Happy Labor Day weekend, friends! I have a little something fun for you to potentially make at your barbecues this weekend, plus a menu. That’s right, I’m actually planning a menu this week. My goodness, I CANNOT believe I went two weeks without posting a menu. That is something I have not done in over 10 years, but I suppose there is a first time for everything. Honestly, it’s just been a crazy summer and we ended it with a bang. I decided to just give myself a break and not worry about it. Jane of This Week for Dinner from a few years back would be horrified. Miss a weekly menu post? QUEL HORREUR! But the world kept on spinning and this week I’ll give it a go again!

But before the menu, I need to share this fun idea with you. One day when we were grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers, someone in our family (not sure who…maybe Nate? or one of the kids?) thought it would be funny to make a hamburger into a hot dog shape and serve it on a hot dog bun. I was like, “Sure, why not?” and proceeded to make hot dog-shaped burgers, a.k.a. burger dogs. The kids were downright giddy, it was really fun. So, the burger dogs totally worked and the kids loved it! It’s not that they taste different or anything, it really is just the novelty of it all. If you were to serve burger dogs as a meal, I would recommend chopping your lettuce and tomatoes as opposed to slicing, but other than that have at the burger dog like you would a regular hot dog or hamburger!

I don’t have instructions because, well, all you do is shape the meat into what looks like a hot dog and then cook it like normal. Easy peasy! Now go and make burger dogs to celebrate Labor Day!

Menu time…

MONDAY:
– Labor Day Cookout! The food will be the usual suspects I’m sure 🙂

TUESDAY:
– BLTs

WEDNESDAY:
– Caprese Salad and baguette

THURSDAY:
– Grilled Brats
– Salad and watermelon

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Bistro Chicken
– Salad and mashed potatoes

Click here or on the image above for a printable PDF of this week’s menu and ingredients list.

As usual, if you have a meal plan for the week, please share it in the comments!

And, before we go, I just want to take a moment to send love to anyone reading this affected by Hurricane Harvey. All week it has felt strange to me to be going about my daily life, knowing of the catastrophe unfolding for so many. For those of you looking for ways to help from afar, my friends at Mom2 created a great list of ways parents and kids can help with the hurricane relief efforts. Much love to all!

Hello! We are finally done traveling and home. Phew! This week is a quiet week (the only one of the summer) and we do have a meal plan pulled together for the most part. Just taking it easy. Also, Nate went to the store with me so our menu is a little more meat-heavy than normal, which kind of makes me laugh for some reason.

MONDAY:
– Sausage, peppers & onions
– Green beans and broccoli

TUESDAY:
– Chili

WEDNESDAY:
– Bolognese and Pasta
– Salad

THURSDAY:
– Steak
– Asian-style green beans

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– TBD…we have family arriving for a visit that evening, so I’ll probably have a soup or something waiting for them!

Click here or on the image above for a free printable PDF of this week’s meal plan and ingredients list.

Thanks to all of you who have been diligently planning menus and sharing them all summer! As usual, please share your own dinner plans for the week in the comments below!b

Hello from beautiful New Hampshire! We are visiting my in-laws, who recently purchased a circa 1770s farmhouse with a perfect view of Mt. Monadnock. Owen informed us on arriving that he is sad this is just vacation because we don’t get to stay here all the time. I have to agree with Owen, this home is a little slice of heaven on earth.

This week we are for sure having pasta with the bolognese recipe I have shared on the blog, Grammy’s orange chicken as well as dinner at Kimball Farm one night. Beyond that we don’t know what we’re eating, but that seems like some pretty good planning for being in vacation mode. 😉

As usual, please share your weekly menu plans in the comments! And have a great week!

It’s Tuesday. I said I’d have the menu post up on Sunday. And that did not happen because I”ve been too busy with staring at views like this….

I am, apparently, in serious vacation mode. But my goal this week is to finally share my Viking Lite chocolate cake recipe with you, no matter how much sunset gazing is happening.

As usual, if you have a menu to share, please do so in the comments! Have a great week!

