Thermomix Menu Plans - 16th April

Okay, I know it's not Monday the 16th; I'm late. Sorry, blame it on a trip to the 'big city' to buy myself a new car - woo hoo! No more driving 'the brick', getting bogged at demos, sliding down driveways sideways, being late because the car won't start, having to play music full blast because the rattling drowns out the sound, or having to yell to get the kids in the back to hear me! Bliss.

I want to say thank you so much to all of you who have voted for my blog this week in the 'Best Australian Blogs' competition, for the People's Choice Award. I really appreciate it! If you haven't voted yet and would like to, click on the box in the right side bar that says 'Vote for Me Now', and follow the prompts. Thank you :)

So what's been cooking at your place this past week? We enjoyed having raw zucchini 'noodles' with the sweet and sour beef; it's so much lighter on the stomach than eating grain noodles. And it's an easy way to get kids to eat raw veges. If you want to try a completely raw pasta, here's a couple of our favourites - Raw Zucchini Pasta with Walnut and Mushroom Sacue; or Raw Pasta Sauce on zucchini 'noodles'.

Raw zucchini noodles with walnut and mushroom sauce

School holidays are over, and gone are the hoards of hungry children filling the house... now there's only four hungry children hanging around most days. These spelt cinnamon scrolls with dairy free caramel sauce were pretty popular for breakfast here on the hols - recipe coming to this blog soon! Cinnamon scrolls are an old favourite in our family, and so easy to make the night before to bake in the morning. I like to add blueberries and pecans, or apples and berries... mmmm, delicious. If you'd like to make a gluten free version, this recipe for gluten free scrolls was recommended to me, and I'm hoping to try it this week.

Spelt cinnamon scrolls with dairy free caramel sauce

Here's something else I enjoyed this week for breakfast - this amazing Raw Superfood Chia Porridge, shared by Sarah at Homemade, Healthy, Happy! Wow, it's gorgeous. I mean, anything that includes cinnamon, raw cacao nibs, raw cashews and raspberries has got to be good! I could eat it every day. You can vary the berries and nuts and make it different each time... I didn't have any goji berries, so I added sultanas, and it was great.

Raw Superfood Chia Porridge

The weather's getting cooler, autumn is well and truly settling in, even here in Far North Queensland. We get a bit more cool weather up here in the mountains than they do on the coast, so jackets are on, and soup is on the menu. Tonight we had the lovely 'Chickpea Soup with Spinach' from the 'Full Steam Ahead' cookbook, except I use an orange sweet potato in place of the turnip in mine, and add my chicken stock paste for extra flavour. So tasty. (If you have a Varoma demo, this is the soup that is demonstrated, and you can buy the cookbook once you have the demo.) We also love my Creamy Chicken and Brown Rice Soup, which seems to be a general favourite. So if the weather's getting cool enough for soup where you live, try it and let me know what you think. (The chicken stock paste recipe is included in the recipe for the chicken and brown rice soup.)

So what's on the menu in your home this week? If you don't have a menu plan and would like to know how to begin planning, read 'How to Menu Plan.' If you have a plan and it's posted on your blog or public facebook page, come and link up and share your ideas with us all! See 'Thermomix Menu Plans' for instructions.

Here's what we're having this week... 'tmx' means 'made and/or prepared in the Thermomix'.

Monday:
Out all day, so quick and easy 'Breakfast Burritos' for dinner: homemade spelt tortillas (tmx) (video how-to) filled with a mixture of scrambled eggs, homemade American-style sausage mince (tmx - slightly spicy), and grated zucchini or sauteed mushrooms (tmx). Salsa optional (tmx). We don't add cheese as we can't have dairy.

Breakfast burritos - great for a hearty breakfast or a light meal

Tuesday:
Chickpea & spinach soup (tmx); garlic lamb, steamed in Varoma (tmx) then seared in pan; steamed sweet potato slices with steamed broccoli (tmx); gravy made from the meat juices (tmx).

Wednesday:
Raw vege pasta (tmx) with turkey mince sausage patties, homemade (quick and easy!)

Thursday:
Cashew chicken (tmx Indian cookbook) with cauliflower 'rice' (tmx) and a leafy green salad.

Friday:
Cooking class today in Innisfail - for the family, fish (coated in rice flour, shallow fried in ghee and coconut oil) with raw vege sticks and baked sweet potatoes.

Saturday:
Lentil and vegetable Shepherd's pie (tmx) with creamy cauliflower mash topping (tmx), and leafy green salad.

Sunday:
Grandma's Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, baked veges, coleslaw (tmx)

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Here's one more photo which I thought was pretty cute - a candid snapshot of my kitchen on a Saturday morning... As usual, full of kids, some mine, some not!

(left to right) Miss 14 making lunch to take to the stables; her friend helping Miss 8 wash the dishes (both washing up together in a single sink!); Mr 12 cooking up scrambled eggs for the breakfast burritos; and Mr 10 entertaining everyone! Good fun. But I would love a bigger kitchen. Ha.

I hope you all have a great week, and I'd love to hear about what you're cooking! Leave a comment either here or on my Facebook page; and if you have a menu plan, link up below. Thanks :)