Ideas for Monday

After our weekend extravaganza, we are preparing for a few really good days! The weigh in this morning wasn't quite as bad as we imagined.
I'm not sure about the menu plan for the week just yet, but we will be eating some home cooked chicken soup this lunch time using some of the leftover spit-roast chicken we picked up from the supermarket.
I simmered the chicken carcass along with some celery, garlic, leek, onion and carrot. This was cooked for around an hour and half with a few added herbs - we like to use bay leaf and thyme. All I need to do today is sieve everything, remove the fat then add fresh vegetables and cook until softened. I like to achieve a cleaner taste, so instead of adding flour to thicken, I'll just blend about half the mix, leaving some of the vegetables nice and chunky - then flake in the leftover chicken meat and heat thoroughly. I may add some cooked pearl barley. All I need to do before serving, is check the seasoning, bring back to the boil and simmer for a while.
We may be making some pasta later (or picking up a bag of fresh tagliatelle). We have some tomatoes to use up - and they will be the perfect base for a sauce. I'm thinking of adding a little chilli, chorizo and some grated parmesan.