Here I am again with another Meals of the Week post! It seems that you all enjoy these posts and I have to say I am happy for that because I really enjoy putting them together. Somehow sharing what you have eaten makes you more accountable I think and helps to keep me on the right path! There's no getting lazy when you know you are going to be sharing some eating inspiration with others!
I do think that when you are a person who lives all on their own, or if you are an elderly person, the temptation is there to just not want to bother much with cooking and preparing meals. It is all to easy to just open a can or pop a frozen dinner into the oven or the microwave.
The truth is however those ready meals are more often than not loaded with fat, salt and preservatives and I happy to believe we are worth much more than that and worth the effort! They are okay once in a while if you really get into a spot, but a steady diet of them is not a very good thing for anyone!
With that in mind I aim to share my weekly menus with you each week so that, hopefully, you can be inspired to want to cook and plan some of the same for yourself!
A lot of time was spent with family this week, but I still managed to cook me up some incredible deliciousness. Here we go!
SUNDAY, July 9th - Dinner at my sisters
Most Sunday's I go to my sister's for supper. This week she had pot roast which my brother in law cooked on the BBQ. (Its been quite warm and humid.) My sister just puts everything into a deep tin foil pan, covers it tightly with aluminum foil and pops it onto the BBQ.
My Brother in law closes the lid the BBQ and it roasts as if it was in an oven. Just on a medium low heat and he rotates the pan every so often. It wasn't a large roast, just a medium to small one and there were potatoes, onions and carrots in the pan, plus beef broth.
Another way to beat the heat and cook a good pot roast is to use an Instant Pot. You can access my recipe for a delicious Instant Pot Pot Roast here. Its fabulously tasty and very simple to make.
MONDAY, July 10th - Cold Plate
On Monday, it was still pretty hot and humid. I had all sorts of cold salads left from my sister's Birthday Celebration on the Saturday so I put myself together a Cold Plate. Cold Plates are very popular here in the Maritime Provinces in the summer months. I shared a tutorial on the blog on how to put one together.
On this particular day I had some cold roast chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, cucumber sticks, tomatoes and lettuce. It was delicious and because I already had the salads in, not a lot of trouble. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy as they say!
TUESDAY, July 11th - Tuna Melt Sliders
It was still pretty hot and humid. That's July here in Nova Scotia. Every once in a while we will get a big thunderstorm to help release some of it and cool things off. On this particular day I turned my oven on briefly to make some Tuna Melt Sliders.
This was a small batch recipe. My favorite tuna salad, combined with a layer of grated cheddar cheese in soft slider buns, which had been brushed with an onion Dijon butter prior to baking. They are only in the oven for about 15 minutes altogether so not long enough to really heat up the kitchen.
Just long enough to melt the cheese. The buns stay nice and soft with crisp tops and the cheese is all melty gooey. I enjoyed this with some crinkle crisps (potato chips) on the side.
WEDNESDAY, July 12th - Lunch at Jonny's Cook House
I had wanted to take my sister out for lunch on her actual birthday the week before but the place we wanted to go to was actually closed and so we rescheduled for this week. My cousin Sheri joined us with her little boy Sawyer. It is one of our favorite places to eat! The food is great! And they have a bazillion different flavors of Ice Cream.
We had fish and chips, because theirs is really good, but usually we have the True Newf Poutine. Since I developed a copy cat recipe for it (see link in previous sentence) we usually have fish and chips. That True Newf Poutine is fabulous. Hot crisp fries, cheese curds, hot gravy and a generous amount of Newfie style stuffing scattered over top! A real favorite around here!
THURSDAY, July 13th - Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie
I used some leftover cooked chicken I had in the freezer to make a two person sized Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie on Thursday. This has all of the delicious flavors of a normal pot pie, with a rich and creamy gravy filled with cubed chicken, onions, peas, corn, and carrots.
This is put into a baking dish, topped with a layer of grated cheese and then frozen tater tots are put on top to cover. Baked in the oven the filling gets all lovely and bubbly and those tater tots get golden crispy brown delicious! So yummy. I enjoyed with a side salad for a wonderfully economical and tasty supper!
