Meals for the Week of August 13, 2012

I'm keeping it short and sweet this week.  It's back to school.  I think parents mostly rejoice in having kids back to the routine, busy for most of the day and the end of what can sometimes be a costly time of year with summer camps and trips all leading up to the frenzy of back to school shopping.  I know I do.  I've spent some time over the past week building a new board on my Pinterest with ideas for packing lunch for school.  I also mentioned in my last post that I had cooked some meals to help with busy school nights and some food like calzones (aka pizza pockets) that can be packed in lunches or for after school snack.  I'm making more of those this week since everyone in my house felt they should eat what I made now and not wait for school.  :)
I also made this Buttermilk Banana Bread this week.  It's really good.  I actually followed the advice of one of the comments on the recipe and made a glaze that I poured all over it when it was still warm.  I've had a different banana bread recipe that I've used for years and a different and healthier banana muffin that I most often make.  But this one might be my new go-to for banana bread.  Just like chocolate chip cookies, banana bread recipes are very personal and highly subjective, you may have one you like and won't be trying another.  But if you want to try or haven't tried before, this one is very easy.  My 6 year old helped me.

Bad iPhone photo, I know.  But cute!

The list of dinner meals is short- just a few ideas to try this week since I was spending time looking at lunch ideas.

Pinterest- Packing Lunch

Meals for the Week of August 13, 2012

Pinterest Board- August 13 Recipes

Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Glaze and Stir Fried Vegetables- Very easy, low fat grilled chicken getting it's flavor from the grill and a sweet reduction of balsamic vinegar.  You can also easy stir fry some veggies with the glaze in a pan on your grill.

Chili Taco Casserole- My kids love this and it's easy to assemble ahead of time and freeze to bake when you want to serve it. 

Classic Baked Ziti- Another recipe you could assemble and freeze to bake later.  Simple and easy.  This recipe includes making the tomato sauce portion, which if you like to use a jarred marinara sauce and want to skip that part of the cooking, feel free to do that.

Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices- Need zucchini ideas?  Here you go.  Maybe this will get your kids to eat zucchini if they don't already.

Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts- We eat dark meat in my house.  Actually, I tend to keep both boneless breasts and thighs in my freezer.  Thighs are cheaper, they are tasty but I do feel like I buy them more frequently because they are smaller and therefore when I cook some, I'm having to make a lot since everyone tends to eat more than one.  Anyway...this is a great combination of chicken and artichoke hearts with feta cheese.

Easy Green Chili Enchiladas- Open faced enchiladas.  Leave it to The Pioneer Woman to share an easy and no-fuss way to enjoy enchiladas.