Hello, friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Are you lucky enough to have a long weekend in honor of our veterans? We spent the weekend in Central Oregon attending a beautiful wedding and catching up with some of our dearest friends. I tell you, the more time I spend on this side of the Cascade mountains, the more I feel like I belong over here...

We have an exciting weekend (of sorts) ahead! First up, we're on our first week-long school break of the year. We homeschool six weeks on and take one week off (so this is our week off), and I'll be using a bit of this time to work on recipes since I won't have school. Eden also gets her braces off, which is super exciting for her - finally she will be able to eat popcorn again! 😋🍿

While we were away, I worked on the grocery list/menu for the week, which is always kind of an interesting thing for me to do when I'm away from home. I threw in a chili recipe I had worked on last fall, but I accidentally left the recipe at home and I can't remember what's in it! Oops! So I'll be checking my pantry and freezer to make sure I have those items when I get back home. Also, if you're looking for a great recipe to make during the work week, I suggest you try this One Pan Roasted Rosemary Mustard Chicken! I love how you use different cuts of chicken in it and you can literally serve it alongside any side dish you want!

Here's what's on this week's menu:

The beginning of November always marks the end of fall and the beginning of winter, even though I know the first day of winter isn't even for another 30+ days. In my head, we're in winter, people, and no comfort food is off limits.

Speaking of comfort food, comment below and tell me what your favorite comfort food is. Any kind of pasta or hearty meat dish? What about a soup? While I could eat tacos all day every day, I do love a good hearty bowl of pasta - which I think Josh really excels at making. I look forward to when he is in the kitchen on the weekends. He has a tendency to create a delight for the senses with amazing aromas that can be smelled from the upstairs, fifties jazz playing throughout the house, and beautiful ingredients spread out all over the kitchen. I should mention that unlike me, Josh is not a clean cook. I believe his goal is to use every bowl and pot we own! 😆

Here's what we're cooking up this week!

Hey friends, did you notice the weekly menu took a bit of a break? We've had a few busy weekends + school weeks + a few kids last week were under the weather and I didn't even have time to shut myself away in the office to work. I always appreciate you all being so flexible! But this week, we're back and I am so excited about this week's menu.

First, I cannot believe that this is the last week of October and November is essentially already here. Wasn't it just August? What? How are you doing? Have you had a break from any of the back to school activities? Have you been able to get your family around the dinner table? What's been working and what hasn't? I kind of delegated weekends off from dinner. Josh completely takes over all the meals on the weekends which has been one of the nicest breaks for me. Usually by the time Monday rolls around again, I feel ready to cook for my family again. Josh and I have been discussing having the older girls take over a dinner a few times a month during the work week, too. They're both very capable in the kitchen, but as of late, there hasn't been much of an opportunity for them to spread their wings in this area.

Okay, here's this week's menu:

I hope you all had a beautiful fall weekend! Oregon is in peak fall mode - everything is beautiful here. Sun, temps in the low 70's or upper 60's. Gorgeous fall foliage, I mean, it just doesn't get better than this right here. Josh and I took advantage of the weather and hiked the Trail of Ten Falls outside of Silverton. We've both done this hike separately, but never together. We also took the kids to play mini-golf and go apple picking! It was kind of a perfect weekend that was restful and productive.

You can bet because I have all of these apples now that I'm going to be making all kinds of apple recipes. If you also love apple recipes as much as I do, try this apple bacon brie grilled cheese panini out! It's one of my favorites and I definitely need to put it on my menu very soon!

Here's what's on the menu this week:

On Tuesday, we welcome in October...! Can you believe it? This week I'll be officially decorating for fall and starting our school year with the kids. We're still sporting pretty good weather here, although it does feel cooler on some days and it is getting dark earlier, so I know that fall is here, even if I'm not completely ready for it.

You may have noticed that the weekly menu was absent last week. We went on a family vacation and it was so wonderful, but we were traveling home on Monday and it proved to be just a bit too much to get out a menu to share with you all. Plus, when I take vacation, I think it is fair that the blog takes one, too. I did, however, post a new recipe at the end of the week for Greek Chicken with Rice that is so good! I make this dish all the time when Josh goes out of town because it is so easy and my kids love it! Cadáin says it's definitely toddler approved!

In honor of starting school this week with the kids, I'm making and sharing some of their favorite dinners. These are the ones I get requests to make all the time, and I had promised them that when school starts, I would make them these recipes.

Here's what's on the menu this week: