Meals of the Week, July 23rd - July 29th

 

Here we are, another Sunday, another Meals of the Week post.  The one where I share with you all the main meals I have cooked and enjoyed over the past 7 days.  If I eat out for one or two of them, I also always share a homemade alternative.

 I really like doing these meals of the week posts. It helps to keep me accountable and helps me to see what I am eating, if I may need to make improvements in my diet, and keeping track also helps to keep me fresh.  Being able to share these things with you keeps me excited about the things I am eating because I want to inspire you as well!  Since I started doing this my cooking has never been boring! 

 

At least not to me anyways! I cannot speak for you. Maybe you find my cooking very boring!  But I hope not!

I have had my oldest daughter staying with me for half of this week and she will be with me all of next week. This has also been fun.  I like having someone around to cook for and I know she enjoys eating the things I cook!  She has helped me out a bit as well!  And we get to do it together for one more week!

Its a bit sad when your kids all grow up and move out of the house, you lose your spouse, and you find yourself living all on . It can be very tempting when you live on your own to want to take the easy way out and eat frozen dinners or other convenience foods. 

My goal is to not do that. I want to cook for myself fresh and delicious meals every day of the week. This makes for a healthier and happier me.  So for as long as I can, this is what I will be doing, and hopefully you don't mind me sharing my meals with you.

Perhaps we can both be inspired! And so, here are my meals for the last 7 days.  My daughter was with me for half of them, which made a nice change!

 

SUNDAY, July 23rd - Crock Pot Mongolian Beef

Family Dinner Day and this week it was a meal with a bit of an Oriental slant to it, Crock Pot Mongolian Beef.  I love Crock Pot Meals on a Sunday.  Everything just gets popped into the slow cooker early in the day and it cooks all by itself until supper time.  The smell of this is amazing.  Ginger, soy, garlic and brown sugar, with a bit of heat from crushed red chilies.

You can totally adapt the heat to your taste.  This is delicious served with steamed rice and some vegetables on the side. The leftovers make a fabulous  Fried Rice.

MONDAY, July 24th - Curried Beef Fried Rice

I used the leftovers from the roast to make myself some curried beef fried rice. It actually worked out very well.  I love fried rice. You can make it from just about anything. Some cooked vegetables, or raw carrots, frozen corn, peas, onions, cabbage, cauliflower. You name it, it goes!   

A bit of scrambled egg, a bit of meat and Bob's Your Uncle!  Dinner is done!  I like a bit of sauce on mine sometimes.  Usually I like to pour a bit of Ketjap Manis on mine, which is a thickened sweet soy sauce. I make my own from scratch.

TUESDAY, July 25th - Cold Ham and Sweet & Crunchy Corn Chip Salad

We have had a hot and sticky week weatherwise.  I wasn't feeling overly hungry on Tuesday so I had myself some cold sliced ham and enjoyed it along with a salad.  Sweet & Crunchy Corn Chip Salad.  I love this salad which is the perfect mix of crunchy, sweet, creamy, smoky. Bacon, Cheese, lettuce, dried cranberries, corn ships and a poppyseed dressing. What's not to love!

WEDNESDAY, July 26th - Dinner out with Dad, Hazel and Eileen

On Wednesday nights I go out to dinner with my dad and his friend Hazel. Eileen (my oldest daughter) was with us this week.  I had the special, which was a club sandwich panini. It was not near as tasty as my own homemade Ultimate Turkey Club Sandwich, but someone else was cooking it so it made a nice change!

Dad and Hazel had Fish and Chips.  Eileen had Spaghetti with meat Sauce.  We were all happy. I had a slice of raisin pie for dessert (very naughty), Eileen and Dad had Coconut Cream Pie and Hazel had a slice of carrot cake!

THURSDAY, July 27th - Grilled Chicken with a  Summer Berry Salsa

Still hot so we enjoyed some grilled chicken with a delicious berry salsa. This salsa is filled with plenty of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, a bit of zip from a red chili, some chopped coriander leaf, red onion, ripe avocado, and lime juice. Nice and zesty and goes beautifully with the mild flavor of the chicken!   The chicken is just seasoned with some salt and black pepper and brushed with some oil prior to grilling. 

This is a simple supper with lovely fresh tastes. If you wanted a heartier supper you could add some cooked rice or even a baked potato.

FRIDAY, July 28th - Crispy Chicken with Creamy Garlic Pasta

I know, chicken two days in a row, but my daughter and I both like chicken and this was a completely different way of cooking it than the day before.  Plus we were out and about and wanted something really quick and easy.  This is all that and more.  Frozen crispy coated chicken breasts are cooked and while they are cooking you make a delicious creamy garlic sauce to toss with freshly cooked penne.

The two together are really delicious.  Tender and juicy pieces of chicken and that creamy pasta. So good, and done in less than half an hour. You can't beat it for a quick meal. We enjoyed a salad on the side.

SATURDAY, July 29th - Quick Naan Bread Pizzas

We both love these Quick Naan Bread Pizzas.  They use a simple Naan Bread base. You can use a garlic one, or a plain one.  They are brushed with some of the oil from a jar of marinated artichoke halves and then topped with a variety of cheeses and the artichokes and plenty of green olives, and some fresh thyme leaves.  

These are really delicious.  You could go the traditional route and use pizza sauce and regular pizza toppings, but these make a tasty change from the regular.

Again we had some salad on the side.  We didn't want to eat too much because we were going to have a movie night with some crisp vegetable dippers and homemade Garden Herb dip and some hummus.  We also had some grapes and cheese.  Yummy!

And that was the week that was!  My daughter and I ate very well and enjoyed a nice fresh variety of things.  Today we are going to my sister's for supper and we have a whole new week of things to enjoy together coming up! She goes home on Saturday.

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks so much for visiting!  Do come again! 

 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin