Hi lovelies!
I hope you had a fab week last week. Did you try any of the meals from the planner? I’d love to hear from you if you have!
So highlights from the meal plan below…definitely the fish burgers for both kids! A clear winner here and a double thumbs up. The mince and sweet potato stacks were also well received..amazing how a change in presentation can transform a pretty standard meal of mince and potatoes!! Anyway here it is:
Monday – Picnic tea
Why not try some mini pitta’s filled with tuna, cooked courgette and sweetcorn with a touch of mayo. Chop the courgette up into small pieces the same size as the sweetcorn. Cook the veg in boiling water and then drain. Now add the veg to some tinned tuna and mix all together with the mayo and then stuff into some pitta’s. I must admit i’m not a tinned tuna fan, (it’s probably the only thing I don’t eat!) but I suddenly realised I was inflicting my food tastes on my kids so I have now started to offer them tuna and they love it – oops!…on jacket potatoes, as tuna melts and in pitta’s! Wish I had offered them more of this earlier…healthy and cheap!
Tuesday – Cod Traybake
Another traybake!…these are so often featured in our weekly planner because, well, quite frankly they are quick and easy which is exactly what you want mid week! So here’s another variation for you. It’s cod with a coating of breadcrumbs and lemon zest and then these are roasted in the oven for about 20 mins with some sliced lemon, whole garlic cloves, broccoli, brussels sprouts and baby corn. I served this with sweet potato mash with some cooked chorizo stirred through it…yummy! You could do the same with maris piper potatoes too, it’s just that my kids seem to prefer sweet potato these days..i’m sure this phase will change but i’m rolling with it for now!
Wednesday – Potato and Sausage hash
For this you’ll need:
6 Turkey sausages
2 sweet potatoes or potatoes of your choice – peeled and diced
1 courgette – Quatered lenthways and then chopped
1 red onion – Roughly chopped
1 garlic clove – crushed
Handful of mushrooms – Sliced
Olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
First put the potato and onion onto a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the smoked paprika. Mix well so that the potatoes and onion are coated in the oil. Then bake in the oven at 180C for around 20 mins just to soften up a bit. While these are cooking in the oven cut around 6 sausages up into small pieces and gently fry on the hob, turning occasionally so they brown on all sides. Fry until nearly cooked through and then add the courgettes, mushrooms and garlic. Continue frying until everything is cooked. Now take the potatoes and onion out of the oven and tip into the sausage mix. Turn the heat down and then crack a couple of eggs over the mixture and pop the lid on for about 5 minutes. Once the eggs are done it’s ready to serve!
This is not the best photo! Apologies, but hopefully you get the idea!
Thursday – Mince and sweet potato stacks
This is my classic bolognaise sauce: onion, garlic, mince, stock cube, tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato pureee, bay leaves, mixed herbs, red wine, worcestershire sauce…
Fry the onion first, then add the garlic and the mince and brown. Once the mince is cooked through add the remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or so. The longer you leave this the tastier it becomes! You can add diced carrots and mushrooms into this too..I usually do! It bulks it out a bit and makes the mince go further!
While the mince is simmering away simply cut some sweet potato into rounds and roast in the oven for 30 mins or so until slightly crispy but cooked through.
Put a few rounds on the plate then layer with some mince and then top with a few more potatoes and serve with some crispy kale!
Done!
Friday – Chicken with a mushroom & bacon sauce
Start by frying some bacon lardons, finely chopped onion and some sliced mushrooms in a large frying pan and then take off and leave aside. There should be enough fat in the pan from the bacon but if it’s sticking add a little olive oil. In the same pan gently fry some chicken breasts, add a knob of butter and turn the chicken to brown on both sides. Once cooked through add the bacon, onion and mushrooms back into the pan and then stir in some creme fraiche with a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper to taste. You may not need any salt as the bacon should make it salty enough! Serve with rice to soak up the sauce and some green beans.
Saturday – Fish burgers
These went down so well with the kids…they both ate the entire burger! I thought they may be defeated by the size but they loved them. Usual breading of a fish fillet, so first dip a skinless cod fillet into flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs. Pop onto a tray and then bake in the oven for 20 mins or until the fish is cooked through. Then pop these into a bun with a bit of salad (omit if you have a child who won’t go near salad….err Alfie!) and either tartare sauce or ketchup! Serve with some potato wedges and what about some roasted beetroot crisps too?! Yum! Perfect weeked family food!
Sunday – Slow cooked lamb shanks
You might think a slow roast lamb shank is a bit of a wintery dish but you can lighten this up with some couscous and greens or even serve with some Jersey Royal potatoes and salad. It’s yummy I promise! Both the recipe for the lamb and the couscous is below. Hope you like!
See you all next week!! xx
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