FRIDAY, July 14th - Delicious Instant Pot Beef Stew
My son arrived on Friday with his sweet wife and their three boys. They had requested that I make stew for supper. They love my stew. I doubled my Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe and used potatoes instead of gnocchi this time around. They loved it! Tender chunks of lean beef and vegetables in a rich beef gravy. Delicious!
I also baked a loaf of my favorite Cheese Bread in the bread machine which went down a real treat with the stew!
For dessert we had Peachy Lemon Whip. This is a simple refrigerator dessert I have been making since my high school Home Economics days. Its simply delicious with a graham cracker crust bottom, a lush lemon whip over top and tinned peaches to cover.
SATURDAY, July 15th - Cheese Crusted Grilled Cheese
After feeding up my son and his family on pancakes, sausage and bacon for breakfast, they went on their way to camp. They will be back again once camp is over for a few days and we will have our real visit then. I am looking forward to hearing all about their camp!
I was exhausted though by the time supper rolled around so I made myself something simple. Just a cheese crusted grilled cheese sandwich and a mug of tomato soup. It was perfect. Not a lot to clean up afterwards and nice and filling. No fuss, no muss.
And there you have it my meals for the past week. I tried to keep my kitchen nice and cool this past week! I think I will be doing the same in the week to come! It was a very delicious week nonetheless and I got to share a lot of it with family, which was the best part of all!
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
- 1 tin (6 ounces/170g) tin of solid albacore tuna, drained very well
- 1 TBS minced red onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, then drained very well
- 1 tsp minced flat leaf parsley,, or 1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 2 TBS good quality full fat mayonnaise
- 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 TBS sweet pickle relish
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 4 slider style rolls
- additional mayonnaise to spread
- 1/2 cup (115g) grated sharp cheddar cheese (I used white cheddar)
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
- parsley flakes
Tuna Melt Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 tin (6 ounces/170g) tin of solid albacore tuna, drained very well
- 1 TBS minced red onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, then drained very well
- 1 tsp minced flat leaf parsley,, or 1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 2 TBS good quality full fat mayonnaise
- 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 TBS sweet pickle relish
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 4 slider style rolls
- additional mayonnaise to spread
- 1/2 cup (115g) grated sharp cheddar cheese (I used white cheddar)
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
- parsley flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small baking dish, large enough to hold the buns in one layer.
- Flake the drained tuna into a bowl. Add the drained onion, the pickle relish, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley flakes and salt and pepper. Mix everything together well.
- Cut the rolls in half horizontally through the middle. I like to keep it as one sheet of four buns, still attached together.
- Place the bottom into the baking dish, cut side up, and spread with some mayonnaise. Pile the tuna filling on top, spreading it out to cover the bun halves completely. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese evenly over top. Spread the cut side of the tops of the rolls with some mayonnaise and place, cut side down, on top of the cheese, pressing down lightly.
- Whisk the melted butter, onion powder, and Dijon mustard together. Brush over top of the buns and sprinkle with a few parsley flakes.
- Cover tightly with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes longer.
- Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 5 minutes and then serve, cut into single buns, with some potato chips on the side if desired.
Here we are again with another Meals of the Week Post. Usually on Sundays I do a round up and share with you, my readers, all the delicious meals I cooked for myself over the past days. I didn't eat at home very day, but wherever possible I have provided a "like" substitute from my recipe archives to share with you.
With the summer months my eating gets a bit lighter and not so much "comfort food." There are a lot more salads, and cold coalitions. Quick and easy, as always is the order of the day, because, lets face it, who wants to be chained to their kitchen in the summer time!
I love doing these posts because they help me to take a realistic look back on how I have been eating and help me to plan my week ahead. I hope that they will do the same for you.
Nobody who lives on their own should be consigned to eating frozen ready meals or dinner from a tin! That's my goal anyways. I love to cook and I love to eat and I love simple uncomplicated food.
Food doesn't have to be fancy, fattening or complicated to taste good!
SUNDAY, July 2nd - Chicken and Ham Lasagne
Because we had had a family dinner at my sisters on the Saturday for Canada, we did not share a meal together on Sunday. Cindy fancied a day off and I don't blame her! We decided to have supper together on Monday instead. I had supper at home for myself. I heated up a portion of Chicken and Ham Lasagne that I had in the freezer.
