Meal Planning Monday - The Damsels Edition

Glancing up at my little used recipe book shelf I spied the red folder that is my Damsels cookbook? Does anyone remember this? I compiled it about 7 years ago whilst pregnant with my second son. I was waiting for my redundancy date to kick in at work and had a lot of time on my hands so copied as many recipes as I could find from the Food and Drink forums and emailed it to anyone who wanted it (with Damz' permission, natch). The only recipe I tend to use from it these days is Habanahansa's Celebration Brownies, so I thought I'd utilise it for this week's meal plan.

Slow Cooker Chili

Jamie Oliver's Botham Burgers

Orange Chicken

Philly Chicken and Veg

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Egg, beans and bagels

There's another Clandestine Cake meeting this week and I am determined to make amends for my crap effort last time. I'll be baking Chocolate Torte with Salted Caramel and Almond Brittle and, just to make sure it all goes smoothly, I'll be doing a test run!

Last week's meal plan was a total success and I have added Oxtail Stew with Pumpkin and Cinnamon (I used normal stewing beef and served it with quinoa for really delicious and healthy dinner) to the Shared Family Favourites Board on Pinterest.

Remember to check out Mrs M's linky for lots of Meal Planning Monday posts. It's quite a community over there and there are always heaps of tasty meal plans to inspire you.

Meal Planning Monday - 30 September 2013

Phew, what a week! Last week's meal plan was pretty successful although I was right about being the only one to eat the carrot and lentil soup! Still, it was delicious and I got through it in a couple of days. I added some quinoa and had it for brekkie a couple of times with some yummy bread.

This week's meal plan is:

Slow Cooker Pork shoulder with apples and cider gravy (left over from last week)

Arancini (using recipe from Organic Centre Wales which I will blog later)

Garden Vegetable and Rice Pilaf

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Delia's Carrot and Coriander Soup

Leftovers

There are only six meals on there because it's late on Monday and I've already eaten dinners, which was one of the kids' left over sausages and half a bun. #Gourmet (can you hashtag in a blog post? Probably not, but too bad). 

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday linky for more meal planning inspiration. 

PS: apologies for any spelling or grammar errors. It's been a long day. I'll check it over tomorrow. 

Meal Planning Monday - 19 August 2013

Let's just gloss over the many, many weeks it's been since I meal planned or posted about it. I have really missed it and the drudge of grocery shopping and cooking has become a real chore since I got out of the habit of planning. I have been going to the supermarket, buying whatever I can be bothered to get, then making it last the week because I can't be bothered going back to the supermarket again. Since it's holidays there has also been a fair amount of eating out, but I feel the need to wrest back control over our eating again so here I am with a shiny (re)new(ed) enthusiasm for family cooking.

On the menu this week:

Chicken Katsu

Creamy Gammon and Vegetable Pie

Naan Thai Chicken Pizza

Steak, Baked Courgette Chips and some other veg - corn on the cob, maybe?

Chicken and Potato Hash

Burgers and Salad with One Hour Rolls

I am not sure what type of burgers but I know I have mince of some description in the freezer.

I have a shared Pinterest board (again, a little neglected lately) so if you want to share your Family Favourite Recipes - those go-to meals that never let you down - just leave a message here with your Pinterest name and I'll add you to the board.

Remember to check out Mrs M for more Meal Planning Monday inspiration.

Have a great week everyone!

Meal Planning Monday - 11 February 2013

Last week I missed my first MPM (that's Meal Planning Monday, for those in the know) post in, I dunno, months! Not sure what happened. I sat down on Monday morning thinking "yes, I'll do that in a minute" and before I knew it, it was Thursday arvo and there was clearly no point.

This week I am taking all my meals from my Shared Family Favourite Recipes Pinterest board. This is a shared board so if you want to be able to pin your tried and tested family favourites there just let me know. I am hoping to build up a good stock of recipes we know work to make my life easier to create a shared resource that benefits humankind. 'Cause I'm thoughtful like that.

Italian Chicken pinned by Julie with cous cous

Baked Mini Meatballs pinned by Sarah with homemade pasta*

Chicken and Leek Stroganoff pinned by Amy

Vietnamese Lemongrass infused Pork balls pinned by Janice

Steak with Dauphinoise potatoes and mushrooms pinned by me

Five planned meals should cover it this week since it's school holidays and we have a few things planned.

Don't forget about the new board - leave your Pinterest name below if you want to join in the fun. Remember to check out Mrs M for more Meal Planning Monday inspiration.

If you like this, why not stay up to date easily by following via Google or bloglovin', and thanks for reading!

Meal Planning Monday - 21 January 2013

I thought this week's meal plan might be a little, um, egg-based but thankfully the snow seems to have done it's worst and I was able to get to the supermarket yesterday to stock up on essentials like wine and fruit, so we don't all get scurvy (does scurvy still exist? I think that would be taking my youngest son's love of all things pirate a little too far)

Slow cooker pork stroganoff

Meatloaf with wilted spinach, cauliflower, carrots and new potatoes

Slow cooker beef and vegetable casserole

Chicken and crunchy veg stir fry with egg noodles
Honey lime chicken with basmati rice
Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pizza (because I have Alfredo sauce in the fridge and how good does this look!)

 Leftovers

I am most looking forward to the pizza because it just looks like the best combination of all that is bad for you and chicken pizzas are my favourite. I am saving this one for after a fast day - yum, yum! I made the condensed milk cupcakes but didn't get around to making the cinnamon roll one. I think I'll do it tonight because it's really, really good.

