Hello Monday!
Hey friends!!!
Happy Monday!!
How was your weekend??
Our's was good! We were in Greensboro, NC because Aaron had a conference there and the kids and I joined him for the weekend!!
We stayed at the most beautiful resort, the Grandover, and had lots of fun!!
I will be honest though- this is the second weekend in a row we have been out of town and there was definitely some "special" behavior sprinkled throughout the weekend that made certain times not as fun as others. HA!
I am always SO thankful to get to explore new places with my kiddos and EQUALLY thankful to return home and settle into our normal rhythm.
Here's what's for dinner this week:
Monday: Baked Chicken, potatoes and steamed broccoli
Happy Monday!!
How was your weekend??
Our's was good! We were in Greensboro, NC because Aaron had a conference there and the kids and I joined him for the weekend!!
We stayed at the most beautiful resort, the Grandover, and had lots of fun!!
I will be honest though- this is the second weekend in a row we have been out of town and there was definitely some "special" behavior sprinkled throughout the weekend that made certain times not as fun as others. HA!
I am always SO thankful to get to explore new places with my kiddos and EQUALLY thankful to return home and settle into our normal rhythm.
Since we were out of town this weekend, I didn't get much done- but I did plan out our meals for the week...which feels like a tiny victory :)
Several of you mentioned in the comments on my 5 Year Anniversary Post that you enjoy my menu plans and seeing the kind of meals I make for my family.
That was kind of surprising to me as I feel like I am SO SIMPLE when it comes to dinnertime. You will not see me in the kitchen for a long time, working on a complicated recipe...but you can count on me to make semi-homemade meals that make feeding my crew as stress free as possible :)
I thought I'd share with you what's on our menu plan this week as well as share a few products I use that make getting together quick and easy!
Monday: Baked Chicken, potatoes and steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Meatball Subs and green beans
Wednesday: Ground beef tacos with crunchy shells and steamed corn
Thursday: Crispy chicken tenders, tossed salad and applesauce
Friday: Pizza!
Saturday: Hamburgers and homemade oven fries
Sunday: Trader Joe’s Lasagna and salad
For Monday’s dinner, I’m going to bake some bone in chicken breast. My kiddos love rotisserie chicken but we do not like the dark meat so a lot of it goes to waste... Which I absolutely hate! I know Sam’s club sometimes has just the rotisserie chicken breast available… But I have never been lucky enough to be there when they have them!
I’m going to use these steamer potatoes to make a semi homemade batch of mashed potatoes. If you are not already using these potatoes you must! All they are is frozen, diced peeled, potatoes. You steam them in the microwave and then can add milk, butter and anything else you like in your mashed potatoes! I use my hand mixer to mash them and they turn out so yummy! I also use these potatoes when I make my potato corn chowder… I just dump the frozen bag of potatoes into my soup pot and a good 25 minutes of peeling and chopping potatoes is cut out! Such a timesaver!
On Tuesday, we are going to have one of our favorite dinners… Meatball subs. I always use my crockpot to make this meal. I get fresh meatballs in the meat section at Aldi or sometimes I use frozen meatballs. This week I am using some frozen meatballs I picked up at Aldi a couple weeks ago. I put the amount of meatballs we need to feed our family in the crockpot with our favorite marinara sauce… Also from Aldi!
Cook it on low all day and then they are ready to be put on top of Italian rolls with provolone cheese melted on top of them! So easy and all the kiddos will eat this meal. Marshall and James are not fans of eating the meatballs on a sandwich but they will eat the meatballs separate. That’s fine me!
**I ALWAYS use a crockpot liner when I make crockpot meals. That's the only way the crockpot feels "easy" to me. HA!**
Taco night is pretty self-explanatory. We have some form of tacos every week.
I try to change it up by using crunchy taco shells or flour tortillas or sometime I’ll even make taco nachos. I also vary the protein for the tacos. Sometimes I will make shredded salsa chicken other times it will be leftover shredded pork. My kiddos like ground beef the best- so I would say we do that at least a couple of times a month. What I love the most about taco night is that I can basically have everything prepped ahead of time and just reheat it when it’s dinner time!
One of my favorite ways to make our tacos extra yummy is to roast some bell peppers in the oven with olive oil spray, chili powder and salt. They are SO yummy and are SO good in a taco salad, burrito bowl or even on nachos!!
Thursday, I am utilizing one of my favorite pre-made freezer items to help me make a quick and yummy dinner. We love these Perdue Simply Smart Chicken strips.
The ingredients are great and they are super yummy. I always have them on hand in my deep freezer! Aaron and I will have them over a big salad and the kids will have them with applesauce and a veggie.
For our oven fries, I just take a couple baking potatoes, (wash them- of course) and pop them in the microwave for about 5-7 minutes just until they are slightly cooked.
