Meal Planning Monday Week Two

Back to work last week and Christmas seems a distant memory. I have decided to plan this weeks meals roughly but the day we end up eating them will end up dependent on use by dates. I'm trying my hardest to do one shop a week, in a hope to spend less on the food shop. That said our bill still came to £100 this week.

So what do I have planned?

Gorgonzola and caramelized onion croissants

Sunday Roast using a chicken that is in the freezer.

Cod with a basil pesto crust and sweet potato fries. Again I have been inspired by the TV. I think it was eat well for less that did something like this.

Cauliflower cheese and bacon. The boys will have pasta instead of cauliflower as I haven't managed to get them to like it yet.

Meat free meatballs. As I said last week, we are trying to eat less meat so are giving these a go.

Chicken Korma. 

What have you got planned? For more ideas head over to the meal planning linky at Katykicker.com

Meal Planning Monday 2020 Week One

Happy New Year! I have had a break and with work just a few days around the corner, I have decided I had better get back onto the meal planning. I was pleased that whilst there was loads of food around at Christmas, we didn't go totally over the top. Pretty much everything is now gone.

This year we are going to try and eat a little less meat. I am going to try and eat a lot less sugar. I am trying not to eat between meals. This has led to two days of me being grumpy as hell. However, today, I am better so hopefully things will get easier.

When it comes to the order of the meals this week, it might change a bit but these are the meals I have planned.

Saturday:

I watched The Derry Girls Bake Off and there was a canape that I liked the look of and decided I would adapt for lunch. Basically it is beetroot, cream cheese and horseradish blitzed and put on a crispbread with some hot smoked salmon.

For tea: Chilli, garlic and lemon prawns

Garlic, lemon and chilli prawns

Sunday: Stir fry pork

Monday: Quick and easy tea as the boys are doing karate. Probably scrambled egg and chorizo.

Scrambled egg and chorizo

Tuesday: Watercress soup. I am not a massive soup fan, but my I love this.

Watercress Soup

Wednesday: Quiche Lorraine with tortilla crust

Quiche Lorraine with tortilla crust

Thursday: I have the joy of parents evening so it is microwave carbonara for the boys.

Friday: Beef pie with blue cheese pastry.

What have you got planned?

With Christmas around the corner, I decided to make the boys some melted snowman cookies.
They are easy to make and easy for the kids to help decorate too. If you don't have time you could even make them using shop bought biscuits.

Melted Snowman Cookie

Melted Snowman Biscuits

• 1 egg yolk
• 3oz caster sugar 
• 5oz margarine
• 8oz self raising flour
• a pinch of salt
• egg white wash

To decorate:


• icing sugar
• candy eyes
• smarties or M&M's
• White marshmallows
• Orange icing made into carrot noses

Melted snowman biscuit

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C.
2. Rub the margarine into the flour.
3. Add the sugar, salt and egg yolk.
4. Roll as thin as you can and cut out circles.
5. Place these on grease proof paper and rush with egg white.
6. Bake until the biscuits are golden brown.
7. Allow to cool and then make up some thick icing using the icing sugar and water (adding it a few drops at a time.)
8. Use the icing to stick on the candy eyes and carrot nose onto each marshmallow.
9. Then place a dollop of icing onto the biscuit and place the mashmallow head off center. 
10. Add two smarties as buttons.

More easy Christmas baking ideas.

Baking with the kids is great at Christmas so here are some ideas that they will enjoy.

Gingerbread Snowflake Decorations.

These are simple to make and will also help decorate your tree!

Gingerbread Snowflake Decorations

Christmas Slow Cooker Fudge

Simple to make and can be decorated with a variety of edible Christmas decorations.

Christmas Slow Cooker Fudge

Christmas Ginger Cupcakes

My boys love making cupcakes and these are a great alternative to gingerbread biscuits.

Christmas Ginger Cupcakes

Meal Planning Mondays

I have been absent for a while with Birthdays and Christmas shopping taking priority over blogging. I am hoping that now everything has settled down a bit, I might actually get round to doing some baking. I have decided that I need to get on top of things by meal planning. So what is in store for this week.

Monday: Coronation chicken rolls

Tuesday: Pasta and meetballs

Wednesday: Cheesy egg and bacon muffins

Thursday: Chicken Kiev and chips

Friday: We are off out with friends for a Christmas party so the boys will have a microwave meal.

Saturday: Chicken Korma

What have you got planned?

