Weekly Meal Planning Dec 25-31

Merry Christmas! Wishing you all a happy, healthy 2017 with peaceful mealtimes.

I never posted a meal plan last week which ended up being pretty apropos to the week we had! There were some last minute throw together meals (large snacks?) and one drive-through evening between activities and Christmas pageant practice. Somehow, the meal planning just got away from me.

This week, we are back on track. We had wonderful Christmas Eve and Day dinners at my mom's and FIL's respectively. And we're lucky to have been sent home with leftovers from both dinners. I also got the turkey carcass and broth has been made and is in jars awaiting the gumbo that will be made later this week!

Sunday: Christmas dinner
Monday: leftover turkey, rice, corn casserole, maple carrots, green salad
Tuesday: leftover turkey, rice, roasted lemon cauliflower, green salad
Wednesday: tomato soup, grilled cheese, leftover roasted cauliflower
Thursday: turkey gumbo
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: at a New Year's Eve party

Happy New Year!

Weekly Meal Planning for Dec 11 - Dec 17

Tis the season for hectic holiday events and schedules! So far, we have had a very fun season. We are enjoying being together, celebrating the season with others, and continuing traditions like finding the "perfect" tree (despite not being 100% certain that this year's tree will remain upright for the next four weeks). This is where the slow cooker (or pressure cooker) comes in. I am thankful to have a gadget that can cook food for me while I'm enjoying life. I know it's important to have healthy meals but I try to find a balance between spending hours in the kitchen and being in the moment with my loved ones. It's not always easy! This week, the slow cooker will be on overdrive. :)

Sunday: leftover beef bourguignon 
Monday: minestrone soup
Tuesday: beef tacos
Wednesday: chicken curry with coconut milk, rice and peas
Thursday: leftover soup and grilled cheese
Friday: leftover curry
Saturday: at a Christmas party

Weekly Meal Planning for Dec 4 - Dec 10

Tis the week of trying new recipes! I had earmarked a few recipes from the new 100 Days of Real Food Fast and Fabulous Cookbook to try this week. First up is the salmon recipe. We had been good about having salmon regularly and especially on Mondays, but that has fallen by the wayside recently! So this week, I set out to find some wild caught coho at Whole Foods (because I was too late to add some to our Nature's Garden order). They had some that I quickly defrosted and seared. It was a hit! Next up is chicken chili, and then lastly, we will try a beef bourguignon. 

Sunday: "clean out the freezer" meal
Monday: pan seared simple salmon with red wine, roasted baby sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and asparagus
Tuesday: white chicken chili
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: weeknight beef bourguignon, green salad
Friday: at a christmas party 
Saturday: leftovers

What's on your menu this week? 

Weekly Meal Planning for Nov 27 - Dec 3

Now that Thanksgiving (and all the gluttony it brought with it!) is behind us, and the Advent season has begun, I want to get back to meal planning! We ate out (or at someone's house) for several days in a row last week and I'm feeling the effects greatly. Time to get back on track! 

Sunday: roast at my father-in-law's house
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: lentil soup
Wednesday: arancini casserole
Thursday: make your own omelets
Friday: taco pot pie
Saturday: leftovers

What is on your menu this "after thanksgiving" week?

Thanksgiving 2016 Planning

We don't host Thanksgiving at our house, so it is not a stressful planning period for us, however we do make some dishes for the two family thanksgiving meals that we do attend on Thursday. This year, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law asked that each family bring dishes that have stories to go with them (that can be told in mixed company). My husband has a (non-dinner-time-appropriate) story about brussels sprouts so that is our first contribution. 

We will also make one of his favorite desserts, chocolate bourbon pecan pie. When we got married, his mom gave me that recipe and since then, I have made it instead of her. 

We have yet to decide which brussels sprout dish we will make but these two have been popular in past years: 
- Cauliflower and brussel sprout gratin
- Brussels sprouts with pancetta

This Ina Garten one sounds delicious so it may come into contention as well!

We will also make corn pudding for the meal at my mom's house. This one has been our go-to recipe for the past few years. 

What are your Thanksgiving plans this year?

