One of the things we strive for when planning our menus is making everything fit together into one nice, neat little package. We look to use ingredients in different ways throughout the week so that we’re benefiting from the ability of do-aheads and being able to buy in bulk. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry.

School is almost here, and with school comes the school lunch. We started sending lunch with Kiera nearly every day, and this year, we’ll be sending a lunch for Kjell, too, as he heads off to all-day kindergarten. Another lunch to send means additional lunch gear to purchase, and with the recent boom in brown bagging it, there’s plenty of styles and varieties to choose from. Our Target even added an aisle back by the school supplies with all sorts of different school lunch box options.

As I navigate my way through the lunch box dilemma, I hope you’ll come take a look at what our back-to-school morning schedule looks like over at the Smithfield blog. We’ll be practicing this week by moving bedtime back a bit and making sure we’re all up and ready for the day before the time the bus would be here to pick up the older kids. If you looked at this week’s schedule, you’d see that I really have no choice in the latter. We’re packed full to the brim.

Monday – Grilled Peach and Haloumi Salad

Tuesday – Indian Sweet and Sour Chickpeas Spinach Roti

Wednesday – Oven-Baked Zucchini and Tomatoes with Feta Cream

Thursday – Mediterranean Bean Salad and Chicken Gyros

Friday – Pasta Primavera

The Preparation Shortcuts:

1. Make extra chickpeas for both the sweet and sour chickpeas on Tuesday and the bean salad on Thursday.
2. Greek seasoning can be made ahead and kept in the freezer until ready to use.
3. Make Thursday extra quick by grilled chicken ahead of time and doing a quick reheat either in the oven with a bit of broth or in a foil pan on the grill the same way.
4. Any and all leftover vegetables and arugula can be tossed into the pasta primavera on Friday. It’s the perfect wrap-up meal, using any leftovers.

The Shopping List:

2-3 chicken breasts
3 bell peppers of various colors (orange, yellow, red), chopped
1 knob ginger
1 bunch green onions
1 head broccoli
1 bunch cilantro
4 peaches
3 lemons
baby arugula
tamarind
2 Indian bay leaves
6-8 pitas
8 ounces Greek yogurt
8 ounces heavy cream
4 ounces Parmesan cheese
8 ounces feta
1 pkg (250g) Le Bedouin Haloumi

Pantry Items:
oat flour
millet flour
brown rice flour
white rice flour
tapioca flour
xanthan gum
barley
garbanzo beans
white beans
sun-dried tomatoes
garlic
white onion
white wine
white wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
honey
coriander
cumin
onion powder
garlic powder
cardamom pods
black peppercorns
cloves
cornstarch
salt and pepper
parsley flakes
cinnamon
nutmeg

Garden Items:
basil
parsley
oregano
thyme
mint
cucumbers
tomatoes
carrots
zucchini

Last week from Food for My Family:

Chicken Empanadas for a Long Goodbye
On Smithfield:
Getting Into a Back-to-School Morning Routine
On Babble:
Portabella Rosemary Caprese Skewers
Individual Caramel Bourbon Peach Pies
Eataly in New York Opening Next Week!
Chili’s $50 Gift Card Giveaway for Back-to-School!

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