Menu Planning: The Big Family Way

One of the many things my husband and I agree about is the importance of family dinners! It's no surprise that taking a family of 7 out to eat is incredibly expensive, so we save eating out for special occasions. Takeout can also add up very quickly, so we rely on menu planning for our almost daily family dinners!

I have been planning our meals for many years, and it's a way of life now. It just comes easily, and naturally! Before I started, I thought it was unnecessary, and I didn't think it would work for us. I can honestly say that it was life changing! I save so much time and energy, and we really save a lot of money compared to what we would spend eating out and getting take out once a week!

In our family, we have a picky eater (GRANT), a child who has Celiac Disease (Liam), a non-meat eater (me), and a baby who is now eating the same meals, but somehow, I manage to please everyone with each dinner. It really isn't difficult to juggle, and we usually end up with leftovers. (Hello, lunches!) After years of trial and error, I perfected my method for menu planning for a big family with dietary concerns, and I plan to share my tricks with all of you!

A Week in the Life of a Big Family + Life with Down syndrome {Week 3}

Can you believe it's already the last week of January? January used to go by so slowly, but that just isn't the case anymore. Perhaps it's because I learned how to embrace Winter, or the fact that this month has been very Spring-like, but January hasn't been bad this year!

Week 3 of January was our "boring week." We only had a few extra things to do for once. Plus, we had a much needed day off from school and work! It was so nice to have that break after the harsh return to reality after the holidays!

My goal for blogging in 2020 was to get back to posting regularly at least two times a week, then increase it from there. So far, I'm on track with my goal, and I have dozens of partially written posts to finish. In February, I have a lofty goal to post THREE times a week! I'm trying to get my blogging groove back, and share everyday life with five kids and an extra chromosome again!

Life Lately:The Pregnancy Edition

Happy November! Life Lately has been very busy and very exciting. If we're friends on Facebook or Instagram, you probably already heard the news...if not, all you have to do is read my previous post!

Although the busyness of life isn't going to slow down, I'm finally able to function better. I'm hoping to get back to a regular blogging schedule in this month. I missed writing and reading blogs so much while I was sick!

Here's a peek at life lately...

Pretz Mex Macaroni and Cheese {Bruegger's Bunch}

DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Bruegger's Bagels.

When I was growing up, I used to make fun of my mom for cooking so much food. Even though there were eight kids in my family, it still looked like she was cooking for an army! Now that I have four kids of my own, I completely get it.

Dylan, Lexie, Lily and Liam are always hungry, and they eat a LOT. If you think I’m exaggerating, let me tell you about the nine (NINE!!!) tacos that my skinny 10 year old ate for dinner this week. Now that Summer is here, and they are all home all day, they are eating food faster than I can replenish it!

We were about two weeks into Summer Break, when I learned my lesson. I started to double my dinner recipes, so we had leftovers for lunch the next day! We now have plenty of food for dinner, and enough left over so we can all heat it up for lunch the next day. In the span of two weeks, I officially became my mother!

One of our favorite things to eat is macaroni and cheese. As everybody knows, this comfort food is best when it’s homemade! I did a lot of experimenting over the years, and came up with a recipe that we all love. It can be made in the slow cooker or baked in the oven, and it’s very simple to prepare.

Our favorite recipe includes a blend of Cheddar, American, Swiss, Mozzarella and Velveeta cheeses, and it’s topped with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s a recipe that everybody in my family loves, so leftovers always go quickly!

After hearing about Bruegger’s Bagels Pretz Mex egg sandwich, which is one of their limited time offerings for Summer, I was inspired to spice things up a bit! The Pretz Mex features egg, bacon, Swiss cheese and guacamole on a pretzel bagel. I brought a few home, and the sandwich was as delicious as it sounds!

I decided to swap my traditional breadcrumb topping for a spicier version, using pretzel bagels from Bruegger’s Bagels and guacamole. The end result was delicious! Sometimes it’s good to change things up a bit!

Pretz Mex Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs elbow macaroni
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 6 Tbsp salted butter, divided
• 2 cups Mac & Cheese Blend shredded cheese
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• 12 oz Velveeta cheese
• 2 Bruegger's Pretzel Bagels
• 1.5 oz of Wolly Guacamole’s Spicy Guacamole
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Make It:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Boil the elbow macaroni for about 8 minutes. (It should be al dente.)
4. Melt 3 Tbsp butter and pour into a large bowl.
5. Mix in the evaporated milk, 2% milk, Mac & Cheese blend, and Mozzarella cheese.
6. Slice the Velveeta cheese into thin slices.
7. Pour half of the elbow macaroni into the baking dish.
8. Pour half of the cheese mixture on top of the macaroni and stir.
9. Top with one layer of Velveeta cheese slices.
10. Repeat steps 7-9.
11. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
12. While the macaroni and cheese is baking, prepare the breadcrumb topping.
13. Place the pretzel bagels in a food processor (or a blender) and mix until it is chopped finely.
14. Pour the pretzel bagel bread crumbs into a bowl, add in the Parmesan cheese, the guacamole and 3 Tbsp melted butter, and mix together.
15. Remove the macaroni and cheese from the oven and stir to blend.
16. Spread the bread crumb mixture on top of the macaroni and cheese and cook for an additional 10 minutes (or until the Parmesan cheese melts on top).

ENJOY!!!

Adding the Pretz Mex pretzel bagels and spicy guacamole to this recipe gives it a slightly zesty taste. It was a fun alternative to our traditional macaroni and cheese recipe! My four little bottomless pits gave it eight thumbs up!

Check out Bruegger’s Bagels other Summer specials!

