Here I am with another Sunday Meals of the Week post. This is the day I generally share with you all of the main meals which I have cooked for myself and or enjoyed over the previous seven days. A delicious recap of how I have been feeding myself! Or at least I think it is anyways!
I was determined when I moved into my own place that I was not going to become one of those people who ate out of cans and boxes. I know that is not always possible for everyone and I am not judging. But while I have the ability and will to cook for myself that is what I want to do. I am a person who loves to cook and I think I would be rather bored eating ready-meals and frozen dinners. So as long as I can cook, I WILL cook!
I know a lot of seniors get meals on wheels and the like, delivered to them. I think it is great that this is an option available for those who need it. They are usually quite healthy as well. Low in salt and sugar, high in protein, so trust me I am not judging.
Store bought ready meals are quite different and are usually very high in salt and sugar. I want to stay away from that as much as possible. I am not perfect of course and do occasionally succumb to the lure of a frozen dinner, but by far and large I cook for myself.
I also hate waste so I always try to use up everything that I have as much as possible. Its very hard sometimes, so I tend to shop for myself every few days now rather than once a week. I find that the fresh ingredients like salad, etc. just don't last any longer than a few days. I would rather go a bit more often and throw out less.
If, along the way, I can inspire some of you with some of your menu planning, then that makes me very happy.
I do eat out once a week with my dad and his friend Hazel, so I have provided a like recipe in that instance. I also usually have Sunday dinner at my sister's and have done the same for that.
Here are my meals for the past week. If I have eaten out, I have endeavored in most cases to provide you with a recipe that you can make at home. I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed eating the meals and writing it up!
SUNDAY, May 12th - Mother's Day
Most Sunday's I have dinner over at my sister's place with her, my brother in law Dan and our father. This week was not any different, except this week we didn't have to cook anything. Dan and dad treated the whole lot of us to Kentucky Fried Chicken. This is not something we ever have very often. Cindy's youngest son who passed away a few years ago always got her KFC for Mother's Day, so it was something that Dan really wanted to do for her.
We had the chicken and some chips, gravy, onion rings and then for dessert some sugar free jello with squirty cream on top. It was pretty good. I would have liked a bit of salad myself, but the guys were not having salad. You know men of a certain age. Salad is a no go, and they were paying.
In it's place I am offering my recipe for Small Batch Fried Chicken (Air Fryer or Oven). The recipe makes 2 servings of a lovely crisp and flavor-filled chicken. Moist meat, crispy skin and coating. This would go with just about anything. In the warmer months, it is nice with potato salad, pasta salad, corn on the cob, etc. and in the winter it is lovely with mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables.
MONDAY, May 13th - Horseradish Cheddar Tuna Melts
I saw this recipe for a no frills, open-faced Tuna Melt on the NYT cooking page a week or so ago. This Horseradish Tuna Melt Recipe immediately caught my attention! I really love Tuna Melts. I love Tuna anything. Cold tuna sandwiches, tuna casserole, etc. I even like tuna salad in the summer months.
This was a really simple recipe. It only required a few simple ingredients. Tinned albacore tuna, creamy horseradish sauce, a good mayonnaise, garlic and some seasoning. This gets piled onto toasted English Muffins and topped with some good cheddar cheese. It then gets popped under the broiler/grill until the cheese has melted and everything is heated through nicely.
I enjoyed this with some crisp celery sticks for a nice light supper. You could add a bowl of soup if you are a really hearty eater.
TUESDAY, May 14th - Ina Garten's Vodka Sauce Pasta (small batch)
On Tuesday I really fancied some pasta. I used to make this recipe for the people I worked for at the Manor in Kent. Its fabulously tasty. I adapted the recipe from her cookbook entitled Foolproof. I love Ina's recipes. For the most part they are very simple and use simple ingredients. This was pretty much olive oil, onion, garlic, good tomatoes, vodka, cream and some seasonings. The sauce is started on top of the stove and then finished in the oven, where it slow cooks and condenses to a sauce that has amazing flavors!
This was fabulous served with some additional grated Parmesan cheese grated over top and buttered crusty bread. I also enjoyed a salad on the side. This was a simple and yet incredibly lovely meal. Sized for two, it is very easily doubled or tripled, and you can freeze any sauce leftovers for a later date.
