.jpg "Delicious Weeknight Dinners")
MONDAY NIGHT FAMILY FAVORITE WITH OVEN HASH
TACO TUESDAY WITH FRIED CHICKEN TACOS
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.
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.jpg "Meals of the Week, August 10th to 16th, 2025")
Hello everyone and welcome to my Sunday "Meals of the Week" post. Every Sunday I like to share with you, my dear readers, all of the delicious things that I have enjoyed over the past seven days for my main meals. That's a whole lot of tasty going on. I also include links to the recipes and menu suggestions. If I was really on the ball, I would include a shopping list but trust me when I tell you I am not really on the ball!
This was a busy week of highs and lows. I had my Birthday to celebrate and then wildfires started not too far from where I live so it has been an exciting week all round in one way or another.
These are only my main meals, which I tend to eat in the early afternoon. It does not include my breakfast meals or my light suppers. I eat light later in the day as I don't want to have anything heavy laying on my stomach when I go to bed.
My breakfast will usually be a protein shake, or sometimes oatmeal, perhaps granola, yogurt and fruit, or toast. On occasions, if I have it, I will enjoy leftover pizza. Leftover pizza for breakfast is the best!
I have my main meal around 1 pm. unless I am eating at my sister's. On that day I will eat later in the day, in deference to them. (Like I said I don't like going to bed with anything heavy on my stomach and I am an early-to-bedder!)
Usually later in the afternoon, early evening I will have something light, like a salad, or a sandwich, maybe some soup. Sometimes a bowl of cereal. Fruit. Anything that isn't too heavy. I just feel better. A light supper keeps me from snacking in the evening and helps me to sleep better.
I also try to keep my food within the limitations of my budget, and I like to vary my meals as much as possible. I rarely eat the same thing twice in a month. I love to cook, and I love to eat, and I want my meals to be interesting and varied. I do try to keep them fairly healthy for the most part as well, with a balance of carbs, protein, vegetables and fruit.
I try not to eat frozen dinners. They are always hugely disappointing and never meet the promise that is shown on the cover of the box. I will eat the odd can of soup with a sandwich and I am not opposed to using tinned soup to make other things. I usually only eat dessert when I am out, or if I have baked a cake or some cookies, I will have one as a treat mid-afternoon.
And that's it in a nutshell! This is how I eat. So, without twaddling on any further here are the meals that I enjoyed for my main meals over the past seven days! I hope you will be inspired to want to cook some of them for yourself!
SUNDAY, August 10th - Sunday Dinner at my sister's place
Most Sundays I have dinner at my sister's. This week she had made a type of Chicken Dish which was very delicious with sundried tomatoes, basil, etc. in it. She served this with boiled potatoes and carrots.
In it's place I am sharing my recipe for Chicken with Sun Dried Tomatoes & Basil Cream. It is delicious and very similar to what she made. Got pasta, sun dried tomatoes, chicken breasts, cream and basil??? Then you have this! I served it with some cooked spaghetti noodles when I made it. It was lovely.
MONDAY, August 11th - Roasted Chicken Salad with a Buttermilk Tarragon Dressing.
This was a lovely light and delicious meal. Skin on boneless chicken breasts are browned on top of the stove and then briefly roasted to juicy perfection. Ready to slice on the diagonal and serve with a mixed salad with a Buttermilk and Tarragon Dressing.
This is light and delicious and makes for a great supper in the summer months, or a lunch. You can always add a baked jacket potato for anyone who demands a heartier meal!
TUESDAY, August 12th - Chicken Scampi with Garlic & Parmesan Rice
I know, chicken again, but it's delicious and it's affordable. This time it was in the way of chicken tender filets. These are seasoned with some garlic, salt, and pepper and then flash fried in a small amount of oil until golden brown. Taken off the heat, rice is added to the pan along with white wine, chicken stock, Parmesan Cheese and more garlic. Cooked until tender the chicken is nestled back into the pilaf and gently reheated with a bit more Parmesan dusted over top.
This makes a quick, easy and delicious midweek supper. It is basically an all-in-one dish. All you need to complete the meal is a cooked vegetable or salad on the side. Delicious!
