We had a crazy exciting weekend of getting back from Miami and seeing the boys and dinner with my sister, Allie, and parents. Allie came armed with Sprinkles cupcakes and Valentines for the boys (swoon!), and of course the boys animal cousin, Hugo. He could not have wanted B’s cookie more and I’m pretty sure is still scarred from the vacuum races around the circle with the boys. My mom brought a killer salad and my dad? 100% ready to play b-ball with B. We dined on braised chicken & mushrooms with crusty baguettes and plenty of butter. Perfect for a winter night in. 

Alright – let’s get to our kitchen lineup for the week:

On my time away I read a book – I know! It was super exciting! I fell in love with Shauna Niequist’s recipes and can’t wait to cook my way through them. Starting off this week on a healthy food with her magical white bean soup. Depending on how brave I feel, I might attempt her homemade bread to dunk into it. I purchased the yeast…

On Monday I’ll be busy playing catch up with laundry and errands and cleaning, so let’s go with busy chicken. A carb, a veggie, and protein in one dish. Bam. Dinner is done.

Another night of the white bean soup sounds lovely for Tuesday night.

For Wednesday, I’ve been dreaming about garlicky shrimp ever since I bought some from Heinens last week. So good. I’m going to roast mine up with a bunch of lemon and herbs and maybe cherry tomatoes? I love how they get all blistery in the oven. Let’s toss it all over angel hair pasta. Oh yeah. 

Thursday, let’s go with Mexican. Shauna says these Enchiladas Verdes with Chicken are the best, so I’m banking that’s the case. Will keep you posted.

We will end with our pizza, for sure.

That’s our menu plan for the week – what’s cooking in your kitchen?
C

Another snowy weekend – will it ever end? At least the temps were decent, as in we could take the kids outside. And by we, I mean M. A night out for M’s company party, a little b-ball, a little sledding, a solo grocery shopping trip complete with wine (like a mini vacation as some Facebook followers called it – so true!) ,and a super bowl party with friends. Not bad!

Here is our line up this week:

Sunday night we will be with our friends for the Superbowl. Kids can play, we can eat yummy food, and hopefully watch some of the game! I’ll be bringing over a batch of knock you naked brownies. Oh. yeah.

I’ve been meaning to try this lasagna soup recipe that I found at My Bizzy Kitchen for awhile now so it’s on the radar for Monday night. Can’t wait to try it out.

I’ve got whole wheat dough from Trader Joe’s sitting in my fridge so we’ll use it up Tuesday night for some his & hers pizza. Love this recipe.

Soooo Wednesday. Apparently I’m flying out to Miami with M! He’s been (kindly) bugging me for months to go as he has to for work. We toyed with taking the kids back down to FL with us, but flight times and school schedules were just not working. I get major anxiety about leaving the kids – to the point where I have been known, at times, to insist on separate planes. Apparently he caught me in an easier going mood so he took advantage and booked it. It will be short but sweet as we are returning Friday – just in time for the weekend with the boys!

I’m excited to explore Miami as I have never been. I’ll have an entire day/evening to myself Thursday while M will be tied up with work. If you’ve been to Miami, do you have any recommendations for me? (wink wink, Tia). I’m thinking the beach and the latest version of InStyle, and I’ll be set.

While I’m gone, if you need some quick & easy ideas, simply start here.  It’s been my go to each week. 

Stay safe – and warm, and follow along exploring Miami, if you’d like, through my Facebook page!

C

Things are turning around here for 2014 – no sudden change of weather or anything, but we had a weekend of being healthy (knock on wood it lasts), basketball fun, lego afternoons, dinner out as a family, and most importantly – we welcomed our cousin’s new baby boy into the family. Little Reid made his stunning appearance into the world and we could not be happier! 

Alright time for our weekly meal plan line up – let’s do this:

Sunday night  let’s go with this healthier spin on Chinese chicken. Served over brown rice, can’t wait to try it out.

