Friday Favorites - Red, White, & Blue

I love the 4th of July! As an adult it means even more to me know that my littlest booger was born in July. I know one of these years we'll have a red, white, and blue bash for his birthday. There have been so many great ideas out there this year! Here are my favorite patriotic finds to share:

Patriotic Cookie Dippers - Lady Behind the Curtain

Source: ladybehindthecurtain.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Berry Pie - Peanut Butter and Peppers

Source: peanutbutterandpeppers.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Patriotic Poke Cake - Love Bakes Good Cakes

Source: lovebakesgoodcakes.com via Kelly on Pinterest

4th of July Poke Cake - Love and Homemade Recipes

 

Source: loveandhomemaderecipes.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Red, White, and Blue Jello Salad - Real Mom Kitchen

Source: realmomkitchen.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Paper Firecrackers - Adventures of D and V

 

Source: adventuresofdandv.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Star Spangled Banner Printable - HMH Designs

 

Source: hmhdesigns.wordpress.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Linking up to: Finding Joy in My Kitchen and Pinteresting Wednesday.

Menu Plan Monday 6/25

Well, last week was a little crazy. We went down to Philadelphia on Sunday morning to spend time with Paul's dad and my Grandparents. The plan was to stay down there until Wednesday or Thursday. Apparently Wesley had other ideas! By Sunday night we both realized he was clearly not ready to be away from home for that long. Can you say tantrums?!

Previous week's meal planning and freezer meals saved me, though! I was pretty proud of myself that I could come up with a makeshift meal plan without having to go grocery shopping. Luckily, this week is not nearly that hectic, so here's my plan:

Lunch- Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad (without the pecans)

Source: savannahssavorybites.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Dinner- Cheesy Beefy Mac

Source: dishingwithleslie.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Lunch- Leftover Chicken Salad Sandwiches, on the road

Dinner- Out

Lunch- Grilled Pesto Melts

Dinner- Tomato Pesto Pizza

Source: millerfamilyorganizer.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Lunch- Chips & Salsa

Dinner- Chicken Corn Chowder

Source: itsakeeper.wordpress.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Lunch- YOYO You're On You're Own

Dinner- Blueberry Pancakes

Lunch- Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (from freezer)

Dinner- Leftovers

Lunch- Pesto Ranch Pasta Bake

Source: midwesternwife.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Dinner- Leftovers

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday.

Friday Favorites - Seafood

I don't know about you, but we are HUGE seafood eaters in this family! One of our favorite places to go out to eat while we lived in Philly was a restaurant called The Cock 'n Bull, mainly because every Thursday they had a special King Henry's Feast. It was basically an upscale all you can eat dinner with amazing seafood. Ok, well they had other things to eat, but we were there for the seafood! We only went there a few times because it was quite expensive for us, I'm thinking I'd love to go again for our next anniversary. Anyway, here's some great seafood finds for you today:

Honey Mustard and Dill Salmon - Alderberry Hill

Source: alderberryhill.blogspot.ca via Kelly on Pinterest

Healthy Tuna & White Bean Pita - Once A Month Mom

Source: onceamonthmom.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia - Living, Laughing, and Loving

Source: livinglaughingandloving.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Herb Roasted Garlic and Lime Shrimp - Cheerios and Lattes

Source: cheeriosandlattes.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Garlic Baked Shrimp - Gimme Some Oven

Source: gimmesomeoven.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Lemon Pasta with Roasted Shrimp - Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Linking up to: Finding Joy in My Kitchen and Pinteresting Wednesday.

Tomato Pesto Pizza

It's so funny how the simplest recipes often are the ones my family craves the most! I whipped this up last minute, mainly because I had a container of cherry tomatoes that needed to be used. I had also made my own fresh pesto for the first time a few days prior, but feel free to use your favorite jarred version. I was thrilled because this pizza tastes a lot like a white pizza I used to order when I was in high school. Yum!



Tomato Pesto Pizza

refrigerated pizza crust (I used thin)
1/3 cup pesto
1 container cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese



Prebake crust at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes. Spread pesto on crust as evenly as possible leaving about 1/2 inch from all edges. Top pesto with cherry tomato halves and then with desired amount of mozzarella cheese. Bake pizza for another 8-11 minutes making sure cheese is completely melted.

