Menu Monday

I always plan our meals for two weeks at a time, so I'm going to include both weeks! Derek and I'll make one big trip to Whole Foods to both weeks, but I'll pick up the fresh veggies and other things I forget (it always happens!) at local grocery stores, typically Aldi. I love meal planning because it keeps me from going to the store several times in a single week to pick up things. Our budget appreciates it too. I'm linking up with Laura again.

• Monday: Oven Fajitas & Black bean salad. This was on our menu two weeks ago. It was so yummy that I had to make it again. And black bean salad-- my favorite thing ever. I've never found a recipe that had all the ingredients I wanted so I just throw a black beans, red peppersa, green peppers, yellow peppers, onions, corn, cilantro, lime, corn, and tomatoes. Delish! :)
  
• Tuesday: Garlic Lime Pork Chops & Cilantro Lime Rice. I bought pork chops this time! I loooooove cilantro lime rice. It tastes so much like Chipotle. The recipe calls for white rice, but I have always used brown.
  
• Wednesday: Lemon Garlic Tilapia & Wild Rice. Another recipe we ate recently. But again, it was a hit, so why not? I don't care for fish much, so I normally load up on veggies for this meal.
  
• Thursday: Quiche, organic bacon, & whole wheat waffles with pure maple syrup! I love breakfast for dinner!
  
• Friday: Roast with potatoes and carrots. Oh crockpot, I love you!
  
• Saturday: Jackson's Birthday party! But before the party, we'll have tomato bisque soup and BBQ Beef sandwiches with left over roast beef for lunch.
  
• Sunday: Crock-pot Whole Fryer Chicken. Again, much love to my crock pot. It's cooks overnight and while we're at church. Sunday lunch is so easy! Plus, I use the rest of the chicken in other recipes.
  
• Monday: La-zombie! It's Jackson's birthday so it's his request! Most people refer to this as lasagna. :) The recipe-- it's the oh-so-delicious recipe handed down from my mother. Of course, we'll have cake and ice cream when family comes over to celebrate!

• Tuesday: Beef tacos, refried beans. I love the leftovers for taco salad the next day!
  
• Wednesday: Poppyseed chicken. Another familiar recipe. It was gone so quickly! I want more.
  
• Thursday: Spaghetti. Homemade sauce on whole wheat noodles
  
• Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Derek will be at drill and I don't have anything planned. We'll probably just eat leftovers and simple things. Also this weekend-- my brother-in-law and his family are moving from St. Louis back to Kansas City. So exciting!!! :) 

As always, our dinners are full of veggies! I load up on shopping trips, but I don't really plan them with meals. My favorite is steamed broccoli with vegetable seasoning. Derek loves roasted cauliflower. Jackson is a good veggie eater and Belle is hit or miss. I bought some butternut squash this weekend from an the Amish store. I have never, ever eaten it...nor cooked it... so we'll see how it goes! Any suggestions for how to cook it??

Menu Monday

I'm linking up with Laura again for Menu Monday. 

Monday: Burgers & baked beans

Tuesday: Cheeseburger Soup

Wednesday: Tilapia & veggie foil packets

Thursday: Poppyseed Chicken

Friday: Leftovers!

Saturday: No plans, but it's grocery shopping day. We'll think of something!

Sunday: Roast

Here's the deal. I really try to avoid having similar meals close together. Originally the plan was to have one of my favorite meals on Tuesday-- Garlic lime pork chops with cilantro lime rice. Yuuuuummmm!! But... when I picked up pork at the store last weekend, I only picked up enough for one meal. Oops! We're out of grocery money for this week, but it will definitely be on the menu for next week!! Plus... I hear it's supposed to rain on Tuesdays. Soup will be perfect anyway. And we all love burgers... so why not? 

Oh, and I feel that I should mention-- when I link up to a recipe that isn't officially "clean"... I am substituting ingredients a little for what we keep in our kitchen, like whole wheat flour, organic butter, grass fed beef,  etc. With the poppyseed chicken recipe, I'll use full fat sour cream, organic cream of mushroom, and whole wheat crackers to crumble on top. It's even more delicious and we get rid of a TON of extra chemicals. 

Menu Monday

On most weeks, Laura posts her weekly meal plan. I have gotten several different recipe ideas from her  (including one that we are going to enjoy tonight!) and so I thought it'd be fun to join in the menu monday fun. 