Weekly Meal Planning for Nov 6-12

Temperatures have dropped and our lows are now in the 40s in the evenings and mornings. Fall is here for sure, let's just hope it lasts and doesn't turn into winter too quickly. I got two new cookbooks - Skinnytaste's Fast and Slow and 100 Days of Real Food Fast and Fabulous (notice a theme?) - and we have decided to make two cool-weatheresque recipes from those, along with some other heartier recipes for the week. 

Sunday: pot roast, baby sweet potatoes, green salad with cucumbers 
{Meatless} Monday: broccoli cheese soup 
Tuesday: slow cooker chicken tortilla soup from Fast and Fabulous 
Wednesday: slow cooker beef ragu with pappardelle from Fast and Slow 
Thursday: creamy pumpkin pasta
Friday: leftover pasta or soup
Saturday: leftover beef ragu

Recipe: Chicken and Mushroom Soup

It's pretty much soup weather (after 6pm) and I have been looking for a good chicken and mushroom soup for the past couple of years. This one was so easy to make and ended up being delicious. It was hearty but not overly hearty, and not too "soupy" either. 

Chicken and Mushroom Soup
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
6oz mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp flour (optional to thicken it a bit)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
s&p to taste
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
6 springs thyme
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped1/2 cup whole milk or cream (optional)

Heat butter over medium heat. Add veggies and saute until crisp tender. Optional: add flour to pot, stir for a couple of minutes. Pour broth, bring to boil, add rice, chicken, and spices, lower to simmer and cook until rice is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Mix in milk or cream if you want it creamy.

Serve with crusty bread and/or a green salad.

Elderberry Syrup

We generally buy elderberry syrup and use it as extra immune support during cold and flu season. This year, I am attempting to make it as it seems relatively simple. I'm combining two recipes to make my syrup - from a Wellness Mama blog post and from a guide called Herbal Nurturing. 

There is also an Atlanta area mom who makes and sells hers, if you want *homemade* but you don't want to make it yourself. 

https://www.facebook.com/Be-Welderberry-1523441417972037/

Elderberry syrup use is one of the alternative medicine strategies that has been shown in numerous studies to be effective. I'm taking these quotes and links off of a Facebook page of a friend of mine, as we both share the value of science and alternative therapies. 

"Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza. " https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15080016

"In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, Sambucol reduced the duration of flu symptoms to 3-4 days." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11399518

"For the first time, it was shown that a standardized elderberry liquid extract possesses antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive bacteria of Streptococcus pyogenes and group C and G Streptococci, and the Gram-negative bacterium Branhamella catarrhalis in liquid cultures. The liquid extract also displays an inhibitory effect on the propagation of human pathogenic influenza viruses."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056848/

"These data suggest a significant reduction of cold duration and severity in air travelers." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848651/

What are your go-to strategies for immune support during this time of year? Have you tried elderberry syrup? 

Weekly Meal Planning for Oct 30-Nov 5

Happy Halloween! We have a nice little (actually, BIG) pile of candy to go through tomorrow but after a very active field day at school and trick-or-treating for two hours, my two were ready for bed. And right before I fall into bed, I wanted to finish up the meal planning post for this week. We got a lot of great goodies (including salmon!) in our box today. Between those, two new cookbooks, and a new online recipe to try, my meal planning may be a little more adventurous over the next few weeks! 

Sunday: chili at our neighborhood halloween party 
Monday: salmon, green salad, roasted broccolini, baby potatoes, and carrots
Tuesday: roast chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower, kale citrus salad
Wednesday: at a soccer end-of-season party
Thursday: chicken and mushroom soup (modified from this recipe)
Friday: leftover soup
Saturday: at a friend's house

I tried to get as many nutrients in my kids as possible today because between field day and halloween (read: lots of junk and sugar highs), I needed to balance them out! Their lunches tomorrow will also be completely junk-free. I know they had a great day so this is where I let go a little and tell myself that they will forget about the candy soon. 

Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere

I'm a sucker for pumpkin recipes this time of year. We have done the usuals, muffins/pancakes, even smoothies and pumpkin spice creamer. This year, we are expanding and adding even more pumpkin recipes to our repertoire. 

We made these pumpkin breakfast cookies and they are a great option for something to grab on the go in the mornings. They were very easy to make, too! 

