we are spending the last week of summer (oh glorious summer, my favorite season….) in the Outer Banks with some of our best friends. it’s a week of relaxation, lots of jokes (thanks, Pete) and some serious bonding time. we also have 8 kids 4 and under, so it’s not always peace and quiet—-but, always exciting, nonetheless.
there are four families and we have all had several experiences with our families vacationing at the beach. we decided to do something that has always worked well in our past experiences—MENU PLAN and specifically assign each family ONE night’s complete dinner. When everyone does one night + (a girl’s and guy’s night out), the stress level of us all goes WAAAYYY down.
think about it…i cook for you all one night and then get fed by you all the rest of the week. win-win!
here’s what we are eating this week:
Saturday–Hamburgers/hotdogs, sweet potato fries, watermelon (chocolate pie)
Sunday–BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (crockpot), coleslaw, macaroni & cheese, and salad (brownie sundaes)
Monday–Meatball subs/Chicken Parm, green beans, rolls (cupcakes and strawberry shortcake)
Tuesday–Guy’s Night Out
Wednesday–Tacos with all the fixings
Thursday–Girl’s Night Out
Friday–Pizza or leftovers
*each person was also responsible to think about a kid-friendly portion/option for their night of cooking.
i made sunday’s meal and let me tell you, the crockpot is such an amazing thing to pack for the beach–it’s so hard to mess up and so easy to leave all day while you are at the beach. it also makes for great lunch leftovers the rest of the week.
everybody eats, nobody complains, life is good.
what’s YOUR go-to vacation meal to make?
Oh my goodness, reading about all this yummy food has made this preggy mumma so so hungry. That pulled pork recipe looks amazing. I must give it a try. My go-to vacation meals are always grilled chicken burgers (with peri peri spices for the grown ups) and mini cheeseburgers. Always a hit with everyone.
Taco salad!