Meal Planning: Week of August 1st

Review from last week:

Lots of cooking this week but it was all easy thanks to my trusty crock pot.  

The summertime pasta salad was simply pasta tossed with baby spinach, arugula, sun dried tomatoes and capers.  I added some prosciutto.  Greg and I both loved this one.

 

Koren beef with coleslaw.

Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa.

Plan for next week:

Saturday: BBQ at our friend/neighbor's house

Sunday: BLT Chopped Salad with Corn, Feta & Avocado

Monday: Japanese Pancakes

Tuesday: Butter Chicken 

Wednesday: Grilled Burgers and Veggies

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Out to eat

Week in Photos: Haircuts, School Fun, Brunch for Rachel and a Day in Bellingham

My mom, always the crafty grandma, made a life-sized Ben picture by outlining him and then they colored him together.  I DIED when I got home and saw this!

He loved taking it to school for show and share!

 

Ben's new teacher at school posts SO many more photos of their class than the last one did, so it's been extra fun to see what they are up to this year.

The evolution of Ben's haircut :/

We started by getting him a fun 'do at the little kid salon a couple months ago.  Then the sides started to grow out, so Greg stepped in and shaved the sides - and it looked awesome.

THEN the top was too long.  

 

So I took him in to get it trimmed, and his look reminded me of Bart Simpson after that...

 

So then I asked Greg to shave it all off so we could grow it back long for the Fall (because I love his hair longer...).

I'm still not used to it and can't wait for it to grow back!  But in the meantime, we don't have to be worried about lice and it's nice for the heatwave we are experiencing :)

Last weekend we had a brunch for Rachel to celebrate baby Pepper's upcoming arrival!  It was so fun to sit around and catch up with this group.

With Maureen - who also has a baby on the way!  Due in November :)  This is the second time she and Rachel are pregnant at the same time.  I have to suffer through it and drink all the wine for them when we get together ;)

Ben was in need of some bigger tennis shoes this year, so I looked for the TALLEST shoes to get him up over the 46" mark to be able to go on the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland - and it did the trick!  Cute side note: Every time I show Ben some new (or new to him) clothes or shoes or jammies, he is SO happy and thanks me profusely.  It's adorable.

Having fun with photos with a new app: Prisma

New sunglasses - swag from a training I had to go to last week.

Ben saw some kids riding their bikes/scooters around at a skate park on YouTube Kids, and he asked if he could try that.  So we took him to the park over the weekend and he loved it.

My friend Kate (picture below, left) recently returned from competing in a Norwegian reality show: Alt For Norge! Callie and I and our families went up to Bellingham to hangout for the day and hear all about her experiences there!  We had the best day!

These ladies and I have been friends since middle school and I am so grateful for their friendship!

 

The offspring:  Ben, Mira (8), Ella (6), Maylee (6), and Jolie (4).

Meal Planning: Week of July 25th

Review from last week:

These Korean BBQ Bangkok Burritos were on another level.  Instead of adding kimchi to the burritos, I just threw some shredded cabbage together with some "Yum Yum Sauce", and it added the perfect crunch.  The best part is that we were able to have this for dinner one night, and roll the rest into burritos, wrap them in foil, and reheat them later for other meals.  The recipe says they freeze very well, too.

 

This is the third time I've attempted to make beef and bean burritos that Greg has stopped me and asked if he could just grill burgers instead.  Which I'm always fine with.  I should probably use those other ingredients for something else at some point...

(Salmon Roll Sandwiches and Tomato Soup not pictured, but definitely made and consumed).

Plan for next week: My new practice has been to freeze individual portions of all the leftovers for lunches and nights I don't feel like cooking in the future.  It's been so great to always have something easy to grab vs. being tempted to go out to eat more often.

Saturday:  Out to dinner

Sunday: Spending the day/evening in Bellingham with Kate and Callie and their families!

Monday:  Slow Cooker Korean Beef with Cabbage + Yum Yum Sauce (I have extra sauce from last week I need to use up)!

