Menu Plan Monday ~ August 6/12
I’m home! Gosh it feels so good to be home again after three weeks away. Living out of a suitcase for three weeks makes this organizing junkie downright Twitchy with a capital T. Our vacation included one cottage, one house, 5 different hotels and a tent, whew! That was a lot to pack for considering we didn’t come home in between any of it. I held it together though pretty good for the most part and will be sharing some of my travel tips in an upcoming post.
Here are a couple of shots of our “tenting” experience. It’s called comfort camping located in Dinosaur Provincial Park here in Alberta. The park is absolutely breathtaking and the camping really not so bad 🙂
The outside:
The inside of the tent. There was also a pull-out futon on the left hand side which you can’t see and a table and chairs on the right hand side.
The beautiful view from the front porch:
The Badlands (in the park) where the dinosaurs roamed long long ago:
If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it!
We have eaten so much junk food in the last three weeks that I’m excited to now get back into some simple dinners this week and scale back, way way back on all the not so healthy stuff. All that eating out was fun while it lasted but it definitely gets old after awhile that is for sure.
How are summer holidays going for you? Is it true some of you have kids already back to school? Where do you live? Mine don’t go back until after Labor Day here but of course they didn’t finish school until the end of June.
Finally just wanted to remind you about the Back to School Boost for Moms ebook collection sale going on for just two more days. This collection includes an ebook all about Speed Cooking Weeknight Dinners that is fantastic!
My weekly menu plan:
Monday: Aloha Pork Chops with perogies and corn
Tuesday: Chicken Bow-Tie Pasta Salad
Wednesday: Spinach Salad with Tortellini, Dried Cranberries, Apples, Almonds and Feta (I’ll also cook up some sausage on the side for my meat loving man)
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Dilly Beef Sandwiches
Saturday: Rigatoni Florentine (ham)
Sunday: YOYO (you’re on your own!)
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK? JOIN US!
Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.
More family favorite recipes here.
One of my favorite menu planning resources:
Thank you for hosting!
Your comment about your ‘meat loving man’ made me smile – mine is the same way! Glad you are home!
Gotta keep our men happy! 🙂
I’d love to visit Alberta – anywhere in Alberta – sometime. It looks absolutely awe inspiring!
Beautiful Cabin and View! Thanks for hosting
Comfort camping…. that is my kind of camping experience!
Beautiful trip!
Mine too although the mosquitoes were pretty bad 🙁
I am so glad you had a great trip. The pictures are beautiful. I agree though vacations are fun, but living out of a suitcase and eating junk food is only fun for so long. 🙂 Have a great week!
Thanks Lynn, tonight’s salad was so refreshing!
Hi Laura,
Its always fun to vacation and even better to get home, looks like you had a great vacation. Your menu looks great for the week and thanks for hosting!
Miz Helen
I’m a big camper but as I get older the idea of “comfort camping” definitely has appeal. You might like my recent post about the value of camping: http://simplelivingdianebalch.blogspot.com/2012/08/to-camp-or-not-to-camp-that-is-question.html
Thanks for sharing your post! This is about as adventurous as I get but there is something to be said about being closer to nature that is for sure. So peaceful and relaxing…well except for those darn mosquitoes 🙂
That tent is incredible! We just returned from a family trip too. Lots of relaxed eating out, but you’re right. Hard to eat healthy. Yes, in the southern US where I am, kids are already back to school. Down right depressing watching them trudge up the street to the school bus this morning… but yes, they did get out earlier this June.
Thanks for hosting! I’m #35, and I shared our entire month’s menu plan, complete with snacks and desserts, focusing on frugal whole/real food.
I am so not looking forward to getting back to school…good reminder to enjoy these last couple of weeks.
Wow! That is so cool!! Staying where the dinosaurs roamed! How awesome was your first shower back in your own house though!?!
After tenting we stayed in a hotel and I swear my shower was at least 30 minutes long 🙂
I have used MPM as a resource for my own meal planning for quite awhile but this is my first time posting my own plan. Thank you so much for hosting such a fabulous collection of meal plans!
So glad you linked up!! Welcome!!
That’s my kind of tent! What a great experience. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
That looks like an amazing place to camp! I might actually sign on to sleep in that kind of tent.
I always thought it would be romantic to sleep with bug netting around us….turns out not so much LOL
Welcome home! Wow! That’s my kind of camping. Looks like a great place to visit. Thanks for hosting.
What a vacation you’ve had – and I ENVY you your stay in that cool tent with those views!
Our menu is pretty simple this week, too, as I’m spending way too much time on the computer with a new site design (woot!) and all that stuff that goes along with it. I also transferred to WP from Blogger (eek!), so it was an interesting weekend to say the least. 🙂 I hope you take a look and let me know what you think!
Wow! That looks so cool. It reminds me of the pictures of safaris in Africa from the 1930’s.
Comfort camping! What a wonderful concept!
I love dinosaur park! It is truly amazing and looks like the world from a different time. Did you go to the Dinosaur museum and go on an actual dig?
We did go to the Tyrrell Museum up in Drumheller but I didn’t think it compared to the Dinosaur Provincial Park at all. We did a Fossil Dig at the park and a sunset tour as well that was really cool.
The camp site looks very pretty.
As far as school goes we’re looking at our 20 yr son taking college classes this fall. The back to school rush days are definitely gone in my house.
Have a terrific week.
Wow, that sounds like a great vacation! I would definitely love to go to Dinosaur Provincial Park, my kids would love it!! We only had 1 week and then it took me an additional week to get myself together here at home, LOL!!
Would you mind emailing me the contact info to book that campsite/tent? We live close and would love to go! Thanks!!
Here you go Nicole:
http://www.albertaparks.ca/dinosaur.aspx
What a cool tent!
Okay, that is really cool! Definitely unlike any camping we have ever done!
Thanks for hosting Laura! Your vacation sounds very exciting, I love the tent.The badlands look like a place to spend quite a few hours exploring.
I’m with you on eating healthier! This week is comfort food week at our house but I’m trying to keep it on the all-natural or healthier side, at least!
Our kids are not yet school age, but yes, here in our neighborhood (Georgia) the kids started back to school TODAY. Yes, that’s AUGUST 6. It’s insane. I’m going to go nuts when it applies to my kids, too… when I was a kid (and I didn’t grow up far from where I live now), we never went back before Labor Day! Basically, here August is just not part of summer vacation for the kids, which really is a shame because we are a good 6 weeks out yet from cooler weather!
hmmmm…. comfortable camping. I could definitely get into that! Looks so relaxing.
That’s the neatest tent I’ve ever seen. How cool!
I join in MPM every week, but for some reason it won’t let me do it today. A box keeps coming up saying something about not having a backlink. (but I do)
Hmmm I can see you have a backlink there…that is so strange. Sorry about that.
Hi,
I just want to ask your followers if any of them follow an organic diet/ extremely healthy diet – as in no processed anything, nothing out a tin, etc? I’d like to view their blogs and see what I can learn from them.
Thanks,
That is my kind of camping! Little effort and a BED! Oh, and you can stand up! Looks like a gorgeous place…wish it wasn’t so far away.