Sunday, August 25, 2013

August 18-24, 2013

Sunday:  Calzones & Broccoli Salad

·          We had a busy day, and CostCo came to the rescue for dinner!


Monday:  Spinach Artichoke Lasagna, Roasted Zucchini & Sweet Potatoes, & Whole Wheat Bread

·          On this evening I decided to pull a lasagna out of the freezer that I made a little while back.  It is one of my favorites.  I made the lasagna as usual, but added spinach and artichokes to the ricotta cheese mixture.  It’s a great addition to the lasagna, and it adds a few more vegetables to the meal.


Tuesday:  Breakfast for Dinner:  Waffles, Bacon, Eggs & Fruit

·          Ranger had again been asking for breakfast for dinner, so I obliged.  J


Wednesday:  Eat Out

·          Chad unexpectedly was not home for dinner, so the kids and I ran some errands and grabbed dinner out.


Thursday:  Chicken Parmesan Meatballs with Kale Salad & Bread



·          This recipe is delicious!  Ranger had been asking for meatballs, and I saw this one and knew we would enjoy it.  It’s an easy recipe, and I made them ahead of time, which made it even easier!  I plan to make these again, and double the recipe to add some to the freezer.  Yum!  (http://www.dinneralovestory.com/)

Kale Salad
·          I washed and chopped kale into bite-size pieces.  I added chopped up pecans, freshly-grated parmesan, & a dressing made of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, & fresh cracked pepper. 


Friday & Saturday:   Family Time


·          We were with family this weekend as Chad’s sister, Megan, & her sweet baby, Emily, were in town!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

August 11-17, 2013

Sunday:  Pizza with Church Small Group

·          We were invited to a small group game night, and as a bonus, had a pizza dinner!


Monday:  Slow Cooker Brown Sugar & Garlic Chicken with Rice & Roasted Broccoli

·          I took the boys to Hawaiian Falls with my mom earlier in the day, so I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t be completely energized to cook dinner.  Slow cooking to the rescue!  I put this together and had it in the fridge.  Then, my sister-in-law (who was watching Payton for me), took it out and turned on the crock pot for me while we were gone.  Ta-da!  Dinner is (almost) ready!  This recipe is good, although it is pretty sweet.  The kids loved it, and Chad & I simply added some spice to ours to give it a kick.  There was quite of bit of this leftover, which worked well for my lunches during the week.  (http://kim-thislittlelifeofmine.blogspot.com/)


Tuesday:  Dinner with Another Family

·          A family from the church we’ve been visiting invited us over for dinner, and we happily accepted!


Wednesday:  Spaghetti, Diced & Roasted Zucchini & Sweet Potatoes, & Warm, Whole-Wheat Bread

·          In true 12-year-old form, I actually had braces put on this morning.  I’m definitely not loving them, but I know I will be glad when it’s all said and done.  This being the case, I needed something easy to eat that the family would also enjoy.  You can’t go wrong with spaghetti!  Adding in some small, diced vegetables that I roasted up rounded out the meal nicely.


Thursday:  Sprouts’ Dinner:  Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Twice Baked Potatoes, & Sauteed Spinach with Blue Cheese

·         My mouth has been pretty sore, so I truly didn’t feel much like preparing a meal.  So, it was off to Sprouts for some help.  J  I picked up their chicken and potatoes, as well as some frozen spinach that I prepared and flavored with butter & blue cheese.  (The boys even ate their spinach…but it took about 45 minutes.)

I didn’t really mean for us to consume quite that much cheese in one meal, but it looked good, and most-importantly, easy for me to eat.  Here’s hoping that this time next week I am able to eat a bit more normally.  J  On nights like these, I’m grateful to the grocery stores in our area that provide some tasty options for a quick dinner at home.


Friday:  Sliders with Oven-Baked French Fries

·          This meal has been so common this summer that I’m sure those of you looking for new meal ideas are pretty bored with it.  It just goes over so well with everyone in the family, we’ve had it in the rotation A LOT.  We had such nice, unseasonably cool weather this weekend that it seemed a shame not to fire up the grill and enjoy our dinner outside!  Still reeling from the braces, I ate my slider with a fork.  Lame…but still delish!


