Our weekly meal plan! 18th - 24th May #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you have all had a good weekend. Ours was a good one, they always are when Becky has her weekend off work and we get to have some family time. It feels like we hardly see each other properly during the week sometimes with work, college, appointments and everyone doing their own thing, so weekends like that are lovely. 

We spent Saturday evening watching the Eurovision Song Contest, which is always a lot of fun! It is one of those nights where you sit there wondering what on earth is going on half of the time but you can’t stop watching. The whole thing is madness and our song was totally crazy. The chorus went like this: Eins, zwei, drei, Darlin', I need something salty, Eins, zwei, drei, With a slice of pepperoni, I'll pay, you can owe me. That'll be a pony?? See, madness! Eurovision makes no sense but it is the best entertainment. We came last with 1 point, Bulgaria won with 516! lol

Yesterday Stu and I went out for lunch. We had planned to leave the girls at home to fend for themselves but in the end, it was only Ellie at home, as Becky got called in to do some overtime because they were short staffed at work. She wasn’t too impressed at first as she had been looking forward to a lazy Sunday but extra money is always handy. So poor Ellie had to make her own lunch while Stu and I went out and had a roast dinner cooked for us, dessert and a couple of glasses of wine at the pub. Hehehe!

Last week's meal plan went well. The only meal we didn't eat was of course yesterdays and the Peri Peri Spiced Basa Fish Cakes With Chips And Spicy Peas on Saturday. We had leftover pizza from the night before and had that with chips. This week is a big week for Ellie. She is resitting her English GCSE exam. Hopefully, this time she will get the pass that she has missed out on for the past few years. This will be her last chance, as at the end of next month she leaves education. Eek!

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto Meal - Peri Peri Spiced Basa Fish Cakes With Chips And Spicy Peas!

This is bumped from Saturday! Basa fish cakes mixed with sweet potato, coated in panko breadcrumbs and packed with peri peri spice so they come out crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It comes with chips on the side, plus peas that aren’t just plain peas. There’s mint and a bit of chilli in there too. It all sounds so full of flavour.

Tuesday - Gousto Meal - Chinese Takeaway Style Chicken Balls With Vegetable Fried Rice!

This is one of those meals that I am really looking forward to making because it sounds just like a Chinese takeaway at home. Crispy chicken balls with a sweet and sour dip and vegetable fried rice. My family say they don’t like sweet and sour sauce but when I have made it at home in the past, they loved it! Takeaway style meals at home always feel like a treat and it saves so much money compared to ordering an actual takeaway.

Wednesday - Pork and apple sausages with potato wedges!

This is one of our own meals which we haven’t had in such a long time. It’s simple, two packs of pork and apple sausages from the supermarket and homemade potato wedges. Sometimes the simple meals are the best ones. The sausages always smell amazing when they’re cooking and the wedges always go down well with everyone.

Thursday - Gousto Meal - Classic Creamy Chicken Thigh Pie With Mash & Roast Carrots!

This is a one for Ellie. She loves any type of chicken pie! Tender chicken and sweet leeks in a golden pastry. Served with a hearty helping of roasted carrots and creamy mash. I’m really looking forward to this one as you can’t go wrong with creamy chicken and mash together.

Friday - A takeaway of some sort!

Friday night is an easy night for me. I don't cook and we order takeaway. Last week we had pizza from the pizza shop which was so good and there were leftovers for Saturday lunchtime too. Who knows what we will have this week? I am thinking fish shop as it's been a few weeks since we last had that.

Saturday - Gousto Meal - Fried Egg, Bacon, Tomato & Garlic Mushroom Breakfast Baguette!

This sounds like the ultimate weekend breakfast or lazy brunch sort of meal but we're having it for tea. A crusty baguette filled with bacon, fried egg, juicy tomatoes and garlicky mushrooms! It feels like it's going to be a messy one but very tasty!

Sunday - Something with mash & gravy!

As much as I want to go out to eat again for a Sunday roast, we have to be sensible. I am thinking we will have something with mashed potato and gravy. Maybe sausages or chicken?

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 10th - 16th May! Week 20 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you are all having a good weekend. I've had a good week and weekend so far! I went to my dad's on Friday and had a good catch up with him. I mentioned in my Word of the Week post yesterday that he said he had something nice for lunch and he didn't disappoint. Bacon, mushrooms and black pudding in a panini rolls. They were so good and I even got dessert too. Rhubarb and strawberry crumble. I told him he'd started something now. Two weeks on the trot I've had dessert. He said nope, nothing was getting started. Next week I can make do with a biscuit or two after my lunch. lol

Yesterday was all about catching up on some blogging and doing my usual Saturday jobs. Jobs like changing the beds, doing the washing and cleaning. I actually like doing the housework on a Saturday. I think it's because I know I can stay in my pjs, blast the music and not have to rush to do anything. Last night we of course watched the Eurovision Song Contest and today Stu and I have plans which I am looking forward to, I will write more about what we've been up to tomorrow.

Now for a photo every day!

130/365 10th May

If you haven't seen Remarkably Bright Creatures yet, watch it!!! It is such a lovely movie. I watched it on Sunday and laughed and cried my way through it. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it before watching but within minutes of watching I knew I was going to love it.

131/365 11th May

Just me! I was on my day out for a day of shopping with Stu. It was one of those days where I didn't know what to wear. One minute it was bright and sunny, the next it was looking like rain and chilly. I went with jeans, a tunic top, my boots and a light, waterproof jacket, knowing I would be in and out of shops so I didn't want anything too heavy and warm.

132/365 12th May

The One Pan Alpine-Style Sausage & Waxy Potato Hash meal from Gousto is one of our favourite meals. We've only had it a couple of times but there are so many flavours in it. The mustard dressing is so good and so simple to make: red wine vinegar, wholegrain mustard, a spoonful of sugar and a drizzle of olive oil! The potatoes are delicious with the roasted garlic paste in and I need to buy some so I can add it to potato which isn't part of a Gousto meal!

133/365 13th May

It was such a grey and gloomy day on Wednesday! I had to take a photo of the moody looking sky. I was expecting it to rain but when I was sitting in the living room, I started to hear tapping. I got up and it was hailstones battering the kitchen window! They lasted a good while and it seems like crazy weather for May! Where's the sunshine and warm weather!

134/365 14th May

Can you believe these flowers were a week old when I took this photo! I got them with the food shop the previous Thursday. Some people don't rate supermarket flowers but I seem to always get a good bunch!

135/365 15th May

My dad has done all the important stuff with his vintage truck, like getting the engine, brakes and gears going and now he's on to making it pretty, doing the painting. He is painting it black and white. It is already looking way better than it was and he is hoping to have it finished by the end of June as at the start of July he is hoping to take it to a vintage car show. I love how much he loves working on it, he gets so passionate and excited about showing me the progress that he's made each week.

136/365 16th May

A cup of coffee in one of my new mugs. I love to sit outside on a morning and have a few minutes to wake up and think about what I have planned for the day.

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

This week my Word of the Week is:

I could have used the word disrupted again this week. On Saturday Stu's bus broke down and he had to wait for another and mid-week, the bus was diverted because of a crash. There is a road near us which is terrible in normal weather but on Wednesday we'd had hail for most of the afternoon, so I am guessing the road was extra slippy. Eek! Thankfully, no one was hurt, which was really lucky as a car had overturned. The weather has been rotten this week, well rotten for what you expect in May. It has been cold, rained and on Wednesday and Thursday we had plenty of hailstones. Eesh!

Anyway, onto this week's Word of the Week. I have gone with treats as we seem to have had a week of them. It all started when Stu and I went into town. Can you believe the last time we were out shopping together was in February! We went to the retail park and had a good mooch around.

First up was Tesco to pick up a few bits for tea. I finally saw the Matilda and Friends cakes and was quite shocked by the price! £16 for essentially 3 slices of cake. I know it says it serves 10 but Stu and I stood there looking so confused. I thought I had hit the jackpot when I went round into the next aisle and saw the same cakes on the reduced shelf. Before I picked them up, I said I would get them if they were under £10. Nope, they were reduced to £14 something which is still way too much to pay for cakes!! I did end up getting a Key Lime Pie which was all mine as no one else in the house likes it! hehehe

Becky had been talking about decluttering her room and I said to her that she needed to use the Marie Kondo method, where you only keep items which spark joy. Well, I was going to do that when it came to shopping, sort of. If something brought me joy, I was going to buy it as it had been a while since I treated myself and that is what I did. I saw these gorgeous mugs in TK Maxx and had to get them.

I love a glass mug and these are so pretty. I didn't just stick to treating myself. I bought the girls a sweet treat from M&S each. A blueberry muffin for Ellie, a pistachio doughnut for Becky and I stocked up on the bird food for the birdies outside. I also bought a little birdhouse from B&M which Stu needs to put up somewhere over the weekend.

On Tuesday Becky was off work and it was our treat day! We have been getting Costa delivered for lunch once a fortnight but as I had it the day before, I didn't really fancy it and neither did Becky, so we ordered from Greggs. Becky couldn't believe that I ordered myself a salad but it was one of the new prawn layered pasta ones. It looks amazing online but it isn't anything special, it is just like what you get from a supermarket with maybe a little more Marie Rose sauce. I got the Mango & Strawberry Cooler to drink and that was good. I can just imagine drinking it on a hot summers day! We also had to get one of the chicken sausage rolls to try. They're nice but not as good as the original.

I was sick of being cold by Thursday afternoon, so as a treat for Ellie and I, I decided to put the heating on. It feels so indulgent putting it on at this time of year, it's supposed to be warm. Hmmf. It wasn't on for long, just enough for us to get that cosy feeling. Stu came in from work and could tell we'd had the heating on and was grateful for it.

I am writing this just before I went to my dad's yesterday and he says he has a surprise for lunch. I think he has either found our favourite pizza from Iceland that has been out of stock for a few weeks, the ham and pineapple one, or he has perfected the scone recipe that he has been trying to recreate. I mentioned it in my Wednesday Hodgepodge post that he is trying to make scones as good as my great Aunty Jean's. I am sure whatever he has planned will be a treat!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good 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 20. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been a really good where there’s been lots of little happy moments and things that have made me smile. As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share them.

Remarkably Bright Creatures!

I watched the Netflix version of Remarkably Bright Creatures and loved it so much. It was just such a lovely, feel good film with loads of heart. I did not expect to get so attached to an octopus as much as I did. He had me smiling every time he was on screen and crying a little. It was like a big hug in movie form!

Remarkably Bright Creatures is about an older woman called Tova who works cleaning at an aquarium after losing her son years earlier. She is lonely, stuck in her routine and still carrying a lot of sadness. While working there, she ends up forming an unlikely friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus. At the same time, a young man called Cameron arrives in town looking for answers about his past and where he belongs. The story follows all of them as their lives slowly connect together.

Lunch out with Stu!

It nearly ended in disaster. All the tables were full at our usual place, so Stu suggested going to the other side of the retail park and trying somewhere new. I was hangry and decided we should go to another shop and then go back to our usual place! Thankfully, it had cleared and there were lots of tables to choose from. It was such a nice lunch. My usual from Costa: a bacon bap, lemon muffin and chocolate fudge frappe.

Greys Anatomy!

I watched the last episode of the season and a couple of characters were leaving and they did a little montage of clips which got me thinking about the early episodes, which then turned into the thought that I must watch Grey's Anatomy again, all 22 seasons! I forgot how young they all were in the first season but I suppose it was 20-something years ago! My girls asked me why I was doing it to myself, they know I will end up crying and I already have. I will get attached to characters all over again only for terrible things to happen to them. I still love Cristina so much and George was so sweet in those first episodes.

My eldest decluttering her bedroom!

Becky has started properly sorting through her bedroom and I am so happy about it. She has been thinking about moving out and getting her own place eventually. She’s not in any rush but she has been looking and thinking about the future. With a little nudge and a little bit of nagging from me, she realised she really needed to start sorting through all the stuff in her room because there is a lot! She filled four bags with clothes, a whole bag full of teddies and a box of keepsakes to go into storage. There is still loads left to do but she’s finally started and that’s the hardest part sometimes.

Old photos!

My dad showed me a ton of old photos that he was recently given by a relative and they brought back so many memories from when I was a kid. One photo that really made me smile was one of the little red dumper truck my brother and I used to drive around the farm. We loved that thing and probably caused far more trouble with it than we should have.

I remember my brother being too small to properly reach the pedals at one point but that didn’t stop us. Health and safety definitely wasn’t a thing back then. hehehe One time we tied a go-cart to the back of the dumper truck with a rope and skidded around the fields on it when the grass was a bit wet. Looking back now, it was so dangerous but at the time it was the best fun ever. It only stopped after the rope snapped and my brother went crashing through a fence. Oops. Somehow he was fine apart from a few scrapes and probably a good telling off. lol

Football!

The football season is nearly over and everything is getting a bit exciting now. I always love the end of the season because every match is so important. The battles at the top of the Premier League table and at the bottom have been so entertaining to watch and every fan seems stressed out at the moment. Over the past week I’ve also been keeping an eye on the EFL Championship play-offs which have been full of drama. Our local team, Hull are through to the finals and in with a chance of promotion, which is exciting and my childhood local team didn’t have such a great result but there’s still a bit of hope because the team they were playing against have been accused of spying on them and now there’s going to be an investigation and Middlesbrough could end up taking their place in the final. I love all the drama. Eek!

What have you loved over the past week?