Right before I left on my solo trip, I made a batch of pumpkin overnight oats for the kids to have an easy breakfast option while I was gone. I used ingredients I had on hand but it was similar to this recipe.

Since it is now officially soup season, I have put this on my soup recipe rotation and am anxious to try it. My kids will get a kick out of the grilled cheese croutons. 

And lastly, I mentioned this in the weekly meals post, but I have been looking forward to trying this pumpkin alfredo since I saw the IG post a few weeks ago. It just looks perfect and I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Weekly Meal Planning for Oct 24-Oct 30

Fall weather has arrived! This gives us the green light for comforting, warm meals like casseroles, soups, chili, and roasts. We have had a crazy October so far but this week, we are back to reality. Back-to-back trips are not easy to recover from but homemade dinners help. :) 

Sunday: spinach ravioli with peas (after driving back from Florida all day)
Monday: spaghetti squash and turkey bolognese 
Tuesday: spinach, tomatoes and eggs
Wednesday: Cuban picadillo with beans in pita pockets, lemon roasted cauliflower
Thursday: leftover picadillo over quinoa, boiled eggs and potatoes, spinach salad with beets, pomegranate seeds, and orange wedges
Friday: pumpkin alfredo with chicken sausage and spinach
Saturday: at a birthday party
Sunday: chili at a halloween party

I have had my eye on that pumpkin alfredo recipe for a few weeks now and can't wait to try it. I'm a big fan of creamy pastas (but really, who isn't?!) and I'm anxious to see how the pumpkin and sage amp up the depth of the flavor there! If I make it to the farmers market, I'll get some of their fresh pasta because it is so good, otherwise, I'll fall back on my store-bought one.

Now that it feels like fall, it's time to enjoy the hearty flavors in the meals!

Weekly Meal Planning for Oct 2-Oct 8

I've been having technical difficulties this week! I have tried to post this meal plan and that kale recipe but wasn't able to for some reason. Anyway, now that it seems to be working, let's try again.

Sunday: quick Chipotle after soccer
Monday: zoodles with pesto, chicken drumsticks, kale and citrus salad, sweet potato fries
Tuesday: greek tacos 
Wednesday: pesto spinach ravioli 
Thursday: leftovers 
Friday: at a football game
Saturday: at our high school reunion

Enjoy your week!

Recipe: Kale & Citrus Salad

This was a big hit for my family. My five year old even asked me to make more for her lunch tomorrow. I omitted the jalapeño and the nuts but it was still flavorful without being too citrusy and earthy without being to kale-y. It was a perfect side but can be part of a main dish too. This would be amazing topped with broiled fish, too!

Perfect for Fall Kale & Citrus Salad
1 bunch kale, washed, trimmed, and sliced roughly
Juice of 1 orange
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp evoo
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped finely (optional)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 large orange or 2 tangelos, peeled and diced
Feta, blue cheese or goat cheese to top
Toasted nuts (optional)

Mix orange juice through jalapeño in a jar. Cover and shake vigorously. Add yogurt and shake until well combined. Pour onto kale and mix well. Top with orange pieces and feta, toss lightly. Top with nuts if preferred.

Weekly Meal Planning for Sept 25-Oct 1

You know it's gonna be a rough week when you plan the meal for Sunday to be a quick weeknight meal because you have to rush! Ah well. Some weeks are just like that. We are also doing several meatless meals to help cut down on our grocery budget a little bit. It seems to have gotten out of control! 

Sunday: spinach and mushroom linguine 

Monday: crustless broccoli cheese quiche and pumpkin bread

Tuesday: black bean chili nachos (a la one of our favorites, The Grit restaurant in Athens)

Wednesday: butternut squash soup and  Parmesan crisps 

Thursday: roasted Rosemary lemon chicken, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots 

Friday: leftover chicken and veggies, green salad 

Saturday: Cobb salad with shredded roast chicken 

Recipe: Chicken Curry

I gave my kids a choice for dinner last night - chicken curry or chicken pot pie, and I was shocked when they chose chicken curry. And I was even more pleasantly surprised when I realized how easy it was to make and how fast it came together. It ended up being a perfect, hearty meal for a gloomy, rainy Sunday evening. I doubled it since we had my mom over, and I wanted leftovers. My kids each said "I don't like this, I love it!" Here's what I did - barely modified from the original.

