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Meal Plan 8/19 – 8/25

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Meal Plan 8/19 – 8/25

After going way off schedule for the summer I have decided I need to make a menu plan for the week and STICK TO IT. Especially now that we are into ‘back to school’ mode.  We were falling into a bad habit of zero routines and relying on late meals of PB&J, cereal or oatmeal.

Hopefully sharing my plan with you each week will keep me accountable and more organized.  I know I may not do these in exact order, but having a solid plan in place keeps me focused for the week!  Not sure if I will do a full 7 or keep it at 5-6 for leftovers and knowing at least one night we won’t be home.

Sunday: Make your own Pizzas
I found a 3 pack of mini crusts with sauce included for $2.79 at Aldi.  DONE DEAL for this mom who like to let her kids help with meals.  Put out the cheese and toppings and let them go!

Monday: Crock Pot Italian Beef
Chuck Roast is on sale at Meijer so I grabbed one to cook later in the crockpot. Just add a can of beef broth, some pepperoncini juice from a jar in the fridge and 2 packets of Italian dressing mix.  DONE in 6 hours!

Tuesday: Breakfast for Supper – Egg Casserole
Using VERY stale crusty bread, you can turn it into a great hearty meal with items you probably have on hand!

4-5 cups cubed stale bread
10 eggs, scrambled
Salt & Pepper
2 T. Milk or Cream
1 lb. cooked sausage, bacon or ham
1 c. shredded cheese

Spray an 8×8 pan or deep casserole dish with nonstick oil.  Mix eggs, milk & salt, pepper well. Add stale bread.  Allow to sit 4 hours or overnight.  Add cooked & cooled meat and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until set and browned.  Top with more cheese if desired.

Wednesday: Egg Roll Bowls
I have leftover grilled Chicken to use up.  Grabbing a bag of store bought cole slaw makes this a fast an easy meal.  It has been a long standing favorite in our house and is perfect for left over chicken or pork.   

Thursday: BLT Sandwiches
Trying to clean out the freezer with our moving coming soon. WARNING, meals may become VERY creative as I dig through my stockpile.  Thursday’s are tumbling night so I plan to cook the bacon ahead before leaving and just need to quickly re-warm and make the toast.

Friday: Burgers & Fries
Keeping it simple with a kid favorite.  I use my air fryer to make my fries and I love that it keeps me from turning the oven on during the summer!  I will probably serve it with carrots and celery with ranch.

Mickey & Minnie Mouse Themed Birthday Party Ideas

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. You can view MCC’s Full Disclosure Policy HERE.

By now, you may know that when it comes to birthday party planning, I am a BIG fan of a theme!  I probably can only get away with this for a few more years, so I have to have fun with it while I can!  This year, Carlie got to have a Minnie & Mickey Mouse Party.  Adding a few touches with printed labels, fun matching paper products, and simple themed food makes it all came together.  Pulling influence from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the Disney Characters themselves, we had cute, easy, and fun party!  

📍 Pin this post HERE!

Minnie Mouse Cupcakes:

After baking cupcakes in polka dot liners (find styles HERE on Amazon or HERE on Michaels.com)

Decorate them with:

White Butter Cream Frosting
TWO Mini Oreo Cookies for ears
Red Foot Roll Ups (cut into squares and twist into a simple bow)

Minnie’s Bowtique Pasta Salad:

Prepare your favorite pasta salad with Bow Tie Pasta.  Used a fun Minnie Printable to note Minnie’s Bowtique.

Mickey Mouse Fruit Tray:

Using Strawberries, Blueberries and Pineapple, arrange fruit into the shape of Mickey’s legs  Add 2 large marshmallows for his trademark buttons!

Goofy’s Vegetable Garden:

Simple veggie tray, arranged however you like.  Add a fun label.  I used a printable with Goofy dressed as a farmer!

Hot Digity Dog Bar

Hot dogs kept hot in a crock pot with all the fixings created a fun nod to the classic theme song!

