Our weekly meal plan! 4th - 10th May #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you have all had a good weekend. Ours was nice. It was a family weekend with us all home. I spent the weekend keeping an eye on the sport. It was the last day of the EFL Championship football league and I was interested as Hull is our local team, Middlesbrough was my local team when I was a child and Wrexham because the actor Ryan Reynolds owns them were all trying to get promoted into the Premiership League. Wrexham missed out but Middlesbrough and Hull are through to the playoffs but only one will go up to the Premier League. Eek!

Last week's meal plan went OK. Well, we ate 4 of the 7 meals that I had planned but not on the right night. Oops. We are back on the Gousto meals this week and I am so happy about it. I always feel my meal planning goes more to plan when I know I have to use the ingredients up from the Gousto boxes.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto Meal - Baked Chicken Thigh & Almond Curry With Rice And Naan!

This one is a new one for us and Stu will be happy! Every time we get a curry from Gosuto he always asks if it comes with Naan bread and it never has, until now! Made with juicy thighs in a rich, nutty almond and garam masala sauce. Finished with creamy yoghurt and served with fluffy rice and warm mini naan.

Tuesday - Gousto Meal - Lamb Mince, Crushed Potatoes And Minty Peas!

This is proper comfort food! Lamb mince cooked with a bit of thyme and Henderson’s relish for flavour. Served with buttery crushed potatoes and minty peas on the side. Usually I won't eat peas as a side dish but minty peas are different. I love them!

Wednesday - Gousto Meal - Sausage Meatball & Tomato Sauce With Fresh Orecchiette!

This is one of our favourites from Gousto. My family would eat this every week given the chance. This one is sausage meatballs cooked in a rich, herby tomato sauce, served with fresh orecchiette. Those little bits of pasta are brilliant at holding onto sauce. Every time I tell the girls we're having this they look puzzled until I say the pasta, which is like the Skips crisps. lol

Thursday - Something and chips!

It will be something out of the freezer on Thursday with chips. We have the option of sausages, battered chicken, pies, turkey burgers and goodness knows what else. I will let my family choose what they want.

Friday - A takeaway of some sort!

Friday night is an easy night for me. I don't cook and we order takeaway. For the past few months it has been from the chip shop mostly but we fancy something different. The chip shop doesn't feel like a treat any more, we have overdone it. Hmmf. It could be pizza depending on what we have had for lunch.

Saturday - Burgers in buns with fries!

Simple beef burgers in brioche buns with fries and probably some salad. Burgers for us is such a Saturday meal.

Sunday - A help yourself evening!

I have no plan for today and everyone can just help themselves to whatever they fancy.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 26th April - 2nd May! Week 18 of #Project365

The new month started with some gorgeous weather and the hottest day of the year so far and today it's supposed to rain all day. Hmmf. I am not happy as we had plans which are not going to happen if the rain is as bad as it's predicted. I am writing this yesterday afternoon, so it's a case of wait and see. It's just typical that the weather is rubbish, it always is over a Bank Holiday weekend. Hopefully the weather will be better when we have another Bank Holiday at the end of the month.

I didn't get up to much yesterday, just the usual housework. It was nice to have all my family home last night. We plonked ourselves in front of the TV and watched Britain's Got Talent and of course caught up on the wrestling.

Now for a photo every day!

116/365 26th April

I didn't really think it through, painting my nails on Sunday when I knew I was going to be doing some gardening on Monday but the polish held up well and didn't chip or peel at all. It wasn't even a decent branded one, it was just one from the pound shop. It goes to show you don’t always need to spend a fortune on beauty bits.

117/365 27th April

I planted some more seeds. I found a packet of sunflower seeds from last year and popped them in some compost, not hoping for much but there are already shoots coming through. It is the magic of the kitchen windowsill, the plants love it there! I also have Brussels sprouts, more tomatoes and strawberries hopefully growing.

118/365 28th April

Once a fortnight when Becky is off work we treat ourselves to something nice for lunch and on Tuesday it was Costa Coffee again. I didn't get any coffee, just the chocolate fudge frappe, bacon bap and a chocolate twist pastry.

119/365 29th April

I finally got around to making the Thai-style pork patties. They had been planned for Monday but after gardening I just couldn't be bothered to stand in the kitchen. These went down a treat and we also had sweet potato fries and homemade coleslaw, well almost home made. I bought a bag of coleslaw mix and just added the mayonnaise.

120/365 30th April

I went outside just before 9am and I could just tell it was going to be a gorgeous day! The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was starting to warm up. By lunch time I had 2 loads of washing already out on the line and dried!

121/365 1st May

I didn't know Reese's Ice cream sticks were a thing until Friday. I bought a box with three in and had planned on keeping them for myself until the girls spotted them. I've not tried them yet, I am saving it as a treat for this afternoon.

122/365 2nd May

I was short of something to take a photo of, so you have me. Just a selfie in the bathroom mirror which I've now noticed needs a good clean. When I take selfies, I always wish I could take them as well as my girls. They are experts!

