Busyness and Business

Life has recently taken over my life.

There has been all sorts of busyness with home stuff, family stuff, and work stuff. Business is booming at my job (yay), and on top of that we’re moving (yay again). It’s only across the hall, but there is construction, painting, new carpet and more going on to make it ours. I think the new space is going to work really well for us, and I’m pretty pumped. I also like meetings, so I guess this just confirms that I’m a little odd when it comes to work/everything in else in the world.

So! For Father’s day weekend we went camping at Wild River State Park here in MN with a few family friends. It was wonderful, but it rained so so much. Except for when it was time to leave, then it cleared up and was sunny and warm. It was a lot of fun in spite of the rain, and only about an hour drive from the cities. I took the day off Friday, and we arrived back yesterday.

There are two morals to this story: 1. You should go to Wild River State Park if you’re in MN because it’s pretty great, and 2. I have zero grocery shopping done so I’m kind of winging it with this menu plan based off of what’s in my freezer & what I can pickup easily at my neighborhood store.

The last few menu-plan-less weeks were ok-ish, we survived and ate generally nutritious foods, but it sure is a lot more mental anguish trying to figure out what to feed folks on the fly. Without further ado, I bring you this week’s menu!

• Monday Cheater Chicken Parmesan: Sauteed chicken breast, topped with marinara (chunked up with bell peppers), a layer of mozzarella cheese, and a breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture, broiled til breadcrumbs are golden. Served with garlicky rice pilaf and a side of spinach.
• Tuesday Pan cooked Steelhead Trout with a garlic/lemon/dill/cream sauce, baked breaded shrimp, green beans, and twice baked potatoes.
• Wednesday Taco bowls with chicken, cilantro lime rice, black beans, lettuce and fresh salsa
• Thursday Sloppy Joe’s, corn on the cob, broccoli slaw with shredded cheddar cheese and balsamic dressing.
• Friday Movie night! Our church is showing The Lego Movie at 6:30, so we’ll be grabbing some sandwiches on the way there.
• Weekend
  • Saturday brunch will be a french toast extravaganza! Turkey breakfast sausage, grapes, and a fricking toppings bar: strawberries, whipped cream,  bananas, chocolate sauce, maple syrup, and whatever else I can think up.
  • I’m making pasties this weekend, because I’ve been wanting them for months and just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m not sure which day it will happen, but it will happen this time.
  • Meaty marinara- whichever day I make pasties, I’ll also make a batch of meaty marinara sauce. The pasties will use 2 out of 3 lbs of beef I have, and the other pound will be made into red sauce to use at some point next week.
  • Whichever day doesn’t get pasties, I’m going to make chicken pot pie casserole. Shredded chicken in a homemade creamy gravy, with carrots, onions, celery, and topped with buttered bread crumbs. We skip the peas due to a few picky eaters, but they certainly belong here if your crew will eat them! Served over rice, with a side of green veggies. This makes excellent lunch leftovers with a small green salad, and I always cook up extra chicken when I make this for other grab n go meals.

Welp, that’s all I’ve got. Have a good one folks!