Ahh, summer! Hot, humid, sunny summer! I love summer! I was not always a summer fan, not one bit! But over the years I’ve learned that summer holds some magic that no other season possesses, especially here in Lancaster County! Like the tomatoes! Beautiful, scrumptious tomatoes! See them and more on the menu this week!…
Menu Plan
ON THE MENU
It’s Memorial Day! The unofficial start to summer. Here at StoneGable, we eat seasonally. And right now we are eating rhubarb, zucchini, asparagus and lots of pretty salad greens! YUM! Here’s what’s on the menu this week!…
MENU PLAN #223
Do you need ideas for dinner this week? I have a scrumptious menu plan ready for you today! Hearty and perfect for a cold winter’s evening. You will also find a delicious lemony dessert too! Here’s what’s on the menu this week……
MENU PLAN #222
I’ve been in the mood to cook lately. I love to be in the kitchen but recently I’m even more drawn to my favorite room in StoneGable! I have a great menu plan for you this week! Let’s cook!…
MENU PLAN #221
This week’s menu plan is a real winner with lots of seasonal flavors and a scrumptious sweet treat! Creative dishes that have been tested and approved by hungry families like mine! Are you hungry? Me too! Let’s see what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU #218
This is the time of year I want to eat dessert first and I don’t crave sweets. For some reason, Christmas does all things sugarplums and sugar beautiful and delectable! I’m doing some Christmas baking this week and making thiS DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND AND CHERRY BARK. Look for a recipe next Sunday. Now here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU #217
Are you a Christmas cookie baker? I am. This year just a few of our favorites will make it to the cookie platter. Like these Russian Tea Balls. Our family has been making them for decades and decades. We also love Grown Up Gingerbread Men, Chocolate Chip Cookies and The Best Sugar Cookie You Will Ever Eat. I’ll be adding Lace Cookies and Mrs. Lynch Cookies to the mix….
ON THE MENU #216
Now that Thanksgiving is over I’m ready for lots of salads. But I am totally bemoaning the fact about the cautions about Romain lettuce. Because Romain is my lettuce of choice. So I’m using spinach and iceberg and arugula and mixed greens with no Romain! And just between you and me, I’m not a fan of kale is not a substitute for lettuce as far as we are concerned here at StoneGable! Moving on, I have lots of great, Romain-free recipes this week. So here’s what’s on the menu……
ON THE MENU #215
It’s Thanksgiving week! Are you busy? Busier than busy probably! But remember in all the craziness and preparation for Thanksgiving dinner and beyond make time to eat healthy meals. Take the time to make and sit down to dinner. Relax and refresh! When I’m busy and not making great choices because of all the work I have to do I often let eating healthy meals slip So here are seven delicious dinner recipes with you in mind!…
ON THE MENU #214
It’s almost here! Thanksgiving that is! And I’m in prep mood. On the menu, I’m sharing my make-ahead gravy! I think it takes a small army of cooks to pull off a 5 day holiday as it is at StoneGable. I’m so excited to have most of my extended family together. We can make even a big holiday an even bigger event! But traditional turkey day fair and family is foremost in our mind! It’s a busy week but I’m not skipping delicious dinners! Here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU 213
Are you thinking about holiday menus yet? If you are doing any kind of hosting, even family it is important to at least start thinking about food and drink for any type of get-together. Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away followed closely by Hannaka and Christmas! So create a holiday food board on Pinterest and start collecting great ideas! l Now, here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU #210
Here at StoneGable, we are in the thick of beautiful fall! And that means cooking with the best fall has to offer! There are so many wonderful recipes I’m finding on Pinterest using all the goodness of the season! I hope you will take a little time and visit my Pinterest Recipe board for amazing recipes! Now here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU 208
Lancaster County is known as Pumpkin Land in the fall. Just today Bobby and I went to a darling little boutique brewery for lunch and passed by so many pumpkin patches. I love October where I live! The trees are a bit behind as far a color this year but the fields of corn and mums and pumpkins are just magical! And don’t get me started on the farm markets and stands for scrumptious fresh fall produce! YUM! …
ON THE MENU # 206
Does your menu change with the season? Mine does. Granted we can get delicious off-season food but I love to shop our local farm markets for what is being harvested right now. We still have a garden full of overproducing tomatoes and our leeks are amazing. So I’m serving tomatoes at almost every meal! Hopefully next week I’ll be sharing a beautiful leek and potato soup. YUM! for now here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ONE THE MENU #205
On the menu this week are some seasonal favorites and some summer hanger-oners! Here at StoneGable, we have had a pretty miserable and wet summer growing season. So much of my peak-of-summer veggies are just now producing. The tomatoes are riotous as well as the onions and leeks. So right now I’m yielding the best of summer and early fall bounty! …
ON THE MENU #202
On the menu changes with each season and fall will soon be here! I am very much an in-season cook. Tomatoes, cabbage, onions, leeks, peppers will be going strong in the garden until the beginning of October. And cauliflower is so sweet and delicious right now! As the weather picks up a chill I’ll be doing more braising and roasting too! Fall recipes are just around the corner!…
ON THE MENU #200
On the menu this week I have lots of scrumptious recipes from some very talented food bloggers! And I can’t wait to try their amazing creations! The pictures look so beautiful and enticing they make me confident that I will love making dinner this week! And because I’ve planned early I can also prep lots of these recipes ahead of time. For some reason starting dinner at 5:00 is not always easy….