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This week my Word of the Week is: Sunshiny!! WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

Hasn't the weather been lovely! Every day this week the sun has been shining. Even on Tuesday when it was grey for part of the day, the sun still made an appearance. I'd like to think this is the start of the good weather but after today it's going to get a little cooler than it has been and we're expecting some rain which of course isn't a bad thing for the garden.

On Monday, Stu and I made the most of the good weather and spent a few hours outside in the garden. Stu mowed the grass while I repotted some plants into bigger pots and then we both tackled the weeding. Why do weeds have to grow so quickly and why does there have to be so many? It was nice to be outside just pottering around. The garden is looking great at the moment and so far, so good with my repotted plants, they all survived the move.

Ellie loves going to college at this time of year when the sun is shining. She gets to wear all her summer clothes and has been surprising people. Since she got her tattoo in October, it has pretty much been hidden under hoodies and jumpers. This week, people saw her tattoo and have been shocked that someone, so sweet looking has such a big tattoo. hehehe One thing I never expected was Ellie being obsessed with putting sunscreen on. She read somewhere that it protects tattoos from fading and now she is the sunscreen queen. This is the same girl that a few years ago I had to practically pin her down to get sun cream on her. lol

As the week went on, each day got warmer and warmer and it was a nice kind of warm with heat from the sun but still a cool breeze. I saw it get up to 23C yesterday. I said to Ellie if it could stay at this temperature all summer I would be happy. I read online that parts of the UK yesterday were hotter than the proper hot places that you think of, like Hawaii and Egypt!

It has been nice to get the washing out drying on the line, having the windows open with a nice breeze coming inside and a freezer stocked with ice lollies and ice cream! The only downside to this lovely weather is the bugs and creatures which come inside, which definitely don't belong here. We had our first wasp of the year come in but thankfully it was when Stu was here so he could remove it. I had flashbacks from when we had the wasps nest in the bathroom a few years ago. One wasp and I convinced myself there's a nest somewhere. There isn't that I know of and I hope it stays that way!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 18. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. We have had some lovely weather this week. Of course there have been chilly moments but it seems to be more warm than cold now and today is supposed to be 24C (75F), which is practically summer weather!! I think I need to start stocking the freezer with ice cream and ice lollies. As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things that I have loved over the past week.

T-Shirts!

This week has been so warm that I haven't had to reach for a jumper or cardigan at all. I am getting to wear all of my favourite T-shirts and show them off. Ones with quotes, wrestling ones, funny ones and Harry Potter ones. It has been nice to get some sunshine on my pale arms but it did make me realise I think I am going to have to reach for some fake tan as I look so pale.

Garden time!

My fella went out into the garden on Monday and spent a good few hours out there. He cut the grass, we shared the weeding, I repotted the plants which were growing on my kitchen windowsill and I planted some more seeds. The repotted plants are now in my little greenhouses. They are spending the day outside and I move them into the little shed overnight. It's a bit of a chore but I want them to harden up a bit before they are left out all night.

A blackbird!

I have seen this bird hanging around, pecking around in the front garden and on Monday when Stu and I were out in the back garden, it was showing no fear and getting pretty close to us. It was living its best life, we were digging, it was collecting worms, disappearing with a beak full and then coming back for more. I did end up chasing it off, which felt very mean but I was going to be planting some seeds and didn't want it snacking on them. I guess we will see if it got them in a month or so when the flowers do or do not grow.

Drama shows!

Earlier in the week I wanted something on the TV, in the background while I was doing some things on my laptop. I started with the Teacher which led me to Missed Call and then The House Across the Street.

The Teacher! There were 3 seasons each with 4 episodes about a different teacher. One is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student, season two is about one who had an affair with a colleague and season 3 is about a respected teacher who struggles to keep up with modern social expectations. I caught up with the third season and found myself shouting at the TV a lot. One of the students was a real little madam.

Missed Call! When a British teenager vanishes during a school exchange in France, her mother Sarah rushes to investigate. With the help of a local detective, Sarah exposes buried secrets, corruption and trafficking within the tight-knit town. There were so many twists and turns, it was one of those shows where I kept thinking they did it, then someone else and then another person. I didn't guess and the big reveal was quite a surprise but it was a very clever final twist.

The House Across The Street! Claudia, overlooked by her community, and unable to get through to her son, longs for connection. Her opportunity comes when a young local child goes missing. Claudia becomes embroiled in the case, fixating on uncovering the truth herself. The main character was Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter and came across as so meek and mild but she was so creepy. I did not know where this was going until right at the end.

Tuesday treats!

Once a fortnight when Becky is off work, we have been getting ourselves a little treat for lunch. We seem to be stuck on Costa Coffee. She loves the caramel, some sort of iced coffee and I always go for the Chocolate Fudge Frappe with whipped cream on the top! It tastes amazing!!

Britain's Got Talent!

Since it began, I have never missed an episode of Britain's Got Talent, it's the same as America's Got Talent. We still have Simon Cowell but some other judges too. Well, this year we missed all the audition shows. We just weren't that into it after the last couple of years not being that good but over the weekend we dipped back into it with the start of the live shows. The acts are still not as good as they used to be. I feel like we have seen it all now but it was a good show to watch as a family. I am glad the dog act won and the singer who went through to the final was good too.

What have you loved over the past week?