Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 26)

Seriously, such a busy week that I totally forgot to post! We’re officially at the half-way point of the year. It is super crazy to me that July begins this weekend!

6.25.12 – Charleston for the Day/Brats & Fries at home for Ryan
6.26.12 – Premier Jewelry Party – Brownies & Fiesta Spinach/Artichoke Dip
6.27.12 – Thirsty Fellow
6.28.12 – Dinner TBA after Happy Hour for Jenny’s B-day
6.29.12 – Cooper’s 2nd B-day Party
6.30.12 – Cheesy Lime Chicken & Rice
7.1.12 - Jessica's Wedding Shower

Pound Cake for Breakfast

Sometimes you gotta eat pound cake for breakfast. Today was one of those days. I think I learned this habit from my dad. Anytime there was pound cake in our house growing up, it was understood that not only was it a dessert, but it was also breakfast! My favorite flavor of pound cake is chocolate (I always ask for a chocolate pound cake for my birthday – no icing, please!), and I love to heat it in the microwave for just a few seconds and devour it with a glass of milk. However, this weekend I made a vanilla pound cake for Father’s day, and had a hunk leftover, so guess what? Pound cake for breakfast!

And, just to make sure you have a recipe and can bake your own breakfast pound cake, here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
2 Sticks Butter
3 Cups Sugar (room temp)
6 Eggs (room temp)
3 Cups Cake Flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking soda
8oz Sour Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Cream together butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Then, continually mixing, add eggs, one at a time. Alternate adding scoops of the dry mixture (flour + baking soda) and spoonfuls of sourcream. Mix well. Last, add vanilla. Pour batter into a greased/floured tube pan. Bake in a NON-preheated oven at 325 for 70 minutes. Remove from oven & enjoy! It’s always nice to have a hot slice fresh from the oven, but this cake will last for days, and if you want it hot later, just stick slice in the microwave.

Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 25)

6.18.12- Grilling Steaks, Corn on the Cob, and Salad
6.19.12- $1 taco night!
6.20.12- buffalo chicken in the crockpot, cole slaw, potato salad
6.21.12- homemade pizza
6.22.12- beach!
6.23.12- beach!
6.24.12- dinner on the way home

A Summer Side Dish - Tomato Cucumber Salad

I absolutely LOVE tomatoes (no kidding, my favorite food is salsa) and cucumbers are pretty much the only green vegetable that I tolerate without much whining, so this summer side dish is right up my alley!

What you'll need....

Tomatoes (sliced or diced into bite size pieces, about 1.5 cups once cut up)
1 Large Cucumber (cut in half, then sliced as thin as you can slice)
1/4 red onion (sliced or diced, however you like it)
Olive oil (about 2 TBS)
Red Wine Vinegar (a few splashes, to your taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Slice & Dice your veggies, splash in the olive oil and red wine vinegar, sprinkle on salt & pepper.  Allow to marinate for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the rest of your meal.  Also great the next day, but you may want to double the recipe if you plan to have leftovers, this stuff goes FAST!

Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 24)

And we're back! And refreshed!  And it's raining all week, so even though our favorite go-to during the summer is grilling, doesn't look like we can make plans for that this week.... here's what we're eating:

6.11.12 - Cheesy Lime Chicken w/ Cucumber Tomato Salad & Rice
6.12.12 - Turkey Tacos & Homemade Guacamole
6.13.12 - Freezer Meal - Baked Ziti
6.14.12 - Salads w/ Chicken in Thai Chili Sauce
6.15.12 - Supper Club - Taking Salad
6.16.12 - Cookout for Hilary & Kyle's BBQ Shower
6.17.12 - TBD

Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 23)

So when we're going out of town for part of the week, I usually just buy a few basic groceries that won't go bad that I can throw together simple recipes on the nights we're actually at home. I'm headed to the beach for part of the week so I won't do any food shopping til I get there and see what all my mom already has stocked.

So it's a vacation from menu planning & a much needed few days off from work! Hopefully I'll come back refreshed and with some new summer recipes to try! If you know any good ones, send them my way!