what’s for dinner

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Bewildering Sports Sustenance Situation, Back-to-School Bedlam, and Dinners This Week

School starts this week, as do Sports. My husband starts a call week on Friday night. The chaos is ramping up and my only defense is running away Extreme Uptight Organization.

Let’s see if I can assemble all the elements necessary for meal planning.

Carla has Sports Events two nights this week. One night may or may not involve going to dinner at my in laws’ rental. Carla will not be eating at home three nights this week; however, I need to supply dinner for each sports event. In fact, I could supply dinner for all the kids on her team, but I cannot figure out how to access the spreadsheet of dinner volunteers one of the moms put together.

I feel a panicky slash grumpy digression about Sports Events Sustenance coming on. Gird yourself.

None of the parents wants to be in charge of organizing dinners for the kids, although the aforementioned mom did (supposedly) create a spreadsheet so we can sign up to bring food for each game. One of the other parents noted that her child doesn’t like sandwiches, which – well, honestly, Carla doesn’t like sandwiches either, but what the actual fuck is a person supposed to provide for dinners when sandwiches are off the table? There are only so many times the team can eat Chik-Fil-A nuggets for dinner, right? (Carla, perhaps, would disagree.) I am sure other people’s kids eat a variety of foods, but 99% of the things that a) my particular kid will eat that are b) nourishing and nutritionally balanced are IMPOSSIBLE FOODS to provide for sporting events.

First of all, I don’t even know when these kids are expected to eat; practice starts after school and games start at, like, 4:00 or 5:00. Are they planning to eat these meals on the bus? In the fifteen minutes between school and practice during which they are also expected to change?

Second of all, sure, a sandwich or some chicken nuggets seem fairly easy to scarf down in a few minutes, but the other things Carla likes (salmon! tacos! steak! meatballs!) seem much less easy if even doable for the venue. Other (semi) nourishing foods – like hummus and veggies or cheese and crackers – don’t strike me as calorically rich enough to sustain kids through an entire game, and that’s without mentioning that Carla won’t even eat hummus or any other sort of dip with her veggies. Nuts and nut butters are verboten, so there goes that source of high-calorie protein and fat. Maybe I could get away with creating some sort of charcuterie-esque “dinner,” with ham and pepperoni and cheese and veggies and fruit… but that sounds time consuming and logistically complicated (how would I serve it to a large group?) (keep in mind that I WORRY ABOUT GERMS AND FOOD SAFETY). Bagels and cream cheese and maybe some lunch meat has potential, but I don’t know how many bagels with cream cheese and lunch meat my kid will eat in a season. There’s pizza, I guess, but the other complicating factor is that the dinners need to be delivered by the parent (as in, not by Door Dash or a local delivery person) before the game starts, which means I would have to pick up pizza and take it immediately to wherever the kids are and sometimes I don’t want to do that.

In years past, we’ve stopped for dinner (usually Chik-Fil-A) after games, because my kid is starving… but I would really love to not do that, for so many reasons. One of which is the rumored extreme amp-up of homework this year. HOW is Carla going to do sports, homework, AND dinner and still get to bed early enough to ensure adequate sleep? What do other children eat for dinner? HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS? I am back to wanting to stride briskly into the sea.

My mother made us dinner every night when we were visiting their house. It was luxurious to have a home cooked meal to enjoy, but even more decadent was not having to think about what to make for dinners. But now *I* am the one in charge of the thinking and planning and making, and… well, I have to suck it up, Buttercup, because that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Or something.

Dinners for the Week of August 17

  • Szechuan Stir Fry: I bought the ingredients for a fresh veggie (and chicken) stir fry last week and haven’t been able to bring myself to assemble them into eating shape. Let’s not waste all those yummy veggies.
  • Greek Chicken with Cucumber-Feta Salad: This sounds good and summery and like it has potential for leftovers.
  • Crockpot Crispy Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeno Crema: The crockpot is my bestie on days when there’s no clear timeframe for getting home. Plus maybe this will also produce leftovers?
  • Two Dinners for Sports Events: For one night, I think I’ll go with my charcuterie plate idea, at least for Carla. And maybe the bagel and cream cheese idea for the other night? Should I try to sign up to bring dinner for the whole team, or wait until later in the season? WHAT DO SPORTS TEAMS EAT FOR DINNER?????

That’s all the time I have for meal planning panic, Internet. I have a PT appointment, Carla has sports practice, there’s a mandatory school meeting, and some sort of orientation during which the kids are supposed to get their locker assignments. Let the Back-to-School Bedlam begin.

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Dinners This Week

It’s time once again to figure out what in the great wide world I’m going to feed my family.

  • Southwest Chicken Salad with Black Beans: My husband requested this. I am not in the mood for chicken, but I am in the mood to have someone else choose meals I should make. Neither my husband nor I like roasted red peppers, so I will swap those out for raw. I also dislike the texture of canned corn, so I will buy some corn on the cob and use that.
  • Zucchini Pasta with Garlic: This sounds delicious to me, but it also sounds very similar to a LOT of recipes I already make. Not sure if my husband will be on board with another variation on flavors we eat frequently already.
  • Tofu Tikka Masala: Everyone gave me such fabulous advice about how to make tofu the other day, and I’m excited to keep expanding my tofu palate. This sounds yummy. I will probably add some bell peppers to the sauce at the end because I like extra veggies with pretty much everything.

What’s on your meal plan this week?

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Meal Planning Roadblocks, Dinners This Week

It continues to be hot and smokey, and we continue to have no rain. Not my ideal summertime conditions, for sure. (Although, to be clear, we have it a LOT better than many.)

Here I am, all ready to half-ass some dinner plans for the week, and I just remembered that we will have houseguests starting Thursday. Perhaps I should come up with something a little jazzier than “scrounge around for something resembling food.”

Things that are hampering my planning:

  • We continue to have no reliable grill. Earlier this month, I had someone come out to look at our existing built-in grill and give us quotes for replacing it. I have never gotten the quotes. (Although, very oddly, the same salesperson who came out to examine the grill showed up at my front door last week. He was looking for someone else, and had mixed up the addresses.) I should call the grill company to follow up, and I should also get a second quote from someone else but I have done neither thing.
  • The heat makes me resistant to turning on the oven. Clearly I need to lean more heavily on my air fryer.
  • Are we still avoiding lettuce? I can’t keep up with the latest on the cyclosporiasis outbreak and have no idea what produce are okay and not okay to eat. It would be wonderful to have some salads on the menu but… is that advisable? Well, the NYT has an article all about that very question, and I guess the answer is: maybe, as long as it’s from the whole head of lettuce and not iceberg lettuce. That helps, slightly… although I feel more comfortable putting myself and my husband at risk than I do putting my child and houseguests in the same position.

I think I’ve completely talked myself out of making dinner at all, ever again. How’s that for a Dinners This Week?

Dinners for the Week of July 20-26

  • Pasta with Chopped Pesto and Peas: I can use fresh basil from my “garden” and frozen peas. Maybe I can make a couple of chicken breasts and salmon fillets in the air fryer for those who require a separate protein.
  • Green Chile Chicken and Black Bean Tostadas: This will require the use of the oven, but it seems worthwhile.
  • Beef and Veggie Stir Fry: Did I tell you that I jettisoned my wok? For years, my wok was my most-loved appliance. And then I just… stopped using it. Ever since we moved to this house (THREE YEAR AGO OMG), I have been making stir fry in my big chili pot, and I’ve never missed my wok. Not sure why I felt the urge to share this little tidbit with you, but there it is.
  • Shortcut Korean Pulled Pork: This recipe calls for kimchi pickles and shredded cabbage, but I could also/instead make a quick and tangy slaw.

I cannot think of anything else, but there’s always takeout.