Meal Planning Monday - the into 2015 edition!

Er, yes, I do have a blog. Yada yada, I've been off, Christmas happened. I meal planned but it didn't make it here.

So, this week, the kids are off and so am I. Husband is not - he's working every day except Thursday. We've (mostly) got rid of the Christmas leftovers after I made an awesome soup on Sunday with leftover veggies. This week is reasonably back to normal but we are continuing the tradition we started last year with having a fondue at New Year. This time, we're doing it New Year's Eve.

The rest of the week is fairly normal for a week of school holiday - nothing to dash to, a few trips to the gym. No fancy day trips or anything. And you won't find me shopping, the thought of all the traffic and stuff sends me cold.

Monday - Slow cooker chicken with cashews and noodles
Tuesday - Savoury bread and butter pudding (again in slow cooker)
Wednesday - Swiss fondue
Thursday - Slow cooker casserole and dumplings
Friday - Lamb baked sweet potato
Saturday - Vegetarian chilli
Sunday - Steak and chips

Don't forget to go visit Mrs M for more Meal Planning loveliness. Assuming I remember to link up, I'll be there too.

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 real Easter holidays edition!

I know, I know.  I didn't post last week. No idea why - just insanely busy. I did a meal plan though and we ate well. Nothing special - toad in the hole was the children's highlight of the week.

I have cobbled something together for this second week of the holidays. And we are all off. Husband is off work, I'm off work and the children off school. They spent 4 days of last week back at school at a holiday club, whilst I got through a week of year end. They had a ball but it did make them very tired as they played about 4 different sports every day. It was like a week full of PE lessons! This week is going to be quiet, home time and down time.

The plan is writ and the food is all bought, courtesy of a trip to the supermarket with Missy Woo on Sunday afternoon.

Monday - Boerenkool Stamppot
Tuesday - Chicken pasta bake
Wednesday - Beef enchiladas
Thursday - Sweet potato and ginger soup
Friday - Slow cooker bacon joint, probably with egg and chips
Saturday - Keeping free (also known as making it up)
Sunday - Roast dinner

Don't forget there are more meal plans over at Mrs M's which you can discover by clicking on the badge top right.

Meal Planning Monday - the very late March edition!

Yes, yes, I'm late. No excuse. Let's get on with it, shall we? We've already had a family favourite, lamb, coconut and mango pilau done slow cooker stylee today (and very nice it was too!)

Tuesday - Sausage meat plait
Wednesday - Honey mustard pork
Thursday - Sandwiches
Friday - Beef and bean hotpot
Saturday - Sweet potato and mushroom quesadillas
Sunday - Maybe a freezer dive due to a snowboarding lesson and a party at Blackpool Zoo!

More meal planners, hopefully not as late as this, over at Mrs M's. Click badge for details.

Meal Planning Monday - the play that one again edition!

Bit of a strange title, I know, but this last week, my meal plan went out of the window several times so I have lots of carry over dishes. This week might look a lot like last week's in places. And Saturday is Nearly New Sale day so, as usual, we always have Chinese takeaway.

Monday - Mushroom tagine
Tuesday - Salmon, broccoli, and potato bake
Wednesday - Sweet potato with citrus cream
Thursday - Sandwiches
Friday - Sausage plait
Saturday - takeaway
Sunday - either roast or burgers

That's it for this week. Lots of things to do with the children going back to school. Don't forget to visit Mrs M's place for more meal plans.

Meal Planning Monday - the lacking inspiration summer no-cook edition!

Long title but it sums it up. It's looking like this warm weather is hanging around and whilst it doesn't seem as if it is going to be quite as hot, it looked like it was going to be cooler last week and then it got hotter. I'm still trying to leave turning the oven on until evenings after the children have gone to bed so it's easy cook stuff. Then of course, when you decide that, everything you want to cook needs an oven, doesn't it?

This week is showing signs of getting no easier. Tomorrow is celebration evening at school and I'm out for lunch. Missy Woo goes on a school trip on Thursday although thankfully, her dance lessons have finished now so I'm taking the children straight to swimming after school and getting tea there. Monkey is at a party on Saturday and husband is working the weekend.