1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp curry powder
2 pinches (an 8-year old's) turmeric
12 chicken thighs, skinless, some boneless, trimmed and seasoned with s&p
chicken broth splash
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large sweet potato, diced (should've had two)
1 cup coconut milk
2 10oz bags of frozen sweet peas
chopped cilantro for garnish
basmati rice, cooked

Heat oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven. Add onions, stirring around for a minute. Add garlic, stirring around with onions until soft. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp curry powder, and 1 pinch turmeric. Remove onions and place into a bowl. 
Place 6 pieces of chicken and brown on both sides, remove and brown remaining chicken. Add remaining spices. Remove chicken, splash chicken broth to break up browned bits at the bottom of the pot. 
Put the chicken and onions back in. Add potatoes and coconut milk. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are soft. Add peas and stir until warmed through. Sprinkle half of cilantro (about a tsp). Heat through and serve over rice. Sprinkle cilantro on each serving. 

Weekly Meal Planning Sept 18-Sept 24

There is a crisp feeling in the air most mornings, the leaves have started showing hints of changing, and apples are showing up at my local farmers market! This can only mean one thing. FALL IS COMING. My favorite season officially begins this week. In honor of it, I will make a couple of new, heartier recipes to help us welcome the fall! 

Sunday: chicken curry with peas and potatoes
Monday: attending the Georgia Restaurant Association Chairman's Reception where my nephew will be recognized for being the winner from Georgia for the FLOTUS's Healthy Lunch Challenge!
Tuesday: vegetarian tamale pie
Wednesday: school spirit night
Thursday: leftover pie
Friday: farmers market veggie lasagna and a green salad
Saturday: out for our anniversary dinner

Recipe: Beef Stroganoff

I found this beef stroganoff recipe that we loved several years ago. I hadn’t made it in a while and decided to make it again. I modified it slightly, but it was still a big hit! 

Beef Stroganoff

4 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper

1.5 lbs sirloin strip steak, trimmed and sliced thinly

1 onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

4 oz mushrooms, sliced

½-1 cup beef broth (I poured a splash of red wine first then added beef broth)

1 Tbsp liquid aminos (in place of Worcestershire)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup sour cream

Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions to the same pan. Cook for a few minutes, and then add garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Cook until tender. Remove and place in a bowl.

Lightly season beef with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with flour. Heat a little more butter if necessary. Add beef and cook (in batches as to not overcrowd) in the heated pan. Once all the meat is cooked, add the vegetables back in. Add wine, broth, liquid aminos, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of salt & pepper. Cook until mixture thickens, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream, mix until smooth and creamy. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Weekly Meal Planning Sept 11-Sept 17

The weekends seem to be flying by now that school and activities are in full force. We enjoyed some family time and extended family time and lots of soccer! Thankfully, the weather was great - although still hot during the daytime hours. My youngest had a soccer game Sunday afternoon so we picked up another Zoes Kitchen Family Meal. The $10 off coupon I had expires tomorrow so I wanted to get another use out of it. :) This time, we actually have leftovers!

Sunday: Zoes Kitchen Family Meal - assorted skewers, roasted vegetables, pasta salad
Monday: leftovers + greek salad
Tuesday: dinner at my mom's house
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: beef stroganoff, spinach salad with strawberries and toasted almonds
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: at a school event

What does YOUR week's meal plan look like?

Weekly Meal Planning Sept 8-Sept 10

Whew! Long weekend away + a birthday girl who requested a specific restaurant meal equals A LOT of eating out. And lucky for us, there were plenty of leftovers for a full second dinner from said restaurant. Score! So I'm just now meal planning for this *week*.  

Thursday: lemon roasted chicken with carrots, green beans and potatoes
Friday: my nephew's winning recipe for the Kids' State Dinner contest hosted by FLOTUS Michele Obama
Saturday: leftovers

And that's a wrap! What did you have this week?

