July 5-11, 2015

Sunday:  Hot Dogs at the Texas Rangers Game!

Monday:  Chicken Sausage & Cheese Crescents with Steamed Broccoli & Brown Sugar Carrots

Chicken Sausage & Cheese Crescents

The kids and I had been gone for over a week, so our grocery stock was pretty low.  But, wrapping chicken sausages and cheese in a crescent roll made for an easy, tasty dinner.  I steamed some frozen broccoli and made some brown sugar baby carrots to go along with it.

Brown Sugar Carrots

Put baby carrots in a sauce pan and pour in about ½ cup to 1 cup water.  Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  After the carrots are fork tender, most of the liquid should be absorbed.  Add in some butter and brown sugar (just eyeball it based on how sweet you want them…it doesn’t take much), stir it around, and warm over the stove for 4-5 more minutes.  Some of the carrots will start turning a yummy golden color. 

Tuesday:  Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Bacon, Roasted Green Beans, & Roasted Sweet Potato Chips

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Bacon

If it’s a recipe with cheese and bacon, I’m game.  This one looked both delicious and easy, and it didn’t disappoint on either front!  I actually used some turkey cutlets we had in the freezer from the turkey Chad shot back in the spring.  These were so, so yummy!  My turkey cutlets were a little thinner and had almost no fat, so I should have cooked them just a little less than the recipe required.  So, just want the thickness of your chicken so you don’t overcook your dinner!  In the comments, several people had just baked them, rather than frying them first, which is a great idea if you are cutting back on a little fat from the oil or if you just don’t want to stand over a hot stove on a hot summer day.  J  (I added some Panko bread crumbs to my breading.)

We all really enjoyed this recipe, and I will absolutely make them again with chicken, turkey, and maybe even pork.

Roasted Green Beans and Sweet Potato Chips

I keep a big bag of frozen green beans from Costco in the freezer for an easy side dish.  I tossed them on a foil-lined baking sheet with olive oil and season salt.  On the other half of the baking sheet, I spread out thin-sliced sweet potatoes (I had peeled them as well), and drizzled olive oil and sprinkled season salt on them as well.  Normally I roast at 400-425 degrees, but the chicken recipe called for a 350 degree oven.  So, I roasted the green beans and sweet potatoes for 15 minutes, then I tossed them around.  I roasted them for another 10 minutes or so.  When I pulled the main dish out of the oven, I turned the oven to broil and broiled the vegetables for 3-4 minutes to crisp them up a bit more.  They were just right!  The kids especially loved the sweet potato chips!  (They aren’t quite as crispy as actual chips, but they are still delish!)

Wednesday:  Swedish Meatballs with Boiled & Buttered Potatoes & Roasted Broccoli

Swedish Meatballs

Ranger loves Ikea’s meatballs, so when I can make them at home, I know he will be a happy camper.  I saw this recipe for them, and generally love the recipes she makes and posts on her blog, so I made them for dinner.  I made a huge batch of them so that we could have leftovers the following night, and also a few for the freezer.  These were a little more time consuming that some of the meatballs I’ve made since she browns them in batches in a skillet.  They were wonderful, though!  I love that everything was from scratch rather than a packet of some kind.  Still, the recipe where they are baked first, and then put into the gravy is nice too.  I think I may try a combination of the two recipes for the next time.  J

Thursday:  Leftover Meatballs, Potatoes, and Salad

Friday:  Date Night #1!

Our kids were with my mom for the weekend…yay for date night!

Saturday:  Date Night #2!

2 date nights in a row!!  Crazy!

June 21 - July 4, 2015

2 Week Summer Food Blog Break!!  I'll be back with our weekly menu on July 12th!

June 14-20, 2015

We had a week of family birthdays and dinners, so I actually only cooked TWICE!  It was practically vacation.  ;-)  The two meals are both easy, healthy, and tasty.  My kids loved them both!