Monday afternoon I’m going to be working on a nice big batch of homemade Bolognese sauce. Some to eat, some to share for a very special delivery Tuesday. Becca, I hope you don’t suffer from newborn brain as much as I did…! 

Tuesday is going to be busy around here so I’m going with one of my go to quick meals: busy chicken.

Wednesday night I have my fingers crossed for a girls night. I’ll be sure to grab something for M during the day so he doesn’t starve!

Cheesy chicken pot pie for Thursday? Yes please! Hello comfort in a baking dish.

We haven’t had our pizza in awhile, so we’ll end that week with that! Always a great way to welcome the weekend.

That’s our line up – what are you cooking this week?
C

I don’t know about you, but I think 2014 has kind of been a rough start. It’s been all about germs (some undiagnosed) and painful temps. Nothing seems to be able to shake the karma so I’m hoping a quick jaunt to Florida will do the trick. This picture is the essence of happiness in my life and I can’t wait to (hopefully) replicate it!

So – food wise. Our menu planning is all about keeping things light and easy this week. Light because in less than one week I’m back in a swimsuit in FL (yikes!) and easy because, well, there is nothing easy about prepping for a flight with a toddler, ha! Major deep breath. Ok, here we go: 

Sunday I’m going to try and be sneaky and serve this delicious looking recipe to M. I’m hoping quinoa piled high with cheese and homemade guacamole will take away the fact that he is in fact eating quinoa. Sorry M, you’re going to be in a swimsuit too.

Monday let’s go with this quick dinner: italian sausages and peppers over arugula. Did you see that post? It’s killer good, easy, and so customizable. I’ll be eating chicken sausages while the boys go with the super manly traditional ones.

We need a soup this week! I’ve fallen in love with this lemony chicken and orzo from Bon Appetit. Love the zest of lemon and pop of fresh herbs.

Wednesday M flies off to the Big Apple so I’m on my own. I’ve been dying to try these honey chipotle chicken bowls and it just wouldn’t go over with M, so time to cook whatever I want. Perfect for lunch leftovers.

Thursday we will reunite with M at his dad’s for dinner. Yeah for visiting Grandma Ginger and Grandad and YIPPEE for picking up the keys for the Florida house! We are. out. of. here.

Friday I’m quite certain we will be down to no food in the house and I will be doing last minute packing and prep for our trip. Lou’s take out it is.

The blog will continue to roll along when we’re gone. Be sure to follow us on Facebook  for fun updates! Also my darling sister Allie will be guest posting. I hope to also have a few more fun surprises lined up for you.

That’s our week – what’s going on with yours?
C

Oh. my. goodness. 

Is it just horrible where you live? Our area has been dumped on with snow and frigid temperatures. Like you kind of want to die if you leave your house cold. We are all going a bit stir crazy and the only answer seemed to book some tickets to Florida for in a few weeks. Until then though it’s going to be all about comfort here. Nothing else will do.

Sunday night my parents are coming by. Company sauce will be roasting away all day and will be tossed with fresh pasta. Good Italian sausage will also be served for my dad, the carnivore. A spinach salad will round out the meal.

Apparently Monday is going to be ‘life threatening cold’ – oh yippee! I can’t wait! Another day of being stuck inside with the kids. We’ll be baking homemade chocolate chip cookies to take the edge off. Winter vegetable soup is a recipe my mom recently told me I ‘had to blog about’ so seems like the perfect day to do just that.

Tuesday will be another night of bitter cold so let’s go with leftover soup and crusty french bread.

Wednesday the home will smell insane from the asian pork shoulder that will be simmering away in the crockpot all day. Brown rice and sugar snap peas on the side.

Thursday let’s go with a dinner from my quick ‘go to’ list for 2014. T-ball tacos are quick, easy, and delicious.

And let’s round out the week’s meal planning with our pizza.

What’s cooking in your kitchen this week? I’d  love to hear!
C