Well, its Sunday and you know what that means. A recap of all the meals I cooked or ate over the previous week. My Meals of the Week. I am really enjoying gathering these meals together each week. It helps me to plan my meals for the week ahead and helps me to keep a note of exactly what and how I am eating.
It is all to tempting when you are a person who lives all on your own to eat out of cans, takeaways or frozen meals. My mother lived on her own from the age of 53 until she passed away at the age of 87. She always cooked for herself. She never ate out unless it was with other people. Occasionally she would treat herself to a TV dinner buying them when they were on special. She liked the turkey one. No surprise there as I love turkey also, just not in a TV dinner.
Mom always enjoyed feeding herself healthy meals for the most part. She also enjoyed a glass of red wine every night and a small dish of ice cream. Oh how I miss her.
I am taking a leaf from her book, and making sure that I eat a decent meal every day of the week, and I am enjoying bringing you along for the ride. Hopefully you will be inspired to do the same and maybe even get some new ideas from what I am cooking for your own meals!
Here is what I cooked myself over the past week. (Where I have eaten out, I have provided a similar option so that you can cook it yourself.) Let me know what you think!
SUNDAY, May 14th - Mother's Day
This was Mother's day and I was treated to a dinner out by my daughter Eileen and Son In Law Tim. Tim's mother was also there. We went to Angie's, which is a restaurant very close to me, and we both had the turkey dinner, small eaters size.
Of course it was not like my own Homemade Turkey Dinner (this one is sized for two people), but it was very good. Eileen had the meatloaf and Tim had his usual fish and chips. For dessert Jean (Tim's mom) and I split a slice of Turtle Cheesecake. Oh my but it was some good!
MONDAY, May 15th - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
I just wanted something simple for my supper on Monday so I made myself a tasty Grilled Cheese Sandwich and some crispy baked potato wedges, and some coleslaw on the side.
I set aside half of the potato wedges to serve on another day and enjoyed the ones I did on the day very much. That is the good thing about them. You can reheat them very easily. It was a delicious dinner for sure!
TUESDAY, May 16th - 5-Minute Steak Dinner for One
I had been to the grocery store and was lucky enough one day a couple of weeks ago and scored two nice strip loin steaks marked down as they were on their sell-by date. I froze them.
On Tuesday I thawed one of them out to make a recipe that I had seen on Food 52 for a delicious steak dinner for one, which had a fabulous sounding sauce to serve with it. Of course it had green beans in the recipe as well, and I just heated up the leftover potato wedges from the day before. DELICIOUS!
WEDNESDAY May 17th - Dinner out with Dad
Wednesday nights I usually go out for dinner with my father and his friends. Dad wanted to treat me this week as I had taken him to the Doctors up country on Monday for his check up.
Dad and I both had the fish and chips. Hazel had the clams and chips. Dad had apple pie with whipped cream for dessert, Hazel had her usual Chocolate Fudge Sundae and I had a small bowl of ice cream. I usually get the kiddies cone without the cone. It is soft serve ice cream. The fish and chips were okay this week, the fish was a bit over cooked, but they were very busy with a large birthday party in attendance.
If you are wanting a delicious way to cook fish that is always perfectly cooked and never day, why not try out my recipe for Baked Haddock with a Buttery Cracker Topping. This is quite simply one of the most delicious ways to cook fish and it always turned out perfectly.
THURSDAY, May 18th - Cacio e Pepe
On Thursday I was in the mood for pasta and so I made myself some Cacio e Pepe. It was a dish that I had wanted to try out for a very long time. I downsized it to feed two people. I had the leftovers for breakfast on Friday.
Does anyone else out there enjoy leftovers for breakfast? I love having leftover pizza or mac and cheese for breakfast. Cacio e Pepe is a simple pasta dish that uses only the pasta, some of the pasta cooking water, some cheese, olive oil and plenty of pepper. I have seen some people add butter also. It is simple and its delicious. I enjoyed this along with a tossed salad. (I was wishing I had garlic bread, lol)
FRIDAY, May 19th - Tuna Burger
On Friday I really felt like having a Tuna Burger. I have been making Tuna Burgers since I was a teenager. They are really simple to make and incredibly delicious. I always enjoy them with a bit of cheese melted on top, served in a toasted bun with some lettuce and tomato. Lemon Mayonnaise is also very nice spread on the bun, or even tartar sauce.
