August 27 - September 2, 2017

Sunday:  Parmesan & Panko Breaded, Baked Chicken Topped with Fresh Tomatoes & Basil and Steamed Broccoli

I had some thin-sliced chicken breasts, so I decided to make an easy breaded and baked chicken for our dinner.  I just mixed up Panko bread crumbs with fresh parmesan, garlic salt, and pepper.  Then I dredged the chicken in the crumbs, giving both sides a good coating.  I placed the chicken breasts in a sprayed baking dish and baked them at 400 for 15 minutes.  I turned the chicken over and then baked for another 10 minutes, until the chicken was fully cooked.  The cooking time will definitely depend on the thickness of your chicken!

After the chicken was done, I topped it with some sliced cherry tomatoes that I had mixed with a little olive oil and some AMAZING, fresh basil from my friend Dana!  This last part really put this chicken dish over the top.  My kids ate their chicken plain, so the good stuff on top was just for Chad and me.  :-)


Monday:  Breakfast for Dinner

A family fave...especially when Daddy is gone!


Tuesday:  Taco Tuesday!

Tonight's tacos...venison!  I made homemade tortillas as well.  They are quite simple and really delicious.  I made half whole wheat, half white flour.  Our taco nights are always interesting because everyone's plates look just a bit different.  The plate in the picture is mine.  I made a taco salad, a black bean and cheese quesadilla, and had a side of roasted veggies.


Wednesday:  Pizza Dinner with Friends

Thursday:  Quesadillas

I had a dinner at 7, so I made Chad and the kids dinner out of the leftovers from Taco Tuesday.


Friday:  Dinner at Neighbors :-)


Saturday:  Costco Pizza with Fresh Veggies

August 20-26, 2017

  Well, school has started around here, so that means we have some semblance of a schedule again.  I am slowing finding my meal-planning rhythm again and my weekly posts should be regular occurrences once again.  :-)

Sunday:  Rotisserie Chicken with Spinach Salad, Macaroni & Cheese, & Fruit

  This is still an easy meal, but it's one that we all enjoy on a busy night!


Monday:  Chicken & Apple Sausage with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Green Beans

  We all love sausage, so when I find a good deal on a nitrate/nitrite free chicken or beef sausage, I always know it can be one of our dinners during the week.  I sliced this sausage and browned it in my skillet, adding in a little BBQ sauce right at the end of cooking.


Tuesday:  Chicken Soft Tacos with Roasted Broccoli

  Taco Tuesday!!  This week, I used some of the rotisserie chicken left over from Sunday night's meal.  Each of our plates looked a bit different based on how we wanted our tacos or nachos.  This picture above is my plate.


Wednesday:  Honey Lime Tilapia with Roasted Carrots, Zucchini, & Mushrooms and Brown Rice

Honey Lime Tilapia
  I haven't made this tilapia from Mel's Kitchen Cafe in a long time, but it is quite yummy and can be ready in no time.  The kids always eat this right up!


Thursday:  Hot Dogs & Fruit

  I had a meeting this night, so Chad made dinner.  :-)


Friday:  Pizza & Movie Night!


Saturday:  Dinner with Friends

August 1 - 9, 2017

Hello friends!  People keep telling me summer is winding to a close, but I'm not quite ready yet.  In fact, we have one more trip on the schedule to visit friends in Georgia!  So, I've included last week's menu, along with a few days I've planned for this upcoming week before we hit the road.

Tuesday, August 1:  One Pan Chicken with Potatoes, Green Beans, & Tomatoes

One Pan Chicken with Potatoes, Green Beans, & Tomatoes
I had chicken but really hadn't made a plan for it, and our day was packed full.  So, I found this simple, ONE PAN recipe on Pinterest, and dinner was ready in 30 minutes!  I do wish the chicken had browned up a bit more, so I would do something about that the next time, but this was so easy and delicious!  You can use any seasonings you like really.  Clean up was also a breeze!


Wednesday, August 2:  Dinner with Friends from Church


Thursday, August 3:  Taco Thursday


Friday, August 4:  Family Pizza & Movie Night!


