Meals of the Week, October 1st to 7th 2023

 

 

 

Well, here we are with another Sunday Meals of the Week Post!  On Sundays I like to do a bit of a roundup of all the delicious main meals I have cooked, eaten and enjoyed over the past 7 days. This helps me to stay accountable and to be more aware of what I am eating, and hopefully it gives you, my readers some inspiration for what to cook yourselves!

My whole life I have been cooking and feeding other people.  First my family of five hungry children and then as a personal chef for another family.  

Now I find myself, after having lived with others my whole life, living all on my lonesome.  This is something new for me.  I have never been totally on my own. I went from my father's house to my husband's house, back to my mother's and then to another husband's house. There has always been someone to share and cook for.  

This is something new for me. I know that the temptation is great, when you are living on your own, to resort to eating ready meals and  takeaways,  or cereal and sandwiches.  It would be really easy to become a bit lazy and just forget about cooking altogether.  I don't think that would be very healthy however. Not physically and not mentally.

Surely I am worth the effort it takes to make a meal, even if it is just for me! That is my determination. To try to cook myself a decent and delicious meal from scratch every day as much as possible. Whenever it comes a day that I can no longer cook, that will be a very sad day for me indeed.

I like to share what I have cooked with all of your and hopefully inspire you to want to cook some delicious meals for yourself or for your families.  If you have any questions about anything I have cooked don't hesitate to ask and, in the meantime,  I hope you will sit back enjoy looking at the fruits of my labors!!

  

 

 

 

 

SUNDAY, October 1st - Sunday Dinner at Cindy's

On Sundays, I usually go to my sister's for dinner. My brother was still down visiting so we had a delicious Roast Chicken Dinner with roasted vegetables on the side.  This recipe I am showing you is my recipe for Another Roast Chicken.  For this one you simply spatchcock a whole chicken and then roast it on a bed of vegetables. Garlic, lemon and thyme are used to flavor the chicken and the vegetables underneath get all nicely flavored from the chicken juices.  

My sister usually roasts her chicken in her air fryer. She uses  recipe she found on Spend with Pennies. It always turns out really good.

MONDAY, October 2nd - Family Dinner at mine

Monday was my brother's last day with us on his recent visit from Ottawa. Everyone gathered at my place for a simple supper.  My father doesn't like anything complicated but he loves Shake & Bake Chicken. We all do to be honest.  We had that with Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, a mix of vegetables and some salad  I made the Easy Amish Breakfast Biscuits. 

Everyone enjoyed it all, but the piece de resistance was the dessert. I made TikTok Cinnamon Roll Hack cinnamon rolls.  They are so yummy. My brother walked all the way home from my place to my sisters as he wanted to burn off the calories.  More power to him!  I admire him for that!

TUESDAY, October 3rd - Baked Chili Cheese Dogs  

I had my father again for supper on Tuesday as Cindy and Dan were taking my brother to the airport.  Dad loves beans and weiners. Its his favorite meal. He is a man with very simple tastes.  He also loves chili, so I thought I would combine all three of those loves and make him my Baked Chili Cheese Dogs.

I cooked only 1/2 recipe as there were only two of us. Hot dogs are wrapped in a refrigerator pizza or biscuit dough, along with some string cheese. The rolls are brushed with a garlic and herb butter and then baked in the oven on top of some canned chili (with beans of course.)  This is quick, easy and delicious.  I had a salad on the side and for dessert we had sugar free jello/jelly with some squirty cream on top.

WEDNESDAY, October 4th - Dinner out with Dad

Normally on Wednesday nights I have dinner out with my father and his friend Hazel. We go to a local place called the Big Scoop.  Usually I will have a small turkey dinner or fish and chips.  This week I decided to really splurge and I ordered their House Steak.  It was quite expensive at $18.99. I ordered onions and mushrooms on the side for an additional $5.50 I figured what the heck. In for a penny in for a pound.

I really enjoyed it. It was perfectly cooked (medium rare) and quite tender.  Sometimes you order steak in a restaurant and they ruin it.  This was really good. I skipped dessert, but I did enjoy every mouthful of my steak. It also came with chips, coleslaw, and vegetables. It was a rare treat for me!

The photo is of my Herbed Garlic Steak and Mushrooms. It is fabulously tasty as well. I always like this with a baked potato and a salad.

THURSDAY, October 5th - Cauliflower Chowder

Thursday felt like a soup kind of a day and so I made a small pot of Cauliflower Chowder.  This is a hearty supper soup that always goes down a real treat.  Filled with lovely chunks of celery, carrot, cauliflower and potato, bits of crispy bacon and creamy Pepper Boursin cheese. Rich, filling and very satisfying it is one of my favorite soups.

You could enjoy this with crusty bread if you wish, but I always like to enjoy it with some buttery crackers crumbled over top. My boss at the Manor thought crumbling crackers into your soup was very "common."  That's me.  Common.  I like what I like.

 

FRIDAY, October 6th - Pan Fried Cod

I enjoyed a bit of fish on Friday.  I love Cod the most out of all the fishes. It has a mild, almost sweet flavor.  This is a very simple, quick and easy way to prepare it. It comes out perfectly cooked each and every time and is done in minutes.  The cod is simply dusted with flour and some seasonings and then browned in butter along with some sprigs of fresh herbs.  Simple and delicious and beautifully cooked.

After all of the excesses earlier in the week I chose to enjoy this simply with a salad on the side, but rice and potatoes go very well. I love it with mashed potatoes and then some peas or carrots.  Its just a really delicious way to prepare a nice piece of fish.

SATURDAY, October 7th - Cheesy Baked Tortellini

I had a bag of tortellini in the refrigerator that needed using up.  This is such an easy bake to make. You can use any flavor of ready made tortellini. This time it was spinach and cheese tortellini, one of my favorites. 

This is so simple to make, you just make a simple cheese sauce, fold the cooked tortellini into it and top with some buttered crumbs and bake. This is a small batch recipe and makes only 2 servings. I will probably have the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow. (Yes I am that person, lol  I love having leftovers for breakfast.)

This is quite filling so you really don't need a lot on the side. I had it with a  mixed salad tossed with a simple vinaigrette dressing. If you are really hungry you could make some garlic bread to go along with it as well.  This herbed garlic cheese bread is really nice.

So there you have it. My week was a happy mix of meals enjoyed with family and friends and solitary feasts on my own.  Everything for the most part (except for Wednesday) was fresh, homemade and pretty simple.  Everything was also very delicious! Life is very good and tasty too!

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