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Sunday & Monday- lemon almond pasta

As soon as this recipe popped up on my feed I knew I needed to try it. I love any version of buttered pasta, and I love toasted nuts. For my little one I dished her portion up before adding the almonds and chilli for myself. I didn’t have Calabrian chilli paste so I actually used Sriracha which felt weird but was delicious!

I threw some peas in with the pasta and on Sunday we had air fried chicken sausage and asparagus on the side, Monday I stirred through some flaked tuna. Delicious.

Tuesday & Wednesday - beef picadillo with beans & rice

A family fave, this beef picadillo is a Brazilian savoury mince with peppers, courgette and green olives (it sounds weird but please don’t knock it till you try it!) We love it with rice and black beans. Great for batch cooking, I usually love to freeze a couple portions but I stupidly left my leftovers in the fridge and forgot about them till it was too late - gutted.

Thursday - lemon garlic salmon with broccoli, asparagus and rice

Experimenting with a salmon and greens traybake in a lemon garlic (butter) sauce. I loved this but my husband said it could do with a few tweaks. I’ll keep testing though as I love the idea of a quick salmon traybake. Could possibly do this in an air fryer too.

Friday - chicken, tomato & basil spaghetti

Supposed to be recipe testing a one pot chicken and spinach orzo but I forgot to buy orzo and spinach… instead opted for this tomato chicken spaghetti which is one of my husbands’ favourites. Good for leftovers too, I always make extra to freeze some (and actually remembered this today). Plus, very kid friendly. After a few days of not eating much dinner my kiddo devoured this.

This time I added chopped carrot with the onion then threw some peas in for the last minute of the pasta cooking.

Saturday - crispy chicken salad

ultimate girl dinner! Inspired by this recipe, I’ve had this cheats Caesar salad a few times now. I added shredded carrot, sliced baby peppers and shallot to the salad. With these chicken nuggets and some fries on the side. Perfect post-work, easy Saturday dinner imo.

• Obsessed with this granola. I’ve been enjoying it with Greek yoghurt, berries and peanut butter most mornings but also with milk and banana for a speedy pre-swim breakfast. I’ve even caught my granola averse husband sneaking a handful to snack on, it’s that good.

• Made this salad again (with bulgur and without avocado) and added some honey roast salmon. Perfect prep ahead lunch. I think tuna or mackerel would work well here too, or some feta cheese. The toasted pumpkin seeds are just perfect.

• When me and my husband have a day off together I love to make a nice brunch or lunch for us. This week we had one of our favourites - salami salad sandwiches. These are epic, and the trick is to layer the seasoning. We love to get a fresh baguette for these, but also works well on sourdough or ciabtta.

Recipe for 2

1 large tomato

125g ball mozzarella

1 banana shallot or ½ red onion

Generous handful mixed leaves (ideal if it includes rocket/arugula)

Salami Slices (chorizo or parma ham would be nice too)

Flaky salt like maldon

Extra virgin olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Bread of choice

Method

Slice the tomato, lay on some kitchen paper and season generously with flaky salt. This is the most important step and should be done first.

Slice the shallot and mozzarella.

I like to add a little mayo to my bread, you could butter it, add some pesto or leave it plain.

Add a layer of salami slices to the bread (how many will depend on your personal preference/size of salami and bread). Then add the mozzarella slices, tomato slices and sprinkle over some sliced shallot.

Top with salad leaves then drizzle with a dash of olive oil, a splash of vinegar and another sprinkle of salt (add some pepper too if you fancy) If I’m feeling super extra I add the salad and shallot to a Tupperware, dress then shake à la the Kardashians before adding to the sandwich.

The best accompaniments to this sandwich are a glass of something cold and slightly sparkling, plus some good quality salted crisps.

My second purchase from Lua Cristal on Etsy. I asked for a longer length (34 inches) and it’s perfect. I was inspired by this but looking for something a bit more minimal. Love that I can adjust the length, I’m really into longer pendants right now and I think they instantly freshen up a plain outfit. Excellent quality for the price.

Welcome to Everything We Ate where I review what I fed my little family the week before. I tell you what we loved, what didn’t work and how we prepped/planned/used leftovers, in the hope it provides inspiration for your own meal planning. I’ll put whatever subs I make for my toddler when necessary, but usually she eats what I eat. You can see previous weeks here.

Another week another deviation from the meal plan. In case you didn’t know, I am in the process of moving house and basically making it my whole personality. I am a clutter-lover who hates cleaning and I also have a Tasmanian devil for a child, so you can imagine how much work I’ve had to put in to get my house to the stage where it can be photographed to sell. It has kind of taken over my life recently but it’s been done now so we are just waiting for someone to actually buy it. Please send positive thoughts.

I had planned some easy dinners to get us through the week, like this one-pot chorizo pasta and our family favourite Picadillo which makes excellent leftovers, but we ended up having to trash those plans and go with some very bare minimum dinners.

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Sunday - Quinoa Butter Bean Salad with Halloumi

I used this lovely recipe with a few tweaks - I hate chunks of avocado (tastes like dirt to me honestly, I need it mashed up with plenty lime, garlic and salt) so left that out and added some halloumi and hummus on top. The toasted pumpkin seeds were a revelation - need to start adding them to more salads. My little one had her own toddler salad with butter beans (she loves them), sweetcorn and peas, plus hummus and pitta. Leftovers were really good for lunch and I want to try this again with tuna and/or smoked salmon.

I will repeat from last week that these beans are excellent and imo rival those jarred ones but are less than half the price.

Monday - Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

These quick chicken noodles but with a few additions to clear out all the veg in the fridge (carrots, broccoli and asparagus). I usually work late on Mondays but it was a Bank Holiday. Instead of enjoying the time off I got to spend my evening deep cleaning the bathroom in preparation from estate agent photos. Fun.

Tuesday - cheese toastie and a pack of crisps!

Let’s not even talk about the huge bag of chocolate buttons I demolished too. After a full day spent cleaning and organising to make my usually incredibly chaotic house look sparkling for the photographer coming, I was zapped. My mum was looking after the little one and I got there just in time to to put her to bed. She was absolutely wired from spending the day getting in my dad’s way (she is obsessed with him) so of course it took ages to get her to sleep. The only thing I could be bothered making was a dangerously cheesy toastie and some ready salted Walkers. Kiddo had fish fingers and peas with Granma before I got there.

Wednesday - fridge raid noodles and gyoza

Plan had been to make a big batch of Piccadillo but we got home late and little one needed fed. I made her a plate of random bits she likes (crackers, cheese, pickles, sweetcorn and yoghurt) then rustled up some noodles for myself with steamed gyoza. (I always keep a pack of gyoza in the freezer to have with speedy noodles. These are my current go-to.)

Thursday - salmon, asparagus and pasta with peas

I pulled a fillet of salmon out the freezer the night before without any real plan, then spotted asparagus on offer in Aldi when we stopped in on the way home from the park. I feel like asparagus season is so short I have to take advantage of it and get some whenever I see it.

Air fried the salmon and asparagus (about 9 minutes at 180c, season with S&P and olive oil first plus basil on the salmon). I really fancied this with some roast sweet potato but mine were unfortunately mouldy and I wasn’t going back to the shop. Ended up sharing the pasta and peas tossed with garlic butter and lemon I made for my daughter.

Friday & Saturday - Slow Cooker Pasta e Ceci

After last week’s success I tried another slow cooker pasta. Very similar to the pasta e fagioli, this one is pasta and chickpeas. The first time I made this dish I used Smitten Kitchen’s recipe and felt I had to also use the same anneli pasta. My kiddo loves these little hoops so I continue to use them. She’s obsessed with eggs right now and kept picking out the chickpeas and calling them little eggs. Super cute but super messy.

The slow cooker is a game changer here for me - I use frozen soffritto mix (some supermarkets call it ‘vegetable base mix’) and frozen chopped garlic, so apart from the rosemary it’s a no chop dinner. Plus the slow cooker means that there is no pot watching. I made the base while my daughter napped after lunch and let it cook a while on low, then added in the pasta and turned to high just before we went for a walk. When we got home dinner was ready! It felt effortless! And we bypassed the usual pre-dinner meltdown when she needs attention and I need to cook.

I finally made the Jennifer Aniston salad (you know, that one that went viral years ago and turns out isn’t even the actual salad she ate everyday…) and it was surprisingly good (I’m always so skeptical of viral foodie trends). I think I’d make a few tweaks if I ate it again but it’s a pretty decent lunch. I used this recipe but with bulgur instead of quinoa.

And my current evening sweet snack obsession is a Greek yoghurt bowl. I use frozen blueberries (raw blueberries I think also taste like dirt, but freezing turns them into sweet little candy jewels) Greek yoghurt (always Fage 5%), peanut butter, a crumbled up corn cake (I learned this one from Emily English and it adds the perfect amount of crunch) plus sometimes white chocolate chips or toasted nuts (I like toasted pistachio or almond best).

I’m reading Yesteryear! Or actually, I’m listening to it. And honestly, I’m not sure what I think yet but I am dying to get it finished, if only to read the seemingly endless essays about it that keep coming up on my feed. Have you read it? Tell me your (spoiler free) thoughts and I’ll update when I’m finished.

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them at no extra cost to you. I only ever link to things I actually use and would tell a friend about.

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Sunday & Monday - Tortellini Soup

Sunday was a day! 5am wake up from my toddler! My lovely husband did get up with her so I got a bit of a lie in but I was off-kilter the rest of the day.

