Meals of the Week, November 17th - 23rd, 2024

 

Hello everyone and welcome to my weekly Meals of the Week post!  On Sundays I like to share with you all of the delicious (most of the time) things that I have enjoyed for my main meals over the past seven days! 

I like to cook, and I like to eat. As a Senior and as a person who lives alone and on a fixed income this can be somewhat of a challenge.  I never want to be the person who eats out of tins and packets, and from frozen dinners and takeaways.  They are usually loaded with fat, salt, sugar and calories.

As much as possible I like to cook and eat my own food. At the end of each week I like to share with you all the things which I have enjoyed over the past 7 days.  This round-up does not include any meals aside from my main meals.

For breakfast each morning I will usually have either some homemade granola with yogurt, fruit or date syrup or I often have a protein shake that I make from this powder that I buy. It all depends on how busy my morning is.

Generally speaking, unless I am eating with other people, I will eat my main meal of the day in early afternoon and then for supper or in the evening I will have either a salad, or some cereal, maybe toast.  I love toasted sour dough bread.  I usually have two pieces, one with peanut butter spread onto it and the other with cheese spread on it.

I try to keep my main meals as healthy as I can, with an assortment of veggies if possible. Sometimes that is not possible, but I do try. I also try to keep things within a reasonable budget.  So, I cook small, much of the time and I freeze whatever extra I can to take out and enjoy at other times. I try not to waste anything. If there is something that I cannot freeze I will share it with my next-door neighbor, who is always most appreciative.

I share these meals, recipes, menu suggestions with you here each Sunday hoping that you will be likewise inspired to want to cook for yourself. I know we can get stuck in a rut sometimes and it can be very helpful to have fresh ideas on what to cook.  

So, having said all that, here are my meals of the week for the past seven days.  I hope that you will find something of interest here and something that will inspire you to want to cook for yourself!

SUNDAY, November 17th - Family Dinner at mine

This week I had the rare treat of inviting my family over for Sunday Dinner.  We did not have anything fancy.  Chicken Pie with some scalloped potatoes on the side, (from a package), Green beans, and an assortment of pickled beets and cucumbers.  For dessert we enjoyed the small batch vanilla buttermilk cake that I had baked on Saturday. 

It was a meal that everyone enjoyed, and the best part was us all being together.  When my dad eats over, I have to keep things really simple as he doesn't like anything out of the ordinary. He does love pie and cake, however.   And of course he loves us.

MONDAY, November 18th - Instant Pot Bolognese with spaghetti

I had some bolognese sauce in the freezer, packed into single serving sized containers. (Always a handy thing to have around.)  I heated some of this up and enjoyed it with some whole wheat spaghetti and a salad.

Traditionally a Bolognese Sauce needs to be slow simmered on top of the stove for several hours in order for the flavors to deepen, and the sauce to thicken to a great consistency. This simple recipe reduces that time by more than half, without reducing any of the delicious flavors. The leftovers also freeze very well.

TUESDAY, November 19th - Tomato Soup with Cheddar Cheese and Chive Scones

I had a rather busy day again on Tuesday and so I once again took advantage of what I had already prepared in the freezer, by way of a delicious soup and some scones.  I put these things in the freezer and its good to be able to haul them out and take advantage of them when must needs be.

This was a delicious supper that did not take a lot of effort on my part. The day was windy and rainy so a soup meal went down a real treat and because it was quite light, I felt justified in enjoying a cheeky dish of homemade frozen yogurt for dessert. This time I enjoyed lemon. Yummy!

 WEDNESDAY,  November 20th - Dinner out with the family

We decided to go to the Big Scoop this week as a family. We had not been there for a few weeks. They had the pork chop dinner on special so that is what I had. It came with your choice of potato, coleslaw, carrots, corn, applesauce and a roll for $12.99.  I had had it before and really enjoyed it.  In it's place I am sharing my Easy Greek Pork Chops. These chops are marinated so that you can achieve maximum flavor and tenderness without having to cool them long and slow.  In fact, aside from the marinating time, you can have these done and on the table in not much more than fifteen minutes.

And they are juicy and tender, with beautiful Greek flavors.  Oregano, garlic, lemon, olive oil, rosemary  . . .  so flavorful!

THURSDAY, November 21st - Lunch out with Cindy

My sister Cindy and I took a day out up the valley on Thursday to do a bit of shopping. We usually treat ourselves to a lunch out while we are there. The flashing lights of the KFC were enticing us in to enjoy one of their Festive Chicken Sandwiches.  A crispy fried chicken breast in a bun with cranberry sauce, KFC stuffing and mayonnaise.

On the top you will see the sandwich that we were promised.  On the bottom you will see the sandwich we ended up with.  BLAH!  Neither one of us could actually finish it. It was far too doughy and it did not taste very good to be honest. It was pretty nasty to be super truthful. I would NEVER get it again. Never in a million years.

We would have been far better off coming home and enjoying one of my Crispy Chicken Sandwiches.  With their fresh coleslaw vinaigrette topping, they never disappoint. Never. What you have there is a crispy coated and tender well-flavored chicken breast, sitting on a bed of spicy garlic mayo, on that toasted brioche bun, and topped with that delicious vinaigrette.

FRIDAY, November 22nd - Butter Baked Cod

I fancied some fish on Friday and so I baked myself some Butter Baked Cod.  This is a lovely way to prepare fish. You can cook as many or as few fillets as you like.  Also called Poor Man's Lobster, this is a very simple way to cook cod fish.  Simple ingredients done well.

Perfectly cooked, buttery and delicious. I enjoyed along with some mashed potatoes and green beans. It was fabulously tasty!  A squeeze of lemon on top and I was a very contented camper!

SATURDAY, November 23rd - Beans on Toast

On Saturday I just made myself a simple supper of beans on toast.  It was a miserable wet and rainy day, again.  I had spent a great deal of the day making my Christmas Cake and my oven was busy with that, so I just decided a simple supper was the way to go.

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 on Thursday 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.  It's 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 past week. There wasn't anything complicated in the least and everything was delicious. Simple and very economical as well.

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