Mud Cakes and Wine

  How did we get to the end of August? We have one more week before school and I can not quite believe it.  The weather has been so up and down that we are wanting more winter meals and it is still just summer. This weeks meal plan is really simple, to be honest. Friday - Fish and Chips ala freezer Saturday - Curry ala jar  Sunday - Meatballs and Spaghetti Monday - Pizza ala freezer Tuesday - Thai Spiced Fish and Noodles from Pinch of Nom. Fish pie for the boys. Wednesday - Bacon, Onion and Potato bake from Pinch of Nom for us all Thursday - Cajun Dirty Rice again Pinch of Nom for us all

  Last weeks meal plan went well, the Hawian Chicken was delicious and we definitely will be having this again. This week we are watching the pennies a little more than normal as school bits have cost quite a bit. So I am using bits from the freezer and the store cupboard. Friday - Scampi and chips. Fish fingers and chips for the boys. Saturday - Spag Bol Sunday - BBQ for a family birthday Monday - Tuna Pasta Bake Tuesday - Cornish Chunkies. These sound interesting. Cornish chunkies Wednesday - What's in the Fridge Fried rice Whats in fridge fried rice Thursday - Sausages and homemade beans with jackets

  Wow, what a week of weather we have had. We also had no storms here either. This week we are going to try and sort out school shoes this week. Last weeks meal plan went well but safe to say we do not like fried gnocchi. Friday - Pinch of Nom meatball pizza. Make your own pizza for the boys. Saturday - Hawian Chicken Hawaiian chicken with mango and avocado slaw Sunday - Toad in the hole Monday - Mackeral Salad with homegrown beetroot and roasted potatoes. Tortellini for the boys. Tuesday - Aubergine and Vegetable pasta bake. Cheesy pasta for the boys. Wednesday - TexMex fried rice, roughly based on this idea. For us all. Tex Mex Fried Rice Thursday - Thai Quorn Noodles - This one I make up using coconut milk, Thai curry paste and lots of veggies. We all love this.

I have been growing a few annuals from seed for around the last three years, it started with some Dahlias I grew for a bumblebee count and I caught the bug. I tend to grow free ones my MIL gets free from her magazines.  This year I went for Zinnias and Cosmos. I love cosmos but have always grown pink ones and never grown Zinnias before. I chose the Zinna and Cosmos as they said on the packets they were loved by pollinators.  I planted them inside in small pots around march time and then when ready put them into my mini greenhouse. I open and close this as needed to protect them from frost and harden off. The below picture is to show how I grew them from seed the seeds if you look close are my veggies. All ready to be planted out. The Zinnias are stunning and looking really strong. The flowers are just so bright. We have pink and orange and I love the fact they are cutting flowers. The cosmos are much smaller than ones I have grown before but the colours are beautiful. Below a ...

Wow it is scorching hot in the South East the last two days and it is set to continue. Mr MC&W is still off work for a couple of days so we have a few more treat meals to come. Last weeks meals went well and we have a few new ones for this week. Friday - Steak and Chips I must admit it is very hot but still looking forward to this. Chicken burger for the boys. Saturday - Butter Chicken from Cook and I can not wait. Omelettes for the boys. Sunday - BBQ for my nieces birthday. Monday - Is is still meant to be hot and we need some slightly lighter food. I fond this Gnocchi Salad that sounds lovely. The boys will have this as well. Caprese gnocchi salad Tuesday - I love mushrooms and this sounds great. The boys will have pasta with homemade tomato sauce. Smoky bbq mushroom buns Wednesday - Salmon with Beets and Lentils. The boys will have salmon with mash and peas. Mustardy salmon beetroot and lentils Thursday - Ham and New Potato Salad. Ham, egg and chips for the boys Ham and jersey r...

It is scorching hot today, I have done the most amount of washing over the last two days, how rock and roll is my life. Mr MC&W is off work next week, we have decided not to even go away in the UK. With all going on we thought best to stay at home and do a few walks that we know are safe. The one treat though is what we shall be eating.  We have this brilliant shop called Cook and the do frozen  ready meals but they are just like really well home-cooked food. To save me cooking we have a few days of those meals in. Friday - Fish, Chips, and Peas but it is a little hot Saturday - Chinses Chicken Curry (from a jar) Sunday - BBQ for Mr MC&W to cook. Monday - Cook meal and tortellini for the boys. Tuesday - Dominoes as my sister and family are coming over for the afternoon. Wednesday - Cook meal. Cheesy pasta for the boys and even cheating with a ready-made sauce. Thursday - Cook meal. Omelet and chips for the boys.