MPM--Lazy Hazy Crazy Days

Ah, summer! Welcome, meal planners. This has been a great week here--camp is in session, the weather finally cleared and got gorgeous, and The Best Babysitter Ever came for a visit. We even got to the beach to visit with friends, and life is good.

And even if none of that were true, the Jersey corn, tomatoes, and blueberries are in! So I'm officially off the EDF train and back on the summer food bonanza. We went peach picking and raspberry picking and I already froze two bags of peaches (thanks to TBBE giving me the time to peel them--phew!). We also tried the Smitten Kitchen watermelon lemonade, which I would recommend. There are some other reviews below, but first, the menu for the week!

Monday: sweet potato chili and cherry tomato frittata (sad to be inspired by a catalog, but there it is). I also have some raw beet salad in the fridge ready to go as I was making an effort to clear the fridge before the next CSA batch of food arrived.

Tuesday: Have I mentioned TBBE makes the best lasagne in our world? And that she kindly makes some every time she comes? And I am slowly learning her tricks. But she left us another as a goodbye present and even if the weather turns hot and humid--well, it's always a good night for lasagne if you are my husband.

Wednesday: If I'm feeling adventuresome, I'll be trying another W-S recipe: braised chicken with tomatoes. If not, rotisserie chicken, and my favorite corn-tomato-zucchini side dish. Or we might just go to Peace-of-Pizza.

Thursday: out with my book group. Leftovers for my crew at home. (Hence the chicken on Wednesday so there will be something they might eat that is not a hot dog in the house.)

Friday Ball game!

If the amount of food seems somewhat massive, we're also making dinners for some families (my inlaws among them) that need some extra help these days.

And last week, we tried a few winner recipes from Smitten Kitchen. I had bought a baby watermelon and then got distracted by all the unbelievably great precut melons running around, so we used the baby for the watermelon lemonade. It wasn't amazing, but I would definitely make it again when lemons are cheap again. I also found my way to my new favorite way to make zucchini (and just in time, as they are coming quickly in the CSA). I made a small version for myself for lunch one day and a larger one for dinner. My kids won't touch it, alas, but we're working on it. And I'm certainly not coordinated enough to actually make the matchstick cuts but it's a very forgiving recipe, as she notes.

Meanwhile, we have new neighbors, who are new to our street but not to our town, so they come with built in friends already too, and (mostly because my littlest one is, well, the littlest one) suddenly we have passels of kids coming through our house. It's been fun but there it's a real change in the dynamics of our street and our days. So any recommendations for easy, cheap, healthy snacks the kids will eat, do share!

Have a great week! And for more inspired menus, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie!