Meal Planning Monday, 26th November 2012

Phew what a horrid Monday it is! It's cold, it's rainy and poor old Bubbah is horribly ill. He came down with what we though was a case of teething gone bad last Monday but it quickly transpired this was nothing to do with teething (although he has had the top two middle teeth through, hurrah). He has a nasty nappy rash which is quite dried out and splits nearly every time he needs a nappy change, which is about 15+ at the moment. Safe to say he is not a happy Bubbah most of the time. Today heralds us going back to the doctors for more special cream to help the rash and find out what exactly is wrong because they said viral infection last week but I'm not happy because it's not getting better.

We also didn't get the flat (booo) because the landlord didn't want tenants with children. So that combined with some bad family news and poor old Bubbah the week has been rather a rubbish one.

Needless to say last week's meal plan was pretty much abandoned after Tuesday and home cooked meals went out of the window. I'm pretty sure we lived off food from the freezer topped up with pizza and chicken pops from our local Tesco. OH took a day off to help me out as I was running on empty come Thursday and managed to get Bubbah to fall asleep without too much struggle on the way to the shops (compared to me rocking him for two hours as that would be the only thing that would settle him. My back is in so much pain) allowing me to have a sleep catch up of my own.

Bubbah before the start of all things poorly

I'm a little more hopeful this week so I've tentatively put some more normal food plans back on the menu. The slow cooker is coming out (which makes things easier) again this week too for an old favourite.

So on the menu we have:

• Sausage casserole
• Fajitas
• Jackets
• Pizza
• Lamb meatballs for me when OH is fasting
• Vegetable pasties for me on OH's other fasting day.

And that's the plan! I'm linked up to Mrs M so pop on over there to see what everyone else is cooking up!

Meal Planning Monday; 19 November 2012

Hello everyone! Phew, it's been a bit quiet on here between these posts so I feel that these are all I write on here at the moment. This NaNo WriMo takes up pretty much all my spare time (read: time Bubbah spends asleep) but there are only 12 days left, eek! I've currently got 30,308 words so only 1,641 words a day to hit the target. Hurrah! I'm feeling pretty positive but it is very dependent on Bubbah sleeping!

This last week has been rather an exciting one because (whisper it now) we may be getting our very own flat! We currently live with my mum due to funds and houses/flats being ridiculously expensive and the waiting list for council property being about three years long or something insane like that. However we came across a little gem of a place at the beginning of last week and, everything crossed, we may be renting it. The estate agent is getting back to us this week with news as the landlord has been on holiday so it's been a bit of a weekend spent on tenterhooks! 

We also spent the weekend with my brother, sister in law, my niece (who is 4) and my nephew (who is 2). My poor nephew is poorly and has a horrid cough so he's been a bit subdued but still managed lots of cuddles and running around. My niece spent a rather large portion of Sunday lunch laughing and then telling me I was funny for no reason what so ever. Strange but cute. And hey, I'm happy to take the compliment!

Bubbah has been teething something awful this week so we've had a week of intermittent sleeping, crying and biting anything and anyone within reach (and I have the puncture marks to prove it). As such there hasn't been time for much else but I did want to share with you this rather funny/sweet picture of him from my nephew's birthday a fortnight ago...

He was rather enamoured with a toy hard hat my nephew got and was trying to model it for my mum when my nephew decided that, actually, he didn't want to share the hat any more and he wanted to wear it!

Last week's meal plan went very well. I managed to make gingerbread which we took with us on Friday when we had dinner at a friend's house where he made us burgers from Lorraine Pascall's cook book (so obviously pizza was scrapped, but the burgers were so good it was worth it) as I always like to take some sort of gift (normally baked goods as they're easy and always appreciated) if someone is cooking me dinner.

This week the slow cooker is back out in force as I shall be desperately writing/waiting about the flat/celebrating or mourning the flat and occupying Bubbah.

Our meals look a little bit like this:

• Sausage casserole
• Vegetable soup
• Freezer meal
• Pizza
• Jacket or pasta bake for me when OH is fasting
• Lazy meal of fish fingers, wedges and veg for me on OH's other fasting day

I really want to make cookies this week because I'm in the mood for something like that but we shall see if I can fit that in around everything else.

As always, I'm linked up to Mrs M so head on over to see what everyone else is cooking up.

Meal Planning Monday; 12 November 2012

Happy Monday everyone! Last week's meal plan was completely achieved with the exception of toad in the hole which got turned into sausages in buns, chips and beans/sweetcorn. I did hit my baking quota for last week, although I swapped gingerbread out for some chocolate pots (a mix between chocolate ganache and mousse). And on that note, meet my smores!

I assure you there were more than this when I made them but I didn't have the chance to snap a picture of them all chopped up into smaller bits before hubby found them and snaffled some (alright I had some too, they were too good to resist), whoops!

