It’s the last day of August (already? How’d that happen?), so it’s time, I guess, to unveil the plan for September. But before I do, I’ve got to make note of one or two things and make good on a promise from yesterday’s post.
First, a big thank-you to the mysterious and nationally admired Mrs. Q, whose blog, Fed Up with Lunch, has been turning the world of school lunches on its head since she started in January. Mrs. Q. ran a Blog Party over the weekend, and I was one of the lucky people who got in on the action. Thanks for bringing us all together, Mrs. Q. What a great time! And to all you RRG readers who haven’t checked out her brave work (I couldn’t eat school lunch every day for a whole year!), do. Immediately.
Secondly, a note about the tomato muffins — yesterday I posted the recipe and warned that I had no idea how they’d go over with the kids. Well, test results are in, folks, and they were a BIG hit. When I got downstairs for breakfast this morning, L. was stuffing one down; as J. reached to close the lid on the muffin tin, L. rewarded him with a level glare that literally froze him on the spot. I’m not sure if it was a Jedi Mind Trick or what, but J. removed his hand from the lid and offered L. a second muffin, which was gone in less than a minute. P. also mangled one sufficiently along with his breakfast banana; he’s got another in his lunchbox, too, as I don’t really want him eating the school snack this afternoon.
Aaaand finally, the granola bars I mentioned in yesterday’s post. Faithful readers know I got into a little granola kick with the invention of the Granoli-o crumble last week. Over the weekend, it did, in fact, go beastly hot, but hot enough that we closed the house up and succumbed to air conditioning — which meant that it was perfectly comfortable for baking and experimenting. L. loves granola bars, but mainly the chewy kind (hard to find without tons of corn syrup, and expensive when you do find them), and mainly ones that taste like chocolate. Not super-healthy. But with a little fiddling around, using quick-cook oats instead of regular (producing, in my opinion, a softer bar), adding a generous amount of pureed dates as binder, and using unsweetened cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips, I managed to produce something that is ridiculously easy to make, as granola bars go, and quite tasty to boot. Both L. and P. have been mowing through these things as fast as they can get them into their mouths (though I do recommend chopping them up for smaller kids; they’re pretty dense), and J. and I have been grabbing them for quick breakfasts as well.
Okay, enough chatter. Now, the plan, including last night and tonight (since I didn’t put those meals on last month’s list):
Monday, 8/30: Fish and Potato cakes with a salad of heirloom tomatoes and sweet potato greens
Tuesday, 8/31: Slow cooker — turkey sloppy joes on English muffins, baked sweet potato fries, fruit
Wednesday, 9/1: Providing dinner for the babysitter (J. and I have a work function) — slow cooker again! — Honey-mustard chicken wraps for sitter and kids
Thursday, 9/2: Whole wheat pasta with roasted vegetable sauce, salad, crusty bread
(**Labor Day weekend…we’ve got plans Friday through Monday…none of which require me to cook!**)
Tuesday, 9/7: Slow cooker — beef fajitas, avocado salad
Wednesday, 9/8: My mom’s “Pasta Poulet,” crusty bread, green salad
Thursday, 9/9: Fresh Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and fruit
Friday, 9/10: Fend night!
Saturday, 9/11: Falafel, tabbouleh salad, pita bread, fruit
Sunday, 9/12: Roast dinner — grass-fed beef is on the menu, but if a friend comes to town, it’ll be pork (she’s not a red meat eater)
Monday, 9/13: Tuna-artichoke panini, salad, sweet potato fries
Tuesday, 9/14: Slow cooker — “West Indies chicken” over brown rice
Wednesday, 9/15: Frog Slime meatballs, cheesy noodles, vegetables
Thursday, 9/16: Homemade pizzas, salad
Friday, 9/17: Fend night!
Saturday, 9/18: Cheese enchilada casserole, avocado salad
Sunday, 9/19: Roast dinner — beef or pork, whatever we don’t have on the 12th!
Monday, 9/20: Stir-fry night, using leftover meat from Sunday; brown rice, orange slices
Tuesday, 9/21: Slow cooker — sausage and peppers, garlic bread
Wednesday, 9/22: Whole wheat pasta with sweet potatoes and red peppers, salad
Thursday, 9/23: Chicken meatball soup, fruit, veggie breadsticks
Friday, 9/24: Friends in town! We’ll pop a lasagna in the oven for their arrival
Saturday, 9/25: Something fun for our friends and their kids — maybe a DIY quesadilla bar?
Sunday, 9/26: Sunday Roast Chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and veggies
Monday, 9/27: “Jeremy’s Beef and Shrimp” Szechuan stir-fry over rice
Tuesday, 9/28: Slow cooker — turkey-vegetable chili, baked chips, guacamole
Wednesday, 9/29: Quick macaroni and cheese, roasted vegetables, fruit
Thursday, 9/30: “No-fuss” chicken, cous cous, veggies
That’s it, for dinners at least — of course, I’ve also got snacks and lunch items and so forth tentatively worked out as well. As always, feel free to write and ask for recipes, clarification, etc. I’m happy to share.
This looks great. Any chance of your posting the recipes? My vote is to start with the pasta poulet and the West Indies chicken.
Great suggestions, Liz! I’ll definitely share those recipes soon. The Pasta Poulet is an old family standby, and the West Indies chicken came from a slow cooker book, but I’ve made a few minor tweaks here and there. Keep watching for the posts!