MEAL PLAN #31

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This week on the menu we have:

Balinese Chicken Curry - I am looking forward to this dinner the most this week. Yum!

Salmon with Jacket Kumara - This works equally as well with jacket potatoes, or mash.

Fried rice - Add diced chicken breast for a non-vegetarian option.

Vegetarian Chilli - This will be served sans avocado as I refuse to pay $7 for one!

Chickpea burgers - Serve with wraps as a lighter option to burger buns.

Sushi - We will make a salmon version, and a chicken version as my husband isn't the biggest seafood fan.

MEAL PLAN #30

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Brrrr... I think winter has finally hit!

This week we have a few winter warmers for you to enjoy:

Chicken & Leek pie - Save your leftover roast chicken meat and use it for this. Two dinners from one bird is pretty good going.

Jamie's Green Chilli - A favourite of ours that we haven't cooked in ages! This is a great recipe to cook when you have an abundance of green capsicums in the fridge.

Spanish Chickpeas - I'm not sure I'll ever get sick of this dish.

Quick Red Curry - I like to load my Thai curries with lots of vegetables.

Bacon Stampot - A little twist on a family classic

Almond Coated Chicken Nuggets - One for the little (and big!) kids in the family.

MEAL PLAN #29

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This week we have:

Tom Yum Soup - Always a favourite, hence its regular appearance on our meal plans.

Beef Bourguignon - This is the first time I've ever made this, and it was delicious!!

Homemade Sausage Sizzle - The weather is still warm enough to fire up the BBQ, so we're taking full advantage!

Red Curry Pork Pie - Make a big family sized pie, or smaller individual pies if you prefer.

Butter Chick-Peas - Replace the chickpeas with chicken if you would prefer not to have a vegetarian dinner.

Roast Chicken - Ah, the classic roast. Keep the left over carcass and make your own chicken stock/bone broth. It's super easy.

MEAL PLAN #28

Download Meal Plan #28 here.

I've changed the format of my meal plan slightly, to fit in with my busy schedule. From now on, the shopping list page will be left blank for you to fill in what you need. I hope you don't mind?!

This week on the menu we have the following:

Mexican Scramble - Eggs, eggs, glorious eggs!

Chinese Fried 'Quinoa' - This is fast becoming a family favourite. Although Miss M isn't digging it as much as us!

Homemade Baked Beans - I recommend making a double batch and sticking half in the freezer.

Pork San Choy Bau - Mmmmmm...I'm looking forward to this dinner.

Tahini Roast Potatoes & Kale - This would work just as well with spinach instead of kale.

Chinese Steamed Fish with Coconut Rice - Yum!!

MEAL PLAN #27

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This week we have:

Spaghetti Bolognese - Always a favourite. We like to make a double batch of mince and put half in the freezer.

Corn & Zucchini Fritters - A lovely reminder of summer.

Sushi Bowl - You don't have to worry about your sushi rolling skills with this dinner!

Bombay Potatoes & Peas - Hold back on the chilli if the kids are keen on it. Otherwise this is delicious.

Odds & Ends Stir-fry - A great way to use up all the vegetable odds & ends kicking about in the fridge.

Mediterranean Baked Kumara - Mmmmm... I love the crispy skin the baked Kumara gets in this dish.

MEAL PLAN #26

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MORROCAN QUINOA SALAD - You could buy a pre-made Morrocan seasoning if you want to save some extra time.

LEEK & PEA PASTA - This recipe and Chicken & Leek pie are my go-to Leek recipes. What are yours?

FRITTATA LOAF - Nice and easy for hubby or the kids to whip up.

DINNER PLATTER - For those lazy, non-cooking nights.

SAUSAGE & PASTA BAKE - Because kids love sausages & pasta!

REFRIED BEAN & CORN QUESADILLAS - Every time I type "Quesadilla' I have to double check I've spelt it right. She's a funny wee word :)

MEAL PLAN #25

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We have a short meal plan this week, as we're off the Wellington for a long weekend to celebrate my birthday - yay!

