Meal Planning: Week of July 4th

Review from last week:

We had Sante Fe Chicken for 2 nights and I turned mine into a quesadilla one night.

I also made jerk pork and we had that twice.  #lazycooking

And on Wednesday, my mom made us dinner (pesto chicken pasta and cheese bread)  And dessert!

 

 

Plan for next week:  I'm off work and I'm hoping to do a lot of cooking/freezing of meals.

Friday: Grilled steak and sauteed fingerling potatoes with dill creme fraiche.

Saturday: Out to eat

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Taco Salad

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Moroccan Chickpea and Turkey Stew.  This will definitely be one that I freeze the leftovers for individual lunches I can take with me to work.

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Spiralized Summer Roll Bowls with Shrimp and Hoisin Peanut Sauce

Friday: Parent's Night Out at Ben's school! Out to eat!

Week in photos: Pre-K and Weekend With Raleigh

Last week, Ben had his last day in the Riverbirch class (Preschool) and his first day in the Aspen class (Pre-K)!  He is already having a blast in his new classroom with new kids (plus a few from the old class), new teachers, and most importantly - NEW TOYS!  

The most significant change is that they are shifting from less free play to more focused learning-based activities, but it's all the same to Ben.  He loves it all and especially loved going to school on Monday this week to see what he had been missing out on before :)

 

Last Friday after work, Raleigh's nanny dropped him off for a weekend full of FUN (and sharing, and so much rowdiness) with Ben!  Rachel and Peter were away so we got to enjoy some QT with one of our favorite little boys.

We hit up a few parks, played with all of the toys, read books, and braved dinner out with the two of them.

Meal Planning: Week of June 27th

Review from last week:


I made this beef for burritos but later realized we didn't have any tortillas.  So taco salad instead.

Grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and green beans on Father's Day.

 

And that's all the cooking I did last week!

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Out to dinner

Sunday: Slow Cooker Sante Fe Chicken

I'm also going to make a batch of Creamy Lentil Soup for lunches for the next few days.

Monday: Slow Cooker Jerk Pork with cabbage slaw and rice/quinoa


Tuesday: Leftover Sante Fe Chicken

Wednesday: Leftover Pork

Thursday: Canned Soup

Week in Photos: Brewer's Fest, Father's Day, and Spring Cleaning

This past weekend we went to see Finding Dory at McMenamins!  It's so fun to have this place nearby.  We hadn't yet been to the movie theater, but you can order food and drinks and take them in with you - and it's kid friendly.  Super fun.

The other night I had pulled Ben onto my lap and had a complete flashback moment to what felt like last year when he fit much more comfortably there.

Last weekend, after recognizing that we had toys and books stuffed in too many drawers, closets, shelves and bins, I decided to spend the day getting everything organized - and donating a bunch of old stuff.  I'm happy to say that I now actually know where his stuff is!  I also finally moved all of Ben's clothes into his dresser, which means that he now can get himself dressed without any help with us - which is so fun for both of us!

Morning trip to Mukilteo Beach/Park.

Parent's Night Out!  Greg and I visited our favorite spots in Woodinville for wine and pasta :)

I really enjoyed finding this sticker on Ben's bike that he had found and chosen all by himself.  It says "Who Runs The World - GIRLS".  Ha!  #werewithHER

On Saturday, we celebrated Father's Day at the Washington Brewer's Fest - which was a blast!  They had amazing food trucks, bouncy houses for the kids, and of course, SO much beer.  Fun way to spend the afternoon.

 

Pork and pickled red onion over macaroni and cheese from Wood Shop BBQ. Incredible.

The most flavorful Jambalaya from Where Ya At, Matt?

We met up with Dan, Jeannette and Laryd!

Too much fun (and probably too much root beer).

On Sunday after visiting my parents for a little Father's Day coffee and breakfast, we headed down to Greenlake to get Ben better acquainted with his bike! He ended up loving it so much and was cruising so fast!  We were surprised to make it all the way around the lake :)

We did have to stop midway through for some lunch.  Man I love my beautiful boy.

Meal Planning: Week of June 20th

Review from last week:

Tomato soup and salad from a bag.

 

Cod burgers (Blue Apron).  Good, not mind-blowing.

Peruvian Chicken, roasted potatoes and green beans with a creamy jalapeno sauce.  This one was amazing.  I love when Blue Apron uses simple ingredients that I can easily find and recreate again.  The green beans were cooked so simply (boiled for 4 minute, tossed in lime juice, olive oil and salt and pepper), but they tasted so great and were perfectly done.  The diced potatoes tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted for 28-30 minutes, were perfect.  And the chicken, seasoned with a rub of white vinegar, smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, salt and pepper, was so great, too!  A combo I never would have thought of myself.  And finally, the creamy jalapeno sauce: mayo, lime zest, chopped cilantro, and chopped jalapeno - went super well with the chicken and potatoes.  I'll make this often, I'm sure.

I really liked the Beef Arepa's from Blue Apron, too.

 

Plan for next week:

Saturday: We are heading to the Washington Brewer's Festival on Saturday to celebrate Father's Day!  They will have lots of food trucks there so that is the plan for dinner.

Sunday: Roasted sweet potato fries, green beans and grilled chicken.

Monday: Beef and Bean Burritos (I've intended to make these for the past 2 weeks, so I'm finally getting around to it now.

Tuesday: Leftover enchiladas

Wednesday: I have a work dinner, so the boys can have macaroni and cheese tonight.

Thursday: I have frozen Trader Joe's items in my freezer that we plan to try tonight.

Friday: We are so lucky to have Raleigh spending the weekend with us!  I thought we would kick the night off with some pizza to celebrate :)

Meal Planning: Week of June 13th

Review from last week:

ARTICHOKES!  Yum.  Now that I know how to make them, I'm certain I will eat them all the time.  (Cut 1/2 inch off the top, cut them in half, snip off the sharp edges of each leaf, steam them in a big pot over 2 inches of boiling water for 30 minutes).  So Great.

I'm learning that part of my meal planning should include having some kind of meat ready and waiting for Greg call me on the way home and announce "I feel like grilling"!!!  On this night, I had beef thawed for burritos, which he instead turned into delicious burgers.  I topped mine with a mountain of caramelized onions.

I went with the vegetarian plan on Blue Apron this week.  The spicy Korean rice cakes with green bean and pea shoots was really great.

 

The shredded cabbage, carrot and rice salad was just okay.  Greg wasn't a big fan.

The Huevos Rancheros Quesadillas were really delicious.  Even without meat!

 

Plan for next week:

Friday: Parent's night OUT.  Love Ben's school for doing this every month.  Dinner and wine in Woodinville tonight :)

Saturday: ARTICHOKES and some kind of grilled meat

Sunday: Beef and Bean Burritos.  (I didn't end up making these last week due to Greg's last minute desire to grill burgers, which I never say no to).

Monday: Leftover Burritos

Tuesday: Blue Apron Meal: Maryland-Style Cod Cake Sandwiches with Tarter Sauce & Red Cabbage Slaw.

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal: Peruvian Roast Chicken & Potatoes with Green Beans and Creamy Jalapeno Sauce

Thursday: Blue Apron Meal: Beef Arepas with Pickled Onion, Avocado & Radishes

Friday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese