Oh I love all those menu ideas @Imbluedalale , thank you! How do you do your spaghetti bake? I would normally do a few different salads, bread, sausage rolls etc but in this weather I think baked carbs and cheese is the way to go! And then I can serve things from the dishes they are baked in and everything will stay hot. I don’t like it when food that’s supposed to be hot actually isn’t by the time you’re eating it because it took so long to dish up. Which reminds me I have some folding fabric plate warmers in a high cupboard I got for Christmas one year, I must dig them out!
I think I’m going to do cauliflower cheese with butter beans, these potatoes which sound like yours except no chilli, they shouldn’t need as much space in the oven as normal roasties, and some greens and peas. Plus the ham, and some veggies sausages, normal sausages and some pasta for the kids just in case. (Haha if my sister is on here and turns up tomorrow to this exact menu she’ll know this is definitely me!) I need to get out of bed and go to Sainsbury’s so I can get most of it done today.
@BeNavyCrab I’m sorry about your health struggles, that sounds really hard. I know what you mean about wanting to hide things, but I find hiding it then becomes a barrier to having a real honest friendships and it’s better to be as open about it as you can cope with. I’m lucky that I don’t have any pain but I struggle to walk very far sometimes and with needing the loo urgently, and I used to find it embarrassing and not want anyone to know and feel sorry for me, but I’m more accepting of it now, plus it’s getting more obvious, and things are much more comfortable with friends when I’m honest about what I can and can’t do. A big step mentally will be getting a folding stick I can keep in a bag and use when my leg is bad but I think it’s probably time. My condition is progressive so I just have to get my head around it really.
i hope you are all staying warm and cosy. And lol @Imbluedalale at the kilo of coffee for a person who doesn’t drink coffee - visitors & workmen will still be getting through that jar that in 20 years time, and wondering why it tastes a bit weird!