Hi everyone and welcome to my Sunday Meals of the Week post! The one where I share all of the deliciousness that I have enjoyed as my main meals over the past seven days. I include recipe links and menu suggestions as well.
This week started off with a Thanksgiving Dinner, so I had leftovers to use up in an inventive a way as possible. I also enjoyed a meal out with my father midweek, so I have included a "like" recipe for that occasion, so that you could cook it for yourself if you wanted to!
I have been blogging here in The English Kitchen since 2009. I had another blog that I used to share my recipes on that I had been writing for years. I also included my everyday thoughts about life etc. on that one, but I decided in 2009 that I wanted to have a blog that was only food and cooking related. That is when The English Kitchen was born. I was still working and cooking at the Manor then!
A lot has changed since this blog began. I am now living on my own and back in Canada, these past five years. I am no stranger to change, having dealt with many changes and challenges through the years. I have gone from cooking for a family of 7 people down to cooking for just myself.
SUNDAY, October 12th - Thanksgiving Dinner at my Sister's place
Sunday was our Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner at my sister's place. We had the usual Roast Turkey, with gravy, My mother's Potato and Bread Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, Squash, mashed potatoes and Broccoli. For dessert we had Mom's Apple Pie.
This was delicious and of course the best part was spending the time with my family. I came home with some leftovers to enjoy as well! It is also nice that we still use mom's recipes to make many of our favorite sides. It's like she is still with us.
When I lived in the U.K. I always celebrated Thanksgiving in November as the Americans do as it was much easier to get a turkey then. I felt that it just got the Holiday Season off to a good start, but when amongst the Roman's you do what the Roman's do!
MONDAY, October 13th - Cider Glazed Chicken Thighs
I had some chicken thighs in the refrigerator that had previously been frozen and so I needed to use them up pronto. I made Cider Glazed Chicken Thighs. Tender and juicy, chicken thighs are seasoned and browned and then simmered in a lush Apple Cider Glaze.
I served this with some rice and steamed veggies on the side. This was a really delicious meal that I really enjoyed! The chicken was juicy and tender and that sauce was amazing.
TUESDAY, October 14th - Honey-Mustard, Ham, Potato and Egg Bake
I used up some of the ham on Tuesday to make myself a simple supper. Honey-Mustard, Ham, Potato and Egg Bake. A bit of a breakfast for dinner make. I love breakfast for dinner!
This involved frying up some ham and onions, adding some honey mustard to them. Frying some fresh potatoes, and again adding a bit of honey mustard. Mixing the two together. Making a couple divots in the middle, dropping an egg into each hollow and then baking to crispy potato, runny egg perfection. Of course you can bake the eggs to your desired doneness. You can also double this to make more servings very easily.
I enjoyed this with some salad and a cheeky slice of toast on the side. You just have to have toast to dip into the eggs don't you! This was fabulously simple and delicious!
WEDNESDAY, October 15th - Dinner out with Dad
On Wednesday my sister and I went out for dinner with my father to a local place called The Big Scoop. We don't want him driving himself and he will go regardless. Sometimes we just drop him off but this time we stayed and had dinner as well. They had a Fish & Chips special on. Two pieces of deep fried haddock with chips and coleslaw for $14.99. How could we resist. We love fish and chips in our family. It is our dinner out of choice most of the time! As you can see it was very good. All four of us had them. I could only manage to eat one piece of the fish and a few chips. I brought the rest home for my next-door neighbor. We all enjoyed it very much.
In it's place I am sharing my own recipe for Beer Battered Fish. This is how I learned to do them in the U.K. A lovely crisp beer batter and perfectly cooked fish. You can't go wrong. Is such a great recipe that Canadian Hello Magazine used it along with a few other of my recipes one year in an article based on British Food. Yes, I was honored.
THURSDAY, October 16th - Turkey & Ham Pie
I am about turkey and hammed out. I decided to use the rest of what I had in a recipe that I knew I would be unable to resist and that freezes well. The original recipe is for a Chicken and Ham Pie, but I adapted it to use leftover cooked Turkey.
What you have here is three layers of flaky pastry with a layer of ham filling on the bottom and chicken filling on the top. The pastry goes on the top, bottom and in-between the ham and chicken fillings. Or in this case turkey. It is a quick and very simple pie o make and it is delicious!
I enjoyed some of this with some steamed veggies. I shared some with my next-door neighbor and then I froze the rest of it in single serving slices to enjoy at another time. It never hurts to have something like this in the freezer that you can haul out when you just don't feel like cooking.
FRIDAY, October 17th - Parmesan Chicken
I had chicken again. Because it had been previously frozen and needed using up. I had bought some meat in an online pack and when it came it had all been previously frozen so I couldn't refreeze it and had to cook it. I think it was frozen when they sent it, but it had thawed by the time I got it, so I ended up having to cook it all within a few days' time. Lesson learned. I won't be ordering again.
I made Parmesan Chicken. Chicken breast, tenderized and coated with a honey mustard butter mixture and rolled in a mix of Panko and Parmesan cheese. Baked to juicy perfection. I served with a nice homemade Caesar Salad and some onion roasted potatoes. Those recipes are also included.
SATURDAY, October 18th - Pork Chops with Cream Gravy
I took a pork chop out of the freezer on this day and had myself a Pork Chop with Cream gravy for my supper. I did use a pot of Instant Mashed Potatoes. I buy the Idaho brand, and they are quite good. They are perfect for someone who is on their own and are basically just dehydrated mashed potatoes.
I love this pork chop recipe. It always tastes so good. The chops are tender and juicy and that gravy is delicious. I enjoyed with some salad that needed using up. It made a nice change from all of the chicken and ham I have eaten this week! (I got a big bag of chopped romaine lettuce this week at the Superstore for 99 cents and have been enjoying lots of salad. How could I resist such a bargain!)
And there you have it! My Meals of the Week for the past seven days! Although the week was heavy on poultry and ham, I did manage to use up most of what I had left from the holiday dinners. I used it in sandwiches as well. Isn't that always the way after you have a big holiday dinner? By the time you use everything up, you are tired of it all!
I ate pretty good however and kept within my budget, except for the meal out. But my dad paid for that, so it was all good!
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
You may be asking yourself, "Why only two chocolate chip cookies?" The answer is simple. I cannot be trusted with more than that. Yes. It's true. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, I AM the original cookie monster.
When the children were growing up, I always made sure they had fresh baked cookies several times a week. I had grown up with store bought cookies and so I wanted to make sure my children had fresh baked. I swear the first sheet pan of them out of the oven magically disappeared! 😟 I learned through the years that not even frozen cookies were safe from the Cookie Monster. If anything they were even more enjoyed. 'Nuff said.
When I saw this cookie recipe which makes only TWO BIG CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, I just had to bake them! The original recipe comes from a book I have entitled The One Bowl Baker, by Stephanie Simmons. It is the first recipe I have baked from the book and if it is any indication of the others, I will tell you straight up, run, don't walk to your local bookstore and snap this book up!
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, at room temperature
- 3 TBS (45g) granulated sugar
- 3 TBS (42g) packed soft light brown sugar
- 2 TBS (30ml) beaten egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (93g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- generous 1/2 cup (110g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. (It is imperative that the butter be at room temperature, the egg also.)
- Sift the flour, soda and salt together. Stir this into the creamed mixture until well combined. (This is to make sure the soda is equally distributed in the flour.)
- Stir in the chocolate chips. (Yes, it is a lot but trust me it works. Another time you may want to cut back on the chocolate chips and add nuts or raisins or both in their place.)
- Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes. (This is important to the success of this cookie.)
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a medium sized baking tray with some baking parchment. (Not totally necessary to line the baking sheet, but I always do just in case.)
- Divide the chilled dough into two, and shape into two evenly sized balls. (I weighed out the dough and then cut it in half. It worked out to 6 ounces or 180g each.)
- Place well-spaced apart on the baking sheet. Press down gently to flatten slightly. (You want to make sure they don't touch each other when baking. You also want them to bake evenly and not be raw in the middle, hence the slight pressing down.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes until light golden brown and crispy around the edges. (You can freeze the cookie dough balls if you wish and bake from frozen. They will take 16 to 19 minute to bake straight from the freezer.)
- Leave to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool slightly. (Bear in mind they will continue to bake on the heat of the baking sheet for a short time after removing from the oven.)
- Dig in while still warm. You're welcome! (An ice-cold glass of milk works very well with these!)
- Don't substitute butter for shortening in a recipe which calls for shortening. shortening has a higher melting point, which means it doesn't liquify as quickly, and does a better job of holding the ingredients together. High butter cookie = a cookie that spreads.
- Grease your baking sheets only if the recipe requests you to do so. Most cookies will not stick unless they contain large amounts of butter or sugar.
