Meal Planning Monday - the January back to work edition!

The day has arrived. I've been off work for 37 days which have actually passed in the blink of an eye but Christmas does that, doesn't it? Even last week flew by in a flurry of birthdays, a resumption of school activities and getting back into the exercise groove.

Thinking that this week will pass in a never ending battle against a mailbox full to the brim, I have planned early and even had a Sunday food delivery. Today is a leftovers recipe, and tomorrow's is a dish that is in the freezer. The rest is a mix of new things and old favourites - Missy Woo asked me to do the lamb pilau as both of them love it.

So, this is it.

Monday - Turkey and stuffing chelsea buns
Friday - Fish pie
Wednesday - Chilli with cornbread topping
Thursday - Chunky butternut squash mulligatawny
Friday - Cheese and lentil loaf
Saturday - Lamb, coconut and mango pilau
Sunday - Roast chicken

And now I'm starving just reading that lot, so that must be a good sign! Come back next week for more. And in the meantime, click the badge above to see more meal plans.

Meal Planning Monday - the December last week of term edition!

Finally. FINALLY! We are in the last week of term. This term feels like a marathon; there is so much going on and the children are beginning to flag. Four and a half days to go although half a day is their class party and there is a big carol service.

For the menu this week, I am still trying to use up things out of my freezer. Mostly they are based on leftovers of things I have been busy making for Christmas - I had some chicken to make gravy so have some leftover chicken thighs in the freezer. And then I bought some reduced sausagemeat to make some chestnut stuffing but it was a huge pack so the rest of that went into the freezer. And I have a couple of carry overs from last week, which was just mad. And this week is no better for me as I have a few school commitments myself. And the weekend starts with the Strictly final so Saturday night is going to be party food time!

So, here we go.

Monday - Lentil and bacon soup
Tuesday - Slow cooker honey and sesame chicken
Wednesday - Pizza
Thursday - butties
Friday - Sausagemeat pie
Saturday - Party food
Sunday - Spicy lamb with chickpeas

And then it's Christmas! I am not sure if I will do a plan next week but we shall see. Enjoy your week but don't forget to find out what everyone else is eating next week by clicking the badge above and finding Mrs M's place.

Meal Planning Monday - the December keeping it simple edition

Soon be Christmas. And I'm on holiday until mid-January. Don't all hate me. I need a break, after a week when my dishwasher and my boiler broke last week.

This week, I am keeping it simple so I can spend as much as possible on Christmas preparations and relaxation. The children have school performance two nights this week, plus choir. I'm going out, husband is going out, and Monkey is going to a friend's house to tea. And at the weekend, the children are going to stay with Granny and Granddad to go to the panto. A complex logistical week!

Monday - Burgers
Tuesday - Honey mustard pork
Wednesday - Cowboy corned beef n beans pie
Thursday - sandwiches
Friday - Lentil and bacon soup
Saturday - free
Sunday - Spicy lamb with chickpeas

That's it. Nothing fancy, nothing difficult or time consuming. Bung it cookery! What are you having this week? Go visit Mrs M's place (click the badge top right) to find out what others are eating this week.

Meal Planning Monday - a half a week holiday edition!

A lot of this week will look horribly familiar. Some of last week's again got carried over, thanks to some last minute changes of plan. This is good because I want to minimise what I buy this week as we are going to Devon on Friday and I want to use what is in my fridge. Actually, I did the weekly shop on Sunday and I bought no fresh meat for the week and a lot of things to eat and drink during the journey down. As we're leaving on Friday, there's only 4 meals to plan.

This is our (half) week.

Monday - Chicken and sweet potato curry
Tuesday - Lentil and aubergine bake
Wednesday - Chipotle bean chilli with baked eggs
Thursday - Calzones with various fillings (for which read whatever we have left in the fridge!)

There will be no Meal Planning Monday from me next week as holidays demand more flexible meal plans (and it will be nothing special!).

Click on the badge above to discover Mrs M's linky with more Meal Planning Monday loveliness.

Meal Planning Monday - the lacking in enthusiasm edition!

Yes, I'm afraid that is me! Every now and then, I really struggle to put a plan together. I do it, because I know the benefits for me and the rest of the family but this week, I think I'd really rather have not. Still, the children offered a couple of suggestions (although "sandwiches for Thursday" wasn't that helpful, thanks Missy Woo!) I had a carry over from last week, and one dish filed away to try but then I struggled, and struggled, and struggled. Being hungry towards the end of this probably didn't help. I wanted everything and nothing. I know, I'm odd.

I put this apathy down to a busy week and hopefully next week, my enthusiasm will return as we have a far more normal week this week although it is the school summer fair on Saturday.

Don't get excited, there isn't much ground-breaking here and there appears to be a lot of dough in my future.

Monday - Curry lentil stew with tomatoes
Tuesday - Homemade pizza (which will be half pepperoni and half ham and pineapple)
Wednesday - Falafel burgers
Thursday - Sandwiches
Friday - Chicken, pancetta and mushroom stew
Saturday - Slow cooker pork belly
Sunday - Chicken and stuffing baguettes

Normal service next week? I hope so.

