Quick update: Turkey burger weirdness defeated

Remember these? From this post? 

Well, as per this week's meal plan I tried them again. Almost exactly the same except I added a dessert spoon of oil to the turkey mix and fried them in a non stick pan with a spray or two of Fry light. 

Fried for about 8 minutes per side (I cut one in half to check it was cooked through) they were perfectly cooked through and not at all dry. Whilst M still isn't going to go near them because of the coriander, they were far more to my taste. I had them by themselves - although I had planned to have them with veggies. Honestly, after a day of waiting around I just couldn't be bothered. 

In summary, add that extra desert spoon of unflavoured oil to your turkey mix, fry don't bake, and don't serve to people who loathe coriander. Job done. A success all around. 

I do love it when a plan comes together. 

Meal Planning Monday: The 'All by myself' edition

Well, last week's done with, we're back from the Newbury Show, and I'm sat in the hospital waiting for my occipital nerve blocker as the weekend was bookended by migraines. Learning to live with chronic migraine is definitely taking some getting used to but the injections are definitely helping. I'm typing this whist glaring at my specialist's door, willing it to open and for him to call me in. *uses mind power* 

So Meal Planning Monday, M's working in Scotland this week so as the subtitle to this post suggests I'm home alone doing meals for one. I say this like it's a bad thing, but it means I get to eat buckets of fish, and lots of things with coriander in. Mind you, it's my cousin's wedding in three weeks so I'm trying not to eat too much of anything in a bid to fit back into a dress as otherwise I'll be going in jeans and a jumper. It's weird that I've lost a significant amount of weight, but I'm more aware of my size now than I was before. It makes no sense. 

Right, so unsurprisingly breakfasts are yoghurt, grape nuts and fruit (as soon as it cools enough that'll be porridge and fruit - I know I'm epically dull where breakfasts are concerned)

Lunches - the last few weeks I've been slack about lunches so I'm going to try and remember to eat during the day as I'm sure as it's not good for me to be solely fuelled by coffee. I keep saying I'll eat salads but I'm really not enjoying them now the weather's got cooler, so tonight's adventures will hopefully include making a batch of fridge bottom soup. Now I just need a decent thermos for them to go in. Suggestions? 

Dinners - 

Monday: I'm going to revisit the disastrous Thai style turkey burger thingies. This time with the addition of sweet chilli sauce and a tablespoon or so of oil. I'm going to have these with some stir fried spinach and a selection of 'fridge bottom' veg.

Tuesday: Guides tomorrow so although my natural inclination is to skip dinner I will have some grilled fish - a white fish I think (not Pollock - cousin Mark will be pleased to hear) cooked in a foil parcel with soy, chilli and sherry, and some steamed spinach and runner beans

Wednesday: More fish, this time grilled mackerel I think. Loosely based around the recipe I've linked to, so with some horseradish and beetroot in a salady type affair. 

I'll blog both of those dishes - with some fishy type tips. 

Thursday: Brownies, but M is home so our Farmers choice sausages with runner beans and baked potatoes

Friday: I picked up some amazing chorizo at the Newbury show (I could have bought loads but was so so restrained) so Chorizo and butternut squash chilli as that'll give us leftovers for Saturday.

Saturday: Chorizo and butternut squash chilli leftovers

Sunday: Roast beef I think - see my Farmers Choice post that should go up on Wednesday(ish)

So that's us this week, a bit haphazard, and relatively diet orientated. But with any luck - three weeks of this and running and the teal dress will fit beautifully (she says with fingers crossed)

On the plus side, the only shopping I need to do is for some coriander, sweet chilli sauce and fish. A cheap week for me, so not too shabby. 

 Pop on over for further inspiration for your weekly meal plan to At Home with Mrs M, and see you next week. 

Souper Dooper: Tom yum soup

It's actually a take on Tom yum soup. Without the coconut milk, and with a dash of fridge-bottom ness about it, making it slightly more frugal than either the name or this post would suggest.

I really have no appetite right now, my inclination is oddly, not towards traditional comfort foods, but to the clearing spice and cleanness of thai (or at the very least, thai influences). That said, this was a cobbled together lunch that made use of the last of my veg box, and a jar of tom yum paste left over from the Fusionfood challenges late last year.

