Meal Planning Monday - 3 February 2014

Hello and welcome to a new month. Now we're in February I hope the weather takes the hint and bucks up its attitude! This week's menu is:

Lamb Keema 

Cottage pie topped with cauliflower & butternut mash

Slow Cooker Gingered Gammon 

Pork Steaks with sweet potato and spinach

Meat balls and courgette "spaghetti" 

Omelettes and something... I will have to work on that one

left overs/freezer fun (fish fingers, nuggets, whatever)

My lunches are also pretty unhealthy lately so I will be making a pot of soup with quinoa and whatever veg I can find and taking that in a flask.

You may have noticed that it's a pretty low carb menu and that's because I am trying to improve my diet. I'm taking it one week at a time! Let me know what your fave healthy meals are and remember to check out Mrs M's for more #MealPlanningMonday posts.

Have a great week.

Meal Planning Monday - 6 January 2014

I'm back on the MPM #mealplanningmonday wagon after what I believe may have been three solid weeks of eating my own body weight in tins of chocolate. We all do it every year so why don't they dispense with the 1kg tins and sell them in vats of 50kg to save on the shopping? Imagine diving into a vat of Celebrations, Roses, Quality Street and Heroes...

Anyway... back to the meal plan.

Roast Beef, cauliflower cheese, stuffing balls, cabbage (that's tonight - I can't wait!)

Beef fajitas with Mexican rice 

Sour Cream Chicken

Chicken fried quinoa (or rice, if I forgot to buy quinoa)

Meatloaf

Pancetta, broccoli, chicken & ranch pizza

We're out for dinner one night as well because DH is turning 40 and I am celebrating by not cooking. 

Remember to check out Mrs M's linky for more Meal Planning Monday posts. 

What are you cooking this week? Leave me a comment or link to a recipe, and if you like this post please share it with the buttons below. Thanks!

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 - 22 October 2012

Oh my goodness, another Monday already. I can't believe I'm staring down the barrel of half term as we speak.Apparently we're supposed to have an Indian Summer this week which, going by the BBC weather forecast, now means 14C and foggy. Ho hum. Here is the plan for this week. I have only planned 5 meals because I am out one night (seeing the Hairy Bikers!) and the other is leftovers.

Mexican Chicken Stew and Quinoa (am leaving out the beans)

Honey Soy grilled chicken, wild rice/rice, and veg (inspired by Stina)

Home made pizzas

Slow Cooker Split Pea and Ham soup with One Hour Rolls

Fridge Frittata

So there you have it. Cheap, but a bit fiddly with two lots of dough this week (I got rid of my bread maker ages ago because I wasn't using it and it just took up space on the bench) but nothing difficult.

Let me know what you're eating and, as usual, check out more Meal Planning Monday posts on Mrs M's linky.

7 Pinterest Boards You Need To Follow Right Now

It's no secret I love Pinterest. It's not just responsible for reviving my cooking mojo when I get bored of trying to think of new and interesting things to make for dinner, it's a top resource for just about everything, brilliant inspiration, and a great way to procrastinate while simultaneously being productive (I mean, all those Pins are going to be used at some point, right?)

Here is my top pick of boards I think you should be following right now


1. For Family Meals
Six Sisters' Stuff - Recipes
I lurve Six Sisters and pin a lot of their stuff. I don't always make it and sometimes I just pin because the pictures look nice, but they're my go-to for inspiration when I'm totally stuck with meal planning. Some recipes I follow faithfully and others I adapt to suit, but I never walk away empty handed.

Honouable Mention:
Picky Palate - Dinner Time. I could eat just about everything on here, and her blog is good too.


2. For Sweet Stuff and Baking
Geraldine Frahm - Cupcakes!
485 pins (at the time of writing) and everyone of them a cupcake gem. It's a treasure trove that I salivate over even though I haven't a hope of making at least half of them, or making the other half look half as good.

Honourable Mention:
Carolyn Mann - Sweets plenty of easy looking sweet treats for occasions and everyday. 



3. For Homes
Bridget (redefinedvintage.com) - Houses I Love
Pictures of gorgeous houses that make me want to click through and daydream. Bridget has plenty of amazing boards which are well worth following as well as this one, but this is probably my favourite at the moment.

Honourable Mention:
Renae Dudley - home sweet home lots of lovely home interiors with gorgeous colour and things


4. For Fashion
Laura Lowery - My Style
I probably like this board so much because a lot of it is to my taste, but it's worth following for the variety of sources her pins come from. I've found some great sites and fashion bloggers I would never have known about if I hadn't clicked through from some of these pins.

Honourable Mention
Nicole Román - Oh You Fancy, huh!? not so much for the clothes, but more for the variety and the sites they come from.


5. For Crafts you don't need a PhD in craftyness to do
Rowena Jongejan - DIY
Ro's style is faultless and she's got a great range of projects here, both fashion and home related.

Honourable Mention
Kirsty Colquhoun - General Crafts only an honourable mention because I couldn't decide which crafty board I liked the most to make it my favourite. She's a pinner I love to follow, especially her 365 Pinterest Challenge board and blog.



6. For Kids
Nicole Clikeman - The future teacher in me! 
Fun and educational activities and a great range of originating websites so you can dig even further.

Honourable Mention
Sally WeWantApps! - Lego well, because it's LEGO... duh!

7. For Everything Else

Alanna Clare - To See and to Do 

So many fab pictures of awesome places, both natural and man made. I especially love the buildings she pins. 

Honourable Mention

Teresa Osborne - Hiiiilllllarrrioussss! honestly, it could have been one of a number of boards but this one has made me chuckle recently. 

So there you have it, my favourite 7 (ok, 14) Pinterest boards to follow at the moment. If you like what you've seen here then follow me on Pinterest and you'll see more of what I am pinning.

Meal Planning Monday - 30 January 2012

I am really looking forward to this week's menu. I'm even organised enough to get it posted on time and with links to the recipes I am using- go me. They are all new recipes for me this week, except the sausages and mushrooms on toast. I may have to give the husband some eggs with his. I do love breakfast as dinner every now and then.
 
Salisbury Steak with Caramelised Onion Gravy
Coconut chicken with apricot sauce
Asian turkey meatballs with lime dipping sauce
Sausage, mushroom & onion on sourdough
Baked Fried Chicken
Taco Pie

Baking (possibly both, depending on how the week goes)
Cinnamon-Sugar Crusted Coffee Cake Muffins
Cinnamon Roll Cake

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