A wish expressed by P for more traditional fayre. Last week he cooked an amazing almost veggie pie (bacon doesn’t count, right?) including making the pastry and having the pastry go under the pie as well as over it, which I would never do! He also found a tasting menu deal at Browns for Friday night, but those were this week’s food highlights. A lot on at work for me and a hectic social life for him meant a three-day takeaway binge in the middle of the week. Miraculously, I haven’t got too much heavier.

So this week, back on the wagon.

Sunday – Shepherd’s pie

Can you get more traditional than this? No need for a recipe, really, is there? A half-kilo box of lamb mince will be bought, and half will be for this meal, and half frozen for Friday’s.

Monday – mustard chicken thighs

OK, day two, and ahem, the trad theme is gone already. Something a little like the link, but there’s lots of things in there I don’t like so a little variation. I will cook extra chicken so that the following day…

Tuesday – Nigel Slater’s leftover chinese chicken wrap

These have become a bit of a staple. Chinese 5 Spice is weirdly hard to find it. Sainsbury’s don’t seem to sell it.

Wednesday – leek and herb baked potatoes

A late night meeting in school means yoga night is displaced, so something oven-timery will have to be done. For a change it won’t be beans, but something a little like this from Good Food. Leeks are seasonal right now, eh? (no) (double check. Ooh, maybe they are!)

I might also add a jar of sliced olives to this.

Thursday – veggie burger wraps

There will be leftover lettuce from Tuesday, so on Thursday I will stuff it with veggie burger mix made from a festering out-of-date carton of chickpeas in the store cupboard. I don’t actually like pulses and don’t know why I bought the chick peas or butter beans but they have got to be et, so I will blend them with onions and half a jar of roasted red peppers, shallow fry them and serve them with lettuce, tinned bean sprouts and chilli sauce.

Friday – cheese stuffed meatballs

A new recipe from Recipe Rifle that just has to be tried. I mean even the name of it is saying “try me, try me!”