On the menu this week we have:

Roast Pumpkin, Kumara & Coriander Soup - A hearty, warming soup as we head into the cooler months. Make a double batch and stick half in the freezer.

Japanese Meatballs - Deceptively filling for a light looking meal.

Spanish Chickpeas - This is always well received in our house.

Friday Night Pizza - On a Thursday... I'm kicking off my birthday weekend with a tasty homemade pizza.

MEAL PLAN #24

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Ah, bliss... a short week. What did you get up to during your Easter break?

This week on the menu we have the following:

Smoked Fish Potato Salad - There is something about this dish which just screams summer to me. I'm making the most of it before the cold weather sets in.

Red Noodle Soup - A twist on a Thai red curry. Add any combo of vegetables you like.

Stamppot - My go-to when we feel like sausages for dinner.

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad - For a vegetarian option just leave out the chicken and add more vegetables to the salad. Alternatively, add tofu or tempeh.

Pumpkin & Bacon Pasta - My husband's signature dish. The most I've ever done is chop the pumpkin (which technically is the hardest part!)

Tahini Chickpea Wraps - Kind of like a waldorf salad, but not :)

MEAL PLAN #23

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It's a chicken kind of week this week. We don't usually eat this much chicken, but for some reason it just happened to turn out like that.

Roast Chicken Pie - A great way to use any leftover roast chicken you may have. Two dinners from one bird is pretty good going.

Thai Chicken & Almond Stir-fry - I like a quick and easy stir fry recipe. The almonds in this are my favourite part of the dish.

Chicken Noodle Soup - I was in the mood for soup. Especially soup which included chicken, corn and noodles!

Chickpea burgers - If you don't want the burger bun, then use lettuce leaves instead.

One-pot Chicken with Sage, Lemon & Rosemary - It's not the most colourful dish, but it tastes good.

MEAL PLAN #22

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'KFC" Chicken Drumsticks - For someone who doesn't like KFC, these are finger licking good!

Vegetarian Chilli - Adding grated carrot and zucchini means the kids eat vegetables without even realising.

Pad Thai - An oldie, but a goodie.

Zucchini & Carrot Fritters - Carrot in a fritter might sound weird, but trust me, it's good!

Chinese Fried Quinoa - This would work equally as well with rice in place of quinoa.

Roast Chicken with Sage & Onion stuffing - That stuffing! Honestly, who knew stuffing was so easy to make?!

MEAL PLAN #21

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Wow, so Summer is officially over. Not that it feels like it with the beautiful weather we've been having. I alway like this time of the year. The light turns golden, the days are still warm, and the evenings begin to feel cosy.

Meal Plan #21 is as follows:

Sushi -  I never realised how easy sushi was to make, until my mother-in-law showed me how. Now I regularly make it for lunch, and occasionally dinner too :)

Balinese Chicken Curry - Make sure you get the sugars nice and caramelised to help bring out the flavours of this curry.

Mexican Quinoa - I used to make something similar to this 4 or 5 years ago. I couldn't find my original recipe so I made one up. I think it's pretty successful, and better that what I remember!

Tom Yum Soup - Make a double recipe of the broth, and chuck half in the freezer for another night.

Zucchini & Kumara Skillet Hash - Yum! Actually, a side of bacon and eggs would be good with this...

Salmon with Jacket Kumara - Chuck the Kumara in the oven and forget about it for 45 minutes. Don't forget about the salmon though....

MEAL PLAN #20

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Carrot Cake Bliss Balls - This recipe made so many I had to take half into work to get through them all before the week was done! One of my friends suggested freezing them, so I might try that next time.

Tahini Roast Potatoes & Kale - I added kumara along with the potatoes to mix things up a little.

Fireman's Larb - We make ours with chicken mince, but it works just as well with pork mince.

Pumpkin & Sage Frittata Loaf - Pumpkin & sage, is a great, great! flavour combination.

Roast Vegetable Quinoa Salad - Almost all of the colours of the rainbow. This salad is so pretty.