WEDNESDAY, August 13th - Easy Asian Noodle Bowl with Chicken and Vegetables
It was my Birthday (#70) on Wednesday, and I had been wanting to try to make a noodle bowl for myself for ages. They always look so good when other people make them. This was really delicious, and I ended up with a double yolk egg in mine. It was also a great way to use up any leftover chicken tenders from the day before.
Ramen Noodles on the base, with the chicken, fried mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, the boiled egg, in a rich chicken broth containing spring onion. More spring onions were sprinkled over top along with some crispy onion.
I know, chicken four days in a row. What can I say? It is a bit unusual, but I do like chicken. I made up for it the rest of the week.
THURSDAY, August 14th - Burger Rarebits with air fryer chips and veggies
I had taken my father out shopping in the afternoon and spent the morning putting together my 72 hour kit in case of a fire evacuation. I just made a simple supper of Burger Rarebits. You can make your own burgers for this or use a good quality ready-made burger. The burgers are pan grilled to perfection and then topped with a cheese, bacon, and spring onion mixture before popping under the grill to heat the cheese mixture through and melt it a bit.
It is a knife and fork meal. You could have it on a bun if you wanted to, but I like them just as is. I served with some oven chips done in the air fryer and corn on the side. It was a simple and yet delicious meal.
FRIDAY, August 15th - Tuna Loaf with Mustard Cream
A bit of fish for Friday with a Tuna Loaf. This is very simple to make and is delicious. I know I say that about everything I cook, but it's true. It was delicious, and is one of my old favorites. I sometimes cook this Tuna Loaf as Muffins in a muffin tin. That way I can freeze the individual portions to take out and enjoy on another day. The mustard cream that goes with it is also incredibly tasty and adds just the right touch!
I enjoyed with frozen peas and a pouch of pre-cooked rice. The Butter & Garlic one. I like that one in particular and it went well with the fish.
SATURDAY, August 16th - Crispy Tortilla Eggs
This is one of my absolute favorite meals. Crispy Tortilla Eggs. You have a crispy golden toasty tortilla on the bottom, topped with cheese, a perfectly fried egg, and more cheese to finish it off. I like to garnish it with some sriracha sauce, green tabasco and some chopped green onion. I could eat this any day of the week and be completely happy and satisfied.
A leafy salad was the perfect side with this simple, yet delicious meal!
And there you have it, my meals of the week for this the second week of August 2025. In a week that was filled with highs (birthday) and lows (fires) I think I did very well. I kept things within budget and managed to have a fairly good variety, despite all of the chicken! What do you think?
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.
I have a vintage recipe to share with you today from one of my Vintage Cookery Books. I have a great love for these old recipes and books. They are filled with recipes that are real gems! Basic, solid, old-fashioned recipes that use simple ingredients, equipment and methods.
This Vintage Jam Gem recipe comes from Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook which was originally published in 1956. I was only one year old then, so that lets you know how old these recipes are!
Back in the day, the word "Gem" was used to describe a small muffin or quick bread. Muffin tins were also referred to as "Gem Tins." Gems were not meant to be the overly large and "cake-like" muffins that we often see today and which are sold in modern day coffee shops.
- 2cups plain all purpose flour, sifted
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (80ml) light olive, canola, or sunflower oil
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup raspberry or strawberry jam
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- enough milk to make a thin drizzle icing
Nothing could be quicker or easier. Very little effort is needed.
- Preheat oven to 450*F/ 230*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a 12-cup medium muffin tin, or two 6-cup medium muffin tins really well. (I used ceramic muffin cups that looked very much like vintage muffin or gem tins.)
- Sift the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder and salt. (This will help to distribute the baking powder evenly into the flour.)
- Measure the oil and milk into a measuring cup without stirring. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients. (I am not sure why you don't whisk the two together but trust me when I tell you it works perfectly as written. Resist the urge to mix the two.)
- Mix together with a fork until the mixture cleans the side of the bowl. Drop this mixture (it will be stiff) into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
- Using the end of a wooden spoon, make a dip in the center of each muffin/biscuit.
- Drop 1/2 tsp of jam into the dip. (Do not overfill.)
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They will be golden brown when done.
- Frost with the drizzle frosting while still warm.
- To make the drizzle frosting, whisk the icing sugar together with just enough milk to give you a thick icing that you can drizzle over top of the muffins. (Whisk in any liquid a little bit at a time so that you don't over-thin it.)