Click on the badge above to discover more marvellous meal plans.

Corned beef and lentil soup

This recipe (see also Cowboy corned beef 'n' beans pie for details) takes a lentil and bacon/pea and ham soup and gives it a twist. Instead of using cured pork products, I'm using beef instead! I figured it would work well. If you happen to Google corned beef soup, you get a lot of American recipes using the fresh cured product so this product is made for the tinned version instead. It has a slight spice kick to it, but not too hot that the children will turn their noses up to it. Mine won't anyway. Anyway, this is another really easy store cupboard recipe that will fill you up and warm you up on a cold winter's day. No need for tinned stuff.

Corned beef and lentil soup
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
About half a 340g tin corned beef, cut into 1cm cubes
2 carrots, chopped quite small
4 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp mild chilli powder (or hot if you dare or 1 fresh chilli, chopped and deseeded)
2 litres beef stock
500g split red lentils, rinsed and picked over

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan, and add the onion and carrots, cooking for 5 minutes to soften over a medium heat, then adding half of the corned beef cubes to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring as little as possible so that the corned beef gets some crisp and colour.

2. Add the garlic, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder, and cook for another 2 minutes until you can smell the spices. Pour in the stock and add the lentils. Cover and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for about 20 minutes. The lentils will lose their shape and look pale yellow when properly cooked.

3. While the soup is cooking, heat the rest of the oil in a small frying pan and cook the rest of cubed corned beef until crispy. Serve the soup sprinkled with the cubes of corned beef sprinkled on top and with some nice crusty bread.

(I was asked by Princes to develop some recipes using corned beef and they sent me 6 tins and an apron for this purpose.)

Meal Planning Monday - the Nearly New Sale edition!

Yes, it's that week. The week when I'm busy as anything. Way too much going on and Saturday is a day when I walk miles. I've done *counts on fingers* 14 nearly new sales in my time, mostly handling the money. Since stepping down as the branch's treasurer, I've always helped count the money, which is good as this weekend, I'm counting the money again and running the show as the current treasurer can't make it as she's away on a course. Saturday after a Nearly New Sale is always Chinese. Always.

The rest of the week is going to be kept as simple as possible as I also have a governor's meeting on Tuesday night and Friday, I will be helping to set up the hall for the sale. Although I went shopping with Monkey yesterday and there is food everywhere. Perhaps I will be having a "no shop" meal plan next week!

Eyes down, look in here we go.

Monday - Lazy cheesy vegetable hotpot
Tuesday - Spicy bean burgers
Wednesday - Slow cooker chicken and mango pilaf (recipe coming up)
Thursday - Red lentil, chickpea and chilli soup
Friday - Slow cooker barbecue ribs
Saturday - Chinese
Sunday - Roast pork etc.

And that's your lot. And before you go, two things. First, bob over to Mrs M's to check out everyone else's meal plans. Second, if you are in the Lancashire area, bob on over to our sale on Saturday, which is at St Michael's High School in Chorley, 12 noon start or 11.30 if you are an NCT member and can show your card. £1 entry, bargains galore.

Say hi if you see me, I'll be the one dashing around looking a bit stressed, but visualising my Chinese in the evening!

Meal Planning Monday - the emptying my freezer edition

I have these moments every now and then when I decide that some things have been in my freezer for far too long so get round to planning in meals that will use them up. Not that I ignore what's in my freezer, it's just there are a few bits that have been languishing for a while and need using up. It also keeps the food bill down for the week. It's a fairly standard week for us, apart from the fact that Missy Woo has a friend coming for tea on Friday and I'm off to Blogcamp in Manchester on Saturday.

Here's what I've cobbled together.

Monday - Red lentil loaf with mash and peas
Tuesday - Slow cooker lamb chops
Wednesday - Pea and pesto soup with fish finger croutons
Thursday - Crock pot hoisin chicken
Friday - Meatball pasta bake
Saturday - Green pork chilli tacos
Sunday - Ham hock with pinto beans (if I can get a ham hock!)

That is our menu, in a nutshell. What does yours look like? Remember I'm after some nice things to make that can be reheated now that husband is working twilight shifts Monday to Thursday.

And don't forget - Mrs M has all the Meal Planning Monday entries over on her blog.

Meal Planning Monday - holiday/Olympic/August edition

I wasn't really sure what to call this, as you can tell. Normal routine has gone out of the window, what with scrapbooking, watching the Olympics and not a lot else really. Mostly watching the Olympics! The week reflects my need not to make anything too complicated. Sunday, we are having tapas to celebrate (and commiserate the closing ceremony of the Olympics, that I really don't want to end).

Here we go.

Monday - Sweet mustard salmon with garlicky veg (held over from last week)
Tuesday - Sausages with sweet mustard onions
Wednesday - Spicy root and lentil casserole
Thursday - Prosciutto and pesto fish gratin
Friday - Homemade burgers and wedges
Saturday - keeping free
Sunday - Tapas

Don't forget, there are more Meal Planning Monday entries over at Mrs M's place but do tell me what you're  having this week.

