Hello! We’re a little late this week, but better late than never!

MONDAY:

• $9 burger night at Barrel Republic (used to be $5 not too long ago…alas!)

TUESDAY:

• Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches

WEDNESDAY:

• Lemony Italian chicken pasta

THURSDAY:

• Santa Maria tri-tip with mashed potatoes and salad

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Takeout night

SUNDAY:

• Smoked short rib, roasted potatoes and salad (we ended up going to Universal Studios last Sunday, so moving this to this week!)

You know the drill…share your own meal plan in the comments below! Have a great week!

Hello! Not only is Owen, my 12-year-old, excited to cook with me now, he actually popped right out of his room when I asked if he wanted to come plan a menu. He is such a great motivator for me these days!

MONDAY:

• Hamburgers

TUESDAY:

• Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

WEDNESDAY:

• Carnitas tacos

THURSDAY:

• Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Eat out night

SUNDAY:

• Smoked short rib, roasted potatoes and salad

Looking forward to seeing your menus!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while. Probably the longest while of me disappearing from the blog, meal planning, cooking…all of it! It has been a crazy couple of months, with Cate heading off to college in the midst of it all. I truly have been barely cooking dinner at all, let alone planning ahead. I’m okay with that. We all go through seasons. And I’ve gotten more disciplined in other parts of my life, so just chalking it all up to balance and figuring out what that balance is.

Owen, who is now in sixth grade, has been really cute cooking with me when we have gotten around to making dinner. So I’m going to get him a little more involved with the planning and cooking. So, here’s our first menu in a long while! And here’s to keeping it up going forward!

MONDAY:

• Breakfast for dinner: Pancakes and eggs

TUESDAY:

• Chicken Enchiladas Verde

WEDNESDAY:

• Shepherd’s Pie

THURSDAY:

• Eat out after Owen’s first middle school orchestra concert!

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Eat out

SUNDAY:

• Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Can’t wait to see your weekly meal plan in the comments below! It’s been so long, excited to see your names and ideas again!

Hey everyone! I’m a little late this week. But better late than never! 

MONDAY:

• Eat out at Panera Bread

TUESDAY:

• Pancakes (because I’m just now planning the menu and it’s Tuesday at 3:30 pm and clearly I’m not getting to the store today!)

WEDNESDAY:

• Chicken Enchiladas Verde

THURSDAY:

• White Chicken Chili

FRIDAY:

• Shepherd’s Pie

SATURDAY:

• Family BBQ and swim party

SUNDAY:

• Leftovers

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I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer! Our summer travel is now officially done (and it was wonderful!) and we are all so ready to not eat out. Our family is in desperate need of the weekly menu and home cooked meals. Oh…and we saw Taylor Swift at SoFi in LA this week and I have to jump on the “WOW, THAT CONCERT!” bandwagon! Believe the hype. My goodness.

MONDAY:

• Thai basil beef rice bowls

TUESDAY:

• Indian tacos with easy tandoori chicken and raita

WEDNESDAY:

• Ancho BBQ Sloppy Joe sandwiches (I finally published this recipe to share, it’s a good one!)

THURSDAY:

• Leftovers

FRIDAY:

• Santa Fe salad

SATURDAY:

• Eat out night

SUNDAY:

• Smoked chicken with salad and corn on the cob

Your turn to share your meal plans! I cannot WAIT to see your names and menus again!

I have been meaning to share this Ancho BBQ Sloppy Joe recipe for ages. Then yesterday, Nate was clicking around Instagram and I could hear Adam Sandler and Chris Farley serenading us. It’s a sign. It’s time for Sloppy Joe.

This recipe for Ancho BBQ Sloppy Joe was one of the recipes that I adopted back from when we were ordering meal kits from Hello Fresh on a regular basis. My kids had never had Sloppy Joe sandwiches before – despite the fact that Manwich was my favorite meal in first grade, I somehow didn’t continue with cooking this food into adulthood. When this particular recipe turned up in our Hello Fresh box, I was unsure the kids would go for it. In the end the kids, Nate and I all loved this dinner and now the recipe is part of our rotation, even without getting the Hello Fresh kits.

Not only is this recipe delicious, it is easy to throw together without any fancy ingredients. And now for the Ancho BBQ Sloppy Joes…

Ancho BBQ Sloppy Joe Recipe

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Originally tried this recipe from Hello Fresh and have added it to our regular rotation!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 4 tablespoons classic BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons beef concentrate
• 2 teaspoons Ancho chili powder
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 20 ounces ground beef
• sliced pickles
• hamburger buns

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together ketchup, BBQ sauce, water, cornstarch, beef concentrate and chili powder.
2. In a large skillet, heat a drizzle of cooking oil in pan and heat to medium-high. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add ground beef, sprinkling evenly with salt and pepper. Break meat up and cook until browned, 3-5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add sauce mixture to the pan. Cook, stirring regularly, until sauce thickens and beef is cooked through, around 20 minutes.
5. Serve on toasted hamburger buns with pickle slices.

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Hello again! Unsurprisingly, the end of this school year got very busy and we have barely cooked at all over the last month. We officially have a high school graduate! It is hard to believe that Cate was only 2 years old when I started this blog. The time has felt both fast and slow. 

Our whole family is tired of eating out and squeaking by in the dinner department, so we’re excited to get back into the planning and cooking groove. 

MONDAY:

• Leftover smoked brisket – maybe some delicious sandwiches?

TUESDAY:

• Cookout food!

WEDNESDAY:

• Chicken and andouille gumbo

THURSDAY:

• Rachel sandwiches

FRIDAY:

• Homemade pizza: margherita, pepperoni and honey goat cheese

SATURDAY:

• Leftovers

SUNDAY:

• Smoked turkey breasts + fixings

Your turn! Share those menus in the comments! 

Happy Memorial Day! Hope you all have some delicious food on the grill right now! This week is the quiet before the storm of graduation week, so going to really try to get some good cooking in!

MONDAY:

• Memorial Day BBQ: Brisket + Fixings

TUESDAY:

• Cora’s ground beef tacos

WEDNESDAY:

• White Chicken Chili

THURSDAY:

• Enchiladas

FRIDAY:

• Leftovers

SATURDAY:

• Eat out night

SUNDAY:

• Indian food night (whatever I have in the cupboard to support the cause)

Your turn! Throw those dinner plans in the comments below!

The roller coast has officially hit the top of the hill and we are starting the downward decent to the end of the school year, speeding up every day! It’s going to be fun! (And crazy. But fun!)

MONDAY:

• Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and butter lettuce salad

TUESDAY:

• Mushroom swiss burgers

WEDNESDAY:

• Orchestra banquet at school – delicious local Mexican food!

THURSDAY:

• School open house AND a Lizzo concert…I can’t even begin to figure out how we’re doing dinner that night. 😉

FRIDAY:

• Cora’s ground beef tacos (Cate’s cooking!)

SATURDAY:

• Takeout night

SUNDAY:

• Smoked chicken, rice and grilled veggies

your turn! Share menus! Thank you! Happy eating!

Hello! I truly cannot believe it’s time to plan another week of dinners. Here goes!

MONDAY:

• Mother’s Day leftovers

TUESDAY:

• Chicken pot pie (I STILL haven’t made this but I am bound and determined)

WEDNESDAY:

• Thai basil beef rice bowls

THURSDAY:

• Grilled salmon

FRIDAY:

• Speech and debate banquet for Cate

SATURDAY:

• Leftovers

SUNDAY:

• Takeout night

Your turn! Share those meal plans in the comments! Have a great week, everyone!