Our first round of company has arrived! Everything we’ll eat the first few days of this week will be gluten free to accommodate one of our guests. It won’t be hard at all. We’ll just avoid eating breads, and the pasta I’ll use is rice pasta instead of wheat. We were careful to make sure our grill is clean and free of gluten before throwing on any meat. 

Here’s our menu for this week:

Sunday, June 23
Almond flour muffins, raspberries, applesauce
Grilled Italian chicken, green beans, potato salad, creamy coleslaw, sweet peppers, strawberries, kiwi
Cheesy salsa enchiladas (made with corn tortillas), tossed salad, watermelon

Monday, June 24
Easy breakfast casserole, blueberries, clementines, applesauce
Creamy mac and cheese, peas, watermelon, baby carrots
Hamburger hash-brown casserole, tossed salad, steamed broccoli, nectarines

Tuesday, June 25
Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, pineapple-mango smoothies
Sloppy joes, dill pickles, olives, sweet peppers, strawberries, fresh pineapple
Tuna salad on lettuce with tomato slices, boiled eggs, grapes, baby carrots

Wednesday, June 26
Coconut flour muffins, raspberries, blueberries
Pasta salad bar (chicken, pasta, cheese, veggies, salad dressings), watermelon
Pizza boats, tossed salad, pineapple, grapes

Thursday, June 27
Pancake sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Spanish rice with chicken, grapes, sweet peppers
Pasta alfredo, steamed broccoli and carrots, asparagus

Friday, June 28
Whole wheat waffles, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream
Hamburger patties, green beans, watermelon, baby carrots, pineapple-mango smoothies
Chicken tacos, avocados, grapes

Saturday, June 29
Cranberry white chocolate chip breakfast cookies, applesauce, kiwi
Leftovers
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, peas, zucchini, tossed salad

After keeping it a secret for weeks, we finally gave Matt his Father’s Day gift this morning. So much fun! 

If you’re interested, we have just six 4-ounce bottles of vanilla extract left. It’s been fun watching them sell and seeing how many different states they are headed to. May they be a blessing in your kitchen. ;)

Here’s our menu plan for this week:

Sunday, June 16 – Happy Father’s Day!
Peach cobbler, milk
Crock pot beef stew, chocolate peanut butter pie
Burgers, sweet potato fries, watermelon

Monday, June 17
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, strawberries
Snacky lunch – cheese, apples, baby carrots, grapes, crackers, beef sticks
Grilled barbecue chicken, tossed salad, green beans, watermelon

Tuesday, June 18
Giant breakfast cookies, pineapple mango smoothies
Grilled cheese sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, pickles, strawberries
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Wednesday, June 19
Pancake sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Homemade corndogs, smoothies, baby carrots
Alfredo sauce with pasta, steamed broccoli and carrots, tossed salad

Thursday, June 20
Fried eggs on toast, raspberries, yogurt
Chicken salad on whole wheat pitas, apple slices
Calico beans, pears, carrots

Friday, June 21
Quick mix pancakes, blueberries
Cheddar ranch burgers, potato wedges, asparagus
Chili mac, tossed salad

Saturday, June 22
Creamy orange coolers, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Italian roast wraps, lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon

Here is what I said to my boys one morning last week:  “You are brothers. That means you are on the same team. Stop treating each other like enemies, be nice, and for Pete’s sake, stop all that ridiculous arguing!!!!!”

Oh wait. That is not the quote I meant to share. Goodness.  What I really wanted to tell you is that one morning last week, I was able to say this to my boys:

“To go with your breakfast, you can have cherries, blueberries, kiwi, apples, raspberries, pineapple, clementines, pears, strawberries, nectarines…or a banana.”

Yes, we actually had eleven different varieties of fresh fruit in our fridge or on our counter-top. Can you say spoiled?? (Our family – not the fruit.) It is unbelievable to me how blessed we are in America to have all of these wonderful choices. I love how many great fruits are in season right now – filling my kitchen with goodness. Truly, we are so, so blessed. 

And then, there are all the wonderful frozen fruits in my freezer:  strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, and blueberries. These Pineapple Mango Smoothies have been rocking my world. They are perfect on a warm afternoon when we all need a snack to hold us over until dinner.

The fun is just beginning as fresh garden produce will begin making it’s way into our house. Ahhhh summertime. So much to love.

Here’s what our menu looks like this week:

Sunday, June 9
Easy breakfast casserole, nectarines
Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, grapes, sweet peppers, baby carrots
Leftovers

Monday, June 10
Cranberry white chocolate chip breakfast cookies, apple slices
Black bean salsa, pineapple mango smoothies, baby carrots
Italian cream cheese chicken, asparagus, tossed salad

Tuesday, June 11
Honey cinnamon muffins, scrambled eggs, grapes
Chicken patty sandwiches with fresh spinach, and tomatoes, baby carrots, pears
Pizza boats, watermelon, tossed salad

Wednesday, June 12
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries, whipped cream
Chicken salad on homemade pitas with lettuce and tomatoes, strawberries
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad, pineapple

Thursday, June 13
Almond flour muffins, fried eggs, kiwi, strawberries
BLTs, grapes, sweet peppers, baby carrots
Teriyaki chicken with rice and veggies (broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, and carrots)

Friday, June 14
Pancake sausage muffins, nectarines
Salmon patties, potato wedges, green beans, cherries
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, June 15
Flaky cream cheese pastry, blueberries
Leftovers
Grilled marinated chicken breasts, baked potatoes, asparagus, sweet peppers, tossed salad

Have you been enjoying any sibling arguments fresh fruit lately?

My family is spoiling me again this Mother’s Day. I just finished a delicious lunch (made by everyone but me), and now I am listening to Matt and the boys clean the kitchen. I think I may go take a nap. 

 
No, the boys didn’t get up at the crack of dawn to bake fresh rolls. 
I happened to have some in the freezer, 
so all the boys had to do was get them out to thaw before church.  :)

Here are the flowers I received at church today. Each boy (including Matt) got to pick one flower to give me. I am amazed that somehow they coordinated and all picked a different color to bring to me. 

Our family has some exciting days ahead of us this week and next. We take off Wednesday for a week long trip. Therefore, the menu plan? There’s no need for one.

I will share with you what the first few days of our week look like before we leave, but I’ll warn you, it is not exciting in the least:

Sunday, May 12 – Happy Mother’s Day to me in which I am not allowed to cook all day!
Scrambled eggs, fruit
Grilled BBQ Chicken, cream cheese corn, tossed salad, butterhorns
Pizza

Monday and Tuesday
Leftovers, clean out the fridge, scramble more eggs, make some smoothies, finish cleaning out the fridge

Wednesday
Pack sandwiches for the road, plus lots of fruit and water bottles

If you want some real (and helpful) menu ideas, please check out this link which is always available to you:  My menu plan archives.

I’ll share more about our upcoming trip on Gratituesday, because without a doubt, this trip is one that we have looked forward to for quite some time and we are so thankful it is finally here!!!