Meals of the Week, October 13 to 19th, 2024

 

Well, here it is Sunday and here I am again with another Meals of the Week post!  On Sundays I like to share all of the tastiness that I have enjoyed over the previous week.  All of the main meals and recipes that I have enjoyed and cooked.

  

I do share a lot of new recipes with you during the week, sometimes they are for puddings, or baked goods, breads, cakes, etc.  Interspersed with them may be a new main dish that I have cooked.  I do eat a main meal every day however and most of the time the recipes for those are taken from my archives.

I have been blogging here in The English Kitchen since 2009. I had another blog that I used to share my recipes on that I had been writing for years. I also included my everyday thoughts about life etc. on that one, but I decided in 2009 that I wanted to have a blog that was only food and cooking related. That is when The English Kitchen was born.   I was still working and cooking at the Manor then!

A lot has changed since this blog began. I am now living on my own and back in Canada.  I am no stranger to change, having dealt with many changes and challenge through the years. I have gone from cooking for a family of 7 people down to cooking for just myself.

This has probably been the largest challenge for me I have to say, but I think I have done well with it so far. I don't ever want to be the person who exists wholly on ready meals and takeaways. That is okay once in a blue moon, but those types of meals are not very healthy for you to be honest.

I usually enjoy my main meal at noon, unless I am entertaining or eating at somebody else's place.  I will have a protein shake for breakfast and then for supper I will either have some toast, or a salad, maybe a sandwich, or sometimes a bowl of cereal or some yogurt and granola. I try not to eat heavy meals and things later in the day! (Ahh the joys of getting older!)

I also try to keep things simple and within the budget of a senior who is living on a fixed income. If I do happen to eat out I will try to share a similar recipe with you here.  And with all that being said, here we go, my meals of the week for the past seven days! 

SUNDAY, October 13th - Thanksgiving

Sunday was Thanksgiving.  I had been expecting my oldest son and his family to come for the weekend and a family dinner, however my father and sister came down with Covid and I had been exposed so a family dinner was cancelled and my family did not come.

Instead I took a small turkey breast from out of the freezer and made my own dinner. I baked a small, sweet potato, roasted some winter squash and cooked some peas.  I also made instant mash and a pack of stove top stuffing. (Not normally what I would have, but you do what you do.) I made some gravy, opened a tin of cranberry sauce and had my own little Thanksgiving dinner here all by myself. Not what I had planned, but it was still delicious.

MONDAY, October 14th - Leftover Turkey Stuffing Casserole

I had leftovers from my turkey dinner to use up and so I made myself a delicious turkey casserole. This tasty casserole is a really great way to use up leftovers from the holiday dinner. Its also very simple to make. You just layer things into a casserole dish.  Turkey and gravy on the bottom.  Some vegetables and cranberry sauce dotted over top of that and then leftover stuffing crumbled on top of everything.

Dot with butter, cover tightly and then bake until everything is bubbling away. Uncover and cook a while longer to brown things off and its done!  I enjoyed this with some boiled new potatoes.

TUESDAY, October 15th - Ham, Potato & Green Bean Soup

I made myself a small batch of this Ham, Potato & Green Bean Soup. I didn't want to make a full batch as I wasn't sure if it would freeze properly or not. I am never quite 100% sure about freezing things with milk in them.

In any case this is a simple and delicious soup. It is a creamy soup that comes together in minutes. Hearty and delicious! I like to enjoy it with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top.  

WEDNESDAY, October 16th - Leftover turkey and Gravy with Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes

Usually on Wednesday nights I go out to supper with my father and sister and dad's friend Hazel. We skipped this week as they were still testing positive for Covid.  I stayed at home and heated up the last of my turkey with some gravy and enjoyed it with a twice baked potato and some frozen green beans.  I didn't get a photograph of the whole thing together.  But it was very good.

I really love twice baked potatoes.  When we were children, and my mother made them, we were all in seventh Heaven! They were a real treat. They still are.  In fact I could make a meal of these and nothing else. They are a very simple make in the air fryer. If you don't have an air fryer, you can also do them in a regular oven.

THURSDAY, October 17th - Pork Chops with Cream Gravy

I took a pork chop out of the freezer on this day and had myself a Pork Chop with Cream gravy for my supper. I did use a pot of Instant Mashed Potatoes.  I buy the Idaho brand, and they are quite good.  They are perfect for someone who is on their own and are basically just dehydrated mashed potatoes. 

I love this pork chop recipe. It always tastes so good. The chops are tender and juicy and that gravy is delicious.  I enjoyed with some frozen veggies. 

FRIDAY, October 18th - Sole Filets with Lemon & Thyme

On Friday I enjoyed some fish.  I love fish and would eat it more often if it wasn't so expensive.  I particularly love Sole. It is a beautiful flat fish with a lovely mild flavor. On this day I dusted it with some flour and cooked it simply with some lemon and thyme. This is one of my favorite ways to cook fish. All of the flavors are delicate and go together perfectly.

I enjoyed this with some rice actually (Not the potatoes in the photograph) and some peas and carrots.  I do love peas and carrots together. They go so well together, and they go with just about anything as a simple side dish.

SATURDAY, October 19th - Spaghetti with a Quick Bolognese Sauce

My daughter Eileen had been asking me for weeks to do a spaghetti recipe on my YouTube channel and so I thought I would make her dreams come true. I made this Spaghetti with a Quick Bolognese Sauce. It is a very simple make and something she could probably make for herself at home.  I enjoyed one serving of it with some homemade garlic bread and then I took the remainder of it over to her place for she and her husband to enjoy.

They were really happy about that.  

I think we are going to have our delayed Thanksgiving Dinner for Sunday Dinner tomorrow! I am looking forward to that!

And there you have it, these were my Meals of the Week for the past week. I think I ate pretty well.  What do you think? None of it was very complicated at all, and I think it was pretty healthy for the most part.  It was also quite well within my budget.   I hope that you will be inspired to want to cook at least a few of these things for yourself!

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