Weekly Menu Plan | Roasted Pork with Braised Cabbage & Goat Cheese, Chicken Carbonara | Kale Harvest Salad | Braised Beef Chili

Every year about this time I start getting organized about weekly meal planning.  It must be because I love fall food so much, that I want to make sure I get everything in : )  This week the forecast is really and truly Fallish.  Today is our last warm day, then 70's and 60's for the next two weeks with really cool nights.

It feels like our entire home is on the brink of fall.  I've schedule the old chimney to be swept and cleaned this week in anticipation of wood fires, we're getting two maple trees planted in our backyard (right now!), there is a Harvest candle burning on my desk and I'm sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte that I made myself (more to come on that later this week!).

As Mike and I were sitting on the back porch last night (looking for the Super Moon!), we were talking about how good it feels for it to finally be on the brim of Autumn.  There are so many weekends coming up filled with favorite traditions - that will all feel new for Emma.  It makes me warm in fuzzy all over just thinking about it.

On our kitchen table is a basket of apples we picked from the little orchard on my parents' farm.  It is an "unkept" orchard (we like to call it "organic"!) and produces wonderful oddly shaped, un-perfect real apples.  I've been using them all week in recipes like homemade applesauce.

We don't have any pumpkins or gourds yet - that will come after this weekend's trip to my cousin's farm in Lexington (Missouri).  Here is a link to our visit there last year.  Here is a link to their facebook page with visitor info - Fahrmeier Farms.

Here is what else will be on our table this week... if all goes as planned :

Pork Tenderloin, Braised Cabbage with Goat Cheese, Bacon Green Beans

This is that homemade applesauce!

Chicken Carbonara with Roasted Chicken

Of course, I have to have a pasta dish.  I will use roasted chicken in this and make extra for the next night.

Kale Salad with Pumpkin Seeds & Cranberries

I've been making this lately with Red & Green Leaf Lettuce instead of Kale.  Um, also instead of the apple cider vinegar I've been using balsamic.  You get the idea.

Braised Beef Chili

I like to make chili on Thursdays because I love to have it in the fridge for the weekend.  It is so easy to reheat for lunch (hello, chili dog! yes, I'm serious) or easy dinner.

Spice Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have to have something sweet and fall-ish to splurge on.  I love these cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with cider with Emma after school.

And right now, as I type, this is happening at our house - two new Maple trees going in in our back yard!  We picked them out a couple of weeks ago and I'm excited to see that they haven't turned yet.  I'm looking forward to watching them over the next couple of weeks out of my kitchen window.  I'll post later this week about how we picked the specific variety and what size.  There was a lot more research and information involved than I had thought, so I'll share what I learned.

Happy Week : )