- They remind me of my childhood and all the wonderful generations of women who came before me.
- They are largely unpretentious and use simple everyday ingredients.
- They do not require unusual or special equipment or techniques to execute them.
- They are usually very economical and fit within affordable budgetary requirements.
- There is nothing "faddish" about them. They do not follow the whims of popularity.
- They are made from scratch, without the use of a lot of processed ingredients.
- It uses simple and uncomplicated ingredients. I am betting you already have everything you need to make this in your kitchen right now.
- It goes together very quickly and easily without a lot of effort.
- You can easily adapt it to any kind of fruit jam or marmalade you have in the house and enjoy. You could even use lemon curd, which would be exceptionally delicious!
- It is the type of thing that you grandmother might have baked for her family. Simple and unpretentious whilst at the same time being very delicious.
Jam Gems
A vintage recipe for an old style biscuit that gets dropped into a muffin tin and filled with jam prior to baking to golden perfection. An optional drizzle icing is applied before serving.
Ingredients
- 2cups plain all purpose flour, sifted
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (80ml) light olive, canola, or sunflower oil
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup raspberry or strawberry jam
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- enough milk to make a thin drizzle icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450*F/ 230*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a 12-cup medium muffin tin, or two 6-cup medium muffin tins really well.
- Sift the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder and salt.
- Measure the oil and milk into a measuring cup without stirring. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients.
- Mix together with a fork until the mixture cleans the side of the bowl. Drop this mixture (it will be stiff) into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
- Using the end of a wooden spoon, make a dip in the center of each muffin/biscuit.
- Drop 1/2 tsp of jam into the dip. (Do not overfill.)
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They will be golden brown when done.
- Frost with the drizzle frosting while still warm.
- To make the drizzle frosting, whisk the icing sugar together with just enough milk to give you a thick icing that you can drizzle over top of the muffins.
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.
We are into the very hot days of summer now. What they call the "Dog Days of Summer." These are the days when we try very hard not to have to put on the oven if we can help it. This is the time of year when we tend to eat a lot of cold food, or cook in the air fryer or slow cooker.
Today I am sharing a really delicious Tuna & Dill Pasta Salad recipe with you. It makes for a great side dish as a part of a salad/cold plate supper, or a lovely light lunch.
Its also great for picnics and for taking in the lunch box so long as you can keep it chilled. Because there is mayonnaise in the dressing, you will want to keep it cold. It is also really delicious on the buffet table.
- 8 ounces (227g/scant 2 cups) bow tie pasta
- 1/2 cup (75g) frozen peas
- 1/2 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 medium sized dill pickles diced
- one (5 ounce/142g) tin of solid white tuna, drained and flaked
- 1 TBS lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (110g) real mayonnaise
- 1/2 TBS dried dill
- salt and black pepper to taste
This is not very difficult to make and can be made in advance.
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions and adding the frozen peas during the last 30 seconds.
- Drain well and run under cold water. Drain well again. Pop into a bowl.
- Add the flaked tuna, chopped pickles. and onion. Mix together to combine.
- Whisk the mayonnaise together with the lemon juice, and dried dill. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour over the tuna mixture and gently stir together to combine and coat everything in the dressing.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Serve immediately, or cover and chill until you are ready to serve.
Tuna and Dill Pasta Salad
This is a simple, quick and easy salad to throw together. Its also very delicious! Makes a great lunch on it's own or works well as a side dish for a salad supper.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (227g/scant 2 cups) bow tie pasta
- 1/2 cup (75g) frozen peas
- 1/2 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 medium sized dill pickles diced
- one (5 ounce/142g) tin of solid white tuna, drained and flaked
- 1 TBS lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (110g) real mayonnaise
- 1/2 TBS dried dill
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions and adding the frozen peas during the last 30 seconds.
- Drain well and run under cold water. Drain well again. Pop into a bowl.
- Add the flaked tuna, chopped pickles. and onion. Mix together to combine.
- Whisk the mayonnaise together with the lemon juice, and dried dill. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour over the tuna mixture and gently stir together to combine and coat everything in the dressing.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Serve immediately, or cover and chill until you are ready to serve.
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.
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