This week's grocery shopping is rather sparse, but I'll (hopefully) be heading to Costco early next week to make up for that. ;)

Pictured above is what I bought at QFC this week:

Darigold lactose-free milk  $2.99 (x2)
Sweet potatoes ($0.99/lb)   $2.32
Bananas ($0.59/lb)       $3.60
Red onion ($1.49/lb)     $0.98
Cucumber                $0.99
Leaf lettuce                $1.99
Cilantro                    $0.99

Total: $16.85

The lactose-free milk is a regular purchase for us at that price. Everything else is pricey BUT I didn't want a Costco-sized portion and/or it was just to hold us over until I do go to Costco (like the bananas and lettuce). I can walk to QFC so I often go there between Costco trips to re-stock our bananas or get specialty food items (like when I just need 1 lemon, or 1 tomato... that sort of thing!). :)

Not all of the bananas are pictured, since right outside the store we peeled and ate 3 bananas as we walked home! It isn't uncommon for us to eat a whole bunch of bananas by the time we get home from the grocery store. I don't mind, though, since they're healthy and we're outside getting fresh air and exercise! :)

I also went to Rite Aid, and we got some fish in bulk. Read more for photo and prices, including this week's total:

One of my favorite features of Crystal's blog is when she photographs and shares about her weekly grocery shopping trips! :) I love the great deals she finds, but mostly I just like seeing the yummy food she got. ;)

I thought it would be a fun experiment to document all of our family's grocery/household purchases for a while. Those of you who have asked about how I shop, or what my grocery budget is, this will give you a firsthand look! :)

Some of these things will last much longer than a week, so as I share our grocery trips in future weeks, hopefully it will give more of a complete picture of what we buy and use! :)

This week's groceries, from Costco: Read more for prices and total!

I loved having a menu planned for last week, and was actually successful in making most of what I had planned! :)

This week's menu plan is very different, since we're starting the week with a couple meals' worth of leftovers in the fridge. We'll also be getting a large order of frozen fish some day this week (discounted specials through Joshua's employer; who can resist fillets and smoked salmon for $0.99/lb. ?!) so I'll be getting creative with the freezer space and we'll probably be eating fish several times this week! :)

And to top it all off, yesterday we went blueberry picking with family and I came home with several gallons of fresh and frozen blueberries... and garden goodies from Joshua's mom and grandma as well! What a blessing to have an abundance of delicious food! God is so good to us! :)

Most of the time I am horribly neglectful when it comes to planning our menus. Usually I manage to pull through in the end but especially recently, the downsides have been apparent. Little variety from week to week, not as healthy overall, and just a general "I don't know WHAT to make" every afternoon. Uhg! I need to plan better!!

So, yesterday I planned a menu for this week. Here's my plan:

Monday

• Grilled cheese, cooked peas, apples, grapes (a quick meal since we're supposed to be out the door right after!)

Tuesday

• Oven-roasted chicken (in the crock pot), creamy potato soup, green beans, fruit

Wednesday

• Cheesy chicken vermicelli (using leftover chicken), veggie bean soup with spinach, fruit

Thursday

• Chicken Squash Bake, seasoned baked potato wedges, fruit

Friday

• Pizza, cooked peas, fruit smoothies for dessert

Saturday

• My mom's meatloaf, homemade scalloped potatoes, green beans, corn, and fruit

Sunday

• Burgers and condiments (taking to a BBQ), Orange Vanilla Dream cheesecake

Breakfasts: Green smoothies, cold cereal, or oatmeal with fruit

Fruit for the week: Grapes, apples, bananas, and oranges (fresh); blueberries or strawberries (frozen).

One of my biggest struggles in the kitchen is with menu planning. Oh, I am great at planning extravagant menus for dinner guests (and we do try to have dinner guests weekly if possible!) but what really stumps me is the day-to-day dinner plans.

I want our dinners to be:

• healthy (Joshua and I are both still working towards losing a few more pounds!)

• balanced (protein, fiber, veggies, fruits, and carbs!)

• varied (serving pizza twice in one week is a no-no for me!)

• easy (60-90 min. of dinner prep time, max!)

• affordable

I usually plan the day's meals when I get up in the morning. Many days, nothing really sounds appealing to me and I'm still trying to decide what I should make, mid-day! Menu planning is the hardest part for me; I always say that I'd be glad to cook whatever's "on the menu", if only someone else would make up the menu. ;)

But. I want to do better. And I can, if I put more effort into it. So, here's this week's menu! :)

Monday

• Potato soup, bread, salad, green beans, oranges

Tuesday

• Seven-Layer Taco salad, peas, bananas

Wednesday

• Spaghetti and meatballs, Italian cheese bread, salad, corn, green beans

Thursday

• Beef and Barley Soup, leftover cheese bread, peas, salad

Friday

• Pizza, salad, fresh fruit

Saturday

• Two large pans of Italian cheese bread to church potluck;
  leftovers in the evening

Sunday

• Leftovers for lunch;
  oven-roasted chicken, salad, and green beans for dinner

There. Now that feels MUCH better!

I was excited to be able to take a meal to a friend who recently gave birth. I made a dish of Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti (one of my favorites!) and included baking instructions on a sticky note on the lid.

This dish has a glass lid that fits on top. I got the dish at an estate sale. So fun! As much as I love stainless steel all-around, I also love glass -- particularly for things that will be sitting in the fridge. :)

A fresh loaf of homemade whole wheat bread, sliced right before I headed out the door. I figured buttered slices of bread could be eaten with the meal, with leftovers for sandwiches, toast, etc...

