Weekly Meal Planner

So this week it's half term! As much as I'm looking forward to all the fun activities I have planned, I also want to stay on track with the family meals...and not spend a fortune of takeaway and meals out.

Here's this weeks plan.

Monday

Pizza, wedges and salad

Tuesday

Beef stew, dumplings and homemade bread

Wednesday

Ham, egg and chips

Thursday

Cottage pie, yorkshires and seasonal veg

Friday

Slow cooker chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and salad

Saturday

Bacon, onion and mushroom pasta in tomato and basil sauce

Sunday

Minted lamb chops, roast potatoes, vegetables and stuffing(my kids have stuffing with everything!)

What's on your menu this week?

                                                              M xx

How Does Your Garden Grow - Part 1

Despite living in a flat in London, my heart lies firmly in the countryside surrounded by rolling hills, pick your own farms and beautiful landscapes. I've always dreamed of owning a converted barn in a couple of acres of land where we can keep a few animals and grow as much of our own fruit and vegetables as possible. At the moment, the closest we get to this is our annual visit to Grays Pick Your Own Farm, our weekend visits to The New Forest and using our balcony to grow as much produce as possible.
Last year proved extremely fruitful for tomatoes, radishes and lettuce but we weren't too successful with carrots, strawberries, herbs and onions. This year I am hoping to get myself together enough to really give this grow your own malarky a good try.

As the weather at the moment is horrendous, I'm a little apprehensive about preparing the soil so I'm going to begin with an indoor herb garden.

Based on a lot of the recipes I use, I've opted to begin with basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme and coriander.

Armed with everything I need to get this herb garden started, this years grow your own project begins!

How does your garden grow? Do you have any tips or suggestions?

M xx