Menu Plan–June 30

It has been a fun last week of June – working, playing and of course, eating!  Our recipe highlight from last week goes to the Spaghetti Braid.  I love using this to use up leftover spaghetti. 

** Just a friendly reminder: Google Reader goes away on July 1 (that’s Monday)!!  If you follow via Google Friend Connect, you’ll want to make sure to switch.  Don’t miss out on Finding Joy in My Kitchen or your other favorite blogs next week.  Here are two easy ways to switch:

• Moving from Google Reader to Feedly
• Moving from Google Reader to Bloglovin’

Okay.  Public Service Announcement complete. 

On to the menu for the week:

Sunday
Brunch: Crockpot Breakfast Casserole {new}, Leftover Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes
BBQ – Burgers, Corn on the Cob, Grilled Veggies (carrots, peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, etc)

Monday
Berry Baked Oatmeal
Crockpot Baked Potato Bar

Tuesday
Clean Out the Fridge Egg Bake
Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers, Grilled Chicken or Fish

Wednesday
Leftovers
Rice Cooker Mac & Cheese with Garden Green Beans

Thursday – Happy 4th of July!
Granola & Blueberries
BBQ!
4th of July Cherry Berry Cake

Friday
Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles
Grilled Pizza

Saturday
TBD
Chicken & Brown Rice Bake

In case you missed it, our new recipes from last week included:

Broccoli & Summer Squash Sauté

Mom’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad

Dark Chocolate Graham Crackers

Ingredient Spotlight this week focused on Cream Cheese & Fruit – great ideas!!

Most Viewed: Sin in a Bowl (aka, Strawberries & Brownies)
Most Shared: Crunchy Cranberry Granola Bars
Most Pinned: Sin in a Bowl (aka, Strawberries & Brownies)
Most Liked: Toasted Marshmallow S’more Bars

Find more great menus at OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan–May 12

Happy Mother’s Day!  We had a wonderful day – church, nice walk in the sunshine and BBQ dinner celebrating my mom. 

The photo above is our recipe highlight from last week: Chicken Parmesan Sliders.  I’ll post that recipe soon. 

We enjoyed our fluffy applesauce pancakes last weekend too; haven’t had that recipe in a long time, and I had forgotten how fluffy these cakes actually are. 

This week is Frog Prince’s birthday, Frog Prince’s final exam (he’s giving, not taking), and my last week of classes.  We are ready: bring on summer!

Sunday
Leftover Whole Wheat Waffles with Berry Sauce
BBQ and Sweet Potato Fries

Monday – Frog Prince’s Birthday
Berry Crumble
White Cheddar Mac & Cheese, roasted veggies {birthday special!}
Dessert: Copy-Cat Carvel Ice Cream Cake

Tuesday
Berry Baked Oatmeal
Garlic Balsamic Crusted Chicken with Wild Rice & Pepper Salad

Wednesday
Leftover Berry Baked Oatmeal
Chicken & Veggie Wraps, Kale Chips

Thursday
Apple, Carrot & Zucchini Muffins
Potato & Smoked Sausage Hash {new}

Friday {Last day of the semester!}
Granola and blueberries
Leftovers

Saturday
TBD
Broccoli and Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwiches {new}

In case you missed it, last week new recipes included:

Most Viewed: Lazy Sunday Casserole

Most Shared: Creamy Cauliflower Zucchini Rice (pictured right, above)

Most Pinned: (tie) Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast, Lightened-Up Macaroni Salad, Overnight Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake

Find more great menus at OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday!

Weekly Recap

This week I had two new recipes for you:

Cheesy Lentil Bake.  This dinner was incredible and super easy to prepare.  We’ll be making it again soon. 

Blackberry Oat Muffins. We loved the blackberry and oat combination – these muffins are nice enough to serve to guests, but easy enough to make for a regular Saturday morning. 

I also shared with you tips on how our family finds good recipes, and provided a summer schedule for the Ingredient Spotlight. 

Most Viewed: Parmesan Chicken Bake

Most Shared: Rhubarb Breakfast Bars

Most Pinned: Easy 40-Minute Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Weekly Recap

In case you missed it – this week we shared recipes for:

DIY Hamburger Helper – Italian Style.  An easy skillet dish filled with Italian sausage, veggies and of course, topped with cheese!  Get the recipe here. 

Kitchen Tip – Keeping Homemade Bread Soft.  Without preservatives, the shelf-life of homemade bread is very short.  We’ve found a secret though, to keeping it fresh! 

Ingredient Spotlight – Bacon & Potatoes!  Some delicious links were shared this week, including Bacon Ranch Potato Salad, Cheesy Potato Popper Wraps, & Cheddar Bacon Potatoes.  Check out the rest of the recipes here. 

Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce. A simple meal, but extremely flavorful.  Love that the Alfredo is made from beans!  No kidding.  Go check out that recipe here. 

Weekly Stats

Most Viewed: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Crumble Bars
Most Pinned: Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Most Shared: Parmesan Chicken Bake
Most Liked: Keeping Homemade Bread Fresh

Weekly Recap

In case you missed the new recipes here this week, here’s what we cooked up this week:

Whole Wheat Waffles.  This recipe is pure and simple, and naturally sugar free!  I’ve tried many whole wheat waffle recipes, but this is our favorite.  Leftovers would even make great sandwich “bread” for a savory lunch.  Get the recipe for whole wheat waffles here. 

Parmesan Chicken Bake. This recipe came with lofty claims of its greatness. It was an excellent and super easy meal, and in true Finding Joy in My Kitchen fashion, we made it better for you too.  Get the recipe for the Parmesan Chicken Bake here. 

Crockpot Swiss Steak.  Frog Prince introduced me to this recipe when we were dating.  While we rarely eat red meat, this is a meal we really enjoy because of the tomatoes and green peppers!  Get the recipe for the Crockpot Swiss Steak here. 

Wednesday’s Ingredient Spotlight was all about quinoa!  Some yummy recipes linked up included Breakfast Quinoa and Tex Mex Quinoa with Black Beans. 

Weekly Stats

Most Viewed: Parmesan Chicken Bake
Most Pinned: Olive Garden Bread Sticks
Most Shared:  Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken & Rice
Most Liked: Deviled Egg Salad Sandwiches

Weekly Recap

In case you missed it this week, here were the new recipes on Finding Joy in My Kitchen:

Blueberry Rhubarb Cinnamon Rolls. I love rhubarb and blueberry.  The combination is outstanding (and kind-of raspberry tasting).  I keep staring at my snow-covered garden hoping soon we might get some rhubarb sprouting up.  Until then, I’ll ration my last 2 C of frozen rhubarb! Get the blueberry rhubarb cinnamon roll recipe here.

Creamy Rice & Chicken Casserole. One of the things I love doing is taking a great recipe and making it even healthier for you.  This creamy rice cassserole is a new family favorite and by swapping the sour cream for cottage cheese and using less cheese I reduced a serving from 12 grams of fat to just over 5 grams!  Best yet, your rice cooker does much of the work for this one.  Get the Creamy Rice & Chicken Casserole recipe here. 

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes – It’s hard to believe the NCAA men’s basketball championship game was nearly a week ago.  What a game it was – crazy!  We made these potatoes for that game and even the leftovers were fantastic.  Get the Parmesan Roasted Potato recipe here. 

Most Pinned this Week: Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Most Viewed this Week: Kitchen Tip – Easy Cheese Grating

Most Shared this Week: Roasted Parmesan Potatoes