More Ideas:

  • Swedish Fish Candy as Gooey Fish
  • Silverware as Mouse-Ka-Tools
  • Red, Yellow & Black Napkins + Paper Plates. You can find these at a dollar store!
  • I had a Mickey Mouse cutting board available to use for a cheese tray, but 2 smaller paper plates and one large paper plate will give you the same fun affect!  Especially if you use black ones!
  • Limited Edition Mickey Mouse Gold Fish Crackers (HERE at Target)
  • Good Health Disney Mickey Shaped Veggie Chips (HERE at Target)
  • Mickey Mouse Beverage Dispensers  (HERE at Target)

 

Instant Pot Pulled Pork – One Meat Prep, 5 Delicious Meals!

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. You can view MCC’s Full Disclosure Policy HERE.

Instant Pot Pork – One Meat Prep, 5 Delicious Meals!

After much debate and hearing from EVERYONE how much they loved their pressure cookers – I did it,  I caved and purchased an Instant Pot!

After letting it sit in the box for a few weeks, scared to death of it, I finally pulled it out.  Boy am I glad I finally got brave and fired that bad boy up!  It is amazing how quickly the food cooks.  So far my trials have included mashed potatoes, chicken a few different ways, and an amazing pork tenderloin.

In this post I am going to share with you a basic pulled pork recipe and how to make it into a  5 meals. One meat prep and 5 delicious meals. Now that is the way to meal plan!!

📍 Pin it HERE!

Meal #1

Basic Pulled Pork

4 lb. Bonless Pork Loin or Shoulder Roast
1 1/2 c. Chicken Broth
2 cloves of garlic minced
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Prepare it:

Chunk the pork into 4 equal chunks.  Add chicken broth to bottom of Instant Pot.  Place the pork piece into the pot.  Season liberally with Salt & Pepper and top with minced garlic.  Seal lid on cooker and set timer for manual high pressure at 60 minutes.

Once it is done cooking, allow it to naturally release pressure for 10-15 minutes and then finish releasing manually.  Your pork is now fork tender and ready to be shredded.  Remove as much fat as you can from the cooked meat and shred.

TIME SAVER TIP:  Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment -`  Place cooked meat in the mixer bowl and starting on low, shred for a few moments and increase speed for about 30 seconds.

Serve pulled pork with a veggie/salad and rice, pasta or beans for meal #1.

Store left over pork in fridge with some of the broth from the instant pot cooking liquid!  You can freeze the leftover meat in ziptop bags, for making meals later.  I love having cooked meat in the freeze for last minute meals or unexpected dinner guests!

Meal #2

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

Prepared Pizza Crust (or use homemade)
1/2 c. alfredo sauce or ranch dressing
1 c. BBQ sauce – whatever is your favorite (no need to measure, just as much as you like really!!)
2 c. pulled pork
2 c. shredded cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar jack, but ANYTHING works!)

Prepare it:

Preheat your oven per the crust directions.  Par bake it for 5 minutes & remove from oven.  Mix the alfredo sauce and 1/4 c. of BBQ sauce.  Spread over pizza crust.  Crumble pulled pork over pizza crust.  Drizzle BBQ sauce over the meat.  Top with shredded cheese and drizzle more BBQ on top.  Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.  Allow to cool and serve!

Meal #3

Pork Fried Rice:

1 1/2 c. White Rice – cooked according to package directions
1 c. pulled pork
1 c. diced carrots
1 minced onion
1 c. diced celery
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T. sesame Oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 eggs – lightly beaten

Saute onion, carrots & celery in sesame oil in a LARGE skillet over medium/low heat.  Cook just until tender.  Add garlic and saute a few more minutes.  Toss in pork.  Add soy sauce and rice.  Stir to coat rice.  Push rice to one side of the skillet.  Pour eggs in and scramble quickly.  Mix together.  Serve with egg rolls if desired!

Meal #4


Pork Nachos

Tortilla Chips
2 c. Pulled Pork
Taco Seasoning
Nacho Cheese
Grated Cheese
Salsa, Sour Cream, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Olives, Jalapenos, etc. as preferred

Prepare it:

Cook Pork with taco seasoning as directed on package. Serve over chips with desired toppings.

Super Saver Tip: Add a can of beans to your meat to stretch the quantity even further!