A container of (cold) baked apples. Apples were $0.99 for a 3-pound bag at Aldi's this week. We love apples and bought 5 bags!

I peeled and baked an entire bag (it fit into a 9x13 dish, minus the two apples that Eliyahu ate while I worked!) and had enough to give away plus a serving for Joshua's lunch the next day.

I was going to take along a bag of frozen veggies to complete the meal, but forgot. I did remember the baby's gift -- a super cute hand-knitted wool soaker (see the green one in this picture -- that's it!). No, I don't know how to knit... but my friend Ruth graciously allowed me to hire her services. ;)

What's your favorite meal to take to someone? I like to do a one-dish casserole of some sort (I have lots of yummy ones!), some kind of homemade bread, and whatever I have on hand as far as fruits or veggies. A jar of homemade tomato soup makes a great gift, too!

We were blessed yesterday and today with a visit from some friends who live in the Detroit area. My friend Emily brought her 4 little ones with her and let me just say that having 7 children 5-and-under all here at once was... interesting. ;) The four oldest were all boys -- very rowdy boys. ;) Things quieted down after bedtime and Emily and I actually got to talk and grind wheat (for fun!) and eat chips and salsa. :)

For breakfast we had Easy Whole Grain Pancakes, and Joshua made his Apple Spice Syrup for on top. Yummy! :)

The lunch menu was Grilled Chicken Pizza, fresh pineapple, and a salad.

And last night, we had Easy Cheeseburger Casserole.

Emily took this picture of us before she left:

It was such a blessing to get to spend time with Emily in person again! She's visited us twice before -- you can see pictures and read about one of Emily's earlier visits here -- back when we each had just 2 boys. :)

After receiving numerous comments saying that I come up with strange menu combinations, I decided to scrutinize our plates more closely as I was snapping my pictures.

And guess what? We do eat some pretty weird combinations of food. But it's not me! Seriously. I just heat up whatever's in the fridge.

Like today. Joshua volunteered to grill some chicken, smother it in BBQ sauce, and slow cook it. I love BBQ sauce, so I wasn't going to argue about that idea!

And then there was the cantaloupe -- the leftover half from a couple days ago. Corn on the cob that was a gift from our neighbor, and green beans from my mom's garden. I can't just let this food go bad!

It seems that people's eating styles vary as much as people themselves do -- which isn't surprising. ;) A long time ago I thought that everyone ate the way we did. Ha! We're pretty boring folks compared to some of you!

Those of you who eat much differently from us -- I'd love it if you described what your menus/food is like!

And is there anything I've posted that was a perfectly normal food to me but when you saw it you said "Yuck!!"?! I'm guessing this has happened and everyone was too kind to tell me that I was the only person who thought it looked yummy! ;)

You know how some foods really go together? Like lasagna and garlic bread. Or hot soup and homemade bread...

Well, this meal did not go together at all. I guess sometimes when you're just eating what's in the fridge, you come up with strange menus.

I had some cabbage from my mom, so I made fried cabbage. I sliced up some fresh tomatoes, and made a veggie omelet.

Oh, and we had leftover soup on the side. (Soup recipe coming this week... I hope!)

Joshua looked the food over and said, "I hope you don't put pictures of this on your blog. People will think you're pregnant or something."

Nope, not pregnant. And this was definitely not a menu I plan to repeat in the future! :)

What's your strangest food combination -- that you love? :)

I like ketchup on my fried potatoes, but that's not weird -- that's how I grew up eating them. As a child I also liked jam on my scrambled eggs. It's not too bad... :)

Lyn wrote to me asking if I'd write about our favorite summer meal standbys. :) Honestly, it's nothing fancy! But here's what we've been doing this summer for meal plans:

We've been eating fresh veggies. The vegetables are almost all from gardens, thanks to my mom giving us goodies from her garden, along with occasional gifts from other gardeners here. :)

I often make two different cooked vegetables with a meal, or plan meals that are made of mostly vegetables. We love eating huge servings of veggies with our meals... so that is how we manage to get the recommended amounts. :)

We've also had lots of fresh fruit. We call the fruit "dessert" for the boys. ;) The fruits are usually on sale at grocery stores. We love fruit! The children can easily eat two bananas each for their afternoon snack... and when we have nectarines or peaches, they eat those like apples -- often two at a time, as well!

And we've been grilling. I mean Joshua has been grilling meats for us. ;) We've had burgers (I love these garlic turkey burgers!) and lots of grilled chicken and even an occasional Texas Broil. It is so convenient to thaw a little meat and ask Joshua to grill it for our main meal of the day!

I also like to make BBQ Beef Sandwiches in the summertime. I use leftover roast meat and just cut/shred it and stir in some BBQ sauce as you warm it up. The very top photo on this post is of a BBQ Beef sandwich. :)

I haven't been doing much baking lately, aside from our bread. Although it's hot outside, the real reason behind my "break" from baking has to do with our attempts to shrink our waistlines a little. ;) Freshly baked muffins, cookies, cakes, or sweet breads are tooooo tempting to me!! I'm sure this winter I'll get back to regularly baking.

I'd love some reader input on this topic! What are your summer meals like? Do you cook easier/quicker meals in the summertime? What are your family's favorites? :)