Weekly Menu Plan – Sept. 11 to Sept. 17

We’ve heard you loud and clear! You want weekly meal plans, and you want them now!! So here is our first one and stay tuned for weekly posts for dinner ideas. For me, it’s not actually making the meal that’s the issue, it’s coming up with what to make! Ugh! We are here to save the day…or the week actually!

This is for next week so you have time to run to the store and get what you need before Monday!

Monday: Mexican Chicken Bowls

Tuesday: Caprese Orzo Pasta

Wednesday: Smoked Chicken (Double this!!)

Thursday: Kale Salad (use leftover smoked chicken)

Friday: Date Night!

Go try a new restaurant, see a movie, go ax throwing (SO fun!), go for a hike, have a game night with some friends…so many options!

Saturday: Best Steak Marinade

Sunday: Teriyaki Beef Casserole

There’s a little bit of everything there! Mexican, Asian, chicken, beef, salad, vegetarian…so much variety and so much delicious!!

READ: Weekly Menu Plan – Sept. 11 to Sept. 17

Rich, nutty notes and rolled, hearty oats create true poetry in this creamy, dreamy Peanut Butter Oatmeal. It’s pure comfort food for breakfast.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal

I still remember the cringe I felt when my son suggested I make peanut butter and jelly oatmeal, so many years ago. Well, my kids loved this breakfast. How could they not, when it reminded them of their favorite sandwich?

The peanut butter thickens the oatmeal and creates a distinct peanut butter flavor. Combined with the jelly, this oatmeal really is reminiscent of my boys’ favorite sandwich. I actually enjoyed eating it, too.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal

When I mentioned this new concept to my brother, he laughed and informed me that he stirs peanut butter into his oatmeal pretty much every day. I was simply late to the game.

We’ve since added sliced bananas and chopped apples to this oatmeal recipe for a fun variation. When adding apples, I add them at the beginning, so that they have a few minutes to soften.

I add slices of fresh bananas as a topping after the oatmeal has cooked. Personally, I prefer creamy over crunchy peanut butter for this recipe. But, if you like nuts in your oatmeal, it’s a great way to get them in there.

Just as with apples, be sure to add them early enough to let them soften a bit during the cooking process. Otherwise, the texture is too crunchy for me.

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Peach Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

This Peach Coffee Cake with streusel topping is the perfect recipe for late summer. Moist vanilla cake, juicy peaches and crunchy cinnamon streusel. Make it with fresh or canned peaches – either way, you’ll love this easy coffee cake recipe.

Late summer is one of my favorite times of the year. The weather is hot, the sun is shining, and grocery stores are full of fresh summer produce. As a child, my parents would typically plan our family vacations in late summer – so it always meant that we’d get a little extra spoiled too.

Of course, nowadays summer is a lot busier than it was back then. But in late summer I always try to make it home for a visit. We’ll sit on the back deck reading and relaxing, and it’s always good to have a perfect summer treat to enjoy at the same time.

And that’s exactly what this Peach Coffee Cake is for. It’s a moist, perfectly soft, buttery vanilla cake. Then there’s a layer of juicy peaches, cinnamon streusel topping, and a drizzle of vanilla glaze.

Recommended Equipment

• 9x13in Pan
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Before You Begin…

As always with baking, get your oven preheating and then pull out the butter to start softening and the buttermilk to come to room temperature. Then get started on the cinnamon streusel topping first.

What Do I Need for Peach Coffee Cake?

All of the ingredients for this recipe are straightforward, pantry and fridge staples except for the peaches. Grab those fresh juicy peaches, and here is what else you will need…

This Old Fashioned Potato Soup is a journey back to grandma’s kitchen where hearty food is made with common ingredients, and every bite tells a story.

Old Fashioned Potato Soup

This recipe for old fashioned potato soup takes me right back to my childhood. My mom often made this “milk and potatoes only” soup on Sunday nights. Eating potato soup after church is a tradition that all of my siblings remember.

I give my mom a lot of grace for what I remember of her kitchen, because I know she had a lot more hungry kids than budget. We kids still get a laugh over how she would multiply this soup for extra mouths by just adding water and milk.

4 Ingredient Potato Soup

There is one thing I do differently from my mom when it comes to making “her” potato soup. I like to add just a little bit of butter at the end. It boosts the flavor and adds a richness that can’t be beaten.

The inclusion of butter makes this recipe a 4 ingredient potato soup. To expand it to a 5 ingredient potato soup, it can also be made with either chicken broth or vegetable broth, which deepens the flavor nicely.

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The Most Luscious Pear Crisp Recipe

Warm gently spiced pears topped with a crunchy buttery oat topping, this pear crisp recipe is my new favorite way to fruit crisp!

Whenever I run into our readers at grocery stores or even at event bathrooms, haha, I often get asked what my favorite recipe is.

I don’t have an answer.

It depends on my mood and the time of year and life to be honest. If life is feeling heavy or stressful versus fun and alive then I’ll probably give you a different answer. However, 9/10 times a fruit crisp is one of my absolute, cannot resist, please-scoop-me-more favorites. I am especially loving the delicate sweetness of pears under a pile of crunchy, chewy, cinnamon-y goodness that is a crisp.

There’s something forever about a crisp recipe.

It never goes out of style.

It is good with and without ice cream.

It’s craved from fall (apple crisp) through summer (marionberry crisp or peach crisp). An all year dessert that will always make you feel at home, my home. Where Mom is lifting the lid off a dutch oven with steam billowing out as we all sit anxiously in our tents waiting for the ultimate camping moment, dessert under the stars.

So, let’s make our houses smell amazing, remember yesterdays full of safety and happiness and savor every single bite together.