Saturday, August 5:  Grilled Venison with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Zucchini


Sunday, August 6:  Lunch - Ground Turkey & Cheese Quesadillas
Dinner - Smoked Chicken Sausage, Small, Diced, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans, & Pineapple

Sausage is always a hit with my family, and Aldi had some wonderful nitrate/nitrite free chicken sausage that was delicious!


Monday, August 7:  Crockpot BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Fresh Fruit & Veggies


Tuesday, August 8:  Pork Quesadillas


Wednesday, August 9:  One Pot Spaghetti with Roasted Veggies

  I plan to use this recipe from Fantastical Sharing!  It's always yummy!

July....

I mean really, summer is so unpredictable.  But it's also fun, and we've stayed so flexible, which means we've had tons of fun with friends and family, some cooking at home, some eating out, and finding cool sources of water as much as possible!  Chad and I also snuck away for a quick trip to Chicago!!

And, the kids and I are headed to camp soon, so really, these three pictures are all I have to show for July.  :-)

Mini Zucchini Pizzas for me one night while the kids had regular pizza...

Salads, salads, salads!  I make one regularly for lunch using whatever we have on hand!

Nachos...a great meal to have with leftover taco meat from the night before.  

I hope you and yours are enjoying your summer as much as we are!!

June 18-24, 2017

We're back!  We've been traveling and quite busy for a few weeks, but last week we were home for dinner more than we weren't, so I actually have something to post.  :-)

Sunday:  Father's Day Lunch Out / Chicken Quesadillas for Dinner

  We ate out for lunch for Father's Day and then used our leftover chicken from lunch to make quesadillas that night for dinner!


Monday:  Hot Dogs with Roasted Broccoli & Sweet Potatoes

  It's time for VBS at our church, so this night was a decorating night.  Chad had a softball game, so the kids came along with me.  We made a quick dinner of hot dogs.  :-)


Tuesday:  Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry

  There's no recipe for this.  I just saute whatever veggies I have on hand, cube and cook chicken, make rice, and then throw it all together with seasonings.  I used some rice vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce to give this some Asian flavor.


Wednesday:  Turkey Sausage & Marinara Sauce Pasta with Roasted Parmesan Zucchini

  This was a quick, delicious meal before heading out to church.  I used a jar of sauce and added that to some browned Italian turkey sausage.  For the zucchini, I sliced it a little (but not too!) thin, drizzled it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted it for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then I sprinkled on some fresh, shredded parmesan and roasted it for another 5 minutes or so.


Thursday:  Daddy & Payton Date Night / Boys and Mommy Leftovers  :-)

Friday:  Dinner at a Friend's Birthday Party


Saturday:  Chicken & Veggies

Chad was out for dinner with some friends, so the kids and I had a simple dinner at home.

May 21-27, 2017

Sunday:  Chad's Birthday!  Steak, Sweet Potatoes, & Arugula & Berry Salad

  Chad wanted steak for his birthday, so we went big!  He grilled some excellent filet mignon from Costco, and they were like butter!


Monday:  Chicken Pasta with Salad

  This was a simple meal as I already had homemade marinara and some rotisserie chicken in the freezer.  All I had to do was thaw and warm those while boiling some pasta.  Dinner was done!  I used lentil and quinoa pasta, which was delicious.


Tuesday:  Eggs, Sausage, & Chocolate Chip Pancakes


Wednesday:  Burgers, Chips & Fruit

  Costco's angus beef burger patties may save us this summer!  They are really so, so tasty, and they grill in no time!


Thursday:  Sandwiches on the Go!

  Ranger had a 6:00 baseball game, so I made "Subway-type" sandwiches for everyone to eat whether it was before the game, during the game, or after.  We had some whole wheat hamburger buns leftover that were perfect for this.  I also packed fruit and chips.


Friday:  Pizza Night

  Mom came to watch the kids while Chad and I went on a date!!