Monday: Chicken fajitas & black bean salad

Tuesday: Crockpot apple pork tenderloin, beets, green beans

Wednesday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Steamed veggies

Thursday: Lemon Garlic Tilapia, wild rice, roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Friday: Beef tacos, homemade refried beans, corn on cob

Saturday: Going to my parents house-- Yum! :)

Sunday: Teriyaki Chicken

I haven't had beets in over ten years, but I remember liking the ones mom canned each summer. I am going to attempt to recreate the yumminess, but there is a huge possibility for failure. I'm hoping for a delicious flavor, but that my family doesn't like them so I can eat them all myself. I only picked four (literally picked from the ground) this weekend. The good news is that if it's gross, I won't be a huge loss.

Just another photo dump post

Oh, hello there! So, I know I haven't been around here much. Here's the deal. So we made the decision as a family to eliminate processed foods with all the additives, preservatives, and so on and so forth. And it's been three weeks and it's been going well (and delicious)! The only downside is that I have been cooking everything, for every meal, three times a day... EVERYDAY! It's getting easier the more it becomes our new normal, but then there's still the planning and then the clean up! I feel like it's all I think about... which in turn fills up all of my blogging ideas.

Oh, and I'm studying for the National Counseling Exam (the test I have to pass to secure state licensure) and boy does it ever make me feel as if I learned nothing in grad school! It's keeping me humble. Hopefully the paperwork comes quickly so I can get registered and get the silly test over with! I'm done with tests!!!

Okay, so now for the reason I know most of you are here anyway-- kids pictures. Here's my latest Instagram photo dump from the past few weeks.

Belle applied her own mascara a few days ago. And when I got the camera out she was all melodramatic. These pics, taken just moments apart just crack me up.

We visited the local fall festival a few weekends ago and we enjoyed a funnel cake! (now, before you're asking how this is considered appropriate for our non-processed foods... well, two things 1. we get to have treats every now and then and 2. it was homemade and even if the ingredients are practically all sugar-- there weren't additives, chemicals, food coloring etc.)

Belle made a hedgehog at the library!

We went to the zoo last Monday-- it was officially the beginning of sweatshirt season!! 

This girl needs a Permit Driver sign on this cart! Thankfully the other patrons just thought she was cute. In other news, my Achilles tendons were practically bleeding when we left the store.

I found these two playing the other day... They was so cute!!!! I was told that this was their "little sister" named Amy. (This was all purely imagination. We have no pregnancy news to share.)

Belle cooks me breakfast almost daily. She the cutest little chef, isn't she?

I've been doing some yoga videos these days and Belle likes to join me! She is really good at doing what she sees on the tv! How cute is the toddler downward dog???

Another thing I just happened to find my kids doing... Jackson was reading Belle a "bedtime story". A long one, too. I'm either a great mom for letting them explore and develop a love of textbooks and learning-- or I'm a terrible mother for introducing them to the world of substance abuse at this incredibly young age. Time will tell, I suppose...

Today, Chacey (and her little sister!) came over to play for several hours! The kids were SO excited. Chacey giggled like a little school girl when she walked into Jackson's room. And as I was taking the picture, Jackson said "I love you, Chacey. I'm going to give you lots of kisses!" (no kisses were exchanged!). It's hard to believe that these guys have been playing together since they were newly one year olds!! 

That concludes the photos I've taken.... I could take pics of all the food I've been cooking but I've vowed to stay away from documenting every meal. You're welcome!! Happy Monday everyone!

Quick Weekend Recap

Our weekend consisted of a Royals game on Friday night:

A Saturday morning purge of all heavily processed foods (mainly everything that consists of five or more ingredients and/or having ingredients I can't pronounce):

(These bags are the pantry items. There was an equal amount of refrigerated/freezer items.)

And a Saturday afternoon of shopping for produce at the farmer's market and restocking our pantry with items from Whole Foods:

We had nursery on Sunday morning and I got to snuggle with one of my favorite little guys from the moment he was dropped off until the moment his mama came back. I love baby snuggles! Sunday afternoon, we watched the Chiefs dominate over the Jacksonville Jaguars (which was a GREAT way to start the NFL season!)! We walked to church for the evening service and finished the weekend with our newest tradition of family movie night in the basement. 

Also, over the weekend, we admitted my MacBook into the Genius Bar hospital for a few days. After getting a new trackpad installed, my computer is back up and running like brand new-- and I don't feel like chucking it across the room. :)

Our weekend was the perfect mix of being productive, spending quality time together, and relaxing! How was your weekend??