How can it already be Sunday again! This week has just flown past, and here I am once again sharing a Meals of the Week Post with you!
This is something I decided to start doing about a month or so ago now. Not only does it help me to keep track of everything I have eaten over the past week, but it helps me to plan my meals for the next week, so that I don't end up repeating myself too much!
I had a pretty busy week, but it was a very rainy week off and on, so a bit of comfort food still figured here and there. I also took a meal over to my daughter and her husband as a bit of a treat for them. My daughter has had an earache this week so was not feeling too well.
Even on a day when I was not feeling entirely well myself (rain and arthritis = a very bad combo) I managed to make myself something pretty decent to eat for my tea. Simple but filling and delicious.
Having found myself living on my own after having cooked for a whole crew and others for over 50 years, I am determined I am not going to be that person who eats out of tins or who fills up on ready meals. That is okay every now and then, but so long as I am capable of doing so, I want to cook proper meals for myself.
I hope you don't mind me taking you along. Perhaps I can inspire you as well and give you a few ideas on what you can cook as well. I promise you nothing is extremely complicated and it is all delicious! I did eat a lot of chicken this week, so must take care to get in a bit more variety next week!
SUNDAY June 11th - Chicken Cordon Bleu
I had my usual Sunday Dinner at my sisters. This week instead of a roast dinner she did Chicken Cordon Bleu which we enjoyed with wild and white steamed rice, roasted asparagus and roasted broccoli. It was those frozen cordon bleu things that you can buy ready made from Prime, but I found a really lovely looking recipe that you could use to make your own on Carlsbad Cravings. I am going to give that a try sometime and downsize it for two people. The photo above is one I made on The English Kitchen about 7 years ago now. Also very good and linked above next to the date.
MONDAY, June 12th - Croissant Turkey Club Sandwich
My arthritis was playing up really bad on Monday so I took the simple route. Supper was a cup of soup and a Croissant Turkey Club Sandwich. I love club sandwiches, with thinly sliced deli turkey, crisp smoky bacon, sliced tomato and crunchy shredded lettuce. You could also add a slice of cheese if you wanted to. Harvarti is awfully nice with this. I loved the Harvarti we used to get in Germany.
This sandwich reminded me of the cold meats, cheeses, fresh brochen, etc. that we used to get at the breakfast buffet in Germany when we travelled there. Yes, I am a sandwich for breakfast kind of a girl.
On this night I enjoyed this sandwich with a few cheeky potato chips, a rare treat. I buy my potato chips in these large bundles of small single serve bags. That way I don't have to worry about them going stale before I can finish eating them, plus it keeps me in check and I eat a more reasonable amount!
TUESDAY, June 13th - Mini Quiche for Two
I had not had quiche for dinner for a very long time. Mostly because I don't want to have to deal with a whole quiche. I downsized my favorite recipe and made a small six inch deep mini one, and then took half over to my next door neighbor Sheila who declared it totally delicious when she returned my container the next day. I used my Butter/Lard pastry recipe for the crust. I think homemade pastry is so much nicer than anything you can buy ready made.
Now that I am living on my own, I still make the full recipe for a two crust pie, but I divide it into four small flat discs, wrapping each one really well and then I freeze the discs in an airtight container. Homemade ready made pastry at my fingertips. It only takes about half an hour to thaw, and will keep in the freezer properly wrapped for up to six months. And it is enough for four mini single crust pies, or two mini double crust pies.
WEDNESDAY, June 14th - Dinner out with Dad
On Wednesday nights I always have dinner out with my dad and his friend Hazel. Sometimes my sister comes with us. This week was no different. I enjoy these meals out with dad. It was something I could only dream about doing when I was living in the UK. This week I had my usual small eaters Turkey dinner with coleslaw instead of a roll. Hazel had a one piece fish and chips. I was treating dad for Father's Day so he had a burger and chips. He couldn't finish it.
He would have been better off with this Pub Cheese Open Faced Burger! Not too much bread, lovely grilled and caramelized onions, melted cheddar spread and a tomato and lettuce on the side. This with a few oven chips would make a really great midweek supper!
THURSDAY, June 15th - No Fuss Chicken Dinner
On Thursday I cooked something to take over to my daughter. I did enjoy one serving of it myself. This No fuss Chicken Dinner cooks nicely in the crock pot all day. It is a perfect midweek dinner, especially for those days when you know you are not going to have a lot of time to cook. It tastes a lot like a chicken pot pie without the crust. Pop everything into the crock pot in the morning and just get on with your day.
I sprinkled some crispy fried onions on top for a bit of crunch when I served it. It had potatoes, carrots and a flavorful gravy along with the tender and juicy chicken. I cooked some peas and corn on the side for Eileen and Tim.
