I’ll be making these Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares over the weekend. So good!

You know how I love cooking, love grocery shopping, love all things food? This weekend, I got a break from all of it, and it was…great! Yep, as much as I love cooking for people, I do appreciate a break sometimes. How about that? ;)

What a fabulous weekend I’ve had! I’ll tell you all about it on Gratituesday, but wow am I refreshed. Matt held down the fort (doing all the cooking with the boys’ help) while I went to a conference. Then today, we had a potluck after church, for which I had prepared food ahead of time. Tonight, the teen Bible study is at someone else’s house, so I’ll just show up and eat. Nice!

Tomorrow, I’ll be cooking again, and I look forward to it. I plan to make another big batch of applesauce this week, plus we’re having a houseful of company over the weekend. Super fun!

Here’s what we’ll be eating:

Sunday, October 5
Zucchini carrot bread, pears
Church potluck: corn, honey glazed carrots, butterscotch bars
High School Huddle at friend’s house

Monday, October 6
Quick mix pancakes, applesauce
Bacon, egg, and avocado salad, pineapple
Black bean chicken nachos with lettuce and tomatoes, olives, blackberries

Tuesday, October 7
Snickerdoodle muffins, raspberries
Crustless pizza, pineapple mango smoothies, carrot sticks
Chicken pot pie, tossed salad

Wednesday, October 8
Apple crisp, cheese
Ham and cheese pasta salad including lots of veggies, pears
Chili, tossed salad, nectarines

Thursday, October 9
Pumpkin donuts (my attempt to adapt this recipe)
Lazy dogs, sweet potato fries, sliced cucumbers
Italian roast wraps with lettuce and tomatoes, green beans

Friday, October 10 (Houseful of company all day!)
Fruit pizza with blueberries, nectarines, raspberries, kiwi, and strawberries; sausage
Sandwiches, baby carrots, cucumbers, apples, pears, chips
Cheeseburger soup, veggie tray, pickles, olives, bread, cheese, summer sausage, crackers

Saturday, October 11
Bacon cheesy eggs, sweet potato streusel muffins, fruit plate
Leftovers
Italian cream cheese chicken, tossed salad, green beans

Hey, look what I’ll be sharing with you this week…
You will love this!

We’ve had a full weekend with relatives visiting and sharing yummy meals. Since we have a lot of this and that left over, Monday I’m taking the day off. Ahhh, the joy of leftovers!

Need an easy meal that won’t heat up the house? Our whole family loves this Easy Taco Salad. We have fresh lettuce ready to pick from our garden, so this will taste better than ever!

Sunday, May 25
Dark chocolate almond granola, blueberries, strawberries
Sloppy joes, potato salad, creamy coleslaw, raw veggies with homemade ranch, watermelon
Small Group – grilled burgers, grapes, sides others bring

Monday, May 26
Clean out the fridge – leftovers all day, day off for Mom!

Tuesday, May 27
Crepes, applesauce
Salmon patties, potato wedges, peas, sweet peppers, raspberries
Taco salad, fresh pineapple

Wednesday, May 28
Green machine milkshakes, toast, blueberries
Baked potatoes in the crock pot with cheese and chopped ham, cantaloupe, cucumbers, carrots
Grilled barbeque chicken, steamed asparagus, green beans, sweet corn

Thursday, May 29
Flaky cream cheese pastry, kiwi
Pasta salad bar (more details to come!), watermelon
Italian stew with green beans, honey glazed carrots, cantaloupe

Friday, May 30
Chocolate whipped cream on strawberries, peanut butter honey toast
Sliced ham, spicy avocado dip with chips, sweet peppers, olives, blackberries
Teriyaki chicken and veggies (broccoli, zucchini, carrots), tossed salad

Saturday, May 31
Cheesy scrambled eggs, pineapple mango smoothies
Leftovers
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Hope you got your Free Tealights! If not, you can still pick them up (completely free) through midnight Monday, May 26. After you do that, go grab your free $5 Lowe’s gift card. Seriously…it’s all free with no catch. TopCashBack is really cranking out the generous offers. :)

How’s the Fruit and Vegetable Challenge going for you? I’ll post an official check-in tonight, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share that my goal for this week’s menu is to plan at least two veggies and/or fruits for each lunch and dinner. We always have fruit with breakfast and more fruit and veggies for snacks. But if I’m intentional about scheduling plenty in for meals too, we should be getting all kinds of goodness. What’s fun is that many of my soups and casseroles have veggies in them already, so if I plan two more, we’re getting three to five servings of vegetables and fruits in one meal!

On an unrelated note (well, still on the topic of food, of course) – my jars of Instant Oatmeal are officially empty. Making more has been on my to-do list as I’ve watched my supply getting lower and lower, but I just haven’t found the ten minutes to get some made. This week, it will happen! If you haven’t taken the time to make Instant Oatmeal yet, do it! It’s such a great food to have on hand for healthy breakfasts and snacks.

