I made Chicken Pasta Salad for the first time this year. It’s a family favorite. It’s perfect for a hot summer day.

 

 

Actually, salad of any kind is good during the summer. I usually use cheese, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, for protein. This night, we had chicken on our salads, too.

 

 

Our oldest son had a birthday last week. He turned 30! When did I get old enough to be the mother of a 30 year old?!! We had cake. Cake makes everything better.

 

 

Then 5 days later, my mother had her 80th birthday. I made cupcakes first thing in the morning, before she woke up. I also made a triple batch of blueberry pancakes since I had some blueberries from our bushes waiting to be used. I finished 2 dozen cupcakes, and 19 pancakes by 8 am!

 

 

Don’t these Blueberry Pancakes looks so very yummy? I made these to use for breakfasts on the weekend. I was so tempted to eat them!

 

 

Ok, I did eat one defective blueberry pancake. And one pancake from the scraping of the bowl. It didn’t have any blueberries in it, so it doesn’t count. lol

 

 

Since I started cooking so early in the morning, I needed an easy dinner that night. Venison roast and potatoes in the slow cooker fit the bill. I served them with green beans.

 

 

Then on to my mother’s 80th birthday the next day. We are originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She loves seafood.  Actually, loves in an understatement. lol

Her favorite gift from us, whether it be for her birthday, Mother’s Day, or Christmas, is a seafood feast. Seafood is not cheap when you live in a land locked state like we do. I always manage to put together a great seafood feast for her, though.

 

This time, we had lobster tails, crab legs & claws, shrimp, fish filets, boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, and garlic bread. She always gets a whole lobster tail to eat by herself, and every one else shares a lobster tail. She loved it all, and really enjoyed her birthday dinner.

 

That is what cooking is all about. Making people happy while feeding them. That and the whole nutrition thing.

 

 

After dinner, it was on to the cupcakes! Yum!

 

 

 

Last week, I shared my recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars. If you missed the recipe, stop by and get it now. They are so easy to make, and are perfect for busy mornings. Great for kids, and adults!

 

 

 

Before I go, I wanted to be sure to share this. There is a nationwide recall on frozen vegetables from National Frozen Foods Corporation that  includes some Great Value, Live Smart, Market Pantry, First Green and Bountiful Harvest Green products sold between Sept. 2, 2015 and June 2, 2016.

 

Visit the FDA website for a complete listing of the recalled frozen vegetables.

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- Seafood feast! Lobster tails, shrimp, crab legs & claws, fish filets, hush puppies, boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, homemade tartar sauce

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot ham & cheese sandwiches, chips

Monday – chicken or turkey –  Granny cooked! Goulash & garlic bread

Tuesday – pizza/pasta –  Take out pizza, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Beef tacos with all the fixin’s

Thursday – pork or beef – Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, broccoli

Friday – venison  – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

 

 

 

Who wants to cook breakfast in the summer? It’s too hot. The kids, most of them anyway, want to sleep late while they can.

 

These No Bake Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars are the perfect summer time breakfast. They would be also be great for grab and go breakfasts during the school year. They make a great snack, too!

 

 

 

No Bake Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars

 

1 cups natural peanut butter

1/2 cups honey

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

 

 

Combine peanut butter and honey in a pan stirring over medium until combined. Remove from heat.

 

 

 

Stir in oatmeal and cereal until well combined.

 

 

Pour into 8×8 pan that has been greased with butter or cooking spray. Press mixture firmly into pan, smoothing top.

 

 

Let cool. Cut into bars or squares.

 

 

Store in an air tight container. Or wrap individually in plastic wrap so the kids can serve themselves when they get up. Finally.

 

This recipe can easily be doubled. Use a 13×9 pan for the double recipe.

Turns out, I was so busy last week that I only took one food picture!  I need to start taking pictures before serving the meal. Since we don’t like the kids having cell phones at the table, it’s not fair for mom to have her phone. This would work good for the busy nights that dinner is served from the stove, too.

