Meals of the Week, July 7th - July 13th, 2024

  

Hello everyone!  Welcome to my weekly Sunday Meals of the Week Post!  Every Sunday I like to do a recap of all of the main meals that I have cooked and or enjoyed over the past seven days!  All of the delicious main dishes that have graced my table.   It is a post that I really enjoy doing, and, from the feedback that I get from you, my readers, I know that you enjoy reading and seeing as well!

I started doing these posts about a year and a half ago.  As a person who lives on their own it became clear to me that preparing food and eating as a single person presented a particular challenge.  There could be the tendency to eat a lot of prepared, processed ready meals.  You could also eat out a lot. I did not want to do either of those things.  Frozen dinners are expensive and loaded with salt, fat and sugar.  Plus they never taste even half as good as they look on the package.

 

Food prep  for one could also become really boring. I love to cook, and I love to eat. Boring is not my thing.  I decided that, in sharing my main meals of the week with you, I would not only be inspired to cook better meals for myself, but I could  inspire those of you who find yourselves in the same position to want to cook and eat better for yourself also.

As a Senior, I am also on a very limited budget, and I have health concerns.  To that end I also try as much as possible to make my meals healthy and budget friendly.   I have also been downsizing a lot of my older recipes in recent months in an attempt to save money and to reduce waste.  

Personally, I don't want to end up having to eat the same thing for three or four days on the trot.  BORING!   To that end, I try to make my meals and menus as interesting and varied as possible,  in reasonable quantities for me to be able to cope with, and all whilst staying within my dietary and budget restrictions!

Generally speaking, I do eat out once a week with my father, on Wednesday nights, and most weeks, I will have a family dinner on Sundays at my sister's place. On those days I have substituted "like" types of recipes to use in their place.

I usually eat my main meals at noon or in the early afternoon. Going to bed on a full stomach is no longer an option, and I do tend to be in bed by 9 pm most nights. Breakfast is usually a protein shake, homemade granola, or oatmeal with fruit.  At supper time, I will usually have a sandwich, or a salad.  Occasionally I will have yogurt and fruit for either breakfast or supper.  

I try as much as possible not to each in between meals, but I am only human and so occasionally I will eat a cookie or a piece of cake.  Naughty I know. Most of the time they are homemade and unprocessed at least.

And so, without further adieu, here are the main meals that I have enjoyed over the past seven days!  I hope you will enjoy them as well and perhaps be inspired to want to cook a few of them for yourself!

 

SUNDAY, July 7th - Honey & Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad

Usually on Sundays, I go to my sister's for supper.  As we had supper together on Saturday night to celebrate my sister's birthday I stayed home this week and cooked a dinner for myself.  It was stinking hot. It's been hot  this whole week. I made myself Honey & Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad, which is one of my absolute favorite things to make and eat. 

What you get here is a cold sesame dressed noodle salad, with some perfectly spiced and grilled chicken and steamed broccoli spears. Delicious served with some extra dressing to drizzle over top. I cut the recipe in half,  and then half again as I just couldn't eat four servings of this tasty salad, and I really don't like to eat the same thing two days in a row if I can help it.

MONDAY, July 8th - Creamy Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

Meatless Monday with a delicious pasta dish! I had some mushrooms which needed using up and I had been eyeballing this delicious pasta recipe on The Live In Kitchen.  I was really pleased with how it turned out. 

Not only was it delicious but it was really easy and quick to throw together. I enjoyed this with some crusty bread and a nice salad.  I confess, I did eat the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. Yes.  I am a person who loves to eat leftovers for breakfast.

TUESDAY, July 9th - Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken for One

Tuesday was my late mother's birthday. She would have been 92 years old. We lost her 5 years ago.  Not a day goes by we don't think of and miss her.  My sister and I spent a part of the day up at the cemetery, clearing up the grave and spending some time together as her daughters as we cleaned her stone. We had brought some flowers to leave as well. Dad also went with us and I think he enjoyed being there.

It was really hot and I wasn't overly hungry when I got home, so I grilled myself this tasty chicken which I enjoyed with some salad.  The chicken is seasoned and glazed with a delicious honey mustard sauce while grilling it. You can grill it on an outdoor grill, or indoor grill or even beneath the broiler. Its delicious served with some of the reserved sauce for dipping.

 

WEDNESDAY, June 10th - Dinner out with Dad

On Wednesdays we always go out to dinner with my father.  We usually go to a place called The Big Scoop  Family  Restaurant and Take Away.  Once again we all had the fish and chips.  Its been quite good the last few times we have ordered them. The fish has had a lovely crisp batter and has been perfectly cooked.  Not dry at all. It comes with coleslaw, tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon.

In it's place, once more, I am sharing my recipe for Beer Battered Cod. It has a lovely light and crisp batter also.  It's not something that I have made at home in a very long time, to be honest, because its a lot of work to make for just one person.  If you want to have a go at it though, you really can't get much better fish and chips than this!

THURSDAY, July 11th - Pork Steak with Mushroom Gravy

I had some of this frozen in the freezer that I had made at another time. This was a really stormy day and it was really hot and humid. We had the heaviest rainfall that we have had this year with widespread flooding in many areas.  I was not sure if we would lose our power or not and what is the purpose of having things like this in the freezer if you are never going to use them!  This reheated very simply in a small skillet on the top of the stove.

I enjoyed it with a pot of instant mashed potatoes. (Idahoan makes single serving sized pots of mashed potatoes and they are really very good. They cook in the microwave in a minute's time.)  I served it with frozen peas and corn this time, that I  also heated in the microwave. A deliciously simple meal that was ready in no time.

 

FRIDAY, July 12th - Salmon and Broccoli Fish Cakes

Salmon and broccoli are beautiful partners and I used some salmon this week along with some chopped fresh broccoli to make these delicious fish cakes.  You can use poached fresh salmon or you can use tinned salmon. In this instance I used tinned salmon.  These are fabulously delicious!  Flavored with dill and lemon, they are really simple and easy to make. 

I love that you can buy the tinned salmon now which is bone and skin free.  I have always enjoyed  tinned salmon, but have never been fond of the bones and skin. I have taken ages in the past routing it all out so I can discard it!

These fish cakes are really lovely. I enjoyed along with a salad on the side.  Once again, really hot and humid, and not really feeling overly hungry.  I enjoyed a cheeky dish of ice cream for dessert!

 

SATURDAY, July 13th - Baked Western Sandwich with Oven Hash

I love Western Sandwiches. Beaten eggs cooked together with ham, onions, peppers and cheese, and then layered together between two slices of hot buttered toast.   This version is sized just for two and bakes in a small lipped baking tray.  A delicious potato and onion hash is baked along side.  This is a simple meal that is really delicious.

I enjoyed one of these sandwiches for my supper along with the hash and some coleslaw that I had made earlier in the week. It was simple and delicious which fit the bill perfectly as I was feeling rather pressed for time and had a lot of other things to do. Simple meals like this are perfect for those kinds of days.

Simple and delicious. Works for me every time!

And there you have it, my meals of the week for the past seven days.  I hope that you will be inspired to want to cook a few of these things for yourself as well!    Enjoy! Be sure to come back next Sunday to see what I cook over the next seven days!

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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