Meal Plan 17/02

What a week last week was eh? We had to deal with Storm Ciara, I spent some time down in the big smoke and we had a jam packed week of after school clubs, parent’s evenings and a weekend of kid’s clubs.

This week is going to be a little different because we aren’t here! We’re away for the week to Efteling, a wonderful theme park that I can’t recommend enough – if you’re a fan of Disneyland, you will love this and it will cost you quite a bit less to get to. It doesn’t quite have the same magical punch (in my disney adoring opinion) but it’s still a wonderful place. You can find out all about our thoughts on Efteling here and I will be vlogging the experience over on youtube too.

Now, let’s have a little chat about meals last week:

• Monday :: Chicken Florentine – AMAZING. One of the nicest pasta dishes I’ve had for years and ridiculously simple. I threw everything in the pressure cooker and BISH BASH BOSH.
• Tuesday :: Jackfruit burrito – we loved the burrito, I like the jackfruit but it wasn’t really a hit with the whole family. I expected everyone to be horrified by it, but they weren’t and for the majority the kid’s said they liked it, they just weren’t keen on the “chicken”. What I will say is that both Adam and I had funny tummies the next morning (nothing too major, just a bit of a grizzle) and I googled jackfruit only to find that it’s a bit like chickpea and can be the cause of stomach pains if not cooked fully so treat it like chicken and make sure you cook it well. It’s also NOT suitable for dogs at all, so please be aware of that if you’re like us and you slip the dogs leftovers.
• Wednesday :: I was away so I have no idea what everyone ate. I hedge my bets at pasta.
• Thursday :: Gnocchi – it’s always a winner with most of us, especially with Edith and take around 8 mins from fridge to table.
• Friday :: Take away – best night of the week.
• Saturday :: Fish cakes and wedges – super quick freezer meal for me and one that everyone was happy with. Win all around.
• Sunday :: Chicken and Mushroom pie – no wonder that this was absolutely amazing, it comes from one of my fave blogs and I rarely have anything I don’t think is fabulous from Kitchen Sanctuary.

So this week… well as I mentioned we’re not here. Monday night we will be eating on a ferry, then we will be eating at Efteling and in The Netherlands, then back on the ferry on Friday. Which probably makes you wonder why I have done a meal plan blog post? Well I wanted to recap last week and I thought for this week it would be a good idea to share my fave recipes over the last year of meal plans, so there will be no recap next week.

Fave 1 :: Slow cooker chicken curry

Hands down one of my absolute FAVE meals to ever ever do. I’m obsessed with this recipe and it’s so easy, and even easier to adapt – last time I added in some lentils and everyone loved it. FOR THE WIN. It is my go to and I cook it all the time. The recipe is by Taming Twins.

Fave 2 :: Puttanesca

Always popular and actually a really good way to get the kids trying different food and eating different things – chop the olives and the capers really fine and they will never know. The recipe is by Mama Loves Food.

Fave 3 :: Chicken Enchiladas

You can’t beat a good ole enchilada. I think we will put burritos on the same level, just without the jackfruit and going for good ole chicken. This recipe is from Number 2 Pencil.

Fave 4 :: One pan Ginger chicken meatballs and peanut sauce

I was really surprised by how much we all enjoyed it when we first did it – it was SO good. I think if you’re not a peanut fan thee meatballs are something that you should totally make anyway – perhaps have them with some fried rice. Either way, it’s lush.

Fave Meal 5 :: Lasagne

It’s Adam’s favourite and I think if I’m honest with myself and with you guys, classic beef lasagne is the one for my family. It’s the one that they all seem to enjoy the most, and whilst I love a veggie lasagne, I do also really enjoy a beef one. So there we are. I make my own lasagne but this recipe from Half Baked Harvest looks amazing.

Fave Meal 6 :: Gumbo

I didn’t think we would like it, I thought it would be an expensive disappointment but everyone loved it and it’s gone on my list of “you should do this again asap!” Recipe is from Add a Pinch.

Fave Meal 7 :: Toad in the Hole

It’s forever and always a family favourite and regardless of veggie sausages or not, the kids love it. This recipe from Hint of Helen is similar to mine 🙂