What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan 28/2/26

I haven't posted a menu plan for almost a year. We went on to buying Too Good To Go bags which make it hard to plan meals in advance but this week, we stocked up the fridge when we got back from visiting the family so I decided to try to use up some of the spices and seasoning sachets that are taking up space in the cupboard. Many of them came in Degustaboxes so they aren't necessarily things we would have bought but let's see what I can manage to use up. Here's the plan for the coming week.

Saturday

lunch- cheesy courgette gratin with chicken gyros

dinner- meatballs with Ikea meatball sauce and mash

Sunday

lunch- pork filet mignon with roast potatoes, stuffing balls, green beans and gravy

dinner - Nadiya's Punchy Chicken and Rice One Pan (with red peppers, onions, sweetcorn, chopped tomatoes)

Monday

lunch-  school canteen for me (Sophie and Pierre will be going to get his braces changed)

dinner - noodles with chicken, veggies and sweet chilli sauce (supposed to be for sweet chilli halloumi but we don't fancy saucy halloumi)

Tuesday

lunch- risotto with bacon, onions, mushrooms

dinner-  couscous (sausages, chickpeas, onions, red peppers, carrots and couscous)

Wednesday

lunch- smoked sausages and onions with pasta

dinner- cheeseburgers with garlic and herb wedges and coleslaw

Thursday

lunch- school canteen for me (leftovers for Sophie and Pierre)

dinner- slow cooked pork for pulled pork with rice (needs to be set off before I go to work in the morning)

Friday

lunch-  pasta carbonara

dinner - chicken burgers with rösti (potato fritters)

Saturday

lunch- takeaway or leftovers

dinner-  croziflette (tartiflette made with crozets pasta)

Sunday

lunch- roast chicken dinner

dinner - breaded fish with homemade chips and green beans

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 20

This week was a quiet, normal week which was just what was needed after a few hectic weeks. We had a big moment of panic at work when we suddenly realised just how close the end of term is and all that that entails - final exams, filling in reports, class meetings, sorting out the classes for next year, ... Oh well, one step at a time. This coming week, Monday is our final training day which gives us a nice easy start to the week. Here's the menu plan for next week.

Monday

lunch-  school canteen for me (Sophie and Pierre can go fridge diving)

dinner - beefburgers, rice and beans

Tuesday

lunch- bacon and leek quiche with salad

dinner-  sausages and mash with gravy and carrots

Wednesday

lunch- something instagram-inspired found by Sophie

dinner-spicy chickpea, tomato and sausage hot pot with rice

Thursday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner-  baked potatoes with mushrooms, onions, bacon and cream

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves)

dinner - beef stew with carrots, red peppers, onions, paprika and rice

Saturday

lunch- leftovers

dinner-  chilli con carne and rice

Sunday

lunch- chicken curry with rice

dinner - pasta bolognese

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 19

I didn't end up doing a menu plan last week as we had major problems at home - our toilet blocked and we had to get a plumber out to unclog it. He didn't manage either so we had to get the truck out to force air/water through the pipes, which, he warned us, could end up breaking the toilet that would take a fortnight to repair. Luckily, it didn't break the toilet but the bill still came out at an eye-watering €1800 and we had four days without a toilet. Luckily there's a nearby fast food restaurant that we kept running to as needed and we headed off to Sophie's flat in Lille for the weekend. I'm glad that's over though ! May is the month of bank holidays so we had Thursday off last week and it's the same again this week. I do have to go in on my Wednesday day off though as it's the oral exams for the older kids and they needed more teachers to help out. Here's what's on the menu plan this week.

Monday

lunch-  lunch in town with Sophie

dinner - beef, carrot and mushroom stew with rice

Tuesday

lunch- baked potatoes with cheese and bacon

dinner- fresh beefburgers with mash and baked beans

Wednesday

lunch- tomato upside-down tart (a recipe that Sophie found on instagram)

dinner- cottage pie

Thursday

lunch- grilled ham, rice and ratatouille

dinner-  cordons bleus for Pierre and Sophie, lamb chops for me from Too Good To Go, with mash and green beans

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves)

dinner - fish and chips

Saturday

lunch- chicken fajitas

dinner- pasta carbonara

Sunday

lunch- roast dinner (chicken or gammon)

dinner - bacon sandwiches

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 17

After a hectic final week at school, it was lovely to head into a two-week break for Easter. We went visiting family in Hastings, which is always nice and relaxing. We had a week to settle back in at home after we got back and got through some jobs that have been cluttering up my to-do list (paying the remainder of our summer holiday, doing a 3-hour online training session for work, starting to dejunk the garage, ...) My fridge is full of too good to go goodies this week as we've been busy restocking the kitchen cupboards and the fridge. We ended up with about eight rolls of puff pastry that I threw in the freezer so we'll be looking for ways to use those up ! As Monday is a bank holiday, it will be a quieter week back at work next week. Thank goodness for that !

