What's for supper? | Menu Planning

Raise your hand if you never know what to make for supper.
Or, do you feel like you're in a rut & always make the same things?

I did.  And so at the beginning of the year, I set a goal to menu plan by the month.  The first three months of the year, I did awesome... and then it became menu planning by the week... and lately, it hasn't been happening at all.

I really need to get back on the bandwagon, and I thought as long as I'm doing it, I might as well share our weekly menu to help inspire others to get cookin' & get some fresh ideas.

I truly think the hardest part of making dinner, is deciding what to make.  And once you decide what to make, having all the ingredients on hand is the next kicker... so a little planning goes a long way.

My goal is to make 3 dinners/week.  We like leftovers and for our little family, 3 meals will get us through.  The rest of the week we'll scrounge, eat leftovers, or eat at grandmas/grandpa's.  We also usually end up eating out on Friday or Saturday night.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Pic via Taste of Home

I never follow a recipe for chicken noodle soup, but this one looks pretty close to how I make mine.  I will usually add peas & shredded zucchini too. Sometimes I'll use a rotisserie chicken if I'm feeling extra lazy.  I usually end up with a huge batch when I make this, but when we're sick of eating it, the leftovers freeze well.  And I always bring some to my grandma. :)

Pizza Loaf

Pic via Taste of Home

I shared this recipe on my blog a few years ago, and it's still hands down one of my favorites.

I love pizza.  I love bread.  I love all the things about this.  

Ranch Pork Chops

Pic via Dessert Recipes Grill

A Pinterest Win! Easy & delicious.  I serve them with steamed broccoli & cauliflower rice or some kind of potato.
P.S. - have you seen the Dynamic Duo little potatoes at Aldi recently?  They are SO SO good roasted in the leftover oil/ranch mixture from the pork chops. 

I'd love it if you'd share some of your favorite dinner time meals in the comment section below, so I can incorporate them in our rotation!

The Pumpkin Patch | 2019

It's getting to be that time of year again...  

It's F A L L y'all!

You know what that means?  Pumpkin patch time!

We visited Grandma Patsy & Papa Lloyd's pumpkin patch this past Wednesday night, and even though the deer completely ruined the patch this year, we still had fun searching for our pumpkins.

It was slim pickings this year, but we managed to find a few perfect pumpkins.

We look forward to doing this every year, and are so grateful for the memories that this patch has given us.

 What are you doing to celebrate the first day of Fall?

Click here for 2017 pumpkin patch.

Chick here for 2018 pumpkin patch. 

Sweet sweet summertime... and also a lesson on FOMO.

You guys, it's happening.

The Back-to-School ads are buzzing, the daylight is getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler.  Whether we want it to or not, the slow decrescendo of Summer is in full force.

Did/do you suffer from Summer FOMO (fear of missing out)?

I do.  I'm constantly feeling like we're not doing enough, but then also struggle with feelings that we're gone all the time and doing too much.  Sometimes I just long to be home.  And then when we're home, I'm longing to be doing something.

I was visiting with my grandma a few weeks ago, and she had asked me if we had a summer vacation planned?  I hung my head, and said "No..."

I've been thinking about that conversation ever since...  Are we the only family that hasn't taken a vacation this summer?  According to my friend's feeds on social media, yep.  Yes we are.

And then I spin myself into the rabbit hole of WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING ALL THE TIME THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE ALWAYS BUSY, BUT THEN I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE FUN THING THAT WE DID ALL SUMMER.

Do you feel me?

Ultimately, I know that feeling is a big fat lie.

And I can even prove it, from the camera roll on my phone.

Seriously, pick up your phone, and scroll through your camera role.  Suddenly, you will see that you've had plentyyyy of fun this summer, even if you didn't go on the 7-day road-trip beach vacation that you are pretty sure all your others friends went on.

Here's a peek at how we Summered this season:

We ate ice cream at least 3 times a week.

We played in the water.

We did a little baking.

We saw lots of animals.

We did some fishing.

We discovered lots of parks.

We went on lots of rides.

We joined the Growing Kewaunee Reader's program & logged over 100 books!

We had a couple "Firsts"...

First concert.

First time going poop on the potty(!!!!!)

First time eating at P.C. Junction.

We collected rocks & then painted them.

We saw Thomas the Train with cousins. 

We went on lots of walks, and sometimes with friends!

We collected beach glass. 

 We picked strawberries.

 We went to the parade.

We helped daddy fix stuff, wash his truck & get in shape for elk hunting out west.

We went to the fair.

We went to the butterfly exhibit at Green Bay Botanical Gardens.

We went to Soar on the Shore.

We watched movies in the Big Bed.

We explored our nearby neighborhoods. 

We ate lots of delicious summer-time food.

And, most importantly, we spent lots of time together as a family. <3 

Our summer may not have included an epic summer vacation, but looking back... it was pretty darn good.

Let's soak up this last week of summer good... (and eat ice cream every night!)

Ellis Everard, Class of 2035

You know those questions that you answer on your Senior Survey in high school?

Well, a recent photo shoot I did with Ellis basically look like his senior portraits, and so I thought it would be fun to ask him some rapid fire questions, totally unprompted, Toddler Survey style:

How old are you?: 2 (but holds up 3 fingers... )

What do you want to be when you grow up?: A farmer & I'm going to drive a blue tractor.

What is your favorite food?: Rice. Grapes. Chicken and rice.

What is your favorite color?: Blue! I like blue.

What's your favorite thing to do?: Ah, build a barn.

What's your favorite animal?:  A cows. A blue cow.

Who is your best friend?: Umm, Kaner.

Who is your best friend at daycare?:  Ingrid.

What is your favorite toy?: Umm, Bethany.

What is your favorite show?: Suba Sup Game. (for the record, I have NO idea what this is)

What is something that you are good at?: Shooting my big arrows.

What is your favorite book?: Ummm. Thomas the Train book.

What is your favorite place to visit?: The giraffes.  And the cows.

How do you help others?: Umm, Ellis and Momma and Daddy!

What is something you dream about?: Ah, tractors.

What's your best memory?: Umm, sheep.

Happy back-to-school season, friends.  Peace out!