PINTEREST APPROVED RECIPE LINK-UP: JUNE EDITION

Hi everyone! It's that fun part of summer where we're busy having BBQs with all of our friends. I don't know about you, but this is one of my favorite parts of the summer. With July 4th coming up, I've already started thinking about what kind of desserts I'll be making. 

I'm teaming up with my blogger friends, Courtney, Nicole, and Tonya to bring you some meal ideas!

So here are some of my favorite dessert recipes that are a total hit with my own kids and anyone else who has sampled this deliciousness!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce by The Pioneer Woman

Oh my! This is absolute deliciousness! If you've never tried a Pioneer Woman recipe, you definitely should. Her recipes are easy to make, because she gives you step-by-step photograph instructions. You seriously cannot mess up one of her recipes. 

Eclair Cake by Paula Deen

If you're looking for an easy prep recipe that you can make the day before (or even morning before), this Eclair Cake is the perfect dessert. Actually, this dessert is so simple to make that my 10-year-old daughter has taken over as the Eclair Cake maker in my house. Not only is this a chocolatey delight, it's also an ideal dessert on a hot day since it's kept cold. 

Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs by Sugar Apron

A July 4th BBQ requires some kind of red, white, and blue dessert. These Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs will definitely be a winner with your guests. I like to add blueberries to mine to help keep with the theme. 

We'd love for you to link up with some of your favorite June meals and recipes that you are making this summer!

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An InLinkz Link-up

Pinterest Approved Recipe Link-Up: May Edition

Hi everyone! It's that time of the school year where life is just so hectic! I have been struggling to get through the month of May and that means dinner has been hard to get organized and prepared for my family. 

I'm teaming up with my blogger friends, Courtney and Nicole, to bring you some meal ideas!

This month is all about survival in my house. Here are some easy meal suggestions that can be thrown together quickly. Sometimes I just need meal ideas because my mind is burned out from work.

My kids love club sandwiches. They're super easy to throw together and adding a toothpick makes my kids think it's fancy.

Chicken Cesar wraps are another go-to meal I can pull together quickly. I usually have my husband grill a few chicken breasts with some kind of seasoning that will go well with Cesar salad. While he's grilling, I put together a Cesar salad from a bag. Then we add the chicken and salad to a wrap. Easy meal that's done!

Chicken salad sandwiches are so yummy and make great leftovers to take to work the next day. I make my chicken salad with boneless chicken thighs. I feel like chicken thighs just tastier than chicken breasts and use them often instead. To my chicken salad, I add diced celery, green pepper, onion, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. I dice the vegetables up pretty small though. 

I hope this gives you a few ideas for how to get dinner on the table quickly. We'd love for you to join up with some of your favorite recipes that get you through the month of May!

An InLinkz Link-up

Pinterest Approved Recipe Link-Up

Hi everyone! I'm super excited for you to stop by a new monthly blog post that should be a lot of fun!

Some of my favorite blogging friends are Courtney, Nicole and Tonya. We're always talking about how we can make our lives easier and simpler, because everyone knows teaching can be stressful! 

Figuring out what to feed my family is often one of my biggest stressors. I love finding recipes on Pinterest, but I'm often unsure of whether the recipes are actually good! 

On the 3rd Sunday of every month, we will be hosting our Pinterest-Approved Recipe Link-up!! 

We will share our favorite, *successful* Pinterest recipes that we've done in the past or throughout the month and we hope that you will share yours too!! 

The rules for this link-up are simple:

We're a family of 6, so I'm always looking for easy dinners that are delicious but can come together quickly. This is one of the big reasons that I love my Crock Pot! I use it pretty much weekly! 

This Slow Cooker Broccoli Beef from Creme de la Crumb is one of my go to recipes!

It is so delicious and really is better than take out! It's even a hit with my kids! You can find this delicious recipe {here}.

If you want to see more recipes that my family loves, and I've actually tried, you can check out this Pinterest board {here}. This is my collection of recipes that I've tried out that have been successful!

