Meal Planning Monday - all change!

Clearly I made the mistake of tempting fate on my last meal planning Monday post as on the Wednesday, 6 weeks early I gave birth to my lovely son Harry Keith. I'm sure you'll excuse the hiatus in posting, as we spent a couple of weeks in NICU and since coming home have started to make the adjustments that come with welcoming a small person into our lives.

That said, it's wonderful - tiring and anxiety provoking, but utterly, utterly wonderful. Harry is beautiful, and despite a rocky start feeding is beginning to go fairly well *touch wood* M and I are learning about the world of dream and cluster feeds, infacol and sleeping when the baby does. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, meal planning. Well it's gone out of the window a bit - pizzas, toast, porridge and sandwiches have played their part in sustaining us through broken nights, and long days. You may remember that I was part way through stocking up the freezer, but the warm weather has meant that the casseroles and cottage pies that I lovingly prepared have been left largely untouched. However, M has gone back to work after his paternity leave today so I'm fully expecting to start to make use of them and I expect it won't be long until I'm mourning their passing. However, family have been wonderful and chickens, cooked ham, fruit, cake and quiches have all been given to us.

Breakfasts for me are porridge as I'm breast feeding and oats are good at promoting milk supply. I'll switch back to granola and yoghurt once I've finished up the porridge oats.

Lunches - unsurprisingly my lovingly prepared salads have been abandoned in favour of sandwiches, not because they take too long to do, but it's impossible to eat a salad and feed the baby (something which seems to happen regularly - I swear he can smell the food!).

Supper:

Unsurprisingly most of this week's meals are quick and easy - either things I can throw together while Harry sleeps, or things I can get out of the freezer and just wallop in the oven.

Monday: leftover slow roast pork with wraps, salsa, salad and sweetcorn. Stupidly I didn't think to pick up an avocado which is annoying me more than it should.
 
Tuesday: Chicken kiev, chips and peas night as I'm popping to Guides to introduce the girls to Harry.

Wednesday: Quiche, wedges and salad

Thursday: Baked tomato pasta - I think we have some leftover dough balls to go with as well as some salad

Friday: Chicken wraps- with my harissa sauce some greek salad and potato salad which I'll blog the recipe for later this week.

Next weekend we have M's parents visiting, so I'm going to break out some of the cottage pie portions from the freezer and have that with frozen peas and carrots.

Sunday: I'll see how we're going - possibly pizza.    

 Well, that's us for this week - if you've had babies - what sort of things did you eat in those early days?

Meal planning Monday: The sun'll come out...

*fingers crossed*

Normal service has been resumed in the Pantry, and I write this with a fruit cake baking and a shoulder of pork slow roasting in the oven.

I got home late on Thursday and after a pizza and a much needed hug, slept all the way through until the morning. I swear there were angels singing. This weekend has deliberately been slow, with a spot of running, some shopping and a trip to Shaw corner. M and I realised that the only sensible Christmas present for us is National trust membership and are ignoring the fact that this makes us old.

Next week M is working fairly long hours and I'm trying to fit in 5 runs alongside Brownies and Guides. However, that kind of busy week is eminently manageable - which is odd when last week all I had to do was work and run and that wasn't manageable.

Breakfasts - Total greek yoghurt was on special this week, so I have a daily tub of that, plus strawberries/ blueberries or stewed rhubarb and grape nuts.

Lunches - salad and smoked mackerel for me.

Dinners -

Monday: Leftover slow roast pork with salad and baked sweet potatoes

Tuesday: Leftover slow roast pork in tortilla wraps, with guacamole, yoghurt and salad (rice for M)

Wednesday: Courgetti spaghetti

Thursday: M's night - sweet chilli chicken I think

Friday: Sausages, baked potatoes and salad

I'm baking a Nigella fruit cake with chopped up marzipan - so that'll be our cake quotient this week.

Happy Monday - and don't forget to get your inspiration from At Home with Mrs M and all the other meal planners.

Meal Planning Monday: the still vaguely organised edition

Last week's meal plan went well - we stayed on plan, save for Sunday when my sister, her husband and my nephew couldn't come over, so we had leftover turkey chilli with flatbreads instead. Remind me to link my flatbreads up to the Fresh From the Oven challenge. 

This week M's working away for a couple of nights and I'm at a Guiders curry - I mean planning meeting *cough* Brownies starts back too so it's not just M who's a busy bee. 

Breakfasts: Porridge with brown sugar and a banana for me

Lunches: Soup - Split pea and frankfurter and Lifechanging

Dinners: 

Monday: Leftover turkey chilli

Tuesday: Guiders curry night (prawn biryiani shall be mine!) 