Then I slice them into fairly thin wedges, spray them olive oil spray, salt, pepper and the tiniest bit of season salt and garlic powder. I roast them on 450 degrees until they are cooked and crispy. They are SO good!! Cooking them just a tiny bit in the microwave helps them not take as long in the oven and I just think they bake more evenly when they are par-cooked!
Sunday, I am pushing the easy button and we are having Trader Joe's Family Lasagna. This lasagna has awesome reviews and I am excited to see if my family likes it. I am going to make a tossed salad for Aaron and I and steamed broccoli for the kiddos and call it good!!
I really try to have a balance of homemade foods and good quality convenience foods- that when paired together- make for some really great "semi-homemade" dinners.
It's what I have found really works the best for our family in this season of life!!
I would love to know...what's on the menu for dinner at your house this week?
Do you have a favorite "convenience" food that helps you get dinner on the table quick- without compromising taste or quality??
Share with them with me!! I am always on the lookout for items I can add to my grocery list that can make dinnertime easier!! :)
Hope you have the BEST day!!
Here's to an amazing start to our week!!
Linking up with Heather, Johannah, Tanya and Lindsay!
**I ALWAYS use a crockpot liner when I make crockpot meals. That's the only way the crockpot feels "easy" to me. HA!**
I try to change it up by using crunchy taco shells or flour tortillas or sometime I’ll even make taco nachos. I also vary the protein for the tacos. Sometimes I will make shredded salsa chicken other times it will be leftover shredded pork. My kiddos like ground beef the best- so I would say we do that at least a couple of times a month. What I love the most about taco night is that I can basically have everything prepped ahead of time and just reheat it when it’s dinner time!
One of my favorite ways to make our tacos extra yummy is to roast some bell peppers in the oven with olive oil spray, chili powder and salt. They are SO yummy and are SO good in a taco salad, burrito bowl or even on nachos!!
Thursday, I am utilizing one of my favorite pre-made freezer items to help me make a quick and yummy dinner. We love these Perdue Simply Smart Chicken strips.
The ingredients are great and they are super yummy. I always have them on hand in my deep freezer! Aaron and I will have them over a big salad and the kids will have them with applesauce and a veggie.
Friday is always pizza night at our house! Sometimes we get Domino’s or Pizza Hut... but usually we do the $5 hot and ready pizzas from Little Caesar’s! You just can’t beat $5 for a large pizza!
Saturday, we are grilling burgers! We are big fans of hamburgers...and I have recently found the BEST way to make the yummiest hamburger patties is to add a packet of onion soup mix and a generous handful of shredded cheese to ground beef. It makes the hamburgers cheesy and perfectly seasoned!
Then I slice them into fairly thin wedges, spray them olive oil spray, salt, pepper and the tiniest bit of season salt and garlic powder. I roast them on 450 degrees until they are cooked and crispy. They are SO good!! Cooking them just a tiny bit in the microwave helps them not take as long in the oven and I just think they bake more evenly when they are par-cooked!
Sunday, I am pushing the easy button and we are having Trader Joe's Family Lasagna. This lasagna has awesome reviews and I am excited to see if my family likes it. I am going to make a tossed salad for Aaron and I and steamed broccoli for the kiddos and call it good!!
I really try to have a balance of homemade foods and good quality convenience foods- that when paired together- make for some really great "semi-homemade" dinners.
It's what I have found really works the best for our family in this season of life!!
I would love to know...what's on the menu for dinner at your house this week?
Do you have a favorite "convenience" food that helps you get dinner on the table quick- without compromising taste or quality??
Share with them with me!! I am always on the lookout for items I can add to my grocery list that can make dinnertime easier!! :)
Hope you have the BEST day!!
Here's to an amazing start to our week!!
Linking up with Heather, Johannah, Tanya and Lindsay!
We love your meal planning because it is practical and attainable. Many times I read blogs where the recipe has the oddest ingredients that I do not normally stock or complex flavors that aren't kid friendly. And another plus, your meals are always well rounded and on the healthy side. I always feel like if I'm in a meal planning rut, your blog is the first stop I'll make. I can just easily copy a week's worth of meal plans and be all set. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh my Goodness. It all sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteYum!! I bet my husband would love those chicken strips. I'll have to add them to my Walmart list. I have a Sams chicken breast tip for you... You can ask the workers in the meat dept when they put out the pkgs of rotisserie chicken breasts. That way you'll know when to expect them. I think mine get restocked on Tuesday mornings. So if I'm near Sams on that day I'll swing by and pick up a pkg. Everything on your menu sounds great! We're having nachos, breakfast for dinner, pasta and loaded salads this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the tip on the frozen potatoes. This looks like a great item to have on hand for an easy side. I love how you do a mix of homemade and semi-homemade dishes. Most of the time my family eats the semi-homemade meals better than something I've spent lots of time cooking. Our dinners are usually a rotation of old faves like pasta and tacos with various recipes I find on blogs/cookbooks. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI love your meal plans because you have healthy kid friendly options mixed with easy alternatives for the parents. Thanks for all the ideas!
ReplyDelete