Editing this because I have just made the cake and it's even better now I've adjusted the recipe a little (original recipe too greasy for me, so I halved the butter used in the topping and now it's perfect!)

Remember to check out Mrs M for more Meal Planning Monday links. Thanks for all your comments last week. I love hearing from others and reading your blogs about food.

If you like this, why not stay up to date easily by following via Google or bloglovin', and thanks for reading! 

Meal Planning Monday - 3 December 2012 (the Fantasy Edition)

Welcome to the Fantasy Edition of Meal Planning Monday. This is where I plan what I wish I was eating instead of what I will actually be eating. It's not that I mind my diet so much, just that Tesco does the planning for me and I miss browsing Pinterest meals board and cooking with my slow cooker. Here is what my alter ego will be eating this week.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew & Dumplings

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese 

(total fantasy since I am the only one in my house who would eat this. Love the serving suggestion "serve it with roast chicken and steamed veg for a complete meal" Mac & Cheese is a complete meal! The only thing you need to serve it with is more Mac & Cheese)

Paleasagna

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa with Olive Oil Bread 

(would swap the rosemary for thyme to go with the chicken)

Crispy Coconut Strips with Sweet Chilli Sauce

(anything with sweet chilli sauce is a winner, in my book - unless it's fish)

Creamy Pumpkin & Bacon Risotto

Chicken & Broccoli Lasagne

Mmmm.... I love this meal plan and think I will pop over to my fantasty alter-ego's house for dinner this week. In reality I am sticking to my diet plan and utilising what I have in the freezer & cupboards to make room for CHRISTMAS (yes, it lives in my kitchen).

Have a great week and remember to check out more Meal Planning Monday posts on Mrs M's Linky or follow on Twitter at #mealplanningmonday

Meal Planning Monday - 17 September 2012

For some reason this week I didn't cook everything I had planned to. Not sure why, but it means that this week

Beef Fajitas (from the freezer)

Turkey Curry (from the freezer) 

and Baked chicken, broccoli and rice 

are all back on the menu.

Joining them are:

Crock Pot Cashew Chicken from Daydream Kitchen

Nigella's Ham in Coke in the slow cooker

Frittata and salad (probably using leftover ham)

Left overs or fed for selves

I've got a really busy week this week so the slow cooker will be my secret weapon in getting hot nutritious in front of my family that, frankly, I don't care if they eat or not. I figure I've done my duty by getting it there this week, 'cause that's the sort of mood I'm in.

Last week's unscheduled successes were Oaty Blackberry Pudding and Nando's Lemon & Herb Peri Peri Seasoning Rub which I did on roasted chicken breasts on Saturday (served with spinach, sweetcorn and peas because that was what was in the freezer), before slicing up leftovers and using it for fajitas on Sunday. I have discovered that my husband will eat pretty much anything if I put it in a wrap and dress it up as a fajita. He's gone from a man who doesn't like leftovers to a man who eats wraps at least once a week.

Remember to join in the linky at Mrs M's for more meal planning inspiration, and leave me a comment to let me know if you've got any suggestions for future meals.

Meal Planning Monday - 7 May 2012

Hello! Sorry, I think  have missed two weeks and I have really felt it. Life has been a lot more disorganised at home and we haven't been eating nearly as well. I kind of lost my cooking mojo when we went on holiday, which is nuts as I know full well that meal planning is the way to go for me. If I don't have to make a decision about what to cook every, then it's all hunky-dory and I enjoy the actual cooking bit.

I have also slightly lost my blogging mojo. I've been doing lots of writing for other people that it has left me with little time and energy to write for myself, but I am determined to make the effort as I do miss at least having a regular meal plan; plus there is so much other SUPER IMPORTANT stuff (ok, triva and pictures... ) in my head that the world needs to know.

Anyway, I've gone back to Pinterest for inspiration, and this week looks like:

Chicken and wild rice casserole

Slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole

vegetable tart tartin

shepherd's pie with some sort of mashed veg topping

Gammon and grilled peaches with new potato and veg

Kung Pao chicken

Left overs

The big news this week is that I have a new cooker (Hooray!) but I am frozen with baking apathy and can't decide what to bake this week (boo!). I would love some suggestions to inspire me please.

That seems to be an awful lot of food there, so some of it may get frozen for other weeks.

Remember to check out Mrs M's Linky for more meal planning ideas

Meal Planning Monday - 26 March 2012

I thought I would start this week's post with some pictures from last week. I really enjoyed the Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie. I tweaked the recipe a little, using a can of cream of chicken soup I found in the cupboard; and some sour cream that needed using. I used frozen broccoli and the end of a bag of frozen mixed veg. It was so nice I had it for lunch AND dinner on the same day.

Here is The Cake. It doesn't look as nice as the one I copied, and to be honest I was a bit ambivalent. It reminded me of an eclair. Everyone else loved it and had seconds, so I don't expect it to last longer than a day.

This week I only have one new recipe, and that's the 7Up (or Sprite) chicken. The rest are ones we all liked, but haven't eaten for a while.

Slow Cooker 7Up Chicken

Turkey meatballs and something (whatever appeals on the day)

Sausage, mushroom, onion & cheese on sourdough bread

Oven baked sweet and sour chicken (with less vinegar this time)

Beef enchiladas

Battered fish & wedges (chicken for me)

Left overs

Remember to check out more meal planning on Mrs M's linky