Monday

lunch- baked potatoes with sausages and beans

dinner - smoked mackerel pilau rice for me - chicken cordon bleu with rice for Pierre and Sophie

Tuesday

lunch- chicken burgers with pasta

dinner- puff pastry chorizo rolls with mash and carrots

Wednesday

lunch- something veggie-based using whatever's in the fridge with Sophie

dinner- chicken and chorizo traybake

Thursday

lunch- I'll eat in town with Sophie

dinner- air fryer chicken shawarma with rice

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves)

dinner - pasta carbonara

Saturday

lunch- air fryer chicken skewers with couscous and salad

dinner- paprika pork  with pasta

Sunday

lunch- roast gammon, roast potatoes, veg and gravy

dinner - bacon sandwiches

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 14

Last week was a majorly busy week and somehow this week didn't seem much better. On Monday, we had a training day at school, followed by a meeting with the school inspectors about our upcoming opening of an English literature class. There will be one new level each year and I've been earmarked to teach them all so I'll be changing from being an English language teacher to an English literature teacher within a few years. On Thursday, I went along with the school orchestra to supervise the kids during rehearsals and a big concert with another school orchestra. At the end, it was back to school on the bus with the kids and time to finish off with the parent-teacher evening. I was totally knackered by the end of the week and fell asleep at 9.30 on Friday night ! Next week should be quieter but the kids are going to see a historic football French Cup semi-final match with Dunkirk against Paris PSG (pretty unbelievable !) and Pierre has to go back to Cambrai for a day at the school he hopes to go to next year. He also has to produce a letter explaining why he wants to go there and a portfolio of 20 photos. It's all happening ! This week's menu plan will be complicated as I'm not entirely sure who's eating where but it's better to have a plan. My fridge is fit to bursting with too good to go goodies this week.

Monday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner - chicken orloff and pasta for Sophie and Pierre / salmon with spices and pomegranate molasses for me with pasta and salad

Tuesday

lunch- veal paupiettes with mash and peas

dinner- I'm home alone so I'll go fridge-diving - there's a cod and rice ready meal in the fridge that would do (or there may be leftover salmon)

Wednesday

lunch- home alone again - there's some minced veal in the fridge (I fancy trying these Kofta Kabobs )

dinner- just me again - pasta bolognese (in the fridge from too good to go)

Thursday

lunch- school canteen for me (kids can fend for themselves)

dinner- giant sausage with red peppers/onions/mushrooms and rice

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves - there are chicken cordon bleus that they can eat)

dinner - spaghetti bolognese (homemade this time)

Saturday

lunch- chicken burgers with baked potatoes and baked beans

dinner- cheese and ham pastries with salad and mash

Sunday

lunch- beefburgers with chips

dinner - leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 13

It's been a busy old week. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, I had after school meetings for each class to discuss each pupil's results and progress. On Thursday, I had an hour's wait after my lessons then had two meetings. During my free hour, I got a phone call from Sophie. The dog had been pooping blood all over the house and the kids had set up a vet's appointment for 6pm. I would still be in meetings but we managed to arrange for the dog sitter to take Sophie and the dog to the vet's by car. The vet doesn't really know what the problem was - maybe polyps or maybe he ate something - but they came home with medicine and, fingers crossed, he seems to have perked up. On Saturday we took the train to a town three hour's away to visit a school that Pierre would love to go to to do a photography course for the next two years. The trouble is, there are very few places so he now has to send in a letter outlining why he'd like to go there and a portfolio of 15-20 photos. We visited the pupil accommodation blocks too and he'd love it, as there's a gym and a room with a big screen TV to watch movies and sports on. This coming week will be busier than usual too as I have a training day on Monday and a parent-teacher evening on Thursday. Luckily the holidays will be coming around in a couple of weeks - I need them ! Here's the plan for this week's food.