Recipe: Moroccan Chicken with Almonds, Apricots, and Cauliflower Couscous

Last week, I planned on making this Moroccan Chicken dish in the crockpot. Let's just say that I'm not always the best at reading through ALL the steps of a recipe (especially crockpot) ahead of time. And that morning, armed with all of the ingredients but with only enough time to dump everything in the crockpot and go (because that's what crockpot recipes should be, right?!), I realized there was a lot more cooking involved than just dumping and going. Oops. So, a seemingly "easy" crockpot recipe turned into an afternoon of cooking. And in all honesty, the cooking wasn't as complicated as I expected AND I personally think it tasted better than the crockpot version. Here is my conversion of the crockpot recipe above to a dutch oven recipe. :)

Moroccan Chicken in the Dutch Oven

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp avocado oil
1.5lbs bone-in chicken thighs, skins removed
salt and pepper to season chicken
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
6 dried apricots, chopped 
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and crushed
1 tsp cilantro, minced
1 tsp lemon zest
cauliflower rice (I bought the bag of organic frozen cauliflower rice from Trader Joe's)

Directions:
heat oil in the bottom of a dutch oven 
over medium high heat, brown chicken on both sides, 3-5 minutes per side, remove from pot once browned, decrease heat to medium
add onions and garlic to the pot, stirring around to release fragrance, add carrots and spices from ginger to pepper, stirring well for a few minutes
pour white wine and quickly deglaze pan, add the chicken broth, heat to bubbly and then simmer
add the apricots and chicken back in, let simmer for 30-45 minutes until reduced and chicken cooked through
serve with cauliflower rice, top with almonds, cilantro, and lemon zest

Weekly Meal Planning Aug 28-Sept 1

We have a short (by a half day) week and an upcoming long weekend! So I'm not planning anything for the weekend yet because who knows what adventures it will hold! Our kids have Tuesday off as well, which works out because it's my oldest's birthday. So we are going to take advantage and celebrate lots!

Our Tuesday and Wednesday after school are full of activities this week so we will be trying out a Zoe's Kitchen family meal thanks to a coupon I received from my sister. You get a choice of an entree plus two sides to feed 3-5 people. Oh and it's close to the girls' activities/school. No brainer, right? And then I'll cross fingers for leftovers. :)

Sunday: family dinner at my mom's - fennel salad, green salad, roasted chicken drumsticks with roasted veggies, red rice with a meat, tomato, and eggplant topping
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Zoe's Kitchen family meal
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: similar to this grilled summer salad but with hardboiled eggs instead of chicken

Weekly Meal Planning Aug 21-27

TGIF! Now that we have one full week of school under our belts (and some exhausted kiddos!), this upcoming week is the first full week of school PLUS activities. Here we go! Wednesdays are our "full" days. Thankfully the girls have early school dismissal that day, but they jump right in to their activities and go strong until 6:30! So I will try to make sure we always have leftovers or something easy to pack and take with us. One child will eat while the other has a class/practice and vice versa.

Sunday: birthday dinner for brother-in-law
Monday: crustless broccoli quiche
Tuesday: chicken enchilada casserole 
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: slow cooker Moroccan chicken with almonds, apricots, and cauliflower "couscous"
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: out with friends 

What's on your menu?

Vacation Eating

Vacation eating...always tricky. How do you handle meals on vacations? Do you take a break from cooking healthy foods and let yourself (and your kids) go wild? 

We went on a weeklong trip to the beach with my sister and her family. There was a total of nine of us. We decided each family would cook two meals and then we would eat out the remaining evenings. On the first night, we ordered pizza because there was no time to cook after we arrived. After that, we each cooked meals similar to how we would at home -- wholesome, fresh meals that included healthy options. Did we go out for ice cream more than we do at home? Of course! Did we have a cocktail (or two or three) poolside? Of course! We chose to indulge but also kept a relatively balanced week. And especially on vacation, balance is key! We didn't want to come back and have to completely undo the damage that we created on vacation by going wild on junk but also didn't want to be too strict about our eating (or our kids'). 

How do you vacation? 

Weekly Meal Planning Aug 14-20

The first few days of school went by fast! This is the first full week, so this will really get us back into a good routine. I'm trying some new recipes this week, and some of them are making me want fall weather to hurry up and get here! 

