WEEKLY MENU 08.17.25
We’re not gearing up to return to school during the Weekly Menu 08.17.25: it’s happening without us – again!
The Weekly Menu 08.17.25 pays homage to all returning to school (and those who have already done so). Even though we don’t have anyone heading back into the classroom except my favorite DIL, we’re down to party. She is going back to school, but not as a student. She’s a fourth-grade teacher. Our big news is that her name is different than it was last year, because she got married (to the OG Baby Boy) in June. Her new name is on her classroom door – which we saw a picture of. That’s as close as the rest of us are getting to school.
This is how I always felt about the boys going back to school:
I didn’t feel this way once the boys were in college—that return to school was one I thoroughly hated. Waiting until they were well away from us to cry wasn’t always easy. Sigh.
I loved the routine of school during grade school and high school, and autumn has always been my favorite time of year. The school supply shopping was the best of times and the worst of times. We had a list from the boy’s teachers in grade school, so we spent an hour or so of sheer delight shopping all the pens, pencils, notebooks, and composition books we could find, followed immediately by a deep cringe at the checkout, waiting for the grand total.
Kids are expensive.
I’ll tell you a little secret: I still love buying all the school supplies. Only now I buy the fun colored pens and beautiful composition books for me. (Affiliate Links follow. See Disclaimer Page for Details.)
Back when we did go back to school, we would have had an entry on the Weekly Menu 08.17.25 for our “Pre-School Dinner.” We’d head out for a nice meal, making sure to get a family picture that we could compare to the previous year (and possibly use on the Christmas card.) This year, we’re popping a version of the “Back to School End of Summer Picnic” into play for Sunday dinner instead.
Weekly Menu 08.17.25
Sunday dinner during the Weekly Menu 08.17.25 is strongly influenced by the Back to School End of Summer Picnic, with a few notable switch-outs. The original menu has steak bites with spicy ketchup for the appetizer. Have you priced steak lately? I’m not making a $25 appetizer. We switched in our super easy Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Dip – which is a little nod to our teacher. Did you ever bring apples to the teacher? Me either.
Anywho, we’ve added grilled chicken to the grilled ham sandwich for a little deconstructed chicken cordon bleu treat. The Pioneer Woman Texas Sheet Cake Cookies are taking the place of the cream puffs from the original menu.
The Weekly Menu 08.17.25 is full of easy, fast, comfort foods to make the transition better for everyone. We’re having Italian Sloppy Joes, which are a huge favorite for the fam. They’re marinara-meat sauce on a garlic roll, smothered with some a metric shi! ton of stringy mozzarella. As Ina would say, “How bad can that be?”
An easy kitchen week wouldn’t be complete without a crock-pot dinner. Fire Chicken Tacos are smothered with hot sauce and a fair amount of pepper, and they still aren’t nearly as hot as I’d like. Somehow, the slow cook mellows them out. They are perfect on tacos, though!
WEEKLY MENU 08.17.25
RECIPE LINKS
CARAMEL APPLE CREAM CHEESE DIP
HONEY MUSTARD
LOADED SMASHED POTATO SALAD
PEA SALAD
TEXAS SHEET CAKE COOKIES
ITALIAN SLOPPY JOES
FIRE CHICKEN TACOS
MEXICAN BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALAD
PORK MILANESE
CORN CHOWDER
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
WEEKLY MENU 08.17.25 EQUIPMENT & MISC