Monday

lunch- I'll be at school (Sophie and Pierre can have sausages and pasta)

dinner - fresh beefburgers with gratin dauphinois

Tuesday

lunch- cheese/mushroom pastries with rice and ratatouille

dinner- pasta carbonara

Wednesday

lunch- fresh pasta from too good to go

dinner- beef stew with rice and carrots (or leftover gratin dauphinois)

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner- meatballs in tomato sauce with pasta

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves)

dinner - spaghetti bolognese

Saturday

lunch- baked potatoes with bacon, onions, beans, red peppers, cheese

dinner- takeaway (Juliette's choice as she's home for the weekend)

Sunday

lunch- roast chicken dinner

dinner - leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 12

Last week, I ended up coming down with a stinking rotten cold - probably the result of the changing weather that I mentioned last week. I fell asleep as soon as I got home after work on Thursday and ended up taking the day off and sleeping all day on Friday too. I'll be going back to work on Monday and will hopefully be fighting fit for all the end-of-term class meetings after school each day next week. Even the weekend will be busy as we'll be heading off to Cambrai (three hours away by train) to see the school that Pierre wants to go to next year. Here's what's on the menu this week.

Monday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner - tacos

Tuesday

lunch- sausagemeat patties, rice and sweetcorn

dinner- fresh beefburgers and pasta

Wednesday

lunch- asparagus ravioli (from too good to go)

dinner- sausages, baby potatoes and coleslaw

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner- steak pies, mash and peas

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves)

dinner - spaghetti carbonara

Saturday

lunch- something in Cambrai with Pierre

dinner- probably takeaway as we'll be tired out when we get back

Sunday

lunch- chicken, rice, veg and gravy

dinner - leftovers or cheese on toast

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 11

As I write this menu plan, the sun is shining brightly outside and I feel like we're in the midst of spring. I'm hopeful that this will last, but sadly, I think it's just a one-off and we'll be back to rain and cooler temperatures next week. Fingers crossed though - it's amazing how much better we all feel when the weather picks up. We're heading into the conseils de classe at work (end-of-term meetings for each class to discuss marks and behaviour of each pupil) so that will keep us busy for a couple of weeks. Sophie will be picking up the cooking duties when I get in late from work. Here's the plan for this week's food.

Monday

lunch- I'll eat at the school canteen

dinner - fish, rice and peas

Tuesday

lunch- sausages, mash and baked beans

dinner- pork chops with pasta and ratatouille

Wednesday

lunch- chakchouka

dinner- raclette, baked baby potatoes and pork belly

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner- fresh ravioli (from a Too Good To Go bag)

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for themselves)

dinner - tacos

Saturday

lunch- fricadelles (like rissoles) with chips

dinner- mini burgers with salad and potato salad

Sunday

lunch- roast chicken, roast potatoes, veg and gravy

dinner - leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 10

Last week, we finally got around to going to the travel agent's to book this year's summer holiday. We'll be heading off for two weeks in Marrakech, Morocco, which should be lovely but apparently very hot. Juliette's boyfriend will be coming with us which should give the kids a chance to spend some time doing their own activities, such as the giant pool slides, while I flake out with a book under the poolside parasols. Sounds good to me ! Using things out of the freezer is turning into a great way of saving money at the moment, which is perfect timing with the holiday to pay for. We'll do more of that this week as there is still plenty in there. Here's the plan for this week.

Monday

lunch- I'll eat in town with Sophie (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner - leftover roast gammon with rice and carrots

Tuesday

lunch- battered fish with mash and veg

dinner- pasta carbonara

Wednesday

lunch- some sort of spicy veggie concoction for me and Sophie

dinner- roast beef with gravy, roast potatoes and peas

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner- sausages, mushrooms, canned tomatoes and onions with pasta

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre and Sophie can fend for himself)

dinner - leftovers

Saturday

lunch- steak pies with mash and veg

dinner- the kids will probably want some kind of takeaway (Pepe chicken, I would imagine)

Sunday

lunch- Moroccan-style grilled chicken breasts with couscous and tomato/chickpea sauce

dinner - leftovers or soup

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 9

I haven't done a menu plan for the past two weeks as we've been on half term holiday and went to Hastings to catch up with the family, which was lovely. We came back midweek so I've been cooking my way through all the things in the fridge without a plan, which was simple enough as I haven't been at work, but once I'm back into routine, it's easier to go back to having a plan. We've got all of Sophie's food from her flat to work through and the freezer is stuffed full, so I want to start using up whatever is lurking in there. I didn't even go shopping this week but I might have to go and grab a few essentials midweek. Sophie and Juliette are heading off to see a concert in Paris so I'll just be cooking for me and Pierre from Wednesday until the weekend. Here's what is on the plan for next week.