Then after lunch, while I was in the middle of changing little one before her nap, the cat wandered through the living room clutching a tiny, wriggling mouse in his jaws 😩

I tried to chase him back outside with it but he promptly dropped it under the dining table and sauntered off again. I tried my best to catch it with an ice cream tub that usually houses my kids’ crayon collection but it was too quick for me (also I hesitated because I am TERRIFIED OF MICE) and it managed to escape under the bookcase. All this time my half dressed toddler was laughing hysterically calling ‘mousey mouse mousey’ as she watched me.

I had to give up and spend the rest of the day with the uncomfortable knowledge that there was a mouse just chilling in my house, while watching my toddler hunt for it under the table and behind her toy chest still calling ‘mousey, mousey’, until my husband came home to save me. He managed to catch it and then within LITERAL SECONDS our other cat came bursting through the cat flap with another mouse! He presented it to me like it was the Holy Grail he’d just uncovered in the garden.

So safe to say the cats are now inside cats for the foreseeable future!

This kind of set me up for the whole week tbh. I’m trying to tidy up the house and do all the little DIY bits so we can get it on the market next week, but that’s all very difficult to do when you also have a toddler who loves to ‘help’. Plus we’ve all been hit with some horrid sinus thing which makes my ears and teeth hurt every time I move my head.

Anyway, I was very glad to have this failsafe tortellini soup on the menu for dinner. This is the base recipe I follow. This time I swapped out the tomato and spring onion for some sliced leeks and celery. I prepped the veg during nap time and divided everything in two portions so I could whip it up fresh each night. My little one had her own version with fusilli as she is not a fan of tortellini.

Also if you love a good bean but hate shelling out for those fancy jarred ones, I find these to be excellent quality.

Tuesday - Chicken and Broccoli Orzo

Recipe testing this one for my site as I’m trying to build a whole series of one pot orzo recipes. Got the husband seal of approval so hopefully it should be ready to go live soon. If you want a similar vibe I’ve got a chicken and broccoli pasta recipe with garlic breadcrumbs.

Wednesday - Seasoned Rice

My husband says in Brazil this is called Seasoned Rice, I would consider it a kind of pilaf. Basically, cook off some chorizo (or bacon or skip the meat) and veggies (red onion, chopped carrot, sometimes bell pepper, peas and sweetcorn) then add rice and chicken stock and simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes. I like to top with cheese and hot sauce. I’m usually not a fan of one pot rice (see my most recent fail here) but this one works every time.

Thursday - Primavera

It was supposed to be salmon and broccoli pasta but I was just craving some primavera with broccoli instead. Air fried chicken sausages on the side ofc.

Friday & Saturday - Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli

I said last week I wanted to experiment with slow cooker pasta and I have to say that this ended up being a game changer. I got it started during nap time then added the pasta about 45 minutes before we wanted to eat. There was no pot watching - I find one-pot pastas like this usually need regular stirring but this could just be left to bubble away.

I want to test the recipe a bit more for timings etc but plan to publish this one soon with a few other versions (like pasta e ceci and lenticchie). Looking at this picture now I realise I forgot to add the kale! Devastated.

I’ve not much else to report on this week, except for a very nice lunch I had - the M&S Super Nutty Wholefood Salad with flakes of honey roast salmon and some hummus. SO good together. This was a grab-and-go lunch for a busy day, but I’ve been thinking of it ever since. Need to recreate this salad myself in bulk.

I’ve not planned next week yet, but it’s going to be super low-effort dinners as we have a lot going on. Pasta will most certainly feature a lot!

Do you have a go-to low effort dinner? What do you cook when you have no time or brain space left?

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Sunday & Monday - Chickpea Orzo Stew

Trust me to make stew on the nicest day of the year so far! But I had a poorly little one and needed something light yet comforting. I used this recipe with a few tweaks - kale instead of greens, 1litre stock made from 2 low salt stock cubes (bone broth would have been amazing if I had it) and I added the chickpeas and orzo in before the stock to toast them in all the pan juices. I threw in a Parmesan rind for a bit more oomph (we got through a lot of Parm and I have a bag in the freezer full of rinds for adding to soups).

To serve I added sliced cooked chicken sausage. Leftover roast chicken would be lovely here too.

My toddler loved this - I made it quite brothy and she’s just learned to slurp from a bowl so she was in her element. Had plenty leftovers for my late after work dinner on Monday too.

Tuesday - Chicken, Rice & Salad

Was husband’s request - pan fried chicken breast (sliced really thin and seasoned with loads of garlic, olive oil, salt and a little red wine vinegar and oregano), black beans, rice and a tomato mozzarella salad. (We had our go-to eggs Benedict for brunch after swimming)

Wednesday - Pasta Primavera

I wanted something I could easily throw together after we got home from spending the whole day with my mum and the cousins. Primavera again with tenderstem broccoli, sugar snaps and frozen peas. And chicken sausage ofc. We tried the simply chicken version from Heck today and found them to be just ok - I’ll stick to chicken Italia.

Thursday - Tuna Pasta

I had to re-jig the meal plan as my husband’s day off changed from Saturday to Friday and I didn’t want to make the tortellini soup and end up wasting the leftovers. I’d also had a full on day of estate agent viewings and decluttering so by the time my daughter was dropped off I just wanted something simple and easy.

This tuna pasta has become a go-to meal when I don’t know what else to make or can’t be bothered. We pretty much always have the basic ingredients or at least ingredients to whip up something inspired by the recipe, and I know my little one will eat it. I added frozen corn alongside the peas today.

Friday & Saturday - Chicken Fajita Traybake

Switched to chicken fajitas today. I’m testing a traybake version for my site and I think I’ve cracked the seasoning so this one should be up soon! I made some guacamole and a quick salsa (just diced tomato, onion, salt, coriander and lime juice), and of course we had sour cream and cheddar cheese. My husband and daughter ate the chicken with rice while I had classic fajitas in mini tortilla wraps.

Plenty leftovers for me and my little one on Saturday. I reheated in the air fryer - I’ve got these silicone liners which make clean up so easy.

My two favourite topics collided with Charlotte Stephens’ series on Food and Family Sleep (and if you are a millennial you must read this)

Some useful Life Hacks from Anna Newton (including a genius approach to meal planning!)

Got these super cute little straw tumblers for my toddler. They’re not totally spill proof (wasn’t expecting them to be) but they do a pretty good job at avoiding too much mess. Plus they come with full cover tops too, making them perfect for transporting snacks or even things like soup and stew if you need a hot meal on the go. Easy to clean and the colours are lovely.

I actually don’t have anything in mind yet apart from the postponed tortellini soup which I’m planning to make on Sunday.

One thing I’m interested to experiment with this week if I can is a slow cooker one pot pasta. I’m finding dinner time a real pinch point recently with my little one and think being able to do the bulk of the prep and cooking earlier in the day would be very helpful when I’m flying solo. I will report back of course.

I’d love to know what’s on your meal plan for this week.

Thanks for reading Carrie’s Kitchen! If you enjoyed this post please consider sharing, liking or leaving a comment - it really makes a difference 🩷

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Happy Sunday! It has been a busy week for me - we’re trying to get our flat on the market and have been doing the dreaded de-clutter and deep clean. I have found unopened boxes that moved into this house with us four years ago and I am cursing my former self and vowing to never buy a single thing ever ever again.

But, on the plus side my husband has been off work all week to help (aka he has been either napping or playing football with the toddler to ‘let me clean in peace’). That has meant I’ve been able to actually enjoy cooking dinner this week without a wild toddler demanding my attention. It all went a bit to shit by the weekend though (I gave her a tub of hard-boiled eggs to peel as entertainment while I was cooking dinner today, which also means now I need to actually prep something for lunch tomorrow) but more on that later…

Sunday - my husband’s all time, number one favourite, chicken with okra. It’s Brazilian comfort food, a chicken stew with okra served with rice and black beans. I’ve been cooking this since the beginning of our relationship (I made it to try and impress him when we first started dating) and I’m not sure how authentic it is but it’s our family version. If anyone would like my recipe I will happily post it later this month. If you’ve never tried okra before (I hadn’t till I first made this) then it’s a great introduction.

Monday - this Spring Chicken was a lovely change from our usual chicken traybakes. The broth made it feel nice and cosy but still light enough for spring.

Tuesday - We had a little family day out for lunch in South Queensferry, a pretty wee seaside town not too far from us. Being by the sea it was only fitting to have fish and chips (fancy fish goujons in my case) and of course we had a wander round the town afterwards in search of ice cream.

I assumed we wouldn’t be too hungry for dinner so planned leftovers for dinner but there actually wasn’t enough! So I made a very brothy chicken soup instead.

Wednesday - this tortellini with creamy garlic mushrooms. Me and my kiddo spend all day with my mum on a Wednesday as she looks after my niece and nephew every week, so it’s usually a scramble for dinner when we get home.

I just pan fry the chopped mushrooms in a little butter then add some garlic, salt and parsley when they are almost done and stir in cream just before adding the cooked pasta. You could use crème fraiche or even cream cheese instead of double cream, or leave it out and just have some buttery garlic mushrooms with the tortellini.

Thursday & Friday - spring veg primavera. I had something different planned for Friday (this if you are curious - planning to have it Sunday instead) but we ate this 2 days in a row because I had all the ingredients, it was easy and my kid actually ate it after a bout of not eating much at all. Also it is so fast and easy and I can pretty much prepare it with one hand while holding a grumpy toddler on my hip.

