Mud Cakes and Wine

This week has been fun and games. Wednesday night tuna pasta bake turned into sausage and beans on toast. Though the boys were very happy with that. We have a busy week at ATM is turning 5, we have a family meal on Sunday and then his birthday on Thursday. Saturday - Mr MC&W and I are having curry. I will be honest it's made by the lovely people at Tesco. The boys asked me for cheese on toast. I will add some salad bits with this. Sunday - ATM birthday meal. We will be having pizza and crisps and chips as you can tell very healthy. But that's what he really wants and I love that food.  Monday - Oven Baked Thai Chicken I love this meal from BBC Good Food Oven Baked Thai Chicken and Rice Tuesday - Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Pasta a new one for us but we love pasta and cheese so thought it's worth a try. Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Pasta Wednesday - Jacket Potatoes with Tuna Mayo and salad Thursday- Boys will be having a Macdonalds as its ATM birth...

The weeks are just flying past with the boys at school full time. Even though in theory I should have more time, the menu plan is still last second as I try to get a delivery slot on the day I need it. Saturday - Ham, Eggs and Chips Sunday - Fish in Sauce with rice and roasted veggies. Boys will have chicken, mash and greens Monday - Fish Tortillas - the fish finger sandwich went down well let's see how these do Tuesday - Special Fried Rice - with chicken and veggies the boys will eat sweetcorn, green beans, peas etc Wednesday - Tuna Pasta Bake Thursday - Mini Meatballs with spaghetti  Friday - Chicken Goujons with chips and peas 

Last week I published a post all about how well the hanging baskets went that I had planted. This week I want to look at what did not go so well and that I will change next time. As your aware I am new to gardening and plants, so learning through my mistakes. The hanging baskets were overall a huge success and I am thrilled, but let's have a look at what lessons I have learnt. The Red Basket: This was made up of, a couple of Upright Geranium Scana Julie Purple Red then below a mix of Aztec Verbena Dark Red and Calibrachoa Calita Deep Red this was a total disaster. The poor basket just did not get enough light, the ivy made sure of that. The plants just died. I cut back the ivy but this was not enough. I need to cut the ivy right back or nothing will survive. This was a real shame as it should have looked lovely but I put the plants in the wrong position. They needed sunshine and for some reason best known only to me, i decided to ignore this. Lesson learnt read the labels a...

We are all getting back into the school routine. The boys are shattered yet not sleeping at the same time and it's making for short tempers. Menu planning is hard work as I am having to think about how long meals take to cook, can I prepare them in advance etc Saturday - Chilli for Mr MC&W and myself the boys will have the ever popular Spag Bol Sunday - Mr MC&W and I will have a brought in Fish Pie, it's nice to have an evening not having to cook. Boys will have roast chicken breast with roast potatoes and veggies Monday - Three cheese Tortellini with tomato sauce. I will buy the pasta in and make the sauce Tuesday - Chicken Curry  Wednesday - Spaghetti with tomato sauce and ham Thursday - Baked Potatoes with Beans and Cheese - I will start them in the microwave then pop them in the oven. Friday - Puff Pastry tarts with salad

This year I planted my first ever hanging baskets. We had always brought them but I really wanted to try and plant my own. Having never planted one before it was a real exercise in seeing what would and would not work. I am going to do two posts, one to look at how they were a success and the following to look at what I will change next time. But let's concentrate on what went right to start with. Please note the following post contains lots of pictures of pretty flowers Yellow and whites: For the hanging basket, I chose Petunia Surfinia in Yellow and Snow. These Petunia were truly majestic. They provided us with all summer with cascading flowers that were a real show piece. I loved the simple and slightly muted white and yellow. But next year I may go rather bolder and choose some really bright colours, bring on the pink and purple theme. When they were first planted Full Summer Flower after a month or so of growth The yellow and the white lookin...

This week has seen both boys at school from 9am and not getting home till around 3.50pm. They are starving, shattered and need dinner by around 4.30. This gives me around half an hour to cook dinner, which has changed the way I have to think about meals. What can I prep, pre cook or slow cook.  I will write a post shortly on some ideas I have had. Saturday - The boys will have fish fingers, chips and peas, they love this meal. Mr MC&W and I will have a Charlie Bingham Lasagna  Sunday - A slow cooked Spanish style Chicken and rice dish for us all Monday - I love Jo Pratts the Madhouse Cookbook and I am trying chicken, corn Quesadeasies Tuesday - Mini Tuna Fishcakes with Salad Wednesday - Cocktail sausages, Yorkshire puddings and green beans Thursday - Another Jo Pratt Madhouse Cookbook - Gnocchi with broccoli and mushrooms. Though the boys will not be having mushrooms. Friday - Chicken Burger with chips and salad. We are going to stick with Friday treats. 

School starts again this week, OB will be entering year 2 and ATM will be starting reception. So we need some quick meals that are easy to prepare and eat as the boys will be shattered. Saturday - Mr MC&W and I will be having Fajitas from Jamie Oliver's healthy eating cookbook. The boys will be having Fish and Chips as OB has a party on Saturday afternoon. Sunday - Mr MC&W are having a favourite treat of ours and that's a Charlie Bingham Meal I went for a chicken meal as its not too high in calories. The boys will have Pasta and Broccoli Bake with a cheese sauce Monday - The Busy Mums Cookbook has a wonderful meal of sausages roasted with red onions and potatoes in honey and mustard. I am going to change this slightly for the boys and roast chipolata sausages with potatoes and a honey and tiny tiny amount of mustard served with peas and green beans Tuesday - Tiny Meatballs served in a pitta with salad and natural yogurt dressing. The meatballs will be slightly s...