Meal Planning Monday - the yes I am still blogging edition!

So I haven't blogged in a month. I've still been meal planning although I didn't on our week's holiday. Time has just ran out on me on turning my plan into a blog post.

Not this week. Hurrah, I hear you cry. Well, I can dream.

This week. There's only 5 days on the plan because we are going to a wedding in Devon on Saturday. And yes, we got back from Devon only 9 days ago. That's how it goes sometimes. Apart from that, it's a normal school week, peppered with swimming on Wednesdays after school now - I thought I'd got them in at exactly the same time, until Monkey went to his first class with the new teacher and she decided he was so good he has to move up again and now has a lesson straight after Missy. We're also now looking at secondary schools, although we don't have to apply until next year, but I think there are none to go see next week.

Here's the plan.

Monday - Quick prawn, tomato and coconut curry
Tuesday - Lentil shepherd's pie
Wednesday - Cheesy cannelloni
Thursday - sandwiches (it's traditional!)
Friday - Sticky sesame chicken wings with roasted mini corn cobs
Saturday - wedding
Sunday - travelling home

Don't forget that Mrs M has the Meal Planning Monday linky. Go see her, she's having a tough time right now and I'm sure a visit and a friendly comment will give her a bit of a boost.

Til next week. I hope!

Meal Planning Monday - the ever so slightly too busy school holiday edition!

I didn't post last week (or the week before - oops!) but I can assure you I meal planned as I cannot live without it. This is probably the midpoint of the holidays and it will be the second week that the children have gone to a great summer camp during the day which is near husband's work. They went for the first full week of the holidays and it really helped me get some work done; I'd like not to work in these holidays but a quarterly deadline hits and I really can't leave it until September. They had a ball last time so I'm not too worried about them going - they get to play and do loads of things I can't necessarily do with them. And it gives us all space - I find that even if husband is home, they ask me for EVERYTHING!

So, this week, I'm planning on powering through with some work and getting ahead of myself for the following two weeks of the holidays. We're also having a new boiler fitted, already postponed from last week when I took Monkey to Old Trafford.

We had roast beef on Sunday so the first two days are based on leftovers.

Monday - Sloppy Joes (made with leftover roast instead of mince)
Tuesday - Beef hash
Wednesday - Cheesy lentils
Thursday - Savoury bread and butter pudding
Friday - Chicken pasta bake
Saturday - Fish in lemon and herb sauce, mash and peas
Sunday - Roast chicken et al.

Having shared my week with you, may I remind you to visit Mrs M's for more lovely MPM posts.

See you (hopefully) next week!

Meal Planning Monday - the end of school year edition!

And it can't come soon enough. Just so many things have been going on - last week felt like a omplete whirl of events and commitments. Now, we're just down to the last 3 days of school. No school commitments other than getting them to school and back, no more dancing lessons - only swimming lessons for one more week and cricket throughout the summer. Hurrah!

My week kind of looks like end of year, in a kind of stumbling over the line way too.

Monday - Cheesy lentils
Tuesday  - Slow cooker lamb and mango pilau
Wednesday - Sweetcorn and ham salad
Thursday - Smoked cheese, onion and mushroom quiche
Friday - Cheesy beans and bacon quesadillas
Saturday - Chicken wings, sweet potato and coleslaw
Sunday - Roast pork

Happy holidays everyone! Don't forget Mrs M has the MPM linky.

Meal Planning Monday - the oh heck I haven't blogged yet edition!

This Easter lark has thrown me out. I have a meal plan, I have a shopping list but I forgot to blog about it. This therefore is a very rushed post.

We're back to normal as of Tuesday, although it is husband's birthday on Thursday although we are only getting pizza in as we are away the May bank holiday weekend and want to save our pennies for there.

Here is our week in meals.

Monday ­­- Zingy chicken stirfry 
Tuesday - Sweet potato and ginger soup
Wednesday - Fish and chips
Thursday - Takeaway pizza
Friday - Meatballs and mash
Saturday - Curry lentil stew with tomatoes
Sunday - Keeping free for now

More meal planning over at Mrs M's. Badge top right takes you there.

Meal Planning Monday - the make ahead weekend edition!

Hope you had a good half term if you were off like we were last week. We're back to school today and into a school Arts Week. I'm away all weekend with work so I'm making a few things ahead of time for them to eat whilst I'm away. The kids are looking forward to it because, in their own words, "Daddy always spoils us when you go away." Daddy has been made aware of this.

The rest of this week mostly consists of stuff I know we like and is easy to do. A couple of slow cooker things - I like my slow cooker but I'm conscious I've not used it as much as I usually would this winter.

This is what we're having this week.