The second day we added broccoli because I had it and we used the new pasta my daughter chose from Aldi.

And air fried Chicken sausages on the side. Little one loves these. Thinking of trying a veggie alternative to rotate and would love recommendations.

Saturday - salmon teriyaki noodles (fish gingers for toddler). And this is where the previous night’s deviation really messed up my evening.

This is a super quick and easy dinner usually but tonight was a bit of a disaster. I work from home at my desk job till 5 and my mum takes the little one (my husband also works). She aims to drop off around 545, allowing me time to have a (very needed) after work walk. But by the time drop off is done and I have a quick catch up with my mum it’s usually after 6 and the toddler is getting hangry.

I tried my best to entertain her while cooking (the aforementioned hard boiled eggs) but ended up having to take a couple of breaks resulting in some over done salmon and charred broccoli, not to mention a very grumpy kid. I think she ate two mouthfuls of noodles before she tipped up her plate. Then bedtime was a struggle so I was doing dishes and tidying up well after 9pm and feeling absolutely fried.

I know it could be a lot worse! But an example of a day I need to take my own advice and make my meal plan work for my actual life.

I am officially committing to leftovers that just need reheating for dinner every working Saturday from now on, so let’s see if I actually stick to it!

Heads up - this is a long one and won’t fit into an email, so best to read in the app or on desktop if you can.

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Sunday - Easter morning started with an Egg Hunt for my toddler. I made a big mistake using actual chocolate eggs for this as she insisted on unwrapping each one as she found it! We had to have some chocolate for our first breakfast of course, then for second breakfast I made a batch of these banana pancakes which we ate with raspberries and Greek yoghurt.

Then dinner was leftovers from the Italian Chicken Traybake we had the night before, reheated in the air fryer and tossed with cooked pasta, a little butter and plenty cheese. I threw some frozen sweetcorn in with the pasta for the last few minutes to appease my toddler as this is her current favourite (though she did stick some right up her nose the other day which absolutely traumatised both me and her).

This reminded me of my lazy girl dinner in my 20s - pasta mixed with a pack of pre-prepared marinaded med veg, a (large) dollop of butter and grated cheddar cheese.

Monday- Since it was a Bank Holiday I finished work early so instead of noodles for one it was this one pot Chorizo Orzo. Super easy, my toddler loves it and the combo of peas and corn feels very Spring-y to me. I scaled it down to serve just the three of us but this makes such good leftovers too.

Tuesday- Another day, another chicken traybake. I was recipe testing again for the quick chicken traybake series I’m working on for carriecarvalho.com. Similar to this but inspired by Spanish flavours with chorizo, paprika and olives.

Wednesday-Salmon and Garlic pasta with tomato and mozzarella salad (I told you before this was on regular rotation).

I have perfected my salmon cooking method recently -

pat dry the salmon fillets and season with salt and pepper and some dried basil (or whatever herb suits the dish)

over medium high heat with a little oil, cook skin side up for 2 minutes to get a nice sear.

flip and transfer to the air fryer and cook for 8 minutes at 180 (could also put in the oven same temp/time).

(this is also how long my kiddo’s fish fingers take to cook, so it’s all ready at the same time and cooking in the air fryer means one less pan to watch.)

Thursday & Friday- Another recipe test, this time for slow cooker Mexican inspired beef. I made a huge batch of this and it smelled so good cooking low and slow all day.

Thursday I served it as tacos with a DIY toppings bar including my husband’s perfect guac, homemade slaw, pico de gallo and quick pickled onions (thinly sliced red onion, juice of 1 lime, large pinch salt & small pinch sugar, toss and let sit for 10 mins). Then on Friday we had leftovers as burrito bowls with rice, black beans and all the leftover toppings.

We have leftovers for the freezer, which I am positive will be getting used for burritos soon. And I used the last of the taco toppings to make some loaded avocado toast for lunch the next day.

Saturday- A dump and go dinner with oven-cooked breaded haddock (fish fingers for toddler), peas, corn and air-fried chips. I really pulled the boat out with a basic side salad too, using up the last of my taco slaw.

• I just finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and I’m not okay… I’ve got The Four Winds next on my list but I feel like I need a lighter palate cleanser in between so hit me up with any recommendations.

And ICYMI

Happy Easter to those who celebrate! I hope your day is filled with good eats and treats and if you are a parent I hope setting up the Easter Egg Hunt hasn’t worn you out too much.

I’m sitting writing this just after turning our living room into a toddler friendly egg hunt/Easter obstacle course and I’m just praying that the cats don’t steal all the eggs before morning…

But you’re here for the food, so let me get to it. If you were here last week you’ll know I didn’t really have a proper plan, and was going to try and use what we already had. Heads up - this is a long one and won’t fit into an email, so best to read in the app or on desktop if you can.

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Here’s a quick overview of what I ended up serving:

• Sunday - we had slow cooker turkey chilli from the freezer inspired by the sides left from the chipotle chicken we had earlier in the week. I don’t know what it is about the combination of white rice, hot sauce and sour cream but I just find it unbelievably moreish.

• Monday - late night noodles for one. Have been enjoying this new crispy chilli oil, it is very garlicky.

• Tuesday - had to try this again as we had a salmon fillet in the freezer that needed using. I bought a brown rice pouch (I cannot cook brown rice to save myself) but everything else I already had apart from spinach which I swapped for kale. My kiddo had rice, peas and fish fingers as she won’t eat salmon, despite me offering it to her at least once per week since she was able to eat it…

• Wednesday - this tuna pasta is always in my back pocket now. I usually have the ingredients, or at least ingredients to make a version of it. We use green olives since those are my toddlers favourite and skip the jalapenos (I add chilli flakes to my portion to serve).

• Thursday - another repeat, I was craving this crispy chicken salad and had some of these (very good) chicken nuggets left in the freezer. Everything else was already in my fridge or pantry. I made it into a pasta salad with extra sliced baby peppers and shredded carrot. And I prepped double pasta and salad to have for a quick WFH lunch on Saturday.

  • My toddler had a deconstructed version without lettuce or dressing (just a little mayo for dipping) plus some cut melon.

• Friday - sausage and leek pasta, inspired by this recipe but I added some lemon juice, frozen peas and corn and used creme fraiche in place of cream cheese. Again, using up ingredients I had. The sausages were in the freezer (I actually bought them with the intention of making this exact recipe a few weeks ago but it never happened), I had a leek that needed used and always have frozen corn and peas. I did buy crème fraiche but plan to use it for another recipe over the weekend. This wavy spaghetti was the best option I had in for pasta, and the same as in the original post, but if i make this again I’d use a short pasta like rigatoni.

• Saturday - a working dinner as I needed to photograph this dish for my website. Italian Chicken Traybake will be published soon but basically it was chicken breast, courgette, peppers and tomatoes with a lemon herb dressing, oven roasted for about 30 mins. If you want something similar I was inspired by the popularity of this recipe and am planning a whole series of quick and easy chicken traybakes for Carrie’s Kitchen this year.

Home lunches this week were veggie scrambled eggs and toast (sometimes with bacon, sometimes with chicken sausage), previously mentioned pasta salad but with mozzarella in place of chicken and on my husbands day off I made us our family full breakfast (not quite a full Scottish, and I can’t call it a fry up as only the eggs are fried).

For breakfast I was inspired to try the banana bulgur yoghurt bowl from this post. I love bulgur wheat but never thought to eat it for breakfast. It does take an extra 10 minutes to prepare each morning but on home days I’ve found it worthwhile. I prepped a big batch of bulgur in advance, used Muscovado sugar in place of maple syrup and instead of pistachios I toasted some almond flakes in the same pan.

• I finished Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies this week. I’ve become slightly obsessed with the Tudors since I’ve been doing the Wolf Crawl. I found this a good introduction to Anne’s story, although a bit sensationalist, and it has inspired me to learn more about her life.

• treated myself to this necklace and I’m in love. I feel like it has instantly updated a lot of my outfits. I’m eyeing up this one too.

Next week is very special because my husband is off work all week. Which means I can be extra adventurous with dinners since I can cook without also having to entertain a toddler. I’ve got a new audiobook lined up and my knives are sharpened!

And ICYMI

Hello, hello, I hope this week has treated you well! I truly feel like my head is about to explode, as I’ve been deep into editing a new design for my website (I’m hoping I can send it live next week) and also have a horrific cold.

Despite all that, we did eat pretty well this week! A few new recipes to add to the rotation (plus one fail). I have to admit that I did not stick to the meal plan I shared last week though. I reevaluated on Tuesday when I did my supermarket shop as some of our plans changed, but I’ll recap as we go. Heads up - this is a long one and won’t fit into an email, so best to read in the app or on desktop if you can.

-Sunday was supposed to be a takeaway after my nephew’s 1st Birthday party but plans changed and my husband had to work so it was a fridge raid dinner for me and my toddler. Inspired by this recipe I pulled together a creamy bacon and courgette pasta with a few subs, as documented here.

-Upgraded our usual Monday noodles to this Beef and Broccoli version inspired by Meghan’s post. So good, and genius cooking the noodles in the sauce with the beef! I air fried frozen broccoli to serve because we love it crispy. Next time (because we will eat this on repeat) I’ll add some more veggies like carrot and bell pepper.

-A bit of a fail for dinner on Tuesday. I was testing out an idea for a Nando’s inspired one pot Peri Peri chicken and rice dish. It tasted good but took ages for the rice to actually cook and ended up being a big gloopy mess. Reminded me why I rarely trust one pot rice dishes!

