July 27 - August 2, 2014

Sunday:  Small Group Potluck Dinner

Monday:  BBQ Chicken, Spinach, & Havarti Quesadillas with Roasted Broccoli and Carrots

·          We had chicken leftover from a few night before, so I wanted to use it to make another dinner.  Chad had a softball game at 6:30 that we were all going to, so I also needed a fast and easy meal.  Quesadillas fit the bill!  I added spinach and Havarti and also sprinkled a little garlic salt on the buttered tortillas before cooking them in the pan.  We all cleaned our plates!

Tuesday:  Dinner at Mom’s

Wednesday:  Swedish Meatballs with Roasted Broccoli, Carrots, and French Fries

Swedish Meatballs

·          These are Ranger’s all-time favorite meatballs!  They are quite easy to make, especially if you make the meatballs earlier in the day.  I made the full recipe of meatballs, but froze half of them after baking.  If you plan to serve all of the meatballs, you will need to double the gravy ingredients, as the recipe will only make enough for half of the meatballs.  This recipe originally came from E-meals.  J

Ingredients:

Meatballs

1 lb extra lean ground beef or ground turkey

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1/2 c bread crumbs or quick oats

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t allspice

Gravy

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 c water

1 T flour

1 c milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all meatball ingredients together.  Form into 1″ balls.  Place in 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes.  In a large skillet, mix together the onion soup mix, water, flour, and milk.  Heat until thickened.  Add cooked meatballs to skillet.  Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve over egg noodles, if you choose.

Thursday: Dinner Out for a Friend’s Birthday

Friday:  Grilled Orange-Soy Chicken Tenders, Corn on the Cob, and Zucchini

·          We’ve had some wonderfully cool days this week, so Chad was more than happy to grill outside.  J  I marinated some chicken tenders in soy sauce, orange juice, garlic powder, and pepper.  He grilled those along with corn on the cob and zucchini.  I put olive oil and Ranch dressing powder on the veggies before he grilled them.  We enjoyed our dinner on the porch!  Easy prep and easy clean-up for me.

Saturday:  Chicken and Veggie Tacos, Sautéed Kale, and Homemade Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

·          We were supposed to go to our friends’ house for dinner, but their kids were sick.  Still, my sweet friend, Sharon, brought us the dinner she planned to make anyway!  She made wonderful chicken and veggie tacos and delicious sautéed kale.  It was so good!  I didn’t have any tortillas on hand, but I thought it was time to try and make some homemade tortillas.  I know it’s fairly simple; I had just never actually tried it.  I chose an easy recipe for whole wheat tortillas on Pinterest and whipped them up!  It was incredibly simple, and we all enjoyed the taste and texture.  I’ll definitely try more homemade tortillas now that I know how easy (and inexpensive!) they are.  J