Our weekly meal plan! 8th - 14th December! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you are all having a good start to the week. Last weeks meal plan went well, I swapped a couple of meals around, of course I did. I think it's a given my meal plan rarely goes 100% to plan. We ended up getting pasties from Greggs on Monday instead of using the one's out of the freezer on Thursday and had fish and chips on Friday from the chip shop. I did get my freezer defrosted and it didn't take as long as I thought so that's a good thing.

I feel like this week is going to be a busy one. We are doing the big food shop for all the freezer stuff and I am going to get all the presents wrapped. Wish me luck, I hate wrapping but hopefully by the end of this week a big chunk of my Christmas to-do list will be done! I'm also going to drop some presents off to family and I must give the kids a nagging to make sure they have bought everything that they need to. Every year there’s always one who suddenly remembers they forgot something three days before Christmas and guess who ends up sorting it! So the nagging shall begin to make my future life easier.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - A surprise!

Today is going to be a total surprise as I will pick something up while I am out. It could be anything but I do know that's it going to be something that needs minimal preparing and cooking.

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Pork, Apple & Sage Potato Topped Pie!

Pork and apple in a hearty potato topped pie. Infused with aromatic sage and served with green vegetables and of course gravy! This one is new to us but we love anything with sage at this time of year and I’ve never met a potato topped anything I didn’t like.

Wednesday - Gousto - Thai-Style Yellow Chicken Curry With Rice!

Juicy chicken in a fragrant blend of ginger, garlic, turmeric and curry powder with a creamy coconut stock. Finished with a squeeze of lime and served over fluffy rice.

Thursday - Gousto meal - Bacon & Garlic Mushrooms With Creamy Mash!

Sauteed mushrooms with crispy bacon, butter and plenty of garlic. Served on a bed of creamy mashed potato with tenderstem broccoli. This is comfort food at its finest!

Friday - Pizza!

A fail safe Friday plan. Everyone will be happy including me because there’s basically no washing up.

Saturday - Picky bits!

The best kind of Saturday tea. I’m stocking up on all the little party bits: Oriental platters, Indian platters with prawn toast, onion bhajis, samosas, spring rolls, all the beige food groups. I’ll probably add some cheese and crackers too because it is December and December is eat whatever makes you smile season!

Sunday - Mince and tatties!

Savoury minced beef (ground beef) cooked in a rich gravy with onions and carrots, served alongside creamy mashed potatoes

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 30th Nov - 6th Dec! Week 49 of #Project365

How's December treating you? I hope it has been a good start to the month and you are not getting too bogged down in the Christmas chaos. Things have been good here, well apart from Becky having a cold. She stayed in her room mostly, is over the worst and none of us have caught it so far. I've been doing little bits, getting ready for Christmas and feel on top of things at the moment.

We've had another quiet weekend so far. We haven't been up to much, just enjoying the quiet time we have before things get busy next week.

Now for a photo every day!

334/365 - 30th November

I spent Sunday afternoon catching up with the wrestling. There was a live event on Saturday night and as much as I love it I cannot be staying up until the early hours only to wake up looking like I've been the one fighting in the ring so I watched it the next day with no fear of falling asleep mid-slam.

335/365 - 1st December

On Monday Stu and I did a bit more Christmas shopping. We stopped off for some lunch because shopping on an empty stomach is not the way to do things. We treated ourselves to hot chocolates, I went for the Irish Cream flavour which was lovely and extremely festive. If December had a taste that would probably be it!

336/365 - 2nd December

My youngest was sporting the holey look! She's not being scruffy, the clothes were bought like this with the holes in. I’m far too old to understand half the fashion trends these days but she looked great and far cooler than I ever did at her age.

337/365 - 3rd December

Creamy chicken thigh, leek & carrot pie! My family do love this recipe from Gousto and I do too as it's one of those recipes that looks like I've put loads of effort in but it’s secretly really easy.

338/365 - 4th December

Some of the Christmas wrapping paper, I have no excuses now not to wrap all of the presents. The paper is there, the tags, tape, scissors and ribbon, the only thing missing is my motivation. I'm sure I've mentioned it many times but I hate wrapping presents.

339/365 - 5th December

I watched the World Cup Draw. What a circus, there was a lot of talking, singing and a good 20 minutes of bragging about what a wonderful man "the orange one" is and how he’s changed the world. He even got a medal and a certificate. It reminded me of kids in Primary school when awards were made up to boost their confidence. hahaha Then came The Village People singing the Orange one's favourite song. Madness! Anyway, England is the same group as Croatia, Ghana and Panama which seems OK.

340/365 - 6th December

A standard photo for a Saturday when I don't have much to do. It was another gloomy day but as I am typing this the sun is trying to come out despite it also looking like it might rain.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Treats!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

I have had a quiet week, it feels like it has been the little pocket of peace before the Christmas madness starts. Bring it on, I am ready for it, well as long as I don't come down with the cold that Becky has been suffering with over the past week. Eek! Poor Becky hasn't been well. She got sent home from work so I know she wasn't being dramatic. You have to be at deaths door before they will lose a staff member for a shift. I think the nose bleed swung it for her, she had been blowing her nose lots and the heat in the home irritated her nose. Considering she works in health care she doesn't do well with the sight of blood. Bless her! She thought it was a treat to be sent home and to be quarantining in her room. She has been able to sleep, doze, scroll on TikTok and have meals and drinks brought to her. It's just a normal, bad cold, she was tested for other things at work so there's nothing to worry about.

