What's cooking this week #8

Hello everyone!

Well, what a hot week it's been! Sophie and I went to the outdoor pool again, to cool off, and we've been eating a lot of salads and fruit (whether in its raw, healthy form, or in cheesecake form, mmmm). Salads are great because they take so little time and effort to prepare.

Here's what we've been eating!

Monday - Red pepper and mushroom quiche
Tuesday dinner with friends - Moroccan chicken, couscous salad, tzatziki, green salad
Wednesday - Steamed salmon with leek and lentil salad
Thursday barbecue with friends - meat! plus potato salad, green salad, and key lime cheesecake (so good)
Friday - lots of leftovers!
Saturday - lentil and beef burgers / Spaghetti nicoise
Sunday - Nectarine, mozzarella, chicken and prosciutto salad / Aubergine and chickpea ragu

I hope you've had a good week, too!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #7

It's the end of the week, already!

We're not around much this weekend, so I don't have to do any cooking, yay! As much as I love cooking, I do enjoy a break sometimes!

Here's what was cooking this week:

Monday - Prawn and choi-sum stir-fry with sweet chilli sauce
Tuesday - Chicken and butternut squash Thai curry
Wednesday - Salmon and spinach lasagne
Thursday - Sausage and pesto pasta
Friday - Leftovers, and scoot for the weekend!

It was a very hot week! I looked at the weather forecast when planning and all I could think of was ice-cream. But I thought that wouldn't be a balanced diet. So I opted for some light and tasty meals instead.

Does the weather affect your appetite?

Happy weekend!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #6

Happy Monday!

Last week we had a company a couple of times. It's always so nice having friends and family round for meals. I love cooking special food and enjoying it with plenty of good conversation and laughter. But it doesn't have to be special food! Twice, we had last-minute company, and it's wonderful when that happens, because we can just share whatever we're having.

So, here's what was cooking:

Dinner
Monday - Salmon tikka with naan (because last week, it turned into fishfingers and chips at the last minute, because that's life)
Tuesday - Lentil dahl
Wednesday - Prawn korma with rice
Thursday dinner with friends - Salmon en croute, new potatoes, salad, followed by white chocolate fondue (yum)
Friday - Mediterranean beef stew
Saturday - Tomato and fennel soup for lunch / Stew leftovers for dinner
Sunday - Barbecue with several members of my lovely family - and a delicious and easy layered fruit trifle for dessert

How was your food week?

And when will I get round to posting some of these lovely recipes?

Laura x

What's cooking this week #5

Hello!

I'm posting my meal plan at the start of the week this time. We'll be away or out for some meals, so I've only had to plan for five days worth of food. I've been giving lunches and breakfasts some thought, too. I saw on another blog (goodcheapeats.com) the idea of using a breakfast rotation, and I'm wondering if that would be a good idea for us here, too.

Anyway, here's what I'll be cooking this week.

Lunch
Chicken soup leftover from the weekend
Leek and cheese omelette
Hummus with pitta bread and carrot dippers
Ham sandwich with sweet potato chips
Hummus and tuna wraps

Dinner
Beef and bean burritos
Sweet and sour pork with rice
Chicken ragu with pappardelle
Falafel burgers
Salmon tikka with naan bread

Since I started doing a proper meal plan and an online shop each week, I've found myself really looking forward to each meal, and enjoying having lots of variety in our diet. And I feel a lot less rushed and stressed about meals than I did before! I no longer have to visit the supermarket with pushchair and a baby who might cry or get hungry or wake up at an inconvenient moment four or five times a week, which is a relief, I can tell you! I do pop in for the odd thing if we run out, but my pram basket is no longer full to bursting each and every time I go into town. Hooray!

What are you cooking this week?

Laura x

What's cooking this week #4

Hello!

It's the end of the week, and here's what's been cooking:

Monday - Beef lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce from last week)
Tuesday - Thai red squash curry
Wednesday dinner with friends - Mediterranean beef stew, followed by pineapple upside-down cake
Thursday - Turkey meatballs with barbeque sauce
Friday - Tex-mex fish tortillas with guacamole
Saturday - Summer chicken soup for lunch / Apricot and cumin stuffed pork for dinner
Sunday - out for anniversary lunch!

I've been making a lot more of my own spice mixes since Sophie started eating with us, since babies can't cope with a lot of salt and most ready-made pastes and seasonings have a whole load of salt added. This week I managed the Thai red curry paste and the tex-mex seasoning, but I'll need to figure out how to make the barbeque sauce without tomato ketchup - I think with tomato puree and a little sugar.

For lunches, and for Sophie's tea, we mostly eat leftovers or things foraged from the fridge, but now she's eating more and more I'd like to give her some varied, nutritious things that don't take a lot of preparation. More thought required!