Pork San Choy Bau - My favourite dish of the week. I will definitely be making this a regular :)

Butter Chick-peas - Get it? Butter Chick(en)-peas? Do you like what I did with the name? :)

MEAL PLAN #19

Hands up if you like snickers bars? Well, have I got a treat for you! Download Meal Plan #19 for a recipe to make homemade snickers bars. They are super easy to make, and taste amazing! Plus, they are so much better for you than the store bought version.

The menu for the week:

Lazy Monday Night Dinner - The name says it all :)

Thai Green Curry - We thought we would go green, rather than our usual red.

Odds & Ends Stir fry - I made this with the odds and ends we had in the fridge which desperately needs to be used. Hence the name.

Spanish Chickpeas - Anything with tomatoes and chickpeas is a favourite with Miss M.

Homemade Fish & Chips - A homemade kiwi classic (without the batter).

Spaghetti Bolognese - Another of Miss M's favourites. I aim to please :)

Download Meal Plan #19 here.

MEAL PLAN #18

Download Meal Plan #18 here.

This week on the menu we have the following:

CHAI SPICED BLISS BALLS - The return of the bliss balls. I think that next time I will made a double recipe as these didn't last long.

PATATAS BRAVAS - This reminds me of our holiday in Barcelona a few years back. I have added chickpeas as a little twist.

STUFFED MARROW - A great recipe for the out of control zucchini's in your garden.

ALMOND & QUINOA SALAD - Make enough for lunch the next day. You will thank me for it.

CHINESE STEAMED FISH WITH COCONUT RICE - I love Chinese flavours combined with fish. Delicious.

MEXICAN SCRAMBLE - This is my dish of the week. It is so quick and easy to make, and uses only a handful of ingredients.

TANDOORI CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH PILAF  - I love eating off skewers! Except the last piece of chicken is always a pain to get.

Enjoy!

Meal Plan #17

And so we find ourselves in the middle of February. Has anyone else noticed the days are getting shorter, and the mornings darker?

This week we have for you:

Quick Thai Red Curry - We always have curry paste in the fridge, so this is a good go-to when I don't have any other dinner ideas.

Smoked Fish Potato Salad - My fish dishes are always timed for when my husband is on a night shift :)

Tom Gha Kai - I get this every now & then for a take away lunch when I'm at work, and love it, so I thought I would try making my own. Its delicious, but very filling, so you don't need a lot.

One-pot Mexican Chicken & Rice - I'm loving one-pot cooking at the moment.

Friday Night Pizza - Always a family favourite.

Homemade Sausage Sizzle - Ahhhh....the smell of a sausage sizzle is soooo good! My homemade sausages are really tasty, and served in a kumara 'bun' as a point of difference.

Click to download Meal Plan #17

MEAL PLAN #16

Meal Plan #16 has some quick and easy recipes for you to make. I'm all about one pot cooking whenever possible, so I've got two for you this week.

WEEK 16:

Zucchini & Carrot Fritters - I have zucchini coming out of my ears at the moment, so did a shout out for recipes on my FB page, and one of you responded with zucchini & carrot fritters. This is what I came up with.

One-Pot Mediterranean Lamb - We're not big lamb eaters, but this dish is mmmmm....

Peanut Noodle Salad - I don't like my salads to have too much dressing, so I only added half the amount of dressing to the bowl. My husband dished his plate, and then added the rest of the dressing to his salad. He's the opposite to me, and likes LOTS of dressing :)

One-Pot Lebanese Chicken & Rice - A variation on the One-Pot Lemon & Chicken Rice from three weeks ago, and equally as tasty!

Zucchini & Corn Quesadillas -  Great flavours of summer.

Download Meal Plan #16 here.

MEAL PLAN #15

So, how about this weather we've been having?! Swimming and ice cream are definitely the two things to be enjoying at the moment. Lets hope the warm weather continues, although a few puffs of cooling breeze would be nice here and there!

