Good morning and happy Monday from Tennessee! Do I sound like a broken record when I say that the mountains bring me the utmost joy? We are heading home today after a super quick, two-night trip to Bearolina to deliver some new Adirondack chairs, replace lights, check on inventory, annnndddd squeeze in a little fun at Dollywood’s Splash Country. More on that in my next post; today let’s check out our weekly meal plan!

Monday

I was feeling the desire to try some new recipes, so I made Asian Style Meatballs from The Defined Dish. I was reminded why I don’t make too many Asian style recipes; I loved it but the family all gave it a so-so. They just don’t particularly favor Asian influenced cuisine. Where did I go wrong with them?! I served it with baby broccoli that I blanched, then roasted.

Tuesday

Mmm… I love this soup. I keep wondering if I should re-blog the recipe though because I never make it with the zoodles as described. Instead I make the broth as directed, then add a block of brown rice and millet ramen and shredded chicken. So flavorful!

Wednesday

Two new recipes in one week proved to be a bit ambitious for me. I was not in the mood to cook these Greek meatballs with tomato orzo, but I had all the ingredients for it so I trudged through. The flavor was very good! However, the orzo stuck a bit to the skillet and my biggest skillet didn’t feel quite big enough for the dish, but overall, it was yummy and the whole family really enjoyed it!

Thursday

I was happy when burger night rolled around. Even though homemade burger buns sound daunting, this bread machine recipe makes it so easy that I can’t really bring myself to buy store buns anymore. I served it with kraut and the easy green beans we can’t get enough of.

Friday

Friday night we met up with friends at Hoptown to celebrate their release of their seasonal pumpkin beer with a cinnamon sugar rim! They had a food truck there where we grabbed burgers and quesadillas.

Saturday

After cheering Kaitlyn on at her Taekwondo tournament, we drove west to Tennessee! As we drove through Pigeon Forge we picked up Mellow Mushroom and enjoyed it on the porch, overlooking the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

Sunday

After a full day at Dollywood’s Splash Country Water Park we cleaned up and headed into Townsend to check out Peaceful Side Social. It’s an awesome spot! They have a large outdoor area with plenty of shade. We shared a pretzel and guacamole and tacos, then topped the night off with ice cream from their adjacent creamery. Highly recommend the spot if you’re in the area!

Odds & Ends

Resources

• Find all previous weekly meal plans here.
• Our meat comes from Butcher Box. I’ve used them for years and trust their quality and consistency.
• Fresh herbs brighten up every meal I have two countertop gardens that I grow them in: see the comparison between the two here. AHS will get you 10% off of Click & Grow.
• See what we spend each month on groceries here.
• Print off your own free weekly meal plan printable from the resource page.
• Daily Harvest offers easy frozen organic veggie-heavy heat and eat meals.
• You can find all my favorite kitchen tools here.