It was a busy week and the weekend has been no different! I’m always looking for different ways to speed up the weekend cooking. One way is to have one less meal to make ahead of time! This week’s menu is about maximizing the use of leftovers to ease the amount of cooking that needs to be done.
|
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Dinner |
|
| Monday |
Porridge (w wheat germ & frozen berries) |
Chicken Meatballs (w vegetable ragout & couscous) |
Chicken Stir-Fry (w straw mushrooms, baby corn & Asian greens) |
| Tuesday | |||
| Wednesday |
Fish Pie (w steamed broccoli) |
||
| Thursday |
Fish Pie (w steamed broccoli) |
Steak (w mushrooms & snow peas) |
Click here to view or print a copy of the plan with the shopping list.
For breakfast, I’ve gone with a great winter warmer that I don’t have to make ahead – porridge! To make mine more filling, I add some wheat germ and frozen berries. Put 1/4 cup of quick oats, 2 tbsp of wheat germ, pinch of salt, 1/3 cup of water and 1/3 cup of reduced fat milk in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir and cook for about another minute (watching that the porridge doesn’t boil over). Heat 60g of frozen berries (thawed overnight or on the way to work) in the microwave for about 30 seconds and add to the porridge.
For lunch on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I’ve got chicken meatballs with a vegetable ragout. This is served with couscous. To save time, the meatballs are cooked at the same time as the sauce in the Thermomix. Click here to view the recipe.
For dinner on Monday and Tuesday, I’ve decided on a chicken stir-fry. This week, I’m going with straw mushrooms and baby corn cuts (in a can, so no chopping) as well as Asian greens (super quick and easy to chop up). I’ve added this variation to the stir-fry recipe that I posted the other week.
Wednesday’s dinner is a fish pie with the leftovers for lunch on Thursday. I’ll steam the fish and carrots in the Thermomix while cooking the mash potato topping. I’ll make the white sauce and the rest of the filling on the stove while the fish and potato are cooking. A draft recipe is below. To bulk up the vegetable servings, I’ll serve this with some steamed broccoli.
Thursday’s dinner is the usual steak cooked on a grill pan. I’ve got mushrooms and snow peas as vegetables for this week and I’ll fry them in the grill pan while the meat is resting. I’ll cook up some sliced onions too.
Draft Recipes
Fish Pie
Ingredients
Filling
600g fish fillets
1 large onion, peeled and diced into 0.5cm pieces
1 clove garlic
1½ cups frozen peas
Light olive oil for cooking
1 tbsp Thermomix vegetable stock concentrate
2 carrots, peeled and diced into 0.5cm pieces
2 tbsp self-raising flour
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 cups reduced fat milk
Salt and pepper to season
Topping
600g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
400g potato, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
100g reduced fat milk
100g water
1 tbsp seeded mustard
250g light tasty or cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Put potatoes, milk, water, salt and pepper into the Thermomix bowl and cook with the measuring cup (MC) off for 12 minutes/100C/Speed 1
3. Put carrots into the Varoma bowl and fish on the top tray. After the Thermomix stops, put the Varoma on top and cook for 10 minutes/Varoma/Speed 1
4. In the meantime, in a small saucepan, heat 2 tbsp light olive oil on medium-high heat, then add flour and stir to combine. Slowly add milk and whisk to combine. Reduce heat and whisk occasionally until the mixture thickens, then remove from heat. Do not let it boil
5. Once the Thermomix stops, remove the Varoma and put the butterfly into the bowl
6. Add mustard and then mash with MC on for 20 seconds/Speed 3
7. To finish the filling, heat olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat, add onions and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft
8. Add stock, peas and carrots into the frying pan, reduce heat, add the white sauce and stir to combine
9. Break the fish into approximately 3-4cm pieces and add the frying pan. Stir gently to combine
10. Put filling into a rectangular baking dish and cover with the mashed potato
11. Sprinkle with grate cheese and put in the middle shelf of the oven. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes until top is browned
