Later this week I’ll be heading to Cincinnati, Ohio for this year’s Savvy Bogging Summit, it will be the first time that Liz and I will be attending a conference together. Since I joined her a couple years ago we have talked and planned on attending several conferences but as everyone knows, life sometimes gets in the way. But this time all the stars are in alignment and it’s really going to happen.

To add to the excitement we’re excited to announce that we are partnering with ALDI to share their desire to show everyone the ALDI philosophy of saving you money on everyday items. We’ll be hosting along with ALDI personnel a store tour on Wednesday to see it in action and during the conference ALDI is sponsoring the snack cart full of their great ALDI brands. So when you stop by I look forward to meeting each and everyone of you.

I’ll be keeping everyone up to date through our twitter, instagram and facebook social media of course so be sure to follow my adventure as I wade into my first blogging conference experience.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. ALDI will be covering my travel expenses for the Savvy Blogging Summit. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

Happy Monday my friends! Summer is upon us and you know what that means…picnics, cook outs and potlucks! There are so many delicious Summer Salads that are perfect to share with guests. Whether you are looking for a little southwestern flavor, a tasty corn salsa or your traditional pasta salad made just a little more special…we have 10 Potluck Salads for you to choose from!

Seven Layer Salad in a Jar

Old Fashioned Orange Jello Salad

Garden Fresh Corn & Black Bean Salsa

Layered BLT Salad

Seven Layer Southwestern Salad

Pizza Pasta Salad

Grilled Potato Salad

Deli Style Pasta Salad

Chef Salad on a Stick

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Do you have a favorite Potluck Salad? Share with us!

It’s looking to be a busy week for us here and having a menu plan is one of the things that help to keep us on track – at least we don’t have to think of what to fix for dinner! You all know how much we wave the menu-planning banner and it’s weeks like this that remind us again why we love it – there’s one less thing to stress about.

In addition to a summertime grilled meal, we’ve got a couple of easy dinners like sandwiches and noodle bowls – with an emphasis on recipes that won’t heat up the house for any of us dealing with warm summer weather.

Don’t forget to save or print the Printable Menu Plan for a quick reference when you head to the store!

Monday- Burgers, Grilled Potatoes with Mushrooms

Tuesday - Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwich and Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Taco Ring, Homemade Pico de Gallo and Chips

Thursday - Teriyaki Beef Noodle Bowls

Friday - Ham & Cheese Pockets, Mac & Cheese

Saturday - Kung Pao Chicken and Rice

Sunday - Italian Sliders, Grilled Asparagus

Dessert Of The Week: Frozen Watermelon Slices

Need more recipes? Check out our June Menu Plan 

Summer is here…the kids are home…it’s 2 p.m…you know what that means! It’s Sonic time! We love Sonic’s Happy Hour, but unfortunately the closest restaurant to us is about an hour away. So what’s the next best thing? Make our own Cherry Limeade that tastes just like Sonic’s!

This Cherry Limeade is very easy, the only tricky part was the cherry syrup. We ended up using cherry ice cream topping and just straining out the cherries to get just the syrup. The good part though, you only need 2 tablespoons per glass. And that and juicing the limes are the hardest part about putting these together. Even the kids can join in and you can make it a family experience just like enjoying it at Sonic in person.

I think this would make a great drink to serve for the Fourth of July as well, add some blue straws and you have a festive little drink!

Original recipe in Dining Out at Home with CopyKat.com’s Cookbook

 Check out our other Thirsty Thursday Drink Recipes! 

Father’s Day is Sunday! Do you know what you are cooking? What does Dad like to eat? Do you make him a special breakfast? Grill him a steak? And how about dessert…does he loves pie, cookies or maybe a special cupcake? Let’s show Dad how special he is!

We have pulled together 30 Father’s Day Recipes that are sure to make Dad smile!

Father’s Day Breakfast Recipes

• Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits & Gravy
• Steak & Eggs
• Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwich
• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
• Breakfast Biscuit Bowl
• Old Fashioned Homemade Pancakes

Father’s Day Grilled Main Dishes

• Steak Dinner
• Mix & Match Burger Bar
• Grilled Butterflied Chicken
• Grilled Naked Wings with 3 Sauces
• Grilled Peppers & Italian Sausage
• Grilled Beer Can Chicken
• Royal Ultimate Burger

Father’s Day Main Dishes

• Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Barbecue Root Beer Sauce
• Bourbon Whiskey Meatballs
• Slow Cooker Barbecue Pork Sandwiches
• Honey Hoisin Chicken in the Slow Cooker
• Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Father’s Day Side Dishes

• Grilled Potato Salad
• Grilled Potatoes and Mushrooms
• Deli Style Pasta Salad
• Bacon Cheese Deviled Eggs
• Fried Smashed Potatoes
• Pizza Pasta Salad

Father’s Day Dessert

• Dessert Grillers
• Father’s Day Cupcakes
• Brownie Goody Bars
• Easy Strawberry Pie
• Oreo Brownies
• Cool and Creamy Lime Pie

And in case you are looking for Father’s Day Gifts, we have a few you may like…

• Top 10 Grilling Tools
• Grilling Spices – our favorites
• Brown Ale Caramel Corn
• Hand Tool Bucket
• Garden Tool Organizer

I don’t know about the man in your life, but there are few things that Doug enjoys more for breakfast than Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits & Gravy. So with Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, I thought I would share one of his favorite breakfast recipes with you all!

