One Wednesday we had braised steak and mushrooms in red wine, served with a jacket potato and loads of veg. I couldn't quite eat all of the meat - even though it was delicious and very tender - and I hardly touched my potato, but I ate all my veg (good girl!) and thoroughly enjoyed the meal.
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Thursday night's meal was nothing special, so on to Friday's ... which was!
We actually had a three-course meal, which is almost unheard of in our house ... but they were small meals, more like tapas, really. We started with a sort of antipasti, consisting of homemade artichoke dip, spread on bruschetta (toasted homemade ciabatta), with Peppadews (stuffed with Philadelphia cream cheese - yum!), mixed olives & feta, and some gorgeous anchovy fillets from the deli counter at Tesco.
Next, we had seared scallops on a bed of pea puree (look out, Masterchef!), surrounded by red salad leaves with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The puree was a little salty for our taste (but we are used to minimal salt, so it may be fine for others) and the scallops were not the best ever, but it was still quite a pleasant, light meal. I would certainly try it again, with better scallops and less salt in the peas. (Also, I made the puree a bit too runny and served too much on each plate, which is why it looks like a big, unappetising pile of green sludge ... but I am trying to eat as much fibre as possible at the moment!!)
And we finished off with a lovely fruit salad of fresh pineapple, strawberries, mango and an orange. Very refreshing and delicious with a dollop of Rachel's Organic Greek-styly Coconut yogurt.
(The bowl was fuller than that, actually, but I forgot to take a photo until we were both already tucking in!!)
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And finally ...
Last night we tucked into a gorgeous chicken breast, which Warren had stuffed with Brie and Italian seasoning, wrapped in streaky bacon (and then replaced the chicken skin, which became crispy and gorgeous!), pan-fried and finished off in the oven. He served it with a jacket potato, carrots, kale and some light onion gravy. It was really lovely, but I left most of the potato, choosing to only eat some of its skin.
There - hopefully caught up!
The 3 course meal looks so lovely! I am searching for new ideas on celebration foods while I can't quite afford restaurant food haha!
ReplyDeleteMy first 3 course attempt: http://irishwishesarespecial.blogspot.com/2011/05/time-for-3-course-feast.html
Love that you made your own bread =D I love bread baking!
Thank you, Sinead - actually, it's my husband who makes all our bread. He usually makes rolls, which we freeze (I'm not eating bread much at the moment and they don't keep so well without all the preservatives, etc) but the ciabatta was a packet mix. Turned out quite well, though.
ReplyDeleteCelebration food on a budget is, in my opinion, often the better for it ... I think you tend to be more "picky" about what you buy, if you have to watch the pennies a bit! Good luck! Will check out your page, thanks :-))
Friday night's meal looks amazing, Val! Get you with the scallops! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Helen! That's actually how I'd like to eat (although not three courses every day!!) - smaller meals, with less carb and fat, more fruit and veg. Changing long-standing habits (ie, piling on the rice, pasta, potatoes and creamy sauces) takes a while, though, if it's going to be a lasting change.
ReplyDelete(Well, that's my excuse, anyway!) :-)