This Week's Menu

I'm working on the post for last night's dinner.  But since my boys rarely give me a ... Excuse me a second while I go get my youngest a snack.

Where was I? Oh yes, no time to myself.  Certainly not to blog much at least as you've most likely noticedx this summer. ;)  But while you're patiently waiting for recipes, I hope I can tide you over with this week's meal plan:

• Thursday: Quesadillas.  Cheese for my boys but I like a little more substance to mine.

• Friday: Pizza and popcorn

• Saturday: Some friend's of ours have a "little" festival every year and always incorporate a rib cook-off.  Rob's won the best all-around ribs for the last couple years so he'll be defending his title again!  I think I'll make a vat of cole slaw to bring along.
  

• Sunday: Roast chicken with root vegetables, and mashed potatoes just sounds really good right now.

• Monday: Pancakes!  With blueberries too if I can hide them from my kiddos for that long.

• Tuesday: New Recipe! Slow Cooker Barbecue Brisket, a kale salad, and cornbread

• Wednesday: Leftovers.

Happy planning!!

CSA Week 6

At this moment, when all around me is crazy, and I'm just trying to get my kids and my life back to normal, all I can think is...."I got tomatoes and onions, and I have jalapenos in my own garden....SALSA TIME!!!"

Now who wants to make me a margarita to go with?

For Week 6 we got:

• Red onions
• Potatoes
• Scallions
• Tomatoes
• Kale
• Cucumber
• Beets
• Cabbage (again????  Ok LOTFOTL, I'm over the cabbage)
• Corn
• Summer Savory Herb (some kind of thyme I think?)
• Eggs (not pictured)

Besides the salsa that I'm so stinking excited about, I'm going to use the corn in a couple different meals this week, and the potatoes and beets too.  The herbs I need to think on, and the cabbage is really beginning to stump me.  But I'll get it all figured out!

We are supporting LOTFOTL Farm by purchasing a Seesaw Share, plus a dozen eggs.  This means we will get a box of produce and a dozen eggs every other week. To learn more about CSA's and how to participate, visit www.localharvest.org/csa/ 

This Week's Menu

I've been home from our latest (and LAST) vacation this summer for about an hour.  There are bags yet to be unpacked, toys everywhere as my kids get re-acquainted with them, and Rob's out picking up the dog from the vet and our CSA vegetables from our local coffee-shop pickup site.  So of course now just seemed like the perfect time to ignore it all and play on my computer.

And since I have to plan meals anyway so I can get the right groceries tomorrow, why not take an extra moment to tell you about what I have in mind this week? :)

• Thursday: Leftovers OR sandwiches. I discovered a bag of pizza from last Friday and I think I have some other still-good goodies hidden in there somewhere.  Tonight it all about Free-For-All

• Friday: Pizza and popcorn

• Saturday: Grilling some kind of meat (whatever's on sale), corn-on-the-cob, and roasted potatoes/carrots/beets
  

• Sunday: New Recipe! Bacon-Wrapped Cilantro Chicken, rice, and a CSA veggie

• Monday: Sandwiches and carrot sticks for my boys as Rob and I have another date planned!

• Tuesday: Leftovers

• Wednesday: New Recipe! Pasta with Corn & Kale.  It's possible this might actually turn into a side dish and I'll make some kind of meat to appease my Carnivore Hubby.

I'll try to get this week's CSA post up tomorrow.  Until then...

Happy planning!!

CSA Week 5

Our CSA life is still going strong!!  If I haven't talked you into trying one yet, I seriously recommend at least checking it out and seeing what farms in your area do this.  I LOVE discovering what new little gems are waiting for us at each pickup.

For Week 5 we got:

• Beans
• Sweet Onion
• Cabbage
• Young Potatoes
• Summer Squash OR Cucumbers
• Kale
• Parsley
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Eggs (not pictured but we did get them; I didn't feel like pulling them back out of the fridge)

Now, you might notice that there are some things in the above picture that I don't have listed, and vice versa.  That's because we decided to participate in the Swap Box this week.  There's always a bin at the pickup location where you can take out things you don't like, leave them in the Swap Box, and grab extras of things you do like.  We've really tried to not use this too much because I didn't want to be tempted to take out the veggies that scared me and leave them in the Swap Box; that would defeat the purpose of our experiment!  However, I planted parsley in my little garden this year and it's going NUTS.  So I felt good leaving that in the box and taking a gorgeous head of lettuce.  Plus, I wanted a cucumber so we kept the zucchini, but traded the yellow squash for the cucumber.  So this week we really customized our veggies to what we wanted.  I'm looking forward to using them!!

