Dinner...

I know that dinner tends to stress everyone out on weeknights.  Sometimes the day doesn't go like you planned it and you end up getting something not so healthy and not so tasty.  Sometimes, you're just done at the end of the day and cereal sounds really healthy.  Throw a banana on it- that's like, 3 food groups.  

We had one of those days yesterday.  I left my house at 9:15am to drop the kids off with my dad who was going to supervise their lessons while I went to the oncologist in Georgetown.  Off I drove, arriving around 10:50, which was good because the cancer center is under construction so I had to wind my way through the other buildings to enter.  I waited in the waiting room until 12:15, then I waited in a clinic room until 1:50.  Then I saw the doctor for about 5 minutes.  She waved her magic wand over me and told me to come again in a year, and then I drove back to my parents, got my kids, drove home, got a bunch of papers for my other job (yes, I have a "real job" in addition to this hot mess and homeschooling), drove back to Woodbridge, dropped them off, and finally got home for the day around 7pm. In the middle of this I texted my husband that I was just going to order pizza.  He is vehemently anti-pizza and said he'd be in charge of heating up something from the fridge. 

This would normally not be a huge deal, but we never figured out where to put a microwave, so warming something up involves preheating the oven, about 30-40 minutes of baking, and then service. 

We ended up with leftover homemade mac and cheese from the kids' cooking lesson on Friday and fruit.  

Typically I try to plan a little better, but this was one of those times where I didn't realize that my 5 minute checkup would take 2 hours of driving (well, that part I knew) plus 3 hours of waiting.  I had planned on being home around 1:00.  

So what's dinner look like at our house typically? I love seeing what other people make, so I thought I'd share our menu for the week.

Monday-Oncologist Appointment, Work Meeting- Leftover Mac and Cheese with peas, fruit

(Taco) Tuesday- Music, Drama, Gymnastics, Scouts- Black Bean and Quinoa Bake. This is great because I can throw it together even the night before and it just has to get warm.  I like to soak my quinoa, not just rinse it, otherwise it has a weird almost dusty flavor to it that is not appealing.  If you're going to rinse it, do it until the water runs clear.  If you're going to soak it, I recommend overnight, change the water and rinse, and then let it soak again until you're ready to prepare, rinse once more, and then cook.  

Wednesday- Blessedly event free- Grilled steak salad, baked potatoes.  Grill nights are the best because my husband likes to grill, so as long as I have everything ready to go, he'll take care of the outdoor portion.  We prefer the Alton Brown Method of Everything....so if you're still perfecting your grilling technique, I suggest you ask Alton. 

Thursday- Classes in Springfield, Hockey Try Outs, Gymnastics- Slow-Cooker Squash Lasagna.  I LOVE my slow cooker.  The minute pumpkin spice lattes come out, my crock pot makes a weekly appearance on our dinner menu.  I'll probably do green beans with this. 

Friday- Cooking Class at Our House- I'm teaching tomato sauce (last week I taught béchamel, which is how we ended up with Mac and Cheese) so the kids are going to make pizza for dinner with bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, broccoli, and tomato. And probably the pepperoni they know is in the freezer somewhere.  The leftover basic tomato sauce will get used next week for spaghetti. 

Weekends are generally for leftovers, unless we're having a party which this weekend we are not...that I know of, although frequently we somehow end up with people at our house anyway- which is a welcome event anytime.  

What are you making for dinner this week?