After the chaos that was Christmas and New Year where I didn’t even know what day of the week (or what year!) it was, I have decided that meal planning needs to become a thing again. Not least because then the food shop has some vague structure rather than just ‘we need edible stuff’.

I am hoping that I can get a few more meals on the repertoire now that The Smalls are a bit bigger and braver and slightly less fussy. I’d like to fall back in love with cooking a bit too, after finding it a chore for a while. I have a shiny new (to me) kitchen after all – I should take advantage of all the space!!

With that in mind, I’m going to share my meal plans on here, with links to recipes if I find them online or else reference what books I got them from in case anyone is interested in hunting them down. I’ll report back each week on what did and didn’t work, too. Because there are bound to be some kitchen disasters if I’m in charge. For example, last time I tried to cook Katsu chicken I set three different things on fire, including one pan quite dramatically. It was all very exciting and I was very relieved when it tasted nice at the end!

Monday – Spinach, Salmon & Cherry Tomato Linguine

This is a recipe taken from my go-to recipe book My Daddy Cooks. I know the kids eat salmon these days, and Tori eats tomatoes… that’s just the spinach to convince them to eat. Right?

Tuesday – Oven-Baked Risotto

Another My Daddy Cooks recipe (you’re probably going to see a lot of those, it’s my favourite cook book ever) that I am *fairly* confident will go down without complaint. It is also one that I can reheat easily for Tori when she gets home from her double dance class.

Wednesday – Ikea Meatballs, chips & veg

Wednesday is swimming lesson day for both Smalls which means by the time I’ve sat in the baking hot poolside waiting area for an hour, I want something for tea that takes zero thought or effort. Hello freezer stock!

Thursday – Chick-Chick Chicken Pasta Bake

This recipe is from the Ella’s Kitchen ‘The Red One’ Cook Book which is why it has a title that sounds like it was made up by a three year old. It is a cookbook aimed at toddlers primarily but still works now the Smalls are older and the recipes are generally packed with veggies and the like so are still perfectly good. I will confess that I have bought frozen butternut squash to use when I make this because, quite frankly, I haven’t yet figured out a way to prepare butternut squash that isn’t exhausting and/or dangerous for my fingers.

Friday – ??????!

It was my Dad’s birthday earlier this week so we are going to my parents’ house for dinner today to help finish off his birthday cake!

Saturday – Chicken Enchiladas

I’m just going to make this one up as I go and hope it works. I’ve made them before and I have a packet of mild fajita spice left in the cupboard that will do as seasoning. Just need to knock up a tomato sauce and grate plenty of cheese and everything will be fine!

Sunday – Toad In The Hole

One of my favourite winter warmers. Homemade Yorkshire pudding, sausages, peas and I might even make proper onion gravy to go with it (partly because we still have about 300 onions left from when I got overexcited in the Christmas food shop…)