Here it is another Sunday and I am here sharing my Meals of the Week with you! I can't believe how quickly the weeks are passing! I always enjoy sharing my meals with you each week.
As a single person living on my own, and as an older person on a limited budget, it can often be a bit of a challenge for me to feed myself decent home cooked and delicious meals that are neither repetitious or unhealthy, and that won't break my bank!
Each week I rise to the challenge of doing so and then I like to share my results with you, hopefully to inspire you to all do the same. I love to cook and I love to eat and I refuse to feed myself a diet of frozen meals, packets and takeaways!
This is a much healthier way of eating, lower in salt and fat than any of the traditional ready-prepped meals that we see out there, either fresh or frozen. Food is just better for you if you prepare it yourself. You get to control the sugar, the fat and the salt!
Generally speaking I do eat out once a week with my father and then on Sundays I am treated to a nice home-cooked meal at my sister and brother-in-law's place. Always a treat and always home cooked. The meal that I have out, I always endeavor to share a "like" recipe for you that you can replicate in the comfort of your own home.
Seriously there is no reason why you can't eat well even if you are living all on your own. Nothing I share is overly expensive or difficult and it is all delicious. That is my promise to you.
These are my main meals. The rest of the day I will have probably some cereal or toast for breakfast and then perhaps a sandwich or a salad for my supper. I eat my main meals at noon for the most part. Admittedly I sometimes have cereal again for my supper because I have left it too late in the day to make a sandwich, or I am just not feeling it. Cereal is the ultimate comfort food in my book.
I will often cook oatmeal from scratch for my breakfast which I enjoy with some milk and a drizzle of date syrup. When I am eating cold cereal, I like cheerios. I have always loved cheerios. They don't go soggy like some others, and are not all that high in sugar.
For the most part I will eat a multi-grain bread. Its better for you and filled with fiber. I am a simple person with simple tastes. And with that . . . I give you, my Meals of the Week!
SUNDAY October 29th - Sunday Dinner at Cindy's
On Sundays I usually go to my sister's place to have a family dinner with her, my brother-in-law and my father. This week she roasted a chicken in the air fryer. She uses this recipe, and does a whole small chicken in there. She had all of the fixings on the side. Stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, gravy. It was a lovely meal.
For your convenience I am linking to my recipe for Ballymaloe House Roast Chicken with Herb Stuffing. Ballymaloe House is in Ireland and it is the home of a fabulous cooking school. This recipe is attributed to Myrtle Allen who owns and instructs at the school.
MONDAY, October 30th - Vintage Menu Madness
On Monday I cooked my weekly Vintage Menu. This week was very much a comfort food week. We had Swiss Steak with mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, pickles, bread and butter, and for dessert a lush homemade applesauce with some whipped cream on top.
I used an heirloom apple which I had picked up at the Spur's Farmer's Market called Sweet Tart. It was lovely and pink inside and made the most delicious, pink hued applesauce I have ever eaten. It was altogether a really fabulous comfort meal which reminded me very much of my childhood!
TUESDAY, October 31st - Halloween with Four Can Chili
Ever since my children were small I have always served a hearty soup or stew on Halloween. They were always gagging to get out and trick-or-treat so it was hard to get them to eat anything, but this type of thing usually did the trick. Old habits die hard and so I enjoyed a hearty bowl of Four Can Chili with some crackers.
This goes together in the slow cooker and involved only four cans of storecupboard ingredients and some seasonings. It is really delicious and it also freezes really well. I tend to eat one serving on the day and then freeze the rest in single serving zip lock baggies. (You can freeze the flat and they take up less room on the freezer.) It never hurts to have a few things like this in the freezer to enjoy when and as you need something and don't have a lot of time.
Did you know you can thaw frozen things in baggies out really quickly and easily by dropping the baggie into a bowl of water to cover. (Not hot water.) If you have frozen your meal flat like this chili, it thaws out in quick time.
WEDNESDAY, November 1st - Dinner out with Dad and Hazel
On Wednesday nights, most of the time, I meet my father and his friend Hazel at a local restaurant for a meal out. The special at the restaurant last Wednesday was a Turkey Club Panini served with Crisp Chippers (fries cut like potato chips). I took advantage of having the special!
In it's place I am sharing my recipe for a Turkey Club Croissant Sandwich. This makes a really tasty supper, especially when you serve it with a cup or soup or some chips on the side. A fresh crisp and flaky all butter croissant loaded with all of your Club Sandwich favorites. Sliced smoked turkey, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise all on that flaky croissant. This goes down so well. Its one of my favorite sandwiches, and homemade always tastes infinitely better!
THURSDAY, November 2nd - Spaghetti Bolognese
On Thursday I had a pretty busy day and so I availed myself of this Really Good Bolognese Sauce that I had in the freezer. When I make a Bolognese, I tend to make a full batch and then freeze it in small portions. It never hurts to have Bolognese Sauce in the freezer.
This version is particularly nice with a really quality ground steak, some quality tinned Italian tomatoes, red wine and a few other bits and bobs. It is the result of many, many years of my testing, trialing and playing with the sauce until I came up with what I think is the perfect sauce. It is fabulous on pasta, of course, but is also lovely in lasagna, ziti casserole, etc. Anywhere you want to use a good Bolognese sauce. On this day I enjoyed it simply with some spaghetti, with a salad on the side and some crusty bread.
FRIDAY, November 3rd - Creamy Dijon Sauced Chicken with Mashed Potatoes
My sister and I had picked up a great deal on Chicken Breasts at the Giant Tiger in Greenwood this week and so I used one of them to make myself a small batch of Creamy Dijon Sauced Chicken with Mashed Potatoes. Simple to make and incredibly tasty.
You have perfectly cooked pieces of chicken breasts, sauteed until golden brown and then roasted in the same skillet in a lush and creamy Dijon sauce to perfection. While they are roasting you make your creamy mashed potatoes to serve on the side. I enjoyed this with a side salad. Lush and delicious!
SATURDAY, November 4th - Cheesy Garlic and Brown Sugar Chops
These easy pork chops turn out tender and delicious each and every time you make them. Quick to throw together you can be enjoying them in about half an hour. Quantities are given for one chop, which makes it easy to multiply to make as many chops as you wish to cook at any given time. These are filled with flavor!
Flavor filled juicy garlicky and sweet pork chops, perfectly cooked and then topped with some melting cheddar cheese. Its that sweet and savory thing that is impossible to resist.
I love adaptable recipes like this which enable me to cook for just one or for ten. It doesn't matter how many people you are wanting to feed. It is very easy to multiply to fee more, like the loaves and fishes.
I enjoyed this with some scalloped potatoes and a mix of corn and peas.
And there you have it. All the deliciousness for my main meals from the past seven days! I think you will agree that I ate very well! There was no complaining here!
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