Weekly Menu - And, it's Summer time!

 I tend to appreciate Summer more now then I used to - especially June.  June tends to be not quite as hot and humid and it is enjoyable to sit outside, especially in the mornings and evenings.  I also love how summer slows down.  I told Darryl that my theme for this summer is "Go no where and Spend nothing" HA!  Due to the amount of road construction going on in this side of the state you almost can't even get anywhere even if you want to go!!!  

We are still enjoying Skinny Taste recipes.  I told Darryl that by using her recipes the amount of fresh fruits/veggies I'm buying has quadrupled while the canned/processed foods has been cut in half.  We still enjoy our family favorites but finding some new things is nice too.  

Here's the plan for this week (June 3-9)

Friday - We have our first open house of the season to attend.  We haven't always attended open houses but as my guys get older I know how important to attend others so they will someday attend "ours".   

Saturday - Our weekly dinner at my mom's :-)  This is always appreciated!! 

Sunday - I have a concert today and my family will head home after church so we will all be on our own (I'm sure Taco Bell is in everyone's future HA!) 

Monday - Spaghetti Carbonara and French Bread  

Tuesday - Blackened Shrimp and Grits and Summer Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad with Creamy Buttermilk Dijon Dressing

Wednesday - We have a new summer "plan".  My two guys are going to be mowing Nana's yard and the plan is for that to happen on Wednesdays.  Therefore, they will spend the afternoon at her house.  Then, she will bring them home and have summer with us.  My goal is to cook her favorites!!!  (Or at least food she likes HA!).  So, the plan for tonight is Crock-Pot Fajitas, Salad, and Chips and Salsa.   

Thursday -Sloppy Joes and Sweet Potato Fries in the air fryer. 

Weekly Menu - The Unofficial Start of Summer

 And just like that it's summer.  Ok, not technically but it is the "unofficial start to summer" here in Michigan.  That is what Memorial Day does around here.  I guess because this means the snow is USUALLY done HA!  Time to plant flowers and make the yard look pretty for a month before it gets so hot that everything dies LOL!  Not sure how my brothers live in the South!! 

Here's the truth of menu planning this week - we have covid in the house so all of our plans this past week and into the holiday weekend were cancelled and we hare enjoying time at home.  I don't love grocery order/pick-up but I am using it this weekend!  Hopefully this will clear out in the next few days so we can count down to getting back to normal :-) 

Friday - Dr. Pepper Crock Pot Meatballs, Chips and Salsa and Fruit and Dip  

Saturday - Pulled Pork, Sweet Potatoes, and Corn

Sunday - Roast, Potatoes, and Green Beans 

Monday -  Brats, Corn on the Cob and Baked Beans, water melon  . . . . . plus a Summer Trifle 

Tuesday -  Josh and Nate have a piano recital so I think we will just grab something afterwards - if they are hungry (It's actually a student party for just the students so they can play for each other and have snacks and desserts so maybe they won't be hungry!) 

Wednesday -  French Toast Sticks and Bacon/Sausage

Thursday - BBQ Chicken and Fried Rice 

Weekly Menu

 Things are really settling down around here.  Music lessons are wrapping up; all of our extra stuff is winding down; school is almost done.  We are home most nights which is nice and it also makes cooking easier!  We still have a few things the next few weeks but otherwise, we are finding ourselves home more then we are not!  I'm looking forward to a slightly slower pace for a bit I think!  

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday: My neighbor gave us some ham leftover from a babyshower so the plan is ham, french fries and salad. 

Saturday - dinner at my mom's

Sunday - Burgers on the grill, chips and salsa and watermelon

Monday - Enchiladas, chips and salsa and salad

Tuesday - Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice and Shrimp Egg Rolls 

Wednesday - It's my mom's birthday!  Steak, Crash potatoes, Raspberry Pretzel Salad, Rolls and dessert! 

Thursday - Beef Stir-fry and Rice along with Wonton Soup 

Seems we have a slight Chinese Theme for Dinner this week - sometimes I don't notice that until I actually type it out here!  

Weekly Menu

 We are back from vacation (we had an amazing time) and we hit the ground running.  This week was state testing so I had to go into "the big city" (HA!) 4 days so, for real, lots of "running" to get my guys to their testing each day.  My mom helped us out with dinner one night, which was great, plus I attended a ladies event on one night too. Anyway, here's the plan for the coming week. 

Friday - I picked up "street tacos" at the store - it's a premade item so all we do is build the tacos.  We've had them before and really enjoy them.  

