Meals of the Week, January 21st to 27th, 2024

Here we are again, another Sunday, another Meals of the Week post!  Every Sunday I like to share with you, my readers, all of the main meals that I have cooked, eaten and otherwise enjoyed over the past seven days!  This week I was experimenting with Vegan and Vegetarian cooking.  I did have a couple of days where I did eat meat, but the rest of the week I tried to stay vegetarian and more plant based in my eating.

Don’t worry however, in those cases I have included ideas and or instructions or replacements for making a meal which any meat lover would enjoy!  To be honest, I am not at all sure I could go totally Vegan. I enjoy eggs, dairy and cheese far too much, but I would like to incorporate more plant based and vegetarian type of meals into my diet!

This is purely from a health perspective for myself. I have found that I am not eating as many fruits and vegetables as I should be and I am trying to get more of my five-a-day into my diet. This is really hard when you are a person living on your own. 

I also watched a series on Netflix called You Are What You Eat, The Twin Experiment. In this series Stanford University in the U.S. took 22 sets of identical twins and put them on opposite but healthy diets for 8 weeks. One Vegan and the other  omnivore.  The results were quite astonishing. I won’t spoil it for you as you may want to watch it for yourself.

In watching it however, I became quite disgusted with the way much of our meat, fish and poultry is raised.  I was actually a bit sickened by some of it and came away from the series wanting to be more pro-active in what I choose to put into my body, and hopefully in the process become more healthy.  We shall see how that goes.

I think I just need to make better choices when it comes to meat, fish and poultry, opting for proteins that truly are free range, and raised with humanity.  I think I was disgusted the most by farmed fish. The impact on our environment also appalled me.

In any case this week I chose a more vegetable/plant based diet.  I think I did fairly well for a newbie to the idea.  I have provided suitable recipes for both sides of the argument in most cases and ideas on how to convert the recipes depending on what side of the fence you sit on!

It was a delicious week nonetheless and I am quite happy with what I accomplished.

SUNDAY, January 21st - Dinner at Cindy’s

On Sundays I usually have dinner at my sister’s place with the family. Dad is not getting out at the moment due to his car accident and we are taking dinner to him each day. My sister cooked a delicious lasagna this week, which we enjoyed with garlic bread and some salad.

Here is my recipe for a small batch Lasagna.  It is rich and hearty and can be easily doubled to feed a larger family.   I am also sharing my Herbed Garlic Cheese Bread recipe.   Also very simple and delicious!  I could really pig out on this!

MONDAY, January 22nd – Crispy Refried Bean Tacos

I am trying to eat more plant based meals when I can.  On Tuesday I made myself some delicious plant based Tacos.  These were fabulously spiced, and loaded with plenty of refried beans, which were doctored up with some green chilies and spices.  

As well as that there was grated cheese, and my favorite toppings.  I filled soft flour tacos with the beans and cheese and then pan crisped them up in a tiny bit of oil. I topped with my favorite toppings at the end.  Spring onions, lettuce, black olives, and some sour cream and taco sauce. 

If you are wanting a meatier taco, might I suggest Shredded Beef Tacos, (done in the slow cooker) or BBQ Flat Chicken Tacos for two, also very delicious. 

TUESDAY, January 23rd – Pineapple Fried Rice

On Tuesday I tried a delicious new recipe for fried rice.  Pineapple Fried Rice.  This is a vegan recipe loaded with plenty of vegetables and fresh pineapple. Peas and toasted cashew nuts provide vital protein. If you wanted to you could add cooked shrimp, chicken, ham or  pork to this recipe to please the meat lover.    Its very delicious and very versatile!  I loved it!

I do have quite a few other Fried Rice Recipes that I have shared on here through the years, including curried Spam Fried Rice. What can I say, I love LOVE fried rice!

WEDNESDAY, January 24th – Dinner out with Dad

On Wednesday my sister and I met Hazel and my Dad at the Big Scoop for Dinner. Hazel had picked up Dad and drove him there.  She is a good friend.  We all had the fish.  Some with chips, some without.  I chose the pan fried haddock dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  It was really good.   I am sharing my recipe for Pan Fried Fish with you. It is a vintage recipe, but very good.

You can use any pan dressed fish. Trout, salmon, haddock, etc.   I am not a huge fan of oily fish so I usually cook haddock or cod in this manner.

THURSDAY, January 25th – Corn Chowder with Dumplings

It was a cold and snowy day and so I made myself a hearty soup for my dinner on this day.  Corn Chowder with Dumplings. This was the first time I had made dumplings with corn chowder, and I can promise you it won’t be the last!  These were fabulous.

The chowder was hearty and creamy and lightly spiced with Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce and the dumplings were light and fluffy and riddled with grated cheese. This was some delicious!

FRIDAY January 26th – Easy Mushroom Bolognese

I tried out another Vegan recipe on Friday for a delicious Mushroom Bolognese.  This was fabulous served with some Pappardelle pasta with a light dusting of Parmesan Cheese.  I was really pleased with the way it turned out.  I did cut the recipe in half.  Mushrooms have a rich and meaty taste, especially the darker mushrooms such as Crimini, which I used.

This was also very quick and easy to make, which always works for me.   If you are a person who loves meat, might I suggest my Tomato and Beef Bolognese sauce which is also incredibly delicious, especially with spaghetti, or for use in a lasagna. 

I enjoyed this as is with some garlic bread on the side.  I was really well fed on this day!  (I had the leftovers, cheekily, for breakfast  the day after! lol)

SATURDAY, January 27th – Potato and Cheese Pie

Not quite Vegan for sure because it uses eggs and cheese, this Potato and Cheese Pie made for a really delicious supper which I enjoyed along with some pickled beets, fermented sauerkraut and buttered brown bread.  It is a simple and delicious casserole to make which makes a fabulous main dish for the vegetarian or a simple side for the meat lovers in your life!

Cheese, onions, potatoes, and green beans are layered up in a dish. A seasoned milk and egg mixture is poured over top. This is baked to perfection. Rich and cheesy, ready to enjoy as it, or with a salad, or along side grilled meat, fish or poultry.

And those were my delicious meals of the week for the past seven days. I didn’t miss meat all that much.  I do have a lot of meat in my freezer which needs using up so don’t worry, there will be some meaty meals in the future. I was just trying to see if I could do a vegetarian week this week and for the most part, except for the fish on Wednesday and the Lasagna on Sunday, I managed it quite well!  

I am not sure I could ever go totally Vegan to be honest. I think I would miss cheese, eggs, and dairy too much. So far my sister and I have not been able to find any kind of cheese or dairy substitute which really satisfies. But then we live in the boonies.

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