Meals of the Week, August 25th - 31st, 2024

 

Here we are, another Sunday and the first day in the month of September.  Sundays are the days for my Meals of the Week posts.  The day when I gather together all of the deliciousness that I have enjoyed as my main meals over the past seven days and share them, plus my menu plans and recipes with you.

I like to cook for myself for the most part, except for the occasional meal out or for dinner at my sister's place on Sundays.  I don't really like eating frozen dinners or ready meals. They are always high in salt and fat, sugar too, and they never taste even a fraction as good as the photograph on the outside of the package.

I just don't like them. Not one little bit. They might be convenient but they are hardly worth even the small effort it takes to heat them up in the microwave or whatever.  When I was younger I used to enjoy a Stouffer' macaroni and cheese every now and then or turkey tetrazzini, but something has happened since then. Either my taste has drastically improved or the quality of them has gone way down hill.  I think perhaps a bit of both to be honest!

I cook simple, budget friendly meals for the most part.  Food using honest and whole ingredients.  East to prepare as well.  I don't like to get too fancy in my every day cooking, unless I am having people over to supper.  Most of the time I do keep things fairly simple.  I had enough of complicated in my work life. Now, in my retirement, I find that simple suits me just fine.

I am also on a limited budget as most seniors are and so I try to keep things down, cost-wise, and take advantage of specials, etc. Also I live by myself, so most of my meals are now tailored to suit small  families, of only one or two people, although most of my recipes can certainly be doubled to feed larger groups.

I try also to keep my meals varied and somewhat healthy, with plenty of vegetables most of the time, not a lot of fried foods.  I do like my cheese. But there are far worse things I could indulge in, and I don't eat cheese every day. (However looking back on this week, I can clearly see I did eat a fair amount of cheese. I promise to do better next week!)

I do enjoy sharing these weekly menu and recipe roundups with you and I know from the feedback that you give you do as well.  If I can inspire someone to cook for themselves and eat a varied menu then that makes me very happy.

I have provided recipes for everything I ate and in the case of eating out I have tried to provide a like recipe in its place.

And without further adieu here you have it. My meals for the last week of August, 2024. Enjoy!

SUNDAY, August 25th - Sunday Dinner at Cindy's place

Most Sundays see me having dinner with the family at my sister Cindy's place. This Sunday was no different. I always enjoy these meals spent together.  The food is always really good, but the company is even better.

This week my sister cooked my recipe for Homestyle Baked Haddock.  This is a real favorite of everyone's.  She served it with some rice and a variety of fresh vegetables including string beans and carrots.  Everyone always loves this delicious fish dish with its fabulously buttery lemon crumb cracker crumb topping.  I had not cooked it myself in a while, so this was a nice treat for me!

MONDAY, August 26th - Chicken Divan in the Slow Cooker

I  had a really busy day on Monday and so I threw an easy dish into the crockpot in the morning.  I love Chicken Divan and this simple version, cooked in the slow cooker was perfect for me.  It is a small batch recipe and lacks none of the flavors from the original oven baked version. I did use a combination of cauliflower and broccoli because that is what I had. It was delicious. Rich and creamy with a cheese topping and some crunch from crispy fried onions.

I served it simply with some steamed rice and a salad on the side.  It made three generous servings. I froze two for another time when I will undoubtedly need something quick and easy to eat.  Easily reheated, thawed, in a skillet on top of the stove.

TUESDAY, August 27th - Cheesy Ham & Egg in the Hole

Tuesday was a breakfast for supper kind of a day.  I made myself this quick and easy Cheesy Ham & Egg in the Hole, which is a type of hot sandwich.  Thick Texas Toast Bread, with a hollow made in the middle, just large enough to fill with a slice of processed cheese, a slice of ham and a free range egg before baking to golden brown perfection.

I also sprinkled a bit of Parmesan cheese on top prior to baking. This was hearty and filling.  I enjoyed some crisp carrot and celery sticks on the side for a quick and easy supper that was really delicious!  The good thing about these is you can make as many or as few of them as you wish!

WEDNESDAY August, 28th - Chicken & Stars Soup

Normally on Wednesday nights I go out to supper with my dad, my sister and my father's friend Hazel. I got halfway to the restaurant this week and turned around and went home. My tummy was feeling a bit upset.  Sometimes I suffer from really bad indigestion.  I am not sure what kicked it off this time.

A simple supper was in order and so I took some chicken soup out of the freezer and just thawed it out in the microwave. I tend to make a big batch of soup like this and freeze it in single serving lots.  This is a really delicious chicken soup. Not really spicy or anything. Perfect for when you just want a bit of comfort.  If you wanted to make it a heartier meal you could always serve a sandwich on the side.

THURSDAY August 29th - Dinner out with my daughter 

My daughter came to spend the day and  night with me on Thursday because her husband was away.  I was feeling much better thank goodness and so I took us out for a late lunch/early supper.  Lupper.  We went to the Big Scoop which is a local restaurant and had a lovely meal.  I had their Turkey Dinner.  Which you can see above.  It came with everything you see here and a roll.

My daughter had the Burger and chips.  As you can see there was plenty of bacon and cheese on her burger plus the fixings and loads of chips on the plate. ( I think she really likes ketchup.)  Then for dessert she had a bowl of ice cream. I didn't have any dessert because I was full after my dinner.

I know it is not quite the right time of year to be baking a turkey for a dinner so in it's place I am sharing my recipe for Country Baked Chicken.  Skin on, partially boned chicken breasts baked with a crispy skin and crumb coating.  Tender and delicious. The juices make a fabulous country gravy.  This is just wonderful served with mash and veggies on the side.

FRIDAY, August 30th - Chicken Sauteed with Cheese & Milk

This is a fabulous recipe which makes great use of one chicken breast and stretches it to feed two people very generously.  A chicken breast is cut in half through the middle horizontally and pounded out a tiny bit. Seasoned and floured, then sauteed in a bit of oil/butter until golden brown.  A slice of melty cheese is popped on top, along with a sprinkle of Parmesan and then a bit of milk is added to the pan.

The chicken cooks briefly in the milk to tender and juicy perfection.  I had sauteed a few sage leaves until crisp to serve on top.  Tasty!  This was a lovely meal which I served with some garlic butter rice and some steamed yellow beans.  Nobody was unhappy with this!

SATURDAY, August 31st - Beans on Toast

I spent a goodly portion of my day out shopping with my sister and so on Saturday I just made myself a simple supper of beans on toast.  A nice toasted slice of homemade brown bread topped with some tasty Sprague Baked Beans, and a handful of good cheddar cheese grated.  I had picked up some salad bags that were on special in my shopping and ended up having half of one of those on the side, just to add something green and healthy to the mix. 

I love Beans on Toast.  Its one of my favorite quick fix suppers.  I don't always have cheese on top, but I had picked up a good cheddar in my shopping as well and thought why not!

And there you have it, my meals of the week for this, the last week of August 2024.  There wasn't anything complicated in the least and everything was delicious. Simple, economical, except for the meal out and a great week of meals to end the month on!

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