Hope you too had a good food week!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #3

Hi everyone!

The plan is ready, the ingredients have been delivered. Let the week begin!

Monday - Roasted herbed veg with fried halloumi
Tuesday - Chicken and leek fricassee
Wednesday - Bolognese
Thursday - Leftover chicken
Friday - Mexican chicken bake
Saturday - Lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce)
Sunday - Roast chicken with roast butternut squash, sweet potato, and parsnips

I'll post some recipes at some point.

We're having a curry night with friends on Wednesday. They're bringing the curry, my contribution is a flourless chocolate cake and a fruit salad. Looking forward to making that!

And the shopping list:

Veg for roasting: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, courgettes, peppers, parsnips
Halloumi
Chicken thighs 1kg (for the fricassee and the Mexican bake)
2 large leeks
White wine
Single cream 400ml
Chestnut mushrooms 300g
2 lemons
Minced beef 500g
3 tins chopped tomatoes (for the bolognese and the Mexican bake)
White mushrooms (handful)
3 carrots
1 onion
1 tin kidney beans
Fresh coriander
Cheddar cheese
Soured cream

From my storecupboard:

Olive oil
Dried mixed herbs
Butter
Spaghetti
Balsamic vinegar
Low-salt vegetable stock
Taco spices (paprika, garlic, cumin, chilli)
Rice

Have a great week!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #2

Here's what we've been eating this week:

Chilli con carne

Salmon fishcakes

Vegetable balti

Fishfingers and chips - Nick's choice!

Quick and easy tortelloni
Lemon roast chicken with new potatoes and salad

The salmon fishcakes a la Jamie Oliver were a disaster. Note to self: don't be lazy, make your own mash for fishcakes, supermarket stuff is too watery. 

And my shopping list:

3 chicken breasts

Ratatouille veg: courgette, peppers, aubergine, sweet potatoes

Minced beef 500g

3 tins chopped tomatoes

Kidney beans

Chickpeas

Red peppers

2 salmon fillets

Mashed potatoes

1 cauliflower

1 butternut squash

2 sweet potatoes

1 eating apple

2 carrots

Balti curry paste

Natural yoghurt

Fishfingers

Chips

Corn-fed free-range chicken (on special offer!)
Lemons
New potatoes
Salad

From my storecupboard:

Dried mixed herbs

Olive oil

Spices

Parsley

Penne pasta

Rice
Garlic

What's cooking this week #1

Last week went well. I'm a bit late posting my cooking list, but that's just how it goes.

Here's what was cooking:

Beef and noodle stir-fry
Salmon tikka with raita and naan bread
Cauliflower macaroni cheese
Chicken tagine with steamed veg and couscous
Pad Thai
Roast turkey with pork and apricot stuffing and roast veg

I only post six meals, because we almost always eat either leftovers or something very very quick (ravioli, pizza, egg on toast) for one meal a week. I'm not superwoman.

It was a good week. The salmon tikka was so delicious, I can't wait to have it again. Mmmm.

Here's my shopping list:

Beef frying steak 200g
Fresh egg noodles
Mixed stir-fry veg
2 salmon steaks
Tandoori curry paste
1 lime
1 red chilli
Cucumber
Natural yoghurt
2 naan breads
1 cauliflower
Macaroni pasta 400g
Chicken thighs 300g
1 tin chickpeas
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 carrots
1 large onion
Pad Thai straight-to-wok noodles
250g frozen king prawns
100g bean sprouts (why don't they sell these in smaller packets, we always have so much left over!)
Turkey thigh
Pork and herb sausages
Parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots for roasting
Broccoli

From my storecupboard/fridge:

Stir-fry spices
Oil
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan
Eggs
Couscous
Dried apricots

Meal planning extravaganza

Since Sophie came into our lives, time has been at a premium. A couple of extra hours each day would be very handy, assuming they were baby-free and I could use them to get things done. My previous self, Miss Organised, has been replaced by Miss Rushed.

So, all guns blazing, I've been tackling the planning for the one thing that must happen each day and can't really be postponed: food. I'm not really one for cooking huge batches of things and then just taking a pot out of the freezer for dinner. I like the daily creativity of the kitchen. I also want to make sure that the three of us have a balanced diet, especially since we now have a little one's health to take into account.

My approach was simple. I did a big brainstorm of the meals that we cook regularly and enjoy eating, in categories such as chicken, meat, veggie, pasta and so on. The idea is that I'll be able to look at my brainstorm and be inspired to plan a variety of dishes for the week. From there I can write a shopping list, do an online order, get it delivered and cook away. In fact, the shopping list can be reused if I ever repeat a week - what a plan!

Let's see how it goes. I'll try to post a 'what's cooking' each week. This week's coming up...