Pasta with Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce and Salad

We love this Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce!  I had some ground chicken and veggie taco meat in the freezer from last week that I thawed out and added to the sauce.  My kids gobbled this up!  I served ours with a huge kale salad topped with blackberries, feta cheese, and Dana's homemade balsamic dressing.


Quinoa Patties with Roasted Zucchini & Sweet Potatoes

These Quinoa Patties are wonderful as a side or for a meatless meal.  I used Costco's frozen quinoa and kale packets.  This time, I added feta cheese instead of parmesan, and also a little extra Italian seasoning.  These are so, so DELISH!  I made more than we needed, so Chad and I had leftovers for lunch the next day.  These also freeze well and can be popped out and warmed up for an easy lunch or dinner.


HEALTHY BONUS!
My current favorite lunch or afternoon snack is this easy salad!!  All you need is half an avocado, a few tomatoes, a little mozzarella, and some balsamic and olive oil, and you are set!  Adding fresh basil makes it really special!

YUMMY BONUS!
We had my mom over for her birthday dinner on Sunday.  Chad grilled dove and I made veggies inside.  For her birthday dessert, I threw together Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler #1, which is a hit absolutely any time I make it.  This time, I had peaches and blueberries on hand, so that's what I used.  It is RIDICULOUSLY good, and you should absolutely make it this week with some yummy, seasonal fruit!!

June 7-13, 2015

This was the week of pulling out some old favorites!

Sunday:  Date Night!

·          Mom had the kids, so Chad and I had a wonderful, low-key, dinner out!

Monday:  Grilled Turkey, Cheese, Pear, & Blackberry Preserve Sandwiches with Salad and Fruit

·          Chad had a softball game at 6:30, so this was a tasty and easy dinner I could throw together before he needed to leave.  

  

         I actually assembled all the sandwiches and made them in the oven.  It’s a super simple way to make multiple “grilled” sandwiches at the same time!  Just lay foil down on one cookie sheet, then your sandwiches, then another piece of foil, and finally put another cookie sheet on top.  That’s all!  I put mine in a cold oven, then heated it to 400 degrees.  Once it reached that temperature, I checked the sandwiches every 3-4 minutes until they were as brown as I wanted them. 

Tuesday:  Breakfast for Dinner!  Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Bacon, Cinnamon Toast, & Fruit

Wednesday:  Chicken & Veggie Tacos with Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

We haven’t had our favorite tacos in a while!  These are so simple to make…just go up to the “Chicken Recipes” link above, and then find “Meredith’s Chicken & Veggie Tacos.”  So, easy, full of veggies, and full of flavor!  I served ours with hot sauce, cheese, sour cream and homemade, whole wheat flour tortillas that I made earlier in the day.  Yum!  This meat is an excellent leftover for nachos, salads, or even to throw in spaghetti sauce, so go ahead and make a ton!

Thursday:  Grilled “10 Chicken” with Parmesan Cauliflower & Kale Salad

I pulled some chicken thighs out of the freezer on Wednesday to thaw, then marinated them all day Thursday.  It’s the simplest marinade that I learned about from my cousin, Britney, and it packs so much flavor!  Just put your chicken in a ziplock and pour over some soy sauce, Italian dressing, and sprinkle in some garlic powder.  That’s all!  Chad grilled it up for us.  We really like dark meat because it stays so tender and moist, but if you like white meat, please do that instead!

I made our sides inside.  Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower is a hit with everyone in our family, and I’m still completely obsessed with kale salads, so we had that as well.  I love salads in the summer because they are so easy to throw together and require no time over a hot stove!  J

Friday:  Birthday Party at Our Friends’ Home

Saturday:  Family Pizza & Movie Night!