 Linking up to: Totally Tasty Tuesday, Terriffic Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Confessional, T Time, Too Cute Tuesday, Tuesday Timeout, Show Me What Ya Got, Trick or Treat Tuesday,Show and Tell, The Mommy Club, Show Off Your Stuff, Cast Party Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Sugar and Spice, Link it up Wednesday.

 

Friday Favorite Finds - Cake

I love cake. My sister and I often joke that the women in our family have a love affair with baked goods. Oddly enough, we both married guys who could take them or leave them. Where did we find these people?

Anyway, I've been seeing a lot of yummy cake recipes on Pinterest lately. Here's what I have pinned to make:

Grasshopper Cake - The Country Cook

Source: thecountrycook.net via Kelly on Pinterest

Luscious Lemon Poke Cake - Kraft

Source: kraftrecipes.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Apple Dump Cake - Hun What's For Dinner?

Source: hunwhatsfordinner.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Ice Cream Cake - Chocolate, Chocolate, More Chocolate

Source: chocolatechocolatemorechocolate.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Almond Pound Cake - Melissa's Cuisine

Source: melissascuisine.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Boston Cream Poke Cake - Lil Luna

Source: lilluna.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake - Recipe Girl

 

Source: recipegirl.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Ok, wow I feel like I need to hit the gym just looking at all that cake! Where's the fork?

Linking up to: Joy In My Kitchen.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I have been obsessed with blueberries ever since I made Cake Mix Blueberry Muffins. You better bet I'm dragging the family out to the orchard to pick blueberries later this summer! These crumb bars were truly amazing. They definitely satisfy your summer sweet tooth! I brought these to our family's Memorial Day cookout and knowing that my dad isn't too fond of blueberries, I made a cherry crumb pie as well. Wouldn't you know my dad gobbled up two pieces of the blueberry bars instead! Definitely a keeper.


Blueberry Crumb Bars
from Cookin' Up North

for the crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

for the filling:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
6 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups blueberries


Mix the flour, butter, and powdered sugar. Press into a greased 9x13 dish and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Cream together the eggs and sugar using a hand mixer. Stir in salt, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon juice, and flour until well combined. Gently add blueberries to filling mixture. Pour filling over slightly cooled crust. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.

This is hard to resist, but cool completely before cutting into bars and serving. These bars look really pretty wrapped in parchment paper on your counter. They will be gone in minutes!

Here are some more favorite bar recipes:

Raisin Applesauce Bars with Caramel Frosting

Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

Linking up to: Totally Tasty Tuesday, Terriffic Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Confessional, T Time, Too Cute Tuesday, Tuesday Timeout, Show Me What Ya Got, Trick or Treat Tuesday,Show and Tell, The Mommy Club, Show Off Your Stuff, Cast Party Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Sugar and Spice, Link it up Wednesday, Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Menu Plan Monday 6/11

It was hot, hot, hot today here in beautiful Central PA! Saturday wasn't too bad and we were able to enjoy an outdoor concert to see one of my newest favorite bands: the City Harmonic. We only stayed to see them, even though there were many other bands there. Somehow it isn't the same when you're towing a 3 year old and a 10 month old. My youth group days are long gone, let me tell ya!!

According to the weather reports, Saturday was the last "comfortable" day for quite a while. You know what that means? Break out the good ol' crock pot! Takes much less energy to run and it doesn't cause our window unit air conditioner to have a heart attack! Here's the plan:

Taco Salad

Source: scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Sloppy Joe Loaded Baked Potatoes (I plan on cooking the baked potatoes in the crock pot and using up some leftover Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe filling from the freezer)

Crockpot Teriyaki BBQ Chicken Legs

Source: eatathomecooks.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Slow Cooked Macaroni & Cheese

Source: momswithcrockpots.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Broccoli & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes (from freezer)

Source: millerfamilyorganizer.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Breakfast- Apple Pie Muffins

Source: allrecipes.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Dinner- Grilled Hotdogs & Corn on the Cob

Breakfast- leftover Apple Pie Muffins

Dinner- Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken (carry over)

Source: millerfamilyorganizer.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

~Crockpot Meatball Subs

Source: crystalandcomp.com via Kelly on Pinterest

~Crescent Pepperoni Roll Ups

Source: plainchicken.com via Kelly on Pinterest

~Leftover Taco Salad

~Tuna Melts

~Chips & Salsa

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday.