Word of the Week - 27th June 2014

I will pre warn that this is not the happiest of post, I am sorry.

This weeks word undoubtedly has to be..

Anxiety

I am feeling extremely anxious.

Yesterday I took a huge step and went to see the doctor.

For the last 3 - 4 months I have had a huge black cloud hanging over me. Thinking back, it arrived 10 months ago when we lost my grandad. But during the last few months it has really been effecting me. I finally decided at the beginning of the week that I needed to confront it and admit I have a problem. There are only so many melt downs and tears that one person can take! I knew there was something wrong as this is just not me. I am not like this. I have a happy home life, three beautiful children and an incredibly supportive husband. I have no reason to feel like this.

But I do.

As soon as I walked into the doctors room I broke down and it all came out. I have been diagnosed with depression. The doctor has said that it may be a delayed form of PND or it may be a build up of everything and it has suddenly come to a head. I cannot believe that I am saying any of this. This is not me. Or that's what I thought anyway.

Today is the start of change. I am going to tackle it and dig myself out of the hole that I am in. I have started some medication today which I am anxious about. She did warn me that the side effects can be horrible for the first 2 - 3 weeks. I have researched on line and so many people have said how awful they are so reading that has made me more anxious. It is is worrying but the doctor said that if I can stick them out they can really help. So I am trusting her and am hoping I am strong enough to stick out whatever side effects I get, if any.

I want to be proactive on my recovery. I am planning to get out more. I want to attend play groups with the twins, there is a new twins group which I was contacted about so I might start there. But first I need to get in the right frame of mind. I just know I don't like the way I am feeling at the moment.

Sorry if I am rambling on. The doctor told me to talk, but I am not a talker. But I am a writer, I can write about my feelings and emotions in a way I cannot talk. It is easier to write it down. To get it out of my head. So thank you for "listening". 

As always I am sharing my word of the week with the lovely Jocelyn at The Reading Residence

Kitchen Tales with Fairy Platinum

When I look back at my kitchen story I see a journey. A journey from purchasing our first house, creating our (my) first kitchen, to creating memories.

When we moved in the kitchen was quite bare and out dated. It needed a lot of TLC and it needed making into "our" kitchen, the heart of our home. The hubby left the kitchens decisions to me and I found the whole experience so exciting. I am very much a kitchen person and truly believe that the kitchen is the heart of the family home. It had to be perfect!

The original kitchen

I spent weeks looking at the different choices that we could afford before I came to a decision. Once my kitchen had been chosen, I left our fitter to do his magic in transforming the old kitchen into a kitchen where many times will be spent together as a family.

The old kitchen and flooring was ripped out and work began.

Miraculously, it was all ripped out, new units and appliances fitted in just 5 days.

We were lucky to have some great workmen who did everything in their power to get the kitchen finished so that we were able to move in just in time for Christmas.

This is our kitchen at the moment. In the future we hope to extend it. We dream of making it into the true hub of the house. Our dream area would be an open plan kitchen/diner/living area. One day we will get what we wish, but for now we love our kitchen and I love creating dishes for my family to enjoy.

 

I am a true believer in the quote "A family that eats together, stays together". We make it an important time of day when all five of us are together. This is our time to talk, catch up on what we've all done during the day and of course enjoying food! After enjoying a delicious, homemade meal together the last thing we want to do is spend a long time cleaning up. That's where Fairy Platinum comes in. We can enjoy all the food we like without worrying about leaving dishes to soak. We just place them in the dishwasher and let Fairy Platinum do the hard work! Perfect for spending even more time together as a family! Fairy Platinum is also kind to our dishwasher by not just cleaning the pots and pans, Fairy Platinum also helps to keep the filter clean! Which inevitably helps keep it going for longer!

This post is an entry for the "My Kitchen Story" linky challenge sponsored by Fairy Platinum. Visit Fairy Platinum Facebook page here

Cheap Budget Meal - Mediterranean Meatball Bake with Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature Cheddar Crumbles

This week thanks to the lovely weather we have been wanting lighter meals. I am happy to eat salads but the children, and the hubby, like more substantial meals.

This meal is a combination of the two. It contains the deliciously light Mediterranean vegetables that we all enjoy with a family favourite, meatballs.

To give this roasted dish a new twist I have added a herb crumble topping using Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature Cheddar Crumbles with Breadcrumbs and Herbs. The crumbles are a new range of cheese from Pilgrims Choice that allow you too instantly transform a meal. There are three varieties available, mature cheddar crumble, mature cheddar with black pepper and mature cheddar with breadcrumbs and herbs.

Here is this weeks Cheap Budget Meal recipe...

