Well, hello! My name is Sophie, I am a wife, a first time mum to a gorgeous 20 week old baby girl, and an Insurance Broker who runs her own Wedding Supplies Import/Retail Business... and I LOVE to cook!
Unfortunately, I am due to go back to work (the Insurance one...) in just 3 weeks time, so, I thought it appropriate to attempt a 60 Minute Meal Challenge. I thought of this while lying in bed last night not being able to sleep. So many of the meals I normally cook take way too long, and seeing as I'm going to be working as well as trying to be a mum, I need fuss free meals that are appealing and tasty (and preferably budget conscious also).
I am quite fortunate, in that my husband works at the Fruit & Vegetable markets so he tends to bring home a lot of fresh produce for me to use - and this cuts down our weekly grocery bill quite considerably. Even so, I will try to do recipes that are just as budget conscious for you - if there are any of you out there reading this... :)
Anyway, tonight is a bit of a cheat... I got a lovely piece of marinated, boneless pork from the supermarket yesterday - it is due to expire today and was marked down considerably, so I just couldn't resist. As such, there will be no 60 Minute Meal tonight - I'll start that tomorrow :) Today is just a bit of an introduction to me and my plan.
So, why have I chosen 60 Minute Meals instead of, say, 30 Minute Meals? Well, I have tried to do Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals, and they tend to take me between 45-60 minutes anyway. I don't have the equipment that he has, and I certainly don't have the culinary skills - especially the knife skills. So, I'm being more realistic and choosing 60 Minutes, besides, it gives me a much broader scope of meals than just 30 minutes anyway!
My initial challenge I have set myself is for the 3 weeks until I return to work. But this is more to set myself up for when I DO return, so I'm sure you'll find that it will continue well beyond 3 weeks.
I hope I can help out even one busy mum or dad by giving you some gorgeous quick and easy recipes! Feel free to leave comments and suggestions - I'm always open to constructive criticism! :)
Bon Apetit!