Meal Plan #15:

Vietnamese Pho - A good Thai style soup has been my go-to lately. I love my Tom Yum soup recipe, but have decided to broaden my horizons and try a few different recipes. I love a good Pho, and although I can't say I've found a brilliant recipe as of yet, the few adaptions I made to the recipe that this soup is based on, makes it pretty damn good in my opinion!

Fish Burgers - The best kind of burgers to make in a hurry.

Brown Rice Salad - You can prep the rice, make the dressing and roast the vegetables in advance but I advise you to assemble the salad just before serving.

Butter Chicken - Butter Chicken isn't my favourite curry, in fact I've never, ever ordered one before. This recipe however, is de-lish! We made a double sauce recipe and chucked half of it in the freezer for another night.

Pot Roast Meatloaf - The classic meatloaf. Yum. I experimented with a chickpea version, but it needs tweaking. Hopefully I'll get around to it soon, and get it on a future meal plan for you.

Falafel Platter - Did you know that falafel is really easy too make? I didn't realise just how simple they were until I made some over the Christmas break. I think these will become a regular for us.

Download Meal Plan #15 here.

MEAL PLAN #14

Gosh, I'm having one of those weeks where I keep losing track of what day it is. I didn't realise it was Wednesday today, and almost forgot to post Meal Plan #14!

This weeks plan consists of the following six recipes:

Frittata Loaf I love how easy frittatas are to make. You can mix them up by adding any combination of vegetables you like, and they are just as good served cold as they are warm. The frittata is a great recipe for making in advance.

One pot chicken & lemon rice This is my favourite dinner this week. For a simple dish, it packs a lot of flavour.

Chickpea burgers We made enough patties for two burgers each, but could only manage to eat one! It meant we had lunch the next day, so I wasn't complaining :)

Vietnamese meatballs with noodles There is only one word for this dinner, and that is YUM! I love Thai flavours.

Zucchini & kumara skillet hash Breakfast for dinner?!

Thai quinoa salad We have two Thai flavoured dishes this week, simply because I wanted to try and finish my bag of mung beans before they went off!

Download Meal Plan #14 here.

MEAL PLAN #13

Welcome back! I can't believe how quickly the summer holidays have come and gone. I hope you all had a nice time off.

Our first meal plan for 2016 includes a few heartier dishes than we would perhaps normally eat during the summer months, but with the wet weather we've been having I've been in the mood for some more comforting meals.

This weeks menu is as follows:

Japanese meatballs in a lovely broth

Pulled pork. This is my favourite recipe for the week. I made it up as I went and think I absolutely nailed it :) Serve with tortilla wraps as an alternative to kumara mash.

Roast potato & asparagus salad

Dutch stampot

Friday night pizza. I have included the cauliflower pizza base recipe, but feel free to buy pre-made bases if you're feeling time poor. If I'm making enough pizza for lunch the next day then I tend not to make a cauliflower base as it goes a little soggy overnight.

Vegetarian bolognese

Download Meal Plan #13 here

DARK CHOCOLATE 'PLUMBLE'

Inspired by my friend Suzy's breakfast crumble, I made mini 'DARK CHOCOLATE 'PLUMBLE' which can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert.

I used 10cm round ramekins per person.

Ingredients below are per ramekin. The great thing about making crumble is that the ingredients can be easily adjusted to suit any dish size - I usually make put the quantities as I go.

BASE:
3 medium sized plums, halved and pip removed
A sprinkle of vanilla essence
1/2 tbsp rice malt syrup, maple syrup or honey (add more sweetener if you like your plums to be less tart)

TOPPING:
2 tbsp shredded coconut
3 tbsp almond meal, or oats
2 squares of 85% Green & Blacks chocolate, thinly chopped
2 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tbsp sesame seeds, or other seeds of your choice
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 180c

Arrange plum halves in your ramekin/dish. Sprinkle with vanilla essence & drizzle with rice malt syrup.

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl until lightly coated with the coconut oil. Press into ramekin on top of plums.

Bake in oven for 10–15mins or until golden.

Serve with a little coconut cream or yoghurt.

Plums & dark chocolate = a match made in heaven
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