May 31 - June 6, 2015

Sunday:  Church Fellowship and Dinner at the Park

Monday:  Sweet Chili Lime Chicken Tacos with Fresh Fruits and Veggies

·          Chad had a softball game at 6:30, so we needed a quick, early dinner before going to watch him play.  I pulled out some Sweet Chili Lime Chicken (one of my fave recipes!) from the freezer, thawed it out, warmed it on the stove, and served it inside some tortillas we had leftover from the week before.  We added in fresh fruit and veggies, and dinner was served!  Some nights, I piece together our dinner based on what we have around, which is a great way to use leftovers AND save money!  J

Tuesday:  Dinner at Mom’s

Wednesday:  Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta with a Kale & Fresh Fruit Salad with Homemade Balsamic Dressing

Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

I found this yumminess on Pinterest from Simply Mrs. Edwards.  If you are watching your carbs or dairy intake, you should probably avoid this recipe.  ;-)  But, thankfully for us, we are fine with all pasta and all dairy, so we were all in on this dish!  I made ours earlier in the afternoon so that all I had to do was stick it in the oven and bake it for dinner.  We had a friend over, and there was plenty for everyone.  I actually topped ours with panko bread crumbs and a little Italian seasoning before baking to give it a crispy topping. 

We all really enjoyed this, but we did need to add some salt and pepper.  I’ll make this again, but I’ll add in some more seasonings when making the sauce.  It made a wonderful leftover for lunch the next day, and I even topped it with some feta cheese, which made it super yummy!

Kale & Fresh Fruit Salad with Homemade Balsamic Dressing

I’m a little salad-obsessed right now, and I am especially fond of tossing on all of the fresh, seasonal berries and fruit that are available in the summer months.  Salad is such an easy side dish for any meal, and it requires little prep and no oven or stovetop, helping to keep you cool when a hot kitchen isn’t a fun place to be.  J  For this salad, I tossed some fresh chopped kale with a few mixed salad greens.  Then I toasted some pine nuts in a pan on the stovetop for a few minutes.  (Watch them closely and toss them around so they don’t burn!)  On top of the salad I threw on blackberries, oranges, the toasted pine nuts, and feta cheese.  I dressed our salad with this Homemade Balsamic Dressing from my friend, Dana and her blog Real Food – Real Family.  Check her out!  She’s an amazing cook, and she’s SO healthy!  (I have a salad dressing shaker, which is what I use to make, mix, and store my homemade dressing.)

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

1 clove of garlic, minced (or 1/8 – 1/4 tsp garlic powder)

1 tsp dried oregano or other herb of your choice

½ tsp salt

1/3 cup olive oil

{update 5/13/15:  I’ve started adding about 1 T lime juice (if I have any on hand) and it’s a great addition.}

pepper to taste (I usually add pepper to my salad rather than the dressing)

1.Mix first 6 ingredients with a wire whisk.  Slowly add in the olive oil while whisking.  Put a top on your container and shake well.  Homemade dressing works best in some type of jar that has a tight lid, rather than a bowl with lid.

2.  Store container in the fridge.

3.  Pull the dressing out a little while before using to allow it to come to room temperature.  (The olive oil hardens in the fridge.)  Give it a vigorous shake and then spoon out what you need.  I usually pull my dressing out in the morning so I don’t forget.  I put it back in the fridge after lunch.

Thursday:  Crispy Tortilla Tilapia with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Zucchini

This night was a total, throw it together night.  I meant to have a yummy Honey Lime Tilapia, but I forgot to thaw my tilapia.  :-/  In order for Chad and Ranger to have dinner before leaving for baseball practice, I threw out my original plan and just pulled some yummy Costco tilapia out of the freezer.  I made the crispy tortilla tilapia for Chad and me, but I made the basil pesto for the kids because it’s not spicy.  I diced up sweet potatoes and zucchini and roasted them at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Dinner was ready, and everyone cleaned their plates!

Friday:  Family Pizza & Movie Night!

My kids’ favorite night of the week!  J  This week, I bought some inexpensive meat and cheese pizzas from Aldi. I left the kids’ pizza just as it was, but I added fresh kale, basil, grape tomatoes, and bell peppers to the pizza for Chad and me; I also added a spritz of olive oil and fresh-cracked pepper.  I brushed both crusts with garlic butter before baking as well for extra yumminess!  