Mediterranean Meatball Bake

Ingredients

400g mince beef (£3.20)
2 red onions, one half chopped finely the rest cut into chunky pieces (17p)
1/2 red chilli, deseeded and chopped (15p)
Fresh basil leaves
3 salad tomatoes, cut into chunks (35p)
1 yellow pepper, chopped into chunky pieces (60p)
1 courgette, cut in chunks then quartered (35p)
Worcester sauce
100g Pilgrims Choice Crumbles with breadcrumbs and herbs (£2.79 per 200g bag)
Rice to serve (40p per 500g bag)

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200C fan

1 - Put the mince beef into a bowl and add half of a red onion chopped, the chilli, a handful of chopped basil leaves and a good dash of Worcester sauce. Mix the ingredients together with your hands and form small meat balls.

2 - Place the meatball into a large roasting tin along with the remaining red onion, tomatoes, yellow pepper and courgettes. Spray with a little oil.

3 - Roast in the centre of a pre heated oven for 20 minutes.

4 - After 20 minutes sprinkle over the cheese crumble and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

5 - Serve with fresh basil leaves scattered over the top and rice.

The cheese crumble topping gave this dish the perfect finish. We all enjoyed the crunchy crumble topping and it was an easy addition to the meal.

This meal can be made for £8.01 which is £1.60 per serving (5 servings) there was enough food for seconds which is a good job as everyone wanted more! This meal does cost slightly more than usual however you do have enough cheese crumble for a second meal and plenty of rice left!

Enjoy x

Disclosure: I was sent one of each variety of Pilgrims Choice Cheese Crumbles to create a recipe. No payment was received. All views and opinions are my own and 100% honest.

I am sharing this recipe with

Honest Mum - Tasty Tuesdays
A Mummy Too - Recipe of the Week

Point + Shoot 21st - 22nd June 2014

This weekend has been a quiet one. We have just spent time together and helping Dotty to get settled in.

I haven't been feeling great lately and have been quite down. So the weekends do offer me a welcomed break with the hubby being home. My motivation has been low too but while we were in the garden I took my camera and captured the people that keep me going. My beautiful children and incredibly supportive hubby.

Here are my favourite weekend pictures that made me smile.

As always I am sharing our weekend in picture with the lovely Em at Snowing Indoors - Point + Shoot

Tuna Stir Fry

This is a meal which is perfect for the hot summer evenings. When we have glorious sunshine the last thing I want to do is to stand at a hot oven cooking a big meal.

This is not only a quick, easy meal but is also extremely healthy, light and a great way to have some of your recommended 5 a day.

This is what I did...

Tuna Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 Pak choi, sliced
150g mangetout
1 yellow pepper, sliced
150g baby sweetcorn, halved
1 red onion, sliced
150g mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, grated
250g beansprouts
1 185g tin of tuna, drained and flaked
Olive oil
180mls pack of plum and hoisin sauce

Method

1 - Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wok until very hot

2 - Place all of the vegetables apart from the beansprouts in the wok and stir fry for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften

3 - Add the flaked tuna and mix

4 - Mix in the beansprouts and stir fry for a further 5 minutes

5 - Pour over as much or as little of the plum and hoisin sauce, stir fry for a further few minutes until the sauce has heated through and serve immediately

This is a delightfully colourful meal, which is ideal for summer!

It can be enjoyed as it is or to make it go further serve with Chinese snacks such as spring rolls.

Enjoy x

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 23rd June 2014

I did make a couple of changes to last weeks meal plan but all in all I had a successful week cooking meals!

I didn't make the cottage pie in the end but made Meat Loaf and Pepper Sauce which was a huge hit with everyone. It also featured as my Cheap Budget Meal last week.

This weekend we have been stung with a huge bill for one of the cars. This was an unexpected expense so the next couple of weeks I really have got my work cut out on saving as much money as we can on our weekly shopping. This has meant that I have had to look through the freezer and cupboards and plan how to make what we have got in go even further.

On a plus side I should have plenty of recipes to feature on my weekly Cheap Budget Meal posts!

This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Week Commencing 23rd June 2014

Leftover Chicken Curry

Yesterday we had roasted chicken for our dinner. I purposely bought an extra large chicken so that I had plenty of leftovers to make my hubby's favourite leftovers meal.

Meatball Bake

I will be making mini meat balls and roasting them in the oven with onions, peppers, courgettes, garlic and topped with cheese. This will be served with a homemade rosemary focaccia.

Leftover Meatball Bake Pasta

I am expecting there to be some leftovers from the meatball bake. I will use what is left over to make a pasta sauce.

Egg and Bacon Pie

Thanks to our two chickens we always have plenty of eggs. This week I will be using them in an egg and bacon pie which will be served with salad and some freshly dug up potatoes out of our garden.

Kedgeree Style Rice

I am going to be putting my own twist on kedgeree. Instead of using fish I will be using vegetables and salami.

Tuna Fish Cakes

I plan to make my own budget fishcakes this week. We will enjoy them with minted potatoes and vegetables.

Have a great week x

As always I will be sharing my weekly meal plan with At Home With Mrs M - Meal Planning Monday