FRIDAY - June 16th - TikTok Feta Baked Pasta for two
I had been intrigued with this viral TikTok recipe for a while. I am not one to go with trends, but it really did look good and sounded dead simple. I decided to try it, but downsized it for just two servings. This was AMAZING! I couldn't believe how simple and easy it was to make. I channeled two separate recipes and created one by using bits of both.
I thought it would be ultra salty with the feta cheese, but it wasn't salty at all. The sauce was rich and creamy with lots of bits of tomato. I actually am still thinking about how delicious it really was!! You really need to try this. I enjoyed it with some crusty bread and a bit of salad on the side.
SATURDAY, June 17th - Cast Iron Roasted Butterflied Chicken & Potatoes
I was inspired by a new cookery book I had just gotten and adapted this Roast Chicken recipe for a father's day celebration. The cookbook was called The Prairie Kitchen Cookbook, by Kayla Lobermeier of Under a Tin Roof. I switched out the flavors a bit. Hers was a Buffalo Roasted Chicken. I am not overly fond of the spice of Buffalo chicken so I created a delicious BBQ rub to use on mine in it's place.
The chicken is butterflied open and rubbed with a tasty rub both under and on top of the skin and then placed on a bed of baby new potatoes, onion, and garlic in a cast iron skillet. Roasted to perfection and basted with butter at 20 minute intervals, the end result is a delicious moist and flavor filled chicken. Those potatoes get all sticky and filled with lovely chicken juice flavors as well. Altogether very delicious. I served with some baby peas and carrots on the side.
And there you have it, my meals for the past week. I ate something delicious and yet simple every day. It was a really tasty week! I also now have some roasted chicken to use in sandwiches, etc. over the coming week and some bones in the freezer to make soup at a later date!
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
If you are looking for an extra creamy, delicious and rich chicken casserole to feed yourself and your partner, with some added crunchy toppings then you have just struck gold. This is the one for you!
I served mine with some coleslaw on the side and a splash of soy sauce and some green tabasco. Not traditionally Chinese I know, but hey ho, it tasted fabulous, and that's what counts most!
Chinese Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 TBS flour
- 1/2 Knorr gel chicken stock pot
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- Sauce as above
- 2 cups (280g) cooked chicken, cubed
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 medium carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 small stick of celery, trimmed, washed and chopped
- 1/2 cup (110g) mayonnaise
- 1 pouch Uncle Ben's cooked rice, mushroom and wild rice (about 1 1/4 cups cooked rice)
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 cup salted roasted cashews
- 1 cup crispy chow Mein noodles
- Soy sauce and hot sauce to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F/ 190*C/ gas mark 5. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish. Set aside.
- Melt the butter for the sauce in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour and the gel stock. Cook for a minute. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
- Crumble the rice into a bowl. Add the cooked chicken, onion, carrot and celery. Stir in the sauce and mayonnaise, along with the garlic granules and pepper. You should not need any salt.
- Pour this mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven. Scatter the cashew nuts and crispy noodles on top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
- The casserole should be hot and bubbly and totally heated through.
- Spoon out to serve. Pass the soy sauce and the hot sauce. Delicious!
Notes:
If desired you can use 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted, in place of the sauce.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
694.24Fat (grams)
45.71Sat. Fat (grams)
10.49Carbs (grams)
40.78Fiber (grams)
2.40Net carbs
38.37Sugar (grams)
3.37Protein (grams)
28.63Sodium (milligrams)
803.45Cholesterol (grams)
111.37
I love potatoes. They are my favourite vegetable. I could live without chocolate. I could live without cake. I could live without cookies . . . I could not ever live without potatoes. Oh sure, I've tried low carb . . . but the potato is my downfall every time. I just can't get on for very long without them!
I like em steamed. I like em mashed. I like em fried. I like em roasted. I like em hot. I like em cold. I even like em raw . . . but the way that I like em most of all . . . is baked!
You just can't beat a good baked potato. Rough on the outside, crisp even . . . and explodingly fluffy on the insides. Big and fat and round . . . and eaten so hot that you have to blow on every forkful you bring to your mouth . . . you just can't wait for them to cool down . . . you have to eat them NOW!
Not just any potato will do. You don't want a waxy potato. (A waxy potato is perfect for potato salad because it holds up it's shape in cooking.) You want a nice fluffy potato, big and round . . . like a King Edward or Maris Piper, or in North America . . . a Russet.
You can't hurry a baked potato. It's not something you can rush. The perfect baked potato takes a long slow roasting in a hot oven. Some people like to wrap them in foil. Foil wrapped baked potato = soggy icky baked potato. Some people like to wet them and roll them in salt. That works quite well I suppose. Some people like them rubbed with oil, or with butter before they are baked.