-Wednesday was leftovers from the freezer. Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala. This recipe is in testing to go on my site but basically it was chicken, a tin of tomatoes, some veg (cubes of butternut squash and sweet potato), tikka masala paste and some garlic and ginger dumped in the slow cooker. I added peas near the end and stirred through some Greek yoghurt to serve. I want to make a veggie version of this with chickpeas soon.

-Another recipe test on Thursday for Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken. This was so good, I can’t wait to share it in full. The first night we used it for tacos with guac, quick pickled onions and corn & bean salsa.

Second night I made burrito bowls with all the leftover sides then finally enjoyed the rest for lunch on Saturday as a burrito. I have a stash in the freezer now too. My toddler enjoyed chicken and cheese quesadillas, with rice and her own version of a black bean and corn salsa (rice and black beans are two of her faves.)

-Saturday we had posh fish fingers with peas and air fryer chips at my parents house. They take my daughter on a Saturday while I work, but this week they had my niece and nephew as well and my niece requested a full blown sleepover. After a full day of childcare/work nobody wanted to actually cook so a child friendly, bung it in the oven dinner was needed.

-On the menu for lunch this week was Chicken Caesar Wraps, 100% inspired by this single photo. I used the dressing from this recipe, these chicken chunks in the air fryer plus shredded romaine and grated carrot for my salad. (top tip for the salad - I like to dress it before adding to the wrap, I put it in a little tupperware and do the Kardashian salad shake). I made a huge error in my choice of crisps though - absolutely should have gone for these best ever S&V rather than lightly salted Kettle chips.

My little one had some of the chicken with a cheese and grated carrot quesadilla and cucumber sticks.

-I also enjoyed the last of my bean salad in a quesadilla and had a very good tuna melt (I add sweetcorn, sliced baby pepper and red onion to mine and always use the good cheddar).

-Inspired by Devan Grimsrud I tried buckwheat porridge for the first time. I really enjoyed it - I love some texture to my porridge and appreciated the nuttiness. However, it does take a bit longer to prepare than my usual breakfast choices so I may have to save it for lazy mornings. I might experiment with pre-cooking and reheating at some point as well.

-I didn’t take a photo but we enjoyed Eggs Benedict for brunch on my husband’s day off. I’ve shared this recipe before but it truly is so easy and SO good. If you think the blender hollandaise is cheating then you’ve got too much time on your hands!

-I made the ugliest choc chip muffins! I used a tried and tested recipe which usually always comes out perfect so it was definitely user error! They still tasted incredible though. (Seriously, if you like muffins you need to try these! And also these) I think maybe I need to replace my baking powder. And probably buy a proper muffin pan too - I’ve been using a sh*tty silicone one because my last proper one got burnt beyond repair and I’ve just never got round to replacing it.

-I finished Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry and cried my eyes out. This was my fourth EmHen and definitely my favourite so far (Book Lovers and Funny Story I enjoyed, Happy Place I hated).

It was a bit different to the straight forward tropey romance of the others and I think that is why I liked it so much, but can also see why the diehard fans seem to hate it. Like all her books, this would make an excellent movie.

Are you an Emily Henry fan? Which of her books should I try next?

Honestly, I have no idea what’s on the menu next week and it is stressing me out a little! It’s the end of the month and we are supposed to be saving money for our upcoming house move, so I’m going to try and rustle up most of our meals from what we already have in the fridge/freezer/pantry. I will document it all to share next week.

And ICYMI

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This is my version of my mum’s go-to quick and easy pasta. To me, it is true comfort food that evokes so many fond memories of family dinners after busy days. And it is still the dinner my mum makes when she doesn’t know what to cook.

Ingredients to serve 2

120g tin of tuna, drained and flaked

150 to 200g pasta of choice (I know personal preferences for pasta portions vary, so go with whatever amount you usually use to serve 2)

1 leek, thinly sliced

½ cup frozen peas

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp creme fraiche

Handful grated cheddar (about 30g)

S&P

Method

Bring a pot of well salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Add the leeks for the final 8 minutes of cooking, and the peas for the final 2 minutes. Reserve a cup of cooking water before draining.

To the warm pot add the creme fraiche and lemon juice and stir until melted. Add in the pasta, leeks and peas plus the flaked tuna and cheese and stir well to combine. Season to taste and serve with extra cheese.

Swaps and Extras

Instead of creme fraiche you could use cream cheese, or try a splash of single cream.

Peas can be replaced with broccoli florets or chopped green beans.

Add herbs of you fancy - parsley, chives or basil works well.

Swap the cheese for any other kind you fancy that melts well.

Swap the tuna for canned salmon or leftover roast chicken.

• Sunday was Mother’s Day and my husband was working (he’s a chef in a fancy restaurant that does a very very good Sunday Roast so he was exceptionally busy) so me and my daughter spent the day with my family. We spent all day chilling at my mum’s while all the cousins tore the place apart, visited my Granma and enjoyed a Five Guys for dinner. A pretty perfect day TBH.

• I work at my PT ‘desk job’ till 9pm on Mondays so dinner is usually super quick noodles. Had these Itsu frozen gyoza again and basic stir fry noodles with julienned carrot, spring onion and garlic, soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil and plenty chilli crisp.

• If I ask my husband what he want’s for dinner it is almost always this - garlic pasta (aka spaghetti aglio e olio), with pan fried marinated chicken and tomato mozzarella salad. We eat this at least once per month, usually more.

  • I slice the chicken breast into super thin pieces and marinade in a mix of 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp each garlic powder and oregano, ½ tsp salt for a minimum of 20 minutes, max 6 hours.

• Wednesday my sister was up from London so we spent the day with her and my little nephew, and had dinner at my mums. Her version of this salmon stir fry. This is a great one for feeding a crowd as the salmon is oven baked and it’s easy to scale up the recipe. You can use bags of stir fry veg and rice pouches for ease too.

• Thursday ended up being tuna pasta with peas - I’ll be posting this recipe next week as part of my 20 Minute Pasta series.

• Friday I was recipe testing a one pot sausage orzo. First time trying the M&S Italian sausages and they were very good. I’ll be posting the full recipe soon on my website, but in the mean time I have plenty other one pot orzo dishes (including this Chicken and Chorizo version) - to find them go to carriecarvalho.com and search for ‘orzo’.

• We enjoyed the orzo leftovers on Saturday - I reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water.

I usually have one or two options on the menu for lunch and breakfast during the week so I can prep in advance if needed and also to avoid decision fatigue.

• My current hyper-fixation breakfast is loaded Shreddies. I’m not a typical cereal fan but sometimes I get a craving and I have to give in. Currently eating my Shreddies with sliced banana, a drizzle of peanut butter, chopped roasted nuts and a sprinkle of flax and hemp seed. And I’m a blue milk girlie always. My toddler has a banana, Cheerios and some slurps of my milk.

• Lunches at home have been loaded hummus bowls with pita and sometimes halloumi. My little one loves hummus and eats it with a spoon. She has pita, cucumber sticks and her own dressing free chopped salad on the side. I also give her either a hard boiled egg or some cheddar cheese plus whatever fruit she chooses.

  • Quick chopped salad recipe - chop ½ a red onion, 2 tomatoes, 3 mini sweet peppers and ½ a cucumber. Add to a bowl with a tin of drained white beans (I used haricot), plenty chopped parsley and salt (I like Maldon). Dress with a generous drizzle of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice (I did red wine vinegar this week but usually prefer lemon

  

Aka the little leftovers that don’t fit in anywhere else.

• The substack articles I have particularly enjoyed this week include:

  • This archive post from The Pomegranate about how anti-children our society is becoming.

  • Dinner Tonight - this series by Meghan Splawn was one of the things that originally inspired me to start sharing EWA. Already added a few of these dinners to my future meal plans.

  • Starting the journey towards weaning my toddler as we approach her second birthday and Charlotte’s night weaning diary has been so helpful.

  • So many good one pot meals.

  • I am equal parts SO EXCITED but also SO DREADING the Devil Wears Prada 2 (why did they not call it the Devil Still Wears Prada??) and this sums up my thoughts.

  • Tons of advice here for saving on your weekly shop.

And in other news:

• Can’t stop won’t stop watching Disney Adventure Cruise vlogs right now, and trying to convince my husband we need a trip to Singapore.

• In reality, we are trying to move house and really don’t have the disposable income for that kind of trip any time soon, but I am desperate to book a sunny getaway. My little one is literally obsessed with the beach currently too, and although we actually have some lovely local beaches here on the south East coast of Scotland, the weather is unpredictable to say the least. If you have any suggestions for a good family-friendly European beach holiday that won’t break the bank please do share.

• I’m embarrassed that this is such a revelation to me but my uncle delivered some fresh eggs from his farm when he visited last weekend (he lives a few hours drive up north from us) and I can’t believe how much nicer they were compared to my usual supermarket fare! Such lovely golden yellow yolks.

  I ate them hard boiled (I need my eggs well done and I’m not scared to admit it!) with Frank’s and homemade everything seasoning.

• Which leads me on to my brand new Trader Joe’s toe bag! Yes I’m that person, but obviously we don’t have a TJs here in the UK. My sisters in laws are from the US and a family member kindly brought myself, my mum and my other sister a few bags over. So handy and perfect for a quick pop to the shops! I love that it has side pockets too.

