exact same thing, inconsolable crying and it just wasn't like her.  I hated seeing her like that, she must have been such pain.  Suddenly I put two and two together and thought it might be the apple that was causing it.  On Wednesday I didn't give her any and low and behold she went down perfectly without a fuss! ..... I think we'll leave apple off the menu for her for a while!  

Needless to say this week I've had some dinner mishaps due to having dinner on and then attending to the little one.  I was cooking the stir fry on Monday I turned my back for a minute or two to get something for hubby (to attend the crying child), looked back and the pan was black from the honey cooking. - Great!  I thought dinner was going to be ruined but kept on with it anyway, surprisingly it turned out rather tasty!

Disaster number 1

The Salt & Pepper Chicken (Salted Chilli Chicken) turned out OK too but was maybe a tad overdone.  We tried Utterly Scrummy's Sausage & Vegetable Hot Pot, I thought it was really nice but hubby wasn't really enthused so think it'll be a recipe just for me for the future.  The Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes were a real hit and as they made eight patty's we had them two nights in a row.  Fajita Lasagna turned into ordinary fajitas as we were out on Saturday in Belfast and then had popped into the in-laws...let's just say an impromptu bath had to happen for the little one ('nuff said) and so by the time I was starting dinner it was late and by the time we were eating it was about 9pm.

During the week, hubby also found a warning light had come on his car dash.  I'm taking it to get looked at tomorrow but from googling it it could be about £1000 - £1500 to fix - Just wonderful!  Whilst we were out on Saturday we heard this really bad rattle from his car too, it almost sounded like a clip had come off and some pipes were loose but we can't seem to see where it's coming from. It seems to have disappeared (for now) but not looking forward to what that problem may be.  We got told at the service recently that his brakes need changed too (front & back). Oh and to top it all off we ran out of oil on Saturday night!

I was meant to be meeting a friend on Sunday and so decided to change from a roast to something quick and easy.  We ended up having the left over fajitas for lunch and the Baked Pasta Dish for dinner.  You can find the recipe here http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6032/the-baked-pasta-dish.aspx.  It's a great bulk dinner as you make the sauce once which makes 5 portions, pop in the freezer and then next time only have to cook the pasta, stir through and bake - yummy!

This week we are having the following:  

The sausage casserole is a recipe my mum gave us and hubby loves this so much that I think this is why he didn't enjoy the other recipe this week as much.  I'll do a post on it later in the week.

Spanish chicken is going to be a new recipe for us from Mum Reinvented's blog so looking forward to trying that.  Mediterranean Chicken is the Coleman's season and shake sachet - it's so simple but tasty!

Hubby came up with the meatball sub - this will be our own creation and I'll probably cheat and buy the meatballs.

Beef and Bean Burritos is another new recipe I found on The Resourceful Cook website/blog so hopefully it'll be scrummy as I like the sound of it.

Hopefully we'll have a better week this week.  

What are you having this week?

I'm linking up with Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday, so why not have a nosey at what everyone else is having this week.

Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes

Spicy Fish Cakes - yum!

I don't know about you but I'm not a big fish eater.  I would love to enjoy fish more, especially as it's so good for you, but if only it didn't taste so fishy! I only eat tuna and salmon out of a tin (I get mocked that it has to be out of a tin but the fresh stuff tastes, well, more fishy.

My mum used to make salmon fish cakes when we were at home and they were nice.  I've made them since being married but was searching the net for something different and came across these.  The recipe makes 8 fish cakes and so this should serve 4 people depending on how hungry you are.  We found two each was plenty.

Of course you know what I'm going to say, don't you?! This was yet another ad hoc recipe, I had checked the recipe but wasn't buying Dijon mustard just for this and so just used the powdered English mustard that I had in the cupboard.  I didn't add in the onion as I didn't have one to hand and used crushed garlic instead of garlic granules.

When mixing everything in the bowl I was worried if it would taste ok as the mustard smell was very strong but it was surprising how well the flavours blended together.  These were really tasty and I'd definitely make them again, hubby loved them too which is an added bonus.