Sunday: Cuban picadillo, rice, steamed lemon broccoli
Monday: vegetarian lasagna from the farmers market
Tuesday: leftover lasagna
Wednesday: okra and tomato stew, rice
Thursday: balsamic chicken and veggies, greek salad
Friday: leftover okra and tomato stew
Saturday: at a birthday party

Do you have new recipes that you've tried out successfully recently? 

Weekly Meal Planning Aug 7-13

It's already here...back-to-school week! In all honesty, I'm not sure I'm ready for it. But here we go! At least it will get us back into a routine. I've tried to continue meal planning weekly during the summer but it is definitely easier during the school year! Here is what we have for this week. We are trying out a new recipe - the banh mi rice bowls. If you've never had banh mi, you are missing out! (If you're a local, get the banh mi from Lee's Bakery. It is so good.)

Sunday: grilled sausages, roasted broccoli, butter beans  
Monday: mac n cheese with peas, kale and peach salad
Tuesday: out for tacos (a night-before-first-day-of-school tradition)
Wednesday: banh mi rice bowls
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: make-your-own grilled pizzas
Saturday: at a school parent social

Little Hands Making Zoodles

Weekly Meal Planning July 31-Aug 6

Back to reality.... We were at the beach and got back Friday evening. Look for a vacation post coming soon! We had a very relaxing week but now we feel thrown to the wolves trying to get ready for school to start in T-10 days. Eek!

So to kick off the week, as it was a rainy and dreary afternoon, we decided to head out to a food market for an early dinner. It was delicious but now I need to buckle down and meal plan! I have my farm box coming tomorrow for the first time in weeks so I'm definitely going to be taking advantage of that. 

Sunday: out to Ponce City Market

Monday: Cobb salad 

Tuesday: beef fajita salad

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: super eggs 

Friday: zoodles and kale pesto

Saturday: out to dinner

What does your meal plan look like for the first week of August?

Weekly Meal Planning for July 17-23

We are enjoying lots of time with family this week! With a cousin visiting from New Zealand, we have spent most meals together, with *some* being home-cooked. :) 

Sunday: late lunch at a winery
Monday: kale and mushroom pasta
Tuesday: chicken saltimbocca spaghetti
Wednesday: out for Mexican
Thursday: dinner at my mom's
Friday: takeout
Saturday: not sure yet

It's the middle of summer and HOT. What are you cooking these days?

Weekly Meal Planning for July 10-16

Throwing together an easy meal plan this week. Things may change as we have a cousin visiting us for a week starting Friday, but we will just have to play it by ear and see! 

Sunday: meatball muffins, stovetop mac n cheese with peas, carrot chips

Monday: mezza platter - mana'eesh, hummus, cucumbers, bell peppers, olives, grilled haloumi cheese, watermelon 

Tuesday: chicken fajitas with spinach, grilled peppers and onions, guacamole

Wednesday: chicken and spinach enchiladas, grilled corn on the cob, guacamole

Thursday: pesto zoodles with salmon

Friday: takeout

Saturday: dinner with visiting family 

What's on your menu?

Blueberries

It's blueberry season here and we went to a small farm to pick our own again this year. My kids love doing it and we brought along some friends who have never been before. They loved it too! Now to come up with some blueberry recipes for the 10+ lbs we came home with..... Stay tuned!

Weekly Meal Planning for July 3 - 9

Another summer week, another week of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants meal planning. Meal planning has not been my BFF this summer. Or should I say *I* haven't been BFFs with meal planning. Or planned grocery shopping. Sigh. This week started out on a bad foot with us rushing back from a day at the lake with longtime friends just in time to open the freezer and hope for something easy to heat up. Then 4th of July was a blur and the day after the 4th came with its crankiness. And I woke up the day after and thought "we have no food".  Alas, a trip to the farmers market solved that!

Sunday: spinach ravioli and meatball muffins

Monday: at a 4th of July get together

Tuesday: Mexican spiced grilled sirloin, retried black beans, sautéed onions, guacamole and carrot chips

Wednesday: leftover ravioli and caprese salad  

Thursday: grilled pizzas: caprese and arugula/prosciutto  

Friday: out to eat

Saturday: spinach turkey burgers, corn on the cob, pickled green beans 

Red White & Blue

Breakfast: Yogurt (or cottage cheese for my oldest) with berries for the win this Fourth of July weekend! Have a safe Fourth!

