I can't believe I'm writing this (because I'm still in a state of disbelief), but as I'm sitting here in my favorite white chair, it is currently snowing outside. We were promised a white Christmas and while it did not snow during the day on December 25th, it started coming down around 11:30pm. So we indeed, did have a white Christmas after all. Simply never happens here!
This will be my last weekly menu for the year and I won't pick it up again until probably the last week of January or first week of February. The blog is going to be on a break. A vacation. A sabbatical. I love writing for the blog - it really fuels a creative outlet for me, but like so many people, I need a break so I don't burnout. Over the last few weeks with all of the holiday hustle and bustle, it has leaned more into frenetic side, which I don't like to let happen!
In addition to the weekly menu coming out this week, I will have one or two New Year's recipes for you. And then, probably on New Year's Day, Josh and I will send out an email - just for email subscribers - with a recipe round up featuring some of our favorite healthier recipes to help you start 2022 off right and to detox off of some of those Christmas cookies!
Not that I'm against eating Christmas cookies and indulging in sweets a bit more around the holidays. I know for me that I never eat as many cookies as I do around the Christmas season and that is okay! But for me personally, I'm ready to purge the sweets from my system as soon as the New Year hits.
Let's talk about this week's menu. I'm all for easy this week. We celebrated my birthday last week and essentially had three separate Christmas celebrations - one with my family, one with Josh's family, and one just our little family. The funny thing is last week, I made a soup with some leftover ham on Tuesday and then both Friday and Saturday we had ham with both of our families for Christmas dinner. We're a little hammed out (haha) so I'm keeping the recipes ham-free and super easy. I suggest you do the same thing if you can!
Here's what's on the menu:
Tuscan Tomato White Bean Soup
This flavorful, creamy Tuscan Tomato White Bean Soup recipe elevates traditional tomato soup in every way, and is perfect for the fall season!
Apple Bacon Cheddar Monte Cristos
These amazing apple bacon cheddar Monte Cristo sandwiches will render you speechless...or begging for more!
Trainwreck Crock Pot Taco Salad
"Trainwreck" crock pot taco salad is simple, inexpensive, easily customizable, and incredibly tasty! It will please your family, or a crowd of almost any size!
Easy Garlic Spaghetti
In need of an easy, inexpensive meal that's still full of flavor and popular with the whole family? Try this go-to recipe for easy garlic spaghetti!
Turkey Taquitos
Make this tasty recipe for turkey taquitos as an appetizer or a main entree - your guests will demand them again and again!
English Muffin Pizzas
These fun, easy, quick English muffin pizzas are a family favorite - we make them all the time! The kids love designing their own mini pizza masterpieces!
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Street Tacos
When you need an easy, little-to-no-effort dinner, try this recipe for yummy slow cooker salsa verde chicken street tacos!
Almond Waffles with Raspberry Basil Sauce
This perky recipe for almond waffles with raspberry basil sauce is a tour de force of bright, warm flavors with tart, savory accents. It's a must try!
Sunday Morning Smoothie
One of our favorite smoothie standbys, what we call the Sunday Morning Smoothie - orange, banana, ginger, mango, pineapple, spinach, coconut, and more!
Honey Oat Power Balls
This simple one-bowl, no-bake recipe for honey oat power balls is a great way to get a healthy, grab-and-go snack into your life!
Homemade Spanish Rice
This spanish rice is as easy as the boxed rice you buy at the store, more flavorful, and healthier. This is the perfect side to your taco nights.
Usually for New Year's we make a lot of snacks and eat those all evening for dinner and such, but since New Year's Eve is on a Friday this year, which happens to also be our family's pizza night - we'll do pizza. So I thought for variety, I'd share my appetizer pinterest board and my pizza board in case you wanted to make homemade pizzas! You can't go wrong with either idea for a New Year's feast!
Have a great last week of 2021 - I'll see you back here for a new recipe or two this week and I wish you all a very Happy New Year's!
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