1 glug oil
3 tablespoons tom yum paste (I used FusionFoods)
1 clove garlic crushed
3 pieces of galangal (I use Waitrose's dried galangal)
1/2 tsp lazy chilli
250g prawns (it's amazing what you find when you dig through your freezer)
Spring greens, leaves finely shredded
1 stick celery shredded
1 red pepper, chopped into matchsticks
Handful rice noodles
Boiling water

Heat the oil gently in a wok or frying pan and add the paste, cook until you can smell the aromatics
Add the garlic, chilli and galangal and continue to fry gently
Add the prawns and cook through until hot
Meanwhile, pour a kettle full of boiling water over the noodles and the shredded greens, and leave for about 4 minutes
Drain, the greens & noodles and add to the wok/ pan, stirring briefly
Add 150ml(ish) of boiling water into the wok/ pan and stir so that everything is combined
Serve in a bowl, and eat, alone and away from a mirror

The original recipe asked for coconut milk to be added at the end of cooking, and then coriander. I didn't add these as I didn't have them in and I didn't want the cooling sweetness of the coconut milk. That said this was particularly fiery and the sourness really came through, so it could probably do with the balance of the coconut milk. Something about it's clearing heat really appeals to me, with the lightly cooked vegetables and freshness of the broth says healing to me. And after all, that is what I'm after at the moment.

What appeals to me about this is that it could be prettied up into a lovely dinner, or if pushed for time and fresh food (like myself) a quick and easy lunch for one.

Doorbells, and sleighbells and schnitzel with noodles (ish): Worldfoods Challenge no 2 - Pad Thai

I'm now happily singing My favourite things while I type this out, sadly I'm not in my nighty, nor am I surrounded by many small children harmonising beautifully with me. Still, you take what you can get.

Last week I was visited by my friend Louise, this week it's Lauren's turn, and last night I made us the second of my Worldfood fusion taste team challenge meals. Pad Thai. I was slightly concerned again as to the sweetness of the sauce, and the inauthenticity (it's a word) of my recipe, but without blowing my own trumpet it was fab. And made whilst exhausted, so doubly impressive when you think about it.

I should add a disclaimer here. I love Pad Thai. A lot. It's my favourite thing to order in Thai restaurants, and I never make it because I just think it won't live up to my expectations. Plus the ingredient list to make it from scratch is more offputting than sugar syrup ever was.

I really didn't want to have to shop specially for this, but have to recommend Waitrose's Thai section. Bearing in mind that the Whetstone Waitrose is tiny, I managed to pick up rice noodles, dried galangal, fish sauce and palm sugar. I then failed to use any of them save for the rice noodles. Fail. But I was pleased I picked those up, as the need for beansprouts, limes and peanuts escaped my tiny brain entirely, so as you will notice this recipe is utterly without them.

Pantry Pad Thai

2 cloves garlic
1 red chilli chopped
4 spring onions, whites finely chopped, greens sliced up like you would green beans
1 red pepper sliced
1 sweetcorn
300g mushrooms sliced
3 chicken thighs thinly sliced
flat leaf parsley
1 head brocolli
1 bottle Worldfood Pad Thai sauce
Juice of 1 lime
2 eggs, beaten
200g rice noodles cooked as per pack instructions

Stir fry the garlic, chilli, and spring onion whites in a flavourless oil until you can start to smell them
Add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned
Add the vegetables and cook lightly, stirring all the while
Shift the contents of your pan to one side and pour the eggs in and cook, then stir through
Add the cooked noodles, and stir through
Add the sauce, parsley and lime and serve. I kept the fish sauce and palm sugar on the side meaning to add them if I felt it needed a bit extra but it really didn't, the sauce had enough tang from the tamarind to mean that I didn't need to adjust the seasoning.

Quick and easy, and as I used the end of my veg box as well as some chicken in the freezer, a really well priced meal. What I made served three of us generously with a large tupperware of leftovers for Mark's lunch today. Perfect.

Despite loving this (and I actually hesitated to offer Mark the leftovers as I would have quite happily demolished them) I would like to try it again with prawns, coriander, beansprouts and peanuts as it was so tasty that I think the additions would really set it off. It's rare you'll see me say this, but I would happily go out and buy this again purely to the ends of adding Pad Thai this way to my simple suppers, as even with a bought sauce it's cheaper and healthier than my local Thai takeaway.