Turning 8 and 12

You may have noticed that things have been pretty quiet here recently. Juggling two Birthdays, preparations for Christmas and teaching have left me with no time to blog. This weekend I feel that I am slowly coming out of the other side. Let’s hope I haven’t spoken too soon.

I still can’t believe that my baby is now 8. He plays on being the youngest and the cutest, but let’s face facts. The cute card is starting to run out the bigger he gets. He is the most smiley and upbeat boy. He still skips when he is happy. Being a third child is really starting to show. It’s like he is growing up faster than his brothers did. There wasn’t a long list of toys for his birthday. He just wanted a new bike with gears. 

For his party he chose a gaming party. I think we can safely say that the party host regretted his previous nights partying when left in charge of 10 demanding  8 year old boys.

5 days later it was birthday time again for my eldest. He managed to guilt trip me into making him a Rubik’s cube cake when I really didn’t have the time. He seemed happy with his wonky cake cube.

We took a few friends karting, which was an eye opener for us. At primary school, everyone knows each other. Now we were meeting his new friends who we knew nothing about. Luckily it turns out that our boy is a pretty good judge of character. Yes they were a bit boystorous to start but kids at that age get that way when they were excited. Now we have a rest for a couple of months until it is middle mans turn

I know everyone says that they grow so fast but it really is true. Next year is about making memories with them. We’ve ditched loads of physical presents this year for Christmas in order to spend quality time with them. I wasn’t sure how it would go down with them, but they are really happy with it. They know that they need for nothing. With the exception of Lego, cubes and computer games they really aren’t bothered with toys anymore. They want to eat adult meals out, try new experiences and, to my delight, ride rollercoasters at the theme parks. So whilst part of me yearns for the little boys with a big pile of presents, I think I am happier with my big boys who I can spend fun times with instead.

[AD] Top Tips For Visiting Waddesdon Manor This Christmas

Last weekend we decided to get into the Christmas spirit at little bit early with a trip to Waddesdon Manor.

Waddesdon Manor

We first visited last year at Halloween. We had a lovely afternoon and the boys were keen to go back as they liked the playground and trails we had done. I was keen to go as I wanted to see the gardens all lit up. I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. Here are my top tips to make sure you get the most out of your day.

Top Tips For Visiting Waddesdon Manor This Christmas

Exploring Waddesdon Manor At Christmas

Time it right.

If you want to be there to see everything lit up then I would suggest to visit after lunch if you have children. This way you can have a wander around the Christmas stalls before going around the light trails when it is dark. As I mentioned earlier, my boys like their playground and you could take your children there whilst it is still light.

The car park does get busy as it is a popular event and to ease things there is a one way system in place.

Do the children's light trail first.

This is a lovely trail which showcases the artwork of local schools. It is worth doing and really lovely but doesn’t have the music shows that the winter tail does.

Children's Light Trail At Waddesdon

Watch Lights in Motion.

Make sure you stop off at lights in motion located in The Stables area. I loved this display as did the boys. We caught the end of one of the shows so waited a see minutes for it to start again. Absolutely beautiful.

Lights In Motion At Waddesdon

Letters to Father Christmas

If you have little ones that believe then you can write a letter to Father Christmas for a small charge. We didn’t do this as my boys are too old now, but it would have been lovely when they were younge

Take the winter light trail before you leave.

Winter Light Trail Waddesdon

Make sure you take the winter light trail before you leave. It was beautiful, had interactive smoke displays which the boys loves. And lots of balls flashing to music.

Winter Light Trail

We had a lovely afternoon at Waddesdon and would recommend it if you are nearby and want to get that festive feeling.

[AD] See The World Through Others' Eyes Review

If, like me, you have kids that love STEM then you may have found them asking for "See The World Through Others' Eyes" on their Christmas list.

 See The World Through Others' Eyes 

We have been sent the kit ourselves so you can see what it is all about. Below is a short video that we have made.

Basically it is a set of plastic glasses and a lot of different lenses that can be changed and combined (much as the optician) to see like a number of different animals. I should add that as I have a slight squint, I sometimes didn't see the same results as my children as for some of the animals it requires you to look through both lenses equally. Not a fault of the product, but worth bearing in mind if you have a child with a lazy eye.

Seeing the world like an elephant!

The booklet contains a grid with the lens combinations for a number of creatures. It also has a paragraph on each animal with facts about their site and some pictures to demonstrate what you should see. Here is a sort video of what is in the box.

My boys think this toy is aimed at the 6-8 category for anyone with a keen interest in science.

For more information on Brainstorm toys, please visit their website.