Mud Cakes and Wine

So how did it suddenly get to the end of May? It has seemed that time has stood still them boom it is nearly June. Meal planning has gotten a little easier with the nicer weather. We have got till the end of June delivery slots which is great. Though I am hoping Tesco may soon increase the 80 item limit to even 90 would be good for a family of five for a week Friday - Gammon, Egg and Chips the girls have been laying lots of eggs and they are lovely with this meal. Saturday - Fajitas Sunday - Meatballs Monday - Crunchy Pesto, Mozarella baked mushrooms. The boys will have pasta, pesto and mozzarella. crunchy pesto mozzarella baked mushrooms Tuesday - Tuna melt with potato wedges. The boys will have tuna mayo and jackets. Tuna melt potato wedges Wednesday - Lamb, Hummus and roasted tomatoes I am in fact going to do this with lamb meatballs. The boys like meatballs and flatbread so will have this in a more basic form. lamb chops hummus roasted tomatoes Thursday - Warm new potato, bacon and...

Buying the plants for the hanging baskets was a little different this year. Normally it would be a trip to the garden centre, involving lots of picking plants up and putting them together to see what looks good. This year for lockdown I was lucky that our nursery had put together an excellent online shop. But I had to buy in packs of six rather than individual plants. This meant I had to think about how the plants could be used in two places. My main three hanging baskets are all petunias, I have to be honest with you, I love a petunia they are bright and bold and simply make me happy. I would normally go for clashing colours but I decided it would be better as I had to buy them in packs of six to have them as one block colour.  They are Petunia Hot Pink, Purple and Fanfare Red. For the three tire planter I have gone for petunias again, I am hoping they may trail down a little. Two are Petunia Shockwave Denim and Deep Purple and Petunia Frenzy Pink The wall baskets  This is th...

This week coming is half term, we were meant to be going away with the boys, to enjoy a week of fun abroad. This has not helped my mood around meal planning, I was tempted to just cook chips all day and we could just snack on them hahaha.  Friday - Steak, this a treat we are not going away. Steak with chips, mushrooms, peas and lots of peppercorn sauce. Followed by cheese a lot of cheese.This was delivered by another local farm shop, we are so lucky. The boys asked for spaghetti and cheese. Saturday - Cheeseburger pizza from pinch of nom the boys will make their own. Sunday - Chicken in Red wine Chicken and red wine casserole Monday - A box meal from Tesco and tortellini for the boys. Yup, easy meals. Tuesday - Breaded fish, New Potatoes and Spinach  Wednesday - Lunchtime BBQ our farm shop deliver and they do the most wonderful burgers. Thursday - Sticky Chinese Chicken Sticky chinese chicken traybake

What a cold week it has been we have even had frosts in the South East but it looks like it is warming up soon. Meal planning was a little easier this week which is good but still finding that nothing is appealing. Friday - Chilli we were meant to have earlier this week but I had to move some meals around due the use-by date on the bread rolls. Saturday- Scampi and Chips fish fingers for the boys Sunday - Sausages in giant Yorkshire puddings smaller ones for the boys Monday - Caesar Salad simple and easy and tasty. Tomato Soup for the boys we are going to make some scones. Tuesday - Salmon sag aloo tray bake love this as it is all in one pot. The boys will have salmon with mash and peas. Salmon Traybake Wednesday - Risotto mushroom and bacon. Bacon and peas for the boys. We oven bake ours as it is far easier  Thursday - This is a real fresh meal we all enjoy. Pasta with mozzarella and mint

I am sat writing this with a cup of tea as it is cold outside, the wind is biting and I was wearing my winter coat earlier. So far my GYO has been going much better than last year, this in terms of actually starting veggies and getting things to grown, I hope this means we will get something to eat. My carrots have not been that great and we only a few but they are growing well. The beetroots, onions and fennel all look excellent and are taking off. I have also sewn more beets, carrots and onions they are all starting to germinate. I have been more far more careful with my planting and things have increased space this year. My mini greenhouse is packed with flowers and more veggies. The courgettes are strong and the sweetcorn looks good to go. I have a pepper which is slowly growing. Aubergine and Cucumbers have survived so far. I even have peas.  One problem is the writing has rubbed off my plant labels - need to sort that ASAP My lettuce has been doing well but I needed to plant ...

Another week and here we go again. I have again struggled with meal ideas. I am doing online shops for us, my mum and my MIL and I think I have just had enough of food. My days seem to be dominated with have we got deliveries, have I got lists etc. Think maybe just got a little overwhelmed by it all. Friday - Peri Peri Chicken with salad and chips. The boys will have Chinese chicken curry this is such an easy meal to cook. Saturday - Spag Bol Sunday - Mushroom Stroganoff https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/mushroom-stroganoff/ Monday - Thai Prawn and pineapple rice Thai Prawn and Pineapple Rice Tuesday - Courgette Lasagna Courgette Lasagna Wednesday - Chicken Kiev with new potatoes and green veggies. The boys will have pizza and Salad. Thursday - Chilli

So May has arrived, it has been chucking it down for the last few days which is great for the garden but no so for us. We have missed being outside for longer periods of time. I have got my mojo back a little with meal planning, we have slightly increased our food budget. Last weeks new ideas worked well and the meatball subs were amazing. Here is what we had  Meal plan Friday 24th April 2020 Friday - Smoked Mackerel Salad for us and the boys fish fingers, mash and peas Saturday - It is our eldest 10th Birthday so to treat him we are ordering dominoes and I can not wait. Full of treats and fun. Sunday - Normandy Chicken another new meal which sounded great. The boys will have a mini roast. We will be using chicke breast rather leg. Chicken normandy Monday - Cheeseburger Tacos a new one but worth a try. Cheeseburger-tacos Tuesday - Breaded Fish, new potatoes and greens an easy shove in the oven meal. The boys will have tortellini Wednesday - Quorn Sausage bake so...