Menu Plan Monday - On Being AWOL, busy, busy days and this week's menu

Our CSA share this week. Clockwise from bottom left: Onions, cucumbers, Russet potatoes, Beets, Green Beans, Savory, Rosemary, Zucchini, Garlic.  In the middle: A long bell pepper and sweet peas.

Wow!
Has it really been three weeks since I posted? 

Where on earth does the time go?

Sorry for being AWOL (absent without leave, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term).  I have several posts half done and had all kinds of grand plans for posting this summer and - woosh - right out the window they went!

My only excuse, and not a very good one at that, is that we've been super busy!
We had unplanned company for two weeks, I turned 40, we celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary, we tore our one set of storage shelves and installed an "office in a closet" instead, cleaned out a whole bunch of junk stuff from our house and had a thrift/yard sale, and weeded the garden like a pair of maniacs.   We also attended Family Camp for John's Internship church and the children attended Vacation Bible School at our home church. 
 
John wrapped up his Internship and is now off on his next adventure of Chaplain Residency with a few days off for R&R (if you can call having a thrift/yard sale R&R!) in between!  I don't think it's quite sunk in yet that Internship is over but it will soon, I'm sure.  He helped paint a friend's house in preparation for their selling it.  And had spent a lot of time going through papers, filling out paperwork and all that comes with ending internship and starting a residency.

I've been working on graduating (FINALLY!), getting ready for the fall courses I'm teaching this year, and doing some pretty intense physical therapy for my hip, which has been giving me major problems off and on for about three years now but particularly since mid-June.  It's working VERY well but it means that I'm stiff, sore and my energy levels are pretty low most days.  The good news is that the pain is sore muscle pain (like after a strong workout) and not I'm-going-to-knock-you-flat-out-for-several-days-and-make-you-shake pain so I can definitely handle it.  And the farther into therapy I go, the less of that there is too.  I'm really pleased but in the meantime, its taking a lot of energy!

The garden has been producing tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers and summer squash in abundance so we need to keep up with that too.   We picked 22 tomatoes, one pepper and two cucumbers yesterday.  I'm not sure what we'll pick today, but making tomato sauce is on my list for today for sure!  I have a whole tub of tomatoes sitting on my kitchen table right now.

Reading all of that, it's no wonder things have been quiet here!   I miss posting and hope to get back to some type of schedule soon.  In the meantime, here's our menu for this week - lots of fresh produce included!

Grocery shopping this week: two bags of spinach, two pints raspberries, 4lbs Fuji Apples, a small watermelon, and a gallon of milk from the grocery store ($23 spent) and 4lbs of State Fair Apples from the Farmer's Market for $5. 

Here's what we're eating this week:

Sunday, August 9:
   Breakfast: Lemon Blueberry Bread, Milk
   Lunch: Turkey Sausage, Fried Potatoes, Sautéed Onions and Zucchini
   Snack: Popcorn
   Dinner: Baked Tilapia, Rice, Sautéed Onions and Zucchini

Monday, August 10:
   Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Apple Slices
   Lunch: Tomato Sandwiches, Cucumber Slices, Raspberries
   Snack: Lemon Blueberry Bread
   Dinner: Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Zucchini and Onions, Raspberry-Apple Salad

Tuesday, August 11:
    Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Apple Slices
    Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches, Cucumber Slices and Carrot Sticks
    Snack: Cut Veggies
    Dinner: Grilled Sausage and Zucchini, Apples

Wednesday, August 12:
    Breakfast: Oatmeal with Walnuts and Raspberries
    Lunch: Salad with Chicken, Walnuts and Oranges
    Snack: Cut Veggies
    Dinner: Pot Luck at Church: Bring sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and sliced watermelon

Thursday, August 13:
     Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Apples
     Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches, Watermelon
     Snack: Cut Veggies
     Dinner: Bear Roast, Carrots, Zucchini and Potatoes in the Crockpot,  Apple-Watermelon-Orange Salad

Friday, August 14:
     Breakfast: Oatmeal with Walnuts and Craisins
     Lunch: Salad with Walnuts, Oranges, and Raspberries
     Snack: Cut Veggies
     Dinner:  Homemade Pizza and Breadsticks

Saturday, August 15:
    Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Fruit
    Lunch: Snacky Lunch: Apples and Cut Veggies
    Snack/Dinner/Dessert: At a friend's wedding

What are you eating this week?

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