You could serve these with potato chips on the side if you wished, or salad, even coleslaw. I always find them to be very filling so am happy with just the burger.
SATURDAY, May 20th - Chicken Tikka Masala
When I lived in the UK, Saturday nights were usually the nights that people enjoyed a nice curry supper or a Chinese. This week I was craving curry and so I made a small batch of my favorite Chicken Tikka Masala. My sister stopped by after I had cooked it and she said, it smells fantastic in here, what are you cooking? This recipe is from one of my favorite chef's Tamasin Day-Lewis and is a simple to make and incredibly tasty version of the UK's favorite curry. Not too spicy, creamy and delicious!
I enjoyed with some steamed basmati rice and some mango chutney on the side. I was wishing for some Peshwari Naan bread. Oh how I miss Peshwari Naan. It is my favorite of all the Naan Breads. It has a filling of coconut, raisins and almonds. I will have to try the recipe linked and see how it compares. Watch this space.
And those were my meals of the week for this past week. As you can see I ate very well. I even managed to eat fish twice!
I organized my larder on Thursday. It was in a right mess. If you can't see what you have you can't use it. I moved all of my cans and jars out to the attached garage to my house. It stays a pretty level temperature in there. Not too hot. Not too cold. And its dark. Now I can see everything and I am sure to use it up. I think I have a bazillion cans of tomatoes and creamed corn. DUH! I won't need to buy any of that for a while!
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If you are like me, you will be a fan of quick and easy meals. Meals that don't really require a lot of effort. If it is a meal that basically cooks itself with minimal effort on your part, so much the better!
I can have days where I know I am going to be too busy to really cook. On days like that the slow cooker/crockpot is my best friend. I know that I can just throw something into it and get on with my day, no fuss, no muss.
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups (415g) tomato salsa (You can use mild or hot, depending on your family's tastes.)
- 1 1/2 TBS dry Taco Seasoning
- 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
- 1/2 cup (138g) salsa con queso
- half of a large bag of salted corn tortilla chips
- 1/2 cup (45g) grated jack cheese
- Toppings as desired (chopped spring onion, sliced black olives, chopped peppers, sour cream, etc.)
If you are as big a fan of Tex Mex flavors as I am, you might also enjoy the following:
TEX MEX SMASHED POTATOES - Potatoes boiled in the skin, smashed down on a baking tray. Drizzled with oil and Tex Mex seasonings, and then baked until golden brown and crispy edged. Delicious served with sour cream and chopped spring onions!
QUICK AND EASY BAKED CHICKEN TACOS - These are fabulous. Crispy corn tortilla taco shells, filled with a layer of refried beans, a delicious spicy, honey sweetened chicken filling. Topped with cheese and baked until everything is heated through and the cheese is all melty. Serve hot with your favorite taco fixings. You can actually prepare the chicken filling ahead of time, ready to fill and bake your tacos when you are ready to cook them. Delicious!
Crock Pot Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups (415g) tomato salsa (You can use mild or hot, depending on your family's tastes.)
- 1 1/2 TBS dry Taco Seasoning
- 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
- 1/2 cup (138g) salsa con queso
- half of a large bag of salted corn tortilla chips
- 1/2 cup (45g) grated jack cheese
- Toppings as desired (chopped spring onion, sliced black olives, chopped peppers, sour cream, etc.)
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker. Sprinkle all over with the taco seasoning.
- Whisk together 1 cup (275g)of the tomato salsa and the chicken broth. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 hour.
- Uncover and add the remaining salsa. Cover and cook on low for two hours.
- Uncover. Using two forks shred the chicken. Stir in the con queso. Recover and cook for a further 30 - 45 minutes.
- Divide your tortilla chips between two plates. Divide the chicken mixture between the two, scatter half of the cheese on top of each and serve immediately with your favorite nacho toppings.
- 10 ounces (300g) boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast meat
- 1 1/2 TBS light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- 1 green chili, seeded, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp hot chili powder (use less if you don't like things really spicy)
- 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin seed, toast in a dry pan and grind
- 1/2 TBS dark soft brown sugar
- 1/2 TBS tomato paste (tomato puree)
- 1 cup (200g) tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot chicken stock
- 5 dried curry leaves
- scant half cup (100ml) of thick Greek yogurt
- 1 TBS heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch (corn flour)
- 1 TBS roughly chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
If you are a fan of curry you might also like to explore these other curries that I have cooked in The English Kitchen:
CRISPY CHICKEN KATSU CURRY - Not quite an Indian curry but more of an Asian curry. Crispy breaded and fried chicken breasts served with a deliciously spiced sweet sauce drizzled over top. Very nice served with rice and a scattering of chopped green onions on top.
SWEET AND EASY CURRIED CHICKEN - No fuss, no muss, no sauce. Just a tasty, sweet glaze with a hint of curry, honey and orange. It's a simple thing really, and the oven does all the work. This is an old family favorite.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 10 ounces (300g) boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast meat
- 1 1/2 TBS light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- 1 green chili, seeded, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 fat garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp hot chili powder (use less if you don't like things really spicy)
- 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin seed, toast in a dry pan and grind
- 1/2 TBS dark soft brown sugar
- 1/2 TBS tomato paste (tomato puree)
- 1 cup (200g) tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot chicken stock
- 5 dried curry leaves
- scant half cup (100ml) of thick Greek yogurt
- 1 TBS heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch (corn flour)
- 1 TBS roughly chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
Instructions
- Cut your chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.
- Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large heavy based skillet. Add the onion and a bit of salt. Cook gently, without browning, for about 15 minutes. Add the chopped chili, grated ginger, and garlic. Cook further for a few minutes until very fragrant. Add the spices and cook a few minutes longer and then scrape out into a bowl. Set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the chicken pieces. Brown on both sides. Add the spice mixture back to the pan, stirring to coat the chicken.
- Add the sugar, tomato paste, tomatoes, hot stock and curry leaves. Grind over a bit of pepper and bring to the boil.
- Reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Warm the cream and whisk in the cornstarch, cook stirring for a minute, then remove from the heat and whisk in the yogurt. Whisk this into the chicken and sauce along with half of the chopped cilantro/coriander.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining coriander.
Dandelion Honey: A Sweet and Nutritious Alternative to Traditional Honey
- 250-300 dandelion blooms
- 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) water
- 1 orange, unpeeled and sliced
- 1 lemon, unpeeled and sliced
- 4 cups + 3 TBS (800g) granulated sugar
- Use dandelion honey in moderation, as it is still a sweetener and can add calories to dishes.
- Store dandelion honey in an airtight container in a cool, dark place to prevent it from crystallizing.
- Experiment with different flavor combinations to find your favorite way to use dandelion honey.
If you are a fan of preserving, you might also be interested in the following preserves I have made in my kitchen:
HONEY & STRAWBERRY JAM - This is a small batch recipe making 2 delicious half pint jars of jam. This is the perfect recipe for the smaller family and with strawberry season right round the corner is sure to come in handy.
SPICED PEAR CHUTNEY - This is one of my all time favorite chutneys. This is the perfect balance of sweet, spicy and sour and works very well when served with meats and cheeses, making it the perfect chacuterie board addition!
Dandelion Honey
Ingredients
- 250-300 dandelion blooms
- 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) water
- 1 orange, unpeeled and sliced
- 1 lemon, unpeeled and sliced
- 4 cups + 3 TBS (800g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Place the dandelion blooms in a large non-reactive saucepan along with the water, and the sliced citrus fruit. Bring to a simmer and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, cover with a tea towel and leave to stand at least 12 hours or overnight.
- When you go to make the honey make sure you have some sterilized jars and lids read to go.
- Strain the dandelion mixture through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Discard any solids.
- Add the sugar and stir. Bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. (see note)
- Pour into sterile jars and seal.
- Store honey in a cool and dark place. It will keep for 6 - 12 months.
Notes
To test for doneness: Put 2-3 teaspoons of the honey on a ceramic plate and leave to cool briefly. If the honey is too runny, you can continue to boil the honey until the desired consistency is reached. If it is too thick, you can add a little boiled water, stirring it in well.
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