Korean Beef Sloppy Joes + Weekly Menu

We survived our first family vacation adventure. Barely. Just barely.

If you missed the fiasco of my phone, recap: the day before we’re leaving for northern Michigan, my phone screen stops working and I’m without a phone or a good option for using the insurance (when would it arrive, would we be there to sign for it, etc). That crisis was averted (though my phone is now acting up, it does function) but I won’t bore you with the details. I ended up taking off most of Wednesday and getting us organized in order to leave. It was going smoothly.

We were going to pick up Shea from her first day of kindergarten and get right on the road, we were all packed up, ready to go! Except, my car wouldn’t turn over. I hopped in Mark’s loaner car and went to pick-up Shea while FREAKING OUT over what we were going to do (Mark’s loaner is an electric car, without much charge, and uh, northern Michigan doesn’t exactly have super charges everywhere). I was afraid we were going to get stuck up there with no where to charge or unable to go anywhere due to having no charge. While we batted around all of these ideas, we took the car up to the supercharger near our house. I decided we’d start the vacation off with ice cream while we waited…and promptly shut Shea’s fingers in the car door.

Mark ordered a battery for curb side pick-up and so after charging for an hour (in case we needed to take the electric car in the end), we picked up the battery. He installed it, got it running, and I moved EVERYTHING for the second time, back into my car. Two hours behind schedule, we were off!

Other than eating outside in 52 degree weather (we were all OK and came with blankets), the trip started well! We had a fire and hung out with my brother after the girls went to bed. At 3am I promptly arose with stomach issues. I never have stomach issues. After talking myself down about my chances of COVID19 (I was also really hot and had convinced myself I had a fever), I got back to sleep and the girls, thankfully, slept until nearly 8am.

We did a hike with some gorgeous views (family picture was not the best, darn children not cooperating), checked out Leland, swam for about 3 minutes in Glen Lake in the 66 degree (but sunny!) weather, and did a scenic drive with Sleeping Bear Dune lookouts before having the best Cherry Chicken Salad wrap at Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor. It was a packed day followed by a very rainy day spent in Traverse City.

We had a yummy lunch followed by a walk around downtown with Moomers ice cream, but not before I twisted my ankle BADLY on a curb in downtown Traverse City. I’m currently elevating and icing after painfully hobbling around the rest of yesterday and all of today. I can’t remember a strain or sprain this bad L

We’re all ready to get back to life as we know it. The girls were excited for drawing paper and their markers. I was excited for vegetables and my bed. But it was a successful enough trip and we made the most of the cold, wet weather. Of note after extended travel with children: if I ever open a restaurant, I’m going to make it my mission to offer a unique kids menu. The amount of mac and cheese, pb&j, pizza, and grilled cheese is nuts. Why not a sloppy joe? A sloppy joe with a fun little twist, like Korean flavors? My kids gobbled this up!

Love easy ground beef recipes? Check out these kid-friendly favorites!

• Easy Tamale Pie
• Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
• Hamburger Casserole
• Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

Weekly Menu: September 13th – 17th

• Sunday: Garlic Basil Barramundi Skillet with Tomato Butter, salad, crusty bread
• Monday: Baked Almond-Crusted Cod with green beans and roasted potatoes
• Tuesday: dinner out
• Wednesday: Philly Chili (recipe #1 for my 2020 chili contest!)
• Thursday: Sweet Chili and Mustard-Glazed Salmon (from Cravings) with broccoli and rice

Be well,