It's been a while between menu planning posts. We're still eating every day - my children aren't starving, I promise!
The beauty of having a fridge full of pastes and stock concentrates is that on the really busy days, I can just pull something out of the freezer, identify what type and cut of meat it is and then decide on the fly what we'll do with it later. As long as I stock up on fruit & vegetables at the market each Sunday, we cope just fine.
That said, I don't like the fly by the seat of your pants style of cooking anywhere near as much as I like menu planning. It feels less chaotic and generally ensures there's more variety in our meals. It also increases my recipe repertoire because I'll make sure I'm trying at least one new recipe every week.
So, I'm making the most of school holidays and actually doing a few menu plans at once. I tend to keep my menu plans and shopping lists and recycle them, adding a couple of changes here and there. I store them organised by season, so when next winter comes around I can pull out this year's plans and re-use them. It's incredibly anal I know, but I'm a fan of anything that saves time and repetition!
What's Cooking This Week
Monday:- Last night we had the Thermomix Roadshow and I went to see Jules & Grace update us on all that's happening in the Thermomix world. Before I left, I made Hedgehogs (from the Lunchbox booklet) and made a quick tomato sauce out of diced tomatoes, herbs, tomato paste & vegetable paste. It was a winner apparently because there were no leftovers to be found when I got home!
Tuesday:- I'm using up some leftover lamb from a roast on the weekend by making
Aush. I'm also cooking some extras today, making some Mint & Coriander chutney, Bindi Balls, Carrott & Beetroot patties,
Cranberry Slice and gingerbread cookies.
Wednesday:- We're having Quirky Cooking's
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, mashed potatoes and greens. To follow we're having a coconut sago pudding I tried last week and just want to make a few changes to.
Thursday:- My favourite fish dish, the
Fragrant Fish Curry adapted from Jude Blereau.
Friday:- I'm out at a demo on Friday night, so thought I'd make Annabel Langbein's
Lamb, Rosemary & Apple sausage rolls as converted by
Iron Chef Shellie in the afternoon for Mr WFK & my boys to enjoy with some steamed veg for dinner.
Saturday & Sunday:- We're out celebrating on Saturday night which will be a welcome relief, given I've got a cooking class on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we're having some friends over so I'm making the Beef Stir Fry from
In The Mix - super easy and makes a huge quantity. It's also really delicious, which is probably the most important thing!
Whatever you're cooking this week, I hope it's delicious. For those on school holidays, enjoy.
Happy Mixing!