July 21-27.2013

Sunday:  BBQ Turkey Meatloaf, Roasted Green Beans, & Warm Sourdough Bread

Honey BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

·          This is one of my favorite meatloaf recipes.  It’s been a while since we had it, so we enjoyed it quite a bit!  I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, and I substituted oatmeal for bread crumbs.  Delish!  This is also such a great recipe to double and freeze a loaf for a night when you just want to pull something out of the freezer.

Monday:  Chicken Strips, Fruit, & Macaroni & Cheese

·          I think you can tell by this menu that Chad was gone for the evening, so I made something the kids would definitely enjoy.  J

Tuesday:  Sautéed Spinach & Cheese Ravioli

·          Chad was gone again, and the boys were staying the night with their cousins.  So, it was just the girls!  Payton is pretty easy to feed, and I wanted something substantial.  I buy the large bags of frozen spinach and cheese ravioli from CostCo, and they are GREAT!  You can make them in a few different ways.  I love sautéing them in a small amount of butter in a hot skillet.  They turn brown and crispy on the outside, and warm and gooey on the inside!  I sprinkle it with a little of the cheese that comes with it, and it’s a great little meal when I’m just needing something quick for myself.

Wednesday:  Linguini with Mild Italian Sausage & Pasta Sauce and Roasted Green Beans (For the Parents) / Crescent Pizza Rolls (For the Kids)

·          I wasn’t sure if Chad would be home for dinner or not, so when I found out he would be, I thawed some mild Italian sausage from the freezer, cooked it up, and added it to some pasta sauce.  I combined the sauce with some linguini noodles, which was a wonderfully delicious meal for Chad and me.  I roasted green beans again because we had some in the fridge that needed to be eaten before they went bad. 

Because I thought the sausage might be a little spicy for the boys (it wouldn’t have been, by the way), I made them some quick Crescent Pizza Rolls that I saw on Pinterest and have done many times.  Roll out your triangles, add 3-4 pepperonis, then add mozzarella cheese.  You can use half of a cheese stick or shredded cheese, whichever you have on hand.  I like to melt a little butter and mix in a little garlic salt to brush over the top of the crescent rolls before I bake them.  Yum!

Thursday:  Grilled “Kickin’ Chicken” with Roasted Veggie Hash & Bread

Grilled “Kickin’ Chicken”

·          Chad and I had this a few weeks ago, and we have been obsessed with Frank’s Red Hot ever since.  Seriously, we are putting it on everything!  This recipe is easy and delicious.  It’s not too hot, and the boys enjoyed it with us this time. (http://www.sweetlittlebluebird.com/)

Roasted Veggie Hash

·          Hash is a little bit of a strange word, but it’s what we decided was best to call this way of cooking vegetables.  I diced our sweet potatoes and zucchini really small – about a half inch square.  Then, I tossed them with a little olive oil and Season All.  I roasted them at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, tossing everything around halfway through.  This is a great way to roast veggies quickly, as well as a great way to throw a few different vegetables together when you don’t have enough of one particular type.  We love it!

Friday:  Crispy Parmesan Tilapia with Roasted Broccoli & Carrots

Crispy Parmesan Tilapia

·          We had this tilapia a month ago for my mom’s birthday.  We really enjoyed it then, so I was excited to make it again.  I actually think it was better this time, and I’m wondering if it was because I used fresh tilapia, rather than frozen that I thawed.  Either way, we really like this recipe!  The boys love it too, which is always a plus.  The breading is so crunchy, and squeezing fresh lemon juice over the top right before eating it is definitely the way to go!  I’ll be perusing http://www.spendwithpennies.com/ for more tasty recipes in the future.  We served ours with roasted broccoli and carrots – 2 vegetables that usually don’t require too much coaxing for the boys to eat.  J

Saturday:  Sliders with Oven Baked French Fries and Fruit

·          We are loving sliders this summer!  Cheeseburgers are such a hit at our house…especially with Ranger.  Chad & I love making sliders because we can make burgers several different ways.  On this evening, we topped ours with creamy Havarti cheese, avocados, tomatoes, & fresh basil.  These little burgers were so, so, so good!!!  Adding baked French fries makes the kids happy too.

July 14-20, 2013

Sunday:  Dinner with Family

·          My grandparents and aunt and uncle were in town for the night, so we took dinner and ate at my mom’s house.  Babe’s Chicken…delish!

Monday:  Pizza Night

·          Chad was gone, and my niece Milla was staying with us…plus we had another friend over that day too!  So, pizza night was a must!

Tuesday:  Scrambled Eggs, Waffles, & Strawberries

·          Another kid-friendly dinner….all 4 kids loved it!

Wednesday:  Chicken & Veggie Tacos with Rice

Chicken & Veggie Tacos

Ground Chicken or Turkey  (I used 2 pounds.)

Finely chopped/diced veggies of your choice (I used 1 zucchini, 3 big carrots, & 2-3 big handfuls of spinach.)

Diced Tomatoes (I had fresh tomatoes I needed to use…most of the time I use Rotel)

Taco Seasoning

Olive Oil

Minced Garlic

Cook the chicken with olive oil & minced garlic until no longer pink.  Add your finely diced veggies, tomatoes, & taco seasoning.  Mix it all together until everything is heated through.  Serve with tortillas or chips of your choice.  We used corn tortillas and topped with some shredded cheese.  I made quesadillas for the boys.

