Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships

This week was filled with our usual level of crazy, but it was taken up a notch at the end of the week!!

Sunday started out with George heading to church with the boys and me staying home with my sweet croupy baby.  I made my grocery list, typed it into my computer, and was set for a breezy week of cooking bliss.  The plan was for me to marinate the chicken and prep the salad for dinner...no problem...almost like a night off from cooking.  Well, that plan got the kibosh when George got called in for surgery.  It's 5:00, the kids are their usual 5:00 selves, and George is out the door...no problem!  Lucky for me, it's football season, and the boys are content to play football in the backyard about 90% of the day, so it actually ended up being a great night to grill.  I got both of the boys to eat salad once I explained that their "ChickfilA" chicken was on it.  YUM!

Monday's crock pot soup was easy and great for all, and Tuesday I got dinner from Dinners on the Porch, another favorite Winston take-away meal gem.  (Check out their new restaurant opening this fall... The Porch!)  If you've never heard of Kickstarter (this isn't random if you clicked on The Porch link,) it's a great vessel used by entrepreneurs, filmmakers, etc to back their projects.  Segue to...My brother's new film, Self Storage - The Movie, was funded on Kickstarter (view his Kickstarter video here at Self Storage - The Movie to see a taste of his hilariousness.)  And just to give him a further shout out: his film is being released this weekend as a top 20 finalist at the Louisiana Film Prize!!!  I am a proud sister to say the least.

Okay, back to the topic at hand...the end of the week is a bit of a blur as we all had activities every night.  Wednesday was leftover night, which was great because we didn't get home from activities until after 8:00, and I was spent!  Thursday, George was out at a work event, but I decided to make the pork tenderloin anyway (and, in case you're wondering, he doesn't love it when I take over his grilling domain, but, let's get real, sometimes it's just necessary!) It is one of my favorite things to make because it makes plenty of food, and it usually makes me feel like I've had a mom "win" cooking dinner because the boys eat about half of the tenderloin by themselves!!!  It's also great reheated (as George can confirm as he ate it later that evening.)

Friday night, the two Georges went on their first camp out, so the two littles and I were flying solo for dinner.  Pizza and a movie night it was!!!  This truly is one of my favorite traditions ever!  We did it as a family in my house growing up on Friday nights, and it was always a treat.  This is not to be confused with Sunday afternoon "movies" which included Wendy's and watching Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships by Gary Smalley.  You too can own the complete 18 volume set for $19.99!  It was a special, special time for all involved...just ask my brother and sister...I swear this is why we're so close today!!  I had to include the image above to give you a little taste of what we experienced each and every week for nearly 5 months...when I was 16...love you mom and dad!! :)

I don't really know how to follow that except for to say that we pretty much ate pizza all weekend, and I scrapped the tilapia until a later date :)

Happy Cooking!!

PS - this week will be a short week, so I'm only cooking three nights...the kids got to pick, and the winning dinners are:  sliders with sweet potato fries, mac n cheese and edamame, and breakfast for dinner


Grilled Mini Meat Loaves

Let me be the first to point out that I do NOT like traditional meatloaf. Anything with oatmeal and a ketchup glaze will not be foun...