What's for Dinner: April 5 - April 11

Looking for dinner inspiration? Here's what I've planned for dinner at our house this week!

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The days are blending together, and weekends no longer feel like weekends. By some miracle, the kids let us sleep in until 9 (!) before they started banging on doors. They love singing "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" from Frozen every time they encounter a door that's closed... So I only forced myself out of bed to stop the singing.

How are you all doing? Staying healthy and safe, I hope.

I was going to share two weeks of dinners again, but the timing doesn't work. We have a grocery delivery scheduled for Thursday. And while I could plan dinners based on what we have in the house right now... I'd rather wait and see what shows up before planning next week's meals. Especially anything relating to Easter.

You seemed to appreciate knowing where I made adjustments to our menu plans... I'll try to continue sharing that information moving forward. If not here on the blog, then definitely with the What's for Dinner? Facebook Group.

For now, keep reading to see what I've planned for dinner this week!

20 Festive Easter Desserts

Easter meals are going to look a little different this year. However, if you are planning on making a special dinner, here are some festive ideas for your dessert table.

One of my friends posted a meme on Facebook that went something like this:

30 days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have 31,
except for February which has 28 and March which has 8,000.

Welcome to April, everyone.

Given the events of the past few weeks, at least here in the United States, I bet you didn't think we'd get here. And the scary thing is, the next few weeks are going to be harder... and more emotional as the number of confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases increases.

Please, be safe. Stay home if you can and try to make time to focus on your mental well-being if you're feeling overwhelmed.

I planned on doing a round-up of Easter-related recipes a few months ago. In recent days, though, I hesitated moving forward with it. I know a lot of people, including us, are trying to stretch the food they have on hand... and I didn't want to appear insensitive to that.

But writing this post is doing wonders for my mood, and it's helping lift my spirits. So, if you are planning on making a special dinner for the holiday and are looking for some festive ideas for your Easter dessert table... Keep reading!

PS. I tried to concentrate on ideas that weren't carrot cake, but if you're dying for a carrot cake recipe, here's our family's favorite. 😉

What's for Dinner: March 29 - April 4

Looking for dinner inspiration? Here's what I've planned for dinner at our house this week!

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I had higher expectations for myself for the past week. I was hoping to stick to my blogging schedule and share some more content. But my motivation dropped more and more as the week progressed.

Our family is still struggling to find balance in these uncertain times. Since the kids are so young, creating a strict schedule for them doesn't make much sense. We know they're used to a structured day at school, but we can't commit to that while working from home. So I've been trying to do little activities like this and this with them when I can.

I want to be everything for everyone all the time. But it's been hard for me to deliver my usual level of attention or devotion right now. We're healthy and safe and together... and I know that should be enough, but I can't stand knowing that I'm coming up short in certain areas.

Aside from not having time or energy, I'm reluctant to push out recipes. I know there are people out there who are doing a lot more cooking now that they're confined to their homes. (Thanks to all the readers trying my olive oil drop biscuit recipe!) I'd love to spend more time in the kitchen, too. But I'm being super careful about the ingredients we use and how we use them... because things are still hard to come by where we are. So I'm not doing too much in the kitchen outside of preparing regular meals.

As long as our family is self-isolating, my blogging will be sporadic. I'll do my best to get back on track... because I really do love sharing with you guys... but understand that there may be long periods of silence between posts. (Things are always hopping in the What's for Dinner? Facebook Group, though, so be sure to join us there for more regular interaction!)

For now, here's what I've planned for dinner at our house this week.

What's for Dinner: March 22 - April 4

Looking for dinner inspiration? Here's what I've planned for dinner at our house for the next two weeks!

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I gave myself a little break from blogging last week as we tried to get our feet under us. The kids have been out of daycare/preschool for a week, and I can tell they miss their normal routine. (This was apparent on Monday.)

Meanwhile, Stephen's been trying to adjust to having us all home during the day... and I'm trying to work from home as best I can. I got the official word yesterday that the office staff at my school are required to work from home. I can free up some mental space and stop worrying about whether I'm going to need to upend our home life again by going back to the office.

*inhale*

*exhale*

One. Day. At. A. Time.

With that said, I want to tell you -- you are all amazing. I'm grateful that I'm still able to connect with you, especially in the What's for Dinner? Group on Facebook. Thank you for being there for me and for each other. In fact, our conversations in that Facebook Group inspired me to do things differently this week.

Because I want to make the most of the food we have in the house right now... and because I want to cut down the trips we make to any store, I planned dinners for the next two weeks. This week's meals rely solely on what we have on hand... Next week's meals draw mostly on our current inventory, but there are some meals that require an ingredient or two coming in Friday's Peapod delivery. Knowing, though, that some of the things in my order may not come due to low inventory at Stop & Shop, I'm prepared to be flexible.

So, without further ado, here's what I've planned for dinner at our house over the next two weeks.