In an effort to be a whole lot more organized this year, and because everyone is always posting what delicious food they make, here is what I have been serving my family for the past week. I also envision this being a detailed account of how I fail miserably at meal planning when life gets too busy. But hey, it’s real life. Speaking of real life, I am not and never will be a food blogger. If I ever were to post food pictures for you, I apologize in advance for how awful they are.

• Sunday: We did not get our special family dinner because Connor had his cross-country banquet and awards ceremony on this night. I still cooked, as we were on the hook for a main dish and a dessert to share. Jim made the first batch of his shortbread, and I made pulled pork for the team. There was not much in the way of leftovers, so I would call them both a hit.
• Monday: I made a delicious meal; unfortunately, it took three hours before we were ready to eat. One would not think Kicked-up Tater Tot Hotdish would be so laborious, but I started dicing vegetables at 6 PM, and we did not eat until after 9 PM. Thankfully, it was really tasty. Plus, we got to eat as a family, as Holly was back from dance by then. Still, the next time I make this recipe, it will happen on a weekend.
• Tuesday: Holly had a doctor’s appointment today, which got her home from school an hour earlier than normal. I gave her instructions to start this Slow Cooker Ground Beef for Tacos so that it would be done at a decent hour. She started it before she left for dance. Good thing I made a double batch of yesterday’s meal because there was no way I wanted to serve dinner at 9 PM again. Plus, now I have Thursday’s meal ready to go!
• Wednesday: Jim and I ended up eating at Red Robin, as we had to drive to Milwaukee to pick up Jim’s birthday present. You can never go wrong with Red Robin. The kids had leftovers.
• Thursday: Jim’s birthday but since Holly has dance until 9 PM, he didn’t want to celebrate until the weekend. So that taco meat I made on Tuesday made for a perfect, easy meal to serve the birthday boy.
• Friday: We have a fantastic new grocery store in town that has the most amazing deli. As Jim and I had to stop to pick up some ingredients for his birthday meal, we picked up some seasoned tilapia filets to cook at home, rounding the meal off with some rice. It was nice to eat at home with the entire family, and it was such an easy, delicious meal.
• Saturday: When there is a family birthday, I always let the birthday boy or girl pick whatever meal they want to eat and whatever birthday dessert they want. Jim’s favorite dessert is his grandmother’s carrot cake, something I have been making for him since our first year of marriage. He surprised me with his choice of dinner though by selecting a Buffalo Chicken Macaroni with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Sauce. It is an amazing meal, although it is severely labor intensive which is another reason we postponed the birthday celebration until the weekend. It was worth it though.

What was for dinner at your house this week?