Here I am with another Meals of the Week Post. Each Sunday I like to share the recipes and menus for all of the main meals that I have enjoyed over the past seven days! This is something that I enjoy doing and it is something which my readers also seem to enjoy!
I am determined that I am going to eat healthy and balanced meals despite now living on my own for the first time in my life. I have gone from cooking for my parents and siblings to cooking for a family, a variety of husbands and now at the age of 68 I find myself having to adapt again to the smallest family I have ever cooked for, one person!
As cooks I think we go through different stages in our lives. I started cooking for my parents and siblings when I was a young teenager and my mother went out to work fulltime. I probably wasn't very good then. I mostly just reheated things my mother had already prepared, but I gained experience and I learned.
One of my first jobs away from home was as a pastry chef in a big hotel. I learned a lot at that job, let me tell you, but it was fun and it was exciting. I was responsible for all of the appetizers, salads and desserts.
Getting married and having a family added another level of experience to my culinary history. As I grew in experience my family also grew in size until I was preparing meals on a daily basis for 7 people and often more. This was a great time in my life. I learned a lot, from friends, from family, from television, magazines and books.
Divorce and remarriage sent me across the channel to the UK and a new life at the turn of the century. My children were mostly out of the nest at that point and I went from cooking for a family of seven down to cooking for just myself and my husband. That was a learning curve, to go from cooking for a crowd to coking for two and then . . .
I started working at the Manor as a personal Chef for an American family. This was a great learning experience. I regularly cooked, three meals a day for a family and on occasion anywhere for 25 to 200 people. This was another huge learning curve, but I enjoyed every minute of it and I learned a lot. I went from strength to strength.
I am now back in Canada and cooking for just one person. This has probably been one of the hardest learning curves. Learning to cook for only one person without a lot of waste, and yet keeping things exciting and interesting and healthy at the same time.
These weekly posts are an opportunity for me to look back on the previous weeks meals, which are definitely a challenge for me. To try to keep things healthy, reasonable, without a lot of waste, and within budget, as well as interesting. I think I am doing pretty good with this challenge. What do you think?
Thanks for coming along with me!
SUNDAY, January 7th - Family dinner at Cindy's
On Sundays we usually gather at my sister's home to enjoy a meal together as a family. On this particular day she roasted a chicken. It was delicious. It always is, served with a variety of side dishes and vegetables. The best part of those meals is getting to share it with family. I missed times like this so much while I was living in the U.K. I am so grateful to be able to enjoy them now.
I am sharing the recipe for my Roasted Spatchcock Chicken for this day. Spatchcocking a chicken means to remove the back bone from a whole chicken and flatten it out. This means that the chicken cooks in a fraction of the time and more evenly. In this case it was roasted on a bed of root vegetables. These add a lovely flavor to both the bird and any gravy you might make.
MONDAY, January 8th - Ham & Cheese Roll Ups with a cup of Wild Mushroom Soup
Cold and blustery day. I had some ham that I had bought while my son and his family were visiting at the weekend and so I decided to use it up and make myself some Ham and Cheese Roll Ups. Not only are these very easy to make, but they are delicious. I was wishing I had someone to share them with and so I took some over to my next door neighbor, who is always most appreciative.
The cup of soup was from a package. I buy them from an online British grocers called Blighty's. They have an excellent selection and I love these cup of soups much more than I do the Canadian counterparts. Together with my roll ups, this made for a really filling and delicious supper.
TUESDAY, January 9th - Macaroni, Cheese & Tomato Bake
I had a lot of running around to do on Tuesday and so I made myself a very simple supper when I got home. Macaroni, Cheese & Tomato Bake. This is one of my favorites and the link is to a small batch recipe. It is very easily doubled to feed more.
What you have here is a simple tomato sauced macaroni base, topped with a rich cheesy bechamel sauce and baked. The tomato sauce bubbles up through the cheese sauce, the flavors mingling in the most delicious way! I always like to enjoy this with a salad.
WEDNESDAY, January 10th - Dinner at the Big Scoop with Dad
On Wednesday nights we generally enjoy a meal out with my father and his friend Hazel. We usually go to The Big Scoop which is a local restaurant here in town. It was recently sold and is now the Big Scoop Family Restaurant and Takeaway. They had been closed since before Christmas and this was their first day open after the holidays and after the change of hands.
There was my father, Hazel, my sister and myself. It was very busy and I think they did quite well for the first day open with all the hiccups that come along with that, kitchen and waiting staff getting used to a whole new menu, etc. Cindy and I had the Hot Turkey Poutine, Dad had his usual Hotdog and Chips and Hazel had Fish and Chips. To be honest Dad was the only one who was really happy with his meal. Hazel thought her fish was greasy and Cindy and I liked the chips, but the gravy on the poutine was pretty flavorless and not very hot. The dressing was not hot either and there was no real chunks of turkey. We would not order it again. My sister ordered a Double Dorn Burger to take home to her husband and that was great! So it was probably just teething problems with our poutine.
If you are wanting to try the Hot Turkey Poutine that I have pictured about, that is my recipe and it is delicious. You can find that here. I shouldn't have set the standard so high! Perhaps we might have enjoyed the restaurant one more! Next time I will order something else!
THURSDAY, January 11th - Old Fashioned Corn Chowder
We had another really blustery and cold day. I was out shopping with my sister in the morning and when I got home and situated I decided to make myself a small pot of Corn Chowder. It was hearty and warming and delicious.
I served it with Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods, which are a cheese drop biscuit that I had baked. It was a fabulous meal that really hit the spot, and I had some chowder that I could freeze for another time. Always nice to have on hand!
FRIDAY, January 12th - Gremolata Baked Cod
I am trying to eat a bit healthier since my last Doctors appointment. I am anemic and my blood sugars were up. I need to be eating more leafy green vegetables and of course fish is always a healthy choice. Especially if it is not deep fried.
On this day I fell back on an old favorite of mine, Gremolata Baked Cod, served on a bed of lightly sauteed garlic spinach with some roasted beets and sweet potato wedges on the side. A super meal filled with lots of deliciousness.
Cod loins are seasoned with salt and then swished in a mix of lemon juice, white wine, olive oil and garlic before being placed on a buttered baking tray. If you don't have white wine you can use chicken or vegetable stock. Bread crumbs are then mixed with some herbs, lemon zest and olive oil and sprinkled on top. A quick bake (15 minutes) and your fish is done to perfection. This really is delicious.
SATURDAY, January 13th - Chunky Puy Lentil & Vegetable Soup
I had a really busy day and it was once more a really cold blustery day. Just what you might expect in January. I had a bit of running about to do and so I cooked up myself delicious, healthy and hearty soup for my supper which I enjoyed with some crackers. Chunky Puy Lentil & Vegetable Soup.
Puy lentils, grown in France are just wonderful in soups. They thicken without turning to sludge. They don't break down like other lentils and keep their lovely little shape, giving any soup which is made with them a bit of a bite, a very delicious bite!
This was fabulous and really hit the spot. For dessert I enjoyed a mix of fresh berries, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. I was truly well fed!
And there you have it, my Meals of the Week for the past week. I think I ate pretty well. What do you think?
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