Today is the last day I will have to take all my children grocery shopping with me this year. Hallelujah.

This week

Green Chicken Enchiladas. I make these mild, with canned green chiles. First day of school dinner!

Baked Falafel, tzatziki, tomato salad. The kids love falafel, but I don’t love frying it. Hope we like this one just as well!

Grilled Steak, Parsley/Garlic/Olive Oil sauce, grilled potatoes, salad. Time to use a bunch of the parsley I’ve been growing.

Hamburgers, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad. We all love this creamy macaroni salad, and I can put some in lunch boxes this week.

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Garlic. Will the kids eat this? I don’t know. I’ll probably set some plain pasta aside just in case. Their dislike of squash (pumpkin pie is the exception) is completely unreasonable.

Last week

Blueberry Muffins. I got a bag of fresh blueberries from my neighbors’ Michigan vacation, so it was time for these perfect muffins. Don’t waste your blueberries on anything else. The recipe calls for cream or half and half, but you can absolutely use milk.

Slow Cooker Ribs. I didn’t follow the recipe for the rub or the sauce here, but the method worked great! I used a rub of brown sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and cayenne, and bottled BBQ sauce (not too much!). The ribs came out incredibly tender and moist, but with a nice caramelized crust. Exceeded expectations!

Creamed Corn with Bacon. This is a bit of a production for a side dish, but it was really delicious. I didn’t wait for the corn broth to reduce as much as it called for, so I had some extra to freeze. Maybe I’ll use it in corn chowder or something.

Filipino Grilled Chicken. Mmmmm. I’ll be freezing chicken in this marinade to pull out for an easy weeknight dinner.

Garlic-Toasted Tomato Sandwiches. As usual, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly (I used soft goat cheese instead of feta/mayonnaise), but there’s no better way to enjoy summer tomatoes.

Spaghetti with Mint-Pea Pesto. Fast, yummy, no planning necessary (peas from the freezer, mint from the garden). Even Miss Eight, who has developed a recent disdain for pesto, ate her entire portion.