It's What Memories Are Made Of! (and Monday Menu Plan)

This weekend was a bit of a blur. Busy picking berries, crushing berries, jamming berries... but more about that in a later post. Promise.

But, in the rush-about of this busy weekend, I also managed to squeak a trip in to Costco on Saturday, and was shocked at how much MEAT is going up! Now, you need to understand something -- I'm TOTALLY a beef girl. And to see my precious and beloved meat SKYROCKETING in price just breaks my heart! Even ground beef!!! Phooey!

I must have looked at all the meat for over a half hour trying to decide what to do, and finally chose a pack of fat tenderloin pork chops (not my favorite, but cheap), some ground beef, a package of London Broil, salmon, a big bag of frozen chicken breasts, and some asparagus. And when I grabbed the package of Salmon, I was only thinking of my sister and brother in law, because they are practically the only people we can enjoy grilled salmon with. They love it as much as we do, and for some odd reason, I really enjoy Costco's salmon over any other! Maybe it's because it is farm-raised, and lacks in that wild-sockeye-fishy flavor (oh, don't get me wrong -- it's fishy, just not OVERLY fishy), or maybe because I'm spending less on the package at Costco. That really makes me happy.

So when I got home, I called my sister-in-law (forgetting they were at the beach for the weekend) and invited them for dinner on Sunday. They called back to say they would join us! YAY! Hunter was over the moon with excitement!

So Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful meal of Caesar salads (with homemade dressing, of course), Asparagus with a lemony mayo topping, Teriyaki Grilled Salmon, and Pene with tomatoes, onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese and a splash of cream... and a yummy fruit salad with a dollop of homemade whipped cream with Splenda on top. It was such a wonderful and delicious way to cap the busy weekend off. So good. So easy. It's what memories are made of!

And let me just say -- my boy can chow DOWN on salmon. At one point, he even reached over to the serving dish and grabbed a second slab of salmon without us noticing! Naughty boy! But how can you fault him when he's eating something so healthy!


Moving on to Menu Plan Monday -- You simply must join Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for TONS of tips and ideas for fresh and easy menus for your busy week! This week, it's being hosted by Laura at Heavenly Homemakers... Here's mine:

• Hamburgers, salad, leftover Pene with added sauteed sweet onion slices, chunks of tomatoes, squash and zucchini chunks
• Rigatoni and meat sauce, salad, whole grain bread
  
• Shredded Pork tacos with corn tortillas, fresh corn and black bean salad
  
• Salmon and Cheddar Impossible Pie, sauteed garlicky spinach
  
• Marinated London Broil, salad, grilled potatoes and carrots
• 4th of July picnic at my in-laws home (I'll be making a coconut cake for my FIL, and individual cheesecakes, and maybe a side)
• Dinner out at the Japanese Steak House with out of town guest (maybe -- depending on budget)