I had a slightly dummy spit towards the end of this week. I didn't want to cook, and there was nothing suitable in the freezer, so I picked up a frozen beef pie from my local butcher for dinner. I think it is important to have a few 'convenience' meals for those days when you don't have time, or are far to tired, to cook. Having a few cheats in your dinner arsenal also means you are less reliant on take away.
This week we ate:
Sunday
Gnocchi with Pancetta, Spinach & Parmesan Cream.
I changed the method for this slightly so I had one less pan to wash. Pan fry the pancetta till crisp, then stir through the garlic. Add the cooked gnocchi, and allow to slightly brown in the pancetta fat. Stir through the lemon zest, spinach, cream and Parmesan. Season & serve.
This was extremely good, and very quick to make. The Princess went back for thirds!
Monday
Sausage & Mushroom Pot Pies, served with wilted silverbeet.
I bought good pork & fennel sausages from my local butcher to make the pie filling. I didn't have time to form meatballs as the recipe called for, so I removed the casings and fried off the sausage meat before proceeding with the recipe. I also used sourdough croutons for the top instead of ciabatta, which worked perfectly.
Tuesday
Roasted Asparagus Pesto, served with wholegrain pasta.
Wednesday
Frozen Grass-Fed Beef Pie, served with mash potato and green peas.
I discovered a tub of mashed potato at the back of the freezer, which meant I didn't have to cook more. Frozen mashed potato will separate when defrosted, but it thickens again once heated. Together with some simple baby frozen green peas, dinner required minimal effort.
Thursday
Slow Cooker Sugar-free Teriyaki Chicken, served with jasmine rice and steamed snow peas.
This recipe is not quite ready to share yet, however it was easy to put together using the Sugar Free Teriyaki Sauce I had in the fridge.
Freezer Cooking
This week was all about bread. I sourced a new sourdough starter last week, so spent this week baking. The freezer is now full of sandwich and artisan bread loaves to accompany other meals. I also turned two baguettes into garlic bread, which can be cooked from frozen to accompany dinner.
To make the garlic loaves, slice the baguette into 2cm slices. Mix crushed garlic into softened butter, season with salt and pepper, and sandwich the cut pieces together with the garlic butter. Wrap the assembled loaf in foil and freeze. To cook, place in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 20 - 30 minutes, or until the butter is melted and the bread is piping hot.
Bon Appetit!