 

I made Hot Ham & Cheese sandwiches again yesterday. They are my families new favorite meal.

 

 

I made three different kinds of sandwiches yesterday.  Ham & Provolone cheese, Ham & Pepper Jack cheese, and Turkey & Provolone. All on Hawaiian bread rolls. The family loved them all!

Some got a little too brown on the bottom. It didn’t matter, though. They ate them all.

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- Make your own! Some had leftovers & some had hot dogs

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot ham & cheese sandwiches, chips

Monday – chicken or turkey –  Chicken Pasta Salad

Tuesday – pizza/pasta –  Take out pizza, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Granny’s cooking goulash

Thursday – pork or beef – Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, broccoli

Friday – venison  – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

 

I didn’t write a menu last week, on or off line. And boy did I flounder last week! Trying to figure out what to make at 5 pm when you don’t feel like cooking anything in a hot kitchen is not fun!

 

All it takes is one week of skipping a menu to renew my commitment to writing one every week.

 

Before Memorial Day, I baked 20 pounds of chicken leg quarters. My husband helped by cutting the legs and thighs apart.

 

 

Once these were cooled, I bagged four meal size bags. Three bags went into the freezer. I love, love, love having prepared meals in the freezer! It is such a time and money saver.

 

 

We ate the fourth bag the next day, on Memorial Day. We finished cooking them over the fire. So good!

 

 

In fact, they were so good I couldn’t get a picture without someone’s hand in the picture taking chicken! This happens to be my mother’s hand. So it wasn’t just the kids! lol We had Macaroni Salad, and stuffed eggs to complete the meal.

 

 

We had make your own salads twice last week. It’s been so hot in Kentucky. I don’t feel like cooking. And move of the family doesn’t feel like a big meal. My husband likes to have a big salad, actually a couple of big platefuls of salad, on hot days. This picture was from one night. We had romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, grated carrots, shredded cheddar cheese, tuna, chicken breast, and cottage cheese. Another night, we had all that plus chopped green bell peppers.

 

 

We had fish filets one night with homemade tartar sauce. This was my plate. As you can tell, I love tartar sauce! lol I served them with mashed potatoes, and peas & carrots. I do admit that the mashed potatoes were from a box. I bought boxed potatoes for the first time when my mother was in the hospital. They were convenient for the kids to make when I wasn’t home. A kid, or two, have said they prefer them to mashed potatoes made from raw potatoes. My husband has even admitted that they taste okay. lol I don’t use them all the time, but they sure are convenient.

 

 

And, yes, I did read the ingredients. I buy the kind with very few added ingredients. I don’t like to sacrifice nutrition for convenience.

 

We always eat different in the summer than we do in the winter. In the winter we have soups, chilis, casseroles, and other things that have a long cooking or baking time. In the summer we try to turn the oven on as little as possible. So while I use my slowcooker in the winter, I will be using it more now. We will also be eating a lot more salads, too.

 

Do you cook differently during the summer?

 

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- Leftovers from family reunion earlier in the day

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot ham & cheese sandwiches, chips

Monday – chicken or turkey –  Chicken strips, salad

Tuesday – pizza/pasta –  Take out pizza, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s including homemade Taco Sauce , some of us will have Taco Salads

Thursday – pork or beef – Smoked sausage with onions, homemade mac & cheese, corn

Friday – venison  – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

 

*This post contains an affiliate link

So much happens in my kitchen on a daily/weekly basis. I can’t post pictures of everything, or we’d both be here all day! lol So here are a few highlights from my week.

 

I ground 4 more pounds of venison meat from my freezer in the food processor. It’s really very easy to do. I cooked it all at once with a couple of teaspoons of beef bouillon. I used half of it, or 2 pounds, to make Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti.

 

 

I haven’t made it in many months. It was a big hit. Like it usually is.

