Took a rather unplanned hiatus from menu monday over the summer as life was full to overflowing with work and kids and a few weeks of vacation mixed in. I’ve been spending the past few weeks (months?) trying to get my life more organized — cutting things out where necessary, saying no, hiring help and breaking my schedule down into chunks of time where I am intentionally getting things done. Pro tip : Trader Joe’s dinner hacks on Pinterest are my new best friend 🙂 Friday mornings are now my meal planning/blog post writing days, and I hope to keep that up for the forseeable future… It’s always nice to hear that these menu monday posts are helpful. Soooo, without further ado…

Here’s what we ate last week!

SUNDAY //

Halfbaked Harvest Pumpkin Beer Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Honey Apple Mozzarella Crostini, Veggies w/ Spinach Dip
notes: Definitely need to go with pumpkin beer for the soup. I just bought what Trader Joe’s had in stock. Also, I used frozen broccoli and just allowed a little extra cooking time.
For the crostini, I bought pre-sliced fresh mozzarella and used that instead. So good.

MONDAY //

30 Minute Garlic Pasta w/ Herbed Pork Tenderloin + Kale
Crusty French Bread
notes: This will forever be one of my favorite Halfbaked Harvest recipes. Just make it.

TUESDAY //

Community Group Dinner : I brought Halfbaked Harvest Slow Cooker Beef Chili
Kids had TJ’s Hack : Island Soyaki Meatballs over Rice + Broccoli

WEDNESDAY //

Date Night | Kids had Mom’s Mac n’ Cheese, Canned Green Beans

THURSDAY //

Winter Veggie Buddha Bowl
Maple Oatmeal Biscuits
notes: I’m really making it a goal to cook with no meat a few times a week (or include it as an optional addition), and I can see these buddha bowls are going to become a staple in our house. I like the idea of switching out the veggies. I did cook up some Trader Joe’s chicken apple sausage on the side for a bit more protein for our bigger eaters.

The biscuits were amazing. I skipped the butter/maple glaze (even though I’m sure that would be delicious). Also, I didn’t have time to do the whole roll out and fold the dough thing. I just kneaded with my hands and shaped the dough into medium-ish circles on the baking sheet. They were less polished looking, but tasted just as good. 🙂

FRIDAY //

Pork Raghu w/ Parmesan Polenta
Roasted Green Beans
notes: I pulled this recipe out every time it starts to get cold out. One of my favs.

SATURDAY //

Costco Frozen Pizza