milk – Hewes Family Fun

10/3/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

October 3, 2022October 2, 2022Abby H.

Woo! Halloween is in less than 30 days! Time to start planning and sewing my friends.

With the surprising increase in the price of gas over the past 10 or so days, I decided to inventory the pantry really well yesterday and plan meals based on what we already have, or that require not too many additional items.

For my lunches this week, I’m making a pasta salad using up marinated artichoke hearts, jarred roasted peppers, bow tie noodles, and some leftover veggies from the fridge. I may also add cubed cheese too.

I hit up the grocery store and picked up milk, bread, and a few veggies (onions and strawberries), and our meal plan for the week is ready to go.

No CSA box this week, we got a jumbo box last week and we are still munching through it.

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods. I received 5 coupons last week, and I need to hit up Sprouts this morning before work to redeem them.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. They are also into fruit and bagels for breakfast. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind.

Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. This is really helpful for the summer when for some reason, kids are starving all the time.

Dinner: I’ve got a couple casseroles/freezer meals this week, and other than that we’re eating easy and quick stuff so I can spend time playing, coloring, building legos, and swimming, which is the plan for the week.

Monday: Protein shakes or smoothies (We’re going to a special advanced screening of Lyle Lyle Crocodile)
Tuesday: Chick’n nuggets, Buttered noodles, fruit, cheese & crackers
Wednesday: Dream Dinners Pesto Tortellini bake, green salad, garlic bread
Thursday: Dream Dinners Lucky Dragon Pork Tenderloin with Jasmine Rice, stir-fried veggies
Friday: Takeout night!
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, fruit

Checkout 51: SAVE on Real California Milk products!

June 12, 2022Abby H.

Dairy loving peeps! Check out these sweet deals from Checkout 51! Earn Cash Back on cheese, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and ice cream—and feel good about it! When buying a product with the Real California Milk seal, you’re supporting Golden State farms and the farm families that run them. Now go dig into some dairy!

Checkout 51 is one of my favorite cash-back shopping apps! Most of the deals/cashback rebates are not store-specific, so I can save at stores that don’t accept coupons, like Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only. You can also stack with store sales and other discounts!

Real California Milk Chunk/Block Cheese & Specialty Cheese $1.00 Cash Back
Real California Milk $0.50 Cash Back
Real California Milk Drinkable Yogurt $0.50 Cash Back
Buy 2: Real California Milk Yogurt $0.50 Cash Back
Real California Milk Cream Cheese $0.75 Cash Back
Real California Milk Sour Cream $0.50 Cash Back
Real California Milk Cottage Cheese $0.50 Cash Back
Real California Milk Ice Cream $1.00 Cash Back

And in addition to sweet deals on groceries, you can also save on gas at select stations. Information and specific participating stations can be found in their app.

To learn more about all of the Cashback apps I use, click here.

5/2/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

May 3, 2022Abby H.

I started this post yesterday but forgot to hit the Publish button.

This morning I chopped and prepped fruits and veggies. I’m roasting veggies, making a fruit salad, and making a big ol’ green salad. These will be part of our meal plan for the week.

Our veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $28, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $28. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

I will need to pick up milk this week, but other than that, we’ve got everything we need for this week, grocery-wise.

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. I’m back to packing lunches again. However, school lunches are free this year- Little Bit has been buying her lunch and expanding her palate. The big kid still brings lunch from home.

Dinner: We’re working our way through our monthly Dream Dinners order, and I am making two this week. We’ve got our usual Monday Nuggets and Friday Pizza planned, but other than that I’m cooking a lot this week!

Monday: Nug night- crinkle fries, apple slices & strawberries
Tuesday: Carne Asada Taco Salad, Beans, Rice, and quesadillas (for the kids)
Wednesday: Waffles and Fruit Salad
Thursday: Chicken Castoletta, Roasted veggies
Friday: Takeout night!
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Soup (I’ve got a couple kinds in the freezer to choose from), Bagels, and fruit

2/7/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

February 7, 2022February 6, 2022Abby H.

I did a ton of meal prep yesterday. I cleaned the kitchen, made a big pot of vegetable soup, made a big salad, and cleaned out the fridge and freezer.

And the CSA Box will be delivered this morning too- I’ve got plans for most of that stuff too! I’m sharing the box with a family friend- sometimes it’s hard to get through all those fruits and veggies in 7 days!

Veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Dinner: The Dream Dinners I picked up 2 weeks ago are really helping with those nights where we’ve got so much going on. This week I’ll be making the salmon tarragon with crispy potatoes as lunch for grown-ups.

Monday: Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, Green Salad
Tuesday: Nug night- I’ve got 3 different types, crinkle fries, apple slices & strawberries
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, beans, rice
Thursday: Cheese and spinach cannelloni with red sauce, garlic bread, roasted veggies
Friday: Takeout night!
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Kentucky Pork Chops, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies

I’ll be hosting two Dream Dinners events, one virtual, and one in person at the La Mesa store later this month- It’s a great way for those of you who want to check it out for yourselves!

Kabrita’s NEW Free Trial Kit – $50 Value!

September 22, 2021September 17, 2021Abby H.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Starting today Kabrita’s Free Trial Kit has undergone a transformation! Now the trial kit has a value of $50!

As of September 22, each kit will come with:

- 3 boxes of Goat Milk Toddler Formula—that’s 24, 4oz servings!
- 1 bag of Snack Puffs with Goat Cheese
- $14 worth of coupons

*$4.99 Shipping & Handling applies at check-out, limited to one offer per household. This is not a subscription. Please note, our Trial Offer may include either the Apple Cinnamon or Multigrain Porridge.

When my littles were wee, they both had delicate tummies. It’s hard to know what kinds of formula to trust, so after lots of research, trying samples, and talking to other moms (really our pediatrician was ZERO help- she’s a nice lady, but formula wasn’t her wheelhouse), I stumbled upon Kabrita.

Our pediatrician is really big on making sure babies get prebiotics and probiotics, especially if they are formula fed. Kabrita has prebiotics, which are a natural digestive aid.

I like Kabrita because it doesn’t have any added white or processed sugar- just lactose, the sweetener from milk! Also, Kabrita formula smells like goats milk and tastes like goats milk. I will confess: after smelling some formulas I wouldn’t want to taste them, but I tried an ounce of Kabrita once just to see. It tastes like goats milk.

All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own. I’ve used Kabrita for both of my kids. This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

7/19/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

July 19, 2021July 19, 2021Abby H.

I’m HOME! I had an amazing weekend away, and while I got home yesterday afternoon, I played with kids and took them swimming, then it was bedtime. No time to blog.

The kids have been digging the free school lunches- It’s a great way to encourage them to try new foods. That’s great because the price of groceries has gone up exponentially over the past few months. We’ve been eating less meat to save money, and I’m leaning more on stores that have good deals like Grocery Outlet, and using my cashback apps like Fetch Rewards. I’ve been cashing out Fetch rewards for Target Gift Cards. I’ve been combining the Target Gift Cards with grocery sales and deals in the Target app, and picking up via curbside pick up. It’s a great option if you’ve got kids and you’ve got a busy summer.

I need to go get milk this morning, but other than that, we are pretty well stocked on groceries for this week.

And I’ve been getting a lot of really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.

I’m skipping the CSA box. We still have a bunch of fruit and veg from last week that didn’t get eaten. I’m going to be doing some cooking this morning- roasting veggies, cutting up ripe melons, and making some red sauce in the crockpot.

Veggies and fruit are delivered most Monday mornings by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I have made my own and you can find them for sale here on my Etsy Store.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: We pick up free school lunches during the summer for the kids, I also have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Nugget night: Nuggets, crackers, cheese, fruit
Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, fruit salad, bacon)
Wednesday: Frozen Entrees, roasted veggies
Thursday: Beans, Rice, and Quesadillas (and leftover roasted veggies)
Friday: Takeout Night
Saturday: Leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

5/10/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

May 10, 2021May 10, 2021Abby H.

Last week on Tuesday night our fridge started acting up, and by Wednesday afternoon, it was no longer blowing cold air. the fan was broken. Thankfully we have the extended warranty, so they came out Thursday afternoon and repaired the fridge (replaced the fan).

As a result, we lost most of the food in the fridge, including all of the condiments. The meal plan for the rest of last week was scrapped.

I hit up the store to replace what was lost, but I wasn’t able to replace all of it, for some reason, there are some food shortages, probably because some items are made overseas and there are some countries that are seeing surges in Covid Cases as of late.

