Menu 2

• Monday – Honey Chilli Chicken (Pinch of Nom)
• Tuesday – Bubble & Squeak cakes, sausages & veg (Two Chubby Cubs)
• Wednesday – Spaghetti Bolognese
• Thursday – Jacket potatoes
• Friday – Chicken, chips & salad
• Saturday – Chicken, leek & bacon pie & veg (Pinch of Nom)
• Sunday – Gammon, mash & beans

• Frozen chicken thighs
• Honey
• Baking potatoes
• 5% Beef mince 750g
• Low fat sausages
• 2 Whole chickens
• Unsmoked gammon joint
• 200g 50% less fat garlic & herb soft cheese
• Leeks
• Bacon
• Store cupboard staples

Monday – My family LOVE this recipe! If there isn’t enough chicken for a big portion each we fight over it. It’s quick, cheap & easy to make. I defrost 2 bags of skinless & boneless chicken thighs for this recipe, & remove any remaining fat before marinading. You’ll find the recipe for this on their website or in their first book. You can cook this in a tray in the oven, or I use my deep Tefal pan on the hob. Cook on a medium heat for super sticky chicken that sticks to ya teeth.

Tuesday – Super cheap to make & really filling. We’re having our bubble & squeak cakes with vegetarian sausages as a cheaper/alternative to meat, I normally serve with some roasted veggies & gravy like a cheats roast dinner.

Wednesday – My first working day of the week, so today’s dinner always has to be easy to dish up, easy to cook on a Tuesday so it’s ready, & of course enough for everyone. Bolognese is cooked in my Pressure King Pro, saves room on my oven top & keeps it warm, if needed, for up to 24 hours. Perfect for everyone to help themselves to as we all eat at different times.

Thursday – All day of working for me, so no time to cook for everyone. My husband & daughter generally have a freezer meal, it’s not recommended on Slimming World what they have, but it’s one meal a week they get off from my ‘must have veg on every plate’ rule. The rest of us tend to go for jacket potatoes on a Thursday, again, just so quick & easy, & cheap to boot. There’s so many ways of doing jackets, a million topping combos, so use your imagination on this one.

Friday – Another day of working, so Friday’s dinner needs to quick & no fussin’. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Whole chickens are a really purse friendly way of cooking for a group of people, especially if you have a slow cooker or a Pressure King Pro. Cook your chicken in there for melt in ya maw heaven. All the meat falls off the bones, meaning you get more meat for your buck. Ooh-err Mrs!

Saturday – We absolutely love this pie recipe from the Pinch of Nom book, in there it’s topped with filo pastry, but to reduce the kcal’s, I serve with mash, or add thinly sliced potatoes to the top, a bit like a hot pot. This recipe feels a bit naughty on account of the creamy cheesness from the reduced fat cream cheese.

Sunday – Some of my husbands kids are round for dinner, so that’s cooking for 7 of us… can be tricky, can be expensive too. I have an arsenal of recipes I keep by just for days like this, which I will post at some point (this is a totally new thing for me & I have no idea what I am actually doing). A good gammon joint doesn’t need to cost the earth & the one I buy from Tesco is around £3.50/£4. Cooked in the Pressure King Pro (obviously!) served with a big helping of mash & a couple of tins of beans between us all. For perfect mash, add in 2 raw eggs & stir like crazy, add salt & pepper & chopped chives. Wah-lah.