Meal #5

BBQ Pork Bowls

Left Over Pork
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce in a bottle
Mashed Potatoes
2 c. milk (whole is best – but please, nothing less than 2%!)
2 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Prepare it:

In a skillet – warm the pork with your favorite BBQ.  Heat very low and stir often.  Meanwhile, prepare mashed potatoes as desired.

Using a small pot, melt the butter over medium low heat.  Add the flour and stir constantly.  Cook 5 minutes stirring often while the flour is cooked.  Using a wisk, slowly add the milk to flour & butter mixture and keep stirring it to prevent clumps.  Heat over medium low to a boil.  Once it has thickened and boiled, add salt & pepper to taste.

To serve:

Layer mashed potatoes, pork & gravy in a bowl.  Enjoy!

Time Saver Tip: There are very good ‘country gravy’ mixes available in the spice and prepared meals aisles.  Usually they cost about a dollar. Following the very simply directions on the packet works fast, tastes great, and saves a lot of time compared to making homemade white gravy!

S’More Valentine’s Day Treats!

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S’More Valentine’s Day Treats!

📍 Pin HERE to find again!

What you need:

  • Golden Graham Cereal
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Mini Marshmallows
  • Favor Bags or Zip Top Bags
  • Colored paper, stickers, stamps, etc. for decorating

To Make:

  • To make the paper labels, I just typed ‘Let’s Play S’M❤RE’ onto a Microsoft Word Document and added the lines to write to & from.  Then printed on bright colored paper.
  • Once printed and cut, we wrote names on each and then decorated with stickers and stamps.
  • Fill each bag with a handful of cereal, marshmallows, and chocolate chips.  We used a 1/4 c. measure to scoop. You could mix it together & fill each one, but I was afraid the chocolate chips would all fall to the bottom of a big bowl!
  • Fold the bags over and secure with tape or a staple.
  • Fold each label in half and staple over the top portion of your treat bag.  Double sided tape would work well, also!

Check out these other fun Valentine’s Ideas:


Valentine’s Oreo Pops Recipe

 

 

The Best Cocktail Meatballs – A Crock Pot Recipe!

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The Best Cocktail Meatballs – A Crock Pot Recipe!

I love a good shortcut recipe & using premade frozen meatballs gives you a 10 minute prep time for these yummy and super easy appetizer.

📍 Pin HERE to find again!

What you need:

  • 28 oz. – 32 oz. Bag of Frozen Meatballs
  • 1 1/2 c. Ketchup
  • 1 c. Brown Sugar
  • 1 c. White Sugar
  • 1 t. Worcestershire Sauce (or a couple of heavy dashes)

To make:

  • Place meatballs into crockpot.  I prefer to use a liner to avoid the messy clean up!
  • Bring Ketchup, both sugars, and Worcestershire sauce to a gentle boil over low heat, stirring often.  Boil 1 minute.
  • Pour sauce over meatballs.
  • Cook on low heat for 4 hours until heated through.
  • Keep on warm for several hours for service.

Tip: This sauce is also perfect for cocktail weiners!

Breakfast Taco Casserole Recipe

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Breakfast Taco Casserole Recipe

After having an AMAZING Mexican Omelette at a diner recently, I needed to find a way to recreate those flavors at home.  Using left over taco meat and a few items I had on hand, I think I nailed the taste and textures SPOT ON.  My family loved this easy to whip up combination of taco meat, hash browns and eggs!

📌 Pin HERE for later!

Ingredients:

  • Leftover Taco Meat
  • Shredded Hashbrowns
  • Salsa – any brand or heat level
  • 1 Green Pepper
  • 1/4 of a large Sweet Onion
  • 12 Eggs
  • 8 oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 1/4 Cup Milk
  • Butter

Directions:

Grease a 7 x 11 or similar casserole dish and preheat your oven to 350 Degrees.

Clean and chop 1 green pepper and about 1/4 of a large sweet onion.

Fry your hashbrowns with just a bit of butter (about ten minutes) Do not worry about getting them browned, you just want to soften them. Once done, press them in the bottom of your casserole dish.

Throw your leftover taco meat with the onion and green pepper in the frying pan and fry for about five minutes. Just enough to heat up the meat and soften up your onions and green peppers. Now spread this in your casserole dish over your hashbrowns.

