Last Week of School Menu!

Last Week of School Food Fest Menu

Woohoo, last week of school is here.  I welcome the easier, more relaxed schedule.  Even though my work hours stay the same, the carpooling, kid juggling, homework managing jobs are put on cruise control.  Add in extra time to play with kidlets, vacations, being out in nature more often, stocking up on Vitamin D, and I am one happy camper!

We are having a Popsicle party to celebrate Summer season, so will be stocking up on Dreyer's Outshine bars - if a Popsicle can be beautiful, these are them - Bright natural color, good solid fruity flavor - These will be on our summer staple list for sure!

Last week, I lived on carbs because guess what - didn't plan my week out.  We have 3 pasta dinners this week, so I'm guessing I'm trying to continue this trend.  However, I'm hoping to limit the gluten/wheat to these meals only, so the 'wheat effects'  aka Bloat-ville will be a bit under control before the swimsuit gets broken out!  I also want to bring back my veggie-love to get some good energy back too!


Hope everyone has a great week :)
Meg
ps -Photo of last year's Timothy Lake camping - Lil shade princesses :)

WEEK OF MEALS:

(If you see a link, click for the recipe... if not, scroll down for mine):

• Sunday Soup Night - Salmon Chowder  with asparagus
• Monday - Spaghetti with spinach and garlic
• Tuesday - Hebrew dogs & Corn on the cob
• Make it over the Hump Wednesday: Asian bowtie Chicken Pasta Salad
• Thursday -  Breakfast for dinner - whoop for summer! Making those canadian bacon with egg cups :)
• Friday - Crockpot -  Spaghetti with Meat Balls
• Jar Salad - Mexican Jar Salad
• Juice - Power Juice - Kale & Apple daily 

• Favorite - Planning for upcoming vacation, camps, camping & BBQ's!

PREP DAY - 

• Clean & Chop weekly veggie picks - Carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, Mushrooms - Chop for snacks and no-whining before dinner bowl, as well as any other veggies needed for the week.  (Except onions... only chop your onions before making a meal..some weird fact about  onions will absorb toxins from plastic storage/air around - best to chop fresh!)
• BBQ 4 Chicken breast halves with skin (Olive Oil, sea salt, bbq until lovely) - Chop after cooled - Using for dinners during the week. Using in jar salads & asian salad.
• Quinoa  - Cook 2 cups of  quinoa (bulk @ Winco) in chicken or veggie broth.   - Use it in jar salads, heat up for breakfast.. .eat with salsa & fried or hardboiled egg / or chop up an avocado with fried egg & quinoa... 
• Dressing - Balsamic maple glaze
• Jar Salad- Mexican Jar Salad - Makes about 4 quart mason jars - The super secret trick is to put the heartiest stuff close to the dressing, and the stuff that can wilt up at top away from dressing. 

RECIPES & NOTES (alphabetically listed)

Asparagus - 
Turn oven to 400 degrees - 
- Rinse and trim your asparagus (bend asparagus in half gently, the thick bottom will break off naturally, and your asparagus is now trimmed).   
- Lay asparagus out without overlapping, drizzle with olive oil over the top, season all with sea salt, then toss with hands, so all the spears are nicely coated.
- Cook for about 10 minutes. - Stirring 1x so that one side doesn't cook too much.
Meanwhile - toast your pecans in a saute pan on stove over medium... turning frequently - watch and remove once they have a great toasty scent wafting up.

Remove from oven, put on plate/platter, drizzle with balsamic maple vinaigrette, top with toasted pecans.

Balsamic Maple Vinaigrette (Eat Like a Farm Girl)

This will make a good-size batch, and lasts for a couple of weeks in the fridge.  I use this on my egg and quinoa breakfast, and pretty much everything else!

• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 T maple syrup
• 1 T Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic (I always do 2 cloves)
• S&P
• 1/2 cup EVOO

Blend/Emulsify/or whisk with your fork until it is a creamy consistency!

Mexican Jar Salad - 

• green peas, corn, black beans, onion, tomato, avocado, cilantro, and fresh lime juice with romaine.. topping it with crushed tortilla chips too!
• Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Spaghetti with Meatballs Crockpot - 

This is my plan:

• Throw meatballs in crockpot (Italian frozen)
• Chopped Onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• Mushrooms
• Italian seasoning
• 1 can hunts spaghetti sauce 

Put on low all day, cook pasta & eat!

GROCERY LIST (Including everything needed for recipes, just cross out the staples you already have)

Produce -

• Bag of avocados (4 or 5)
• Bag of carrots - 2lb bag
• Bag of onions
• 2 Bags of Spinach
• Bag of chopped slaw
• Tomatoes
• 16 Apples
• Fruit for parfait (strawberries & mangos, blueberries)
• Kiwis!
• 4 limes
• 2 lemons
• 2 Bunches of cilantro
• Potatoes (dn)
• Chives (dn)
• Scallions
• 6 bunches of kale
• 8oz of mushrooms
• 3 bell peppers (Love our bells)
• 2 red onions
• Fresh Green Beans
• Garlic
• Ginger 
• Asparagus
• Corn on the cob

 Bulk - 

• Pecans - 1-2 cups
• Peanuts - 1-2 cups
• Chinese 5-spice
• Sesame seeds (dn)

Breads -

• 2 loaves Dave's
• Baguette
• HotDog Buns
• 10 flour tortillas
• Corn Tortillas

Protein -

• Turkey Lunchmeat
• 4-6 chicken breast halves with skin on (For great natural seasoning!)
• 2 pkgs smoked salmon
• Hebrew Dogs
• Breakfast sausage (NY&Company - found at Winco - Nitrate and preservative free!)
• Canadian bacon/Ham lunchmeat for egg cups

Freezer -

• Outshine Popsicles!
• Bag of Shelled Edamame
• Frozen corn
• Frozen Peas
• Bag of Italian meatballs

Dried Goods -

• Pure Maple Syrup
• 2 boxes chicken broth
• Annies Spaghettios 
• 1 box Spaghetti
• Bow tie pasta
• Z bars
• 2 cans of garbanzos (during the week snack with avocado cubes, cilantro and lime juice.. toss and eat all week)
• Triscuits
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Sesame Oil
• Honey
• Dijon
• 1 can cream corn
• 1 can corn
• Tortilla chips
• Canned Tuna Fish
• Soy sauce (dn)
• mayo (dn)
• Ranch mix (Freddy's has non-msg kind)
• Green salsa (dn)
• 1 can Hunt spaghetti sauce
• Peanut Butter

Dairy -

• Tofutti Cream Cheese
• String Cheese

(dn - don't need, but want to store on list for using this menu later!)