Well, for the most part, summer vacation is over for our family and "school" has begun. Corey has band rehearsal all week from 8-5, and I have computer workshops I'm teaching every day. Needless to say, I needed to come up with an easy-to-prepare menu for this week. I'm relying on lots of freezer items, and yes, we are eating hot dogs (fat free ones, of course). I also have my last Mark Twain book club luncheon on Friday, which I am very much looking forward to hosting. I'm going to do picnic foods for an end-of-summer lunch theme. :) Here's this week's menu. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com. Have a great week, and enjoy!

Sunday - Caramelized Steak Kabobs, Twice-baked potatoes, Green beans, Salad
Monday - Burrito Bowls (chicken already grilled and in freezer), Peaches
Tuesday - Spaghetti Chili (chili from freezer), Salad
Wednesday - Chili Dogs, Salad, Peaches
Thursday -Quesadillas (chicken already grilled and in freezer), Salad, Strawberries
Friday - Pulled pork sandwiches, Tomato and Basil Pasta Salad, Deviled Eggs
Saturday - Chef Salads, Fruit, Garlic Muffins

This is my last "free" week of the summer. Next week the computer workshops resume and the boy has band camp all week. The bummer is that it definitely feels like summer to the extreme. We've had temperatures in the high 90s all last week with the heat index staying around 100-105 due to high humidity. That's also the forecast for this week, so being outside is simply not fun. Because of the heat, I tried to avoid using the oven this week. I think I only have to use it one day for the Meatball Sub Casserole. Here's this week's menu. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com. Enjoy and have a great week!

Sunday - Slow Cooker Roast and Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Monday - Grilled Turkey Cutlets, Grilled Red Potatoes, Grilled Green Beans, Salad
Tuesday - Meatball Sub Casserole, Salad
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Grilled Chicken Breasts, Baked Beans, Salad, Strawberries
Friday - BLTs, Hash Browns, Peaches
Saturday - Unknown (depends on whether or not we can go to the lake)

0

casseroleground beefItalianmain dish

Meatball Sub Casserole

undefined 2010 undefined

This is very tasty and was loved by the boys. Trust me that it tastes better than the picture looks. :) Ingredients: 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1 pound ground round 1 loaf (1 pound) Italian or French bread, cut into 1-inch ...

Cynthia Matzat

0

grillpotatoesside dish

Grilled Red Potatoes

undefined 2010 undefined

These were surprisingly tasty and loved by the whole family.  Ingredients: 12 red potatoes 1-2 Tbsp olive oil Salt (I used sea salt) and pepper to taste Directions: Boil the red potatoes whole, about 25-30 minutes. After the potatoes have cooked through while ...

Cynthia Matzat

0

beefcrockpot

Slow Cooker Roast and Gravy

undefined 2010 undefined

 This is an easy roast to do on a busy day when you know you don't have a lot of time to cook, or on a day when it's too hot to turn on the oven. Ingredients: 3 1b bottom round rump roast 1 can low fat cream of mushroom soup 1 pkg onion soup mix Directions: Place ...

Cynthia Matzat

We had a nice visit with Eric's family in St. Louis over the weekend, and now it's back to work this week. I have meetings at school, Corey is still working on his online bio class, and Eric has a work retreat. This coming weekend I will be participating in a women's 5K with my friend Stefanie. So, this will be a bit busier week for us than last week. It makes me realize that school is just around the corner, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. :) I survived my second gum graft surgery last week, so we are now on to week 2 of having to eat soft foods. I did make some awesome freezer jam and jelly last week, a really yummy blackberry buckle, and some scrumptious pizza puffs. Be sure to check them out. Here's this week's menu. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com. Enjoy, and have a great week!

Sunday - Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza
Monday - Diet Coke Sloppy Joes, French Fries, Corn
Tuesday - Tuna Noodle Casserole (didn't make it last week), Green Beans, Applesauce
Wednesday - Crockpot Salsa Chicken, Rice, Broccoli
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Loaded Baked Potatoes, Fruit
Saturday - Turkey and gravy (from freezer), Criss Cross Stuffing Pastry (from freezer), Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

0

breakfast

Blackberry and Strawberry Freezer Jam

undefined 2010 undefined

This is a super easy way to make your own jam, and you don't have to have a canner! I made two batches of strawberry and one batch of blackberry today. Good stuff! Ingredients: For strawberry jam (makes 5 cups): 2 cups crushed strawberries 4 cups sugar 1 ...

Cynthia Matzat

0

breakfastcakes

Berry Buckle

undefined 2010 undefined

My mother-in-law makes this wonderful coffee cake with blueberries and always has some in the freezer ready to pull out for breakfast. I made it with blackberries this time. Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 ...

Cynthia Matzat

0

appetizersfreezerItalian

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

undefined 2010 undefined

These are easy to make appetizers that could also be a main dish for a small family if you pair it with a salad. Very tasty! Ingredients: 3/4 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 cup skim milk 1 egg, lightly beaten 4 ounces low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded ...

Cynthia Matzat

We had a great holiday weekend! On Friday, Corey and I decided to go on an "adventure" since Eric was working and couldn't play with us. We packed a picnic of "adventure food" and drove to Bennett Springs State Park, which was a new location for us. The park was very pretty and we had fun watching the fly fishermen as we hiked along the river. We decided that this is a great place to come for a day hike and picnic, but we probably would not enjoy camping at this location (the spots are way too close together and there aren't very many trees in the campground). The best thing is that it is only a little over an hour away from our house. We will be back soon to hike the 7 mile trail.



The weather forecast showed that Saturday looked like the better day to go swimming at my parents' house for 4th of July weekend. WRONG! It rained all day so we ended up having a movie marathon and eating lots of BBQ chicken instead of swimming. Sunday, the day it was supposed to rain, ended up being pretty ok. Corey and Eric ran the Firecracker 5000, and Eric got a PR! We also got Corey's belated birthday present of a new bike (he outgrew his old one), and went for a bike ride before watching fireworks in our neighborhood. All in all, it was a great family weekend.

So, on to this week's menu. Unfortunately, I get to have gum graft surgery again this summer (did the same thing about this same time last summer), which means 30 days of having to eat soft foods. Bummer. No more steak for me for a while. At least ice cream is soft! :) We are doing grilled pizzas again this week, which was a new one for us a couple of weeks ago, and they were fabulous. If you have never tried pizza on the grill before, give it a shot. It's worth it! Here's this week's menu. For more menu ideas, go to orgjunkie.com. Enjoy!

Sunday - Sirloin steak on the grill, green beans, peaches
Monday -Grilled Pizza, Salad
Tuesday -Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Burgers, Baked Beans, Mashed Potato Salad
Wednesday - Leek Soup, Applesauce (surgery day)
Thursday - Tuna Noodle Casserole, Peas, Peaches
Friday - Eat at Grandmas
Saturday - Eat at Grandmas

0

grillItalianmain dishpizza

Grilled Pizza

undefined 2010 undefined

Grilling pizzas ended up being much easier than I expected, and they tasted fabulous! The little bit of smoky flavor you get from the crust really makes the pizza. If you've never tried grilling pizza before, you must give this a shot. Ingredients: pizza dough of ...

Cynthia Matzat