This week’s Lunch Logic is all about making dinner leftovers and on-hand ingredients work in your favor to make standby lunch favorites.  The ideas here are ones I use all the time with my two boys — chicken salad, quick pizzas, and every possible riff on the BLT are simple lunches that come together in a hurry (and, more importantly, make for lunchboxes that always come home empty).  You don’t have to buy a lot of extra ingredients and do tons of additional cooking in your spare time to make these lunches happen; as long as you’re making dinner anyway, you may as well set aside some cooked pancetta, or shred up the leftovers of the chicken while you’re cleaning up the kitchen. That way, lunch is practically made.

Meal Plan Refresher:

Wednesday, 1/8: Weekend warmup – Tamale pot pie (I’ll sub masa harina for the wheat flour in the crust)
Thursday, 1/9: Brown rice pasta with pancetta and peas
Friday, 1/10: Fend night/Kids Cook
Saturday, 1/11: Spanish-style chicken
Sunday, 1/12: Cider-brined pork roast and vegetables
Monday, 1/13: Creamy tomato soup and salad
Tuesday, 1/14: Slow cooker – Beef stew over mashed potatoes

The Lunch Logic: