What's for dinner?

I have been trying to do a bit more meal planning as of late and it has made such a difference in the day to day stress of preparing dinner! I have also bought bigger quantities of things like baking potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, courgettes/zucchini and garlic plus having chopped tomatoes, chick peas, pasta and couscous on hand really helps with quick meals!

Sweet potato falafels

This dish is my favorite one to get at Leon (a tasty, healthy restaurant in Leon) and I have been meaning to try to cook it myself for ages. I used the falafel recipe from this site and the aioli sauce recipe from here. We put the falafel balls in a whole grain pita with cucumbers and a mixture of marinated grated carrots and onions. They were delicious and made enough for a leftover lunch. Samuel loved the sweet potato falafels too so it was a hit all around!

Note- these are great to prepare in the afternoon and then pop in the over just before dinner (they only take 15 minutes to bake!).

Penne Giardiniera

This again is a recipe that I first had at a resturant here in London (Carluccios). It is one of those dishes that I only had once but have remembered loving the combination flavors and textures. I have to say I found the recipe a bit unclear at times, but it all tasted good in the end. My main recommendation is to somehow keep the spinach balls warm as ours got cold as I cooked up the pasta. Recipe here

Last weeks menu (10-15 Jan):

Tues - Dinner at church small group

Wed - Tortellini and salad

Thurs - Penne Giardiniera

Fri - Sweet potato falafel and salad

Sat - Baked potatoes with beans and cheese and salad

Sun - Homemade pizza with mozarella, red peppers, and courgettes

Oh and if anyone has a good recipe for pizza dough, please send it our way!