Monday - Sausages in onion gravy
Tuesday - Pizza baked potatoes
Wednesday - Lentil loaf
Thursday - Slow cooker all-butter chicken
Friday - Lasagne
Saturday - Chicken and mushroom pie
Sunday - Keeping free

Have a good week, and don't forget to visit Mrs M's for more meal planning loveliness.

Meal Planning Monday - the quiet February week edition!

At least that's what I'm hoping!

Last week felt insanely busy and I ended it feeling meh for lots of reasons. I've got a bit of a cold that comes and goes, and on Saturday, my foot started hurting periodically without doing anything (other than a bit of jogging). So I sat down that afternoon, planned the week and stuck in a grocery order (motivated just a bit by a 10% off code in my email) so I could have a quiet Sunday, mostly child free as they went off to visit the in-laws. I had a morning of doing nothing, putting away said groceries and an afternoon of making a roast and some bread.

I'm hoping the week continues in this calm vein, although it's parents evening this week (for me, afternoon...) and Friday is the end of this half term, which is the halfway point in the school year. Wow. Nothing else special on so I've got some new things to try and one carry over from last week because I gave up and went to find a new chippy.

Monday - Bhaji frittata
Tuesday - Slow cooker Thai coconut chicken soup
Wednesday - Cheesy lentils
Thursday - Slow cooker bacon, smoked cheddar and egg casserole
Friday - Arabian lamb mince
Saturday - Cauliflower and broccoli cheese
Sunday - keeping free for now

That's it. Next week will of course be the half term edition, which will only be half a week as we are away for one night and late back another.

And in the meantime, you go over to Mrs M's and see the other entries in Meal Planning Monday. Click the badge above to enter a world of meal plans.

Meal Planning Monday - the why is not half term yet edition!

Even going back to school later has made no difference, and we're all feeling a bit tired today. Maybe it's the 400 mile round trip to Buckinghamshire for a party this weekend that is at fault, but I'm thoroughly looking forward to the children not having anything to go to for a week (although we do, just not school stuff).

This plan was kind of cobbled together (as it always is, it gets rejigged so many times!) before and after my weekend. I expect it to fail! Eyes down, look in, here we go. 

Monday - Thai chicken and sweet potato soup

Tuesday - Beef and mushroom meat loaf

Wednesday - Sausage and bean crumble

Thursday - Butties

Friday - Spiced rice and lentils with cauliflower

Saturday - Prawn and coconut curry

Sunday - Roast pork

So, that's me for the week. Can I sleep now? 

Meal Planning Monday - the Monkey chooses edition!

So this week, I let Monkey choose most of our meals as Missy Woo went to play at a friend's (and forgot to come home for tea, had to send Monkey to get her!) so we were home alone when I was planning meals. His first thought was "spaghetti" so I'm introducing them to carbonara as it's a damn sight easier than bolognese. He helped me choose the rest of the week although I inserted something I wanted to cook from my trawl of the other MPM entries last week. And then I ended up doing a sort out of my recipe file, which threw out a recipe I wanted to make about a year ago that I never quite got round to (no idea why!) which has gone on a menu. Expect many more of those in coming weeks as I have a list of everything I have and some are asterisked to cook soon.

So, the menu according to Monkey is

Monday - Curry lentil stew with tomatoes
Tuesday - Spaghetti carbonara
Wednesday - Sausage, bean and cheese pasties
Thursday - Cauliflower cheese soup
Friday - Cherry tomato and ham bread and butter bake
Saturday - Cowboy corned beef and beans pie
Sunday - Roast chicken (expect leftover chicken recipes next week)

I think it's obvious which ones I chose there! He is definitely a meat and two veg child, happiest with meat, pies, gravy and more meat.

So this is us. Let me know what you're having, I always like to know. And more MPM entries can be discovered at Mrs M's by clicking the badge above. Have a good week.

Meal Planning Monday - the pre-Christmas easy edition!

Yes, the last full week before Christmas. The end of term - not a full week here; the children finish after lunch on Thursday, so this week is full of class parties; definitely more chilled out than last week which was pretty full on with so much on at school, followed by the children going on a sleepover and Christmas treat at their grandparents in Blackpool over the weekend.

Preparations for Christmas continue apace here. Before school finishes, we have the teachers' presents to complete. I'm probably baking every day this week, either on my own or with husband, who develops the urge to bake as Christmas approaches. Today will be my last big supermarket shop before Christmas because most of it is already in the freezer for Christmas Day. I have a pudding to make on Christmas Eve and very little to do on the day, as it should be.

This week has to be fairly easy, with stuff still coming out of the freezer to make room for the Christmas feasting. And here it is.