The original recipe makes 4 - 6 portions and freezes beautifully in single sized portions. I tell you how to do this on the recipe page. It is filled with plenty of chicken and ham, spinach and has a lush rich creamy sauce. This is one of my favorite kinds of lasagne.
I enjoyed it along with a side salad and was a very happy camper.
MONDAY, July 3rd - Dinner at Cindys
We had our Sunday family dinner on Monday at my sister's. She cooked a pork tenderloin in the air fryer which she served along with some roasted potatoes, onions and carrots and she cooked these Presidents Choice Stampede Corn Ribs to go along with it. We had both been wanting to try those. She was the first person brave enough to take the step.
Prognosis, they were okay. Not as good a corn on the cob for real, but not bad either.
If you want to cook a delicious Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin Dinner, just click on the link. There are roasted pieces of pork tenderloin, squash and brussels sprouts, all roasted together on a sheet pan. The whole thing is done in about half an hour. Some fluffy mashed potatoes go well on the side.
TUESDAY, July 4th - Low Carb Turkey Burger
I played it safe on Monday and made myself a delicious low carb Turkey Burger. Every bit as delicious as a burger in the bun, this tasty burger is beautifully flavored with parsley, onion, salt, pepper, garlic and mayo. The may helps to keep it moist, as does the pat of butter sealed in the center.
A slice of cheese is melted on top and the burger is served atop a thick slice of ice berg lettuce that has been spread with a lush garlic aioli mayonnaise. I promise you won't miss the bun. This is fabulously tasty!
WEDNESDAY, July 5th - Dinner out with Dad
On Wednesday nights I always go out for dinner with my dad and his friend Hazel. This week my sister Cindy joined us. We both had the Haddie bits, which are broken bits of haddock deep fried and served with chips and coleslaw. Dad and Hazel both had the fish and chips.
I'll be honest. Haddie Bits are not my favorite thing. I should have just had fish and chips. But it was nice to be there with dad and everyone.
The recipe I am sharing for this night are these fabulous Cornmeal Crusted Cod Cheeks. Cod cheeks are a tasty little nugget of cod fish found, you guessed it, in the cheek area of the Cod. Very tender and juicy when cooked properly. They cook very quickly. You could do the same thing with cubes of cod fish. There is also a delicious coleslaw recipe on the same page
THURSDAY, July 6th - Air Fryer French Bread Pizza
My sister and I were supposed to go to Jonny's for lunch on Thursday as it was her Birthday, but when we got there the kitchen wasn't open, just the ice cream part. So we decided to do it next week.
Instead I went home and made myself an Air Fryer French Bread Pizza using a leftover ciabatta I had in the freezer. It is a fabulous recipe, sized perfectly for only two people and it cooks in the air fryer without heating up the kitchen! I had a simple salad on the side.
FRIDAY, June 7th - Spanish Cod
On Friday I had some Cod in the freezer which I wanted to use up and so I made myself a tasty dish of Spanish Cod that I served with some brown rice and steamed green beans.
I love cod done this way. It is lightly dusted with flour and lightly pan fried til golden brown on both sides with a few sprigs of thyme, and then served on a bed of a lush Spanish Tomato sauce made with good tomatoes, onions and chopped peppers. This is truly a beautiful dish. Healthy as well!
SATURDAY, July 8th - Easy Chicken Gyros
Had the family over to celebrate my sister's 65th Birthday. We dined on the grilled chicken from my Easy Chicken Gyros, done on my Cuisinart grill. We did not do the flat breads. Instead we had Baked Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, a mixed green salad, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and garlic bread.
For dessert we had a Traditional Victoria Sandwich Cake. Family times are the best of times!
So there you have it, my meals of the week. As you can see, once again, I ate really well. There was no waste and I got in a lovely variety of things. Some healthy and some not! Hopefully this will give you some ideas of how to plan some meals for yourself!
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
Here I am again, another Sunday, another meals of the week post! It is hard to believe that this was the last week of June and we are now into July. Halfway through the year! Summer is here however and we are moving on to eating lighter things, using fresh and local produce wherever possible.
