Weekly Menu Plan Week 9 is chock full of delicious with fancy pork burgers, one pot pasta, a fresh vegetarian tart, grilled chicken salad, an easy pizza, potato salad, and fresh strawberries in a favorite seasonal dessert.
Phew! Where in the world did this week go? Since we moved into our new house two years ago, we spent the first summer focused on updating the inside of the house with fresh coat of paint, new fixtures, and a minor kitchen renovation. Last summer was dedicated to caulking the exterior windows and doors, repainting the trim and outbuildings, and an inexpensive face lift on the front porch to add curb appeal.
This year? This year I can no longer avoid the landscaping. I have a ton of DIY landscaping projects on deck for this summer. After spending 9 years battling sandy soil and hungry deer at our last house, my former zeal for gardening has waned. We live in the country, so I haven’t been all that concerned with flowerbeds along the perimeter of the property. I mean, who really sees it but us? Well, not only have the weeds at our house taken root, they’ve flourished over the past few summers. I swear that a few of them are as tall and robust as my seven year old. So before I can do anything fun like plant a pie orchard, I need to tackle the weeds.
After a week of hard work, I’m happy to report that the Sons and I evicted the resident weeds from the acre of landscape beds around the property. Not only that, we planted our fruit and salsa gardens, as well as spread a total of 79 bags (6 cubic yards) of fresh mulch in the beds. I should probably mention that Bacon Slayer was out of town all week, so the boys and I kind of feel like The Avengers saving the world…er…gardens.
With a week like that, I’m happy to have the menu already planned out for me. Weekly Menu Plan Week 8 saved us from a week of cereal and take out every night. Next week will look much the same as last week, but with 5 hours of soccer camp on four of the days, so I KNOW that Weekly Menu Plan for Week 9 will be saving my bacon again.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Hello, Monday! I’ve never been happier to see a Monday than when I know these Pork Bahn Mi Burgers from Susan/Girl in the Little Red Kitchen are on the menu. Loaded with Vietnamese flavors inside and topped with quick pickled vegetables on top. This is one burger that brings the party to an ordinary Monday night.
We can ease into Tuesday with this super easy One Pot Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach from Sarah/The Chef Next Door. All of those fresh veggies balance out the carbs to make this not only a one pot meal, but a one plate meal. This pasta is perfect for nights when you want a fresh, delicious dinner but are not feeling the clean up. Read: me every night of the week.
All of the gorgeous tomatoes on Cheryl/Pook’s Pantry’s Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart have me chomping at the bit for my garden tomatoes to grow, grow, GROW! For now, I’ll make do with the supermarket variety because I can’t wait for my own harvest before diving into this dinner pie!
I’ll be keeping cool on Thursday with my Strawberry Mango Salad with Strawberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. Ripe, seasonal strawberries and sweet mango kick up the flavor in the salad. Tender pieces of grilled chicken balances the salad to make it a meal.
Pizza is always a big hit on Friday nights. My boys are happy with the basic cheese & pepperoni on homemade pizza crust. Bacon Slayer and I like to try a variety of different toppings for a unique pizza. Given his love of light sausage gravy over biscuits, I just know that he will love Jenni/Pastry Chef Online’s Sausage Gravy Pizza with Peppers & Onions.
Just about any dinner will be that much better when served with this Potato Salad with Bacon, Corn & Peppers from Susan/Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. Heck, I plan to throw a soft fried egg on it and call it dinner for Saturday!
Since we like to end with week with something sweet, it seems only right to cap the Weekly Menu Plan Week 9 with The Best Strawberry Shortcake. Ripe strawberries, lightly sweetened whipped cream, and sweet biscuits make this dessert a summer staple.
Do you have a favorite dish from the Weekly Menu Plan Week 9? I’d love to hear about it!
Come back next week, when we bust out the grill to beat the heat while still eating well!
