Meals of the Week, May 5th - 11th, 2024

Here we are again with another Sunday Meals of the Week Post. On Sundays I like to catch my readers up with all of the main meals that I have enjoyed over the past seven days.  I enjoy sharing them with you and I think most of you enjoy seeing them as well.

It can really be a challenge for me at times to eat properly. As a person living on my own I can tend to eat in front of the television at times, not paying any attention to what I am putting into my mouth. I think it could be that way for anyone living on their own. Food is really meant to be enjoyed with other people, and actually tastes better when it is.

Getting to share what I have eaten with you all is my way of doing that.  Enjoying what I have eaten with someone else, by sharing it.  It also helps to make me accountable for what I am eating.  Keeping me in check so that I don’t end up eating nothing but hotdogs and potato chips. I find that I eat much healthier if I know I am going to be sharing it with you!

Aside from a few meals eaten out, for the most part I cook everything I eat, from scratch here at home. I try to keep my meals within budget most of the time and to enjoy a variety of proteins, vegetables and fruit. These are only my main meals.  I do also eat breakfast and most days a small lunch.

More often than not I will eat oatmeal for my breakfast. I am a breakfast for supper kind of a person, so if I have eggs I will mostly have them for supper.  I am also not a heavy lunch eater. I might have half a sandwich, but more often than not it will be a salad and/or some fruit, depending on how hungry I am.

I try not to eat anything after  certain time in the evening. My cut-off is 7 p.m.   That is just what works for me as I am an early to bed kind of a person and am in bed most nights by 9 or 9:30.  Just a creature of habit, that’s me, but then I am up most mornings at 6 a.m. and working.

In any case here are the main meals which I have enjoyed over the past seven days along with suggestions for sides, etc.  I hope you enjoy them and will be inspired to want to cook a few for yourself!

SUNDAY, May 5th – Oven Poached Eggs on toast

Normally on Sundays I go to my sister’s place for supper.  I wasn’t feeling very good on Sunday. I had some indigestion that was making me feel very uncomfortable so I decided to stay home.  I ended up having an oven poached egg on some white bread toast. That was all I felt like having. It was just as well I didn’t go to Cindy’s as they had pizza for supper. I don’t think my digestion could have handled that. 

Some days you just have to pick your battles.

Oven poached eggs are a great way of poaching anywhere from one to a dozen eggs at one time. They always come out perfectly!  Great for just on their own with toast, or in a dish like Eggs Benedict.  If  you have a crowd at the house on the weekend, they are a great way to go when it comes to fixing breakfast!

MONDAY, May 6th. - Chicken with Peppers

I had a bag of small peppers in the refrigerator that needed using and so I made this recipe that I had been wanting to make for a while. Chicken with Peppers.  It was  a quick and simple dish to put together. Diced chicken is sauteed until golden brown with some onions and garlic.  Sliced peppers are thrown on top and then the pan is covered and the while thing simmers over low heat until the peppers almost melt, creating a lush sauce that is oh so tasty with the chicken!

I enjoyed this with a mix of brown and wild rice.  I buy the ready cooked rice in the pouches just for me.     They only contain two servings, and so not a lot gets wasted. It is not really worth it for me to cook a whole pot of rice on the stove unless I want to eat rice every night with my supper.

TUESDAY, May 7th – English Baked Jacket Potato with some baked beans on top and grated cheese

I love a baked jacket potato. One of the first thing I had to eat when I went to the U.K. the first time was a jacket potato. They do jacket potatoes (baked potatoes) really well and they love to top them with a variety of toppings. Baked beans, tuna mayonnaise, cheese, etc.  On this night I topped mine with a snap pot of baked beans and some grated cheddar.  I enjoyed a small salad on the side.

I buy little snap pots of baked beans from a shop called Blighty’s.  They sell British foods. They come four in a pack and are individual pots of the Heinz Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce that you can heat up quickly in the microwave. One minute.  Just dump it onto that crispy skinned potato, top with some grated cheddar and presto!  Dinner is served!

