I am trying to get back into cooking properly after a while of relying on pasta and ‘whatever is in the freezer’ over the summer.

I have enjoyed it this last week, so fingers crossed I keep it up and don’t revert to type again.

Weekday Meals

Seekh Kebab Rolls served with salad, coleslaw & potato salad This was a recipe from the Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light Cookbook (which I acquired at the weekend and have been using most of the week) and I was pleasantly surprised when both kids emptied their plates (apart from a bit of salad in Arthur’s case). It was pretty tasty, and although I found it a bit fiddly this time, I think next time will be easier because I know vaguely what I’m doing. And also I know I need to chop my onions smaller… they were a bit rustic this time.

Cheesy Leeks on Toast with sausages Another Pinch of Nom recipe which went down better than expected with everyone. I was a little concerned when I dished up plates with one large slice of cheesy toast and three chipolata sausages each, that I had massively under catered, but it was super filling and very tasty and actually none of us felt like we needed more in the end.

Pizza We were all eating at different times on Wednesday thanks to various clubs and events, so I just made sure there was pizza in the freezer for everyone and we made it as and when we each needed to eat.

Yeung Chow Fried Rice Yup, Pinch Of Nom again. I substituted the prawns in the recipe with chopped smoked sausage because only Caius likes prawns, but it was still super tasty. Very flavourful but much lighter than takeaway food usually is which is a win.

Cheese & Onion Crispbakes served with mixed vegetables and bacon I promise I will put the Pinch Of Nom book down soon… These went down well, too. Again, I was afraid that a single cheesy crispbake and sweetcorn, peas, and bacon chunks was going to leave us unsatisfied, and again I was wrong. The Pinch of Nom folks seem to have nailed ‘surprisingly filling’ in their recipes which is good to know.

Weekend Meals

Pasta Bake Easy favourite for a Saturday night – giving the new recipe book a rest!

Spaghetti Bolognaise Had a bit of a freezer sort out and I have a bag of mince that needs using up and spaghetti bolognaise is also perfect for using up whatever sad veggies are left in the drawer at the end of the week.