Meal plan – the is it really only Monday edition?

Do you ever start a week just knowing that it will feel like it’s a year long? This week is definitely one of “those” weeks.

Workwise I am happy enough, I have applied for a different position within the company and I am hopeful that it will be a positive change for me – as long as I can convince them to give me a shot at it!

Bess has had her first day at Uni, she has decided to skip staying in halls and is trying to secure a house with her boyfriend but for now will be taking the train from home. Incidentally, HOW MUCH to rent a 2 bedroom house these days?!

Moose is back to school and has been invited to a weekly booster session to help with his handwriting. He finds this especially difficult being left handed so I am really hoping it will help! We will support as much as we can at home. He really hates writing so fingers crossed we can help him.

The idea of an additional 45 minutes of school each week is not going to be an easy sell.

I am helping Bess look for a job that she can do alongside uni as well. It is so difficult because while she will most definitely need the money, I don’t want her to overstretch herself and not be able to study for her course.

This weeks meals are a bit up in the air with not really knowing who will be around, I have a couple of Hello Fresh meals so at least there will be SOME tasty grub!

This week in food 

Monday: Chinese Beef Noodles and Teriyaki Bao

Tuesday: Chicken Korma with Cucumber and Tomato salad and mini Poppadoms

Wednesday: Beef Koftas with Wedges and Salad

Thursday: Chicken and feta salad

Friday: Meatballs and Roasted Vegetables

Saturday: Pizza for them, Salmon salad for me

Sunday: Roast chicken and vegetables.

Chicken drum meat – 5 cheap meal ideas

I have noticed lately that (as per everything) chicken has been climbing in price at the supermarket. We have always bought chicken thighs as well as breast but at roughly £5 for a pack of chicken breasts big enough for a hungry family it is no longer a cost effective meal solution.

A few weeks ago I noticed that alongside boneless thigh fillets and breast fillets, you can now buy boneless chicken drumstick meat. Priced at £2.99 I thought it would be worth trying so I picked up a couple of packs.

Is chicken drum nutritious though?

Nutritionally the drum meat stacks up ok. Chicken drumsticks (100g of) offer  155 calories, 24.2 g of protein, and 5.7 g of fat. Compare that to the pricier breast (100g of) which offers 165 calories, 31 g of protein, and 3.6 g of fat and actually there really isn’t much in it. Especially considering 1 is nearly half the price of the other!

Of course, if you want to save even more money (and you have a sharp knife and a little time) you can always buy on the bone.

As a leg meat, drum will stand up to longer cooking times and won’t dry out like chicken breast can. This makes it a great choice for stews, casseroles and curries.

I have listed a few ideas for how you could use your drum meat below – let me know how you get on? Have you tried it yet?

Homemade pie

I always pick up a roll of puff pastry when I go shopping. Sometimes I use it for sweet things and sometimes savoury. A really way to chuck a meal together is to combine cooked chicken pieces with a bit of soup and white sauce. You can layer mashed potato and then top with a layer of pastry. It’s easy and very filling.

Chicken curry

I make a half decent and utterly inauthentic curry. I use whatever we have laying around veg wise and usually some curry powder or paste and coconut milk. Always toast your spices!

Chicken casserole

Again, and you might notice a theme here, I use what we have in the fridge. Casseroles are a great way to reduce waste but I also put frozen veg and beans in them too. If I have to crack open a bottle of wine then I am prepared to make that sacrifice..

Chicken kebab

Currently my favourite go to when using chicken drum meat. Thread the whole lot onto 2 skewers and marinate overnight. I usually use a bit of yogurt along with harissa paste, paprika and ton of garlic. Pop the skewers on a baking try and bake for 40 mins or so. You can make your own flatbreads too if you are that way inclined. I like the ones made from a mix of yogurt (you’ve opened a pot for the marinade now) and flour and whatever herbs you like. Very easy and very satisfying – especially when you look up the price of kebabs now. Sheesh!

Honey sesame chicken

I absolutely love my recipe for Sticky Sesame Pork which can be found here. It works just as well (maybe better) with chicken and drum would be perfect for this. Serve with rice and veg or noodles.