Saturday:  Bacon, Egg, Cheese, & Potato Burritos

  Another night of eggs for dinner, thanks to our chickens!  This time, I made burritos for everyone.  I also made a "hash" of white and sweet potatoes.  A few people ate their's as a side, and a few people had them inside their burritos.  I made more of a bowl-meal with mine and had it on top of mixed greens.  Pineapple rounded out everyone's meal just right!

May 14-20, 2017

Hello everyone!  Is it just me, or is May absolutely FLYING by????

Sunday:  Mother's Day
  My sweet Mom made lunch for us and also for Chad's parents.  We had a wonderful time enjoying each other's company!

Monday:  Honey BBQ Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted New Potatoes & Broccoli

  This is such a wonderful default for a busy weeknight!  It can be made ahead of time, or thrown together about an hour before you want to eat.  It takes absolutely no time, and it's usually a hit with both the hubs and the kids.  :-)

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf

 (adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner.)

1 lb lean ground turkey

2/3 cup oatmeal (old fashioned or instant is fine)

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided

2 tablespoons honey, divided

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground turkey, oatmeal, 1 tablespoon of the Worcestershire sauce, the spicy brown mustard, 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, egg, salt, and black pepper.

Shape the mixture into a long, thick log and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.

Bake for 45 minutes. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce.

Tuesday:  Breakfast for Dinner - Over-medium Eggs, Canadian Bacon, Toast & Fruit

  A standard at least one night a week around here!

Wednesday:  Grilled Sausage, Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Zucchini, & Brown Rice with Quinoa

  Another easy, weeknight meal that we are all guaranteed to eat! As a bonus, we ate on paper plates outside in the front which meant easy clean-up!

Thursday:  Foil-Wrapped, Baked Pesto Salmon with Steamed Green Beans

  Chad was having dinner out, so it was just the kids and me.  I made a foil-wrapped, baked pesto salmon, which was so simple and delicious!  I placed a piece of salmon on a sheet of foil; then I drizzled on olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper.  Then I grabbed some jarred, prepared pesto from the fridge and spread out a couple of spoonfuls over the salmon.  I wrapped it up in the foil and baked it for 15-18 minutes at 400 degrees.  Check your salmon around 15 minutes.  If it flakes easily, it's ready to go!  The thickness will change cooking times.  

  However, my kids just had fish sticks!  Ha!  We all had some steam-in-the-bag green beans with a touch of butter and some season salt.  

Friday:  Pizza Night

  Instead of our regular pizza and movie night, we grabbed pizza on our way home from Callen's baseball game that evening.

Saturday:  Grilled, Bacon-Wrapped Dove, Hot Dogs, Grilled Zucchini, & Rice

  Chad offered to grill, and I never say no to that!  He and I had bacon-wrapped dove while the kids had hot dogs.  We all enjoyed grilled zucchini and brown rice!  This was another meal we ate out on the porch.  We love beautiful evenings!

April 23 - May 7, 2017

  Happy May, everyone!!  I never posted a menu last weekend, so I'll make up for it today with 2 weeks worth.  There won't be anything posted next week because it's Mother's Day, and this coming week we have a crazy schedule, and we won't be cooking many big meals at home.  


Sunday, April 23:  Sandwiches

  Chad was out of town, so after church, I made the kids sandwiches and a salad for myself.  Then, we rested!


Monday, April 24:  Breakfast for Dinner - Eggs, Bacon, & Pancakes


Tuesday, April 25:  Venison Tacos

  I don't intentionally always make tacos on Tuesday, but I really like it when it works out that way!  Having tacos, nachos, or quesadillas is a simple, healthy meal before heading to our small group at 6:30.


Wednesday, April 26:  Pasta with Chicken, Broccoli, & Homemade Marinara

  Wednesdays can be a little rushed in the afternoons, but a pasta dish is pretty easy to whip up.  I had some diced, grilled chicken in the freezer from a previous meal.  I thawed that chicken, along with some homemade marinara from the freezer, and I boiled some whole wheat pasta.  I also sauteed some fresh broccoli and mixed everything together.  Dinner was done!  I had a can of biscuits that I decided to cut up into small chunks and brush on a little melted butter with garlic before baking.  The bread was delicious!


