When we lived in San Diego previously, Nate would get The Viking chocolate cake from Extraordinary Desserts every year for my birthday. That’s right, an ENTIRE cake. It was decadent and thoughtful and something I looked forward to all year. Then…we moved away. Nate tried with all his might to find a cake in the Bay Area to take The Viking’s place, and, while we found some delicious cakes, nothing lived up to the legend of The Viking. I have to admit, this cake is one of the best things about moving back to San Diego…maybe even better than the weather! Nate got me the cake this week and it was just as good as we remembered! Layers of chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate pastry cream, ganache and a sweet-crunchy-praline-nutty coating on the outside, The Viking is the best chocolate cake ever. Yeah, I said it.

Enough cake talk. On to the menu! We were supposed to have pot roast tonight, but we made last-minute plans with some friends who are in from out of town, so we’ll have a nice Sunday dinner on a weeknight instead!

MONDAY:
– Pot roast
– Mashed potatoes, gravy and a veggie

TUESDAY:
– Barbecue Chicken Pizza

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Caesar Wraps
– Chips and fresh fruit

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Quiche

SATURDAY:
– Eat out

SUNDAY:
– Lasagna

You know the drill – time to share your menus for the week. Thank you!

Yesterday we hosted a simple birthday party for little Owen, who is turning 2 this month! My mom and sister were in town so we decided to seize the moment and celebrate Owen’s big day with them. Owen is obsessed with the book Little Blue Truck. I love making fun cakes for my kids’ birthdays, so I decided to give the truck a try. I had no plan going in and thankfully it all turned out okay! I’ll do a quick post this week explaining how I put the cake together as it was quite simple! Owen loved the cake and thoroughly enjoyed his party – although we had to stop singing “Happy Birthday To You” halfway through because he burst into tears with all the attention! So sweet.

Another week, another menu! I actually made everything on last week’s menu, so I can’t carry any items over. Bummer! I have to think of new things! 😉

MONDAY:
– Chili
– Corn chips

TUESDAY:
– Tuscan Tomato Soup
– Grilled cheese

WEDNESDAY:
– Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
– Chips and Guacamole (just remembered this is my birthday, so I may relax and order out!)

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Barbecue Chicken Pizza

SATURDAY:
– Take out

SUNDAY:
– Pot roast (I haven’t made this in AGES!)
– Mashed potatoes, gravy and a veggie

Looking forward to seeing your menus! As always, they are great inspiration when planning each week! Please share no matter what your menu looks like!

I am already making our second batch of homemade granola bars! I can’t believe how many we went through in just three days. I think having six guests and two soccer games this weekend may have had something to do with it!

I’m feeling a bit under the weather and not really wanting to sit here at the computer planning a menu, so I’m pounding this out as fast as I can!

MONDAY:
– Bistro Chicken
– Mashed Potatoes + a veggie

TUESDAY:
– Chicken Soup with Rice

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Croissants (got moved to this week)
– Veggie

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Take out

SATURDAY:
– Homemade pizza (Hawaiian and Honey Goat Cheese with Caramelized Onions)

SUNDAY:
– Waffles
– Fresh Fruit

Your turn! Bring on the menus! I was so happy to see a few long-time reader, first-time menu posters last week! Hope to see more of you! 🙂

The Weather Channel and Accuweather keep telling me it’s going to be in the 70s everyday, and then we keep getting hot muggy weather up around 90 instead. So, I’ve decided I’m not going to believe the forecasts anymore and just assume it will be HOT and that I need to plan my menu accordingly, hence all the sandwiches this week!

I noticed in my friend Nikki’s menu last week that she called leftover night “smörgåsbord.” And now that’s what the Maynards are going to call leftover night, too! Because it sounds way more fun and exotic and like I really planned something special! 😉

MONDAY:
– Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches
– Fresh Fruit

TUESDAY:
– Chicken Caesar Wraps
– Homemade french fries

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Croissants (I haven’t made these in AGES. I’ll have to do a post about them since I currently don’t have a photo and the recipe is written pretty haphazardly!)
– Veggie

THURSDAY:
– Smörgåsbord (leftover night!)

FRIDAY:
– Caprese Paninis (pictured above)
– Chips and fruit

SATURDAY:
– Take out

SUNDAY:
– Chicken Piccata (didn’t make this last week because some friends invited us to dinner)
– Mashed potatoes and veggie

I didn’t get a chance to thoroughly read through and comment on last week’s menus until this morning. As usual, I love reading your menus every week! A few people mentioned how inspiring it is to come read through all the ideas and I wholeheartedly agree! Plus, I love getting a little peek into your lives. That all said, we are looking forward to seeing all your menus again this week! Thank you for taking the time to share them with us!

Last night we went to the San Diego Zoo for NIghttime Zoo. We got there just before sunset and were walking through the new koala exhibit when the sky looked like this. It was breathtaking!

I have to say, it is sooooo nice to be back into the school routine. Well, I do hate getting up in the morning, but everything else about being back on a schedule is great!

MONDAY:
– Happy Labor Day! Heading to some friends’ for a mid-day get together!

TUESDAY:
– Homemade Pizza (if it’s not too hot outside!)