Now, I have to honest here…Doug is a better gravy maker than I am. So even though he will enjoy this Sausage Gravy for Father’s Day, he might have to make it himself.

Gravy making is really not difficult, and I think the more you practice the better you get at making it. One of the key tools is a cast iron skillet, of course you can make it in a regular skillet and we did for many years, but the extra flavoring that you get from the sausage dripping left in the cast iron gives the gravy that extra special touch.

We tried a new recipe for the Buttermilk Biscuits, and were pretty happy with them. The original recipe came from Sugar & Spice by Celeste. They were easy to put together and baked up nicely. They were a little heavier than I expected though.

 Linking to…Gooseberry Patch

We are super excited today, not only do we have a delicious recipe for you, we also have a brand new design! Come take a peek! Our designers, Kohler Created, have been hard at work getting things put together for a re-launch! We still have a few tweaks, but most of it is done, so pop on over and check it out! Oh and don’t forget to check out the new Recipe Index page, it’s new and updated as well!

Now, let’s chat a bit about these Marinated Chicken Quarters. Perfect for Father’s Day coming up this weekend, your 4th of July Celebration or even a Saturday evening cook out, the flavors of lemon, cilantro, cumin and oregano combine to give this Grilled Chicken a delicious and moist Southwest flavor.

The original recipe is from the All Fired Up: Smokin’ Hot Secrets for the South’s Best BBQ, don’t miss the giveaway we have going on until Thursday, June 13th. If you love to grill, this is one cookbook you will definitely want! We have made several recipes from it already, including the Rosemary Lemonade Slushie, and we have several more bookmarked to try and then share with you.

The chicken marinates in the fridge for 8 hours, so Doug added the marinade last night, covered it and slipped it into the fridge. Then removed it from the fridge and let it come to room temperature before grilling.

Along with fresh lemons and red onions, the chicken cooked on the grill for almost an hour, but it was super easy. If you are hosting a cook out or perhaps Father’s Day Party, this time would allow you to enjoy a refreshing drink with your friends and family, and let the grill do it’s thing.

 Linking to…Gooseberry Patch

The weather is heating up and the summer is starting – I think most kids around the country will be starting their summer breaks in the next two weeks if they haven’t already, like ours have. It seems like a perfect time for a menu plan full of grilled recipes, salads, and using your slow cooker to beat the heat of oven cooking! And of course we can’t forget about celebrating dad at the end of the week – and an outdoor meal topped off by a fun grilled dessert is our way of showing our dads how much we appreciate them!

Don’t forget to save or print our Printable Menu Plan for a quick reference when you head to the store!

Monday – Dinner in the Slow Cooker: Honey Hoisin Chicken Sandwiches

Tuesday - Bacon Ranch Chicken Strips and Deli Pasta Salad

Wednesday –  Healthy Taco Salad

Thursday – Fettuccini Alfredo, Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits and Salad

Friday - Make Ahead Sloppy Joes, Veggies and Dip

Saturday - Pizza Sliders {copycat Pizza Hut recipe}

Sunday – Happy Father’s Day!  Grilled Peppers and Italian Sausage, Grilled Jalapeno Poppers with Bacon

Dessert of the Week: Dessert Grillers made with seasonal fruit

Need more recipes? Check out our June Menu Plan 

Welcome to another Thirsty Thursday! Do I have a drink today that’s sure to satisfy everyone… a Peanut Butter and Nutella Shake!

When Nutella first hit the scene I have to admit that I was a slow learner, I tried it but did not see what all the hubbub was about. Luckily for me my sons didn’t give up so easily and after many attempts they made a convert out of me.

Since my conversion I have come to enjoy it many ways but this milkshake has got to be tops! I love chocolate shakes and what goes together better with chocolate than peanut butter? So I set upon making a shake that contained both yet still had a little zing that would make the drinker take a second look.

Adding just a little buttermilk to the Peanut Butter and Nutella Shake gives it a little bite and takes away just enough of the sweetness to give a unique flavor that you will love.

So make sure to stock up on the peanut butter and Nutella hazelnut spread for the summer because if my sons reaction tells us anything you better stock up before we buy all the supply.

Beans beans the musical fruit the more you eat the more you… toot-toot.  Everyone has recited this to their young kids at one time or another. Next time you serve these Sweet & Spicy Baked Beans to your kids they’ll be singing right along with you.

With all the festivities, potlucks and picnics coming in the summer months you’ll have plenty of reasons and opportunities to give these a try. A perennial staple at family reunions, (not really sure that is a great idea unless you leave early) these baked beans pack a whallop. A tasty whallop that is, the brown sugar blends together with the barbecue sauce and just a hint of seasoning from the addition of the steak seasoning give these toot-toots a complex yet familiar flavor.

The sweet thing about this recipe is that this is a terrific base recipe for baked beans. Getting a unique taste every time you make these is as easy as changing the types of beans you use or even swapping the other ingredients for a bolder, even spicier flavor.

I just laugh every time I watch the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles. the campfire scene is a classic that evryone should experience at least once. So serve this at your next campout and you might just recreate the scene yourself.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Make & Take Magazine