This week was the first real week of Strawberry season here in Nova Scotia and as you will see, I have been enjoying them! I try only to ever eat and use strawberries in season, so when they are in season, I enjoy them as often as possible. They are still a bit on the expensive side at the moment but as the days progress, they will drop in price exponentially!
I started sharing my meals of the week with you in March of this year, as a way to keep a record of what I was eating and to inspire me to eat better. I never want to be that person who eats only frozen dinners, or restaurant meals, or from out of tin cans!
I love to cook and I love to eat. There is a huge temptation when you live all on your own to become somewhat lazy when it comes to eating, or to get into a rut when it comes to meals. I want to keep as exciting and delicious as possible, with a good measure of healthy thrown into the mix!
My motto is "Food doesn't have to be complicated to taste good!" I like food that is delicious and at the same time simple to make and uncomplicated. I had more than my share of complicated cooking when I worked at the Manor. Don't get me wrong. I like fancy sometimes, but generally, as a rule, I like to keep things simple.
And with that in mind, here are the simple meals I cooked for myself for the last week of June. I did eat out once, and I had dinner at my sister's twice. For those occasions I have endeavored to show you something comparable!
If you are a person who lives on their own, or perhaps are a couple of empty nesters, I hope that I can inspire you to want to also cook simple and delicious meals for yourself as well!!
SUNDAY, June 25th - Dinner at my sister's
Most Sundays I have Sunday Dinner at my sisters. This week was no different. My sister cooked her usual pot roast which she served with a variety of vegetables and gravy. The photograph you see above is of my own recipe for Caramelized Onion Pot Roast. I can promise you that it is very good with a rich and bountiful gravy and juicy tender beef.
My father always looks for something sweet at the end of the meal. Most days my sister gives him either a small dish of ice cream or a bowl of sugar free jello with squirty cream on top. Last week in honor of Strawberry Season, we all got to enjoy a dish of Mom's Strawberry Shortcake. There was not a scrap left at the end. Seriously delicious!
I love Strawberry season.
MONDAY, June 26th - Easy Pork Schnitzel
After all of the indulgence of Sunday dinner I decided to have a really light supper on Monday. I made some Easy Pork Schnitzel which I enjoyed with a simple salad. Crispy coated tender and juicy pork, flash fried until golden brown on both sides and served with a lemon wedge for squeezing.
This delicious entrée goes very well with potatoes or rice. Homemade Spaetzle is also very nice with it. Especially if you make a tasty gravy on the side. I enjoyed this dish a few years ago in Austria and they served it with chips and a salad. Delicious!
TUESDAY, June 27th - Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwich
I kept things light again on Tuesday. The temperatures outside were really warm and I didn't feel like eating a whole awful lot. Salad appealed, but I needed something a it more substantial. I created a delicious open-faced, knife & fork Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwich. I used an artisanal garlic bread for the base and topped it with crisp streaky bacon, some grilled thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets that I had marinated in a Caesar Dressing, and some Caesar dressed romaine lettuce. A few shavings of Parmesan on top and a few crisp garlic croutons and dinner was ready!
I don't mind saying, this was most delicious!
WEDNESDAY, June 28th - Dinner Out with Dad
Most Wednesday nights I go out to dinner with my father and his friend Hazel. Some weeks my sister joins us. Most of the time we go to a local eatery called The Big Scoop. Most of the time we will have fish and chips, but this week we each chose something different. Hazel chose the special which was a Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry. Dad had a hot dog and chips. I had a turkey dinner. We were all very happy with our meals as we are most of the time.
I can't show you a photo of the stir fry that Hazel had, but she really enjoyed it. This photo I am sharing here is for a Cantonese Chicken Chop Suey that I make for myself from time to time. It boasts plenty of crisp tender vegetables, tender pieces of chicken and a delicious sauce. Everything is natural and nothing comes from a jar.
THURSDAY, June 29th - Spinach, Onion & Feta Oven Omelets
Once again something light. I tend to eat much lighter in the summer months. Eggs are often a supper which I enjoy. Sometimes its as simple as eggs on toast, but I am rather fond of these Oven Omelets. They are a delicious mix of chopped wilted spinach, sauteed onion and crumbled feta cheese. The recipe makes two and you bake them in small casserole/ramekins.