Monday

lunch- I'll eat in town with Sophie (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner - cheese spread-filled pastry puffs with mash and frozen veggies

Tuesday

lunch- sausages, pasta and green beans

dinner- pancakes filled with fried eggs, ham and cheese (or chicken burgers, rice and ratatouille if we ended up eating them on Sunday night)

Wednesday

lunch- halloumi (can't remember the recipe but it's on instagram on Sophie's phone - otherwise air fryer halloumi with salad would do)

dinner- steak, rice and frozen veg

Thursday

lunch-school canteen for me (fridge diving for Pierre)

dinner- pasta carbonara

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Pierre can fend for himself)

dinner - steak, baked potatoes and peas

Saturday

lunch- crispy shredded chicken with rice

dinner- Fray Bentos chicken pies with mash and carrots

Sunday

lunch- roast gammon, roast potatoes and veg

dinner - leftovers or soup

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 6

Into our last week of school before the holidays. It's come around really quickly this time as it's only five weeks since the Christmas holidays, but we'll pay for it at the end of the year as we'll have a longer final term before the summer holidays. Pierre is having fun at the moment gadding about taking photos at various football matches and really enjoying it, which is good as it's what he's planning on studying and following as a career. Sophie is still busy emptying her flat and filling up every corner of our house to stash everything ! Juliette is still at college and having fun renovating her flat with her boyfriend. Here's what's on the menu this week.

Monday

lunch- I'll be eating at school as I have a meeting just before lunch (fridge diving for the kids)

dinner - chicken cordon bleu with pasta and parsnips

Tuesday

lunch- Chicken and tomato spicy rice one-pot

dinner-  sausages, mash and beans

Wednesday

lunch- something out of Sophie's diabetes cookbook

dinner- beef bourguignon with potatoes and carrots

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie

dinner- Chinese chicken stir-fry with noodles

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Sophie and Pierre can fend for themselves)

dinner - pork curry with rice

Saturday

lunch- chicken burgers, spicy rice and sweetcorn

dinner- pasta carbonara

Sunday

lunch- steak, baked potatoes and green beans

dinner - leftovers or spaghetti bolognese

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 5

I can't believe we'll be into February by the end of the week. Where is the time going ?!! This week, I'll be heading off on the train to a training session in a town about an hour and a half away on Monday morning, to find out all about the new International Section opening in our school next year. I'm probably going to be picked to teach it and we have 6 hours per week to teach literature in English, on top of their normal English lessons. It's going to be tricky finding simple texts to use with the students whose English level is pretty basic in their first year at our school. I'm thinking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (using the dvd to help with comprehension) and a simplified version of Oliver Twist to start off with, but I'm hoping to get lots more ideas on the course. Then on Friday, I have a two hour meeting at another school to talk (again) about setting up the new section. Lots of running around but it's making it all clearer for next year, which is a good thing. Here's the menu plan for this week.

Monday

lunch- I'll be eating at the school where my course is being run (fridge diving for the kids)

dinner - sausages with mash and beans

Tuesday

lunch- chicken burgers with rice and ratatouille

dinner-  veal with pasta and roasted parsnips

Wednesday

lunch- super smoky bacon and tomato spaghetti

dinner- chilli con carne with rice

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie

dinner- pasta carbonara

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Sophie and Pierre can fend for themselves)

dinner - baked potatoes with bacon, cheese and beans

Saturday

lunch- Deliveroo

dinner- Amatriciana chicken traybake

Sunday

lunch- Pastitsio (Greek Lasagne)

dinner - leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 4

Our menu plans are a bit hit and miss at the moment as we tend to go and grab a couple of Too Good To Go bags at a local supermarket towards the end of the week. Last week we got loads of four cheese pizzas and lots of mini hamburgers. Pierre has just had his braces retightened so he wanted to avoid things that needed a lot of chewing for a few days. That gave us the chance to use up some of the tins of soup that have been filling up my food cupboard. Here's what we have on the plan for this week.

