Skiving.

That's me this week. Skiving. Skiving off the diet, skiving off menu planning. Skived my Weight Watchers meeting tonight, skiving off work tomorrow morning. Will probably skive off things like changing the towels and dusting the house. It's a general skiving week and I really don't care.

I think we all need a break every now and again. After spending over a year doing Weight Watchers successfully (lost every single week that I tracked and weighed in for) I'm just a tad bored with my return to it. I'm 11.5lbs down since Christmas which I'm delighted with, but need to live at the same time. So am taking a break over Easter; we've got so much going on that I really don't need any guilt trips for slipping up a little.

Menu planning did happen, but very loosely. Making the most of lots of lovely veggie bargains picked up over the weekend, and repeating the BNS/halloumi dish from last Friday's dinner party as it was exceptional. I ended up ditching the pudding idea and made a plum tarte tatin instead, served with home-made brandy ice-cream. No idea why as I've never even tried tarte tatin before and don't particularly like pastry. Been watching too much Masterchef perhaps? Anyway, the pastry didn't rise properly but we were all too merry by then to care much. And discovered the following day that alcoholic ice-cream is a perfect hangover cure;)

But skiving off work is something I rarely do. I'm priveleged enough to work from home, not as much fun as most people think as I'm stuck in a room all on my lonesome for 40 hours a week, but it has it's advantages. Every now and then, being a little late or leaving a little early doesn't matter too much, especially as I tend to work through my lunch break most days. So, tomorrow I will be a little late in. It's my baby girl's first school event, and she has a whole line to speak in the Easter assembly. I ain't missing that for all the wine in Italy!

Have a wonderful week peeps!

Menu Planning Monday.

Kicking off the week with a 3.5lbs weight loss (over 2 weeks, but still...) and probably ending the week gaining it back again!

Monday - home made pork and chilli burgers with parsnip and rocket mash

Tuesday - turkey noodle soup, Thai style with lots of chillies, ginger and coriander

Wednesday - chicken breasts roasted with tomatoes, aubergine and balsamic

Thursday - chicken liver salad

Saturday - home made fish and chips

Sunday - pork chops and whatever veg is left in the house

Friday needs a paragraph to itself though, we have foodie friends coming for dinner and inevitably large amounts of plonk. Kicking off with smoked salmon tartare and caviar on quails eggs (if I can find some), then a roasted BNS and halloumi salad with a lime and coriander dressing. Main course is veal with a polenta and parmesan crust, accompanied by new potatoes, peas and braod beans. Pudding will be chocolate baskets with a zabaglione mousse. And alka seltzer for brekkie on Saturday!

Pop over to MrsM's to see what other people have planned. And I'll leave you with a picture from our new and revamped market section at the local Morrisons - uber excited about this display!

Last week's food.

 

Lambs kidneys with red onion and butter beans.

First attempt at an omelette - looked ok from the outside, served with a rocket salad.

But was too set inside. Need some help here - or just practice and a hotter pan!

Cheeky little black pudding and spring onion salad, with plenty of balsamic.

Haddock with savoy cabbage in a garlic and herb cream cheese sauce. We will be doing this again, seriously lush.

And I'll leave you with a shop-bought hazelnut and toffee roulade, which was very nice indeed. Nice enough for me to scoff 2 portions!

Menu Planning Mon...Tuesday;)

Ooops, a bit late!

Bit of a funny one too, as I haven't actually planned this week. But here goes anyway...

Monday - steak night in the local pub with a friend

Tuesday - bought a bargainous pork joint from Lidl so roast pork, new potatoes and courgettes

Wednesday - something with leftover pork (it was a Very Big Joint)

Thursday - usual prawns for me and horse kebab meat for The Husband

Friday - something else with leftover pork (yes, there is that much of it!)

Saturday - at a friends house for dinner

Sunday - anything but pork

Next stop - blogging last weeks meals! As ever, pop over to MrsM's to have a catch-up there too.

Silent Sunday.

Menu Planning Monday.

Hey all! Getting used to the sun shining these days, hoping that spring is on it's way - time for another link-up with MrsM!

Monday - gammon baked in chipotle sauce with courgettes and chantenay carrots (was going to be home-made wedges and mayo with it too but that was a treat for losing weight, and I stayed the same this week, boo)

Tuesday - lambs kidneys in a butter bean and red wine vinegar sauce (Angela Hartnett recipe, the picture looks a lot nicer than it sounds)

Wednesday - smoked haddock with savoy cabbage and a garlic cream cheese sauce

Thursday - probably eggs of some sort - have challenged myself to learn how to cook omelettes this year (embarrassing that I can cook everything pretty well apart from cakes and omelettes!)so may have a go

Friday - over at a friends for wine; may be a takeaway, may be a salad, may be the entire contents of her fridge depending on how much we drink;)

Saturday - Feijoada with rice and spinach

Sunday lunch - my sister and her boys are coming for lunch; it's shepherds pie with peas for the kids and broad beans for the adults, then chocolate sponge with sticky toffee sauce and custard for pud - happy days!

I'll leave you with a picture from our eating-fest weekend a couple of weeks ago, fabulous pie and ale from The Pie and Ale House!

Silent Sunday.