Last week was tasty! I particularly enjoyed the giant Yorkshire puds and the Honey Mustard Chicken.
Arthur looked like I had presented him with a bowl of dirt when he saw the chicken, but that was because it has skin on and a bone in it and he’s a fussy oik. He also threw a grump at the Sausage & Spinach Rice and took four hundred years to eat it, though I didn’t think it was that bad!
Bonus tasty for the week was provided by Tori who made a very lovely apple and raspberry pie in her school Food Tech lessons. It went very well with ice cream!
This Week’s Planned Meals:
…are thinner on the ground than usual because we will be eating with others for some nights so the menu is going to be sorted out on the day a few times, rather than planned ahead.
Pizza – Monday was as normal though – pizza all round!
Fishcakes, Hash Brown Bites & mixed vegetables – We haven’t had fishcakes for a while and Morrisons had some tasty looking ones on offer when I did the shopping, so I picked those up to have during the week.
Chicken & Chorizo Paella (The After School Cookbook by Nick Coffer) – I always thought I hated paella, because it always seems to be full of things with tentacles and heads. It turns out that the traditional, original paella had exactly zero seafood in it though, and that paella de marisco is a more modern thing replacing all the nice things with icky things.
This recipe favours the original flavours such as chicken, chorizo, and green beans – all of which I like! I am actually excited for this one, which is something I never really thought I’d say about paella.
Sausage & Spinach Baked Rice (Sorted Sidekick App) – As mentioned above, this didn’t go down so well. I think Arthur was mostly offended by the dill & creme fraiche topping than the rice itself though. I did also accidentally absent-mindedly use the wrong sort of rice for it, too, although I don’t think that mattered too much at the end – more a difference in texture than taste.
Overall this year so far there have been more food hits than misses and plenty of empty plates and happy tummies. I have also relied much less on the freezer staples and beloved ‘beige’ foods, cooking from fresh more often than not, which I had fallen out of love with doing a bit before.
I know we are only just in February, but usually by this point there are definitely more beige dinners creeping in and my enthusiasm has dwindled. I don’t know if this is because I’ve found better recipes, the Not-So-Smalls have become less fussy eaters, or just random luck, but here’s hoping it continues because I am starting to properly enjoy eating at home again for the first time in a while.
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Carole Finds Her Wings 