  ---

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I feel like it’s been a hot minute since I posted an Everything We Ate and I’m a bit rusty on the photo documenting so please excuse the gaps and the terrible pics. Though I like to tell myself people want to see some actual realistic dinners. Plus, it is very hard to take a good photo when you have a toddler demanding her dinner in the background…

I’m going to try and get one of these out weekly if I can, so I’ve changed my start of the week to Sunday to hopefully send out every Sunday morning. But I’m open to suggestions - tell me what day you tend to do your weekly meal planning and I can potentially adjust to align with the majority.

First up, this is the pesto I made which pretty much set the tone for our dinners this week. My toddler has been a bit fussy with food recently so I wanted something that packed in plenty of nutrients.

Ingredients

50 grams edamame

50 grams peas (or use all peas)

50 grams kale (or spinach)

Handful fresh basil leaves

30 grams grated parmesan (use a veggie one if needed)

50 grams walnuts (or mixed nuts or any kind)

3-4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp each hemp seeds and flaxseed mix (optional or either, we’ve been enjoying Yum & Yay)

Salt and Pepper to taste (leave out salt if serving little kids - honestly the cheese and lemon add a good amount of seasoning, and I add salt to my own portion to serve)

Method

Blanch peas, kale and edamame by adding to pot of boiling water for 30 seconds then draining. Squeeze out as much water as you can from the kale.

Add everything to food processor and blend until as smooth as you like. Add extra oil or splash of water if needed (can use cooled blanching water). Season to taste.

Toss with pasta, use as a dip or spread. Stir into soups. Mix with Crème fraîche or cream cheese and gently warm before stirring in hot pasta for a nice creamy sauce.

• Salmon Leek Pasta - this recipe but with a few tweaks. I skipped the thyme and spring onion, added some Dijon mustard with the crème fraiche and threw a cup of peas in with the pasta. Very tasty and one I think we will have again.

• Noodles and these gyoza. I love the flavour but have not yet managed to cook them well and they end up a little hard around the edges. Noodles were a quick toss together of hot sauce, sesame oil, soy, garlic and spring onions. Quick and easy as I work the full day on Monday so I’m eating dinner myself at 9pm.

  

• Italian Chicken Traybake - recipe testing this one and it will hopefully be posted on my site soon. Chicken breast pieces and veggies tossed in a quick marinade and oven baked. Basically an Italian inspired version of my Greek Chicken Traybake, one of the most popular recipes on my site. The first night we had it with rice, and the leftovers I tossed with pesto pasta for lunches.

  • I want to do a whole series of these quick and easy chicken Traybakes so let me know if there’s a particular one you’re looking for! Next on my list is Mexican Chicken with sweet potato.

• Meatball Orzo Soup - another one I’m recipe testing, again this one will be up on carriecarvalho.com soon and you can subscribe over there to get notified of new posts! Basically mini meatballs, veggies and orzo all cooked together in a tomato-y broth, with some kale added in at the end. Inspired by this recipe, which is one of my sister’s go-to family dinners she recommends all the time.

  

• Creamy Pesto pasta with leek, peppers & salmon- I planned a rough idea of a fridge raid pasta and ended up doing a kind of riff on Sunday’s salmon pasta. I added sliced baby peppers with the leeks and swapped out lemon juice and Dijon for some of my homemade pesto.

• Pesto Pasta with courgette and Chicken Sausage - the plan was leftovers from the freezer but ended up with this. I go on about these all the time but the Heck chicken Italia are a staple for us. I keep some in the freezer and cook from frozen in the air fryer. A great way to add some protein to most pasta dishes. (They also go really well with scrambled eggs and toast for lunch/brunch).

  • A very basic recipe for the pasta: While pasta is cooking, gently fry sliced leeks and courgette in a large pan with a little oil. Add a diced garlic clove then stir in a couple generous spoonfuls of pesto (and optional Crème fraîche). Stir in cooked pasta plus pasta water and toss till combined. Add parmesan if you like.

Not much else to report on this week, its been a pretty quiet one for us.

I did let my toddler help me bake some banana bread. She ended up throwing in some Chinese Five Spice (luckily I managed to scrape out the contaminated batter) and also ate a spoonful of raw flour. So that was fun. But it was very good banana bread (we did add chocolate chips.)

Still obsessed with this tuna salad and had it twice more for lunch this week. My plan had been to make tunacado copycats but I was just craving this.

Usually I have a more specific theme for my What’s For Dinner posts but at the moment I’m just really feeling attuned to the current change in season. I don’t know about you, but March always feels like a beginning month to me, a new start after a bleak and dreary January and February.

In terms of eating, I think we’re all a bit bored of beige winter food, but it’s not quite picnic season either. I want meals that are lighter and fresher, but still comforting and cosy.

March is also, to me, a frugal month. I’m thinking about my Summer plans and the money I need saved up for my holiday and future family activities. And I’m clearing out my closet and my cupboards in a spring clean.

Trying to eat with the seasons, in March I want to enjoy things like greens and potatoes and mustardy flavours with light but creamy sauces. Brothy soups. Chicken and salmon. Fresh herbs. Banana and pineapple for sweetness. Citrus. Swapping regular onions for leeks and spring onions and eating plenty cauliflower and spinach.

These are the recipes I’ve been stockpiling, ready to use this month. Some I’ll be following exactly, others I’m using for inspiration.

Brothy Tortellini - one of my favourite easy dinner recipes, I do a variation on this regularly. Thinking of trying a kind of green minestrone version inspired by this and this.

Leek and Chorizo Minestrone - Leeks are very much on my radar right now and I love chorizo as a cheaper way to add tons of meaty flavour to dishes.

Keeping with the leeks, I’ll be having this chicken and leek soup on repeat, and this creamy leek and pancetta pasta will do nicely for a weekend date night.

More chorizo (it goes so well with spring veggies) in this easy one pot orzo with peas and sweetcorn.

I’m thinking of these Turkey & Courgette Burgers more like meatballs, served with some couscous and a herby chopped salad.

Chicken, lemon and broccoli sounds like a match made in heaven, and all in one pan is a huge bonus. We’d have to serve this with rice though!

Instead of sweating over a full roast dinner at the weekend, try a chicken and potato traybake - the lemon really brings it into spring. Or this chicken and cauliflower traybake always feels very fresh and sping-y to me.

I love a quick and easy dinner inspired by a takeaway fave, and these curry beef bowls look like they would hit the spot.

In the same vein, chicken and broccoli noodles are my go-to for a quick dinner I know my family will appreciate.

Pasta alla vodka is my ride or die. Love my spicy gochujang version but I can’t wait to try this healthier rendition.

And for sweet treats, I’ve got this healthy banana bread recipe waiting in the wings as my bananas ripen.

And today I tried baking a cake with my daughter for the very first time! We made this yogurt cake (we added lemon, I also want to try it with orange) and served with strawberries and more Greek yoghurt. Can’t wait to make this again.

And ICYMI…

This minestrone recipe is designed to use staple ingredients I always have handy, plus whatever I have that needs using up. You might think that frozen soffritto mix and herbs are not necessarily pantry staples, but if these are not already in your freezer I highly recommend! You can make your own mix and freeze in ziploc bags rather than buying if you prefer, but having some handy really helps to elevate those everyday meals without much fuss.

My minestrone is a complete meal than can be made in about 45 minutes, easy to customise to suit dietary preferences/restrictions, healthy and full of fibre. It can be eaten for lunch or dinner (or breakfast if you really fancy it), is easy to store and reheat and is cosy enough for winter but light enough during warmer months (and can be switched up seasonally). A true multi-tasker!

The full recipe is below and if you scroll down there are some helpful tips, subs and swaps.

Pantry Minestrone

Serves 6 | 45 minutes

Ingredients

Olive oil

2 cups of frozen soffritto mix - or 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 ribs celery diced

2 tsp chopped Garlic - about 2 cloves

1 tsp each dried oregano and rosemary (or dried basil)

1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

2 400g tins of beans - any kind, I like borlotti, kidney or cannellini

750ml stock made from 2 stock cubes - add more or less depending on how brothy you like it

Parmesan rind - whenever I finish a wedge of parm I pop the rind in the freezer for future soup making.

1 litre stock - add more or less depending on how brothy you like it

Pasta - I use macaroni, try any small shape

Fresh parsley or basil to finish - I actually use frozen fresh herbs

Grated Parmesan, to serve

Optional shredded kale, spinach or spring greens

Method

1. Drizzle a generous slug of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and heat over medium. Add the soffritto mix with a pinch of salt and sweat, stirring every so often, for about 5 minutes until starting to soften.

2. Add the garlic and dried herbs and cook another 2 minutes.

3. Drain and rinse the beans then add to the pot. Stir in the tomatoes and stock and add the parmesan rind if using.

4. Bring a soft boil then turn the heat down and allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. If using, add the kale or spinach for the final 10 minutes of cooking.

5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Drizzle with a little oil if not using immediately.

6. Remove the parmesan rind from the soup (it may have already melted into the broth), add fresh chopped herbs and season to taste.

7. To serve, add cooked pasta to a bowl then top with hot soup and grated parmesan.

Swaps and Optional extras

Shredded chicken or ham stirred in at the end

Chorizo, pancetta or bacon cooked off first

Extra veg - courgette, green beans, peas, mushrooms (you can use frozen veggies)

Swap the beans - chickpeas, black beans, butter beans

Use vegetable or homemade stock

Swap pasta for rice, quinoa or couscous. Or do diced potato in the soup.

A squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar to finish can brighten the flavour.

For a creamier soup you can blend some of the beans.

For vegan soup use vegetable stock and skip the parmesan.

A note on pasta in soup

For soups with pasta there are differing opinions on whether to cook the pasta in the broth or not…

For something like pasta e fagioli or pasta e ceci, I personally feel like those recipes are designed to be cooked all in one. Cooking the pasta in the broth helps it thicken up and the finished dish is more of a stew than a soup.

Minestrone, however, is a soup which I feel needs a good slurpy broth. It is also a big batch soup and whenever I cook it I intend it to last at least a few days. So in this case I prefer to cook the pasta separately and add it in to serve. You don’t need to reheat it - just add directly to warm soup.

This helps the soup last longer as well if you are storing it, as otherwise the pasta will continue soaking water and get swollen and mushy. BUT this is a personal choice! So if you’d rather cook everything together then please feel free. Just add some extra water and go for it.

I hope you like this recipe. If you have a favourite pantry staple recipe I want to hear about it.

February Favourite Eats

Pasta e fagioli - I had a horrid cold and needed some comfort food and this really hit the spot. Super easy too - I used frozen soffrito mix and added a handful of Mediterranean chopped veggies too. Next time I’ll buy the good chopped tomatoes as I used cheap ones and they were a bit watery.

I’ve been eating some variation of this tuna salad (Actually with more tuna less salad) on repeat for lunches. I like to prep a big batch for the week and slather it on toasted cheese (a seeded or rye sourdough with a strong cheddar ideally).

And if we are not eating tuna salad then it’s this chicken mayo with shredded baby gem lettuce on toasted sourdough.

Minestrone Soup - will share my recipe for Pantry Minestrone this week so make sure you subscribe if you want to see that 😉

This chicken salad was excellent. I had some crispy chicken in the freezer and turned this into a pasta salad. I only had half a sorry looking bag of mixed leaves so I added some shredded carrot, cucumber, shallot and red pepper to that with the dressing, plenty Parmesan and some cooked pasta.

Salmon, rice and peas based on this recipe. So surprisingly good! The sesame oil was genius, it went so well with the nutty brown rice I used. I didn’t have spring onion or spinach so I used kale and shallot instead, and added about 150ml chicken stock (i just broke off a bit of a stock cube) to make it a bit saucier. And I cooked the salmon in the air fryer. A true 15 minute dinner.

Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins - a tasty treat for me and my toddler! We like to add choc chips. These are so easy to make with simple, kid friendly ingredients and excellent served warm with a cup of tea.

What I read

Workhorse by Caroline Palmer - I actually finished this in January but forgot to mention it. If you are a millennial who grew up wanting to ‘work at a magazine’ and also appreciate a bit of weirdness, then please read this. It’s about Clo, a lowly workhorse assistant at ‘The Magazine’ in the early noughties as she becomes obsessed with her beloved nepo baby co-worker and also tries to claw her way to the top at work. I hate to admit how much I identified with Clo. Not on everything she does (because she does some really dumb stuff) but more her general feelings about herself, feeling like a fish out of water and uncomfortable in her own body as she struggles through a world of impossibly beautiful and privileged people.

TLDR - This is The Devil Wears Prada but if Andy was obsessed with Emily and also kind of unhinged

This year so far I’ve really enjoyed reading multiple books at once for probably the first time in my life. I was always a one book at a time girl till recently and I typically read books quickly in large chunks. I’ve been following Footnotes and Tangents to do a slow read of both War and Peace and Wolf Hall, plus dipping into Private Rites when I want to keep reading after my allocated pages for the day. It has actually really helped me to read more often by allowing myself to read less at a time (and not feel pressure to meet my arbitrary Goodreads goal.)

Lifestyle favourites

So my toddler is at that stage where she just wants to have everything that I have. And that especially includes whatever I’m drinking. We already have matching pink water bottles but now her obsession has moved on to actual glasses.

I previously loved stemless wine glasses for my everyday drinks (I’m addicted to this and have a glass with dinner every night). So I bought these coloured glasses on a whim in order to give her a matching one for her water at dinner time and I’m actually really impressed. They look nice and, as a self confessed glass snob whose enjoyment of wine does depend on the glass it is served in, I am really quite enjoying them. I might even buy more.

I love these no mess painting sets! My almost 2 year old loves drawing and painting but I don’t always love the mess. These are a great low supervision activity that helps her scratch that itch.

Next is not my go-to store usually but their kids range is pretty excellent right now. I just purchased these sets of tops and leggings, and these excellent wellies and my wee one is looking extra cute.

What did you love in February?

Monday

Leftover Paneer Curry

I made this curry on Sunday while recipe testing and am pretty confident I’ll be sharing it in full soon. Veggie packed with blended cashews for creaminess and mild enough for the whole family. My toddler loved it and the leftovers reheated very well.

Tuesday & Wednesday

Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs

A few shortcuts from my usual spaghetti and meatballs. I used Heck Chicken Italia seasoned mince and added some breadcrumbs, an egg, a little parmesan and a grated carrot then rolled into balls and baked in the oven (180 for about 20 minutes).

For the sauce I delved into my freezer for a couple handfuls of chopped shallots and these diced Mediterranean vegetables. Once those were softened I added some garlic and tomato paste, cooked it off for a few minutes then stirred in a tin of Mutti finely chopped tomatoes plus a knob of butter and let that simmer while the spaghetti cooked. It worked really well and there were plenty meatballs left over for next day.

Wednesday we had the leftover meatballs with more spaghetti, some lentil pasta sauce from the freezer and frozen peas (chucked in with the pasta for the last couple minutes of cooking).

Thursday

Lemon garlic salmon

Based on this recipe but I cooked the salmon in the air fryer and served with microwaved frozen peas and beans plus rice. Delicious and pretty simple to throw together. We’ve enjoyed this salmon quite a few times recently.

Friday & Saturday

Green pasta and chicken sausage

This green pasta sauce by Emily English. I do find ‘instagram chefs’ to be very hit or miss but I’ve yet to be disappointed by any recipe of Emily’s - I love how she packs in the nutrients but still manages to make the dish feel like a treat.

This sauce was bright and fresh while also being deliciously creamy and easy to make. It was fairly thick so I reckon we could have easily stretched it to feed four adults (it was just myself and my toddler eating both nights).

We had chicken sausages on the side but I’d also try this with salmon or white beans. Planning to make a double batch of this green sauce again soon and freeze in portions.

Sunday

Mums Day Out 🩷

I had a Galentine’s Day out with my oldest girlfriends to see the terribly controversial ‘Wuthering Heights’ and eat Greek food. Lunch was excellent - special shout out to the halloumi fries with pomegranate, and the courgette chips with tzatziki. I immediately started searching for a Greek island holiday when I got home.

And for anybody who cares, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie! I’ve never read the book so I cannot comment on how it strayed from the original (though I have read many complaints about this and have to say - when have we ever had a 100% accurate book to movie translation and why does it really matter??). I personally thought the movie was beautiful - I adored Margot’s wardrobe and how it symbolised her characters transitions. Yes the story was pretty simplified and it definitely wasn’t perfect, but as a cinema experience it was encapsulating (coming from a tired toddler mum who has struggled to watch a full movie in the last 3 years without falling asleep.)

Monday

One pot chorizo pasta

Since I was out for dinner on Sunday I’m adding Monday’s dinner in as a bonus. I’ve been making this chorizo pasta recipe for years (I published it on my website in 2020) and my husband says it is ‘impossible not to like’. On this occasion I added some sweetcorn because we had some that needed used and my husband also likes to say that ‘chorizo and sweetcorn are a match made in heaven’. Peas would also be good, or some spinach.

It’s a nice saucy pasta so goes well with garlic bread and you could add some cream or soft cheese to make it more decadent.

What were your favourite dinners from last week? And have you seen Wuthering Heights because if so I need to know your thoughts!

Carrie 🩷

Yes I appreciate we are now a week into February, but I’ve had a lot on okay. January is always a busy one for us! My husband and mum both have their birthdays and we had a second family ‘Christmas’ as all my siblings spent it with their significant others’ families this year.

So it has been a lot of fun, and meal planning and food prepping took a bit of a back seat for much of the month. But we did still eat well, and I have some easy, family friendly comfort food recipes to recommend.

Some of the best things I cooked and ate this month:

• I have been making this tuna pasta on repeat, though we skip the jalapeno and use green olives. So quick and easy to make, all the prep can be done in the time it takes the pasta to cook. My toddler loves it too (olives are her favourite). It would also be excellent with salmon or even posh butter beans.

• Spaghetti aglio e olio has been a constant on our meal plan as our go-to when we are struggling for ideas. The whole family loves it and we usually serve with a side salad and some pan fried salmon or chicken (seasoned with oregano and lemon juice.)

• Chicken and broccoli noodles are a new stir fry fave. I am addicted to adding nuts to my noodles now and this one goes great with toasted peanuts.

  

• Brazillian Churrasco at Rio. Birthday lunch for my husband, we love it here. There are a few around the UK so definitely give it a try if you have one nearby. (We rate Rio over Fazenda fyi, especially for families.) If you’ve never tried it before, basically there is an excellent Market Table (posh salad bar) you help yourself to, then skewers of (unlimited) freshly grilled meat are brought round and the servers cut slices at the table. A lot of steak but also chicken, pork, lamb and sausages too. You get fun little tongs to grab your meat slices with and a red and green doubled sided card to signal when you are done (or maybe just need a break.)