Monday - Greek lamb and macaroni bake (from last week as this got moved on)
Tuesday - Cashew nut and potato curry
Wednesday - Not cooking as I promised the kids they could have tea out
Thursday - Cowboy corned beef and beans pie
Friday - Chicken and chorizo jambalaya
Saturday - Easy cheesy lentils
Sunday - Rudolph surprise pasta bake (no special recipe but the pasta is reindeer pasta from Ikea!)

So that is ours. What is yours? Do tell me. And don't forget that Mrs M's place is where you can find many more Meal Planning Monday entries.

Meal Planning Monday - a quickly cobbled together edition!

Yes, this is me typing as fast as I can as I'm writing this mid-preparations to go to London to the Paralympics. As we're not back until late on Sunday, I thought - stupidly - I'd get a quick meal plan done and then I got sent an Ocado voucher so I've even done the shop to be delivered Monday afternoon.

Don't expect anything fantastic from this - I'm away with the children again on Friday night and not back until late on Saturday so that's another two meals not on the plan.

So, quickly, here's our week

Monday - Moroccan chicken one-pot
Tuesday - Slow cooked pork shoulder with cider and parsnips
Wednesday - Pad Thai with prawns
Thursday - Cheesy lentils
Friday - not here
Saturday - not here
Sunday - Roast chicken (possibly)

Don't forget Mrs M has more Meal Planning Monday entries. What are you having this week?

Meal Planning Monday

Last week did go vaguely to plan although Saturday got swopped to Sunday thanks to Monkey going to his friend's for tea. The toad in the hole and cheesy fish pie was lovely, as was the butternut squash and coconut curry.

Meal Planning Monday

Time to plan those meals again! I think last week went to plan, except Friday because I went to London at short notice and couldn't be bothered cooking when I got home. I was just going to make this week an "old favourites" kind of week but I changed this and that and before I knew it, I'm doing 3 recipes from Nick's book that I haven't made before!

Meal Planning Monday

Lordy, these weeks come around so fast. Last week's plan went largely to it - so well, in fact, I had to scrabble around for something to make today which I managed (chicken and sweetcorn pie if you're wondering).

Onto this week's plan. Here it is.

Monday - Chicken biryani bake (from the freezer)
Tuesday - Sweet and sour lentil dhal with grilled aubergine
Wednesday - Italian meat loaf
Thursday - Courgette and orzo bake
Friday - Mini-burgers and homemade potato wedges
Saturday - Tapas tea (we'll be supporting Barcelona in the Champions League final.
Sunday - Chicken curry

Some new things to try and some easy things - having to make the meatloaf in advance because I am probably away on Wednesday night so I need to make something that can just be placed in the oven.  I am most looking forward to tapas on Saturday. There's no fish this week but I'm trying to empty the freezer to defrost it and have no fish left in it!

Why not pop over to Mrs M's blog for more meal planning entries?

Meal Planning Monday

Time to do another week's meals. This week seems like a bit of a cop out as I have one meal that is already made (in the freezer), two gaps, and one other thing I've made recently. Last week's was interesting - we reverted to leftovers one day and then I had a disaster with the BBQ chicken. I made it but whilst I was eating it, I decided it didn't smell right so I binned everyone else's on the basis of my instinct alone. I think it must have been OK or I have a strong constitution as I didn't get ill. Hey ho. 

So here's this week's meals:

Monday - Cheesy lentils

Tuesday - Onion tart

Wednesday - Sweet and sour chicken

Thursday - Sausage, bean and cheese pasties

Friday - Cottage pie (in freezer)

Saturday - Chickpea and coriander burgers

Sunday - kept free

Hmm, 3 veggie meals this week. I think I've just picked out some things I wanted to try and they happened to be both veggie. The rest are probably things I can do with my eyes closed. 

Why not pop over to Mrs M's blog for more meal planning entries?

Meal Planning Monday

Another week, another meal plan. Last week's went well but I did swop two meals round for practical reasons. This week's is going to be a bit different because it's school holidays and we're visiting family for part of it, but still, I need a plan - and to do a shop before I go! I've deliberately chosen pizza for Thursday as I know that is when I am on my own with the children all day and they like to help. 

This week will therefore consist of: 

Monday - not cooking

Tuesday - Swedish meatballs, mash and peas

Wednesday - All in one lentil and sausage casserole

Thursday - Homemade pizza and salad

Friday - Chickpea, tomato and spinach curry and rice

Saturday - Sticky marmalade chicken, mash and green beans

Sunday - Mediterranean vegetables with lamb

Reasonably balanced - and hopefully lots of veg. Lunchtimes will mostly consist of soup, sandwiches or wraps, scrambled eggs or omelettes. 

Why not pop over to Mrs M's blog and check out more entries for Meal Planning Monday? You might get some fab new ideas. Feel free to join in if you like.