Thursday:  Spinach Linguine with Chicken & Veggie Pasta Sauce & Garlic Bread

·          I used the chicken from the night before and added it to pasta sauce.  I tossed it together with spinach linguine, and we had a quick, delicious, & healthy meal!  Never fear though…I lost some healthy points by making some buttery garlic toast.  J

Friday:  Grilled Steak & Chicken, Roasted Broccoli & Thin Sliced, Ranch Potatoes, & Warm Sourdough Bread

·          Chad’s parents were over that day and stayed for dinner.  Chad did the grilling, and I worked on the veggies inside.  I love making thin-sliced potatoes because they remind me of Daddy. 

Peel the potatoes and slice them as thin as you can.  Overlap them in a single layer on a sprayed baking sheet or Pyrex dish.  Place small pats of butter over the potatoes and add salt & pepper.  This time, I also added dry Ranch dressing powder.  I roasted it in the oven with the broccoli at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Saturday:  Grilled Steak & Chicken Quesadillas

·          We had leftover steak & chicken from the night before, which made delicious quesadillas!  We had been to the pool with friends, so this was the perfect, quick dinner that we all enjoyed.  Adding some tasty grapes to the plate rounded out our meal nicely.

July 7-13, 2013

Sunday:  Tuna Patties, Roasted Parmesan Green Beans, & Whole Wheat Rolls

Clean Eating Tuna Patties

·         Growing up, my mom made salmon patties, and I LOVED them!  I haven’t had them in years!  I saw this recipe on Pinterest for tuna patties, and I thought I would give it a try.  On this Sunday evening, I needed a quick dinner, and this seemed like a great time to try these.  I was skeptical at first…those first smells of tuna can be a bit overwhelming.  (Chad – in the next room with the kids – was also a bit suspicious.  J ) 

But, these actually turned out quite tasty!  I didn’t have time to chop any onion, which I didn’t miss at all.  I forgot to add the lemon juice when I mixed them up, so I added it to them as they cooked.  I also added a few crackers because the mixture seemed a bit wet to me.  Still, after eating them, we decided we would definitely have them again sometime.  (http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/)

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

·          Lay green beans in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Toss with olive oil (not too much!), salt, & pepper.  Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan.  Roast at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your green beans.  We like ours to be just turning brown along the edges!

Monday:  Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches with Zucchini Chips

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

·          We really enjoyed these!!  This recipe is ridiculously easy, and it’s also delicious!  Next time, I will cut back on the pepper a bit.  I served ours on whole wheat hoagie rolls with butter lettuce.  Yum!  As a bonus, the leftovers made a wonderful chicken salad that I was able to have for lunch for a few days.  I just added pecans and grapes.  I plan to make this chicken again this week for the sole purpose of having chicken salad.  (http://rachelschultz.com/)

Zucchini Chips

·          I haven’t made zucchini chips in a while, but now that zucchini is in season and so delicious, I will be working them into our menu often!  The boys love them, and I love any recipe that enables my boys to happily eat their vegetables.  (http://www.nutritionistinthekitch.com/)

Tuesday:  Leftovers

·          Chad was gone, and I had more than enough food from the night before!  Yay leftovers!

Wednesday:  Eat Out

·          Chad was gone again, so we ate out.

Thursday:  Homemade Pizzas

·          Now that I’ve discovered how deliciously easy Pioneer Woman’s pizza crust is, I’m wanting pizza all the time!  I made the always-reliable pepperoni & cheese for the boys.  For us, I made one very similar to the Pioneer Woman’s with eggplant, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, rotisserie chicken, pesto, & fresh mozzarella.  It was wonderful….even the next day when we had it for lunch!

Friday & Saturday:  Smith Family Reunion

June 30 - July 6, 2013

No menu this week...we were busy celebrating our anniversary (without the kids!) and Independence Day!  See you next week!

June 23-29, 2013

Sunday:  Food from Market Street

·          I’m a big fan of some of the prepared meals from Market Street here in Frisco.  They are nice to have on evenings when I don’t plan to cook.  J

Monday:  Chad gone – we ate with friends

Tuesday:  Chad gone – We had chicken tenders, Annie’s macaroni & cheese, & roasted green beans

Wednesday:  Clean Eating Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken Verde with Brown Rice & Roasted Green Beans

Clean Eating Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken Verde

·          Chad actually didn’t make it home in time to eat on this evening, but I already had this in the crockpot.  It’s ridiculously easy.  I had it, but decided it was a little too spicy for the kids, so I made them turkey dogs to go with their rice and green beans.  I enjoyed it though, and I was happy that there was more than enough for a few nights.  I looked at this website quite a bit, and I plan to make even more of her recipes!  (http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/)

Thursday:  Tacos with Pineapple Chicken Verde, Green Salad & Rice

·          We had the leftover chicken from last night, but this time we had it in tacos.  We added cheese & sour cream and served it with a green salad and rice.  We actually had friends over, and there was enough for everyone.  Yay for economical cooking!  Plus, as with almost any crockpot recipe, it actually tasted better on the 2^nd day.  J

Friday:  Homemade Pizzas

·          Chad’s parents were over, so pizza seemed like a great dinner for everyone.  After last week’s pizza made with store-bought crust, I decided to try my hand at homemade crust this week.  A friend mentioned Pioneer Woman’s pizza crust, and I think you can almost never go wrong with a Pioneer Woman recipe.  It also seemed much simpler than other dough recipes!  It was very simple, and I took her advice and made it a few days in advance.  We made 2 pizzas:  the first was pepperoni & cheese (the boys’ favorite!), and the second was a variation of the Pioneer Woman’s pizza.  I used zucchini, mushrooms, & tomatoes with pesto sauce.  I followed her directions.

Both pizzas were great!  I was so much happier with the homemade pizza dough than any I’ve ever purchased at the store.  I may experiment with other dough recipes now that I’ve done one. 

Saturday:  Lake with Friends!