Meal Planning Monday; Back to School Blues and September's meals sorted

There are parts of the year that are fun, fun, fun, and parts that are both good and bad. I find September is balanced on a knife edge. I like the start of a new school year, the renewal of intentions, the creation of fresh new pages of plans and the planning for life ahead through to Christmas, but I also dread the start of new things; new classes, new people to relate to, new timetables and new pressures. Yes, I know, I'm classically conflicted. Very Dickensian; it's the best of times and the worst of times, the most exciting and the most nerve racking, the happiest and the saddest.
So last week I sat and planned my month worth of meals. I do a month at a time to save me sucking the end of my pencil more than once a month.

Here are the meals we will be eating this month Chez Nous. (I've included the days already gone by for archive reasons)

1;  Baked Aromatic Chicken
2; Lasagne and broccoli
3; Salmon with tomato pasta
4; Hotdogs and chips/ Peter to choose our meal
5; Meal at Ma's and Pa's
6; Bastichio (baked pasta) from Mum's Know Best p132
7; Meatballs and pasta
8; Chicken Bake
9; Great Sausage Casserole with mashed potato MKB
10; Minced Pie MKB
11; Frikadellen and chips/Paella
12; Maryland Chicken from Mum's Know Best p 206
13; Sausage Plait from Mum's Know Best p136
14; Noodle stir fry with bacon
15; Sausages and cheese pie MKB
16; Chicken and red pepper bake
17; Chilli con carne MKB p19
18; Home made pizza/Paella (again!)
19; Roast chicken with gnocchi roastinis
20; Roast beef MKB 150
21; Baked Ham, cabbage and mash MKB70
22; Pan Haggerty & bacon MKB98
23; Great sausage casserole with pasta MKB
24; Cottage pie with cheesy mash MKB127
25; Pie and chips/ Peter to choose
26; Yarndale!!!!
27; Probably fish and chips
28; Breakfast @ night
29; Mince and dumplings MKB
30; Fish pie

I'm using the Hairy Bikers' cook book ,Mums Know Best: The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook, as my inspiration. It's one of the most useful cookbooks for a family I have, because so many of the recipes have been given by actual families so you know they work. Next month, I'm not going to be able to plan from the book I'd like to because it doesn't come out until the 8th October. It's Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food to link with her new TV series. I've pre-ordered it from Amazon, so hopefully I'll get it as soon as possible. I will probably re-read some other Nigella classics before then.

And I'm trying to reclaim my inner baker. Sarah the Princess is the usual baker in the house, but I feel like I only get to do the donkey work of main meals while she makes the light and fluffy treats, so this month I am grabbing my apron and wooden spoon and staking my claim to be a proper Mum with proper baking going on!

Again inspired by The Hairy Bikers, I am planning to make
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Millionaire's Shortbread
Welsh Cakes, and
Treacle Tart.

I'll try to take pictures and post them.... if the products last long enough! And I won't be posting my meal plans again until the first Monday of October.....