WEDNESDAY:
– Grammy’s Orange Chicken
– Rice and veggie

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Sweet potato and black bean burritos

SATURDAY:
– Takeout

SUNDAY:
– Chicken Piccata
– Mashed potatoes and veggie

It’s that time again, time for you all to share your menus for the week! Short, tall, big, small – bring on the menus! As always, thank you for sharing! They are so wonderful to read through when I plan each week!

Our realtor sent us a box of goodies from Stonewall Kitchen and we cracked open a few of the items this weekend, including the Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. SO GOOD. (Also, since we’re talking Stonewall Kitchen, their salt & pepper crackers are the greatest crackers on earth and totally worth $7 a box. I know, sounds crazy, but it’s true.)

School starts this week! I think traveling for the last month has kept us busy enough that I’m actually not ready for summer to be over yet. But I am excited for the girls to go to their new school. Should be a fun week!

MONDAY:
– Lasagna

TUESDAY:
– Tacos

WEDNESDAY:
– Grammy’s Orange Chicken
– Rice and Veggie

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Homemade Pizza

SATURDAY:
– Eat out

SUNDAY:
– Hamburgers
– Corn on the cob and fresh fruit

You know the drill! Please share your menus for the week – plain or fancy! 

We are home! I have been traveling with the kids since July 22 and I am wiped out! We just walked in the door and I can finally get my menu planned for the week. I’m glad I didn’t have time to plan this morning before our flight because I came home to a kitchen full of food, thanks to my wonderful friend Emily. Life is good!

I need to give a shout out to Toyota before we get to the menu. They graciously provided our family with a Toyota Highlander to use for our entire east coast trip. We loved the Highlander and drove it from New Jersey to New York City to Boston to New Hampshire to Cape Cod. The car drove like a dream (a little too easy to speed, but no tickets!), can fit 7 people (which came in handy while visiting family), and I loved the radio/USB/navigation system. The system worked really well with the various apps I listen to on my phone (This American Life, Spotify, etc) and I loved the touch screen. Also, we discovered on the second-to-last day of the trip that you don’t have to use the keyfob to unlock the car – if the key is nearby, you just push a little button on the handle and the car magically unlocks. Wish I had figured that out a month ago! You can also get the Highlander as a hybrid, which I think is great. Anyway, thank you, Toyota!

Menu time!

MONDAY:
– Pasta and caprese salad
– Corn on the cob

TUESDAY:
– Omelettes
– Fresh fruit

WEDNESDAY:
– Maple balsamic chicken
– Potatoes and a salad

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Waffles and more fresh fruit!

SATURDAY:
– Takeout

SUNDAY:
– TBD! I’m too tired to think right now!

Looking forward to seeing all of your menus for the week. Please share!

Greetings from Cape Cod! Nate’s family has been staying in Sandwich, MA every summer for the last 20 years, but this year they broke tradition and we are trying out life in Falmouth. The house is awesome and is right in town near the water. The Falmouth Road Race is also literally ending in our front yard this morning, so we have front row seats for all the fun! There are 12,800 runners in the race, plus all their friends and family! It’s astounding how many people are here and we are having a blast!

There is a company named Yasso at the race handing out samples of their frozen Greek yogurt bars. The bars are SO GOOD. Yasso is now available in grocery stores nationwide. You need to find them. Such a great healthy and delicious treat!

We haven’t planned the menu for the week yet, but we do know there will do a barbecue cookout one night and Asian Spinach Salad another night. Beyond that, who cares? We’re on vacation!

Even though I’m taking a break, I’m sure some of you are still on the ball! Please post your menu for the week!

Our wonderful time in New Jersey has come to an end and we have moved north to Nate’s Grammy’s home on a gulf on the South Shore (near Boston). I love this place. After a visit here, we head up to New Hampshire and then back down to Cape Cod! The kids are counting down to the Cape week all year. Can’t believe it’s already here!

I’m not entirely sure what our schedule will be like this week and where we’ll be on what days. I’m planning a menu but it may all get thrown out the window!

MONDAY:
– Hot dogs (I have to hot dogs on New England-style hot dog buns)
– Fresh fruit

TUESDAY:
– Caprese Salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Teriyaki Chicken
– Rice and veggies

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Eat out

SATURDAY:
– Hello, Cape Cod!
– Sweet Tomatoes Pizza

SUNDAY:
– Cape Cod eats have not yet been planned!

Last week was fabulous, so many of you shared menus. Thank you! Please keep it up and share your menu for this week!

Hello, everyone! I can’t believe I haven’t posted once since last Sunday! But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been on four planes since then (including hours of delays) and threw a party for 350 bloggers in Chicago. Phew!

Right now we are in New Jersey visiting my family. We woke up this morning to rain. We don’t get much of that in California, so I’m happily soaking it all in!

MONDAY:
– Maple Balsamic Chicken
– Mashed potatoes
– Summer squash

TUESDAY:
– American Museum of Natural History

WEDNESDAY:
– Taco night

THURSDAY:
– Visit Morristown National Historic Park (Jockey Hollow and Ford Mansion)

FRIDAY:
– Dinner on the grill! (probably hamburgers and hot dogs)

SATURDAY/SUNDAY:
– Driving to New England!

We are still in vacation mode, but we will cook a few meals this week. You know the drill – please share your weekly menu! We want to see what you’re eating!