Thursday – Leftovers (or Meatballs in the likely case of – no leftovers left over) Going to post that meatball recipe here this week so it’s easier to find!
Friday – Pizza!!!
Saturday – Grill Party! Hot dogs, burgers, potato salad and all good grill food.
Monday – Husband threw the pork in the crock pot this morning. For dinner we’ll have Buddha Bowls with Rice, Pulled Pork, Roast Broccoli, and the leftover sour cream sauce from Sunday.
Sunday – Lasagna with Caesar Salad. I use this recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook. I’m sure there are much more complicated ones out there, but when I’m looking for a classic recipe I always look to Betty. She’s never steered me wrong. She keeps it simple enough that it’s manageable and she offers lots of tips and tricks. She’s very much for normal people like me.
Monday – Leftover Lasagna. Work smarter, not harder, friends.
Tuesday – White Chicken Chili. I’ve never tried this recipe before, but I love that it can be made in a crock pot. I love coming home to a meal already made. Feels like someone else has made dinner for us. I feel like white chicken chili is all about the toppings. Pulling out the corn chips, avocado, cilantro and sour cream to top it off here.
Wednesday – Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce. I bought the ravioli from the store because I’m a working mother, not a wizard. My husband is notttt a fan of butternut squash nor ravioli. He’s traveling this week though, so I won’t feel guilty making this for just the boys and I.
Thursday – Leftovers. Most likely the chili from Tuesday!
Cocktail – Hot Buttered Rum. Had it on my November list last year and never did get around to it! So I’m going to get to it this week!
Bake – Cinnamon Rolls. These are the best I’ve ever made. There’s another recipe that I want to try from Sarah Kieffer, but I’m so scared to deviate!! I KNOW these are always good, so why try another? But what if Kieffer’s are better. Ack! The indecision – I’ll let you know on Instagram what I decide!
Treat – Chex Mix. My mom always always had a tin full this time of year, so I’ve always kept with tradition and had it around the house for my family too. Don’t you love tradition?
Happy eating this week, friends! Please share if you make anything amazing this week!
Well, it’s starting to seem like I don’t put anything but meal plans on here! But oh well, here it is! The week ahead. May it go smoothly for us all!!
Sunday – Chili. My husband makes a very classic version, and it’s so good. We pile on corn chips, cheese and onion. I’ll get him to type up his recipe someday.
Monday – Grilled Chicken, Cheesy Butternut Squash Casserole, & Kale Salad. The butternut squash recipe is from Feeding a Family by Sarah Waldman.
Tuesday – Burrito Casserole. Bit of a casserole theme going, huh? I saw a recipe on Diane Morrisey’s Instagram account that gave me an idea so I’m running with it! Will share the recipe if it’s any good.
Wednesday – Homemade Chicken Strips with Za’atar Ranch, and Mac & Cheese. One for the kids! The chicken strips and ranch recipe is from The Modern Proper cookbook which I highly recommend. If I have time, I’ll make the Mac and Cheese, but I have a box on hand just in case.
Thursday – Leftovers always!
Friday – Pizza night!
Saturday – Dinner in a Pumpkin. For Charlie’s birthday! Last year I made Ballerina Farm’s recipe, and this year I might switch it up a bit. You can really make any soup, and just transfer it to a pumpkin.
Bake – Charlie’s Birthday Cake. He’s gone from bat to witch to dinosaur, but the last week or two he’s seemed pretty set on dinosaur. I’ll probably make a layer cake. My favorite white cake recipe comes from Simple Cake by Odette Williams. Look for the Very Vanilla Cake.
Monday – Crockpot Carnitas Rice Bowls. We’ve gotten a carnitas roast from Aldi a few times before and it is SO good and so easy. You just toss it all in the crockpot and cook like a normal roast. I’ll make rice and a side of black beans when I get home from school and we’ll top with fresh salsa, guacamole, cilantro, drizzle sour cream thinned with lime, and a few dashes of sriracha and a dash of tajin on top if we’re feeling snazzy.
Tuesday – Carnitas Tacos. Kind of like yesterday, but on soft tacos that have been warmed in the oven and with pickled onions and a heap of taco slaw on top. Oof, yum.
Friday – Pizza night! Plus family movie after, obviously
Saturday – Charcuterie Board. My favorite kind of dinner. I’ll pick up whatever looks good, but I do have a pinterest board for inspiration! It only has six pins, so I really need to go add some more. I think I’d like to master the fine art of charcuterie board building.
Sunday – Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. Grilled Cheese on my sourdough, tomato soup from a can because call me crazy – that’s my favorite tomato soup. I think it just takes me back to my childhood! I’d be happy to hear suggestions for your favorite tomato soup – but don’t be offended if I don’t try it.
