good mornin, sunshine!
it sure is a monday and i am feeeeelin’ it! did you have a good weekend?! anything fun or exciting?!
before we head into our usual meal planning monday, here’s a little recap of our weekend!

we had a fantastic weekend with lots of family and friend time!

bows | scarves | dresses 

friday we had our family pictures and oh. my. gosh. i can not WAIT to see them!!! the girls were super troopers and i think everything came together so perfectly!! we also got to snag a fun dinner with the balsan crew which is always a hilariously entertaining time with four babes who are all obsessed with eating each other’s faces and tackling hugging each other on the regular.

hats c/o | sweatshirt 

saturday zach spent the morning hunting and got his first doe! super exciting news for us seeing as we ran out of meat a couple weeks ago! woo woo! a whole new life for me because i had never had game until i married zach…now it’s just how i cook and i’ve mastered the art of making deer not taste gamey! unless i told you, you would have no idea!
the girls and i flew solo and were super productive cleaning, gardening, and even getting some ‘pum pums’ play in!
that afternoon we headed over to a hilarious little girl’s 2nd birthday party! so much fun and again, absolute hilarity when 8 kids under 4 are all running the muck.  we did manage to get all 8 children down for some much needed adult time and stayed up way too late laughing till our bellies hurt.

lace bow c/o | shirts | skirts | floral bow c/o 

sunday was ahhhhmazing!!! our entire household slept until 9am…whaaaaaaaaaat. so needed, so so so appreciated! we quickly headed outside and played the. entire. morning. we’re in that stage trying to teach the girls responsibility (cleaning up their toys, putting dishes in the sink, emptying the dishwasher, watering the flowers, etc.) and it takes forevvvver. so well worth it in the end and if i had a free hand i would have taken more pictures. but watching these two peanuts carry their ‘wa-wa’ cans to the watering bins out to the flowers and dump the water on the flowers was well worth every ounce of effort.
sandbox, slide, climbing, flowers, water table, swings. all the wonderful things that come with an indian summer!
i got some blogging stuff in during nap time before we headed out for our second birthday party for the weekend! lots of fun seeing more friends and of course eating cupcakes! we wrapped up the night with a makeshift dinner over at mammaw and pappaws house complete with peek-a-boo, laughing and of course, a klondike bar.

so busy. so fun. it juuuust keeps getting better!

i have heard from so many of you that you have been loving meal planning monday! thank you so much for the feedback – i love hearing what you like seeing around here!! while i love to meal plan, i’m not perfect at it. knowing you love it though, we’ll keep it going!! if you have a recipe or a link you think i’d love, please tell me!! i’d love to feature it in our post!!

i hope you have a great week!

monday
crockpot veggie pork soup
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can sliced carrots
1 can white beans (drained + rinsed)
1 can red beans (drained + rinsed)
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
4 medium sized red potatoes
6c. veggie broth
1lb. bacon
1lb. ground sausage
2T oregano
2T cumin

brown ground sausage, drain, and put in crockpot
cut bacon into bite sized pieces then cook. add to crock pot
drain corn, green beans, and carrots and add to crock pot
rinse beans and add
add whole can of tomatoes
wash and slice potatoes to preference (i just chunk into bite sized pieces for the girls)
add veggie broth and spices, then mix all ingredients
cook on high 4-6 hours (until potatoes are done!)
**the girls haven’t quite mastered the art of soup yet, so i leave the broth out and they love all of the veggies and meat!** this also makes toooons and is one of my favorites to freeze for the fall!

tuesday
taco tuesday – classic ortega recipe
we enjoy soft tacos with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, sour cream, taco sauce, and avocado!

wednesday
parmesean herb crusted salmon from crystal p fitness and food

thursday
leftovers!

friday
21 DF carmelized onion turkey burger
adapted from the foodie and the fix

2 white or red onions (1.5 sliced to preference, .5 finely chopped)
1/4-1/2 c. red wine or vinegar (i usually just pour some in the pan)
1lb ground turkey
1/2 finely chopped onion
2T worcestershire sauce
1/2t. salt
1/2t. black pepper
2tsp minced garlic
1T dried thyme
4 slices provolone cheese
whole wheat bun (i love our local onion burger buns!) and any other ‘free’ toppings

simmer sliced onions in red wine, stirring occasionally, until wine is absorbed in onions (depending on how fast i’m going, this takes 5-15 minutes).
mix together remainder ingredients (minus toppings) and form into 4 burger patties.
preheat skillet to medium-high heat
cook burger 5ish minutes on each side (more or less…always check doneness – no pink!)
remember to only flip once for juciest burger!
put a slice of cheese on with one minute to spare, until cheese is melted
serve with desired toppings!

question: what is a recipe you think i should try for meal planning?!

xoxo,

lindsey