Tuesday: Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday:  Slow Cooker Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa

Friday:  Roasted Red Pepper and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breast

Meal Planning: Week of July 18th

Review from last week:

Chicken Paillard.  I love this dish so much!  Makes the best leftovers.  I might make a batch of this just to eat for lunch next week. And while I love the chicken marinade the recipe calls for, I've found that the garnish (olives, capers, parsley, shallot, etc) is really where it's at.  Toss that with some regular old grilled chicken breast or rotisserie chicken and arugula and you are all set.

We just received a bunch of salmon from our friends who have headed up to spend their annual month in Alaska to fish.  We are always SO happy to help them clean out their freezer to make room for the next haul.  I baked this with a Hoisin glaze.

We also did Blue Apron this week! 

The panko-crusted cod was delicious, and the quinoa/arugula salad and squash was great with it.  The recipe called for the squash to be raw - just coated with a mustard/vinegar dressing and marinated for 10 minutes.  Really delicious and simple.

 

Chicken burgers with oven fries.  Loved this.

Pork Roast with summer salsa.

Plan for next week:

Friday: Korean BBQ Bangkok Burritos and Kimchi. I saw a photo of this recipe posted on Instagram and I immediately researched it so I could make it at home.  Looks amazing.

Saturday: Salmon Roll Sandwiches and Butter Lettuce Salad.

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Beef and Bean Burritos

Tuesday: Leftover Burritos

Wednesday: Tomato Soup and Salad

Thursday: Summer Pasta Salad with Baby Greens

Friday: Leftovers

Week in Photos: Day Trip to Suncadia, 4th of July, a Day in Seattle, and Wild Waves!

Ben's school is simply the BEST.  He is loving his new classroom, and I am loving all of the pictures I get to see of what he is up to throughout the day!

Enjoying a little performance from a few girls in one of the older classrooms :)  I love that Ben is front and center.  I'm planning on him attending a week at this Broadway Bound summer camp next year when he is old enough (I want him to appreciate musicals and the theater as much as his mama does)! :)

 

 

I was off last week, so I kept him home from school one day to spend the day together.  We had lunch and played at Elevated Sportz!
 

Dinner and a play date at Rachel's with Maureen and all of our kids!  I made pasta, Maureen brought a salad, and Rachel made me my favorite dessert of all time: Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Last Sunday, with no plans for the entire day, I suggested to Greg that we drive over to Suncadia (where I had been once before for a work conference) to show him to resort, hike on the trails, and explore the area!  I knew he would absolutely love this view - and I was right. 










When we first arrived, the weather was actually very windy and rainy!  We stopped at the lodge for coffee and bagels, and luckily the weather turned around before we left.  We were able to walk all around the resort, vote in a chili cook-off (us), jump in a bouncy house (Ben), and let Ben ride his scooter all around the trails!  

A former coworker of mine, Rhea, and his family had a house built somewhere near the resort.  I had text him letting him know we were stopping in for the day, and asked if he was around.  (The property was being built for the past couple years we worked together and I had see all of the progress).  Unfortunately, he was in Seattle that weekend.  FORTUNATELY, he called to give us the access code to his house!!  His text went something like this:

"My house is located [here].  This is the access code.  There is beer in the fridge, there is wine in the cellar.  ENJOY YOURSELVES".

So, we did for awhile :)  The only thing that would have made it better is if he and his family had been there for us to visit with them!

 

The ride home:

 

We took Ben down to the Burke Gilman Trail for a bike ride, but stopped for a bagel first.

 

The 4th of July! We were invited to go to his friend Freya's house and we had such a blast!  Their neighborhood does the GOOD fireworks, so it was great to enjoy those (from afar).

 

My mom's friend Karen was in town, so Ben and I joined them for a morning at the Seattle Art Museum and Pike Place, and lunch at Etta's.

 

 

They had a computer lab set up for people to make their own art, so Ben and I made a fruit picture.

It was the second Friday of the month, which means it was Parent's Night Out!  Greg and I had dinner at the Italian place around the corner from our house that we have been hearing amazing things about for YEARS.  It was great.

We took Ben to Wild Waves/Enchanted Village, to see how he would do with "rides" when we got to Disneyland in a couple months.  He did GREAT - surprising us by being down to do a few scary (ish) rides!  Can't wait to do the real thing with him in September.

Ben showing me some of his cartoons and letting me snuggle the crap out of him.

Pony rides at Arabell's birthday party!