I just spent an entire week enjoying someone else cooking dinner. It was spectacular. Also, I am I awe of my mother’s planning skills. She fed six people three meals a day for eight days and we only needed to supplement her shopping twice – once with tomatoes and a head of lettuce, once with sandwich rolls and milk. (And – this boggles my mind – she only has one fridge! She does have a chest freezer, though, so I think that helps.) 

She made sure to make ALL our favorites: ribs and potato salad, tacos, pizza (from scratch). My dad made steak and Caesar salad one night and from-scratch waffles for brunch one morning. Carla and my dad made ice cream another night. YUM. We ate so well.

After basking in the feeling of being well-fed and well-loved, I feel refreshed and ready to tackle meal planning for my own family again. 

Dinners for the Week of August 12-18

• Mediterranean Bowl with Salmon: Yum. I am all over this, this week. Probably I will make a chicken breast for my husband, but I am stocked up with frozen Costco salmon fillets and ready to eat them.

• My Favorite Summer Salad: Yesssss. This sounds amazing to me right now. I want to eat ALL the veggies: lettuce and avocado and corn and peppers. Gotta soak up summer while it lingers, right?

• Charred Corn and Chickpea Salad with Lime Crema + Some Sort of Meat, Maybe?: Speaking of soaking up summer, I am ready to eat all the corn. 

• Something with Pesto: We recently had dinner at our neighbors’ house (have I already told this story before? I feel like I have…) and they made a pasta salad with pesto that was TO DIE FOR. They are amazing cooks, and this pesto was fantastic. Well, I have three flourishing basil plants, so I want to make some pesto. Not quite sure what I should put it on/in, though. I kind of want to make a pasta with zucchini and corn… but that’s a lot of corn for one week. Maybe this charred shrimp and quinoa bowl? Oh my goodness – or this pesto, artichoke, and burrata pizza? Ooooh… maybe a pesto variation on Nicole’s lemon basil pasta with zucchini? I have had nowhere near enough zucchini this summer. What’s your favorite thing to do with pesto?

• Caprese Salad with Balsamic Chicken and Balsamic Dressing: Speaking of basil, this is such a good way to incorporate fresh basil! And we can use homegrown grape tomatoes if they choose to ripen. 

What are you eating this week?