Children have pitched in with one or two ideas but it took me most of the evening to figure it all out.

Monday - Sweet potato and chorizo quesadillas (sweet potatoes going to be "baked" in slow cooker)
Tuesday - Pasta, red pesto and meatballs
Wednesday - Warm new potato and smoked mackerel salad 
Thursday - Tea out
Friday - Sandwiches
Saturday - Serrano ham, feta, olive and rocket platter with crostini
Sunday - Indian chicken salad

Have a great week! The children don't finish school until next week so this is the last week of normality for a while as they finish next Tuesday.

Meal Planning Monday - the Wimbledon quick meals edition!

Yes, it's that time again and at the time of writing this on Sunday evening, I'm like a child on Christmas Eve. For tomorrow (today when you're reading this) is the first day of Wimbledon. I'm a huge tennis fan and I love it in all its forms but for me, Wimbledon is THE one as it's something I have grown up watching and I love the wall to wall coverage of it. Hence not a lot is going to get done for the duration and my meal plan has to reflect an ability to do mostly throw together meals or at least be able to be made ahead. You will note that two dishes from last week have reappeared as they got bumped after some last minute changes last week. I WILL get to make them this week.

Apart from tennis, I have to go to London for the day on Thursday which is going to be long as I have to get the 6am train from Preston. It's sandwich day anyway so at least they'll manage that between the three of them (the children now enjoy making their own butties when I let them). Oh, and Monkey has chosen Monday's tea as he has a friend coming for tea, a boy who has recently joined his class from another school. Again, I made sure it didn't involve too much faffing or can be made ahead of time and will help me maximise tennis viewing opportunities.

This is the plan, in all its glory.

Monday - Lasagne
Tuesday - Sweet and sticky wings (with supermarket coleslaw, so shoot me)
Wednesday- Baked aubergines with cannellini beans
Thursday - Sandwiches
Friday - Pea & spring onion tart (will make this on Weds)
Saturday - Sweet chilli bangers in buns and coleslaw
Sunday - Sweet potato and spinach bake

So, are you excited about Wimbledon? Have you planned nothing but sandwiches and salads for the next fortnight? What are you having? Tell me, then pop over to Mrs M's by clicking the badge above and discovering lots more meal planning entries. 

Meal Planning Monday - the quick and easy May edition!

I wasn't really sure what to call this. I thought I'd cobbled it together but there are four new dishes on the plan that I've never cooked before. I was going to make it an empty the freezers/fridges edition but they're pretty empty to start with and only two of the meals have major elements already in. It's all designed to be quick and easy because work is mad and it's nearly new sale day on Saturday, meaning we will probably have takeaway on Saturday night. And Wednesday, I can justify because we're going out early evening and I have a houseful of volunteers coming round at 8pm to stuff bags for said sale.

The plan? Oh yes. I was rambling slightly.

Monday - Sweet potato, spinach and goats' cheese quesadillas (recipe is similar, not exactly the same)
Tuesday - Zesty haddock with crushed potatoes and peas
Wednesday - Egg, chips and beans
Thursday - Sandwiches
Friday - Chicken, pancetta and mushroom stew
Saturday - keeping free
Sunday - Greek lamb filo pie (made with beef mince!)

So it's looking quite good. How is your week shaping up?

Click on the badge above to get to Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday linky.

Meal Planning Monday - the uber organised busy week edition!

Hopefully, the title says it all. This week seems really busy for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's husband's birthday on Wednesday and I have to make not one, but two, cakes for him. His work colleagues have requested he bring in a "Kate cake" after I did one for him for a colleague's birthday just before Christmas. Who am I to refuse? And then, it's cake club day on Saturday. That's a three cake week! On top of all that, we are out for tea on his birthday, I have a meeting on Tuesday night and husband is running the Greater Manchester Marathon next Sunday. And I have a busy work week. Oh yes, and the children are out at multisports this afternoon, and their usual stuff on Thursday.