 

I put the other half of the meat in the fridge and used it to make Skillet Lasagna another night. This was the second time I made this recipe and it’s awesome! So quick, so easy. With all the great flavors of lasagna!

 

 

I really need to get that recipe written up and posted!

 

I made 20 pounds of mashed potatoes on Saturday for a church dinner on Sunday. Well, I used 20 pounds of potatoes. I didn’t weight the pans after. lol Somebody else made 20 pounds of potatoes, too. We  had leftovers! I brought home one of these pans.

 

 

I have the mashed potatoes on the menu tonight. Then I think I’ll try to find something creative to do with the leftovers.

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- Take out Pizza

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Lunch at church, get your own supper 🙂

Monday – chicken or turkey –  Oven roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, beets

Tuesday – pizza/pasta –  Chicken Lo Mein

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s including homemade Taco Sauce , some of us will have Taco Salads

Thursday – pork or beef – Smoked sausage with onions, homemade mac & cheese, corn

Friday – venison  – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

 

 
*Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and purchase something, I receive a small commission.

So I sent my husband shopping last week. There were 2 things on my list. He called from the store to say that they were out of one. So that left 1 thing on my list. Silly me. I thought that meant he would come home with 1 thing. Nope. He came home with 3 bags! lol

 

 

I sliced a beef roast from the freezer, that I had gotten on sale, to make fajitas. The secret to slicing meat is to have it partially frozen. It makes it so much easier to slice, or dice, or however you want to cut it.

 

 

Yum! We love fajitas. My youngest son just pulls the meat out. He hates onions if he can see them. lol

 

 

 

We had Sloppy Joes one night and I made Oven Fries to go with them. I used planned over baked potatoes. Planned overs are when you plan to have leftovers to use for another meal. I cut the cold baked potatoes, oiled seasoned, and baked them. The came out so tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. I liked them better than making oven fries with raw potatoes.

 

 

 

I tried a new recipe for Skillet Lasagna. It is now added to the favorite family meal list. So easy, and so good! So good it’s on this week menu, too! Look for the recipe coming soon!

 

 

On Sunday, I tried another new recipe. Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. They were a hit with the family. Look for how I made those, coming soon, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- Take out Pizza

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches for lunch, get your own supper 🙂

Monday – chicken or turkey – Chicken strips, mac & cheese, beets

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Cincinnati Style Chili, green beans

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s, some of us will have Taco Salads

Thursday – pork or beef – Skillet Lasagna, peas

Friday – venison  – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

 

 

 

We had Alfredo Ham & Pasta Skillet Dinner again last week. I used more leftovers from our Easter ham that I have in the freezer. I think I have one more package left. Plus the bone. This dish is so good!

 

 

On May the 4th, I helped my son make Blue Milk. If you are a Star Wars fan, then you know what I’m talking about. lol

 

 

We had Chicken Strips for lunch on Saturday. I only had one, but had a big salad with it.

 

 

I drink my Pink Drink every day! It’s helping me to get healthy!

 

 

We had taco salads last week, instead of just tacos. I made it with some of the venison I ground in the food processor.

 

 

I didn’t do anything major in the kitchen last week. As you can see, we ate pretty good last week, though. I don’t have anything major planned this week, either. Just the usual meals, and lots of dishes! I do need to make some healthy snacks. I never have enough snacks, according to my family, anyway. lol

 

 

 

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

Saturday – quick & easy- Take out Pizza

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Sandwiches – Roast beef and cheddar, ham, with the choice of white bread, onion rolls. For supper, keilbasa & onions, mac & cheese, corn

Monday – chicken or turkey – Baked chicken, baked potato, corn, green beans

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Skillet Lasagna – trying a new recipe, peas

Wednesday – Taco Night- Beef fajitas

Thursday – pork or beef – Sloppy Joes, carrots, celery

Friday – venison  – Venison roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday