Another big change in meal planning happens this week; little league baseball season has started. This means that at several nights a week I need to figure out something extremely portable for dinner as many of our meals will be eaten at the ball fields. I have a range of chicken salad recipes that will be showing up over the next several weeks as well as Panini ideas and other extremely fast, throw something together dishes.

The ironic part is that this kind of eating takes even more planning time than standard meals. There are bits that need to be prepared in advance and the picnic blanket and meal supplies need to be prepared and packed daily.

Meals with an asterisk are included below:

Sunday: Grilled marinated steak, grilled veggies*, salad, key lime meringue pie for dessert.

With the weather finally warming, the grill is going to be used more and more. I have a store-bought balsamic marinade that I will use for the steak (on special this week). Key lime meringue pie is easy: substitute lime for lemon in your favorite recipe.

Monday: Mango-mozzarella-chicken salad wraps*

First night of baseball! I’ll prepare all the parts in advance and assemble last minute on the picnic blanket (love those gallon storage bags for tossing salads).

Tuesday: Pasta with red sauce and salad

During baseball season, “off” nights are super simple.

Wednesday: Chicken and guacamole quesadillas, chips and fresh salsa – but maybe white bean and rosemary soup for the parents.

One son has baseball tonight and one has choir. Different parts of town, of course — Luckily, I can make these quesadillas quickly, and wrap them in foil for transport to the baseball field. Depending on how we feel, I might make something else for my husband and me.

Thursday: Spaghetti carbonnara and salad.

Again, simple, simple, simple.

Friday: Barbeque chicken and cheddar panini*, baby carrots straight out of the bag.

Baseball. Like Wednesday’s quesadillas, I can make these in advance and wrap them in foil for transport to the baseball field.

Saturday: Homemade pizza

Maybe we’ll see if the kids want to have friends over that evening.

Grilled Veggies

Zucchini and/or summer squash, in diagonal slices about 1/8″ thick
Peppers of all colors, cored and cut into thick spears
Olive oil
Oregano
Basil
Kosher salt
Pepper

In a large bowl, toss the prepared veggies with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon or so each of the oregano and basil. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper.

On a medium-hot grill, carefully place the vegetable pieces on the grill racks. Close the grill top and let cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the veggie pieces over and cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat until the veggies seem done.

After removing veggies from the grill, sprinkle them with a touch more salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Mango-mozzarella-chicken salad wraps

One recipe Mango-mozzarella caprese salad, with the following variations: cube or use mini-mozzarella balls, tear the radiccio in small bite-sized pieces, and cube the mangoes
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
Large tortillas

Toss the chicken in with the mango-mozzarella salad, and wrap individual portions in large tortillas. You can further wrap the wraps in foil for easy transport.

Barbeque chicken and cheddar panini

Good Italian bread
Barbeque sauce
Cooked thin chicken cutlets, preferrably grilled
Cheddar cheese
Olive oil for brushing the outside of the sandwiches
Cooking spray for the grill pan

Grill pan
Frying pan with a base that will set down into the grill pan
A brick, cleaned and covered with foil

Following the technique discussed last week for pastrami panini, layer the barbeque sauce, cheese and chicken on each side of the bread. Cook, press, flip, repeat.