Another Sunday, another Meals of the week post. The post where I catch you up with all of the things which I have cooked for myself over the previous week. I may live on my own, but as you can see, I eat very well.
I love doing these meals of the week posts. I know that I, myself, on occasions need a bit of inspiration when it comes to meal planning and if I can help anyone to do that for themselves or their family that makes me very happy.
I try to keep everything as nutritious as possible, and I try to cook my own meals from scratch most of the time. Readymade food is usually not all that good for you, being loaded with salt, sugar and fat. I do not believe it is meant to be consumed on a regular business.
I, like many seniors, live within a budget so what I eat also has to fit within that structure. It is getting more and more difficult to do, but it can be done with a little bit of planning ahead.
I also have my daughter staying with me at the moment while she recovers from a major surgery. That does present a bit of a challenge as I try to tempt her appetite with things that are simple and yet delicious without being overly rich or complicated.
She is spending quite a bit of time sleeping at the moment and isn't really all that hungry, although she is drinking plenty and soup seems to be a favourite meal, always a good thing.
These are my main meals, not my breakfasts and suppers. Breakfast will usually be something simple like a protein shake. I buy my protein powder here. They have loads of flavors. The Orange Cream Pop is my favorite. Sometimes I will have toast, and other times Oatmeal or my homemade granola. (Usually with some plain yogurt and fruit.)
My lunches will be very simple. Sometimes a salad and some fruit, sometimes a sandwich, occasionally soup, and sometimes a bowl of cereal and milk, or some cheese and crackers.
In any case, here are the meals of the week I enjoyed over the past seven days! I hope you will be inspired to want to cook a few of them for yourself! Delicious, nutritious and economical for the most part!
.jpg "French Onion Cottage Pie")
SUNDAY, October 18th - French Onion Cottage Pie
We were not able to get out to my sister's again because of Eileen's slow recovery, so I decided to make us a comfort meal we could hopefully both enjoy. I cooked the meat in the slow-cooker the night before. tender and juicy beef, falling apart and melt in the mouth. I only made two small individual ones though, freezing the extra meat for another time.
This is always so delicious. You get tender chunks of beef in a delicious gravy at the bottom, topped with peas, carrots, and corn and then a thatch of buttery Parmesan mash gilding the top. So delicious.
I was grateful I had made only the two servings. Eileen was only able to eat a small portion of hers. She did eat some of the gravy with some bread though, which was good. I had made a small salad to enjoy with it. She ate some of that as well. Baby steps.
MONDAY, October 18th - Monterrey Chicken Quesadillas
I tried tempting her appetite again with these delicious Quesadillas. We both really love Mexican food flavours and I know she really likes Quesadillas.
The filling in these is delicious and never disappoints. Shredded rotisserie chicken (I used canned), crumbled bacon, chopped onion, plenty of cheddar cheese and some spicy sweetness from the use of BBQ sauce.Then there is the crispness of the flour tortilla shell. Brushing them with butter prior to baking ensures that they turn out crisp and golden brown and deliciously buttery flavored.
And there you have it, these were my Meals of the Week for the past week. I think we ate pretty well. What do you think? None of it was very complicated at all, and everything was homemade as well as within budget! I do hope that you will be inspired to cook some of these tasty meals for yourself and your loved ones!
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
- 2 medium sweet eating apples (I used Pink Ladies)
- 1 TBS finely chopped dried cranberries
- 3 TBS maple syrup, divided
- 4 TBS rolled oats
- 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 TBS butter
- 1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a small baking dish. (You want to be able to hold the apples upright without them falling over.)
- Wash and dry your apples. Using a sharp measuring spoon, or apple corer, remove the cores from the centre of the apples, leaving the base intact. I push down with the corer to where I want it to go and then use the measuring spoon to remove the apple. (You do not want to core them all the way through, so be careful.)
- You will want about a 1 inch wide cavity for filling. Lightly score horizontally around the center of each apple (about 1/2 to 1 inch down from the top). (This helps to keep them intact so that they don't burst open when baking. The apple will settle down when you take it out of the oven and the score will be almost undetectable.)
- Mix together the dried cranberries, oats, 1/2 of the butter, 1 TBS of the maple syrup and the nutmeg.
- Put a cinnamon stick in the centre of each apple and fill around the sides with the oatmeal mixture. Put them into the baking dish. Dot the tops with the remaining butter. (Dot it over the filling in the main.)
- Whisk together the remaining maple syrup and the boiling water. Pour around the apples in the dish. Cover tightly with aluminium foil. (This will form a lovely sauce for the apples.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the apples are cooked through and tender.
- Remove from the oven and spoon any juices in the dish over top. Serve warm.
Maple & Cranberry Baked Apples
Natures comfort food. All natural and delightful served for breakfast or dessert. We like cream with them, but custard is also very nice, as is ice cream.
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet eating apples (I used Pink Ladies)
- 1 TBS finely chopped dried cranberries
- 3 TBS maple syrup, divided
- 4 TBS rolled oats
- 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 TBS butter
- 1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a small baking dish.
- Wash and dry your apples. Using a sharp measuring spoon, or apple corer, remove the cores from the centre of the apples, leaving the base intact. I push down with the corer to where I want it to go and then use the measuring spoon to remove the apple.
- You will want about a 1 inch wide cavity for filling. Lightly score horizontally around the center of each apple (about 1/2 to 1 inch down from the top). This helps to keep them intact so that they don't burst open when baking.
- Mix together the dried cranberries, oats, 1/2 of the butter, 1 TBS of the maple syrup and the nutmeg.
- Put a cinnamon stick in the centre of each apple and fill around the sides with the oatmeal mixture. Put them into the baking dish. Dot the tops with the remaining butter.
- Whisk together the remaining maple syrup and the boiling water. Pour around the apples in the dish. Cover tightly with aluminium foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the apples are cooked through and tender.
- Remove from the oven and spoon any juices in the dish over top. Serve warm.
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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