Thursday, April 27:  Daddy Dinner - Grilled Cheese, Sausage, & Fruit on the Back Porch

  I was out for a girls night, and the kids always enjoy when Chad is in charge of dinner!


Friday, April 28:  Mommy Date Night - Chick-Fil-A

  Chad was gone for the night on a church men's retreat, so the kids and I had a date night.  Our first stop was Chick-fil-a for dinner and a little play time, and then we went and saw the Frisco Children's Theater production of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.  We all had a wonderful time!


Saturday, April 29:  Birthday Party with Friends


Sunday, April 30:  Lunch Out After Church

  And, for the life of me, I cannot remember what we had for dinner!  Ha!


Monday, May 1:  Simple Roasted Chicken Thighs with Roasted Veggies

  This recipe is from the Whole 30 Cookbook.  

It ended up tasting just like a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store!  I will make this again, but I will likely do boneless just to make it easier on everyone.  :-)  I roasted some zucchini and sweet potatoes to go along with the chicken.  Since everything was roasted on pans that I lined with foil, clean up was a breeze!

A bonus to this meal was the leftover chicken...I was able to use it on my salads for lunch this week.

Tuesday, May 2:  Subway

  We had two baseball games back-to-back, starting at 6:00.  So, I grabbed Subway sandwiches for everyone around 4:30, and then people could eat whenever they were hungry before, after, or during games.


Wednesday, May 3:  Kids - Hot Dogs & Hamburger, Me - Baked Sweet Potato & Hamburger Patty

  Chad was out of town for work, so I made a simple dinner for all of us.  I keep whole wheat hot dog and hamburger buns in the freezer so that I can easily thaw out a few whenever I need them.  I used my skillet to warm a hot dog each for Callen & Payton, and an Angus beef hamburger patty (frozen from Costco, and SO good!) for Ranger and another for me.  I rounded out the kids' plates with fresh fruits and veggies.  I baked a sweet potato to add as a side for my beef.  Everyone was full and happy!


Thursday, May 4:  Dinner with Nonnie


Friday, May 5:  Payton's Birthday!!!!!

  My sweet girl turned 5!!  So, we grilled out with family to celebrate her big day!  Instead of a cake, she chose cookies.  Love her!


Saturday, May 6:  Leftover Night

  After a busy day of baseball games, pedicures with my girl, and swimming with some neighbors, leftovers were the perfect meal.  Chad diced up the chicken leftover from the night before and sauteed it with a little BBQ sauce.  I made everyone a little salad and fruit, warmed up some mac-and-cheese for those who wanted it, and dinner was done!


Sunday, May 7:  Roasted Chicken & Veggies with Rice

  One more meal made of leftovers!  After church, I roasted some green beans, broccoli, and carrots.  While they were roasting, I cut up the rest of the leftover chicken and tossed it with a little olive oil and soy sauce to add some moisture.  Then, I tossed it together with the veggies to warm in through.  Adding a little brown rice rounded out our meal.

 And, now I don't think any of us will want chicken for a few days.  ;-)

April 16-22, 2017

Sunday:  Easter Sunday!

  We always host our family for Easter, and this year was no exception.  I made ham in the Crock Pot using this recipe from The Crockin' Girls.  It is always a hit with everyone, and it couldn't be simpler.  Everyone else provided a the rest of our meal, and we were are overly content.  :-)


Monday:  Ham & Egg Breakfast Casserole

  As with any holiday meal, there are usually leftovers a'plenty!  We had quite a bit of delicious ham, so Chad was genius and suggested a breakfast casserole.  I mean, we ALWAYS have eggs thanks to our girls out back, and I happened to have a can of crescent rolls in the fridge.  So, I made our meal using this recipe from Kevin & Amanda, except that I subbed ham for sausage, and I also used 8 eggs instead of 6.

This dish was an absolute HIT!   Everyone cleaned their plates, and Payton went back for thirds!  I served ours with fresh fruit.


