The finish line is in sight!!! And the last menu for May

One more week of school, then HALLELUJAH!  
It's SUMMER!!!!!
(nobody around here is very excited about that.)


As the school year wraps up, life is insanely busy.  One of the best things about dinner each evening is including something from our garden.  Being out there brings a little respite from the hectic pace of the work day.   It also makes me think about lighter, healthier meals... about eating in season... and overall healthy living.

Yeah.  We could all use more of that.

So here's our plan for the final week of school:
Sunday~ HUGE cookout with the fam: burgers, dogs & sausage on the grill, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, collard greens cooked outside (to try to keep the house cool), coleslaw, homemade bread & butter pickles, potato salad (courtesy of my mom), strawberry trifle (courtesy of my sis), and homemade ice cream.  All the veggies came from our garden!

Monday~ Happy MEMORIAL DAY.  Remember, and be thankful.  To eat, I think we'll have leftovers ;)

Tuesday~ Stuffed peppers and spaghetti

Wednesday~ Taco night!

Thursday~ Nachos (using leftover taco fixin's)

Friday~ Veggie dinner: peas, rice, zucchini chips, cornbread, cucumber salad, maybe some tomatoes if any are ripe yet

Saturday~ ds#3 wants to have friends over for a last hurrah, so it'll be pizza

What about you?  How are you celebrating the start to summer?

Share your cooking inspirations at Menu Plan Monday!

May Menu...and school's almost out...

Last week was extremely busy and stressful.  Here's to a quieter, more peaceful week.

I planned a "Veggie Night" last week, using vegetables from our garden, and made some cornbread to go with it.  I used the recipe at 100 days of Real Food and I was amazed at how moist this cornbread turn out to be - it was perfect!  This was a very filling and satisfying meal for all of us!  My husband is a meat-lover, to be sure, so he is not always excited about meatless meals, but he enjoyed this one.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he grew the food???? 

So here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~ Ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans from the garden, fried green tomatoes from the garden, and homemade ice cream for dessert

Monday~ Fabulous Supper Nachos

Tuesday~ Scout Night: leftover ham, potatoes, and collard greens (cooked in the crockpot)

Wednesday~ Breakfast for Dinner: omelets, grits, bacon

Thursday~ BBQ Chicken, coleslaw (made with cabbage from the garden), cornbread

Friday~ Hamburgers & hotdogs...I may try my hand at homemade buns if I'm feeling adventurous....we'll see!

Saturday~ TBA....the beginning of a long weekend, so I'm leaving it open.

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!

May Menu #2.5

This week is my big musical at school, so that means I'm trying to manage stress and still be pleasant to my family. :)

Last week, our Mexican Brisket in the crockpot was pretty yummy.  We all liked it.  The leftover brisket on the Chiliquiles... was okay.  Probably not something we'll make again.  But a fun experiment, nonetheless.

My husband's amazing garden has been absolutely prolific this week.  We put together three boxes of produce to share with my family: cabbage, green beans, potatoes, collards, zucchini and lettuce.  Wowza!!!  (And that's what we're eating at our own house too!)




For Mother's Day, I got a couple of wonderful surprises.  This is the first one:

These are flowers from my Marine Son, delivered to me at school.  What a sweet surprise they were!

Then my youngest son helped me make zucchini chips for our yummy Mother's Day lunch.  We had so much fun, and he did a great job!

So here's our menu...

Sunday~ Steak on the grill, sauteed potatoes (from the garden), mushrooms, bell peppers & onions (peppers & onions from the garden), and zucchini chips.  Yum!!!  Leftover chocolate cake from hubby's birthday for dessert.

Monday~ Roast in the crockpot, new potatoes, green beans from the garden

Tuesday~ It's MULAN night.... fend for yourself!!!

Wednesday~ Veggie Plate: green beans & potatoes, corn bread, corn on the cob, tomatoes and cucumbers

Thursday~ Spaghetti & stuffed peppers

Friday~ Pool Party for ds#3.... maybe a quiet dinner for dh & me

Saturday~ Celebrating my grandmother's birthday: lasagna, tossed salad, bread, and some kind of dessert

Share your menu at Menu Plan Monday!

We survived...and here's what's for dinner

Last week was crazy and busy and very eventful, and this week will be no different.  It is as if someone tried to cram every possible life event (and school event) into the first two weeks of May.

Sigh.

So here's the plan for our week:

Sunday~ Spaghetti and zucchini chips (we harvested our first zuke from the garden!!!)
Monday~ Leftover spaghetti (we have an evening meeting at school, so it's gotta be super-fast)  
Tuesday~ Mexican Brisket (trying it in the crockpot), rice, cucumber salad 
(Scouts night)
Wednesday~ Use leftover brisket for Black Bean and Beef Chilaquiles
Thursday~ Breakfast for Dinner (using up some ham from last week)
Friday~ Sandwiches (using lettuce from the garden) and chips with salsa (ds goes to see Disney on Ice with the grandparents)
Saturday~ Hubby's b-day which means out to eat with the fam!

Share your plan at Menu Plan Monday!