Weekly Meal Plan #5: One Pan Suppers
This is one for all you washing up dodgers out there! This week, I’m sharing five easy weeknight recipes where all you need to cook them is one large saucepan, baking tray or casserole dish. I find cooking like this on a weeknight (especially now I no longer own a dishwasher so do all the washing up by hand) so much easier, and it really cuts down on my workload. So, get ready to start your shopping list, and perhaps use this as an excuse to treat yourself and Amazon Prime a new Le Creuset Casserole (I would be lost without mine!)
Monday: One Pot Pasta with Buffalo Mozzarella
Now, just because ‘that’ one pot pasta is no longer the ‘it’ dish of the internet, does not mean it is not the perfect antidote to the end of yet another manic Monday. I know the internet is awash with different versions of this, but I honestly think the original, tomato Martha Stewart version is the best. I’ve added some torn buffalo mozzarella in, stirring it so it goes a bit creamy and melty at the end. Feel free to leave it plain (and vegan), or to add whatever cheese you may have leftover from the weekend.
Tuesday: Baked Eggs with Black Pudding and Potatoes
Even if you are a black pudding lover rather than hater, am I right that if you make it for yourself at home you usually just fry up a slice or two to go with your cooked breakfast at the weekend? It is also fantastic crumbled with the classic Irish combo of potatoes and onions, and makes for a really hearty supper if you crack a few eggs into your pan at the end, and douse the whole thing in a generous amount of chopped flat leaf parsley.
Wednesday: Sausage & Onion Roast with Mustard Sauce
More and more I’ve been turning to sausages as a quick and easy way of packing protein into a weeknight supper. I love making this one pan roast when the seasons are turning, so this is always in my back pocket as we’re coming either into, or out of summer. The mustard/ sour cream sauce on the side is optional, but preferred. If you’ve got a copy, there is a roast similar to this with croutons made from stale bread, and sweet little nuggets of apple if you’ve got one going soft in the fruit bowl in Student Eats.
Thursday: Greek Lamb Pattie & Vegetable Tray Bake
It’s Easter at the end of the month, so I think it is time to start falling in love with this easy Greek Lamb Pattie & Vegetable Tray Bake that is inspired by a Greek Easter feast. It is a great thing to make if you’re looking to clear the fridge from any leftover veggies before the weekend shop, but I only ask that you make it my way at least once, because lamb patties aside, I think the combination of waxy potato wedges, juicy courgette batons, lightly caramelised red onion and whole, blistered cherry tomatoes is simply wonderful.
Friday: Mussels with Sundried Tomato Pesto & Kale
Keeping in the tradition of having fish on Friday, mussels are a really cheap way to to this. Serve with a whole load of fresh bread to scoop up the wonderful, pesto flavoured cooking juices. It’s the weekend, so why not treat yourself to a good, crusty sourdough from the local bakery, and perhaps a fancy bottle of white wine to share? As you’ve gone to the effort of making a special Friday night supper (they don’t have to know it took about 15 minutes to make!) a heads up that my favourite supermarket dessert is Pots & Co.’s Salted Caramel Chocolate Pots, and you get to keep the lovely blue ceramic ramekins afterwards!
A few ideas for the weekend now that we’re in a rapid sprint towards spring: why not make a Bacon & Spinach Quiche for lunch that you can serve warm, but have the leftovers cold throughout the next week (with Gin & Tonic Jellies with Fresh Blueberries for dessert), or make up some of my Light Tzatziki with Homemade Pitta Breads for the week ahead? Also, I think the perfect cocktail for these in-between times is a Wine Glass Moscow Mule.
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