- Make sure you preheat your oven before baking. If the oven is not hot enough the fat in the cookies will melt before the other ingredients have time to set up.
- Use flat cookie sheets without sides for even baking.
- Place cookies at least 2-inches apart on baking sheets to allow for spreading.
- Use a sheet of baking parchment or a light spritz of cooking spray to grease your cookie sheets. It's not necessary to repeat this step for every batch but do wipe off any crumbs or sugar fm the surface before adding the next batch.
- Place your cookie sheets in the middle of the oven.
- Make sure the sides of your cookie sheets don't touch the edges of the oven so that heat can circulate evenly and properly.
- Pay particular attention to bake times. An extra minute or two can make a big difference to the end result since cookies are for the most part quite small and bake quickly. Always aim to underbake rather than overbake. Cookies do continue to bake after you remove them from the oven.
Two Really Big Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two deliciously large chocolate chip cookies. One for you and one for gifting. Nobody needs to know you ate the whole thing. It can be our little secret.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, at room temperature
- 3 TBS (45g) granulated sugar
- 3 TBS (42g) packed soft light brown sugar
- 2 TBS (30ml) beaten egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (93g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- generous 1/2 cup (110g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Sift the flour, soda and salt together. Stir this into the creamed mixture until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a medium sized baking tray with some baking parchment.
- Divide the chilled dough into two, and shape into two evenly sized balls.
- Place well spaced apart on the baking sheet. Press down gently to flatten slightly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes until light golden brown and crispy around the edges.
- Leave to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool slightly.
- Dig in while still warm. You're welcome!
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 had my fill of turkey and ham this week. With having had a roast ham dinner on Saturday and Turkey on Sunday for Thanksgiving, I have had more than my fair share of leftovers to deal with. Today I wanted to make something completely different.
I had some boneless skinless chicken breasts to use, and I turned to one of my Taste of Home yearbooks to find something new to do with them. This recipe comes from the 1996 yearbook and is attributed to Schelby Thompson of Delaware. I used to love buying Taste of Home Magazine back in the day. I never missed an issue and collected many of the recipes. I have bought it since returning from the U.K and I have to say it is not the same as it used to be and I don't really enjoy it like I used to.
Having said that, this recipe really appealed to me on several level. Not only did I have everything that I needed to use to make it in the house. (It uses very few ingredients and simple ones at that), but it also looked very quick and easy to make!
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were each the size of my hand.)
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted (I used salted butter.)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (Use a good quality Dijon for the best flavor.)
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Good old Lea & Perrins.)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs (I used Panko crumbs.)
- 1/4 cup (23g) coarsely grated Parmesan cheese (If you can, grate your own using the large holes on a box grater.)
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Line a small baking tray with aluminum foil and spray with a bit of nonstick cooking spray. (This makes for a very easy cleanup)
- Whisk the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and Dijon mustard together in a shallow bowl. (Use a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer without folding.)
- Whisk the breadcrumbs and the grated Parmesan cheese together in another shallow bowl. (Use a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer without folding.)
- Poke the chicken breasts all over with a fork to tenderize them. Pat them dry with a piece of paper toweling. (Patting dry helps the coating, etc. to stick better.)
- Working with one at a time, roll them first in the butter mixture and then the crumb mixture, coating them well with each. (Use your hands to pat the crumbs on and then once you get them onto the baking sheet, you can sprinkle any leftovers over top.)
- Place onto the baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining butter mixture over top. (It will melt into the crumbs.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the juices run clear and the chicken is golden brown. The temperature should measure 165*F/74*C on a meat thermometer.
- Serve immediately with your favorite sides.
Parmesan Chicken
A deliciously savory coating on tender and juicy chicken. Easy enough to serve on a weeknight, but special enough to serve to company as well. The recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup (23g) coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Line a small baking tray with aluminum foil and spray with a bit of nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and Dijon mustard together in a shallow bowl.
- Whisk the breadcrumbs and the grated Parmesan cheese together in another shallow bowl.
- Poke the chicken breasts all over with a fork to tenderize them. Pat them dry with a piece of paper toweling.
- Working with one at a time, roll them first in the butter mixture and then the crumb mixture, coating them well with each.
- Place onto the baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining butter mixture over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the juices run clear and the chicken is golden brown. The temperature should measure 165*F/74*C on a meat thermometer.
- Serve immediately with your favorite sides.
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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