    WEDNESDAY, May 8th - Dinner out with Cindy, Dad and Hazel

On Wednesday nights I usually go out to supper with my dad, his friend Hazel and sometimes my sister Cindy.  We go to a place called The Big Scoop Family Restaurant and Takeaway.  Dad and Cindy had their special which was Popcorn Shrimp and Chips. Hazel had the Grilled Haddock. I had the turkey dinner, small eaters.  No, you are not mistaken the picture is not of a turkey dinner.  They do offer a fish burger, which is enormous and one of these days I am going to treat myself to it.  

What I am sharing with you here is my New England Haddock Burger, which is probably much tastier than the restaurant version, because it is homemade.  Soft toasted buns.  Crisp crumb coated  perfectly cooked fish. Rich tartar sauce. Plenty of sour pickles and lettuce. What more could you ask for in a sandwich? Not a lot! 

My turkey dinner was some white turkey meat with some stuffing, mashed squash, peas, gravy, mashed potatoes and a roll.

THURSDAY, May 9th - Chicken Tikka Masala with rice

I was really feeling like having a Curry for my tea on Thursday, and so that is what I did.  One of the first things I learned to make when I went to Chef school in the U.K. was Chicken Tikka Masala.  Their version was slightly different than this one I am sharing with you today.  At the college the chicken was marinated in a heavily spiced yogurt and then roasted on a bed of onions.   I much prefer this creamy one that I made

This version of Tikka Masala consists of marinated chicken pieces that are grilled and then simmered in a creamy tomato-based sauce. The sauce is made with a blend of spices such as cumin, coriander, and garam masala, which give the dish its distinct flavor.  It is creamy and delicious.

I enjoyed with some Pilau rice. Normally I would have a Naan bread with it as well, but on this day I enjoyed some sliced cucumbers and tomatoes on the side that I needed to use up.

FRIDAY, May 10th. - Dinner out with the In-Laws

My Brother-in-law (from my second marriage) wanted to take my sister-in-law and I out for lunch to celebrate Mother’s Day. Even though my ex and I have been divorced for 25 years now, my in-laws and I have remained very good friends.  It was really nice that he wanted to take us out.  We went to another restaurant near where I live called Angies.   It is actually right around the corner from me.  

We started off with cups of fish chowder. I am sharing my recipe for Nova Scotia Fish Chowder in it’s place.  It is rich and delicious and better than any restaurant can make.  I stand by that. I got the recipe from my mother in law.  Aside from that my brother in law and I both had the grilled haddock dinner and my sister in law had the basket of ribs.  Then we came back here and enjoyed a nice visit with each other along with some chocolate cake and a hot drink. It was a lovely day all round.  They ended up taking half the cake home with them!  I was pleased about that!

SATURDAY, May 11th – Pan Seared Steak with Garlic Butter

After a week of eating nothing but poultry and fish, I decided that I was having a steak. I had picked up some lovely strip loin steaks at the grocery store the other day and thought that I would cook myself one as a treat.  I love LOVE steak and it is not something which I have very often. I am not a person that eats a lot of red meat.

They had these on offer, which is really rare here and I got two nice sized steaks for about $10.  So much cheaper than beef has been here in a while, and they were lovely and thick as well.  I froze them both and thawed one for my supper. If you cook something well enough and properly, there is really no need for a lot of bells and whistles. 

This is simply pan seared until medium rare and served with a lush amount of garlic butter and grilled mushrooms.  I had some vegetables on the side. A hearty eater might want to add some chips or a baked potato.

And there you have it, my main meals for the past seven days!  After a rough start at the beginning of the week, I think I did really well all round. I ate some really beautiful meals and still managed to keep within my budget!  I had a nice treat of a meal out on Friday (that I didn’t have to pay for) on top of it all!  I can’t complain!

I hope that there was something here to whet your own appetite! 

Debunking the myths of English Cookery, one recipe at a time.
The English Kitchen
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