I hope all you fathers out there celebrated well yesterday. We all enjoyed the day, and for the first time, the kids really took charge of the festivities. They planned the menu, helped shop, and prepped most of the food, too. (The key to success was doing all the chopping and mixing possible the day before, restaurant kitchen style, so that the actual cooking took very little time away from the fun–a long afternoon at the pool–on Sunday.) They also helped smell every cologne in the store to help me choose a new bottle for dad. Dad had breakfast in bed, while the crew picnicked on the floor alongside.

This week

Monday: Salmon and Roasted Vegetable Salad (to swap)

Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers (from Jen)

Wednesday: Red Lentil Dal, rice, fruit salad (mango & pineapple?)

Thursday: Turkey Chili

Friday: Lemon Pepper grilled chicken; barley salad

Last week

Monday: Shrimp salad wraps, cabbage salad with ramen noodles and almonds

Leftover green curry shrimp salad in whole wheat tortillas and extra cabbage salad from Jen. Great quick summer meal!

Tuesday: Belgian endive and ham gratin, rice, salad

Memories of Belgium, all in one dish. Two hints: steam the endive instead of boiling, so they don’t get so waterlogged, and the extra step of browning them in butter really adds flavor. I subbed some hard sheep’s milk cheese and Parmesan for the gruyère.

Wednesday: Chicken Milanese, salad, curried carrots with butter

As the kids grow and eat more, I have to think about how to stretch our meals a little further. Pounding the chicken breasts thin and breading them makes one pound of meat just enough for the five of us. I save all the heels of bread and make fresh breadcrumbs whenever I need them.

Thursday: Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Bacon Galette, salad (swap with Jen)

I used the recipe as more of a suggestion, and just used what ingredients I had. I made a simple crust with half multigrain flour and butter, mixed the blue cheese with ricotta and sour cream, and sprinkled a little chopped thyme over the onions and bacon. I hope I remember to make this again!

Friday: Turkey Kielbasa with Peppers and Onions, blue cheese coleslaw (from Jen)

At Jen’s suggestion, I put the sausage and pepper mixture on a baguette, topped it with cheddar, and ran it under the broiler. And slaw with blue cheese dressing and bacon? Yum.