{what’s cookin’ this week?}

I’ve become a huge fan of meal planning.  I love it for a couple of reasons…

1.  It keeps me accountable for making a meal for my family pretty much every night of the week.

2.  It reduces my grocery bill’s immensely because I shop for specific ingredients.

3.  It makes me feel good knowing that there are fresh ingredients in the meals we eat.

Since I’m writing our our weekly menu anyway, I thought it would be fun to share my dinner plan for the week each Monday.  I’ll always try to share a new recipe for all of you to try out as well!

This week, I’m in party decorating mode, and I need simple meals that don’t take too much work!

Here’s the plan:

Monday: Buffalo Chicken Tacos {recipe from How Sweet It Is}, spanish rice, and guacamole

 

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Tuesday: Philly Cheese Sloppy Joes (see recipe below) and sweet potato fries

Wednesday: Crispy Cheddar Chicken {recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!}, brown rice, and fresh zucchini from the garden

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This reminds me that I need to give you all a garden update soon!  

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Order a pizza…I’ve got a 1 year old’s birthday party to set up the next day 😉

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Today I’m going to be sharing a new favorite recipe of mine–Philly Cheese Sloppy Joes that was inspired by a Six Sisters’ Stuff recipe found here.  I’ve changed a few of the ingredients in my version however.  I love this recipe for a couple of reasons.  You’re using all of your own ingredients and spices which is WAY better than a classic sloppy joe from a can kinda deal (sorry Manwich), plus there are fresh veggies in the joes (a great way to sneak veggies into your kid’s tummies)!  They taste great the next day, and did I mention yet that they are DE-LISH?!

To make Philly Cheese Sloppy Joes, you’ll need:

1 lb. ground sirloin

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/4 c. ketchup

1/4 c. bbq sauce

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 c. chicken stock (you could use beef if you prefer)

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 pkg. sliced mushrooms, chopped

Sliced Provolone cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Sesame seed buns (sliders or regular size)

Okay, let’s get started!

Start out by preheating your broiler.

In a large skillet on medium/high heat, brown the ground sirloin for about 6 minutes.  Add all the veggies and cook for another 6 minutes or so, or until they are tender.

Next start adding the rest of the ingredients to make your sauce (ketchup, bbq sauce, Worcestershire, chicken stock, and salt & pepper to taste).  Bring to a nice rolling bubble and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Reduce heat to low, to allow the sauce to thicken a bit.  While you’re doing this, place provolone slices on one side of each open faced bun that you plan to serve.  Place these in the oven to broil.  Keep an eye on them!  Mine only took about 2 minutes for the cheese to melt and bubble and the buns to get toasty!

Now you’re ready to assemble your sloppy joes!  Simply use a large serving spoon to pile on the mixture and serve with your favorite summer side.  In this case, I used sweet potato fries (love those, don’t you?!).

Enjoy!

Please remember to vote in the Project Pinterest Challenge this week!  I made their Top 12 with one of my favorite Pinterest inspired projects that I’ve made, the Fingerprint Charm Necklace!

I’m so excited and honored to have been chosen by these lovely ladies and their group of fabulous judges!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my sweet blogging bud, Adrianne of Happy Hour Projects!  She also made the Top 12 with her Jello Oranges (seriously, how yummy/cute are these)?!  Be sure to check her blog out as well, it’s fabulous! 🙂

Please head over to either Two Yellow Birds Decor or The Taylor House to vote for your top 3 favorite entries (and hopefully one of them is mine and/or Adrianne’s)!  Just click on the vote button below the pictures of your three favs!  I truly appreciate all of your support!

I love to hear from my readers!  If you have a recipe you’d like me to try out, or you want to share your meal plans for the week, send me an email or leave a comment below!

I’ll be linking up to these great parties…