Menu plan July 30-August 3

Monday: Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Photo and Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Tueaday: Southwestern Chicken Pizza

Photo and recipe from Cookin' Canuck

Wedneday: Easy Chicken Lo Mein

Photo and recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Thursday: Smoky Corn Chowder

Photo and recipe from Bev Cooks

Friday: Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Photo and recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Menu July16- July 20

Meal plans are so hard in the summer! I keep trying to stick to the meals I want to make but it just doesn't happen. That doesn't mean I am going to stop meal planning though. Meal planning forces me to have food in the house for meals no matter when we actually eat them. You can pretty much guarantee that I will not be making these exact meals on these exact days. But I do have all the ingredients ready to go for whenever I need them. It forces us to eat healthy and stay home for dinner and lunch when possible, while still having fun!

The first two recipes I am posting this week are recipes I recently tried for the first time. They are perfect summer party recipes and they were a hit!

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

This recipe calls for a lot of hot sauce! I made mine a bit spicy, so I suggest adding a small amount and then increasing the amount as needed. Also if you don't love the taste of blue cheese you could use ranch dressing instead!

Photo and recipe from Life on Leroy

Funfetti Dip

Photo and recipe from Adventures in Food

Monday: Shrimp and Quinoa

Photo and recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken with Tomato Cream Sauce

Recipe from Plain Chicken

Wednesday: Stuffed Sweet Potato

Recipe and photo from Happy Healthy Life

Thursday: Zucchini Fritters

Recipe and photo from Cook Your Dream

Friday: Easy Kung Poa Chicken

Recipe and photo from Lovely Little Snippets

Menu Plan July 9-13

HOT, HOT, HOT! I love this hot weather! Now don't get me wrong, I also love the A/C at night so I can sleep, but during the day, I love this heat. Here in Buffalo we only get a tiny amount of really nice weather, so I choose to live it up rather than hide in A/C all day! 

When it comes to cooking in the hot weather though, it can seem like a tiresome and sticky task.

So I try to make simple meals that can give leftovers and extras for lunch and other meals. I also try not to use the oven, obviously, and try to grill whenever possible.

I have been really wanting to try a grilled pizza, so I included that in this week's menu. I will let you know how mine turns out!

Monday: Gilled Pizza

Photo and recipe from Chin Deep

Tuesday: Key West Gilled Chicken

I would also like to try this cauliflower rice!!

Photo and recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Wednesday: Shrimp Fajitas

Photo and recipe from Skinny Taste

Thursday: Avocado Chicken Salad

Recipe and photo from Framed Cooks

Friday: Turkey Ranch Club Wrap

Recipe and photo from Skinny Mom's Kitchen

Menu Plan June 25-29

Summer is finally here! In the summer I would like to think we follow a similar routine as we do during the school year, but it just doesn't happen. I am fine with that! I love the more relaxed feel and the easy going attitude everyone has. I don't need to have routine every single day. By the end of the summer I will be itching to get back into it. But for now I am going to enjoy the lazy days of summer.

I still need to plan meals though and I still need to shop for all the ingredients for those meal. I might just freeze my meats or sometimes have the meal for lunch and have leftovers for dinner. Either way if I gave up on meal planning I know we would eat less healthy foods and so would the kids. Do you keep meal planning in the summer? Do you meal plan at all?

Monday: Shrimp Quesadillas

I know I won't follow this recipe exactly but it has inspired me to try some shrimp quesadillas of my own!

Recipe and photo from Witty in the City


Tuesday: Island Grilled Chicken

Recipe and photo from Amee's Savory Dish

Wednesday: Chipotle Mango BBQ Salad

You may have noticed I am slightly addicted to Iowa Girl Eats....she just has very similar taste to me and I seem to like most if not all of her recipes! Here is another one!

Recipe and photo from Iowa Girl Eats

Thursday: Lasagna Flat Bread

Recipe and photo from Plain Chicken

Friday: Rotisserie Chicken

This is not really a meal recipe, but I want to give this a try. I will then have cooked chicken for all weekend to make salads, wraps and other quick and easy meals during the busy weekend!

Recipe and photo from Busy Mommy

Menu plan June 11-15

Phew! These weekends full of fun and parties are great, but so exhausting!! I normally plan my meals and go shopping on the weekend, but lately with all the fun, I have been doing so on Monday! Yikes!

I love summer food though. Last week we got our first share of vegetables and fruit. The strawberries were to die for. I was going to make all of these great things with them and maybe even freeze some, but they we so good we just ate them, ALL! Maybe this week! I got a bunch of Japanese turnips. I peeled them, boiled them and mashed them like potatoes. With a little butter, salt and pepper they were delicious and went great with our steaks!

This week's meals are so good I am drooling...I hope you try some out! :)

Monday: Open Faced Caprese Sandwiches

Recipe and photo from Iowa Girl Eats

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Recipe and photo from Iowa Girl Eats

Wednesday: Crispy Southwestern Chicken Warps

Recipe and photo from Mel's Kitchen Cafe


Thursday: Grilled Buffalo Chicken

Recipe and photo from Plain Chicken

Friday: Meatballs with Fresh Ricotta

Recipe and photo from Framed Cooks

Menu Plan June 4- June 8

This year we have purchased a fruit and veggie share from a farm in East Otto called Native Offerings. They are an organic farm and I am so excited to pick up our first items this week. I am really looking forward to using the first strawberries of the year in this awesome strawberry salad. I also look forward to finding new and exciting ways to use all the fruit and vegetables we get and, of course, sharing them with you! :)

Monday: Chicken Basil Burgers

Photo and recipe from Framed Cooks

Tuesday: Strawberry Chicken Balsamic Salad

Photo and recipe from Closet Cooking

Wednesday: Taco Salad 

This is a bit of a twist on a traditional taco salad by adding mango to the mix! YUMMY!

Recipe and photo from Whole Living

Thursday: Real Popcorn Chicken

How fun! The kids will love this!

Recipe and photo from Parents Magazine

Friday: Grilled steak and potatoes

Recipe and photo from Parents Magazine

Menu Plan May 28-June1

Monday: Happy Memorial Day!
Thank you to everyone who served or is serving our country!
Enjoy the cook outs! I know I will!

Tuesday: Chicken and Brie Sandwich
I am so excited to give this sandwich a try!

Recipe and photo from Framed Cooks.

Wednesday: Tacos in Lettuce Wraps

Chuck and I have made tacos a million times. It is what Chuck will always ask for if I ask him what he wants for dinner. We recently tried using boston lettuce instead of the wrap and they turned out great! There is really no recipe for tacos, but I did use this recipe to make my own seasoning. I also prefer to use ground chicken over beef, but any ground meat will work. We top our tacos with Monterey jack cheese, brown rice, fresh salsa, and raw spinach. I also like a dollop of sour cream and a couple shakes of hot sauce!

Thursday: Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe for stuffed mushrooms got me thinking why not have them for the main course! With a big salad and some veggies this can make a great meal. 

Recipe and photo from Angie McGowan

Friday: Creamy Carbonara Pasta

Recipe and photo from Miss Delish...another new (to me) blog!!

Have a great week! :)