Ingredients

1 large potato, peeled and cubed
320g tinned tuna, drained
1 egg
1/4 onion, chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or English mustard)
1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs, or as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic granules (or crushed garlic cloves to taste)
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs or seasoning (I used mixed herbs)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method 

Put the potato in a small pot with salted water. Boil until the potato is tender, drain and steam dry for a minute or two then mash.

In a bowl add the tuna, egg, onion, mustard, breadcrumbs, garlic, herbs, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper into the mashed potato until mixed through. Divide the mixture into 8 equal patties.

Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the fish cakes until browned and crisp. Approx 3 mins each side.

Salt & Pepper Chicken (Salted Chilli Chicken)

I found this recipe online when I was looking for something different to make for dinners.  It's pretty simple to make and tasty too, it's not exactly the same as the salted chilli chicken that you'd get from the chinese but I still think it's yummy.  You could add more chilli in to taste or perhaps find a way of making it more salty to try and make it more like the chinese if you preferred.  I also cook it for longer as I don't think their timings are right as how could the chicken possibly be cooked in a few minutes. So judge it until the chicken is cooked through.

Salt & Pepper Chicken (Salted Chilli Chicken)

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 Large green pepper (I sometimes would use a red as well as I like the red flavour better)
1 Large onion
2 Garlic cloves
2 Green or red chillies (or more to taste)
3 - 4 Chicken breasts
90g Breadcrumbs
3 - 4 Pinches of salt
3 - 4 Pinches of sugar
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Method

Slice the chilli peppers, onion pepper and garlic (I crush the garlic for ease) and leave to one side.

Cut the chicken breasts into medium bite sized pieces and coat them in the breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in the frying pan or wok and add the chicken pieces. Leaves to cook for 3 - 4 minutes on a low - medium heat.

Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Mix the ingredients together and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add salt and sugar and cook until the chicken is cooked and the breadcrumbs are brown.

Serve with boiled rice or as a starter with dip.

Enjoy and let me know how yours turned out.

Mum's The Word Weekly Meal Plan - 8th April

Well, how was everyone's week? Hope everyone had a good one and the Monday morning blues haven't set in.  I must admit that's one think I love about being off on maternity leave not thinking on a Sunday about work.

Anyway, I'm linking up with Mrs M again this week.  Our meals went generally to plan last week but the Smoky Philly Chicken got bumped to the side again as the little one was taking ages to get over to sleep so we ended up making burgers instead as a late dinner. I'm leaving it off this week but hopefully will have it next week as I love it and haven't had it in ages!

This weeks plan:-

Monday - Sweet Chilli Chicken Stir fry

Tuesday - Baked Pasta Dish

Wednesday - Salted Chilli Chicken

Thursday - Sausage, Vegetable and Pearl Barley Hotpot

Friday - Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes

Saturday - Chicken Fajita Lasagna

Sunday - Roast of some sort

The baked pasta dish and spicy tuna fish cakes are recipes that I found online a while ago.  The baked pasta dish is really nice and makes 5 portions so it's one which is good to put in the freezer for a later date.  I haven't tried the tuna fish cakes but they sound nice so will blog about them this week.

The sausage, vegetable and pearl barley hotpot is a recipe I'm trying from Utterly Scrummy, so looking forward to making and tasting it.

Chicken fajitas are one of my cousins favourites, his absolutely fabulous wife blogs over at You Big Eejit.  You can find the recipe here http://bigeejit.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/chicken-fajita-lasagna.html.

What are you all having this week?

Smokey Philly Chicken Recipe

Lauren over at You Big Eejit has requested this recipe so here it is. No photos as I haven't made it this week yet but will add when I have.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tbsp oil
4 chicken breasts
1 large onion thinly sliced (I dice mine)
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp smoked paprika (add more or less to taste)
200ml chicken stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
120g Philadelphia extra light
Chopped parsley to garish (optional)

Method

Heat half of the oil in a large frying pan with a lid.

Add the chicken and brown for 3 - 4 mins each on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil and saute the onion for 2 mins until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

Sprinkle over the flour and paprika and cook, stirring for a further minute.

Slowly pour in the stock, stirring all the time to avoid lumps, then add the tomatoes.

Return the chicken to the pan and simmer, covered for 15 mins until the chicken is cooked through.

Spoon a couple of spoons of the sauce into a separate bowl and beat in the philly until smooth. Add this to the pan and season to taste and cook for a further 2 - 3 mins.