Monday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner - Monterey chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans

Tuesday

lunch- pasta carbonara (with fatty pork slices from Too Good To Go)

dinner-  sesame pork roast (in the slow cooker with Too Good To Go pork) with rice

Wednesday

lunch- Frittata (spinach/sausages/courgette) (p84 Diabetes cookbook) (didn't get made last week as Sophie went back to Lille)

dinner- leftovers

Thursday

lunch-something in town with Sophie

dinner- chicken burgers in buns with Airfryer chips

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Sophie and Pierre can fend for themselves)

dinner - spaghetti bolognese

Saturday

lunch- minced beef fajitas with guacamole

dinner- probably something from Too Good To Go

Sunday

lunch- roast dinner

dinner - leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 3

We've all settled back into our school routines. Sophie is moving back home so she's doing multiple trips to her flat and bringing it all back home. Cue lots of interesting recipe books and a million seasoning sachets and pots of herbs and spices that we can start working our way through. We've got a new Air Fryer cookbook to go with the air fryer that I got for Christmas, plus Sophie has just brought back her Diabetes cookbook, so we've got lots of new things to try out. Here's what's on the plan for next week.

Monday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner - beef casserole (with carrots/onions) with mash

Tuesday

lunch- chicken satay with rice

dinner- chicken burgers with potato Christmas trees (hanging about in the freezer)

Wednesday

lunch- Frittata (spinach/sausages/courgette) (p84 Diabetes cookbook)

dinner- Mediterranean chicken (with tomatoes/courgettes) with pasta

Thursday

lunch-school canteen

dinner- Spanish chicken and rice

Friday

lunch- school canteen (Sophie and Pierre can fend for themselves)

dinner - Quick sausage pasta sauce (p90 Diabetes cookbook)

Saturday

lunch- Swedish meatballs with Ikea sauce and mash

dinner- Deliveroo (assuming Juliette and her boyfriend will be home)

Sunday

lunch- chicken roast dinner

dinner - chicken soup

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 2

And we're back, welcoming in the year 2025 ! I ended up the last week before the holidays off sick and barely eating but luckily I got better just in time to go and visit the family for Christmas. We had a lovely week there before coming back for the kids to catch up with their respective boyfriends and girlfriends. I acquired an AirFryer for Christmas and bought a recipe book to find out what we can do with it. Sophie's moving back home so she'll be helping out with the cooking and the menu planning. Lots of fun times in the kitchen ahead ! Hope you all had a lovely break over Christmas and fingers crossed that 2025 will be a great year for everyone. Here's what is planned for our first menu plan of the year.

Monday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner - chicken curry with rice

Tuesday

lunch- baked potatoes with burgers and roasted garlic broccoli

dinner- chilli con carne with rice

Wednesday

lunch- courgette hash browns with feta

dinner- leftovers

Thursday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner- Mediterranean turkey escalopes with pasta

Friday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - pasta carbonara

Saturday

lunch- chicken wings with white sauce and chips

dinner- Airfryer chicken skewers with rice

Sunday

lunch- roast dinner

dinner - soup

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 51

Into the last week at work before the Christmas holidays. We get our special Christmas lunch at the school canteen this week which will hopefully be good. I need to wind down everything in the fridge before we head off to catch up with the family for Christmas. I'll be hitting the freezer for the last couple of days instead of going shopping. Here's what's on the menu plan this week.

Monday

lunch- something in town with Sophie

dinner - pork chops with creamy leeks and pasta

Tuesday

lunch- leftover roast chicken and rice stir fry

dinner- roast beef (from a too good to go bag) with roast potatoes, carrots and onions

Wednesday

lunch- leftover roast beef with baked potatoes

dinner- turkey casserole with mash and carrots

Thursday

lunch- school lunch 

dinner-  leftovers

Friday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - beefburgers with chips and baked beans

Saturday

lunch- leftovers and fridge diving

dinner- Deliveroo

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 50

Menu plans are very hit and miss lately as we've been enjoying lots of fabulous too good to go boxes from a local supermarket that provide various unexpected meals, especially at the end of the week. This week, we got loads of fresh beefburgers - proper ones like you get at the butcher's - so they've been stashed in the freezer, plus a giant box of taboulé (couscous with mint, peppers and olive oil) that we've been working our way through. Yesterday we headed off to Lille to see Juliette's new flat, give her boyfriend his birthday present and check out the Christmas market, where we had a delicious melted raclette cheese, smoked ham and potato baguette. Sounds weird but it was actually lovely. This week, I'll make a menu plan but Sophie will take over on cooking duties as I'll be going to after-school meetings all week. It will be a week of freezer diving and probably more too good to go bags, if I know Sophie !