Spread a layer of salsa (add as much as you like!) over the hamburger mixture

In a mixing bowl beat eggs, milk, & a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Once beaten well, pour over your layers in the casserole dish. I took a fork and poked it down around the casserole and pulled the edges away a bit so the egg soaked down. (Do not worry if your salsa is floating up a bit, it probably will)

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the egg is set and firm in the middle, then remove put shredded cheese over the top, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Enjoy with some more salsa on top and a big dollop of sour cream! YUMMY!

 

 

Pumpkin Crunch Bars

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Pumpkin Crunch Bars

Start with canned pumpkin and a box cake mix and end up with a delicious, rich dessert very similar to a pumpkin pie!  One of my favorite goodies of the season is a slice of pumpkin pie.  This poses a problem as I am not a skilled pastry chef and honestly, pie crust scares me!  Too many variables and the mess of rolling it out, nope, I just can’t bring myself to deal with it!

This EASY recipe mirrors the perfect pumpkin custard in a pie without the worry of a pastry crust!  Plus, the topping is ONLY 2 ingredients! How amazing is that?!

📍Pin it HERE for later!

Ingredients:

  • 1 – 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
  • 1 – 12 oz. can evaporated milk
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • 1/4 t. nutmeg
  • 1/4 t. allspice
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1 yellow cake mix
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1 c. pecan or walnuts (totally optional!)

Lets make it:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a 9×13 pan.  Mix all ingredients except cake mix, butter & nuts.  Once smooth, pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle the cake mix over the top.  Top with nuts if using.  Carefully drizzle the butter over the top.  It is okay if it isn’t all covered completely with butter.  Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until set and browned.  A knife will come out clean.  Allow to cool and serve with a dollop of whip cream if desired!

Easy Halloween Monster Krispy Treats & Pretzel Eye Balls, Pumpkins & Ghosts!

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Easy Halloween Monster Krispy Treats & Pretzel Eye Balls, Pumpkins & Ghosts!

Create super easy and fun Halloween treats using colored melting chocolates and sprinkles!  These come together in MINUTES and look adorable & festive on a tray.

📌 Pin HERE for later!

Monster Krispy Treats

  • Prepared Rice Krispy Treats Cut into rectangles.  Go ahead and cheat here – purchase some store bought ones!
  • Various Colored Melting Chocolate Wafers.  I prefer the Wilton brand.
  • Eye Ball Decorating Candies in different Sizes

Melt the wafers according to package directions.  Dip the Krispy Treats halfway into the chocolate.  Decorate each with the eye ball candies.  Mix and match the sizes and layout.  There is no exact science and just have fun!  Allow to set.

Eye Ball Pretzels

  • Ring Pretzels
  • White Melting Chocolate Wafers
  • Red Sanding Sugar
  • M&M Candies
  • Black Frosting or Melting Chocolate

Line a baking sheet with the pretzel rings.  Put a white wafer inside each.  Preheat oven to 250º – and shut it off.  Place sheet in oven for 3-5 minutes until melted.  Remove from oven and sprinkle a bit of Red Sanding Sugar on each ‘eye ball’.  Top each one with a M&M.  Once set, dot the top of each M&M with the frosting or Black melted chocolate to create a pupil. Allow to set.

Pumpkin Pretzels

  • Mini Twist Pretzels
  • Orange Melting Wafers
  • Green M&Ms, Jimmy Sprinkles or similar for a ‘stem’

Melt the orange wafers according to package directions.  Dip each pretzel in the chocolate and place a green candy at the top.  Allow to set.

Ghost Pretzels

  • Mini Twist Pretzels
  • White Chocolate, Almond Bark or Melting Wafers
  • Small Eye Ball Candy Decorators

Melt white chocolate according to package directions. Dip each pretzel into chocolate.  Add 2 eye balls at the top and allow to set.

💰 Super saver tip 💰:   Shop holiday clearance and grab decorative sprinkles marked down.  Craft stores like JoAnn Fabrics & Michaels are great places to look!  Dip pretzel rods in melted chocolate and add some fun seasonal sprinkles & instantly dress up your table with fun themed snacks for pennies!