Me??? I just wash em, and prick them all over (a necessity unless you want to be clearing off exploded bits of baked potato from all over the insides of your oven) and then I lay them in the hot oven right on the rack. No pan. No foil. Just hot air wrapping itself around that potato and baking it until it is crispy and nutty on the outside and fluffy on the inside. In short perfect!
Don't cut into your baked potato . . . that only mashes the potato together and compacts it. Nigel Slater swears by the Karate Chop! (And you know how much I love Nigel Slater!) He recommends just a llight sharp tap on the side of the potato, like a karate chop . . . not so hard that you smash the potato to smithereens . . . just hard enough to slightly crack open the potato and let all the air out in a whoosh, leaving behind a tasty fluffy pile of snowy potato, just begging for a big pat of butter and your fork!
A steak is not a steak without a baked potato on the side, but a good baked potato deserves so much more than to be merely an accessory to the main course . . . a good baked potato is like having a blank canvas that you can paint a most beautiful picture on. It can be the whole meal and for me it often is.
- With tasty Baked Beans ladled on top and lotsa lotsa cheese.
- Topped with scrummy coleslaw, or tuna salad, or both!
- Lotsa cheddar cheese and lashings of crispy bacon
- a bit slab of goats cheese, or even better . . . some tasty Brie!
- With a Meaty Bolognaise Sauce ladled over top, or the best . . . Chili And Cheese!
- Bits of steamed broccoli and cauliflower and then a tasty cheese sauce ladled over top
- Leeks braised in butter with lots of grated Fontina cheese
Baked Potatoes with Rocket, Broad Beans and Blue Cheese.
Jacket Potatoes with Chili and Cheese
Rarebit Jacket Potatoes
Baked Potato Pizza
Jacket Potatoes with Cream and Walnuts
So what are you waiting for??? Grab a potato and start baking!!
Note: If you click on the recipe name at the bottom of each photo, it will take you to a link for that recipe, which will open in a new window! (Ahh, the beauty of modern technology . . . just wonderful!)
Hooray for the warmer weather and salad season. Salad cream is an ingredient which is used frequently over here in the UK, and quite traditional when it comes to salads. You can buy it in jars and bottles at the shops.
More often than not if you eat out in a medium priced restaurant, salad cream will be the only salad dressing on offer. It also comes in little packets like the ketchup and vinegar and brown sauces.
I often use it in Potato Salads, and coleslaw types of salads. It is a lot tangier than mayonnaise and adds a really special touch.
It can be somewhat difficult to find in North America however and so today I am showing you how you can very easily make your own. In all truth, I like the homemade salad cream much better than the storebought variety, but that is often the case with most things.
Its very simple to make actually. I am betting you most likely have everything in your house right now that you need to use to make some for yourself.
It uses very simple ingredients. A bit of flour, white sugar, dry mustard powder, eggs and white wine vinegar, whisked together and cooked over simmering water.
You might be surprise to know that there is actually real cream in it. There is nothing artificial here! It gets whisked into the thickened mixture after cooling it. A bit of lemon juice and some seasoning and Bob's your Uncle!
You have the perfect mixture for all of your summer salad needs! It will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and makes about 1 1/4 cups. So no waste here either.
(will last 1 to 2 weeks)
And just to whet your whistle and let you know that it won't be a waste once you have it made, here are some of my recipes which use it.
All of them are delicious and will serve to help you use up some of that delicous salad cream you have made.
Creamy Macaroni Salad
As an adult I have come to love pasta salads, and none better than plain old macaroni salad. There is so much you can do with it. Macaroni is the perfect canvas on which to play with your favourite flavour combinations.
This salad is a combination of what I think are the best elements of any macaroni salad I have ever eaten. Simple and delicious.
Mom's Potato Salad
Some people add too much to their potato salad . . . it's like a free-for-all of potato and colour. I don't think chopped peppers and the like add anything much to it . . . nor do olives.
When it comes to a great potato salad . . . simple is the best of all. Just like mom's. And sorry folks, my mom's was the best potato salad ever. Oh how I miss her.
Baked Potato Salad
Baked Potato salad has always been one of my favourite types of potato salad. I have a tried and true recipe that I have been making for years and years. It's very good and everyone I make it for just loves it.
It's quite, quite delicious . . . but then you would expect a salad loaded with mayo, sour cream, cheese and bacon to be rather scrummy wouldn't you! This is a lightened up version. You can find my original full fat recipe here.
Creamy Potato Gnocchi Salad.
I am of the opinion that you can treat gnocchi in just about the same way as you would treat a boiled potato, or any other type of pasta. I love to stretch boundaries of cooking.
I thought I would try turning it into a type of potato salad, except it would be a gnocchi salad, a creamy Potato Gnocchi Salad. It totally worked!
Enjoy!
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: theenglishkitchen@mail.com
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