Mud Cakes and Wine

We are back after a few hectic days in North Devon and had to rush the first part of the meal plan. The weather has suddenly changed this weekend and wow we are feeling the cold. You will see the meals are changing to reflect this.  Friday - Pasta with mozzarella. Tomato Soup for the boys. Pasta with mozzarella mint and fresh tomato-sauce Saturday - Cesar Salad for myself and Mr MC&W the boys will have spaghetti with ham and peas and lots of cheese Sunday - Party for the middle boy. The others will have pizza and we will have salmon Mustardy salmon beetroot-lentils   Monday - Samosa Pie for us all with a carrot salad Samosa pie Ccarrot and cumin salad Tuesday - Baked Chicken and chicory with sage and mustard. This will use up some creme fraish. the boys will have chicken risotto Baked chicory with chicken in a sage and mustard sauce Wednesday - Smoked salmon and pea Frittata the boys will have this with ham Smoked salmon and pea frittata Thursda...

It is cold and sunny morning, so I thought I would sit down with a cup of tea and take a look back at the hanging baskets I planted up this year. This is my third year planting my own baskets and every year I have learnt so many new lessons. The heatwave was lovely in so many ways, but the garden found it hard and anything in a pot or basket needed far more water, care and attention. Not something I am know for. Petunia basket, I chose black and these ones that were white with an almost black/purple centre. The basket looked good but the back ones were a little lost. I am going to do this again next year but get more of the black plants as I want them to be the dominate ones. Also it is so easy to deadhead petunias and they just keep flowering. So easy to keep. Nemesia Rhubarb and Custard surrounded with Calibrachoa Cabaret in Light pink and Lemon this was a lovely little basket and the nemesia flowered and flowered all summer. The calirachoa did well and we had lots of...

What a wonderful week of weather we had in East Sussex last week, it is half term so we are hoping it can stay for a little longer. I have had a major fridge clear out and was shocked by the sheer number of half used jars. After giving myself a lecture about waste, it made me realise how I must keep my fridge in a better state of organisation and cut this waste out. As I mentioned it is half term and Mr MC&W is off work, so the meals we having I am not planning as there will be a few out to give us all a break from the normal routine. Friday - Treat Charlie Bighams Risotto. Boys are having sausages, chips  and peas. Saturday - Veggie lasagna for us and the boys its Quorn Burgers and salad Sunday - Jackets, beans, cheese and eggs Monday - Pizza and salad for the boys. We will have a Gastro Fish with new potatoes and green veg mix Tuesday - Treat out or take away. Wednesday - Treat out or take away. Thursday - Treat out or take away.

We have another busy weekend and week coming up. We have ATM party with his school friends but I am sharing this with two wonderful Mums who I get on so well with and its been so much easier and nice to have a messenger group we can share the stress with and go through the plans. Then we also have Mr MC&W birthday, where the family are all over for lunch. School next week is busy with end of term presentations and national book week dressing up. Please hand wine and a lot of it Friday - Ready meal for Mr MC&W and I. The boys are having ham, eggs and waffles. Saturday - Treat for Mr MC&W is steak followed by cheese. It is the party day so it will be party food.  Sunday - Family over so doing two tray bakes.... the chicken one I am adding new potatoes and chickpeas to and doing a large salad. Little cooking for me. The boys are having pizza again (not well planned by me, but they love pizza) Harissa chicken traybake with peppers and feta Halloumi traybake ...

The Willow & Wild box arrived on Friday morning and the boys were so pleased to find it waiting for them on their return from school, they noticed very quickly it had their names on it, a real winner in their eyes. I knew we had a very busy weekend so decided it would make a perfect Sunday afternoon activity. Sunday morning arrived and as expected I had three tired and emotional boys. We decided to open up the box of fun as ATM re named it. I had a quick read through everything and found we needed to prepare the paper ready for making seed paper in the afternoon. ATM had lots of fun cutting the paper up with me and covering it with water to soak.  I would defiantly advise having a read through everything just in case there is anything you need to do before hand, so to avoid disappointed little ones. The afternoon arrived and the eldest loved creating the lantern, he read and followed the instructions. ATM loved making the spider and decided to only give it one ...

We mainly stuck to the meal plan but we did treat ourselves to a curry midweek as the beef curry was quorn and mainly in tins or veggies could be used in other meals we did not waste any food. We have birthdays and play dates this week so it all seems a little crazy... Friday - We have a play date for the eldest so its spag bol for all the boys and Mr MC&W and I are having scampi, Chips and Peas Saturday - Its a birthday treat lunch and then nachos for Mr MC&W and I whilst watching strictly. The boys will have picnic dinner. Sunday - Honey and Mustard Chicken for Mr MC&W and I, the boys have requested sausages, beans and mash Slow cooker honey mustard chicken thighs Monday - Leek, mushroom and goats cheese tart for the adults and a tuna tart for the boys. It will be based on the below but with puff pastry Leek mushroom and-goats-cheese-strudels Tuesday - A play date for the middle boy and they will all have pizza, chips and I will attempt salad. We will have...