I do bake my pizzas directly on the rack, but for the first 10 minutes, I lay foil on the bottom rack to catch any falling, melting cheese and butter.  That prevents it falling to the bottom of the oven and stinking up my house!

Saturday:  Breaded, Fried Turkey Cutlets, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Rice, & Kale Salad

Chad breaded and fried some of his wild turkey he shot a few months back.  Our parents were over, so it was fun to prepare a meal for everyone!  While Chad worked on the turkey and fried it outside on the grill burner, I made a salad, rice, and sweet potatoes inside.  Voila!  It was delicious!

(Proof that my husband killed AND cooked our dinner!)

May 24-30, 2015

**  After a couple weeks' hiatus, we are back home and the menus are planned again!**

Sunday:  Pepperoni & Cheese Crescent Roll Ups with Fruit & Chips

We had arrived home late the night before and didn’t have many groceries on hand, so I made our dinner with what we had.  Pepperoni, mozzarella cheese sticks, and crescent rolls made a dinner everyone was happy with!  I brush the tops of the rolled up crescent rolls with garlic butter before baking them to make them extra tasty.

Monday:  Memorial Day:  Hot Dogs, Fruit, & Chips

Tuesday:  Steaks, Sautéed Mushrooms, Sliced Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinegar

Chad was wanting to grill, and I was also happy with that plan.  J 

Wednesday:  Chicken Parmesan Casserole with Roasted Broccoli

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

I’m not sure what made me remember this recipe from Emily Bites…I haven’t made it in a really long time!  But, I’m so happy I thought of it again!  Originally, my plan with the kids this day was to go buy a few groceries, but we ended up having fun instead, so I didn’t buy ingredients specifically for this dish.  But, I was able to make it happen thanks to some freezer help!  I had frozen chicken thighs that I thawed out.  I also had a frozen bag of homemade, crock pot marinara sauce from a month or two ago.  I broke the sauce in half because I didn’t need all of it.  So, half of the bag went right back into the freezer for another meal!

I also didn’t have any croutons on hand, but I did have some whole wheat mini hamburger buns in the freezer from a meal before our beach trip.  I pulled those out, went to the ever-reliable Pinterest, and made my own croutons using a combination of this recipe and this recipe!  

I baked mine at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring them around half way through.  They were so, so delish!!  I could have only eaten croutons and been perfectly happy.  J  I will try to remember this when we have some bread that is a little older before I just throw it out.  These were so, so yummy!  And the dinner was also amazing (I only made a half recipe).  I forgot to take a picture before we ate, but you can see what it looked like after.  I’d call that a success.

Thursday:  Cheeseburger Quesadillas with Sweet Potato Fries & Fruit

Cheeseburger Quesadillas

This is basically a cute name for a quesadilla made with ground beef and cheddar cheese.  Ha!  I bought some half corn, half flour tortillas that our family really enjoys and then just made some ground beef.  I seasoned the beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, and a little season salt, and that’s all!  I only used half the ground beef for this meal, and I saved the other half for Friday’s meal.  I served our quesadillas with sweet potato fries (store-bought this time around) and fruit, and everyone made a happy plate!  I should have taken a picture of the kids’ plates, as each one likes to have a different dipping condiment.

Friday:  Pizza & Movie Night!

We were all really excited to be home and have our family pizza and movie night again.  I bought some yummy, preservative free pizza crusts from Sprouts (good for a day when I didn’t have time to make my own), and we topped them with all of our favorites.  For the kids, pizza sauce, pepperoni, ground beef (the other half I prepared the night before), and mozzarella cheese.  

For the adults, pizza sauce, pesto, pepperoni, ground beef, fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach, fresh basil, and mozzarella cheese.  