The Nutella cookies have also gone down really well but a busy weekend has meant we have a few left going into this week. I may actually make gingerbread this week to celebrate finishing my Christmas shopping over the weekend. Has anyone else finished or am I just a bit obsessive about hating the shops come December when people start a mad rush of present buying?

Now I didn't make the above cakes (I wish I could decorate mine that well) but these were the (slightly sickly if an entire one was eaten) delicious birthday cupcakes my mum got made for my nephew for his birthday last Monday. He was thrilled with them, his presents and seeing myself, Bubbah and my mum. He did, however, cry when we all sang happy birthday to him because he didn't like the attention, bless!

NaNo WriMo is going well too, I've managed to jump up to 17,530 words but unfortunately haven't been able to get any writing done this weekend as Bubbah has been teething and so has been rather clingy with me, meaning no laptop (he tries to eat wires, strange child) for me.

Speaking of Bubbah he has developed a bizarre new habit of shaking his head and then staring at me until I nod mine. He finds it hysterical but I have absolutely no idea why! He's also decided that he can't eat smallish bits of bread like he used to but has to shove the entire bit into his mouth which, as you can imagine, makes lunch a delightful experience! Let's just say my mess mat is getting plenty of use.

He also got into bed with daddy one morning while I was in the bathroom and made himself most comfortable indeed. Every time I tried to get him out to take him downstairs for breakfast he'd pull the covers over his head!

This week we're having a pretty basic week of food and I've put the slow cooker back to work. I've also brought out an old summer favourite because I've just fancied it and hubby keeps asking for it. 

So, this week we are having:

• Quiche (plain old cheese and bacon for me, spinach and tomato for OH)
• Lamb casserole for me (and my mum who loves this) on one of OH's fast days
• Freezer meal (ratatouille for OH, tuna pasta bake or mac n cheese for me)
• Pizza as usual on Friday
• Jackets with cheese/cheesy beans
• Freezer meal or jackets for me on OH's other fast day

As always, I'm linked up with Mrs M's linky so head on over there to check out everyone else's meal plans.

Meal Planning Monday; 5th November 2012

Happy Monday and happy birthday to my nephew who is two today! As you read this I will be visiting him with my mum and Bubbah to hand deliver his presents and some bee cupcakes as a nod to his favourite t.v. show The Hive. I'm rather excited because small children always get so excited about opening presents and he's particularly hilarious with it, taking the present round to everyone in the room demanding they "look" before running off just as quickly. Lovely.

This last week has been a bit of a hibernation one, simply because I had no plans and couldn't be bothered to leave the house in this hideous weather! I just about managed to convince myself we needed some fresh air by the end of the week and braved the cold and the rain for a trip to Tesco where I stocked up on baking stuff (courtesy of their 3 for 2 special offer which got me a bit excited) and promptly made two cakes. One was my normal marshmallow cake and another was a Smarties and marshmallow cake.

I've also taken the plunge and taken part in NaNo WriMo. I'm quite happy with my progress so far, the first few days have seen me manage to write 8,000 words amidst Bubbah's naps and evening times which I'm pretty impressed with. Is anyone else taking part in it this year?

As usual Bubbah has been displaying his mischievous side by turning completely around in his high chair and using me as his climbing frame because clearly that's what mummies are for! He's had a bit of a cold this week but it hasn't dented his playfulness in the slightest. We have, however, been keeping him wrapped up extra warm in cute little jackets such as the red one in the picture below, complete with ears on the hood, something I always find adorable.

Due to the horrendous weather I'm sticking with the warming, comforting food of the last week or two. I'm also thinking of stocking up on soup and casseroles to have ready in the freezer for equally nice, warm lunches. I've already made extra batches of food this week; something about winter makes me want to bunker down and have lots of food ready in the freezer. This week I made cheesy tuna pasta bake for myself and Bubbah (OH hates tuna to the point he can't feed Bubbah this meal because of the smell) and a vegetable bake for OH. I also used a baby sauce pouch (one of those stir in ones) to make Bubbah mild fruity curry with veg, something I'm hoping to replicate myself this week now I know Bubbah likes it.

Anyway, this week's meal plan looks something like this:

• Toad in the hole
• Breaded mayo chicken (for me during OH's fast day)
• Mild curry
• Cheesy mushroom pasta
• Jackets or freezer meal for when OH is on his fast day
• Pizza and the last of some dough balls we have in the freezer

I'm also hoping to bake a bit this week. I found a yummy recipe for Nutella cookies and I'd also like to make gingerbread cake and smores (courtesy of one of my many foodie magazines)

Clearly I'm anticipating that we'll be snowed in or something in the near future, or perhaps I just turn into a bit of a nester this time of year! What are you like come winter, do you like to stock up on meals and yummy snacks or is it just me?

As usual, I'm linked up with Mrs M so head on over there to look at what everyone else is cooking up this week for some foodie inspiration.