Another Saturday, Another Costco Run
If you’ve been following along here for a while, you know Saturday mornings in our house have a rhythm. After church, the boys pile into the car, someone inevitably argues about the music, and we make our way to Costco to stock up for the week. With four boys ranging from 6 to 15, feeding this crew is a mission that requires strategy, a solid list, and honestly, a little prayer that the cart doesn’t overflow before we hit the checkout line.
This week’s haul came out really well. I grabbed some staples, some fresh produce that’s been calling my name now that summer is properly here in Connecticut, and a couple of fun items that I know are going to make the boys very happy at the dinner table. Let me walk you through it and share the three meals I’m planning to build out of all of this.
What I Grabbed This Week
The fruit situation this week is serious — in the best possible way. I came home with a whole watermelon, a honeydew, a cantaloupe, a big container of strawberries, two containers of blueberries, a bunch of grapes, and a bag of oranges. Summer fruit is one of those things I refuse to apologize for overbuying. My boys will eat melon until it’s gone, and getting natural sugar into a 6-year-old instead of processed snacks feels like a win every single time. We also go through four gallons of whole milk every week without fail — growing boys need the fat and the protein, and Wellsley Farms whole milk from Costco is our go-to.
On the protein side, I picked up a large package of ground beef, a big tray of thin-cut beef steaks, a package of Johnsonville Beddar with Cheddar sausages, and a bag of Wellsley Farms bacon crumbles. I also grabbed two cartons of heavy whipping cream because I had a specific dessert idea in mind — more on that in a minute. Two jars of marinara sauce and two cans of tomatoes round out the pantry side of things nicely.
I’ll be honest — there are a few convenience items in this haul too. A box of Hot Pockets High Protein, a box of Oodles Cheddy Mac, and two large bags of White Cheddar Cheetos Puffs made the cut. Look, I’m a real dad feeding real kids, and sometimes a grab-and-go lunch between baseball practice and homework is exactly what everyone needs. Balance is the goal, not perfection.
Recipe #1: Hearty Beef Marinara Pasta
This is a workhorse meal in our house and one I come back to almost every week. I brown up the ground beef with diced red onions until everything is nicely caramelized, then pour in both jars of marinara and let it simmer low and slow for about 30 minutes. At the end, I stir in a generous handful of the Wellsley Farms bacon crumbles for a little extra depth and smokiness. Served over a big pot of rigatoni or penne with some crusty bread on the side, this feeds everyone comfortably with leftovers for lunch the next day.
The fruit salad that goes alongside is just as simple — I cut up the watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and strawberries and toss them together in a big bowl. No dressing needed. My youngest, who just turned 6, will eat three servings of that fruit salad before he touches his pasta, and I consider that a tremendous success. Sunday dinner with the whole family gathered around the table is one of those ordinary moments I’ve come to treasure more the older the boys get.
Recipe #2: Philly-Style Steak Bowls
Those thin-cut steaks are going to get sliced into strips and sautéed in a hot cast iron pan with the rest of the red onions until everything is beautifully caramelized. I’ll slice the Beddar with Cheddar sausages and cook them right alongside for extra heartiness. Everyone builds their own bowl over rice — my 15-year-old loads his up, my 10-year-old keeps his simple, and my younger two need a little help but love the whole process of customizing their dinner. These build-your-own meals are genuinely one of the best parenting tools I’ve stumbled onto. Nobody complains about what’s on their plate when they built it themselves.
For dessert that night, I’ll whip the heavy cream and serve it over a mix of fresh blueberries and strawberries. It’s simple, it’s beautiful, and it takes about five minutes. Sometimes the best things really are that straightforward.
Recipe #3: Sausage Mac Night with Cheesecake Milkshakes
This one is unapologetically fun. I’ll cook up the Oodles Cheddy Mac and stir in sliced Beddar with Cheddar sausages and a handful of bacon crumbles. The result is a mac and cheese that’s got real protein, real flavor, and real enthusiasm from every person at the table. We’ll pair it with a big fruit plate so I feel good about the meal as a whole.
Now — the cheesecake milkshakes. This was the idea that was bouncing around in my head when I grabbed that Wellsley Farms New York Style Cheesecake at Costco. I’m going to blend individual slices with whole milk, fresh strawberries, and whipped heavy cream to create the most indulgent, completely over-the-top milkshakes you can imagine. My boys have no idea this is coming and I genuinely cannot wait to see their faces. Sometimes being the dad who pulls off the unexpected dessert is its own reward.
Gratitude for a Full Fridge
Every week when I unload groceries onto the counter and the boys swarm in to see what’s there, I feel it — gratitude for the ability to feed my family well, for healthy kids who actually eat, and for the rhythm of meals that holds our week together. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Good ingredients, simple recipes, and people you love around the table — that’s really what this whole blog is about.
I’ll share full recipe write-ups for each of these this week. In the meantime, drop a comment below and let me know — do your kids go wild for milkshakes? Because I have a feeling ours are going to be requesting these every single week from here on out.