Weekly Meal Planning for June 26 - July 2

How is it that summer break is already four weeks in?! It seems to be going by very quickly yet I feel very unproductive at the same time. I had all these grand ideas of projects to complete this summer. Ha! We seem to be living in eternal clutter and mess these days, despite my efforts to do light tidying up daily (and even getting my kids to help). 

We are starting our last week of swim team - and this week's a doozy with two meets and a banquet. So the meal planning will be less than stellar. ;) Plus is it H-O-T so we will be utilizing the grill instead of indoor cooking. I'm going to make another attempt at grilled pizza this week, something we used to have more often but haven't lately. This time, I will try an arugula, prosciutto, and fig (or peach, if I can't find figs) topping. Doesn't that just scream summer? I *may* enjoy a glass of prosecco with it on the deck so I can pretend I'm in Italy for a moment. And it looks like I am getting all the ingredients in the farm box to make this wonderful grilled salad (see link below) featured on Pink Parsley. I haven't made it yet this year but I remember loving it from years past!

Sunday: leftover burgers, corn, spinach salad
Monday: deli sandwiches at a swim meet, sides will include cut veggies, mango, and popcorn
Tuesday: above mentioned pizza similar to this recipe but grilled
Wednesday: out with swim team after meet
Thursday: swim team banquet 
Friday: grilled summer vegetable salad 
Saturday: out for my sister's birthday

What are you going to be enjoying this week?

Weekly Meal Planning for June 12-25

ETA: Somehow the post of this past week's meals never got published! So here are two weeks' planned meals.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thankfully, we had a family birthday dinner for my niece Sunday night because I was not ready to plan any meals for the week until Monday. My kids and I went to the farmers market and grabbed a bunch of things that we could throw together for meals. 

Sunday: beef stroganoff and green beans

Monday: raw veggies, prosciutto, Parmesan, Brie, apples and figs

Tuesday: breaded chicken, cherries, yellow pepper strips, chips and guacamole

Wednesday: hummus layer dip with pita chips, cucumbers, fruit by the pool 

Thursday: dinner at a friend's pool
Friday: grilled pork chop tacos with grilled red pepper strips, peach salsa, and avocados
Saturday: leftover pork tacos with the fixings
* Four of those dinners were enjoyed poolside....happy summer days!*

Sunday: fig and prosciutto pasta tossed with baby spinach
Monday: zoodles with kale pesto
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: burgers, corn, avocado, tomato salad over arugula
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: date night
Saturday: at a pool party

Summer Cocktails

As the days grow longer and the temperatures consistently stay in the 90s, what better to have on hand than a pitcher of a refreshing summery cocktail? You'll be the favorite neighbor when you show up at the pool with cocktails to share! I have a few favorites, and plan to experiment with even more this summer. 

First and foremost is a Pimm's Cup. This is a traditionally English sangria style drink that is ridiculously good and refreshing. Lucky for us on this side of the pond, we can find Pimm's No.1 liqueur at most liquor stores. Add some cucumber slices, orange slices, strawberries, lemonade, mint leaves, and a lot of ice, and voila! A Pimm's Cup is born. 

Next is a watermelon cocktail that just emerged one day when I had way too much watermelon on hand. I puréed some, and froze it in 1/2 cup trays. Then when you are ready to drink, pour 1pz run, a couple of mint leaves, one frozen 1/2 cup watermelon "block", and top with sparkling water or Sprite for some more sweetness. Refreshing and colorful!

Lastly is one I have yet to make. Rose wine is making a big splash everywhere right now, and what better way to drink rose in the summer than in slushie form? There is a restaurant near us that serves those slushies, and one of my favorite bloggers has recreated it. I'll just link to her recipe instead of reinventing the wheel! http://www.annies-eats.com/2016/05/13/rose-slushies/

When in a bind, a bottle of Vinho Verde or Prosecco also works well poolside. We discovered Vinho Verde a few summers ago and it is my go-to summer wine of choice. Another great thing? It's not expensive. 

Cheers!