Meals of the Week, February 4th - 10th, 2024

  

Welcome once again to my Sunday Meals of the Week Post. On Sundays I like to share with you, my readers, all of the main dishes and recipes that I have enjoyed for my main meals over the past seven days. Doing so helps me to eat much better than I would otherwise and I hope inspires you to want to cook something new for yourself as well! 

I have always loved to cook and to eat. I have been cooking for a family since my teens and now find myself late in life having only myself to cook for. Cooking for yourself is quite a challenge as compared to cooking a family. Food shares is always enjoyed more than food eaten on your own.

The temptation can be to want to eat from cans and packages or to buy ready meals and frozen dinners.  Those things are always high in salt and fat and, contrary to what they would have you believe, and not all that nutritionally sound, no matter how many times they put the word "Healthy" on the label.  Cooking for yourself is always going to be infinitely better!

It will taste better and be more nutritionally sound. You control what goes into it and I believe that it is also much cheaper to cook for yourself, no matter how much of a pain it might be from time to time.  I have made a promise to myself that so long as I am capable of cooking for myself, I will do just that.

And to that end once a week I share with you the things I have cooked, hopefully you will also be inspired. I am eating more meatless meals and trying to include more vegetables into my diet.  My last series of blood tests showed my sugars were up and my iron was low. This had not happened in quite a while so it was an indication to me that I needed to do better.

And so, here I am, doing better! I have eaten out a few times this week, but where I have, I have included a similar recipe to what I have eaten with menu suggestions for you to cook.  Enjoy!

 

SUNDAY, February 4th - Baked Beans and Grated Cheddar on a Jacket Potato

We were in the midst of a major snow storm on Sunday so nobody was going anywhere. Usually on Sunday's I go to my sister's place for supper, but this week I stayed home.  I enjoyed a lovely baked Jacket Potato, with a beautiful crisp and crackling skin with some baked beans and grated cheese on top. It was some good and very comforting. Also very filling.

I enjoyed a delicious  mixed salad on the side with the indulgence of some Homemade Salad Cream.  If you have never made your own salad cream, you really need to try it. In the U.K. (at least when I first moved over there) salad cream was the only dressing offered when you got a salad at a cafe. Its delicious.

MONDAY, February 5th - Bok Choy Chicken

I had bought some bok choy on offer at the shops on Friday and decided to use it by making a delicious stir fry for my dinner. This was quick, easy, and really delicious.  It was also very healthy.  The chicken was marinated first (sliced) in a mix of soy sauce and cornstarch.  Then it was flash fried.  Bok Choy and ginger were added and a lush but very simple sauce.

I enjoyed this with some simple steamed rice. I buy the rice ready cooked in packages. That is what make the most sense for me as there is less waste involved. Uncle Bens and Tilda both do very good versions of this that come in a huge variety of flavors.  They are great for the smaller family or singleton.

TUESDAY, February 6th - Cheesy Potato and Baked Bean Pie

I had half a tin of baked beans leftover from Sunday and decided to make a recipe that I had seen on What's For Tea? on YouTube.  A simple Cheesy Potato and Baked Bean Pie. I love Potato Pie and I love Baked Beans, so it sounded right up my alley!  Genius to combine the two!

It was fabulously delicious and such a simple make. Of course I small batched the recipe.  It was still very generous, even cut in half.  I enjoyed this with a simple cucumber and tomato salad and some buttered bread.

 

WEDNESDAY, February 7th - Dinner out with Dad

The snow had been cleared away for the most part and so Cindy and I went to the Big Scoop for dinner with Dad and Hazel, as per usual.  It was nice to be out together.  Dad had the special which was a lovely Seafood Chowder, topped with some bacon seared scallops.  Hazel had the pan grilled Haddock with chips and salad.  Cindy had  the Double Dorn Burger which was on special with chips. I had the Veggie Burger with chips. It was okay.  I couldn't complain.

I am sharing my recipe for Jacquie's Tofu Burgers in it's place. My friend Jacquie makes the best Tofu Burgers. I have been enjoying them for over 25 years now. Even the Missionaries love them. They go great with salad and or oven chips, and a nice whole wheat crusty roll!

Cindy and I each ordered a slice of cheese cake for dessert. She ordered the coconut cream and I ordered the white chocolate and raspberry. We shared some of each with each other. Neither one of us liked the coconut cream one. It had a funny taste.  We both liked the white chocolate and raspberry.  To be honest however, the slices were very small and they charge $8 for each. Far too much for what you get.

THURSDAY, February 8th - Chicken Escallops with Kiev Butter

I was really wanting some chicken and so I made myself Chicken Escallops with Kiev Butter, which is a really way to enjoy Chicken Kiev without all of the faffing about. Chicken breasts are cut into thin escallops, seasoned and then dipped in olive oil and fresh bread crumbs before pan frying them until golden brown.  They are served hot and fresh from the pan with slices of a moreish herb and garlic Kiev butter melting on top. They are not hard to make at all.

I enjoyed with some Crumb Topped Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots on the side.  I cooked the full recipe of the chicken and froze the extra escallops for another time as well as the extra Kiev butter.  Always a good thing to have something like this in the freezer that you can reheat and enjoy quickly on a busy day.  Delicious!

FRIDAY, February 9th - Lunch out with Cindy

Cindy and I were both feeling the Winter blues and so we decided to go out to lunch to try and shake them off. We went to a place just around the corner from me called Angies.  We both had the one piece fish and chips and then picked up some dessert on the way home at the local grocery store, still feeling somewhat disappointed over the cost and quality of the dessert we had enjoyed on Wednesday night.

We got two pieces of Brownie Fudge Cheesecake for the same price as we had paid for one slice of the cheesecake on Wednesday night and it was delicious. Also, each slice was twice the size! I could not finish mine as much as I wanted to!

I am sharing my Baked Haddock with Cracker Crumb Topping in the place of the fish. In my opinion it is every bit as delicious as the deep fried haddock and a lot better for you probably. Especially if you serve it with a variety of vegetables as you can see above!

SATURDAY, February 10th - Scalloped Macaroni

This is quite simply one of my all time favorite comfort food dishes. Scalloped Macaroni and I was really craving it. This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine. I love macaroni. I love tomatoes. I love cheese. Put the three together and you have my idea of heavenly bliss. I could eat this until it comes out my ears.  I also like to eat the leftovers for breakfast.  (Don't judge, lol)

I enjoyed a nice bowl of this along with some salad and homemade Buttermilk Whole Wheat Bread. (made in the bread machine)  I was a very happy camper.

And there you have it. All of my main meals that I enjoyed over the past seven days! It was a tasty mix of Vegetarian and Omnivore. You could easily Veganize everything.   I do have meat in my freezer (s) that needs using up as does my sister, so there will be a happy mix of meat and meat free dishes in my menus for the unforeseeable future.

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