• Coconut Coffee, hot or iced
• Greek Blueberry cream cheese
• Sweet Georgia Turkey sandwich

Connect with Bruegger’s Bagels:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube

You might also like:

Creamy Ranch Bagel Chicken Salad

What's Up Wednesday

 

Happy Wednesday! I thought it was time to take a break from my blogging schedule and just share a little life lately post today!

WHAT WE'RE EATING THIS WEEK...

Fall weather arrived this week! We're currently enjoying daytime temperatures in the high sixties/low seventies and cooler evenings. In honor of Fall our menu plan this week includes a lot of comfort food!

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT...

In honor of the upcoming Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October I'm reminiscing about the moment we met Liam. He certainly wasn't the baby we were expecting but I had no idea how big of an impact he would have on our lives. If only I knew then what I know now. I am just head over heels in love with this amazing little man! I can still vividly remember the moment our eyes met for the very first time and I just knew.  In that moment I remember feeling like it was the worst day of my life. Now when I think about it I am overcome by an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude.

WHAT I'M LOVING...

• Hot Tea every single morning
• My new seasonal mugs for my collection
• Relaxing in the backyard with my kids
• Kohl's Cash that I get to spend this week
• The perfect Fall weather that just arrived
• Weekly walks with a friend
• New clothes
• Our adorable pet bunnies

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...

I thought Summer Break was overly busy but life has been so chaotic since school started. I feel like I barely have time to breathe and I spend so much time driving around every day!

I have to pick up Lily from Kindergarten just before noon every day. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays we go straight from the school to the park to kill 30 minutes of time before I have to drop Liam off at preschool. Lily and I run errands on those days and have to go back to pick Liam up at 3. On Tuesdays, Lily has Storytime while Liam is at school. On Tuesday nights Lexie has dance. On Thursday nights Lily has dance. Dylan is playing trumpet in band and violin in orchestra. On Friday nights we go to the stable to visit our horse. Our weekends are completely busy.

Oh and did I mention that Dylan starts basketball next month so we'll add his practices to our weekly rotation? Plus, Grant got promoted (I'm so proud of him!) and has been at the office from 8 AM-8 PM every single day and most Saturdays. So I'm kind of doing most of this all by myself. Add my blogging gig to it all and I'm exhausted and overwhelmed! Caffeine helps. Just saying!

WHAT I'M DREADING...

WINTER! I hate being cold and I driving on snow-covered roads. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON...

I'm currently writing a post for Down Syndrome Awareness Month for Pittsburgh Moms Blog and I'm also working on really fun collaboration with Speedo!

For now you can read all about the recent lice-capades my family had to endure! {Click photo to read the post.}

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WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

• Fall weather
• Sweaters, Boots and Boot Socks
• Pumpkin Picking
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• The return of Gilmore Girls 
• Taking on another year with the Netflix StreamTeam
• The return of The Walking Dead

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING...

Grant and I are currently watching The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Gilmore Girls (our 6th time through), Frasier and Fear the Walking Dead. We're going to catch up on This Is Us over the weekend. In my own time, I like to watch NCIS!

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO...

The Hits 1 station on Sirius radio. It's all my kids want to listen to!

When the iPod is hooked up they request:

• Everybody Talks by Neon Trees
• Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
• Lonely by Christina Perri
• My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson

Over and over again...

WHAT I'M WEARING...

I did a little shopping over the weekend and finally used the gift cards I received for my birthday in April. I bought some stuff for Fall!

The weather is really strange right now. It's chilly in the morning and evenings but gets fairly warm in the afternoon. I never know what to wear so I usually go for layers...skinny jeans I can roll up and shirts with sleeves that can roll up or down. The toddler on my hip is my usual accessory!

{Jeans-Indigo Rein / Shirt-TJ Maxx / Flats-SO / Diaper Bag-Newlie}

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND...

Dylan is going to a friend's house and Lexie is going to a birthday party. Grant will probably put in a few hours at the office on Saturday so I might take the Lily and Liam to a Fall festival. I have to work on a big blog collaboration and do the grocery shopping, too. 

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH...

• Going to the pumpkin patch with my family
• The Dash for Down Syndrome
• A Pittsburgh Moms Blog picnic
• Birthday parties with friends
• Halloween fun
• Trick or Treating
• The return of The Walking Dead (Who will die? Does anyone even care anymore?!?)

WHAT ELSE IS NEW...

Today was a BIG day for Liam! He had his yearly appointment at the Down syndrome clinic where the doctor does a thorough exam, goes over his entire medical history and reviews his therapies and development.

The first thing out of the doctor's mouth was, "Well I see there aren't any problems with lack of energy." Definitely not! Liam is completely healthy, on track with development and the Failure to Thrive diagnosis is finally off of his chart! He's exactly 3 feet tall and 25 lbs. He's still pretty small for his age but at least he's on the Ds chart now! 

They do recommend a sleep study between age 3-4 to check for sleep apnea but the doctor recommended waiting until next Fall since he's so high energy right now and not showing any signs of apnea. We are, however, going to try some orthotics for his flat feet. The doctor said it really was completely up to us so I think we're going to set up the appointment to get fitted. 

The appointment ended with a blood draw to check his thyroid, check for anemia and get a CBC. There aren't any signs of a thyroid problem but you never know. We will have those results between tomorrow and Friday. I failed to mention that Liam bleeds a lot after blood draws and the two of us ended up getting covered with blood. So...that was fun!

Two more appointments to go and we'll be done with his yearly round of routine exams! I'm always so relieved when these appointments go well!

And, well, Fall arrived today and it was glorious!

What's new with you? 

 

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