• Veggie Scrambled Eggs - A go-to lunch for myself and my toddler lately. I cook off some chopped veggies (usually spring onion and peppers) then stir in something green (chopped spinach, kale or steamed peas), add whisked eggs, a pinch of herbs if I have some and scramble everything till the eggs are done. We eat with buttered toast or english muffins and sometimes a couple of chicken sausages or air fried crispy bacon. I have a generous dashing of hot sauce and have also been known to add some cheese.

  

• Tomato-Basil Beans - We love beans, and I knew I had to try this Jenn Lueke recipe as soon as I saw it shared via Munch Menus. (I did use regular cheese instead of nutritional yeast and dairy cream instead of coconut milk because we had some to use up.) We first served it with some buttered sourdough and chicken sausage, then had leftovers the next night tossed with some pasta and extra peas. One I will definitely make again.

• Toasted Nuts - How have I slept on this for so long? Rosie Birkett mentioned toasting mixed nuts so I gave it a go, hoping to replace my usual post-toddler-bedtime cookies with something a little more virtuous. I have been having a handful of toasted nuts and a few squares of dark chocolate with my evening cuppa once the house is (sort of) tidy and it has been glorious. I toast a tray of mixed nuts at 180c fan for about 10 minutes, then leave to cool and store in an airtight container.

And my non-food recommendations:

• Reading: I thoroughly enjoyed Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue! I love the idea of Romantasy (this leans a little more Sci-Fi but I wasn’t mad about it) but find it often feels so tropey and silly. This was a masterclass in how to get it right. I’ve loved every book I’ve read by Caroline and really admire how she can write across completely different genres. I also highly recommend The Rachel Incident, especially if you are a millenial who went to Uni in the late noughties.

• Watching: My sister introduced me to her favourite TV show Two Doors Down, about a group of neighbours always in each others business. Scottish cringe humour at it’s finest, every episode will make your toes curl but the characters are so spot on - we all know that couple next door.

• Wearing: Henley Sweatshirts. I got this set and I love them, so comfortable and cosy but they still feel a bit more elevated than a typical sweatshirt. I love them with a contrasting T-shirt or lace trimmed vest underneath and a statement necklace.

And my fave substack reads were:

• Meghan Splawn is on a mission to save money of food this year and I am eagerly following along! She has inspired me to take a good look at my own food spending so look forward to some money-saving tips and recipes from me as well in the coming months.

• I started following Anna back when she was vivianna does makeup over on YouTube. She dropped off my radar a few years ago but I discovered her substack as part of my mission to regain some semblance of personal style postpartum. Her feed is such a treasure trove, I have been eating it up.

• On a similar note, I’m also loved this post by Angharad Jones Best.

I love reading these type of monthly favourites so please share your recommendations.

Carrie x

In the years just before I had my daughter, cooking dinner was actually my main hobby. My husband works evenings so I could mostly go wild and make myself absolutely whatever I wanted. I would spend all my spare moments at my (very boring) day job thinking about what I was going to cook and how. I started a blog to share my recipes and actually managed to start making a small income from it.

Then I had a kid. Then I went back to work. Solo dinners are a thing of the past now, and family dinners need to serve two adults, a toddler plus leftovers for at least one more night.

It has been a steep learning curve for sure, but now I’m in a place where I know what I’m doing. I can usually get a home cooked meal on the table seven nights a week without too much stress.

So today I’m sharing legitimate things that really actually help get dinner on the table. Tips and shortcuts I genuinely use every week (that don’t require four hours of meal prep every Sunday).

Some of these tips I honestly balked at pre-kid. I was like ‘who doesn’t have time to chop a bit of garlic?’ Now the answer is: me! I don’t have time! Have you ever tried to peel and chop a garlic clove while there is a toddler clambering about your legs trying to grab everything off the counter top? It’s really hard!

So, in no particular order, here are my tried and tested top kitchen tips. Most of them apply to anyone who eats, some are specific to those who have little ones to feed. If any of these also work for you or you have your own tips please share!

Frozen chopped onion, garlic and herbs

You can chop them yourself if it makes you feel better but honestly, just buy the bag. I also love to keep a bag of soffritto mix in the freezer for quick sauces. Pre-chopped herbs saves me so much food waste as well - I can never finish a pack of basil or coriander before it goes brown.

Prepared Vegetables

On a similar note, packs of pre chopped vegetables. Fresh or frozen depending. Bags of stir fry veg save SO much time. You can also buy pre-prepared butternut squash (which takes ages to peel and chop), Mediterranean vegetables (great for pasta dishes) plus more. Frozen peas are an absolute staple in my kitchen.

And also, canned foods! Don’t underestimate these. A can of beans stirred into a pasta can be a substitute for meat if you don’t have time to cook any. These air fryer tinned potatoes won’t be quite as good as regular roasties but there is literally zero prep involved so they will do you well for a weeknight dinner.

Microwave rice and grain pouches

These are great for serving with leftover saucy things like curries, chilli and stews (all things which freeze well - see my cook once, eat 3 times section). You can use them to make fried rice as well (with frozen or leftover veggies). Try other grains like quinoa or couscous too.

Have an Emergency Pantry Meal

A meal everyone likes that takes under 30 minutes to prepare from scratch with ingreidnts you always have to hand (ideally long-shelf life stuff or fresh ingredients you use weekly). Ours is cheesy tuna and peas pasta, which I’ll share soon as a 20 minute pasta post.

Similarly, have some ‘quick wins’ stashed in the freezer like blocks of homemade pasta sauces plus an easy protein that can be cooked from frozen (chicken tenders, sausages, quorn nuggets etc).

If you have older kids who you trust in the kitchen you could also show them how to cook a couple of easy pantry or freezer dinners for those nights where you just have way too much to do.

Double up prep

If you’re meal planning, chances are you will be trying to use similar veggies across different meals through the week, so prep them together. If you’re chopping a pepper for a stir fry on Monday, you might as well do an extra one and keep it in the fridge till it’s needed for your pasta bake on Wednesday. Most cut veg can last 3-5 days in the fridge if stored in airtight containers.

Let kids help

This is obviously child dependant, but I have found that allowing my 19 month old to contribute to dinner preparation makes things a lot easier. If I leave her to play independently while I cook then chances are she will be under my feet within 3 minutes, demanding attention and snacks or moaning about something. Yes letting her ‘help’ makes things take longer overall, but there is less stress involved and it means I don’t need to rush under extreme pressure to get things done.

I let her do things like throw things in the pan, ‘wash’ veggies or dishes, put peelings in the bin, transfer food from the chopping board into a bowl or colander or mix sauces. She also loves to be chief spoon licker! As she gets older I’ll introduce more tasks. Right now we have a simple step but for her birthday I’m planning to get a proper fancy toddler tower.

Utilise Tools

You don’t need to spend hundreds on fancy gadgets, but a few choice pieces can really level up your food prep.

For example, if you use a ton of garlic in your cooking but don’t want to use frozen pre-chopped, invest in a really good garlic press which doesn’t require pre-peeling. Or, try a mini chopper or box chopper to make quick work of veg prep. Rice cookers are great if you eat rice often and/or find it a chore to cook. I purchased one of these recently which has made prepping side veg like broccoli and carrots SO much easier.

Try thinking of the one task you really hate doing or actively avoid when it comes to cooking, and find a tool within your budget that can help.

Plan your meal plan around your schedule

This may be obvious to some people, but make your meal plan work for you, not against you. Take a look at your schedule for the week and make sure you have dinner options that fit in around your plans. Obviously this will be household specific but some examples:

-Save the tricker/time consuming dishes for days you know you have time to spend in the kitchen.

-Maybe you work from home one day a week, or somebody else does the school run which gives you time to get a slow-cooker dinner on the go.

-Have some leftovers ready for the busy days when you usually get home late and give in to a takeaway.

-If household members are in and out for various sports, hobbies or after school activities then try something hands off like a tray bake that you can prep in advance and bung in the oven in time for everyone getting home.

-If your weekly schedule is fairly predictable you could even set a daily dinner ‘theme’ for days of the week to take some mental load off planning too. For example - Monday needs an easy tray bake, Wednesday is slow cooker day, fakeaway on a Friday.

Cook once, eat 3 times

I bang on about this all the time but I swear I’d be lost without it! Anytime I’m cooking something that stores and reheats well I make enough to have leftovers for the next day plus at least one portion to freeze. If you are cooking anyway there usually isn’t too much extra prep involved to increase the portions so it can really save you a ton of time.

You don’t need to be perfect

It’s ok to let it slide sometimes. Fish fingers, air fryer chips and some frozen peas really is an acceptable dinner. So is a takeaway.

Do you have any tips for getting dinner on the table? What’s your emergency pantry meal?

Till next time,

Carrie 🩷

This is not a curated list with beautifully laid out pictures and captions but more a brain dump of the best things I ate over the last 12 months. Tried and tested recipes, the dinners I cook when I literally don’t know what to make or have zero time, and my family’s all time favourites.

It is mostly dinner recipes with a few treats thrown in. Some of the recipes are my own, but lots are from other places around the internet.

Easy Eggs Benedict

My husband said recently that this is a dish where I ‘never miss the target’ which is high praise indeed coming from him (a professional chef in a 5 star hotel with exceptionally lofty standards). Just like the title says, the Hollandaise sauce is super easy to make. We love it for Sunday brunch.