Treat – Molasses Cookies. I think I’ve put this on a couple past plans and haven’t gotten to them. I’m committed to them this time!
Cocktail –September Heatwave. I also had this on last week’s, but we switched to our pumpkin beer date night instead. Having this alongside a big fall puzzle on the coffee table for our weekend date & cocktail pairing.
Make anything good lately? Please share, so I can drool!
Monday – Flank Steak, roast brussels & crispy potatoes. My husband makes the best flank steak marinade. I dream about it! Doing Labor Day right and wrapping up summer with all the good stuff.
Tuesday – Chicken Enchiladas. We don’t really follow a recipe for this one. Put the chicken in the crock pot in the morning with taco seasoning, and use canned enchilada sauce for ease. All you have to do is shred the chicken and heat up some black beans on the side. To assemble – shred the chicken, spread a bit of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish, into each tortilla shell put chicken and some shredded cheese (we like either Monterey Jack which melts really well, or taco cheese here), roll up and place seam side down into the dish, top with more enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes. Serve with sour cream, sliced avocado, tajin seasoning, cilantro, and a side of black beans.
Wednesday – Harvest Skillet. But with chicken sausage instead of bacon! But also looking at this recipe that I think I’ve used before, my recipe is actually not all that similar to this one. 😂 I usually do Brussels sprouts, bite size potatoes sliced in half, sweet potatoes diced, chicken sausage all cooked up in the cast iron skillet. Top with fresh parm and serve with a side of sourdough.
Thursday – Leftovers always!
Friday – Pizza night! Plus family movie after.
Saturday –Pulled Pork Tot-Cho’s for husband and I, pulled pork sandwiches for the boys.
Sunday –Whole roast onions, pork chops and mashed potatoes. Excited about this one. I’ve been thinking about those onions since I found them on Pinterest.
Bake –Salted Maple Pie. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Treat – Apple Chips. The boys will love these! They’ll be the perfect after school snack.
Monday – Beef ragú over egg noodles. We’re having this today over parmesan polenta with Caesar salad and garlic bread. We’ll have the leftovers on Monday with egg noodles and more bread for the boys.
Tuesday –Taco Soup. A recipe from my mother-in-law. I’ll post the recipe this week on Instagram, but the recipe I’m linking to looks identical! Liz (my mother-in-law says “It is very forgiving…. can substitute anything…. I just give it a shake or two of ranch powder… I use 2 fire roasted tomatoes and 1 stewed… and I add about a can of water. It’s so easy. The hardest part is opening cans!”
Wednesday – Sheet pan salmon and tons of veggies (zucchini, squash, broccoli, onion). Mixed with lemon pepper seasoning, garlic, oil and lots of butter. Spread in a single layer and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Thursday – leftovers always!
Friday – Pizza night! I’ve confessed that we’ve been picking pizza up from our favorite local spot lately and I have zero regrets as we’re still getting into the swing of being back in school!
Saturday – Date Night! Our anniversary is the 30th, so we’re hitting the town and the boys will most likely have hot dogs or chickens nuggets.
Sunday – Spaghetti Bolognese. A Sunday favorite, and the perfect weekend cooking project. It’s not hard, but it takes a long time.
Bake – Sourdough. It’s happening! I’m getting my poor languishing starter revived this week. I use Tartine’s country bread recipe and it’s not the fastest, nor easiest, but it’s easily the best.
Treat – Molasses Cookies. Feels very end of August-y. A follower shared this recipe with me and I have to try it! I have so many cookie suggestions from a story chat the other day, so I’m going to share a blog post with all of the links because I need to try them all.
Cocktail – Coffee Old Fashioned. Can you tell I’m already easing into September?
Make anything good lately? Please share with everyone in the comments!
I know, I know. It’s only mid-August, but once school starts, it’s basically soup season, right? I think part of these feelings must stem from how absolutely frigid they keep my school library. I need a warm little meal packed from home on my lunch break while wrapped in a cozy sweater more than ever. Maybe if I were still out in the wild world, and not tucked away in my windowless, season-less arctic tundra of a library, I’d be munching on tomato sandwiches, lettuce wraps, and peaches with burrata cheese and sprigs of basil as most are wont to do in mid-August. I used to be a Children’s Librarian at an amazing public library down here and one of my co-workers would pack herself soup for lunch no matter the season and I kind of love that. Feels very librarian-y. I’m not so extreme as to cut all other meals out of my life once school starts, but I do like making soup on the weekends. It’s one of those foods that tastes even better the next day, and you know I’ve been thinking about getting my sourdough starter revived too. There’s nothing that goes together so well as soup and a crusty boule of sourdough. I thought I would share some of my favorite soups and a few that I’m thinking of trying this season just in case you are in the mood for soup too.