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Sunday: Take out (It was Mother’s Day after all)
Monday: Big Ol’ Salad, fruit, protein shakes
Tuesday: Salsa Chicken, Rice, roasted veg
Wednesday: Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
Thursday: Steak, potatoes, roasted veg
Friday: Pizza/Takeout Night
Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

3/1/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

March 1, 2021February 28, 2021Abby H.

I’m up to my eyeballs in soup! Looking through the freezer to do the meal plan for this week, I discovered that I’ve got 3 different kinds of soup in the freezer.

So on Tuesday we’re having beans and rice OR soup to go with our quesadillas. The kids will probably pick the beans and rice.

I went to the grocery store on Friday for milk, eggs, cheese, and bread. We were still good on everything else. We’re almost out of meat in the freezer, but the meat sales aren’t too great during Lent. I’ll keep my eyes open, but we may be eating more meat free meals until after Easter. That’s part of shopping and meal planning around what is on sale, rolling with the punches, and eating what’s on sale and in season.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures. Big kid takes his lunch to school.

Sunday: Flavors of East Africa (we’re getting take out)
Monday: Salad, Black Bean Burgers on rolls
Tuesday: Quesadillas, and beans and rice OR Soup
Wednesday: Nugget Night with veggies, fruit salad, and cheezits
Thursday: Quiche, toast, and fruit salad
Friday: Pizza Night!
Saturday: Leftover Fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Simple, Frugal Recipe: Coffee Cake!

February 10, 2021February 9, 2021Abby H.

I love coffee cake. I always have. It’s a quick, easy, frugal food to make for potlucks, or when you have company over for breakfast or brunch. Or because it’s Tuesday.

A few weeks back, Social Nature and Bob’s Red Mill sent us a Blueberry muffin grain-free mix. I don’t have a muffin tin (RIP muffin tin, it served us well for 10+ years), and the kit came with a recipe to use the mix for a coffee cake. HELLS YES.

The kids gobbled the cake up and the big kid asked if there was a way to make a coffee cake without a mix.

A quick glance at my handy dandy 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook and here is my version of the recipe. I have made found the perfect recipe. I’ve made some changes that are a little healthier, a little more modern, but don’t mess with the flavors at all.

Betty’s Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups AP Flour (You can use whole wheat flour if you prefer)
2 tsp. baking POWDER
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 Tbsp. AP flour
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. melted butter
(optional, but tasty) 1/2 C. chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
In a large mixing bowl, combine white sugar, softened butter. Mix together until fluffy.
Add egg and blend thoroughly.
Stir in milk, and the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.
Pour and spread batter in greased (use spray release) 9×9 glass baking dish.
In a smaller mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, remaining AP flour, cinnamon, melted butter, and pecans (optional). Spread this crumbly mixture over top of the baking dish.
Bake cake for 25-32 minutes.

Serve with coffee (DUH), or a glass of cold milk.

11/2/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

November 2, 2020November 2, 2020Abby H.

I’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week. I didn’t get a chance to type this up last night. The time change kinda kicked all of our butts, combined with all of the Halloween shenanigans. Socially distanced shenanigans!

The kids and I hit up the grocery store yesterday afternoon and picked up some stuff that we were out of and are consume daily.

Last week I made soup twice, so we’ve got some leftovers in the freezer. I’ll be dipping into the stash for dinner one night this week for soup. And I made a frittata late last week for lunch, so we’ve got leftovers of that for dinner tonight!

Thanks to some local deals, offers, and the school lunches the kids bring home, I have been able to keep our grocery budget to $60 per week for the past MONTH! It’s amazing. The extra money is going into our holiday savings account.

If you have kids between 2-18, check with your local school to see if they are offering free lunches and/or breakfasts. You can also check the USDA Website– but it might be a little out of date.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix). I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM. I’ll be posting the recipe for his current favorite this coming week.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being. The big kid has lunch at school, so it’s whatever he chooses from the lunch box in the cupboard, plus some fruit and juice or milk. Since the little girl is in the morning cohort at school, she has lunch at home. Buttered noodles, yogurt, apple slices, and a popsicle are her go-to lunch.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Salad and leftover veggie and cheese fritatta
Tuesday: Veggie Nuggets, Wings, and Fruit (Big kid has OT in the late afternoon, so it’s always a quick dinner on Tuesday)
Wednesday: Beans, Rice, Veggies, & Quesadillas
Thursday: Veggie Soup & Garlic Bread
Friday: Pizza Night!
Saturday: Pancakes, Eggs, & Fruit

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

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