Stu and I went out early in the week to finish off the Christmas shopping. We had a lovely day despite it raining all day, we didn't get that wet as we were in and out of the shops all afternoon. All the gifts have been bought and a few extra gifts for people. We stopped off for lunch and treated ourselves to a fancy hot chocolate, purely just to warm up and use their toilets. It's rubbish that in Scunthorpe town centre there are no public toilets to use on a Monday. The indoor market is closed on a Monday so you can't use theirs and the one's at the other end of the high street are rarely open and are a trek away. Ugh!

Last week I watched the new episodes of Stranger Things and because they were so good I watched them again and saw all the things I missed first time around. I love how much Will was smiling, Karen Wheeler was a hero, Robin is comedy gold and poor Dustin, he is in such a mood but I guess he entitled to be as he's been through so much. The rest of my week has been spent watching all the Christmas movies and no, I've not had enough yet and I still have so many to watch!

Stu has been having a great time at work. Everyone was given an advent calendar and they have a little game going where if you do/sell certain things your name goes in the daily draw to win a big prize. I thought it would be bottles or wine or boxes of chocolates but no there's Ninja food mixer things, Nintendo Switch's and fancy hair straighteners. It's non-workwear every day and the company are putting on lunch for everyone every Friday in December. What a treat!

Ellie is counting down the days until her Christmas break! She has 6 more college days until she finishes for the year and she's looking forward to the time off. College is great but the buses are not! All this week they've been late and it's no fun standing in the cold waiting for them. She is looking forward to next week when one day my dad will be giving her a lift to college as he is heading to town. Nothing beats a car ride when you’re used to dealing with packed buses!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a one. I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 49. #FridayFavourites

Hello there and happy Friday! I hope you have all had a good week. Mine has been pretty quiet but in a nice way, just pottering around and doing little bits to get ready for Christmas. Usually by this point I’m starting to flap about something ridiculous like running out of wrapping paper or forgetting who I’ve already bought gifts for but everything feels surprisingly calm this year. It’s a Christmas miracle. I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share what I have been loving over the past week.

All the Christmas movies!

I have watched so many over the last week! I’ve gone through a whole run of the cheesy Hallmark style ones: Jingle Bell Heist, Champagne Problems, My Secret Santa and Love Hard. Then I balanced it out with a few classics because it’s not December if you haven’t had a little cry at The Holiday or muttered hot, hot, hot chocolate along with The Polar Express, there was also Love Actually and The Grinch! The wild card of the week was A Christmas Karen on Amazon. I clicked on it not expecting much but it was so bad that it was good. It’s a parody of A Christmas Carol, except the Scrooge character is an entitled middle aged woman who thinks she runs the world. It was so silly but so funny.

Advent Calendars!

This is one of my favourite little rituals in December. I love that moment when I get all my jobs done and then treat myself to a little bit of chocolate. This year I’ve got a Terry’s Chocolate Orange advent calendar, it's my favourite chocolate ever! Someone told me the other day that advent calendars are just for kids. No, absolutely not! If anything adults need advent calendars more than kids, they're already overflowing with magic and excitement, we are the ones who need that daily boost to get through the Christmas chaos!

More gift buying!

I think and don’t quote me on this because things can change in a heartbeat but I think I’m finally done with the Christmas shopping. Presents, stocking fillers, selection boxes and random little bits I absolutely did not need to buy but threw into the basket anyway. I only have a couple of gifts left that need ordering online and those will be sent straight to the people they’re for which means wrapping is next! I picked up wrapping paper, gift tags and some fancy ribbon yesterday so I don't have any excuses anymore, the wrapping is a job for next week!

My eldest feeling better!

Poor Becky has had a bit of a rough week. She came down with a cold over the weekend and has been feeling pretty rubbish. She’s been keeping herself upstairs for most of the week, partly to rest and partly to avoid spreading her germs. I appreciate that very much because I do not have time to be sick right now. She’s pretty sure she caught it from work. She works in a care home and unless you’re basically on your last breath calling in sick feels forbidden! She was fine until two hours into her shift on Tuesday when blowing her nose non-stop combined with the heat in the home triggered a nosebleed. Bless her, she does not handle blood well, she went dizzy, pale and the nurse on duty took one look at her and told her to go home, which she did. Once she got outside and had some fresh air, the nosebleed stopped and she tucked herself straight into bed when she got home. I’ve been doing room service all week, taking her meals medicine and drinks upstairs and apart from her quick dashes to the bathroom or bringing her plates down occasionally, I’ve barely seen her. She is over the worst now, feels better in herself but is left with a nasty cough. Phew!

Putting dates in the diary.

I’ve finally sat down with my calendar and pencilled in the main things for the next couple of weeks. Nothing too wild, just the essentials. There’s the big frozen food shop with my dad where we stock up on the turkey, party food, and whatever else jumps into the trolley, I’ve also got a meal out with friends booked, which I’m really looking forward to and a family visit day planned to drop off presents. That’s it. That’s all I’m allowing. Every December I end up overbooking myself and then wondering why I feel worn out and run down later in the month, not this year. I’m keeping things simple and calm.

What have you loved over the past week?