We would love it you'd link up with us. Don't forget to leave some love for those you visit ;)

An InLinkz Link-up

What's for Dinner Wednesday

I love to cook.  I know that puts me in the minority with a lot of people, but I love finding new recipes and cooking for my family.  What I don't love is walking through the door after a day of teaching and scrambling to find something for dinner.  During the school year, we've been known to eat a lot of spaghetti and tacos.  That gets old....quick!

I've committed myself to planning out our weekly meals with easy-to-make meals that I know my kiddos (triplet 7-year-olds and a 14-year-old) will actually eat.  I know other teachers are struggling with this same problem so What's for Dinner Wednesday is born!

Every Wednesday, I'll post 4-5 recipes we've had during the past week.  Maybe this will inspire you to find some new recipes and ideas for dinner.

You can find this easy, slow cooker recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatballs {here} by Six Sisters Stuff.

Ok, seriously this next dish was AMAZING!  There's no Olive Garden in Hawaii.  :(  So when we want pasta, I need to make it myself.  You can find the recipe for Spicy Romano Chicken with Artichoke Hearts and Sundried Tomatoes {here} from Boss Sanders.

I love experimenting with tacos and these BBQ Baked Chicken Tacos {here} by Mix and Match Mama were perfect for keeping tacos from being boring.

In Hawaii, football comes on MUCH earlier in the day.  Every Monday, we take turns recording Monday night football and having a potluck dinner at one of my neighbors' houses.  This past Monday, I brought my favorite Mac n' Cheese recipe {here} by Emeril Lagasse.  Don't be scared, because this recipe comes from Emeril.  It is really super easy and anyone can make it.  Make sure you use sharp cheddar.  I really think that makes a difference.

I love an easy sandwich night and these Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches {here} by Picture Perfect Cooking were yummy!

I love using Pinterest to find new ideas for dinner.  You can follow my recipe board {here}.

Where do you get your dinner ideas?

What's for Dinner?

I don't know about you guys but my kids start asking me what's for dinner before we've even left the house for school!  I try really hard to plan meals and know ahead of time what we're having for dinner. 

I'm always looking on Pinterest (you can follow my recipe board here) and blogs for easy meals that most of my family will eat and love.  I've fallen in love with Six Sisters' Stuff.  I love their blog posts, meal plans, and recipes.  They recently started a 4x4 Family Dinner Challenge for March.  Even though March is almost over, I really like this challenge and you can start anytime.

Basically the challenge is to eat dinner together as a family 4 nights a week for 4 weeks.  My family does eat dinner together at the table almost every night.  Occasionally, we'll eat pizza in front of the TV.    I'm super glad we have this ritual in my house, because there was some interesting research brought up in the blog post about the challenge.

Family dinners are more important than play, story time, and other family events in the development of vocabulary of younger children (Harvard Reserach, 1996).

Kids who eat most often with their parents are 40% more likely to get mainly A's and B's in school than kids who have two or fewer family dinners a week (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University).

One tradition, we've started at dinner is that everyone goes around and shares one good thing and one not so good thing about their day.  Usually the kids like sharing a whole list of good things about their day.  One lesson we've learned the hard way is to make the rule that you can only share ONE not so good thing.  Or dinner turns into a big whine fest.  It's really good hearing what the kids have to say about their day, and it's taught them to listen to others while taking turns.

My real dilemma is getting dinner on the table.  Since I'm commuting with my new job, I've really had to rely on my crock pot.  I wanted to share with you guys some of my favorite crock pot recipes.  Seriously, these recipes are all easy and taste good.  My family approves of them all.  Click on the pictures to see the recipes.

Kailua Pig is a local favorite here in Hawaii.  I make the same recipe only I don't cook it for 16 hours and I just use regular sea salt.  I  just cook it all day on low while I'm at work.  We use the pig for bbq pork sandwiches, Kailua pig tacos, or quesadillas.  Yummy!

Whole Chicken - We love a roasted chicken in the crock pot.  I usually serve it with brown rice and a veggie.  If there leftovers, I use the meat for quesadillas.

These pork carnitas on corn tortillas are awesome!

This is a new one I just discovered, but we've already had it twice.  The first time we ate it with potatoes.  The 2nd time we used the meat to make french dip sandwiches.  So good!

Do you have any easy recipes to share?  I love trying new ones!