In spite of my meal rut and in spite of misreading the kids’ baseball calendar, last week went pretty well. We managed Thursday’s meal on Thursday after baseball, though it was a late night. That was mostly okay since the kids didn’t have school on Friday. Friday, however, got crazy and I didn’t manage to make the fried chicken. Instead we had pasta carbonnara late, after baseball. Everything else was mostly smooth.

This week we have two evenings of baseball, one afternoon of baseball, one band concert and my husband on an insane schedule. I’m essentially single parenting for the next couple of weeks. Also we have some leftovers in the fridge that need to be eaten. Between lunches and our typical Wednesday, we should mostly take care of them.

Always plan for schedule and meal changes

Recipes with an asterisk are included below.

Sunday: Fried chicken, corn on the cob, salad, ice cream for dessert.

This was the fried chicken still marinating in buttermilk from a few days ago. With the corn on the cob, it seems like a perfect Memorial Day weekend meal – the unofficial start of summer.

Monday: Barbeque at a friend’s house.

I’ll take a green salad. On the off chance plans change, I have the makings of pizza available.

Tuesday: Baseball night: Mandarin orange chicken salad wraps, other munchies.

Picnic at the field. I’ll have most of the parts ready on Monday evening so I can get our meal together quickly on Tuesday as the boys change into their uniforms.

Wednesday: Leftovers for the kids, Fettuccine with Brussels sprouts and pine nuts for the parents.

This is the second to last such Wednesday of the school year. I am looking forward to regular family meals on Wednesday and anticipating missing adult meals with my husband.

Thursday: Band concert. Meatball panini*, salad.

Quick is the order of the evening as I’ll have about 15 minutes to make dinner while my son changes for the concert.

Friday: Baseball night. Pasta with sausage and spinach.

We’ll probably eat late after the baseball game (since it’s a Friday), so I’ll make sure the kids have some healthy snacks before the game.

Saturday: Marinated grilled beef and grilled vegetables, salad, rice pilaf.

I hope it will be warm enough to eat on the porch.

Meatball Panini

As with most panini, scale the quantity of ingredients up and down according to your crowd.

Precooked meatballs, sliced thin
Marinara sauce
Provolone cheese
Fresh basil leaves
Good Italian bread
Olive oil

Following the general procedure here, layer the cheese, meatballs, spoonfuls of sauce, and basil leaves between the slices of bread. Make sure the cheese is next to the bread on each side.