WEDNESDAY, May 15th - Dinner out with Dad, Hazel and Cindy
On Wednesday nights I always go out to dinner with my father and his friend Hazel. Sometimes my sister will join us. We always go to The Big Scoop Family Restaurant & Takeaway. They had several specials this week. Haddie Bits (which are like scraps of fresh haddock battered and deep fried). This came with chips, coleslaw and tartar sauce. My sister had them, but she said they were really dry. You could tell that they were all tail ends of pieces of haddock and so thin and easily over-cooked. Hazel had the Pan Grilled Haddock, which came with chips, vegetables, roll, coleslaw. She was happy with hers.
I also had the same thing as Hazel, except I had mashed potatoes with mine instead of chips. Dad had a hotdog and chips. He is always happy if he has a hotdog. I think hotdogs are one of his favorite things.
The other special was their bacon cheese burger, served with chips and coleslaw. Cindy got one to take home for Dan. The recipe I am sharing today, in it's place is the Inside Out Bacon Cheese Burger. Nicely seasoned ground beef is patted out flat into an oval and then you pile cheese on one half and fold the other half over top to seal the cheese in before grilling. Delicious served hot on a toasted bun with some grilled bacon, onions and your other favorite burger toppings.
THURSDAY, May 16th - Teriyaki Steak Stir Fry
I used a piece of sirloin steak that I had in the freezer that was not overly large to create a delicious stir fry sized just for two people. You can very easily double it to serve more if you wish. The steak is marinated in some soy sauce and black pepper while you prepare your vegetables. You can use any vegetables that you have, even frozen.
The star of this dish is that delicious homemade Teriyaki Sauce. Sweet and spicy and salty, this sauce would go with just about any protein or vegetable. This was a delicious meal that I served with some brown rice. A tasty way to use up some of the veggies in the veggie drawer in in my refrigerator.
FRIDAY, May 17th - Fish and Chips from Jonny's Cookhouse
Cindy and I had a lot of running around to do on Friday. We are in the process of moving my 90 year old father in to my sister's home. We had a whole car load of things to take up country and donate to Value Village. I sure miss the charity shops of the U.K. Value Village is not a charity shop and they do make quite a bit off of what you bring in, but it keeps things out of the landfill so that is a good thing I suppose.
We left really early Friday morning, about 9 a.m. to go load up at dad's and then on up to New Minas. By the time we finished everything we had to do and were on our way back the siren call of Jonny's Cookhouse in Berwick was calling out to us and we just couldn't resist answering the call!
I know I only had fish on Wednesday night but I had fish again. This time it was really naughty fish, in a beautiful English style batter and served with beer fries. Plank cut fries that are dipped in a beer batter prior to frying. Oh boy but it was some tasty, and more than made up for the lousy Haddie Bits that my sister had had on Wednesday night. If you would like to make your own fish and chips at home, I have an excellent recipe for Beer Battered Cod and Chips. This an excellent recipe and was even featured in the Canadian version of Hello Magazine several years ago!
SATURDAY, May 18th - Amish Country Casserole
I had some of this tasty casserole in the freezer which I just heated up in the microwave. The original recipe makes four servings, and that is a small batch of the original recipe which made twice that amount. I like to make the four serving size and then freeze three servings, individually for those times when I am super busy and don't have a lot of time for cooking.
Saturdays I usually go grocery shopping with my sister and we make almost a whole day of it. We go to several different shops to pick up on the specials that we can. You have to do what you have to do in today's economic climate to make ends meet.
I knew I was going to be late getting home and so I had taken it out of the freezer this morning. This is a delicious casserole that is made by the Amish. It has ground beef, pasta, a delicious creamy sauce, cheese, etc. Those Amish sure know how to cook.
I enjoyed this with a simple salad on the side and was very happy. I did enjoy some fresh berries for after's. A simple repast that brought me a great deal of pleasure! For larger appetites you could add garlic bread.
And there you have it. My main meals of the week for the past seven days. I did eat take out food between the KFC and the fish and chips a few times, which is quite out of the ordinary for me. I usually only eat out once a week. This week was a once in a blue moon week!
I hope that there was something here to whet your own appetite for the week ahead! I promise you t is all delicious and for the most part, very affordable!
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