I’m also completely out of Whole Wheat Quick Mix. While I’ve got out my big mixing bowls, I plan to get a double batch of that made too!

Here’s what we’re eating this week:

Sunday, February 9
Grape nuts cereal, blueberries
Hamburger potato casserole (from Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), tossed salad, green beans
Small group – Crock pot barbecue chicken breasts, plus sides others are bringing

Monday, February 10
Cranberry white chocolate chip breakfast cookies, pears
Calzones, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, grapes
Beefy vegetable soup, tossed salad, cornbread muffins

Tuesday, February 11
Crock pot breakfast casserole, oranges
Cheddar ranch burgers, potato wedges, roasted asparagus, kiwi
Calico beans, fruit salad, carrot sticks

Wednesday, February 12
Poptarts, blueberries
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, raw veggies
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad, avocados, olives, applesauce

Thursday, February 13
Warm pumpkin custard, toast, bananas
Sloppy cornbread muffins, peas, sweet peppers, apples
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad, steamed broccoli and carrots

Friday, February 14
Heart shaped pancakes, raspberries
Pizza soup, applesauce, cucumber slices, sweet peppers
Chicken pot pie, tossed salad

Saturday, February 15
Justus’ 14th birthday! He’s still thinking through his meal choices. All we know for sure is that Cheesy Turkey Sausage Stromboli is definitely on the list. :)

Well, I almost burned today’s lunch – twice. First, last night when I was making the Hearty Green Bean Casseroles (one for today’s lunch and one for the freezer) – I almost scorched it in the pot as it cooked. Then, I put one of them into the oven this morning while getting ready for church and forgot to turn the oven off before I left.

I blame it on the boys. I told them to remind me. :)

Thankfully, I remembered during Bible class (yes, I was concentrating on Nicodemus too) and ran home between class and worship to turn off the oven. I’m happy to report that the casserole still tasted great. Phew!

Here’s our menu plan for this week:

Sunday, September 29
Breakfast cake, pears
Hearty green bean casserole (in Oh, For Real Cookbook), tossed salad
Leftovers

Monday, September 30
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Pigs in a blanket, baby carrots, peas
Lamb steak, baked potatoes in the crock pot, asparagus

Tuesday, October 1
Cheese omelets, creamy orange cooler
BLTs, strawberries
Creamy mac and cheese, steamed broccoli and carrots

Wednesday, October 2
Honey cinnamon muffins, pears
Easy noodle stir fry, applesauce
Bbq chicken legs, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Thursday, October 3
Homemade grape nuts cereal, blueberries
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrots
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad

Friday, October 4
Pancake sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Black bean salsa with chips, apples
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, October 5
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Leftovers
Turkey sausage and red bean stew

How’s everyone doing so far with the Getting Ahead for Breakfast Challenge? Our family has been eating a lot of Instant Oatmeal Packets recently, so I’m going to have to make more soon. Which leads me to my next statement:  We do not always follow our menu plans exactly.  (I’ve shared this before, but felt it was worth sharing again.)

I begin the week with the best of intentions. I create a menu based on what I feel will work best for each day of the week. But real life and ideal menu don’t always never jive perfectly – so I roll with it. That’s why having Make-Ahead Meals prepped and ready to grab is so important to me in this season of life.

Since we’re focusing on getting ahead for breakfast this week, I decided that each breakfast item on my menu would include foods that have been or can be made ahead of time. If I can at least get breakfast put on the table quickly and easily, I find that the rest of my day goes more smoothly.

Sunday, September 15
Instant oatmeal packets, pears
Potluck – taking Lynn’s no-bake cookie bars, buttered corn, Italian pasta bake, banana bread
Small group potluck – peach crisp, baby carrots and homemade ranch, sweet and sour meatballs (recipe in the Let’s Do This! eCourse)

Monday, September 16
Cranberry white chocolate chip breakfast cookies, applesauce
Crock pot baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese, peas
Chili mac, tossed salad

Tuesday, September 17
Whole wheat waffles, blueberry syrup
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, baby carrots
Chicken alfredo with pasta, tossed salad

Wednesday, September 18
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Easy noodle stir fry with chicken, broccoli, and carrots
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad, grapes

Thursday, September 19
Dark chocolate almond granola (recipe coming soon), applesauce
Homemade corndogs, strawberries, apples
Cheeseburger macaroni, peas

Friday, September 20
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, blueberries
Meat and cheese burritos, apples
Crock pot fiesta chicken on tortillas with fresh tomatoes

Saturday, September 21
Homemade grape nuts cereal, fruit
Leftovers
Pizza casserole, tossed salad

Give us an update. Have you been working on the Getting Ahead for Breakfast Challenge?