Saturday:  Grilled Orange-Soy Chicken, Roasted Green Beans & Carrots, & Warm, Whole Wheat Bread

Grilled Orange-Soy Chicken

·          I’m not kidding when I say that our weather this weekend was RIDICULOUS.  It was so much cooler than the typical August weekend here in Texas that we pretty much lived outside.  I tossed chicken in a ziplock bag and added, orange juice, soy sauce, minced garlic, pepper, & olive oil and let it sit in the fridge for about 3 hours.  Then, it was easy for Chad to grab and grill when we were ready for dinner.  I roasted up some green beans and thin-sliced carrots at 425 for about 20-25 minutes.  All 5 of us enjoyed a healthy and yummy dinner on the back porch!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

August 4-10, 2013

Sunday:  Papa Murphy’s Pizza Night!  J


Monday:  Lemon Chicken Romano with Rice & Roasted Asparagus


·          I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it looked delicious.  We all really enjoyed it!  All the kids ate this chicken without hesitation or negotiation, which pretty much automatically makes it a repeat recipe in my house.  We served ours with rice and roasted asparagus for a tasty and complete meal.  (Recipe courtesy of http://www.cookingclassy.com/)


Tuesday:  Cheeseburger Quesadillas & Spinach Salad

Cheeseburger Quesadillas

·          We had some ground beef and tortillas that needed to be used, so we had cheeseburger quesadillas for dinner.  I added a spinach salad topped with apples, feta, and dried cranberries with a fresh raspberry balsamic dressing for a complete meal.


Wednesday:  Chicken Gloria with Rice, Roasted Broccoli, & Carrots

·          I really wanted to love this recipe.  It sounds so delicious, and the pictures made it look ridiculously good.  But, I didn’t have sherry wine, so I used red cooking wine instead.  I think it added a bit of the wrong flavor to the mushrooms.  Nevertheless, we all ate it, but we didn’t love it.  I’ll try it again sometime and use a better wine.  (Recipe courtesy of http://www.cookingwithsugar.com/)


Thursday:  Mooyah!

·          My mom and I took the boys to Jump Zone! to play after naps, so we decided that Mooyah would be the perfect ending to our fun afternoon.


Friday:  Breakfast!  Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with Sliced Strawberries, Scrambled Eggs, & Bacon

·          Breakfast for dinner is a major fave around here, and it had been a while, so we all pretty much stuffed ourselves.  Delish!


Saturday:  Hot Dogs, Chips, & Fruit


·          Some friends came over to play and have a movie night!

Monday, August 5, 2013

July 28 - August 3, 2013

Sunday:  Dinner with my Mom  J


Monday:  Pioneer Woman’s Sour Cream Noodle Bake, Spinach Salad, & Bread

·          I’m a fan of almost anything from Pioneer Woman, and this recipe is so simple, it was easy to tell that we would enjoy it.  It’s really similar to another pasta dish recipe that my friend, Jamie, makes.  The egg noodles change this one up a bit.  I made it earlier in the afternoon and threw it in the oven before dinner.  Yum!


Tuesday:  Leftover Pioneer Woman Noodle Bake, Roasted Zucchini & Sweet Potatoes, & Bread

·          The noodle bake made more than enough for us, so we had it again the next night with some delicious roasted veggies and more warm, whole wheat bread. 


Wednesday:  Girls Dinner!

·          On very rare occasions, I actually go out and eat with my girlfriends!  The boys were staying the night with their Grammy & DadDad, so Chad & Payton took care of their own dinner.


Thursday:  Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos with Sliced Avocado & Chips

·          I knew that this day was going to be a little busy, and that we would want a hearty and delicious dinner.  The crock pot is perfect for these kinds of days!  I had pinned this recipe on Pinterest several weeks ago, and I am SO HAPPY I did.  These shredded beef tacos are ridiculously good.  Searing the spices on the roast before placing it in the slow cooker ensures that all the spices stay on the meat.  They may have been a little too spicy for the boys, but it wasn’t a problem as they were still with Chad’s parents for the night. 

I served ours with fresh tortillas I bought from Taco Cabana (I love their tortillas!), cheese, sour cream & tomatoes.  I sliced up avocados and we just ate them plain.  With chips & salsa, we had a perfect little feast!

This beef made delicious leftovers as well.  We had them for lunch the next day, and even as quesadillas a few days later.  Yummo!  (Thanks http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/)


Friday:  A friend brought dinner!

·          A friend of ours brought over dinner knowing that our weekend was going to be crazy and Chad wasn’t feeling very well.  We are so blessed by our friendships here.  J


Saturday:  Honey Siracha Chicken with Roasted Green Beans & Macaroni-n-Cheese


·          Chad really likes Siracha sauce, so I thought I would give this recipe a try.  After making it, we decided that I should add more siracha the next time, as we really couldn’t taste it in the marinade.  I also baked ours because Chad wasn’t feeling well, and the grill is definitely his domain…I don’t even know how to turn the thing on.  Still, we enjoyed it, as did the boys, so it’s a keeper!  (http://www.zagleft.com/)