Saturday - My guys are taking me out for the afternoon as is our tradition! 

Sunday - Dinner at my mom's for mother's day. 

Monday - Skillet Turkey and Cauliflower Rice Bowl and chips and salsa

Tuesday - Chicken Chimichangas, Salad, and chips and salsa

Wednesday - Tonight is the last regular Youth Group which means we all eat at seperate times

Thursday - Garlic Shrimp and Risotto with peas. 

I'm using the Skinnytaste Website as my menu planner.  So far we've really enjoyed the recipes from the site and I'm enjoying trying some new things. 

Weekly Menu

 After a week away (I'll share about our vacation soon!) it's back to reality and we are hitting the ground running this week!  Joshua and Nate have state testing this week so I am away from home Tuesday-Friday while they test.  Dinners need to be "old favorites" that are easy and quick.  

Friday -Sunday - We are still gone/traveling

Monday - Today is the only day we are home but it's also the day I need to unpack and go to the store!  So, Sloopy Joes, Potato Salad and Chips are the plan! 

Tuesday - Tacos on this Taco Tuesday!

Wednesday - We actually have nothing on this Wednesday now that AWANA is done!  Spaghetti and Garlic Bread for the win tonight

Thursday - I'm heading out this evening so dinner has to be easy for the guys - Leftovers :-)  There should be left over Sloppy Joes and left over taco meat.  I'll also have soup on hand just in case.  

A Little Recap

 Do you remember those spring break goals I posted a few weeks ago?  I figured it was time to update you all on the progress since spring break is done and gone. 

First and foremost, spring break was cold and wet.  I took full advantage of the dreary days to enjoy a blanket, book and coffee and I read.  I finished my book club book and started a new book!  It was great. 

Second, Joshua, Nate and I went through their clothes; cleaned out the winter stuff as well as summer stuff they had out grown; made a trip to Wal-Mart to purchase anything needed for the summer.  There was also an order placed on Amazon for the stuff we couldn't get at Wal-Mart (like Tall size Small Shorts - there really is such a thing!) 

Third, my main focus was photos/scrapbooking.  I went through and figured out where I had stopped uploading and ordering photos for the years I still needed to finish and then proceeded to upload and then order everything through 2020.  I put completed pages into scrapbooks.  I also cleaned out my file drawers and pulled out the last of the memorabilia that needs to still go into albums. I also was able to scrapbook over two weekends!  It's been since November so it was nice to get back into the groove once again.  Finally, I got all of the photos off of my phone, out of the cloud, and off my camera into my computer.  Then, I sorted them into folders by month/year.  It doesn't seem like a big deal until I state that all of that photo organization, downloading, uploading, and then uploading to Snapfish to order took about 30 hours total.  I still have to order a few months in 2021 and then January-March 2022 to be current but that is budgeted into May.  At that point, I will have everything ordered and ready to be scrapbooked so I can then just (hopefully) keep up monthly with ordering photos.  WHEW  Now I can focus on scrapbooking the photos instead of ordering them all.  

Now that I have my photos up to date again I hope to get back to my weekly "Week in Photos" post.  It's always fun to look back at it each year and see what we've done and what has changed!  

Weekly Menu

Can you believe that it is already Easter Weekend?  I will admit that I kind of miss the simplicity of what we did in 2021.  We still hadn't returned to in person church yet so we just gathered at home with my mom.  We started our day with a wonderful brunch followed by an Easter Sunday School Style Bible activity before watching a service on-line.  Then we did our traditional things - Easter Baskets and Easter Egg Hunts before heading to my moms for Easter Dinner.  It was a perfect mix of remembering what Easter is really about, having traditional fun, and, well, just relaxing.  This year is more "normal" with church, Choir, and Easter dinner at my mom's.  It is still good, just got me thinking about last year :-) 

This weeks meals will be a little more simple as we get ready to head out on Vacation. 

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Shrimp and Grits :-)  We loved this so much last time and I have almost everything on hand I need to make it so I shall!  I'll add roasted asparagus as a side. 

Saturday - My mom is cooking :-) 

Sunday - Dinner at my Mom's for Easter :-) 

Monday - Amish Chicken, Noodles, and Green beans

Tuesday - Tacos!  (It is Tuesday after all!) 

Wednesday - Tonight is AWANA awards - hard to believe both of my kids are done with this great program!  Anyway, time will be limited for dinner tonight  so it will be something I can heat up quickly like grilled cheese or leftovers! 

Thursday - Pulled Pork, Baked Potatoes and Corn