Menu Plan Week of July 1

Summertime, and the livin is easy!

I love this time of year. Life is slower, days are longer, food is better.

There always seems to be something fun going on and it all seems to come together this week.

There is so much going on this week around Independence Day. It is possibly my second favorite holiday. 

Cookouts, BBQ, fireworks. What's not to love?

One of my favorite things to do is The Capitol Fourth dress rehearsal. As anyone that lives close to DC knows, you don't go downtown on the Fourth. It's crazy town. There's people everywhere, it's expensive, it's hot. You just don't want to be there. What you might not know is that they do a dress rehearsal the day before that's open to the public. The whole show. It's awesome. We've seen Stevie Wonder up close and personal, for free. Last year it was Earth, Wind and Fire and Josh Turner. This year it's Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond. Not exactly my cuppa but a good time none the less. We take a picnic dinner, sit on the mall and enjoy ourselves. 

Friday marks the first CSA Day. I am doing a workshare at a local CSA. I'll man their Friday pickup and in exchange I'll get a share! More on that later. 

Saturday we're hosting a Bring Your Own Chainsaw party to clean up the mess in the backyard. We're providing beer and pizza in exchange for cheap, friendly labor.

As always, this weeks plan is messed up. It got messed up before it was even posted! Today was supposed to be meatloaf but I had to take Mr. Brown to get some medical attention for some wicked poison ivy (he has a Popeye arm!) so it didn't get made. Now I have thawed hamburger and thawed chicken - which gets made??

Monday - Supposed to be Meatloaf, corn on the cob, buttered noodles

Tuesday - Peanut Chicken, broccoli, rice

Wednesday - Picnic Dinner - tuna salad, egg salad, sourdough bread, cucumber salad

Thursday - Fourth of July! We'll be cookout hopping all day, I shouldn't have to cook

Friday - Pinto Beans in the Crockpot

Saturday - BYOC

Sunday - Leftovers from Fri and Sat. 

So why? Why do I still menu plan when we have this much going on? Because we have this much going on! It helps a lot to know where we have to be when and how it affects what we're eating. The best part is, we usually have most of this stuff on hand. Which means that on crazy weeks like this one I can plan easy peasy menus from stuff on hand so I don't have to squeeze in a big shopping trip. 

What do you have planned for the Fourth? Have a great week!