Well, I guess I am officially in vacation mode because I forgot to put up the weekly menu post on Sunday as promised! Sorry! This week we’re cooking pizza’s in a smoker, making pulled pork in the smoker and other delicious things. Also, one day in NYC! So, that’s the extent of my weekly menu planning. 😉

If you do have a menu planned and are ready to share, please put it in the comments below. Your menus are the best and great inspiration for so many!

Have a great week!

As responsible as I’ve been about meal planning the last two weeks, this week I am taking that planned-for vacation from the dinner plan! I am hopping on a plane with the kids tomorrow for our annual East Coast trip, this time tooling around in a Toyota Prius. (I am pumped about spending way less on gas this summer than we ever have!) I know in the next two week’s we’ll be having smoked pizza at some point, thanks to my brother, but beyond that I haven’t a clue. And I’m kind of excited about that!

I won’t be totally MIA on the blog this coming month. I still need to share a special chocolate cake recipe with you soon, as well as a fun and silly grilling idea for summer. And who knows what other deliciousness will find it’s way onto the blog thanks to our travels. Plus this weekly post will go up no matter what, whether I plan a menu or not because I know some of you will!

If you are one of those responsible ones with a menu planned this week, please put it in the comments below! THANK YOU!

Hi everyone! Okay, I have another meal plan…three cheers for being sort of organized in the middle of summer! 😉

MONDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
– Vegetarian Curry in a Hurry

WEDNESDAY:
– Green Noodles

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Caprese Paninis

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Eat out night…again. We’ll be packing for our 4-week east coast trip, so just going to assume I won’t be cooking much that night!)

Click here or on the image above for the free printable PDF of this week’s menu and ingredients list.

If you have your own dinner plans pulled together, please share in the comments! Have a great week!

Hi friends! I am SO glad I didn’t plan a menu last week…so many times this past week at around 4:00 my kids were in the middle or pure summer “funness” and I couldn’t bear to tear them away to go make dinner. We had quite a few lame-o dinners, but it was totally worth it!

This week I am planning a menu, mostly because I need a little guidance on my grocery shopping. I’m pretty certain we won’t be sticking to this completely, but at least we’ll have options and actual food in the house!

MONDAY:
– Grilled Chicken Fajitas

TUESDAY:
– Fourth of July BBQ! Hamburgers, hot dogs and the like!
– I’m not entirely sure what our sides will be, but I think I’m going to make these Crispy Rosemary Potatoes per my little Anna’s request!

WEDNESDAY:
– Homemade Pizza (Honey Goat Cheese and Sausage Ricotta using this no-cook pizza sauce and crust recipe)

THURSDAY:
– Braised Chicken with Rice and Veggies

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

Click here or on the image above for a free printable PDF of this week’s menu and ingredients list!

For those of you who have been diligently sharing your menus in the comments week after week, THANK YOU! Keep it coming! Share those menus!

Hi, friends! So, it’s a non-planning week for me. In case you missed last week’s post, I’m giving myself a break this summer…if a meal plan happens, great! If not, great! But, as promised, I’m still getting a weekly post up so you all can keep on sharing your menus. And please do that!

Last week was Nate’s birthday and I made a cake that WILL be shared with you this week. We can’t keep the recipe to ourselves. Better than the cake, though, was celebrating with our three kids. It’s amazing how excited they were for our little party of five.

Okay, share your menus in the comments if you’ve got ’em! I need the inspiration myself! 😉

HAPPY SUMMER! It’s our first week of summer and, if you can’t tell, I’m in vacation mode! 😉 I’ve decided to give myself a mental break this summer. If I get a weekly menu done, fantastic. If I don’t, that’s okay! I have never given myself this kind of space around the weekly menu (I know, maybe might be a little crazy). That said, I know some of you will still be consistently planning, so I do promise to make sure a post is published where everyone can share their menus still. And I will make sure those posts go up on Sundays. Deal?

I really haven’t planned a menu yet for this week and it’s kind of awesome. Owen (my 5 year old) and I found ourselves alone last night, so we went on a date, where we ate burgers and fries and bought lots of ice cream at the grocery store. It was perfection. I do know we’ll have grilled chicken tacos and homemade hamburgers this week, and I’m going to hit up the farmer’s market this afternoon for some inspiration.

Your turn! Share those glorious weekly menus! And have a great week!