We are supporting LOTFOTL Farm by purchasing a Seesaw Share, plus a dozen eggs.  This means we will get a box of produce and a dozen eggs every other week. To learn more about CSA's and how to participate, visit www.localharvest.org/csa/ 

This Week's Menu

These are the weeks (you know...the ones right after a week or more of vacation) where I am SO STINKING THANKFUL for my freezer.  I am such a planner, especially with food, that it's incredibly hard to figure out meals each night without a game plan.  I would say 3 of the last 4 nights I've planted myself in front of my beloved deep freezer to see what bounteous offering she had for me.

Her offerings are starting to look a little light now actually.  Thank God harvest season is fast approaching!

But until I get to dealing with restocking her, I first need to deal with the next week's meals:

• Thursday: Leftovers. I've pulled some big meals out of the freezer this week; plenty for us to clear out and make some space for our CSA vegetables!

• Friday: Pizza and popcorn for my boys.  It's stadium food for Rob and I as we finally head out on a DATE!!  Gee, is it obvious I don't get much alone time with my hubby? ;)

• Saturday: Tacos, refried beans
  

• Sunday: Cookout with friends.  And I volunteered to bring a dish but I don't have any guidelines on that yet.  So I'm thinking I just might get creative with my pantry.

• Monday: Tuna Casserole, fresh bread.

• Tuesday: Leftovers. Again.  When it's just my little guys and me, we don't go through dinners quite as quickly so I can get away with two leftover nights in a week.

• Wednesday: New Recipe! Chicken (and broccoli??) Alfredo, tossed salad.

Happy planning!!

CSA Week 4

Slowly but surely I'm starting to get my computer life back together.  Just in time for me to "disappear" for a week!  I know, right?  I miss y'all!!  But summer vacation and time with family beckons.  So off I go, knowing that soon this Summer of Insane Activities will end, Harvest Season will really kick-off, and I'll be throwing myself back into my kitchen with gusto.

But before I head out, of course I have to share what I picked up today!  CSA Week 4 includes:

• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Summer Squash
• Cucumber
• Sweet Onions
• Green Cabbage
• Kohlrabi
• Peas
• Basil
• Eggs

At this point, I will probably just work on preserving as much of this as I can.  Shredding/pureeing and freezing the squash to use in baked goods.  Maybe whipping up a quick pesto with the basil.  And freezing the broccoli and peas again, for later use.  There have been a few things that I've had to throw out just because I couldn't get to it fast enough.  I refuse to let that continue!  So it's cook it, or preserve it from here on out!

We are supporting LOTFOTL Farm by purchasing a Seesaw Share, plus a dozen eggs.  This means we will get a box of produce and a dozen eggs every other week. To learn more about CSA's and how to participate, visit www.localharvest.org/csa/ 

This, That, and The Other

I swear, between this, that, and the other this week, I'll be a rock star to get a meal plan posted for next week.

My computer fried over the weekend.  And my hubby, in his incredible support for my crazy little hobbies like this food blog, setup his old laptop for me to use until I can get a new one (*gulp* cha-ching).  So now I'm getting used to a new computer, AND trying to find all my pictures.  Especially pics of this chicken wrap I made last month that I sooooooooooooooo want to share with you!

A sane blogger would spend her time getting her computer world back up-to-snuff.  Whoever said I was sane though? ;)  Between keeping my boys entertained, I decided this week would be an excellent one to start jamming and canning.  My life is already insane; what's one more thing?

So yesterday it was a couple batches of basic strawberry jam.  This morning I experimented with a 3-Citrus Marmalade.  And right now I have some Strawberry Honey Jam working on the stove.  And don't worry, another batch of 3-Berry Honey Jam is totally on my agenda this summer!  Just need my raspberries to come in first.

For now, back to the stove...