They are delicious and filling. Especially when served with some whole wheat toast points and a fresh Tomato Salad vinaigrette. Seriously tasty! That is a salad that I used to make when I worked at a hotel as the Pastry Chef, early on in my cooking career. Wow, that was about 48 years ago now! Time flies when you are having fun!
FRIDAY, June 30th - Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
This was my first time cooking Chicken Parmesan in the Air Fryer. I adapted a recipe I had found on Delish, downsizing it for just two servings. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I was a bit worried that the coating wouldn't be crispy, or the chicken juicy. All of my fears were unfounded. The coating wasn't dry in the least and it was full of flavor and that chicken was cooked to perfection!
I served it with some spaghetti that I had tossed together with a knob of butter, some seasoning, a bit of grated parmesan cheese and some parsley flakes. I actually used this method this time for cooking my pasta. It actually cooks perfectly and cooks much faster. It flies against everything I have ever been taught about cooking pasta! Who knew!
SATURDAY, July 1st - Canada Day BBQ at my sisters
Yesterday was Canada day and so we had a BBQ at my sister's place. Dan did burgers on the BBQ, my sister made her macaroni salad and we had a special dessert. The photo above is the recipe for my Smash Burgers. They are also a real favorite. It was really nice getting together with family.
I had brought over a Strawberry Pretzel Salad Dessert for afters. An empty dish was brought home! No surprise there!
Here are a few other things I cooked last week!
CHEDDAR CHEESE BREAD - This is easily the nicest loaf of bread I have ever made in my breadmaker. It was light and fluffy and had a beautiful crumb and delicious cheese flavor! I gave half the loaf to my sister. We are both connoisseurs of cheese bread!!
STRAWBERRY SPOON CAKE - Another thing I tried this week was this fabulous Strawberry Spoon Cake. It was really easy to make and tasted beautiful! I did make a bit of a pig of myself with it, I'm afraid. It was so, so, so good! A new favorite!
And there you have it my meals for the past week. I did try to eat a bit lighter and healthier this week, aside from the desserts, but we won't talk about that! haha Everything was delicious and simple with a minimum of waste! Fairly economical as well. I like that.
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
- 1/4 cup your favorite brand of creamy Caesar Salad dressing
- 1 1/2 TBS light olive oil
- 1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut horizontally into cutlets
- 2 (1/2 inch thick) slices of a good artisanal sour dough bread cut on the diagonal
- 4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked until crisp
- softened butter
- 2 cups of chopped romaine lettuce
- 3 TBS your favorite creamy Caesar salad dressing divided
- shaved parmesan cheese
- crisp garlic croutons (optional)
- lemon wedges to serve
Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup your favorite brand of creamy Caesar Salad dressing
- 1 1/2 TBS light olive oil
- 1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut horizontally into cutlets
- 2 (1/2 inch thick) slices of a good artisanal sour dough bread cut on the diagonal
- 4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked until crisp
- softened butter
- 2 cups of chopped romaine lettuce
- 3 TBS your favorite creamy Caesar salad dressing divided
- shaved parmesan cheese
- crisp garlic croutons (optional)
- lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- In a container large enough to hold the chicken, whisk together the Caesar salad dressing, olive oil, Dijon mustard and minced garlic for the chicken marinade. Add the chicken breast cutlets, turning to coat them completely in the marinade. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.
- When you are ready to cook the sandwiches, slice your bread diagonally into 2 1/2 inch thick slabs. Put your lettuce into a bowl. Cook your bacon and keep warm.
- Remove your chicken from the marinade, discarding any marinade left in the dish. Cook your chicken cutlets on a hot grill for about two minutes per side, until golden and cooked through. Keep warm.
- Toast your bread slices, lightly buttering them if desired. (I used a garlic loaf. Alternately you can rub the toasted sides with a clove of garlic to infuse flavor.) Place on two serving plates. Divide 1 TBS of the Caesar salad dressing between the two slices and spread it over top of the bread.
- Top each slice of bread with two slices of crisp bacon. Place two chicken cutlets on top of the bacon on each sandwich.
- Toss your lettuce with the remaining salad dressing and pile lightly on top of the chicken cutlets. Shave some Parmesan over top and serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing.
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