 

Homemade Play Dough

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Homemade Play Dough

 

When the supply list came home for back to school and it said Play Doh (homemade is preferred) I had a moment of panic.  Homemade Play Dough? Really, that doesn’t sound like something I should attempt.  Well, after scouring the internet and reading blogs and reviews, I put on my Pinterest Mom Pants and went for it! … and guess what?  IT’S EASY, turns out PERFECT, and uses pantry staple ingredients!

What you need:

  • 1 c. flour
  • 1/2 c. salt
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil (canola or vegetable)
  • 1 cup cold water
  • Food coloring as desired
  • Latex gloves (if you don’t want food colored finger nails!)

 

 

Now, lets make some play dough

In a medium sauce pan, mix everything except food coloring.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes or until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Once it starts to thicken, you will want to switch from a whisk to a wooden spoon.  It will be MUCH easier to move around the pan!  The dough will have the consistency of mashed potatoes and become very hard to stir.  Make sure it is stiff and set.

Remove from the heat and turn out to a clean, dry surface.  Allow to cool for 1 minute.  At this point, I would recommend throwing the gloves on to keep those hands clean and dye free!  Add food coloring to tint as desired.  To attain a rich deep color I suggest a good quality gel food color.  Don’t be afraid to add a lot.  It will take more than you think to get a vibrant color.  Knead the coloring into the dough for several minutes to distribute color and cool dough.

Allow dough to completely cool, uncovered, for an hour.  Knead occasionally to keep it from drying out on the surface.  Store in an air tight container.

While the ingredients are non-toxic, given the high salt content, please do not eat the dough!

📌 Pin HERE for later!

 

 

Lumber Jack Birthday Party

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Lumber Jack Birthday Party

When your son asks for a ‘sawmill’ birthday party you stop and ponder how does one make that happen? I knew there was no way to make a physical ‘sawmill’ cake for him!  So after a little searching around we settled for a more streamlined Lumber Jack Theme!  A few easy treats and toys we had already made for an adorable tablescape!

The CAKE – a Tree Stump!

I baked 2 round cakes and stacked them on a cake tray.  For the frosting you can use a store bought or homemade buttercream.  For this, I made a classic buttercream.  Once mixed, I removed a few cups and added a sprinkle of cocoa powder to tint it slightly tan.  Then added more cocoa powder to the rest and some brown food color to get deep brown bark color.

For decorating:

Fill a piping bag or ziptop bag with the dark brown frosting and snip a small opening.  Making straight lines up and down cover the entire cake.  Neatness doesn’t matter and it doesn’t have to be exact. Just get that tree stump covered in bark! Then make a circle around the top, outer edge of the cake.  Let frosting set and slightly dry for about 20 minutes.  Using a flat edge (knife, narrow spatula or flat pastry spreader) press the frosting upwards to give a pattern of bark, slightly overlapping each pass. Again, neatness isn’t required and there is no exact science! You cannot mess this up.  For the top, simply fill another piping bag with the lighter frosting.  Swirl in circles and create a ‘growth ring’ like pattern.

The SNACKS!

Birch Logs: 

Dip pretzel rods in white melting chocolate.  Drizzle with dark chocolate or black melting wafers to create the ‘birch tree’ look.

Acorns:

Using the melting chocolate from the logs above put a small dab on Hershey’s Kisses & press onto Vanilla Wafers. Top with a butterscotch or peanut butter chip using the same melted chocolate.

Evergreen Trees:

Melt green melting wafers and put in a piping bag or ziptop bag.  Lay pretzel sticks on parchment paper and carefully drizzle the chocolate side to side into a free form tree shape over the sticks.

Fire Wood For Sale:

Pretzel Nuggets in a bowl

Wood Chips:

Mini Marshmallows, Mini Chocolate Chips, and Granola in bowl

To finish out the table, I added a log hauling truck we had, plus a few chain saw toys, logs, and photo props to add to the fun.  Plus we used red balloons, bowls and plates over a black table cloth bringing the lumber jack ‘flannel’ into the party.

 

📍 Pin HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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