What's on the menu? Plus Raspberry Coffee Cake recipe!

I have seriously slacked off on my menu planning, coupon clipping, and it's really taken a toll on our monthly budget. Part of it is because it's really tough for me to find time to go grocery shopping alone, I really hate dragging three kids with me. But the other part is that being 31 weeks pregnant, I'm just too tired to cook by the time Matt comes home so it's like- yeah, go get a pizza.

Also? We're going through a lot of cereal. The kids have asked that we not have cereal this WHOLE week and I don't think they understand that this means I have to rally and cook something every day.

EVERY DAY.

Feels kind of unreasonable yet here we are.

This week though, I'm going to try to limp through what we have for groceries because I don't want to go shopping considering next week we'll be gone for two days and coming home the third kind of late so that day will for sure be cereal.

Take THAT, children.

So here's what I came up with for this week:

Monday: Crockpot chicken tacos
Tuesday: Pork chops, mixed vegetables, potato side dish
Wednesday: Crockpot cheesy chicken and rice
Thursday: Sloppy joes, pasta salad
Friday: Crockpot beef stew with rice
Saturday: Spaghetti
Sunday: Eat Out

I know, I kind of cheated for Sunday but truly, I'll be packing that night with the kids and we are going to be busy with some yard work so I know full well I won't be in the mood to cook. And that's OK.

Each week my goal is to try making a new baked good because as it turns out, I prefer baking and cooking in the summer versus the winter (it makes no sense, I get it) so I'm back on that. A few weeks ago I mentioned I was going to make some Raspberry Bars on Facebook and several friends mentioned they wanted the recipe. When I dug it out, I realized I call them Raspberry Bars, but it's really a Raspberry Coffee Cake.

Whoops. So here it is:

Filling:
2 cups raspberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 tablespoons of butter cut up
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons of butter (it's a lot, but I like butter)

So first thing is first, I use frozen raspberries. We're fortunate enough to get a ton of blueberries and raspberries from Matt's parents each summer so I've made this with both of those, or strawberries, basically whatever I have that needs to be used up. I had one last package of raspberries I froze last summer so I figured I'd use them up in preparation for more to come soon.

Preheat your oven to 350. I use an 8x8 dish because I like a thick cake, but if you have a 9x9 that works, too. But spray the hell out of your pan.

In a medium saucepan, put your fruit in, water, sugar and corn starch. Stir it up, cook on medium heat until it basically becomes a sauce, stirring periodically. I usually get this started and then work on the cake to save time.

While your fruit is simmering, get yourself a bowl and whisk your flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda together. You'll put the butter in, but cut it in so it gets kind of crumbly.

In a measuring cup, whisk your egg, buttermilk and vanilla together- pour it into the dry ingredients.

Mix it all together- it'll be pretty sticky.  You are going to use HALF of this to line the bottom of your baking pan.

Meanwhile, make sure your fruit sauce looks amazing. This clearly does.

So we lined our pan with HALF of the batter. Be patient, it's a super sticky batter so it can get frustrating.

Pour your fruit sauce all over it.

Now take the other half of your cake batter and dollop it all over. It will mostly bake over and you won't see so much fruit, so don't freak out if you feel like you don't have enough covering the fruit.

Now you have to make your crumble that goes on top. Mix your flour and sugar together, cut in the butter. I use at least 6 tablespoons of butter but if you want less or more, go for it. Once you get it fairly crumbly, cover the top of your fruit and batter. I also sprinkle cinnamon sugar across the top for an added sweetness, but it's optional.

Bake it for about 45 minutes or until your sauce appears bubbly and the top is golden brown.

Isn't she pretty?

She knows it, too.

Let it cool for a bit and then cut up into squares. This is PERFECT for summer breakfast, potlucks, whatever you need to bring a dish to. It's nice and soft, it's the perfect balance of fruit and cake and it's super easy. That and your house will smell amazing. I've been making this since Matt and I had our first home, so 11 years now, and it's still a favorite.

Try It Sunday: Macaroni & Cheese

When it comes to food, I am literally the pickiest eater. People cook to accommodate children, but I cook to accommodate myself. Often times I'll cook something which everyone else eats and I'm sitting there with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because I may be 33 but I am a child.

But one thing I absolutely love is macaroni & cheese. I have tried lots of different versions, but this is one of my favorites. It's absolutely creamy and you can literally feel your thighs get larger but who cares. This recipe is originally from this blog if you want to see nicer pictures than mine.

Macaroni & Cheese
3 cups of elbow mac
6 tbsp flour
6 tbsp butter
3 cups of milk
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
1 pound of Velveeta, cubed
2/3 cup of sour cream (I used a 1/3 cup because Matt ate the rest. Jerk.)
1 1/3 cup of small curd cottage cheese
3 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded

It's an easy recipe that just requires a LOT of stirring. First, you make a roux with your butter and flour. Just be careful you don't burn your flour because I've done that before and it's gross. After that's done, add your milk. You HAVE to stir it until it's like a thick gravy. Mine didn't get as thick as I thought it was going to, and it turned out fine. Then add your salt, sugar, and Velveeta.

*pro tip: cube your Velveeta small, otherwise that crap takes forever to melt.

After that's melted, put the cottage cheese and sour cream in, and stir until melted.

 It looks like this and your elbow will hurt.

Then you have to get the largest bowl you own. Put your cooked macaroni in the bowl, pour the cheese mixture in, and then put your shredded cheese in. Stir like crazy.

*pro tip: only cook your noodles until they are half done, otherwise they get mushy in the oven. Blech.

You now have to pour it into a 9x13 pan you've greased. I will say that it came to the VERY TIPPY TOP of my pan, so I had to put that onto a cookie sheet to bake. It also still bubbled over so thank goodness I did that.

If you want to put a crunchy top, you can smash up some crackers and mix with melted butter and sprinkle on. I actually forgot to do that and it was fine. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Oh, you wanted a finished picture of the dish? Well, next time I'll totally do that. We literally ate this entire pan in one dinner. Except for Olivia because she is weird and refuses to eat anything with melted cheese. Cripes, even I eat melted cheese.

This comes out incredibly creamy. I think it tastes like a better version of those little frozen macaroni & cheese pot pies you get for cheap at the grocery store. Matt says that's dumb, but whatever. I lived off those in college so that basically makes me an expert.

If YOU have a favorite recipe, join us at the link party! I'll be playing along each Sunday. Stay tuned for a really great post on Tuesday, July 21 about how to save big on your grocery bill!