WIAW #7

Bit different this week Clanettes, this is what I like to call 'What we Prepped and Ate last Weekend!'

Saturday started with pancakes!  We always eat pancakes on 'special' days - and Saturday was special because it was our first Saturday with Paul home. Lie in, lounging, coffee and pancakes.  Bliss. Plus his gym had an open day so we got to take the children swimming for free.  A good day!

I got loads of dishes prepped today, first was cauliflower, brocolli and pasta cheese:

I chopped up cauli and brocolli, parboiled them with some pasta, whilst simmering an onion in some milk to flavour it.

Then I made a roux with butter and flour, added the onion infused milk, together with mustard and nutmeg, and of course a tonne of cheese.  Voila. 2 meals in the freezer.

Next was fishcakes. Really simple receipe - literally put the potatoes in the microwave in a bowl with seasoning and cover with clingfilm, cook til soft, then smash.  They have gone into the freezer as is and will be tipped onto a baking tray and crisped up when we are ready to eat them. The fish was a bag of tesco frozen fishpie mix, blended with lemon zest and seasoning, then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried.  These have gone into the freezer ready to be baked when they are required. All that is left to do is the guacamole on the day.

The one thing I always have a stash of in this house, and the one thing I have started prepping and giving to my Mum for them, is passata.  We use it in everything from pizza sauce, to pasta sauce, to the base for casseroles.  Its literally tinned value tomatoes, to which I add garlic, herbs, dash of ketchup and stock, then simmer til its reduced and thickend.  WE LOVE IT.  Today I have made a huge amount for sauces for kids pasta etc next week, and we made tortilla wrap pizzas for tea tonight.

Chicken Pie!!  My absolute fave - another Jamie 30 min receipe and we alternate between chicken or fish pie.  Just the ticket after a particularly wet cycle ride last Sunday!

I ordered a butternut squash in last weeks shop and randomly ended up with three.. so I have made three different squash dishes for the freezer today as well. This is a River Cottage soup recipe - Butternut and Nut Butter soup (recipe here) and it tastes amazing.  Very little effort required - win win!

This is a variation on a River Cottage recipe for 'Stuffed Butternut Squash' - original recipe found here. I roasted the squash, scooped it out, mixed it with cheese and bacon and re-filled the skins.. AMAZING!

This last one is my own recipe and is basically a squash and other veg ratatouille, with garam marsala seasoning, that I added my homemade passata to, and then made a savoury crumb topping for...  More amazingness! We had it with sausages and gravy.. Delish!

Its our friend Rachel's birthday today, so cake was the order of the day too!

 Chocolate cake, covered in milk chocolate and white chocolate..

 Whats not to love!!

And I have been treated so well with cake and tea myself over the last 2 days.  Being poorly and going to hospital definitely has its perks :-) Thank you Vikki and Lucy.  Thank you everyone who has helped with the children and who has checked in on my and been so lovely.  I will do a hospital post later in the week.

 

My gorgeous, beautiful and thoughtfully amazing sister (currently 34 weeks pregnant with my first nephew!) sent me a care package today to get me through hospital and re-cooperation!  I cried at the postie, obviously.  She had even thought to pack it separately so it wouldn't be too big for our letterbox.  A lovely card, two magazines, a cd, sweeties (you know I'm addicted to jelly sweets!), a beautiful note book, essential lip balm and pudding.  What can I say Emoose.  I love it, totally cheered my day. Thank you, love you x x x