Tuesday:  Tamales with Rice, Avocados, & Apples

  Another holiday leftover...tamales! We are down to 2 4-count packages of tamales leftover from Christmas Eve.  It's actually a good thing because they actually get hotter each time we eat them!  Ha!  I suppose the spices become more potent with time.  So, the kids can't eat them at all.  I think I made chicken nuggets for them.  I had to put a little sour cream and avocados on mine to tone down the spice a bit too.  I also served it on our best china so as to save me a bit of time since we have small group at 6:30.


Wednesday:  Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes

  Baking sweet potatoes opens up a world of options!  I bought a rotisserie chicken from the store and tore off the chicken.  For Chad and me, I made a baked potato bar.  We topped ours with chicken, black beans, salsa, sour cream (I used plain Green yogurt), cheese, avocados, and tortilla chips.

My kids aren't big fans of foods stacked on top of each other, so their plates looked a bit different.  :-)  They prefer roasted sweet potatoes to baked, so I sprinkled on a little cinnamon.  This meal was incredibly simple, but also really delicious!


Thursday:  Dinner at Callen's Game

  A weeknight game at 6 and Chad being out of town means packed dinner eaten in the stands!  Callen ate a little bit at home before his game, and had a snack after.


Friday:  Fun at the RoughRiders Game!

  The Frisco Baseball Association has a night at the Frisco RoughRiders (our minor league team) each season.  The boys were able to walk on the field with their teams, and our tickets included hotdogs, chips, and drinks!


Saturday:  Pizza Night

  Chad was still out of town, plus we missed pizza the night before.  ;-)

April 9-15, 2017

Sunday:  Baked "Grilled" Cheese Sandwiches with Fruit & Veggies

  We came home after church, and I made a simple but healthy meal we all enjoy for lunch.  Baked "Grilled" Cheese Sandwiches!  Whenever I make more than 2 grilled cheeses, it's really so much easier to assemble them and lay them on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Then you top it with another sheet of foil and another cookie sheet on top of that!  I place mine in a cold oven and then heat it to 400.  Usually, they are perfectly golden when my oven is done heating up!  Perfect!

  For the kids, I made plain turkey and cheese.  But, for Chad and me, I added in thinly sliced apples and some strawberry preserves.  Yum!

  This was also nice because we had our church Easter picnic and egg hut at 4:30.  This meal was made, eaten, and cleaned up in a SNAP!


Monday:  Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Sandwiches with Roasted Broccoli & Sweet Potatoes

Slow Cooker Crack Chicken
  This is a delicious way to make chicken in your crockpot...and the chicken is so versitile!  This recipe is from Cookies and Cups.  The cream cheese makes the chicken really creamy.  We had ours as sliders for dinner.  The next day, I ate some of the leftovers cold on crackers, just like chicken salad!  This meal is a big hit with my kids.


Tuesday:  Crack Chicken Nachos

Kid Plate:

My Plate:

Crack Chicken Nachos
  I used our leftover chicken from the night before to make nachos.  It took no time to bake these in the oven, and it was an easy clean up before our small group came over at 6:30.


Wednesday:  Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia in a Basil Cream Tomato Sauce with Sauteed Asparagus

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia in a Basil Cream Sauce
  I made this a few years ago, and I remember us really enjoying it.  The recipe is from Life's Ambrosia, and it is full of flavor! I never use any of the sauce for the kids, though.  They prefer to eat it plain, or with a dipping sauce.  That's fine...more yummy cream sauce for Chad and me!


Thursday:  Dinner Out with Mom

  Chad was in Tulsa for the night, so we met Mom at a restaurant that just opened in downtown.


Friday:  Pizza & Movie Night!

  Can I just say...thank you for pizza night!?!?


Saturday:  Grilled Sausage with Fresh Fruit & Veggies

  Chad grilled a regular beef smoked sausage and also a delish chicken sausage with apple and gouda that I found at Costco.  We ate alfresco on our newly finished Turquoise Table!