Monday

lunch- school lunch or possibly something in town with Sophie

dinner - creamy pork with rice and salad

Tuesday

lunch- pasta carbonara

dinner- steak (from the freezer) with carrots and mash

Wednesday

lunch- just me and Sophie so we'll have a fridge fry-up, using up whatever we find and focusing on the veg box in the fridge - it always comes out delicious so it's a new tradition

dinner- beefburgers  (from the freezer)and pasta with salad

Thursday

lunch- school lunch or possibly something in town with Sophie

dinner-  blanquette de veau (veal stew in the slow cooker - from the freezer - with carrots, onions, mushrooms) and baked potatoes

Friday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - spaghetti bolognese

Saturday

lunch- beefburgers (from the freezer) with rice and carrots 

dinner- takeaway or deliveroo 

Sunday

lunch- roast dinner

dinner - leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 49

I had a bit of a shock when I started writing this blog post. Week 49? How can that be possible ?! Only a few short weeks until the end of the year ?! It's the busiest time of the year (or at least each term) at school as we're busy filling in the pupils' reports and going to a conseil de classe class-meeting for each separate class. Luckily Sophie is home to help out with keeping everyone fed when I get in late and tired. We're still enjoying lots of too good to go bags from a local supermarket that offer interesting meal options for the end of the week. Last week we got a chicken kebab - slices of fresh chicken marinated in spices, with a cherry tomato, a slice of courgette and some onions on top, stuck on a stick with a square of wood on the bottom so you could stand it up to cook it. I couldn't work out how to cook it without the wood burning though so I stripped everything off, chopped it into chunks and cooked it in a frying pan. It was delicious ! Lots of other nibbly bits (cheese wrapped in smoked ham, olives, a steak and cheese sandwich, pear tarts ...) plus bits for main meals (curry-marinated chicken, gyros-marinated chicken, crab sandwich-filling, ...). Great for reducing landfill and improving tummy-fill so no complaints from me ! Here's what is on the cards for next week.

Monday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - chilli con carrne and rice (which didn't get made last week)

Tuesday

lunch- beefburgers with pasta

dinner- vegetable stuffing (from too good to go - basically sausage meat with spices) with rice and veggies

Wednesday

lunch- curry-marinated chicken (another too good to go offering) with rice and veg

dinner- steak (from the freezer) with gratin dauphinois (creamy baked potatoes) and salad

Thursday

lunch- school lunch

dinner-  pork curry with rice

Friday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - pasta carbonara (using up a thick slice of pork belly from, you guessed it, too good to go)

Saturday

lunch- kids' choice - we need to check out a new hamburger restaurant (like a French version of McDonald's) opening just down the road from our house

dinner- probably another too good to go box to pick through by now

Sunday

lunch- roast dinner

dinner - soup

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

What's Cooking At The Madhouse ? menu plan week 48

This week, I'll be working my way through all the end-of-term school reports then the week after it will be after-school class meetings to discuss the pupils' progress and problems, class by class. That is the sign that the holidays are on their way - bring them on, I say ! We've been gaily buying Christmas presents every time we see them in the shops or on Black Friday deals online and we're getting there, slowly but surely. I can't tell you what I've bought but there are some crackers in there that should hopefully appeal to their recipients. We will be putting the Christmas decorations up this afternoon if all goes to plan. We've been grabbing lots of Too Good To Go bags lately, with everything from muffins to family-sized trays of lasagne, which have been going down well. I have a fridge full of salad and random pieces of meat now ! Here's this week's plan for food.

Monday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - roasted cod with garlic and herbs (from a Too Good To Go bag) with rice and salad (Pierre can have a chicken burger or leftovers)

Tuesday

lunch- leftover fish for me/another chicken burger for Pierre with baked potatoes and grated carrots

dinner- Mongolian beef with rice

Wednesday

lunch- I'm home alone so I will knock something up with whatever is lingering in the fridge (there is some choucroute (sauerkraut) from Too Good To Go which could be good actually)

dinner- sausages, mash and beans

Thursday

lunch- school lunch

dinner-  chilli con carne and rice

Friday

lunch- school lunch

dinner - chicken burgers with pasta

Saturday

lunch-  creamy pork and mushrooms with baked potatoes

dinner- pizza

Sunday

lunch- roast chicken, roast potatoes, veg, gravy

dinner - soup

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***