Wednesday: Pantry pasta

Thursday: (freezer special) Chicken escalopes, oven chips and peas

Friday: My first foray into Jamie's 15 minute meals - Chicken Dim Sum. I'll report back

Saturday: is a blank at the moment - there will be leftover Dim sum so possibly that

Sunday: Slow roast pork (same as last week's plan) 

So that's our week in the pantry - a minimal amount of shopping and a few quick and easy dinners. Sounds good to me. 

Make sure to pop over to At home with Mrs M to see what everyone's up to on the linky 

Meal Planning Monday: How long till next year?

Well that flew by in a flurry of mince pies, Christmas pudding, an immense amount of turkey, two families and some presents. I think I can say we all had a lovely time, seeing my nephew on his first Christmas (paper is the best present) and having some quiet days with M's parents were both fabulous. All too soon, I'm back to work; hair has been washed, bag packed, and clothes out ready for the morning. 

I actually did the meal plan on Saturday night - clearly, living life on the edge as always. It's a week of comfort food I've cooked (and in the main blogged) previously, food that's not poultry, dishes which will make leftovers to give us time for a couple of runs, a swim and hopefully even a cwtch. 

Breakfasts: Porridge without a doubt. Brown sugar and vanilla for me this week I think. 

Lunches: I made a batch of Nigella's split pea and frankfurter soup this afternoon, so that will be going into my trusty flask. Towards the end of the week I'll make some Lifechanging soup. I'll also make a couple of batches of soda bread. 

Dinners: 

Monday: New Years Eve, we'll be indoors having steak, wedges, veggies and bubbles to see in 2013

Tuesday: Sausage hotpot with braised red cabbage

Wednesday: Leftovers of above

Thursday: Freezer surprise for M as I'm out at a planning meeting

Friday: Lentil ragu with chorizo

Saturday: Leftovers of above

Sunday: Slow roast shoulder of pork

So that's our week in the pantry, nice and simple. What are you up to in the wake of turkey leftovers? If you have a meal plan, don't forget to hop on over to At Home with Mrs M and join in the blog hop.

Meal Planning Monday: a week for M

So it's that time of the week. Again. Last week was lovely, hugely busy and I spent it dosed up on meds for sinusitis which was delightful, but it really was a good one. Guides was fabulous, the girls got a thank you letter from Buckingham Palace for their Jubilee cards, I spent an afternoon with my sister and my nephew and then she ran a session on Deaf awareness with the Brownies, while I failed to cure Noah of his hiccups. Bad Aunty Penny. M and I went out for dinner on Friday night, and blitzed the housework on Wednesday. So between all that, training for four days, plus the addition of runs on alternate days, I'm not sure where the week went. I also forgot to link this post up last week, but looking at that little lot - it's no surprise. 

This weekend M's been away at Brands Hatch watching the Touring cars (I think it's the final race(s) of the season, but don't quote me on that). Motor racing was a huge part of my childhood, and although I mostly dismiss it these days, it still has a fond place in my heart. Memories of watching races with my Dad while he was poorly, of playing on grassy banks while the grown ups talked cars all have their place, but nothing would make me want to spend a weekend in the wet watching cars zoom around the circuit. After all, I can spend a weekend in the wet drinking tea, eating cake and s'mores and watching 34 young women create havoc on camp! 

This week I'm away for much of it - off to sunny(?) shores on Monday, and back Thursday evening. I can't complain too much as I've only had one other night away this month. Annoyingly it means I'll miss a run on Wednesday, but what can you do? Complaining isn't going to help. So this meal plan is for M - our individual approaches to food are very different, it's fuel to him - allows him to keep on going, doing the things he wants to do. For me, well having a food blog makes it no surprise but for me its about love, about comfort, about joy. It's a way to relax, to rest my brain, to succeed.  

Breakfasts: cereal, toast and tea

Lunches: ham sandwiches, crisps, cheese, cereal bar, banana, piece of cake

Dinners: 

Monday: (at Welsh but if you're back in time) Sweet & sour chicken - it's in the fridge defrosting - with rice. There's yoghurt for pudding

Tuesday: Tortellini with a tomatoey pasta sauce

Wednesday: leftovers of above

Thursday: Chicken and barley soup (frozen from last week) with bread and cheese

Friday: Depending on my day and the weather, possibly minced beef hash (it's a Jamie recipe from 30 minute meals I think)

Saturday: we're at a party in the evening, so soup and sandwiches for lunch. Excitingly I've discovered a fab bakery near us that makes their own sourdough. Hurrah!

Sunday: Slow roast pork I think. I haven't done that since we moved in. If I can get a decent size piece of pork, I'll invite my sister and her family too. 

So that's our week, well M's mainly. For him, it's simple straightforward, cook and go meals. And you know what? There's nothing in the slightest wrong with that. 

I'm going to try to remember to link this up with Mrs M tomorrow, so be sure to hop around the blogs and see what everyone else is up to.