Beach Week Menu!

We are heading out for the beach this morning! 

Matt, Ryan, Tally and I are driving down to Seagrove Beach in Florida and meeting my sister's family and my parents there for the week, and we. can't. WAIT!

The last time we were all together at the beach was on our last trip to Ortley Beach, NJ (a few block from Seaside Heights- where Jersey Shore was filmed... solid representation of my family's homestate... but I digress).

Noah wasn't even 3, Maddox wasn't born yet, Matt was wearing cargo shorts, and I had really short hair.

We just celebrated Maddox's 7th birthday, so here's to hoping we can begin a new tradition once again... because it's been way to long.

This will be Ryan's first beach experience as a walker, and Tal's first beach experience ever. ;)

We McKenzie's (my maiden name) tend to over-prepare for things, and we all like to save a dime where we can, so we have planned all of the meals and divvied up the groceries between the three of us so that they all fit in our cars.

We're basically ready for life on a deserted island.

Here's what we have planned for our dinners each night.

Night 1:

Baked Ziti with Homemade Marinara

We have our own recipe we make that I have yet to share on here, but here's a yummy one from Pioneer Woman.

I've made the sauce and have it frozen in two large ziplock bags to bring down for the trip. That way there's minimal prep once we get there.

Night 2:

Pizza & Salad

We're thinking Pizza by the Sea based on reviews from Trip Advisor, but if anyone has any other pizza spots in the Seaside, Seagrove, Watercolor area, we'd love to hear them!

Night 3:

Fig Balsamic Pork Tenderloin by Skinny Taste

This is the easiest, yummiest pork tenderloin recipe ever. It is our go-to in our house and perfect for the beach because it's only 3 ingredients! In fact, my sis already fixed the marinade, and I already have the pork trimmed and frozen for the drive down, so it will be real easy. Yeah, there's that over-prepared thing again. ;)

Night 4:

Crunchy BBQ Brisket Tacos by Mix & Match Mama

These are SO good! And the best part is it's a crock-pot meal so it can cook all day while we're at the beach/pool and make the house smell amazing when we walk back in for the night. Mmm Mmm- can't wait to share this recipe with my fam.

Night 5:

Out to Eat

As much as we all love to cook and eat in at the beach, it is fun to go out at least one night. So we picked a place (Seagrove Village MarketCafe) we found on Trip Advisor, but again, we'd love to hear other suggestions if you have any to share!

There is an ice-cream shop within walking/biking distance from our house, so you can bet we'll visit that little place every night at least a few times.

And it wouldn't be a McKenzie vacation without lots of appetizers, so we've packed our favorite crackers and cheese, balsamic glaze, honey mustard, french bread and dipping sauce, homemade pimento cheese, port wine spreadable cheese, & chips, salsa and cheese dip for our taco night.

What can I say, we all love to cook and love to eat.

Since I can't enjoy my favorite red wine or fun beach drink on this trip, I'm bringing these fancy "cocktail" waters. ;)

Thank you, La Croix.

On Wednesday of this week, I'll be sharing a recipe for some delicious crock-pot enchiladas I made the other night. It's been a minute since I've shared a new recipe on here (or have had the energy or creative drive to make one up... bless you second trimester), so I'm excited to share these with y'all!

And on Friday, in celebration of my birthday, I'll be sharing 31 of my favorite things with a fun little giveaway! So be sure to stop by and check it out.

Hope you guys have a great week!