Lemon-y Lentil Soup. One of my all time favorites. Make SURE you get red lentils, They break down in such a way that makes this soup so thick and delightful. Brown and green lentils keep their form too much for this one.
Classic Chili. We make our first batch of chili a big event. It’s an opening day of football tradition. Don’t skip the fixings. My husband makes the BEST chili and I’ll have to get him to type it up one of these days, but this one looks pretty similar. We always top with cheddar cheese, red onion diced tiny, corn chips, and sometimes sour cream if it’s a spicy batch.
Pasta e Fagioli. Ok you guys, I have a recipe that I’ve always used for this (my husband I took a cooking class in our early days of marriage and the chef taught us how to make this soup!), but early in my instagram days an Italian girl messaged me that what I was making was so far from a true Pasta e Fagioli that it couldn’t even be called that. And then she sent me a link to this very complicated looking recipe, and so I’ve never talked about this soup again on my account. Ha! Maybe I’ll get the courage to share my recipe again, but for now – try the one I’m linking now. It looks simple and yummy.
Country Potato Soup. (Pictured above) Obviously this is the magnolia recipe from Joanna Gaines and it’s soooo good. I dream about it every year when the 70’s hit.
Street Corn Chowder. I just made this over the weekend, and it’s as good as I remember. You can use frozen corn instead of corn on the cob and this makes it a year round option.
Soups I want to make this Fall:
Pumpkin Soup – Last year I made soup in a pumpkin and you better believe I’m doing it again.
Tell me your favorite soup for soup season in the comments! I’m going to make it a season of soup!! And if you too are making it a soup season – this is our favorite dutch oven. I use it for sourdough and every soup we make! In other cozy news. I want this, this and this.
Monday – BLTs with tater tots and salad – I always try to keep Monday nights easy, so I’ll make the bacon in the oven (at 400 on a foil lined pan for about 20 minutes), slice up some heirloom tomatoes, add iceberg lettuce because it has the best crunch, husband will put a fried egg on his, I’ll throw a quick salad together and there will be clementines and tots with ketchup for the kids. If I have a little extra time, I’ll make this very yummy herb mayonnaise, or maybe I’ll just sit back with a drink and a book with that extra time instead.
Tuesday – Sweet Potato Tacos with black beans, quick slaw and pickled onions – I buy frozen chopped sweet potatoes and this is basically the easiest taco Tuesday ever.
Wednesday – Lemon Ricotta Pasta – I’ve wanted to make lemon ricotta pasta since reading One Italian Summer (which wasn’t all that good, but the food descriptions took me there!) and I searched high and low for a recipe that seemed worthy. This one has great reviews. I’ll probably add some pan fried chicken for my husband and some pillsbury rolls with jam for my little guys.
Saturday – Cheeseburgers on the grill with sliced veggies & dip (we usually mix one container of cottage cheese with a packet of ranch seasoning) and oven fries (just slice up potatoes to the size you like best, roll around in olive oil and seasonings – we either use steak seasoning or garlic salt with Parmesan, place in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, mixing around half way through.).
Something about the school year starting just turns me into this kitchen monster. It’s like I have to spend time in the kitchen. I think it’s being out of the house all day, and the fact that our kitchen is one of my favorite places on earth and cooking and baking is one way that I say “I love you” to my family. Anyway, lots of good things happening in the kitchen. Here’s this week’s meal plan just in case it might inspire your meals this week!
Monday – Crock Pot Gyros – crock pot Mondays are truly a gift during the school week. I come home to dinner being pretty much made. I’ll buy tzatziki from the store to make it easy, and if I’m especially productive, I’ll chop up the veggies on Sunday night.
Tuesday – Taco Salad (I don’t really use a recipe for this – just crushed Doritos, taco meat, lettuce, and a whole bunch of toppings) – served with an ice cold margarita with salt on the rim for me, and no salt for my husband. I’ll have the boys cut up the iceberg lettuce for our after school transition activity while I brown the meat and Lukey terrorizes us all.
Saturday – Churrasco Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce – served with roasted fingerling potatoes, a big green salad and that rosé punch you see below. Throw in a board game after the boys go to bed and it’s basically a date night at home.
Sunday – Street Corn Chowder – served with crusty sourdough and all the mix-ins. Do not skip the cream sauce in the recipe. Amazing.
Bake – Peach Pound Cake – I think that I’ll make this in a Bundt pan with a glaze on top. Yum.
Treat – Fluffernutter Cookies – we usually make a treat on Thursdays as it’s leftovers night, so the time spent in the kitchen for dinner is low. This recipe will be a great one for the boys. I have a bag full of stale marshmallows and I think I’ll put them in charge of wrapping the marshmallow up with the dough.
Bon appetit, friends!
What are you making this week? Anything I need to know about? You know I’m already thinking about my next meal plan!
The Metroka Family 