Wait a minute! How did it get to be the middle of July already? Didn't the kids just get out of school? Didn't summer just start?
Our days have been full and blessed and seem to have been flying by! We thoroughly enjoyed our weeks of VBS ministry in June, gathered with family for vacation at the start of July, and have been getting back into the groove of summer with sleeping in, visits to the pool, and having friends over this past week. The 4H fair is this week, and my oldest will be participating in a few events at the fair.
It's a good thing I've kept up with my monthly and weekly meal plan to help keep food on our table this summer! As I've mentioned before, meal planning is a bit different in the summer. I find myself planning more simple meals, sandwiches or grilled items, because it seems to better fit our schedule and tastes. I've been trying to make better use of the crock pot this summer so that dinner can be ready when we come home from our afternoon summer adventures. Also, I don't always have our vegetables and fruits planned out, but we eat a lot of them in the summertime. We've been stopping at various farm markets and just picking up whatever looks good. We had some super sweet corn this past weekend, so I definitely want to enjoy that again this week some night.
I'm also finding the need to better plan out our lunches and snacks or I find myself staring at the pantry at noon saying, "Looks like it's peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly, or peanut butter and honey today, kiddos!" While they don't mind a PB sandwich a few times a week, they get bored (as do I) with the same thing day after day. So, I've started planning out what we can have for lunch, sort of like I do for breakfast. I have a list of options and we sort of just pick from that.
So, here's what's cookin at our house this week:
MONDAY - Pork Carnitas, Rice and beans, avocado salad, pineapple cheesecake apple salad
TUESDAY - Pizza, Salad (treat at the fair after judging)
WEDNESDAY - Teriyaki Turkey Burgers on Hawaiian Sweet Buns (saw this in a magazine and plan to tweak it a bit for our tastes), Sweet Potato Fries, Blueberry Cobbler
THURSDAY - Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice, Sesame Green Beans
FRIDAY - Grilled Italian Sausage, Pasta with sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, and garlic, watermelon
SATURDAY - Jazz and Rib Fest
SUNDAY - Grilled fish, Rice Pilaf (some sort of salad or veggies from Farmers Mkt)
BREAKFAST CHOICES:
Cereal, cinnamon swirl toast
Sausage links, chocolate chip pancakes
yogurt, pumpkin muffins
Sausage, egg, cheese burritos
Banana and peanut butter burritos
LUNCH CHOICES:
Peanut butter sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches
Leftover pizza
Turkey Hot Dogs
Black Bean Nachos
Sloppy Joes
Salad
SNACK CHOICES
Granola Bars
Snack Mix (Honey Kix, pretzels, nuts, M&Ms, raisins, Bugles, marshmallow bits)
Pretzels/Cheese Crackers
Crackers with spreadable cheese
Veggies/Dip
Fruit
Popsicles
What's on your table this week? Do you always follow your summer menu plan?
Need some inspiration? Check out what's on the tables of families around the country this week over at Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com
It's been a few weeks since I've posted our weekly menu plan. It's been a little nuts around here. Since this blog is just my hobby, it's near the bottom of the To Do List which has been pages long lately. It's during weeks that are crazy, however, that a menu plan is essential. We wouldn't have made it through the last several weeks without one! While I have had to make some last minute substitutions and have also relied on some very easy meals (like grilled hot dogs for lunch today!), knowing what I need to make for dinner ahead of time makes our crazy evenings as sane as they can possibly be. It also helps our budget because I plan meals based upon what I see on sale each week at the store.
I'm trying to stay one step ahead of the craziness this week, so I'm posting my menu early while I have a few extra minutes of peace and quiet at the computer!
Here's what we'll be enjoying around our table this week:
MONDAY - Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread
TUESDAY - Ham and Pineapple Fried Rice, Salad, Chocolate Pudding
WEDNESDAY - Sloppy Joes, Corn Casserole
THURSDAY - Taco Stuffed Shells, Salad, Applesauce
FRIDAY - Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY - Salmon, Pesto Pasta, Salad, Strawberry Shortcake
SUNDAY BRUNCH - Raisin French Toast, Bacon
SUNDAY DINNER - Pork Chops, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans
BREAKFAST CHOICES:
Cereal/Toast
Yogurt/Granola
Sausage Balls/Scrambled Eggs
Waffles
Ham/Egg/Cheese/Potato Burritos
Baked Oatmeal
SNACK CHOICES:
Trail Mix/Snack Mix
Granola Bars
Fruit/Veggies with Dip
Cereal
Popcorn
Crackers with Cheese/Peanut Butter/Cream Cheese
I'm linking up over at Menu Plan Monday. Check out some of the other great menu plans in the blogosphere!
What's on your menu this week?
One of the best things I've done in my kitchen over the years is to meal plan! Having a plan written down makes that "witching hour" of 4:30-6 pm go so much more smoothly. Do we always follow the plan down to each detail? No, not always. Sometimes what I plan on Sunday to eat on Thursday isn't what I feel like fixing come Thursday. Or we might have a change in plans that will not allow for me to make what's on the menu. Or I might forget to get the meat out of the freezer in time to thaw. But it's a start, and that's what matters most. A plan is a very good thing to have!
With our busy schedule and commitment to eating together as a family nightly, I've come up with a thematic night approach to planning our weekly menu. I've used a variety of menu planning strategies over the years, and this seems to be working best for our family at this stage of life. We have fruit at every meal, but I don't always write that down in the plan. We just sort of pull together what we have on hand.
Here's what's on our menu plan for this week:
SOUP NIGHT Monday - Turkey Soup (from the freezer), Cranberry muffins, salad, pumpkin pie pudding parfaits
ONE DISH Tuesday - Sausage Rice Casserole, Honey Glazed Carrots, salad
SANDWICH Wednesday - Turkey Pretzelwiches, chips, veggies, Cranberry Raspberry Jello salad
KIDS' PICK Thursday - Spaghetti and meatballs (from the freezer), salad, garlic bread, lemon bars (from the freezer)
PIZZA Friday - Chicken Pesto Tomato Pizza, Salad, Chocolate Chunk Raspberry Brownies (from the freezer)
NEW RECIPE Saturday - U-Pick Lunch (leftover buffet), 21 Ingredient Chili
BRUNCH Sunday - Bacon, Eggs, Cinnamon Rolls (from the freezer) for brunch,
Sunday Dinner - Pork Roast, potatoes, carrots, salad, Blueberry Cake Parfaits
I'll post the recipes later in the week with photos were applicable. This blog is a work in progress! Thanks for following!
What's on your menu this week?
Need some further inspiration? Check out some other menu ideas over at I'm an Organizing Junkie where Laura hosts Menu Plan Monday every week. You can also check out some other ideas with Jessica at Good Cheap Eats.