Meal Planning Monday - the Gousto edition!

Yeah, so I've been ill, as I might have whinged on here in past days. It actually went on a lot longer than I thought, and the doctor put me on antibiotics which seems to have been the catalyst for getting properly better. Because of this, I'm behind with pretty much everything. Thankfully, last week, the lovely people at Gousto asked if I'd like to try out some of their meals. The idea is you have a subscription, and pick out how many meals you'd like to feed your family per week then just choose the meals you want each week. All the ingredients are then delivered to your home with a recipe card for you to make your chosen meals.

Usually, that's on a Wednesday but because we're not quite in their delivery area yet, ours are arriving on Thursday, so we will be trying those at the end of this week. That just left me with the start of this week to sort out - some meals have been carried over again from last week and I've only just got around to deciding what else we're having but we are there.

Here, then, is our week in meals.

Monday - Special fried rice with barbeque chicken (yes, we have finally eaten this, third time lucky)
Tuesday - Minted lamb koftas, pitta, salad, tzatziki
Wednesday - Easy peasy lentil curry
Thursday - Basil mint pesto fusilli with pancetta and mushrooms

Friday -  Chicken with parsnip and raspberry basil sauce

Saturday - Ras-el-Hanout chicken with barberry bulgar

Sunday - Sweet mustard salmon with garlicky veg

What about you? Have you done a plan? Have you shared it with Mrs M yet? You know you want to! 

Meal Planning Monday - the Mothering Sunday edition

We're having a quieter week this week after  Monkey's birthday celebrations. Having said that, we still have the usual weekly activities and school is having a Science Week, including a family Science evening and so, we won't be totally bored. This week is just a mix of some older favourites adapted for the slow cooker and some recipes I'd like to try.

Oh yes, and as Sunday is Mothering Sunday, I am not cooking. Husband has therefore told me what he is going to cook with the children. Apparently, they are also making pudding but I'm not entirely sure what right at this very moment. There is still time for this all to change before Sunday, but they can go shopping for the ingredients!

So, eyes down, look in, people. Here's the menu for this week with links where I have them. (Not that you need a recipe to make sandwiches, eh?!)

Monday -  Pork and veg chilli (slow cooker)
Tuesday -  Thai spiced fish pie
Wednesday -  One pot lentil chicken
Thursday -  Sandwiches
Friday -  Pea and pesto soup with fish finger croutons
Saturday - Slow cooker risotto
Sunday -  Sausage and chorizo goulash

So, what's on your menu this week? Don't forget to pop over to Mrs M's place to check out the other entries on this week's linky.

Meal Planning Monday - the Good Food edition

Something a little different from me this week. I noticed in my latest edition of Good Food that they had a week (that's Monday to Friday) of family meals for £22. So, I thought I'd give them a go and see how they measured up to the other weekly meal plans I've done. I'm doing this of my own choice - no-one has asked me to do it, I am just trying it out for myself. I've already done the shopping  - well, I have ordered it online to arrive today - but as I used Ocado, the ingredients came to a little over £22 - partly because some of the things I was buying were on those multi-buy offers so I bought extra to go in the freezer. I've jiggled the order around a little, as they had soup on Monday, which is usually my standard choice for Thursday so swapped them around.

Here's the plan for this week.

Monday - Spiced carrot, chickpea and almond pilaf
Tuesday - Tomato and onion bake with goat's cheese
Wednesday - Potato pepper and chorizo stew with fried eggs
Thursday - Creamy lentil and spinach soup with bacon
Friday - Jerk beefburger with pineapple relish and chips
Saturday - keeping free (possibly risotto, the kids are eating at a party)
Sunday - Gammon cooked in the slow cooker

Quite a nice mix of meals, although the week is light on meat content. Two meals are fully vegetarian, the soup could be made without the meat, and the chorizo dish doesn't have a huge amount in it, leaving only the beefburger as a big meaty meal. We are fine with that but I suspect some people wouldn't be.

And given that it is Shrove Tuesday this week, we will be having pancakes for pudding after the tomato and onion bake, with either lemon and sugar, or nutella.

I'll try and photograph all the finished dishes and tweet them so you can see what they're like made by a real person.

And remember, Mrs M hosts the Meal Planning Monday linky, where you can find more lovely meal plans. But before you do, why not tell me what you've got planned for this week?

Meal Planning Monday

Third week of the holidays! My, it's flying. Last week's plan went OK but the campers brought some sausages home which went in the slow cooker, meaning we never got round to having burgers and we never got to have the roast on Sunday as we were invited to a very last minute family get-together on Sunday. Whilst the children were saway, I found some paneer in Asda and made a fantastic paneer and spinach curry.

As I'm writing this on Sunday night and I don't feel overly enthused with eating as I'm stuffed from the party. Do not expect miracles! Here's this week's plan: