Mud Cakes and Wine

The meal plan last week was full of new recipes found at BBC GoodFood. They were a real success and I will defiantly be cooking them all again. The only change was we did not have the ricotta tart as Sunday's ploughman type lunch left us so full we could not manage dinner. This week is back to lots of old favourites, all are either quick or can be slow cooked. As we are not sure if Mr MC&W is working from home or will have to go to meetings. All the meals can easily be made smaller or ingredients frozen if not needed. Friday - Fish, Chips and Peas Saturday - Piri Piri Chicken with salad and a French stick for myself and Mr MC&W. The boys will have chicken curry Sunday - Pork Schnitzel, mash potato and broccoli. Our fantastic butcher has already bashed the pork for me so it's nice and thin. Monday - Sausage casserole with jacket potatoes Tuesday - Gnocchi, Broccoli and Mushrooms I use a recipe from Jo Pratt the Madhouse Cookbook and of course pancakes for pud

Our garden wraps around our house so we have two areas of lawn. The lawn to be honest is pretty terrible, I use the term lawn loosely, I should really be saying our mix of moss, clover and various other weeds that make up the appearance of a lawn. To add to this we have a little friend who keeps popping up. A mole. This is the area of lawn just outside the living room in November, these are seriously huge molehills. Molehills all over the grass The molehills took a lot of work to clear I took all the soil I could do off the grass and redistributed on the new border. I then brought some mole bulbs from sutton seeds, we used them on the main lawn about five years ago and they worked. When they arrived I set about putting them in the ground. The tools I needed note the hot chocolate was essential Make a hole in the lawn using the planter Pop in the mole bulb and cover The box gives instructions on how to plant the bulbs. I must admit I

Half term has come to an end, the weather on the whole was really quite pleasant. Its lovely to have some warmth in the air. We met up with friends and had lots of time in the garden. We are all rested after the chicken pox and ready for the new term. The meal plan went well and I must write up the ham and tomato spaghetti dish we had it was very nice and easy to make. Friday - Mr MC&W and I will have Portabello Mushroom and blue cheese melts served with french fries. I found this on BBC Goodfood and it looks really interesting. The boys will all have fish fingers and chips Portobello and blue cheese melts Saturday - Spag Bol with garlic bread Sunday - Mr MC&W and I will have a Mango Chicken, Rice and Bean Bake. Again I found this on BBC GoodFood. The boys will have roast chicken breast and all the trimmings. Monday - Mr MC&W and I a Mushroom, Ricotta and Rocket Tart. The boys will have a tomato and cheese tart. Both served with lots of salad. Mushroom ricotta

Plants amaze me all the time, this morning I was tidying up and found a upturned pot. Under the pot I found bulbs that had fallen out but had started to grow leaves. They had no soil and still, these plucky little bulbs were wanting to grow. No soil and abandoned  Growing with no soil So I have attempted a rescue mission using things I could quickly find. I found a little old terracotta pot and some stones. Old Pot Few stones I had no compost (shocking I know) but I did have a huge molehill, so I grabbed some soil from that and filled the pot just over half full. The only worry I have is that our soil is clay and not sure how it wil work in a pot.will  Huge Molehill Some soil added Then I put the saved bulbs into the pot, they were not easy to arrange, so they have a kind of haphazard look about them. I then covered them with more soil and gave them a good water. Bulbs put into the pot Soil added  I am not sure if they will flower or even

This week has not been the most fun. All three children have had chicken pox and ZAP had it very badly. Then we had the worry of OB having a sick bug, with his type 1 normally means a stay in hospital. The meal plan has been a bit of a struggle. Friday - Pizza and they are brought in this week not homemade. Saturday - Gammon, Eggs and Chips Sunday - Roast Beef with all the trimmings  Monday - Boys will have mini tuna fishcakes. Mr MC&W and I will have fish with Mediterranean rice and spinach Tuesday - Valentine's Day - no going out but a Charlie Bingham ready meal for us and jacket potato for the boys. Wednesday- Chicken Burgers (cheating by using spicy chicken from Birds Eye) on ciabatta with salad  Thursday - Spaghetti in a homemade tomato sauce with ham and peas. Have to thank my lovely sister for helping me with that idea.

I apologise for the meal plan being late, all three children have either had or currently have chicken pox. Then Mr MC&W was waiting to hear about his next assignment so we did not know if he would be at home or not. We are still not exactly sure of his work plans, so the meals have been designed that I and the boys can have them or we can cook them for everyone at different times. Friday - Fish, Chips and Peas for everyone Saturday- Mr MC&W and I will have a Charlie Bingham Curry. ATM has a party so cheesy pasta for lunch. Sunday - Sausages roasted with red onions and potatoes covered in honey and whole grain mustard. The boys will have roast potatoes, sausages and beans. All served with Broccoli. Monday - Curried Potato Pasties. These are always a hit in this household and are easy to prepare ahead of time. Served with salad and coleslaw. Curried potato pasties Tuesday - Tagliatelle pasta with ham and mushrooms in a cheese sauce. This is a favourite of Mr MC&