Lemon Chicken Traybake and Chicken Cauliflower Traybake

We had either one of these tray bake dinners or some kind of variation at least once a month this year, sometimes more. Such an easy dinner and makes a great substitute for a Sunday roast on a busy weekend. Also a great way to use up the odds and ends of vegetables lurking at the bottom of the fridge.

Teriyaki Salmon Noodles

Probably my number one dinner! I’ve always got the stuff on hand the make this. We switch up the veggies to suit what we have leftover from other meals. This works well with chicken or prawns too.

Bacon & Pea pasta

Another quick win, this again is a recipe I always have the ingredients for.

Brothy Tortellini

I have mentioned this one before but it has been a winner in our house. Again, lots of staple ingredients. I like to keep emergency tortellini in the fridge as it tends to have a long shelf life or you can cook from frozen. The other main ingredients are frozen peas and a can of beans, and it’s easy to customise with what you have.

Pasta e Cece

The best kind of comfort food, I have made so many variations of this. I love to add diced carrots and lots of pecorino cheese.

Broccoli pasta with Chicken Sausage

These sausages are actually the real MVP of 2025. My kid LOVES them and they are so quick and easy to chuck in the air fryer, even from frozen. We love to add them to a basic pasta dish like this smashed broccoli one for extra protein.

Lentil Soup

This basic lentil soup recipe has been on repeat whenever we have an extended family gathering and need an easy lunch to feed a crowd, including adults, kids and toddlers. It’s just referred to as ‘the soup’ now! In fact we are eating this tomorrow as my sister and nephew are coming up from London for a little visit.

Chicken and Leek Soup

Another at least monthly rotation here since autumn, I love how good this one feels to eat. Very green and wholesome, a perfect one if somebody in the household is feeling under the weather.

And finally, these Double Chocolate muffins and Bakery Style choc chip muffins are on constant rotation in my household. My husband is addicted, he can eat four in a row. Best muffins I’ve ever eaten.

If you’re also in the trenches, here is one quick win - a festive no-bake sweet treat.

I love a good tiffin. These no-bake slices made from crushed biscuits and chocolate are really popular here in Scotland, and most wee local cafes will have a few different flavours to choose from. Back when I used to work in a sandwich shop there was always a queue out the door on the days I made my Malteser Slice.

This White Chocolate Tiffin is a festive variation studded with Christmassy red and green in the form of glacé cherries and pistachios. Ginger snap biscuits add a subtle warmth and the white chocolate ties it all together.

It’s easy to make, no baking required (just some melting) and easy to customise. About fifteen minutes hands on time, then you can leave it to set overnight in the fridge.

Festive White Chocolate Tiffin

Ingredients for 16 squares

• 150g ginger snaps

• 100g digestives

• 115g butter

• 3 tbsp golden syrup (60g)

• 200g tub of glacé cherries, halved

• 50g pistachios, roughly chopped

• 400g white chocolate

Method

Grease and line a 20cm baking tin with greaseproof paper.

Crush the biscuits, either in a food processor or by sealing in a plastic bag and bashing with a rolling pin.

In a large bowl combine the crushed biscuits with glacé cherries and chopped pistachios. Mix well to combine and make sure cherries are dispersed, or they easily clump together.

In a small pan on medium-low heat (or in the microwave in short bursts) melt the butter, golden syrup and 100g of the white chocolate together until smooth. (you can also add the syrup from the glacé cherries for optional extra sweetness).

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down firmly with the back of a spoon or spatula to pack it in and create an even layer.

Melt the remaining 300g white chocolate, then pour over the tiffin base and spread out evenly.

Pop in the fridge to set before for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight.

Allow to come to room temp before cutting into 16 squares.

Swaps and Subs

• Change up the mix of biscuits - use all ginger or all digestives, or sub in shortbread or rich tea

• Swap out the cherries for dried cranberries or candied peel

• Use pecans or hazelnuts instead of pistachios (or do a nut-free version)

• Try blonde chocolate instead of white

• Add some festive decoration to the top, like star sprinkles or edible glitter

Share

I am now officially signing off for the holidays, wishing you all a wonderful time whatever you celebrate, and a happy New Year when it comes!

Carrie 🌟

I’ll bang on and on about it every chance I get, but I love and cherish family dinner time so much and want to spread that love around. I hope that I can keep creating recipes and sharing tips that help take the stress out of meal planning and make family dinner easy and fuss free.

So here are the Top 10 Most Popular Dinner Recipes from Carrie’s Kitchen in 2025. If you missed any, now’s your chance to catch up.

1. Lemon Chicken Traybake

A bright, zesty twist on classic roast chicken, this throw-it-all-on-a-tray dinner became the ultimate midweek hero. Minimal prep, juicy chicken, caramelised veggies and a hint of fresh lemon and garlic at the end.

Why it was a hit:
It ticks every box: easy, healthy-ish, toddler-friendly, and genuinely delicious.

👉 Lemon Chicken Traybake

2. Courgette Pasta

This easy, cheesy pasta with fried courgettes absolutely popped off over summer. The fried courgette melts into a silky sauce that feels indulgent without being heavy - ideal for warm nights or quick dinners.

Why it was a hit:
My take on a classic Italian dish, this is pasta at its very best - simple but refined.

👉 Courgette Pasta

3. Chilli Prawn Linguine

Your go-to date night pasta that still counts as easy. Succulent prawns, chilli, garlic, and that restaurant-style vibe that somehow comes together in under half an hour.

Why it was a hit:
Fast + fancy aka the unicorn of Friday night dinners.

👉 Chilli Prawn Linguine

Jo said: ‘This is a delicious snd perfectly balanced dish. This is our regular ‘go to’ pasta meal.’

4. Vodka Pasta with Chicken

This creamy, tangy tomato pasta brought the cosy TikTok vibes without the faff. The addition of chicken made it a proper meal. This one is hearty, comforting, and absolutely weeknight-worthy.

Why it was a hit:
Comfort food with personality and no complications.

👉 Vodka Pasta with Chicken

Cayte said: ‘Came out great!’

5. Bacon and Mushroom Carbonara

Classic carbonara with a cheeky mushroom upgrade. It’s rich, salty, savoury and unbelievably satisfying. One of the first recipes I ever published, it has stood the test of time for good reason.

Why it was a hit:
Fifteen minutes of actual cooking. Minimal, staple ingredients. Pure pleasure.

👉 Bacon and Mushroom Carbonara

Cat said: ‘What a delicious version of a carbonara. Such a tasty and quick meal great for busy nights.’

6. Baked Orzo

This one surprised a lot of you - a one-dish baked pasta that feels like risotto but requires almost no effort. Creamy, comforting, nap-worthy. Serve it with air fried chicken sausage or stir in a can of chickpeas and dinner is sorted.

Why it was a hit:
It’s “lazy day comfort” at its finest and it reheats like a dream.

👉 Baked Orzo with Roast Veggies

Tesha said: ‘I have made this recipe three times already and it so delicious every time! Thank you for sharing this.’

7. Greek Chicken Tray Bake

Think holiday flavours without leaving the kitchen: lemon, oregano, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes and salty feta. A weeknight dinner inspired by summer holidays.

Why it was a hit:
A balanced and tasty meal on one tray.

👉 Greek Chicken Tray Bake

Sarah said: ‘We made this last night, and my three teenagers raved about it. It’s simple enough for a school/work night. We added pita and a yogurt cucumber sauce on the side.’

8. Chilli Garlic Chicken Noodles

These noodles were the unexpected midweek MVP - spicy, saucy, incredibly tasty, and done before you’ve even set the table.

Why it was a hit:
High flavour, low effort and no deep frying or complicated sauces required.

👉 Chilli Garlic Chicken Noodles

Chris said: ‘Excellent recipe. The saltiness of gochuchang really works here… Struggled not to eat it all and save some for lunch 😄’

9. Teriyaki Salmon Noodles

This one brought the weeknight fakeaway energy with sticky salmon, slurpy noodles and a sweet-salty sauce that tastes like you ordered in.

Why it was a hit:
Healthy-ish, fast, and genuinely fun to eat. Kids loved it too.

👉 Teriyaki Salmon Noodles

10. Chicken and Chorizo Orzo

The ultimate crowd-pleasing comfort dish with smoky chorizo, tender chicken, creamy orzo, and a bit of veg hidden in the mix.

Why it was a hit:
It’s hearty, rich, and deeply satisfying with zero chance of leftovers.

👉 Chicken and Chorizo Orzo

⭐️ What These Dinners Have in Common

When I look at this list, a few themes jump out:

• Fast, realistic recipes

• Uncomplicated comfort food

• Meals that feel good, not fussy

• Big flavours with everyday ingredients

• One-pan or one-pot whenever possible

I’m so happy to see some of my all-time favourite recipes on this list - a lot of these are still regulars in our dinner rotation! Let me know if you made any of them, and what you want to see from me in 2026 and beyond.

If you did make any of my recipes this year, I’d love it if you left a comment and/or rating on the website. This really does help me know what is truly popular so I can keep making recipes you love ❤️

⭐️ What’s Coming in 2026

Based on what was most popular this year, in 2026 you can expect:

• More traybake magic

• Plenty 20-minute pasta recipes

• Quick and easy noodle bowls

• Budget-friendly family dinners

• Some veggie-forward comfort food

• Dinner recipes that respect your time (and your energy levels)

If you have a dinner-related problem that needs solved or want ideas for using up specific ingredients, send them my way - I am ready for the challenge!

Here’s to a tasty new year 🥂
Carrie x