ON THE MENU WEEK OF AUGUST 6TH
On the menu this week are some of our family favorites! And lots of grilling! When our menu is planned out and filled with delicious seasonal foods we not only love to eat but to cook as well. What I can’t get from the garden I can usually pick up at local farmstands. Super fresh and oh, so good! Here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF JULY 23RD
I’m a little late posting this today but I have the BEST excuse. You see I am a Gigi again. I now have three babies under two. Our newest little boy arrived yesterday and he is just precious. Lots of hair and such beautiful lips. We are all over the moon and exhausted! It’s hard for me to concentrate on anything else right now but here’s what’s on the menu……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF JULY 9TH
I had family here last weekend and they had fun picking through my veggie garden and harvesting boxes and bags of produce to take home with them. It does my heart good to have nature’s bounty in my backyard and to share it! Right now fennel, cabbage, onions, leeks, cucumbers, and zucchini are in full maturity! I’ll be eating from the garden this week! Here’s what’s on the menu……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF JUNE 25TH
Summer and outdoor dining go perfectly together! So get your dishes and take them outside!!!! Set an easy table and make a dinner to match! Easy, breezy and oh so summery! Here’s what’s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF JUNE 18TH
Oh yum! I have a great line up of dinner recipes on the menu this week. I have a solid love/hate relationship with cooking! I love to plan menus and I love to cook and I certainly LOVE to eat but I really hate to clean up after myself and dinner! So years ago Bobby and I struck a really sweet deal. I cook and he cleans up! It’s a win/win! How about you? What do you love and not love about cooking dinner?…
ON THE MENU WEEK OF JUNE 4TH
June is strawberry and rhubarb month. Oh, yum! Such beautiful flavors to cook with. We do not grow strawberries here at StoneGable but as we travel the country roads around our home we can pick up pints and quarts of fresh strawberries at so many makeshift produce stands. Our rhubarb is always a big producer so we have plenty for us and our friends! Here’s what ‘s on the menu this week……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF MAY 14TH
This year’s raised bed gardens are full of both vegetables and flowers! Mixing them makes my morning walk through it (with coffee in hand) a tiny paradise of snipping and picking opportunities! As our veggies mature and are ready to pick my menu will reflect what fresh deliciousness I’m finding in our garden. I hope you plant a plot or at least a container of tomatoes for yourself. Now here’s what’s on the menu this week……
THE SCOOP #324
Hi Friends, welcome back to THE SCOOP! We are so glad you are here. I’m looking for lots of inspiration myself for decorating with an eye towards the summer. And I also am looking for great recipes to make for my family. If you love all things home you will find something to spark your creativity and peak your interest! Let’s party!…
ON THE MENU WEEK OF APRIL 23RD
My grocery list is filling up with more and more fresh fruits and lots of veggies, especially salad greens! May is almost here and that means so many more fresh and locally sourced produce in the grocery aisles! I’m even getting asparagus and lettuces and spinach from our garden. Here’s what’s ON THE MENU this week……
WHY A MENU PLAN IS SO IMPORTANT
Do you eat every day? Then you probably need a menu plan for you and your family. If you cook at least three times a week it makes sense to know what to prepare beforehand. Otherwise, you will probably default to fast food or local pizza and that is less nutritional and more expensive than cooking yourself. And if you are organized with a menu plan you can prep and whip up scrumptious, easy and healthy meals for your family! Here’s why I menu plan……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF MARCH 12TH
Do you make dinner? Even though I love to cook I don’t make dinner every day. Some days I just don’t feel like it and takeout or going out is my option. I do however create a menu plan for each day of the week. If I didn’t dinner would be on the back burner (pun intended) and we would be left to less healthy options. My days are very busy and I need to be organized when it comes to important things like what we are going to eat. I hope you are enjoying the menu plan I share……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF FEB 19TH
Do you menu plan? If so why? And if not… we need to talk! I have been menu planning for years. A menu plan is just that, a plan. It’s not a contract or something written in stone but a way to make your life easier by having choices ready for you when you need them. It also keeps me organized and makes mealtimes easy. Look for a post soon about the benefits of meal planning and I’ll show you how I do it. Now here’s what’s on the menu……
ON THE MENU WEEK OF JANUARY 29TH
On The Menu is moving from Saturday afternoons to Monday! When I first introduced OTM years and years ago I posted it on Monday. So On The Menu is coming back to its original spot in StoneGable’s weekly line up! I hope you have the most delicious week!…