Serve each chicken breast with the sauce spooned over and scattered with parsley.

I serve with broccoli and a baked potato.

Enjoy!

Hairy Bikers Chilli Salad Bowls Recipe

A while back we were flicking through the TV channels and came across the Hairy Bikers Dieters' series.  The episode we happened to stumble upon was them making their chilli salad bowls.  Hubby and I both like chilli and I'd often make it but get bored having it with rice or a baked potato so we were keen to try this out.  We loved it and now if making chilli would have this as our first choice.  I omit a few ingredients and through in also kidney beans and chick peas to bulk it out a bit.

Chilli Salad Bowls' before lashings of sour cream

 Ingredients (serves 4)

300g/10½oz lean minced beef (less than 10% fat)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander (Optional)
1 tsp hot chilli powder
2 tbsp tomato purée
½ tsp caster sugar
300ml/½ pint beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
4 large flour tortillas
1 tsp sunflower oil
1 romaine lettuce or 3 baby gem lettuces, leaves thickly shredded
3 ripe vine tomatoes, sliced
15cm/6in piece cucumber, sliced
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced (Optional)
½ lime, juice only
40g/1½oz mature cheddar
4 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche
4 tbsp fresh tomato salsa sauce (Optional)
flaked sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
red kidney beans (Optional)

chick peas (Optional)

Method

Put the minced beef, onion and garlic in a medium non-stick saucepan and cook over a high heat for five minutes, stirring with two wooden spoons to break up any clumps of meat. Stir in the cumin, coriander and chilli and cook for two minutes more, stirring constantly. Add the tomato purée, sugar and beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and leave to simmer gently over a low heat for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the chilli mixture occasionally.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the tortilla bowls. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Take a sheet of foil about 1 metre/40in long and scrunch it up into a ball about 10cm/4in in diameter. Place it in the centre of a large baking sheet.

Take a tortilla and brush the centre on one side with a little of the oil – this will help prevent it sticking to the foil. Drape the tortilla over the ball of foil, oil-side down, pinching and loosely pleating it to create a bowl shape. 

Tortilla bowls ready for the oven

Bake for five minutes until the bowl shape is set and the tortilla is lightly crisped.

Take the tortilla out of the oven and carefully remove it from the foil – it should be just cool enough to handle. Place the tortilla on an upturned tumbler and press to create a flat base on which to turn the tortilla once cold. 

Moulding on the pint glass to make the bowl shape

The tortilla should still be warm enough to mould to the shape of the glass. Leave to cool while you make the next bowl in the same way. Put each upturned tortilla on a plate as soon as it is ready.

Ready for the filling

Remove the lid from the pan of beef and turn the heat up high. Cook for a further 4–5 minutes, stirring constantly, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the beef is looking fairly dry. Take the pan off the heat.

Toss the lettuce with the tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions and lime juice. Divide the salad between the tortilla bowls and season with black pepper, then top with the hot mince. Coarsely grate some cheddar over each serving and add some crème fraîche and salsa. Tuck in while the beef is warm.

Enjoy!!

Mum's The Word weekly meal plan - w/c 1st April

Hope everyone had a good week and a lovely Easter break. Was there plenty of chocolate consumed?

Last weeks meal plan ended up a bit all over the place with meals planned for one day but eaten on a different day. Friday was completely bad for some reason and we ended up with take out, it was rather tasty though! Oh well, we all have to slip off the wagon at some point.  This week will hopefully go more to plan.

Some meals are repeating from last week as we didn't end up having them. Mrs M has also inspired the quesadilla's as she had them last week and it reminded me that we hadn't had them in a long time.

Anyway, on to this weeks meal plan.

Monday - Remainder of the Hairy Bikers Chilli but on baked potatoes
Tuesday - Left over turkey, stuffing, vegetables and mash with lashings of gravy.
Wednesday - Omelette's
Thursday - Quesadillas
Friday - Sweet and Sour Chicken (remainder from the freezer)
Saturday - Smokey Philly Chicken, broccoli and baked potato
Sunday - Some sort of roast or may be invited to the in-laws.

What are you eating this week?

Don't forget to head over to Mrs 's page for more yummy ideas.

Have a good week!