It's a good job therefore that I have been very organised this week. Realising it was a busy week, I started writing our schedule on Saturday and ended up putting a plan together within an hour. So then, I did my online shopping that evening and picked up on Sunday afternoon. So the plan was done, and the shopping in the house before the week even started. How organised is that?!

So, we have a plan and it's a little lighter than normal because of tea out on Wednesday plus only husband needs feeding Saturday night as the children are coming with me to cake club.

Here it is.

Monday - Chicken mustard crumble (adapted)
Tuesday - Sweet potato hash with bacon, pepper and sage
Wednesday - out for tea
Thursday - Curried butternut squash, lentil and coconut soup
Friday - Spiced bulghar pilaf with fish
Saturday - Orzo pasta "risotto" for husband
Sunday - Lamb, chickpea and spinach curry with masala mash (curry done in slow cooker)

Is your week as busy as ours? How do you cope when you have a busy week ahead? Do you plan more carefully or does it all go to pot? Let me know and then visit the other meal planning entries over on Mrs M's which you can find by clicking on the badge above.

Meal Planning Monday - the getting back to normal edition!

Right, I'm back to it today. You remember me, don't you? What do you mean, no? Hmph!

The blogging (rightly) took a bit of a back seat on my holidays - yes I managed the grand total of one post, done on my iPad, whilst I was holidaying. Maybe I'll do another post about it, but we had a very mixed week of weather with more rain than not. Two days were completely awful weatherwise, three were OK, one started badly but improved drastically but none were completely gorgeous days from start to finish. Still, we had a lovely time and I ate way, way too much. I will have to watch what I am eating very very carefully over the next few weeks.

So, today we're back to normal. Not totally, as the children don't go back to school until Tuesday but as good as. We seem to have quite a few things on this week, what with it being Father's Day on Sunday, and Missy Woo is in her annual dance show. It's a lot earlier this year because they couldn't get the hall they wanted on their preferred dates so they have had much less time to rehearse, and it comes straight after half term - plus Missy Woo was sick on the day of the last rehearsal before holiday. I'm sure she'll be fine though - she received her costumes on the day she was ill which cheered her up immensely. We're going to see her dance on Sunday afternoon but I have to spend Saturday afternoon watching her final rehearsal so food over the weekend has to be quick and simple to do, which means beef twice in a row.

So, here's our week in meals. What's yours?

Monday - Sticky sausages with potato and sweetcorn salad
Tuesday - Sweet potatoes with mushrooms and rosemary
Wednesday - Fried fish and tomato curry
Thursday - the usual exciting sandwiches!
Friday - Sticky chicken drumsticks with coleslaw
Saturday - Burgers and salad
Sunday - Slow cooker chilli with tortilla chips

Meal Planning Monday - the OMG it's still January edition

God, yes, is it still only 23rd January? I could have sworn it was February this week. Christmas feels like an age ago, although admittedly, other times it seems like yesterday. Make it finish soon. I'm still on a BBC Good Food tip this week - particularly as I love that it adds nutritional information so I can make sure I'm not overdoing it. I'm still being good, and trying to keep up our veg intake. Here are this week's delights.

Monday - Italian style beef stew (adapted for the slow cooker)
Tuesday - Chicken, leek and parsley pie
Wednesday - White fish with spicy beans and chorizo
Thursday - Sweet potato and coconut soup with bread
Friday - Lazy cheesy veg hotpot
Saturday - leaving free
Sunday - Honey and mustard pork with broccoli and mash

Don't forget that Mrs M host the linky every week. Why not pop over to check the other entries? And don't forget to tell me what meals you have planned for this week?

Meal Planning Monday - the 5 for £20 edition!

Time for a different style of post this week again. I'm testing out one of Sainsbury's 5 for £20 meal plans this week. The idea is that the meal plans will provide 5 family meals (for 4) for just £20. Seems amazing in the times we're living in, doesn't it In order to prove it, Sainsbury's have sent me a £20 gift card to give it a go and see how I get on.