Monday – Papa Murphy’s
Tuesday – Chicken & Gravy
Wednesday – Chicken Parmesan & Broccoli
Thursday – Chicken & Spinach Salad
Friday – In-n-Out
(I know…2 “eat out” meals in one week! I’m traveling and super busy. Don’t judge! 
Oh, and sorry to all you non-Californians)
Saturday & Sunday – Whatevs….at my mom’s with the kids. Woot!
Monday – Sesame Chicken Stir Fry Salad
Tuesday – Taco Chicken Bowls
Wednesday – Spicy Thai Chicken Wraps
Thursday – Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Friday – Turkey & Pesto Paninis
Saturday – Southwestern Chopped Salad
Sunday – Warm Goat Cheese Salad
In an attempt to keep the blog rollin’, I’m going with imperfection. Sorry, no recipes for some, just couldn’t find them. But drool over the others, ready….go! =)
********DINNER MENU***********
Monday: Buffalo Pasta (carryover from last week…#hadnachosonsunday #momoftheyearaward #somuchforeatinghealthyin2014)
Tuesday: Good Greens Winter Soup (I always add store bought meatballs…and it’s better than it looks, I promise!)
Wednesday: Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad (I cheat and buy candied walnuts instead of making them)
Thursday: Middle Eastern Burgers (sorry, no pic…and if you read the recipe, I use pomegranate jelly. Sounds weird, but it tastes delish!)
Friday: Chicken Kabobs (an easy go-to in our household)
![[IMG_5922%255B4%255D.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFCpz-fj97W_mpiq4FERoTjWTZhviWBXYTvsc5L8t6_eiR8JYQncQV73P-jyii92JBCSYiVS8jEHcRqJtUW8wKQQ4vuPT5fgeWwFxVS3RMrLRGPWU4eRxdirtq6cWvMapCeMg5Ker3p-f/s1600/IMG_5922%25255B4%25255D.jpg)
Saturday: Chicken & Gravy
Sunday: Fiesta Chicken Bake (couldn’t find it, so here it is below)
Fiesta Chicken Bake
6 chicken legs (thigh-drumstick pieces) (3-3 ½ lbs. total)
½ c. chopped onion (1 medium)
1 T cooking oil
1 14 ½-oz. can tomatoes, cut up
1 8 ¾-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 4-oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. pepper
Several dashes hot pepper sauce
½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 T sliced pitted ripe olives
Rice (optional)
Directions:
Skin chicken. Rinse; pat dry. Arrange chicken in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake in a 375◦ oven for 30 minutes. Drain fat.
Meanwhile, for sauce, in a saucepan, cook onion in hot cooking oil until onion is tender but not brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained corn, chili peppers, chili powder, paprika, cumin, pepper and hot sauce.
Pour sauce over chicken. Bake in 375◦ oven for 20-30 minutes more, basting occasionally with sauce. Sprinkle chicken with cheese and olives.
********BREAKFAST MENU***********
Monday: Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins (Also, a prime example of me on the path to becoming a “rock star”. Previously, I would’ve gone to make these and FREAKED OUT because I didn’t have enough yogurt and no flax seed. When I made them yesterday, I improvised and added some cream to equal the amount of yogurt and omitted the flax seeds. These are DELICIOUS and even my picky eater daughter GOBBLED them up!)
Tuesday: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (made this for the first time…could take it or leave it. Son liked it, daughter nearly puked, I tolerated it)
Wednesday: Pumpkin Waffles (and I actually have apple cider from a recipe last week, so I may even make the apple cider syrup – YUM!)
Thursday: Bagel & Mango
Friday: Cereal
Saturday: Cream Cheese Sweet Bread
Sunday: Scrambled Eggs & Bacon (if I can get the hubs to make it…otherwise, cereal 
)
Alright, if you follow my blog and have been missing it, you have a good friend of mine to thank. She’s been missing it…so here’s to you, you know who you are. Here’s my menu plan for the week…
I did breakfasts, too, but didn’t have time to post yet. MAYBE…no guarantees. Enjoy these for now! YUM!
Monday: Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing
Tuesday: Cheddar Chicken
Wednesday: French Dip Sandwiches
Thursday: Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Friday: Buffalo Pasta (Sorry, can’t remember where I got the recipe…and no pic to accompany)
Saturday: YOYO (leftovers or Papa Murphy’s)
Sunday: Asian Turkey Meatballs w/ Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
Monday: Oven Fried Eggplant (I may have gotten an obscene amount of eggplant in our Farm Fresh delivery this week, so…)
Tuesday: Zucchini Mac & Cheese (and, a wee bit of news…I may or may not have picked a zucchini while house hunting! The house was vacant, it would’ve gone to waste. 
Stay tuned for more info!)
Wednesday: Taco Casserole
Thursday: Loaded Eggplant Rounds
Friday: Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas
Saturday: Date night! Mac & cheese for the kids
Sunday: Teryiaki Chicken
Gosh, time flies! I’m too embarrassed to admit the last time I posted my menu plan. Not that I haven’t been doing it, just not posting. But, here goes…
Monday: Chicken, FB Broccoli Recipe & Salad (it was super healthy!)
Tuesday: Bite-Size Chicken Empanadas (new to me recipe!)
Wednesday: Chicken Fajita Melts (second time making it, yum)
Thursday: Greek Orzo Stuffed Peppers (second time as well, yum)
Friday: Artichoke Pizzas (This is an easy go-to for me I found a LONG time ago in Real Simple. It has almonds on it and is delish!!)
Saturday: Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries & Salad
Sunday: Turkey & Cranberry Chutney Sandwich (second time yet again, and yummers!)
Short and simple post for ya!
I made crepes for the first time this morning…it will CERTAINLY not be the last or else my hubby will never forgive me for making these on a work morning when he has already left the house. 
Clipped the recipe out of a Mother’s Day issue of Family Circle. (and yes, I’m just now getting around to trying it! – instead of being embarrassed about waiting this long to try the recipe, I will pat myself on the back for hanging onto a paper copy of said recipe for oh…4 or 5 months. BAM!)
SUPER EASY…AND SUPER DELISH! Too bad my daughter still chose to pick out the ONLY healthy part – the strawberries. *sigh*
strawberry & nutella crepes
1. In a medium bowl, whisk 2 eggs, 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tbsp oil, 2 tsp sugar, 3/4 tspbaking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch ground allspice. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Stir.
2. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. With a ladle or 1/4-cup measure, add 2 tbsp batter to skillet. Tilt and rotate pan to coat. Cook 30 seconds or until crepe is browned on bottom and edges are dry. Lift with a silicone spatula and flip over. Cook 5 seconds, then transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Repeat with remaining batter, stacking crepes with wax paper in between. Spread with Nutella and scatter sliced strawberries on top. Fold, then dust withconfectioners' sugar and cocoa powder.
Enjoy!
What is Cool Summer Days?
Pre-Pinterest days I stumbled upon this adorable idea on a blog. I hosted a little craft party and a few girlfriends and myself made them…no sewing people! Iron on is your friend.
The idea is during the summer months you tuck a paper into each cone with something fun to do that day. I’ve done it for two summers and overall, it has been a wonderful experience! Our excitement for it comes and goes throughout the summer, but overall, it has been a tremendous help! Read on to find out why…
5 reasons why I bother
#1. It helps cut down on TV time, because something else has already been planned.
#2. It gives the kiddos something to look forward to! Check out Cooper this year, he woke up like it was Christmas morning!
#3. Cuts down on how often the orange rhino rears it’s ugly head. It’s true! When I have something planned, we’re ALL more distracted and excited. BUT…you have to plan ahead for failure, bad attitudes, or change of plans. Just keep plugging along.
If you’ve never heard of the “orange rhino”, check out the following two blog entries:
Hands Free Mama – The Important Thing About Yelling
#4. It provides motivation.
The fact of the matter is…my son likes to dawdle.
It drives me bonkers. So…we are FINALLY starting a morning routine that he won’t gripe about. Why won’t he gripe you ask? Because until his morning routine has been accomplished, he doesn’t get to see what today’s cool summer days calendar has in store for him. Here’s what I designed to hang in his room as a reminder:
So the rule is…no TV or calendar fun until this is done.
Check out his bed from this morning, so precious!
AND finally….reason #5…
#5. It creates lifelong memories! When I first started this, I had no idea what would become of it. But now that we’ve done it for about 2 1/2 summers, many of the silly “holidays” we’ve celebrated are becoming family favorites. Donut Day will always be one we will celebrate, calendar or not.
What should I do?
I will do my darndest to post what we do each day this summer to provide you with some ideas. Feel free to check out my labels on the sidebar of my blog – Cool Summer Days June, July and August, they’ll provide some ideas to start with.
So…day #1 for 2013…
MAKE YOUR OWN FLUBBER!
Click the picture for the link and instructions on how to. Quite easy! Here are some pictures of my kids after we made our own. **Note: Right after we drained the water, it did NOT appear to be “flubber” and I nearly dubbed it a fail. But, after the mixture sat in the bowl for about an hour, it was ready to be played with! For the next hour! Yay!
The near fail…but then…success!
And then, in Allie’s sweet little investigation of this new found Flubber…
She looks up…
to find daddy getting in on the Flubber fun! In the way that only a dad can. Faking it as snot! =)
Have fun making your own Flubber!
Next time I think we’ll make it blue so it looks like BOB from Monsters vs. Aliens.