My mom came over also, and between the six of us, we finished off almost every bite! J

Saturday:  Grilled Sausage, Caesar Salad, Fruit, & Chips

This meal needs no explanation.  We had some family over, and this menu made everyone happy!

April 26 - May 2, 2015

** Due to crazy kid schedules and crazy husband travel schedule, there will not be a menu posted next week. **

Sunday:  Chicken Tenders with Sautéed Zucchini & Carrots

·          Chad took Ranger and Payton to our small group Bible study while I stayed home with Callen who had a little bit of a cold.  I made a quick dinner out of Purdue’s Simply Smart Chicken Tenders, which even Chad and I like to eat.  J  Callen helped me cube some zucchini and carrots, and I was able to sauté a little bit for him and me when we were ready for dinner, and then I made the rest right before Chad and the kids arrived home.  Easy, healthy dinner for everyone!

Monday:  Dinner Out

Tuesday:  Ziti Pasta with Homemade Crock Pot Marinara & Turkey Sausage, Caesar Salad, & Garlic Breadsticks

·          It was Payton’s family birthday dinner, so I needed a dinner that would feed several people but not be too time-consuming.  Since I’ve discovered Skinny Taste’s Crockpot Marinara sauce, I’ve made it 3-4 times.  It’s so easy, and you can easily change the spices and flavorings to suit your family’s tastes.  I made a double recipe in the crockpot this time, and I actually found crushed tomatoes with basil already added!  I also added in some fresh parsley and red pepper flakes.  I made the sauce as she suggests, except that instead of meatballs, I used some precooked and crumbled turkey sausage I discovered at the store.  I just tossed it in the sauce and had the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours.  Easy and delicious! 

Then all that was left to do was boil some pasta (gluten free this time for some of our family), open a big bag of Caesar salad (no…I did not make the dressing from scratch), and throw some bread in the oven.  It was perfect for a crowd!  Since it was Payton’s birthday, she and the boys ate macaroni and cheese…it’s her fave! 

Wednesday:  Baked Cheesy Chicken Flautas with 5-Minute Guacamole

Baked Cheese Chicken Flautas

·          This recipe from JoCooks is a perfect weeknight meal.  The boys had their final swim lesson late in the afternoon, so I was able to throw these together quickly before we left, and then when we arrived back home, I just put them in the oven to cook.  Since I was in a little bit of a time crunch before we left, I made the recipe even easier.  I used chicken that I had already taken from a rotisserie chicken earlier in the week.  Instead of sautéing the garlic and onion in olive oil, I just used minced onion and garlic powder, basically skipping that whole step.  Since mine were going into the fridge for a couple of hours before cooking, I didn’t really feel like heating everything up in the skillet was necessary.  J 

I used whole wheat tortillas.  I also just rubbed my dish with butter, rather than melting it.  Before I put them in the oven, I did brush on a little melted butter over the top.  These were really good!  I made ours a tad too spicy for the kids, but the boys still powered through.  I ended up giving Payton a little turkey.  The next time I make them, I will make a few with just chicken and cheese rolled up for the kids to avoid the spice for them.  Chad and I really liked them though!  (They also made an excellent leftover meal for me for a few days when Chad was gone.  I just reheated one in the oven for my meal, and the tortilla crisped right back up!)

I served ours with The Weary Chef’s 5-Minute Guacamole, which I could pretty much make a meal out of all on its own!  I’m a little obsessed with avocadoes right now and am finding excuses to have them with everything.

Thursday:  Grilled Cheeses with Fresh Fruit and Veggies for the Kids, Leftover for Me

·          Chad left for a guys’ golf weekend, so it was an easy dinner after baseball practice for us!

Friday:  Dinner Out with Friends

Saturday:  Chicken & Fries

·          Ranger was having dinner with friends, Callen was with my mom, and Chad was still golfing, so it was just Payton and me for dinner.  She requested chicken and fries, and I happily obliged!  I had some in the oven and on our table in no time.  Just a special girls’ dinner.  J